Second Chances (26 page)

The market was not busy for a Saturday, and the boys ran ahead to look at the candy
section. Anna had promised them each one piece if they would behave, the reward
carrying enough weight so that they'd followed through on their commitment to do
so. She pushed the cart down the narrow aisles, pausing to kneel down and examine
a large bottle of aloe vera water. With colder weather upon them, a daily dose of
the liquid would help ward off colds and the flu, so she picked one and started to
stand up.

A man stood behind her, reaching for something on the top shelf. When Anna turned
around, she knocked into him and, startled, dropped the plastic container.

“Oh, help!” she muttered, kneeling once again to retrieve it. Thankfully the plastic
had not cracked.

He too had knelt down to fetch the container and, upon doing so, their hands touched,
ever so briefly.

Anna stood up again and took a step backward. “I'm sorry,” she said softly, her eyes
downcast as the color flooded to her cheeks.

He remained silent for a moment, his eyes studying her. And then he broke out with
a smile. “Cousin Anna?”

Lifting her eyes, she tried to recognize his face. While not as striking as Freman,
the young man was handsome in a more cherubic way with straight blond hair, cut in
a simple manner across his forehead, and dark brown chestnut-shaped eyes. His skin
was tanned, most likely indicating that he was a farmer. While, like most Amish people,
she had plenty of cousins, this was one that she did not know. “Are we familiar .
. . ?”

He extended his hand, and when she reluctantly accepted it, he grinned. “Cousin Willis
at your service.” He bowed, just slightly, an awkward motion that embarrassed her
enough to be thankful that the store was empty. “I'd recognize you anywhere. You
bear a great resemblance to your mother.”

She gasped. “I do?”

He laughed at her reaction. There was something contagious about his happy-go-lucky
attitude. “Oh,
ja
! I met her twice before she passed away. I reckon you don't remember
that family gathering?”

Immediately, she knew which reunion he referenced, for it had been just months before
her mother had died. Certainly her mother must have impressed this Willis Eicher
more than he impressed Anna, for she did not recognize him at all. Her manners,
however, dictated that
she not admit as much to him. Instead, she changed the subject.

“I had heard that you were coming here from Florida,” she said. “Is that where you
live now?”

He shook his head. “
Nee
, I was just visiting my parents. They too have recently moved
down there, you see.”

Anna nodded. It was increasingly popular for older Amish couples to purchase small
houses in the Pinecraft community, mirroring the
Englische
trend of retirees from
the northern states moving down south in search of a better climate. Many people
only stayed there during the harsh winter months, migrating south like the robins
and finches. That was why her grandparents had originally purchased the house. Other
Amish, however, were finding the climate and activities in Florida more to their
liking and stayed there year-round. Without having to tend to horses, farms, or other
responsibilities, their time was freed to attend Bible study, visit friends, or simply
sit outdoors and enjoy the year-round sunshine. And most everything was just a battery-operated
golf cart ride away, a far simpler mode of transportation than having to hitch up
a horse to a buggy every time an errand was required.

At least she finally understood how the reunion between her father and Willis had
occurred. With the community being so small, it would have been hard, if not impossible,
for the two men not to encounter each other . . . whether at church or at a store
or even walking down the street! And, of course, neither her father nor Elizabeth
would have wanted anyone to question the reasons behind their dislike for a member
of their own family. Reconciliation was the logical answer in order to avoid uncomfortable
situations that might result in unwanted speculation.

And, of course, with Willis being a widower without any offspring, he certainly would
be keen to remarry. Rekindling the relationship with Elizabeth was, no doubt, an
easy progression for him on his journey to find a new wife and rebuild his life.
However, Anna wondered how he could rekindle such a relationship if he was standing
here, in a store located in Ohio.

A moment of awkward silence fell between them. Despite being related, distantly at
that, Anna realized that they were, in fact, complete strangers.

“I suppose you have heard from your father, then?”

His question interrupted her private thoughts. She flushed, too embarrassed to admit
that he had not written to her personally. “I hear he's doing well,” she finally
settled upon as a response, figuring it was not a misleading statement. After all,
hadn't Salome received a letter just that week?

“Indeed he is! And your
schwester
, Elizabeth too.” He chuckled at the memory. “It
was quite surprising to run into them.”

Anna could only imagine. After so many years of
Daed
insisting they have nothing
to do with Willis, something must have transpired to change his mind.

As if reading her thoughts, Willis continued. “Her friend, Martha, invited my parents
and me to supper after church one day. It was
wunderbarr
to reconnect with your family.
I would like to hope we have moved past our differences, for we parted on friendly
terms.”

“So Elizabeth wrote,” Anna admitted. Another awkward silence fell between the two
of them. She had never been one to speak for the mere sake of idle conversation.
Now, however, she felt the pressure to do so. According
to Elizabeth's letter to
Salome, Willis might, after all, become her brother-in-law soon. “I hear you are
visiting your
aendi
and checking on
Daed
's property,” she managed to say.

