Dear to Me (24 page)

“I’m heading out to make a delivery,” Gabe’s dad said as he plucked his straw hat off the counter near the front door and plunked it on his head. “Can you handle things here while I’m gone?”

 “Jah, sure,” Gabe mumbled. It always irked him whenever Pap asked that question. And he asked it nearly every time he left the shop. Wouldn’t the man ever realize that Gabe was capable and could manage things on his own?

 “I’ll be back sometime before supper,” Pap said as he headed out the door.

 Gabe grunted and reached for a hunk of sandpaper. “I can’t wait until I own my own shop,” he muttered when the door clicked shut. He gritted his teeth and gave the arm of the rocking chair he’d been working on a couple of solid swipes.

 Sometime later, the shop door opened, and Noah stepped into the room. “How’s it going, Gabe?”

 “Fine. We’re keeping plenty busy these days.”

 “It’s always good to be busy.”

 “Jah.”

 “Is your daed around, or are you on your own this afternoon?”

 “It’s just me. Pap had a delivery to make.”

 “I see.” Noah leaned against the workbench closest to where Gabe was working. “I was on my way home from work and thought I’d stop and talk to you for a minute.”

 Gabe stood and brushed the sawdust off his trousers. “Is there a problem?”

 “Not a problem, exactly.” Noah shifted his weight as he cleared his throat. “I’m…uh…a bit concerned about my daughter.”

 “Is Melinda all right? Has something happened to her?”

 Noah shook his head. “She’s not sick or anything like that. In fact, she had one of our neighbors take her to Springfield for the day so she could shop for some things that aren’t available in Seymour.”

 Gabe grimaced. If Melinda had gone to Springfield, she was probably planning to take her GED test today. Did Noah know about it? Is that why he wanted to talk to Gabe? Did Noah think Gabe had some influence over Melinda and could talk her out of going English? But what if Noah didn’t know? Gabe had to be careful about what he said so he wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag in case Melinda hadn’t told her folks about her plans yet.

 “What did you want to say to me about Melinda?” Gabe asked.

 Noah drew in a quick breath and released it with a huff. “Her mamm and I think she’s spending way too much time with those critters of hers. We’re afraid if she doesn’t find a happy medium soon, she’ll end up spending the rest of her life with her priorities all mixed up.”

 “What’s that got to do with me? As I’m sure you must know, Melinda’s and my relationship isn’t so solid anymore.”

 “I know you’ve had words a few times; Melinda confided that much to her mamm. Even though you don’t always see eye to eye on things, I’m sure she cares for you, Gabe.”

 “I care for her, too.”

 “I’m hoping you might be able to convince her not to spend so much time with those critters of hers. She needs to spend more time helping her mamm and learning things that will help prepare her for marriage.”

 Gabe groaned as he pulled his fingers through the sides of his hair. “I’m not sure I’m the one you should be talking to, because I don’t have that much influence where your daughter is concerned. Fact is our relationship is slipping so bad that she doesn’t much care what I have to say about anything.”

 Noah placed his hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “Do you love my daughter?”

 Gabe nodded. “Guess I’ll always love her.”

 “Do you think it would help if I put in a good word for you? Or maybe Faith could invite you and your family over for a meal sometime soon.”

 Gabe shook his head. “Melinda knows what it will take for our relationship to get better. I don’t think a meal or a good word from you will make any difference.”

 “Is the problem you’re having about hunting? Does Melinda expect you to give up hunting?”

 Gabe rubbed his chin as he contemplated the best way to reply to Noah’s question without revealing the real problem. “Let’s just say that Melinda’s priorities are different than mine, and unless she changes her mind about certain things, we can never have a future together.”

 Noah stared at Gabe with a peculiar expression. Finally, he turned toward the door, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll be praying for you and Melinda.”

 “I appreciate that.”

 When the door clicked shut behind Noah, Gabe dropped to his knees and resumed sanding the rocking chair. Oh, how he hoped Melinda would come to her senses and choose him and her family over her animal friends.

Susie had just put a bolt of blue material on one of the shelves near the back of Kaulp’s store when the bell above the front door jingled, signaling that a customer had entered the building. She turned and saw Melinda and Marsha Watts step up to the front counter where Freda Kaulp stood.

 A few minutes later, Marsha and Freda moved over to the shelf where the kitchen items were kept, and Melinda headed in Susie’s direction.

 “Did you come here with your neighbor, or did you just happen to arrive at the same time?” Susie asked as Melinda joined her in front of the shelves full of fabric.

 Melinda leaned close and whispered in Susie’s ear. “Marsha drove me to Springfield this morning.”

 “That’s nice, but why are you whispering?”

 Melinda gave a quick glance over her shoulder then blotted the perspiration from her forehead with the corner of her apron. “I don’t want Freda to know where I’ve been.”

 Susie squinted. “Why not? Lots of folks in our community hire a driver to take them to Springfield for shopping and appointments.”

 “Not the kind of appointment I had this morning.”

 “What kind of appointment did you have?”

 Melinda’s voice lowered even further. “I went to the college to take my GED test.”

 Susie swallowed hard as a sick feeling swept over her. So Melinda really was serious about leaving the Amish faith and becoming a vet. She had hoped it was only a passing fancy and that Melinda would give up the idea when she’d had a chance to pray about it.

 “You don’t look very happy about me taking the test.”

 “I’m not.”

 “Don’t you even want to know how it went?”

