Thankful (7 page)

“I'm certain of it. This is your family, after all. Everything is cause for commotion, discussion, and excitement.”

Thinking of the many big events . . . and the many more small ones that only felt big, Judith sighed. Usually, she didn't mind everyone's exuberance. She liked how their excitement made even the most mundane of things feel like something special.

But now, well, she wasn't sure that she herself was ready to be in the middle of a Graber family hurricane. “I fear you are right.”

Ben gripped her shoulder as he rapped twice on the door before turning the knob. “Chin up, Judith,” he whispered before guiding her inside.

“Who's here? Oh, Judith! And Ben?” Looking from one to the other, her mother's voice faltered a bit. As did her steps. “This is a surprise. Is . . . Is everything all right?”

After smiling softly at Ben, Judith said, “Mamm, we have something to tell you. Do you have time to talk?”

“Of course I do.” A line appeared between her brows as she gazed from Ben to Judith to Ben again. “What has happened?”

“Something exciting. And scary, too.”

“Scary, you say?”

“
Nee
, I mean . . . I mean. . . . Oh, I don't know what I mean.” Feeling tongue-tied and helpless, she turned to Ben. Silently pleading for his help.

He came to the rescue just as she'd hoped. “What my
frau
is trying to say is that we will be fostering a baby soon.”

“Soon? How soon?”

“He'll be arriving tomorrow morning.”

Her mother's eyebrows lifted so high, Judith almost feared they'd get lost in her hairline. But to her mother's credit, she simply smiled. “Well, now. Isn't that
gut
news? Come into the kitchen and tell us about it.”

Us?
Suddenly worried that her news was about to get sucked into the usual family whirlwind, Judith paused. “Who else is here?”

“You got lucky today, dear. There's only Clara, her babies, and Gretta. Everyone else is either working on the farm or at the store.”

Feeling chagrined, Judith said, “Mamm, you know me so well—it's almost as if you read my mind! I wasn't ready to have a big discussion with the whole family.”

“I don't need to read your mind to know that you'd like a little bit of privacy to share such an important bit of news,” she said as she led the way into the kitchen.

Once there, Judith and Ben greeted Gretta and Clara and their babies, who were either sitting in high chairs or playing on a quilt on the floor. After kissing the children and exchanging greetings and accepting cups of coffee, Judith sat by Ben's side and explained everything that had happened during the last twenty-four hours. “It all started with a visit from Bernie, our social worker,” she said.

Clara leaned forward. “And?”

“And she said there was a woman who had recently had a baby in prison.”

Gretta blinked. “The mother is in prison?”

Judith couldn't fault Gretta's look of shock. But it was funny, because she realized she was starting to take that in stride now. “The baby's name is James.”

The worried lines on her mother's forehead smoothed. “James, is it? Tell us more, dear.”

And so Judith did. She told her all about Bernie's visit telling them what it meant to be foster parents. She told them about her prayers the night before and their phone call that morning. Finally, she revealed that baby James would be arriving the very next morning.

As she expected, the other women's expressions flickered between amazement, sadness for the mother behind bars, and a mixture of joy and doubt as Judith explained what she knew about fostering.

And then pure shock.

“Tomorrow morning you say?” her mother asked.

To Judith's relief, Ben answered that one. “We didn't want to wait. And frankly, Bernie didn't want to wait any longer, either. That's why we're here. We need your help.”

For a few seconds, the only noise in the room was Clara's twins cooing to each other. Then, Gretta spoke. “I am mighty happy for you, Judith. What can I do?”

And wasn't that just like Gretta? Josh's wife was always quiet, always thoughtful. But most of all, she didn't spend a lot of time on dramatics. Instead, she always got to the heart of things. Her demeanor soothed Judith's nervous energy like little else could have.

“I need advice. And baby things. And . . . And I'm not even sure! I've helped babysit your
kinner
, but I fear that isn't the same thing.”

Clara and Gretta looked at each other and chuckled. “It is certainly not,” Clara said. “Oh, Judith, we are going to have a busy day!”

At last, her mother enfolded her in her arms and hugged her tightly. “But not to worry. We're going to get it all done.”

“You really think it's possible?”

“But of course! I promise, dear, you came to the right place. Now, let's make some lists and start sending our men to various houses to gather things.”

“You're simply going to send the men out on your errands?” Ben joked.

