Something Old (10 page)

Afterward, she’d slapped him. He’d stepped back, stunned. She’d yelled at him to stay away. And crying, she’d left him standing in the parking lot, staring after her. Honoring her demand, he had never returned to church.

She’d felt ashamed and violated. Yet now that time had passed, she also felt guilty. She worried that if he never returned to the church, it was her fault. Mennonites were supposed to be nonresistant and forgiving. But she didn’t know how to do that when her heart felt so broken. When the man she loved had treated her with such disrespect.

And now he was back? She felt like the unknown would choke her. She slapped her brush down hard on the dresser.

Karen lowered her book. “What’s the matter with you tonight?”

“It’s just been a hard day.”

“What are those kids like?”

Drawing back the quilt, Katy climbed in bed. “They squabble a lot.”

“That’s normal.” Karen clicked off the lamp.

The image of the older girls dancing flashed in Katy’s mind, chased by a Bible verse in 2 Kings: “They followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the L
ORD
had charged them, that they should not do like them.”

S
omehow, Katy survived the rest of her week without any major setbacks. She had cleaned under Tyler’s cluttered bed again so that he could find his BB gun, and she had glued the plastic palm trees to the artificial turf for his science project without getting called a pilgrim. Tammy had kept her word so that Katy hadn’t had to enter Addison’s dance studio. Katy also survived Sean Brooks. He’d been polite and had even surprised her by seeking out the children instead of the beverage shelf of his refrigerator. To her further astonishment, he’d acted much like her own father might with her siblings, tossing Addison in the air and tussling with Tyler.

On Friday morning, she’d gone to work her half day for Mrs. Cline at the Plain City retirement home, where her most challenging job had been changing the ceiling fan’s lightbulbs without falling off the rickety ladder.

“I’m sure it was as old as its employer,” Katy now joked to her family over the noonday meal, but nobody laughed because their attention was riveted upon Lil’s unexpected appearance. Katy noticed that Lil had a glint in her eyes that warned of trouble.

“Hi, second fam.” Lil scooted into a vacant chair.

“Hi Lil. What’s cookin'?” Katy’s dad asked, as he had every time he’d seen her since she’d started culinary school.

“Fix yourself a plate,” Katy’s mom invited.

“Thanks but I already ate. Baked a cake to celebrate.” She removed the plastic cover to reveal a double-layer chocolate cake, one of Vernon Yoder’s favorites. “Just thought I’d drop by the bids for the doddy house.”

At her offhanded announcement, Katy’s heart flip-flopped. In spirit, she shook Lil for not showing her the bid first. Sometimes Lil didn’t have an iota of common sense.

Lil must have read her mind, for she winked at her. Her impetuous friend, as always, seemed in full control of the situation. Lil knew the sum of Katy’s savings account as well as she did, so the bid must be reasonable. Still, as owner of that savings account, shouldn’t Katy have had the first say in the matter? Then again, Lil had been smart enough to catch her father resting with a full belly.

Katy jumped up and looked over her dad’s shoulder. She was unable to mask her widening smile as he shuffled through the paperwork. It was a surprisingly low bid. “We can handle that, Dad.” Katy moved back beside Lil to watch his expression as he silently read through the contract again, more meticulously the second time.

Lil’s hand clutched hers, and Katy squeezed, perhaps loving her friend more fiercely than ever before.

Her dad tapped the papers on the table, straightening their edges, and handed them back to Lil. “I hate to see the way the world is changing. Now more than ever, you need to learn responsibility. But I have to wonder if this venture will take away from your purpose in life.”

“What purpose?” Katy asked, before Lil could blurt out that her purpose was to become a famous chef.

“Marrying and raising a family.”

Of course. That purpose. Katy wet her lips. “We hope to someday marry, but we don’t even have prospects.” She saw her dad’s brows arch and had to backpedal, “Oh. There’s David. But you know what I mean.”