He nodded. “
Ja
, I am. And I heard you were tending to cousin Mary's two boys.”

She glanced at the floor, feeling uncomfortable in his steady gaze. While he seemed
pleasant enough, she wasn't used to engaging in casual exchanges with people she
didn't know. And given his history with the family, she wasn't certain what else
to say to him. “Speaking of the boys, I best go find them.” She started to back away,
adding, “It was nice to run into you, Willis.”

His response was a simple smile and wave of his hand.

She hesitated and then waved back before turning around to continue walking down
the aisle. At the end she glanced back and, to her surprise, saw him still standing
there, watching her. The color rose to her cheeks and she hurried away, uncertain
whether she was more eager to find Cris Junior and Walter or to simply get away from
Willis.

Chapter Fifteen

T
HE SHOUTS COMING
from the direction of the Mussers' house startled Anna.

After a long weekend, an off-Sunday when they did not have a worship service to attend,
then several days of watching the boys, Anna was enjoying her Wednesday morning working
in Mary's garden. Salome and Hannah were entertaining the boys, giving Anna a welcome
respite. The chill in the air that morning warned of the upcoming winter quickly
approaching, and she wanted to enjoy as much time as she could outdoors, basking
in the afternoon sun. Soon the weather would change and the joy of outdoor work
would be dampened by the need for heavy coats, mittens, and scarves.

Mary's garden was smaller than the one at the Charm house. It was also not as well
tended. With a heavy rake Anna removed the dead remnants of plants and weeds. Once
it was cleaned and raked nicely, she would cover the dirt with a fine layer of straw,
a way of protecting the soil for the winter as well as creating fodder for next year's
garden.

Just moments before, she had paused to watch as Hannah raced little Cris to the mailbox,
Walter's smaller
legs leaving him too far behind to be in the race. Knowing that
he'd lose, he lost interest and disappeared into the barn to climb the rafters and
jump on the hay bales, a favorite pastime that he wasn't allowed to do when his mother
was home but that Anna willingly permitted. She too had fond memories of playing
in her father's hayloft when she was a child, although theirs had been much smaller
than the Mussers'.

While Anna had watched Hannah and Cris's race on their way to the end of the driveway,
her back had been toward them when they returned to the house with the day's mail
in their hands. A thick vine had caught her attention, and using the rake as leverage,
she had bent over to give it a strong tug.

The moment it broke free from the soil was the moment that she heard the shouts coming
from the house. With the wind blowing in her direction, the loud noise of the commotion
carried on the breeze.

Quickly Anna stood up, leaning against the rake's handle as she tried to ascertain
whether the shouts were from joy or despair. Her heart beat rapidly and she had to
take several deep breaths to calm her nerves. It had been over a week since Leah's
accident. While Cris had called a few times, updating the family on her recovery,
not one letter had arrived from Mary since Hannah and Anna returned.

With Leah on the mend, a letter was certainly expected, if for no other reason than
to provide details about when they would all be arriving home. For that reason, Anna
doubted that a letter had arrived with bad news. Certainly, if something had happened,
Cris would have called.

Ruling out bad news, there was only one conclusion that came to mind: the contents
of the letter surely must contain news that would be happily received by everyone
. . . everyone, that is, except for Anna. And that surely meant that a wedding had
been announced.

Regaining her composure, she set down the rake on the side of the garden and dusted
off her hands on her dirty apron. She took one last breath as she prepared herself
to hear the unimaginable. Over the past eight years, she had wondered about his life
and where he had settled. In the quiet of her room, she had shed many tears when
she thought of him happily settled with a wife and children. Upon his return to
Holmes County, when she had learned that he never married, the gratification she
felt could never be described.

Now she wondered at the irony of those feelings. Would it not be better if Freman
had married a woman who was not so entwined with her own family?

Heading toward the house, she tried to steady her nerves for what she imagined was
the inevitable announcement that Leah had written a letter announcing her betrothal
to Freman. Anna's emotions ranged from happiness for Leah, a young woman who deserved
a fine husband, to despair over the realization that, at last and without doubt,
he loved another.

Stepping into the house, she let her eyes adjust to the dim light and looked toward
the sitting area. Salome sat on the sofa, tears streaming down her face as she held
the open letter in her hands. Hannah sat beside her, gently rubbing her mother's
back as she consoled her.

“
Wie gehts
?”

Salome sobbed and waved the letter in the air.

A wave of relief washed over Anna, quickly followed by guilt. Clearly something awful
had happened, something that had nothing to do with a wedding. How could she be so
selfish as to secretly hope that the news would not be about Leah and Freman?
For
shame
, she scolded herself as she hurried to Salome's side.

“Oh, mercy,” she whispered. “What awful thing has happened?”

However, Hannah's next words proved her suspicions wrong.

“Leah is to wed and will be moving away,” she said to Anna, tears in her eyes.