 Susie shrugged. “I figured you’d get around to telling me.”

 Melinda pursed her lips. “It was a hard test. Much harder than I expected it would be.”

 Susie bit the inside of her lip to keep from smiling. She’d never say it to Melinda, but she’d hoped the test would be difficult and that Melinda would fail. Flunking the test might be the only thing that would keep Melinda from making the biggest mistake of her life. At least, that’s how Susie saw it.

 “When will you get the results?” Susie asked.

 “I–I’m not sure. I expect I should know something in a week or so.”

 “I see.” Susie’s fingers traveled over the bolts of material stacked on the shelf as she mulled things over. If Melinda passed her GED and decided to take some college courses to prepare for her veterinary training, they might never see each other again. Once Melinda moved away and pursued a career, she’d have little reason to come home except for an occasional visit. Susie figured even those times would be strained.

 Melinda tapped Susie on the shoulder.

 “What?”

 “Ever since we were little and Mama and I moved here after she’d been an entertainer, you and I have been good friends and shared everything with each other.”

 Susie knew full well how close she and Melinda had been over the years. But things were tense between them now, and they would only get worse once Melinda left home.
How does Melinda expect me to be happy about this decision?
She turned to face Melinda. “Does Gabe know you went to take the GED test today?”

 Melinda shook her head. “I saw no reason to tell him.”

 “I’ll bet you haven’t told your folks yet, either. Am I right?”

 “No, I haven’t told them. I will, though, as soon as I receive my test scores.”

 “Will you tell them even if you’ve failed?”

 “I don’t know. Probably not, since there would be nothing to tell. I can’t make a final decision on what I should do with my future until I’ve passed that test. So, until I do, mum’s the word, okay?”

 Susie drew in a deep breath as she slowly nodded. Oh, how she wished she didn’t have to keep Melinda’s secret.

Chapter 23

C
lutching a basket of freshly picked tomatoes, Melinda trudged wearily from the garden to the house. It seemed as if there were no end to the ripe tomatoes, and today she and Mama planned to do up several canner-loads. Dr. Franklin had wanted Melinda to work at the clinic this afternoon, but with so many tomatoes to be harvested, she felt obligated to lend her mother a hand. It was a sacrifice, considering that Melinda would much rather be holding a dog or a cat than canning squishy tomatoes. If she became a vet, she’d have even more contact with animals than she did just working for Dr. Franklin a few days a week.

 Melinda couldn’t believe it had been a week already since she’d taken her GED test. She worried about when she would get the results and whether she had passed. All this week, she’d alternated her time between working at the clinic and helping Mama can beans and tomatoes, hoping to keep busy enough that she wouldn’t think about the test results.

 Melinda glanced out the window at the line of trees bordering the back of their property. If she couldn’t be working at the clinic, she would have enjoyed being in the woods on this Saturday morning, sketching some of the wildlife. Even being inside the chicken coop, checking on the baby pheasants that had hatched yesterday morning, would have been preferable to being here in the stuffy house. Maybe when she finished with the tomatoes, there would be time for her to make a quick trip to the woods.

 Melinda had just placed the tomatoes into the sink to be washed when Isaiah entered the kitchen waving a stack of letters.

 “Mail’s here,” he announced. “Where do you want it?”

 Mama nodded toward the table. “You can put it over there, and then I’d like you to go back outside and pull some weeds in the garden. They’re starting to overtake the bean plants again.”

 Isaiah’s forehead creased, making a row of tiny wrinkles. “How come Melinda didn’t pull the weeds when she was out there picking tomatoes?”

 “I didn’t have time for that,” Melinda responded before Mama could open her mouth. “As it is, I’ll be busy all afternoon helping put up the tomatoes I got picked. So the least you can do is to pull a few weeds.”

 “Melinda’s right,” Mama agreed. “So grab yourself something cold to drink and hurry out to get the job done.”

 Isaiah grunted, ambled over to the refrigerator, and withdrew a jug of lemonade. He poured himself a tall glass of the liquid, drank it down, and headed out the door, letting it slam shut behind him.

 Mama clicked her tongue noisily. “That boy! Sometimes I think he was born in a barn.”

 Melinda smiled. It was kind of nice to hear Mama become riled over something Isaiah did for a change. Usually it was Melinda she was upset with. “Is it all right if I take a break to look at the mail?” Melinda asked.

 “Sure. I can handle this on my own for a bit.”

 Melinda took a seat at the table and thumbed through the mail. Her hands trembled when she spotted an envelope with the college’s return address. It had to be the results of her GED test. She was glad she’d been given the opportunity to go through the mail first, and not someone else in the family.

 Melinda ripped open the envelope, and as she studied her scores, her heart took a nosedive. She’d failed the test.

 She had passed the English part of the exam, but the math section had been much harder and she’d missed too many questions. Her only recourse was to study more then retake the test. Either that, or she would have to give up her dream of going to college and eventually on to veterinary school. Maybe it wasn’t meant for her to go. Maybe…

 “Anything interesting in the mail today?” Mama asked, breaking into Melinda’s contemplations.

 “What? Uh…I haven’t looked through all of it yet.” Melinda slipped the envelope with the GED results under her apron waistband. If she had passed the test, she would have told Mama her plans. But since she’d failed, she saw no point in mentioning it now.

 She grabbed the rest of the mail and quickly thumbed through it.
Or maybe I’m supposed to be patient and wait until I’m more prepared. Oh, Lord, please show me what I’m supposed to do.