Sarasota Dreams (45 page)

The women began to nod and mumble their agreement. “That’s an excellent idea, Melba,” Mrs. Penner said. “How about those little chocolate alligators? I bet they’d like some of those.”

As the women walked around the store, Ruthie caught them staring at her and whispering when they thought she wasn’t looking. If Papa had been here, she would’ve run to the office and closed the door.

Finally a couple of them brought some small items to the cash register. After she rang them up, she noticed that Mrs. Polk was the last one out the door. Before she left, she turned, smiled at Ruthie, thanked her for being so patient, and winked.

Charles and his father went straight home after working on the Glick farm. Mom was waiting in the kitchen, so Pop said he’d tell her about his day before washing up. Charles took his time showering and dressing in fresh jeans and a T-shirt. When he came out to the kitchen, he heard his parents laughing.

“What’s so funny?” he asked.

Pop looked back and forth between Charles and Mom. “Your mother’s new friends are on a mission to make her a mother-in-law.”

Charles sat down. “Oh yeah? Do I need to ask who the unlucky girl is?”

“Stop it, Charles. We’re talking about that sweet little Ruthie,” Mom explained. “After we finished our Bible lesson this morning, they asked me to stay for lunch. Since I’d taken a vacation day from work, I thought that sounded like an excellent idea. One thing led to another, and next thing I knew, we were going shopping.”

Charles knew it had been a long time since Mom had gone shopping, even though it used to be one of her favorite pastimes. “Did you buy anything?”

“Of course not.” She cast her gaze downward.

Pop laughed and gently nudged her. “Tell him what that shopping trip was really all about.”

“We went to one of the little souvenir shops in Pinecraft,” Mom said with a slight grin.

Charles raked his fingers through his hair. “What’s the big deal about going to a souvenir shop?” His mind raced to find a connection.

“Tell him who you saw,” urged Pop.

“Oh that’s right. Doesn’t Ruthie Kauffman’s family own a souvenir shop?”

“Yes,” Mom said, “apparently so.”

I
heard you had some interesting visitors today,” Mother said as she and Ruthie sat down for tea.

Ruthie looked down at the table, not wanting to look her mother in the eye. “Ya, some of the church ladies stopped by for souvenirs.”

Mother laughed. “All this time living in Sarasota and suddenly they want souvenirs. Sarah Penner could have come up with something better than that.”

“Business was slow today,” Ruthie said to change the subject. “But Saturday’s receipts were high.”

“That’s good,” Mother said as she lifted her teacup to her lips. “What did you and the … church ladies talk about?”

Ruthie shrugged. “Not much. They were looking for things for their grandkids.”

“I heard Lori Polk was with them.”

“Ya.” Ruthie set her cup in the saucer and leaned back, ready for the barrage of questions Mother would surely ask.

“She seems like a nice woman.”

When no questions followed, Ruthie looked directly at her mother. “Very nice.”

“Good. I’m happy we’re attracting nice people to the fold. It would be difficult if someone with a bad disposition wanted to join our church.” Mother stood up, carried her teacup and saucer to the sink, and turned around to face Ruthie. “If you want to see Charles outside of church, your father and I have decided we are okay with it, as long as you let us know everything.”

That was such an unexpected comment that Ruthie nearly dropped her teacup. “I never asked to see Charles.”

Mother smiled. “Not yet, but I suspect you will soon.”

“I—I don’t know what to say to him.”

“Ruthie, I know how difficult it is for you to talk to people you don’t know well—particularly men—but you need to get over that.”

“I tried once with Abe,” she reminded Mother. “And look how that turned out.”

“Did it turn out bad?”

“He wasn’t interested in me, remember?”

Mother sat back down, leaned toward Ruthie, and took her hands. “That doesn’t make it bad. He was already interested in Mary at the time. You and Abe are friends now, right?”

Ruthie nodded. Yes, they were friends, but she still felt awkward around him.

“Don’t let one setback determine your future. Remember that the Lord is always with you.”

“I know that.” Ruthie let go of Mother’s hands and wrapped them around her teacup. “Maybe I’ll talk to him next week at church.”

Mother tightened her lips as she always did when she wasn’t sure whether or not to say what was on her mind. Ruthie braced herself for whatever might come next.

“I hear he’s talking about taking you to the circus.”

Ruthie’s jaw dropped. “The circus? Why?”

Mother shrugged. “He told his father he might ask you to the circus. His father asked one of the men at the church if that would be acceptable.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he thinks there might be something the Mennonite faith would object to.” Mother smiled. “I think it is very nice that he’d be so concerned. It shows his diligence and desire to do the right thing.”

More than anything, it showed Ruthie another reason to be nervous around Charles Polk. She’d never been on a real date, and she’d never even had the desire to go to the circus, even though it was in Sarasota.

“Your papa thinks it would be a good place to go with Charles since you can go during the day and there will be plenty of people around.”

Ruthie thought about it and agreed that going to the circus would be a safe date option—that is, if she ever went on a date with Charles.

Charles had classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so he got to sleep an extra hour on those days since he didn’t have to report to the farm. At first he needed that extra hour after long days of manual labor. But he was used to it now. Sometimes it was difficult to stay in bed after getting into the habit of waking so early.