“He’s a nice young man,” her mom interjected. Suddenly Katy wondered how her mom knew that.

Then her dad went on. “It pleases me that you both have jobs that are preparing you for marriage. You cook and clean and babysit. Suitable occupations for single Mennonite girls.” Then he pointed his carpenter-rough finger at them. “You are both good catches. And Megan, she’s a good girl, too.”

Katy felt Lil tense and hoped she wouldn’t blurt out an objection. Lil hated any hint of female suppression or submission; in fact they often joked about the
S
word even if it was a major part of their beliefs. Women were supposed to respect their husbands and allow them to be heads of the household. Many times, that wasn’t practiced, but the principle had been ingrained into Katy growing up in the Mennonite culture. Now she increased her pressure on Lil’s hand, hoping her friend would exert some of that self-control that allowed her to fast for a day at the onset of every new diet and to adhere to a regimented exercise program.

“I needed to get some saw blades sharpened today anyways, so I’ll stop by and have that chat with Ivan Miller on my way home. See if we can seal this deal. Now let’s cut that cake. You know it’s one of my favorites.”

Early the next week, Katy slid into the ripped seat of Lil’s Chevy Blazer, unconsciously poking the stuffing back into place so that it didn’t stick to her dark, freshly pressed skirt. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

“I know. What do you think I should save up for first? A new car or one of those commercial stoves like they had at school?”

“I wish we could’ve bought one of those, but—”

Lil reached over and patted her hand. “Oh stop. I’m just dreaming out loud. But someday I will have both of those. You wait and see.”

Katy wondered if Lil would ever realize her dreams, for they weren’t normal dreams for girls who were born and raised in the Conservative Church. Must have been some other blood in her family line somewhere, too, she mused, thinking of her own Spanish ancestor. Beside her, Lil rambled on while Katy painted her own fantasy of whipping the house into order, clean and inviting, making it a place where she would be proud to—

Her thoughts jarred to a stop. Pride was the sin of the devil. But Mennonites did take pride in the work of their hands. The irony of the plain people had never occurred to her before. Everyone knew the Mennonites were hard workers and honest. They bragged about it among themselves. She tickled the inside of her mouth with her tongue, looking for a different word that would describe her feelings, one that would be acceptable. Responsible? A good steward? That worked.

When they pulled into the Millers’ farm, Lil drove to the back of the property and parked in front of the doddy house. For the first time, Katy realized there wasn’t any garage or barn to park the car inside. That would be cold in the mornings. Why, she’d have to scrape frost off her windshield. She supposed there were worse things. Next she noticed a truck that resembled Jake’s. Lil started to open her door, but Katy reached over. “Wait.”

“What?” Lil seemed impatient to go inside.

But the truck reminded Katy that Lil had been avoiding the subject of Jake’s sudden appearance. “That looks like Jake’s truck.”

Lil rolled her gaze heavenward. “You want to sit here and talk about Jake? Or do you want to go inside and see our dream coming true?”

“It’s just…you’ve never answered my question about Jake. I saw you talking to him at the skating party. I just want to know why he was there. Did you invite him?”

Lil closed her door again and fiddled with her gearshift. “Okay, here’s what I know. He’s moved back home. He’s coming back to the church. But the important thing is he’s changed. He doesn’t drink anymore or chase girls. He’s over all that wild stuff.” She shrugged. “He’s changed, and actually he’s an improved model from the old one. You’ll see.”

Kate absorbed Lil’s flippant explanation with shock. She released a moan. “No way. He’s not back to stay?”

“Yep.”

“But I can’t face him week after week.”

“He told me he’s really sorry for hurting you.”

“That’s so humiliating. I hope you never told him how I moped over him.”

“If it’s humiliating, he’s the one who’s ashamed. He regrets his wild fling. He’s the one who feels foolish. Just keep your chin up. Take it one step at a time. Now, let’s go inside. I’ve got my list. We need to double-check everything and then go shopping.” Lil let out a squeal and bumped her shoulder against Katy’s. “Shopping for our own place. Can you believe it?”

