Hopeful (6 page)

Unable to help himself, he remembered what he and Miriam had discussed. “Perhaps I’ll be seeing you at church on Sunday?”

“Perhaps.”

“Why only perhaps? Do you not know your Sunday plans yet?” he joked.

“I imagine I’ll be going to church. I just wasn’t sure if our paths would cross. I hope they do.” She smiled, her lips tight.

Mildly encouraged, he turned to his sister. “Kaylene, go outside for a second, wouldja?”

After Kaylene left, Junior turned to Mary Kate. “I was just talking to Miriam about you.”

“You were?” She looked wary.

“
Jah
. Ah, Miriam and I have known each other for years. We’re friends. I understand you two are
gut
friends, too?”

“We are.” At last her expression eased into a friendly smile. “She’s a really nice woman. The best.”

Feeling a bit awkward since, of course, he hadn’t exactly been being the best of friends to Miriam, he said, “I told her that with you being fairly new here in Sugarcreek, I’d be happy to introduce you to some more folks.”

“That is kind of you, but I’m fairly busy.”

“Perhaps you’ll have a bit of time after church. A group of us gets together to catch up every Sunday. Maybe you’d like to join us?”

“I’m not sure if I’ll have time for that.”

“I hope you will. I mean, what can it hurt, right?”

When she looked down at her hands instead of answering, Junior finally got the message. She was eager for their conversation to be over. Gripping the brim of his straw hat, he took a step backward. “Well, I’ll be seeing you, then . . . ”

“
Jah
. Perhaps another day after school. Or on Sunday.”

“
Jah
. And thank you for helping Kaylene.”

“Your sister is a sweet girl,” she replied, her soft voice filling the room. “You don’t have to thank me for helping her. Besides, it’s my job,
jah?
”

He nodded, aching to say something else, but he was out of ideas.

At last, he turned and walked out to the front picnic table, where Kaylene was waiting for him. He stopped for a moment and injected a bit of false brightness into his voice. “So, are ya ready to go?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s go, then. Hand me your book bag and I’ll carry it.”

“You don’t have to do that, Junior.”

“Carrying book bags is what big brothers are for, Kay,” he said lightly. After she handed him the bag, he swung it on his shoulder, then started walking down the familiar path toward home.

Even when they were off the school grounds, his sister was still silent, only looking at her feet as they walked. Junior felt like he should say something. “Well, we took care of things with your teacher, didn’t we?”

She shrugged. After a few more steps, she said, “I sure wish I could read better, Junior.”

Her voice was wistful. Melancholy. “I know.”

“If I could read, then no one will make fun of me.”

His heart went out to her . . . just as another part of him was eager to stand up to all the children who were teasing his little sister and give them a piece of his mind. “I promise, I’m sure Mary Kate will help you. And if she can’t help ya, why, we’ve got a whole family to help you.”

“Everyone’s real busy.”

“They are, but everyone loves you, too. We can make time. Together, we will get you reading in no time.”

“Promise?” Hope shone in her eyes. Humbling him.

“Of course. And we both know that I never break my promises to you. Never.”

“Never ever,” she teased.

“That’s right. Never ever.”

She looked like she was about to say more, but spied Neil in the front yard with his beagle puppy, going through another lesson. “Look, there’s Neil! And Bud!”

She took off in front of him, scampering toward their nineteen-year-old brother who’d been born with a way with animals. At the moment, he was raising beagle pups and goats. The second Neil saw Kaylene, he and Bud bounded over to greet her.

Junior slowed his pace. Bud was barking and wagging his tail and Neil was bent over slightly, obviously listening to every bit of Kaylene’s report of her day.

There were so many in his family, but somehow they all did their best to make time for one another. He knew without a doubt that every one of them would spend hours helping Kaylene learn to read if that was what it took. At the moment, though, he didn’t have the heart to ask everyone to do one more thing. They each had their hands full with the farm and the house and jobs . . . and well, everything.

Besides, he’d decided long ago that he would bear the responsibility of tending to Kaylene’s needs.