Mom had already gone to work, but she’d left a note on the counter letting him know his lunch was packed and in the refrigerator. He smiled as he grabbed it and dropped it into his backpack. When he first started packing his lunch, he missed the fast food he used to grab every day. Now he looked forward to a healthier meal—generally leftovers from dinner the night before.

That wasn’t all that had changed in the Polk family. Until Pop lost his job, the family had three cars. It cost too much to maintain all of them, so they sold two of them and let Mom drive to work. Charles took the city bus to class. He and Pop got rides to the Glick farm with David, an acquaintance of Pop’s and the man who told them about Abe needing workers. Charles never would have considered being without his own wheels in the past, but now that he didn’t have them, he actually liked not having the burden. Cars were expensive to maintain, and it wasn’t always easy finding a parking place. As long as the buses ran in Sarasota, he could get to just about any place he wanted to go in town.

Charles had a tough time concentrating on the professor’s lecture during economics class. His mind kept replaying his conversation with Ruthie Kauffman at church. He’d had a few dates in the past, but being the class clown had put him in the position of being more of a friend than a romantic interest in girls’ minds. Even on his dates, the girls had expected him to make them laugh. As much as he once thought he’d enjoy performing, he was tired of it.

After lunch he had two more classes before heading back home. And since he’d agreed to work for Abe on Friday and Jeremiah on Saturday, he needed to get his studying out of the way.

Charles had to walk a quarter of a mile home from the bus stop. Both of his parents were still at work, so he took advantage of having the house to himself. The aroma of the stew Mom had started in the Crock-Pot this morning teased his taste buds. He rummaged through the nearly bare pantry until he found a forgotten box of crackers shoved to the far corner. He pulled one cracker out, nibbled a corner, and then tossed the box into the trash when he realized it was stale.

He put on a CD and cranked up the music before settling down at the kitchen table to study. It didn’t take long until the shrill music grated his nerves. Strange how that happened after being in the midst of the calmness in the Mennonite church.

He’d barely closed his book when Mom called his cell phone. “I have to stop off at Publix on my way home. Need anything?”

“We’re out of milk.”

“It’s on my list. Anything else?”

Charles wanted to tell her to bring home some junk food, and lots of it, but he knew how tight the budget was. “That’s all. Dinner smells good, Mom.”

“I hope the stew tastes good. I bought some cheap meat on sale, and I’m hoping the slow cooker will at least tenderize it.”

“I’m sure it’ll be just fine.” Charles knew how much their financial situation had devastated his parents, but at least they were still together. He knew other couples in their situation who’d split when times got tough.

“Have you called Stan about getting circus tickets?”

“Not yet,” Charles replied. “But I will soon.”

“Don’t wait too long. After he runs out of promotional tickets, that’s it. Remember what happened last year?”

“Yes, I had to buy my tickets.” That totally wasn’t an option this year with money being so tight.

“I’m pulling into the Publix parking lot now. I won’t be too long.”

After Charles clicked O
FF
, he thought about calling Stan Portfield, one of the clowns who’d worked with him at clown camp. The man had connections with Circus Sarasota and the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey troupes, so he could score tickets for almost any show. But as Mom had mentioned, there wasn’t an unlimited supply.

He stood and started pacing as he scrolled through his phone list and found Stan’s number then punched C
ALL
. Stan answered with his standard, “Wanna hear something funny?”

Charles and Stan chatted for a few minutes before Stan asked if he needed anything. “Do you have any Circus Sarasota tickets left for one of the shows at Ringling?”

“Of course I do. How many do you need?”

“Two.” Charles paused before adding, “Is there any chance of getting a weekend show?”

“Yup, I have two weekend matinee tickets left. Meet me at our usual place tomorrow afternoon, and I’ll buy you a cup of coffee.”

“Um …” Charles hesitated before blurting, “I have to work tomorrow.”

“I wanna give you these tickets, but you know how fast they go. I have lots of friends, and I can’t very well tell them I don’t have tickets when I do. First come, first serve, ya know.”

“Yes, I know.” Charles’s shoulders sagged as he thought about his options. “Can we meet somewhere tonight?”

“Nope. I promised the hospital I’d be there for a kids’ show. Wanna come? We can go out for pie and coffee afterward, like old times.”

“Sorry, I can’t.”

“In that case, you better figure out a way to meet me tomorrow, or I can pretty much guarantee they’ll be gone.”

“Um … I’ll try to meet you tomorrow afternoon. What time?”

“Are you out of class by two?”

“All my classes are on Tuesday and Thursday, so I should be able to make it at two.”

“Good. See you then.”

Charles punched
Off
then leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. He sat there staring at the blank screen on his phone wondering what to do next. He knew how important responsibility was to Abe, but he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get free tickets to the circus.

The instant that thought flickered through his mind, he realized how ridiculous it was. The circus was fleeting while Abe’s impression of him would last. Without standing up, he scrolled his list again and punched Stan’s number. This time Stan didn’t pick up. He didn’t bother leaving a voice mail because he’d learned years ago that Stan never bothered checking messages. “If someone has something important to tell me, they’ll call back,” he’d said.

Charles tried Stan’s number several times but to no avail. When his parents got home, they were so eager to talk about their days at work, they didn’t even notice his silence until after dinner. He and Pop were putting away the food when he got the nerve to ask the question that had been bugging him.