Giving in to Lil’s coaxing, Katy couldn’t help but grin back. “Alright. Let’s do it.”

She slid out and slammed the door, her boots squishing through the slush caused by several days of higher temperatures. She cast another sideways glance at the truck. If Mennonites swore, she’d swear that was Jake’s truck. According to Lil, she was mistaken. Still, the truck brought out a melancholy longing in her, one that gnawed at the pit of her stomach so that her excitement over shopping receded again.

When they entered the house, she heard loud ripping and pounding noises. She stepped onto the plastic flooring protection and started toward the kitchen. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”

Lil stopped and bent to reposition some tape and a portion of the plastic. “I think he’s tearing out the plaster and replacing it with drywall. Go on, I’ll be there in a minute.”

With a shrug, Katy stepped into the country-style kitchen onto more plastic flooring, and saw the backside of a man whose physique made her heart trip before her mind understood the reason. The air between them crackled. The worker must have felt it, too, for he froze, then turned.

His mouth curled into a lopsided grin. “Hey, Katy. You’ve got a great little place here.”

Confused, horrified, and standing in disbelief, she opened her mouth and closed it again. But she could not deny the truth for more than a few seconds. With it came a sudden fury, and she marched forward to throw him out on his ear, or at least demand to know why he was invading her privacy.

“What—” She stopped.
He
was the contractor Lil had hired. She fought for control, not wanting to humiliate herself any further. She wouldn’t show him she still cared about him. “I think so.” She took a deep breath and coughed, and in the process, accidentally sucked plaster and drywall dust into her throat. She fought the tickle, then got saliva down the wrong track and choked uncontrollably.

Jake moved quickly. He cradled his arm around her and led her to the water pump. Her coughing caused her eyes to water so that she could hardly see, but she soon caught on that the water was frozen. Blindly, she fanned her face and struggled to breathe, coughing and gasping. He left her but quickly returned with a cup of water from his personal water jug. She took a sip, and he lightly rapped her back. When at last she could breathe again, she wheezed, “Stop, please.”

“I should have warned you about the dust. Lethal stuff.”

“Yeah, lethal,” she croaked. Then grudgingly added, “Thanks.”

He nodded, and her vision returned enough for her to catch a rare moment when Jake looked uncertain, even vulnerable. But that wouldn’t stop her from demanding that Lil fire him. His lips moved as if to speak. Fearing what he might say, certain it would be something personal, she blurted out, “I wish you hadn’t come back.”

He quickly recovered from her insult. “I wish I’d never left.”

Katy rolled her gaze heavenward.

“I couldn’t forget you,” he added.

She felt uncomfortable in his presence and wanted nothing more than to run. But before she did, she needed to fix something that had plagued her ever since the incident. This time she didn’t want to have those nagging regrets. She took another deep breath, careful not to inhale drywall dust. “You remember the night I told you to stay away?”

His eyes softened regrettably. “Yes, I remember. Even though I was drunk. And I want to apologize for that night.”

The memories of the incident flooded over Katy, hardening her heart. But she forced herself to continue. “I’ve felt guilty, thinking my words kept you away from the church.”

“I understood it was personal.” He grinned, sheepishly. “I didn’t think you had the authority of the elders behind you.”

She felt her face heat, glad the elders hadn’t witnessed that incident, even though she wasn’t the one at fault. “As long as you understand that I don’t want you to go to hell, I just…don’t want you.”

His brows lowered, creating a dark hood over his eyes as though to shield himself from her cruel remark. A heavy silence loomed between them. Then his mouth quirked to the side, and he grinned. Before, his smile had always charmed her whenever he needed forgiveness. But then his misdeeds were only playful. Still, she had to fight to resist it. Her own lip trembled, and she pulled her gaze back to his eyes. They pierced, searched her blushing face.