Mary Kate had a whole class of students to look after. Though he was disappointed about her efforts so far, Junior knew he should give her another opportunity to do everything he’d hoped she would.

And if she didn’t? He supposed he would once again push aside his own interests and concentrate on Kaylene’s. One day, he knew, she would be grown up and wouldn’t need him to fight her battles anymore. But for now? She deserved the best he had.

Mary Kate waited a full twenty minutes after Kaylene and her brother left, then quickly got her things together and locked up. She had to get out of her classroom or she was going to feel like the walls were closing on her. Being in a one-room schoolhouse for eight hours could do that to a girl.

That said, she surely did not want to go straight home to her apartment. Things were too empty there. And quiet.

But, unfortunately, she had few other places in mind to go. Even though she’d been in Sugarcreek almost two months, she still felt as if she didn’t fit in.

She would have thought things would have been better by now.

So far, her only really good friend was Miriam Zehr. And though Miriam was wonderful, Mary Kate would have been lying if she said that she was used to having only one girlfriend.

Back in Millersburg, things had been a lot different. She’d been close to her parents and all of her friends. She always had a busy social calendar. Often, her mother would chide her for never making time for her chores. Or for not taking time to simply enjoy the day.

Now, she had too much time to do both.

The streets of Sugarcreek were busy. Kids were riding bikes and walking down the sidewalks. The ones from the English schools wore big backpacks heavy with textbooks. Mothers were walking with them, or window-shopping. Other men and women—both Amish and English—were darting in and out of buildings, obviously trying to get their errands done in an efficient way.

In the center of it all was the Grabers’ store. Mrs. Graber was standing in the doorway talking to some customers. When Mary Kate drew near, the lady motioned her over just as the customers departed.

“Good day to you, Mary Kate. How was your day at the school?”

“Eventful,” she replied with a smile.

“Kinner
have a way of keeping things bright and busy for sure.” She smiled, though the light didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“Is everything all right?”

“Me? Oh,
jah
.” After glancing into the doorway, she sat down on one of the rocking chairs that were displayed on the porch.

Mary Kate sat down, too. “Are you sure?”

“I apologize. It’s just that . . . well, we’re experiencing a bit of a hardship in our family. My daughter Judith just had a miscarriage, you see.”

“I am truly sorry.”

“Me, too,” Mrs. Graber said with a sigh. “Usually, I wouldn’t be mentioning such things, but I’m terribly worried about her.” She looked at her more closely. “And, if you don’t mind me saying so, there’s something about you that makes me think that maybe you’ve experienced hardship a time or two.”

“
Jah
. That is true. I’ve, ah, had my share of difficult times.” Mary Kate didn’t want to disclose what had happened to her in Millersburg. After all, she’d come to Sugarcreek to try to forget everything.

“Have your troubles passed?”

“For the most part.” Mary Kate had a feeling Mrs. Graber was looking for a bit of reassurance, for a way to remind herself that the troubles her daughter was facing would one day soon pass onto happier times.

For herself, Judith’s tragedy was a good reminder that she wasn’t the only person with pain in her past. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“What could you do?”

“Do you need help in the store? I could help out on the weekends if you’re shorthanded.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, but I think we’ll be all right. I’ve got a lot of
kinner
, you know. If we need help, I’ll ask them to lend a hand. But I do thank you for the offer, Mary Kate.”

After sharing a smile, they both stood up. “Well, I suppose I’d best get back inside. But thank you for visiting with me, dear. I feel better now that I got some of my worries off my chest.”

“I’m glad you trusted me. And don’t worry, I won’t mention this to a soul.”

Mrs. Graber looked at her shrewdly. “I never imagined you would, child. To me, you seem like the kind of girl who can keep a secret. Come back soon, Mary Kate. It’s just about caramel-apple season. Next time you stop by, we’ll save one for you.”

“Thank you. And don’t forget to ask me to work if you need help.”

“I won’t. You reminded me that it’s only right and good to ask for help. I sometimes forget that.”

“I sometimes forget that, too,” Mary Kate murmured to herself as she walked on. She felt lighter, too. It was amazing how offering to help another person was just what she needed to brighten her day.

She was still thinking about that when she noticed a few teenagers leaving the new ice cream store in town, The Sugarcreek Scoop. Making a decision, she walked in and ordered a cone.

Helping others definitely did brighten her day. But ice cream helped, too.

M
iriam had never liked working on Saturdays.

Beyond her obvious difficulty with getting up in the mornings, the Saturday morning crowd at the Sugarcreek Inn was rarely made up of locals or regulars. Instead, most of the customers were tourists, some who were eager to spend more than an hour enjoying a leisurely breakfast . . . and others who wanted their food as quickly as possible so they could explore Sugarcreek and shop. Miriam was constantly attempting to either encourage diners to depart a little faster . . . or to deliver food as quickly as a server at a fast-food restaurant.

The unevenness of it made her a little crazy.

However, to her consternation, she seemed to be the only one who minded the scattered weekend crowd. Mrs. Kent was always simply happy for the customers. And the other girls didn’t much care who they waited on, as long as they left a decent tip.

As she went to take the order of a man sitting by himself at one of the back tables, she paused. He seemed to be nervous, twiddling his thumbs, and glancing around in an uneasy manner.

As she strode over to his booth, she found herself curious. He was Amish, but she’d certainly never seen him around town. Clean-shaven and blessed with slightly wavy light brown hair and matching eyes, his posture was what set him apart, at least by her estimation. He was straight and tall. Almost regal-like. Or like a soldier, she decided.

Yes, he had a certain way about him.

“Do you know what you’d like for breakfast?” she asked a little hesitantly once she approached his table.

He pointed to the most popular choice on the menu, the Sugarcreek Inn Special. “I’ll take that.”

“What kind of eggs and toast?”

As he told her and she wrote it all down, she couldn’t help but notice that he was starting to look even more upset.

She liked to think that she could handle most anyone with ease. “Sir, are you all right?” she asked. “Is anything the matter?”

“What? Oh,
jah
. It’s just that I was looking for someone I thought would be here.”

Ah. Now it all made sense. “Did you need another menu? Or, would you like me to wait on your order?”

He looked like he was going to consider it for a time, but then abruptly shook his head. “I don’t think so.” His voice hardened. “I thought she would have walked by, but I guess I was wrong. I’ll go ahead and eat now.”

His anger, just brewing on the edge of his voice, brought back her slight sense of unease.

So much so, she was tempted to ask who he was looking for. But of course, that was none of her business. “I’ll be right back with your breakfast.”

He nodded before turning back to the window.

There was a story about this man, Miriam decided as she walked back to the kitchen. She hoped the woman he was waiting for showed up soon. She’d love to see what kind of woman would have a man like him on pins and needles.

After delivering another table’s breakfasts, the man’s order was ready. She picked up his plate in the kitchen, then approached him again. When she was about halfway across the restaurant, he turned and watched her approach.

His lips curved slightly when she placed the plate in front of him. “This looks delicious.”

She smiled back. “I hope you will enjoy it.”

“I bet I will.” When he caught her eye, his gaze warmed and some of his discontent seemed to lift. “What is your name?”

“My
nohma
?”

“
Jah
. I mean, you have no name badge.”

“It’s Miriam. I mean, I am Miriam.”

“Miriam, thanks for your smile. You’ve made a difficult morning a whole lot better.”

His direct stare brought her up a bit short. She was so used to being overlooked and, still smarting over Junior’s visit, her self-confidence had reached a new low.

She should be feeling pleased that a man as handsome as he was showing her any interest.

But there was something about him that made her wary. And because of that, she stepped backward, nodded politely, then turned away. Perhaps she was being silly. Perhaps her imagination was working overtime. Maybe he was nothing unusual.

But there was something about him that felt that way.

She spent the next half hour taking orders, bringing checks, and refreshing coffees. All the while, the stranger by the window ate methodically, most of the time staring out at the groups of pedestrians walking by.