“Oh,
jah
,” her mother replied with a new gleam in her eye. “Here's my first command. Benjamin, go to the barn and tell Tim and Anson to come inside right this minute. We have work to do.”

“I'm on my way.” After squeezing Judith's hand, he left the kitchen like he'd just been given a vacation.

Once the door closed, her mother got out a pencil and paper and handed it to Judith. “Daughter, get ready. You're about to get more advice than you'll know what to do with.”

“I'm ready, Mamm.” Yes, she was more than ready for anything. She was sure of it.

chapter six

“Where did you hide your smile today?” Mrs. Kent asked Christina when she entered the Sugarcreek Inn the following morning. “I usually never see you without it.”

“I'm afraid I don't have too much to smile about this morning,” Christina said.

Looking concerned, Jana put down the menu she was wiping and walked to her side. “What's wrong? Is someone sick?”

“
Nee
. It's nothing like that.” Christina tried to smile, but she feared that instead of looking happy she looked more like she was heading to a funeral. “It's just been a challenging twenty-four hours.”

“Would you like to talk about it?” Jana gestured around the dining room. “We're not too busy, I'd be happy to listen.”

It was gestures like this that made her feel so blessed to be working at the Sugarcreek Inn. Sure, the work was hard, but Mrs. Kent truly did care about each of her employees.

But not even a kind heart and a willingness to listen were going to ease her worries. “
Danke
, but it's nothing too serious. I'm simply a little upset about something that's going on at home.” With effort, she shook off her mood. “I promise, I'll be better in a minute. I'm sorry for bringing my blue mood to work.”

“You don't need to apologize. I'm afraid I've given you all a share of my moods a time or two. Especially lately.”

All of the employees had been aware that their boss had been more impatient and grumpy than usual. Just the week before, Ruth had secretly grumbled that she was tempted to march into their boss's office and send her home for the day!

But Christina figured it would be best not to say a word about that. “So, what would you like me to do today? Dishes?” Ironically, she realized she wouldn't mind even if her boss wanted her to wash dishes all day. At least then she wouldn't have to say a word to anyone. If she was standing in front of the sink, she could stew to her heart's content.

“No dishes for you. Jolene is doing a great job with them. Actually, I scheduled you to be a server again today. How does that sound?”

Well, there was only one answer to that. “It sounds
gut
. I'll go put a white apron on.”

“Whatever it is that's bothering you, I hope it passes soon, dear.”

“
Danke
, Jana.” Realizing she was about to start crying yet again, Christina hurried to the kitchen. After quietly greeting Marla and Ruth, she slipped a white apron on and then headed back to the dining room.

Just in time to greet a table of four that Jana had just seated. “
Gut matin
,” she said politely. “May I bring you a cup of
kaffi
or some juice?”

“I'll take a cup,” a deep voice murmured.

She met the customer's gaze. And then nearly dropped her pencil. He had lovely eyes, dark green with faint flecks of gold in them. And those eyes were gazing at her in an appreciative way.

When she realized she had stared right back at him for a full second, she blurted, “Do you take cream?”

His expression remained solemn, as if she'd just asked him the most important question in the world. But then his lips turned up.
“Nee.”

To her amazement, her insides gave a little jump. And before she quite realized what she was about, she found herself smiling right back at him.

He chuckled. “I was wondering if you were ever going to smile.”

“I'm sorry. I . . . I'm distracted this mornin'.” Kind of like she was feeling distracted right at that moment.

“My wife and I would also like some
kaffi
, miss,” another man, who could only be the man's father, gently reminded her. “And my daughter would like some hot chocolate.”

Christina felt her cheeks flush. “Oh! Oh,
jah
. To be sure. I mean . . . all right. I mean, I'll be right back with a carafe. In a moment.”

The moment she turned around, she closed her eyes in mortification. She sounded as ditzy as a thirteen-year-old around her first crush! Stepping away, she made a point to breathe deeply and get her bearings.

When she returned moments later, she found herself meeting that man's gaze again as she poured his coffee. After also filling his parents' mugs, and delivering the girl's hot chocolate, and taking their orders. And yet again when she delivered their food.

Even when she was waiting on other tables, she found herself glancing his way. When the boy's mother raised her eyebrows at Christina, she felt herself blush. She surely was making a cake of herself. For sure and for certain!

She'd just brought dessert to a trio of English ladies who were visiting from Michigan when the family got up to leave.

Christina breathed a sigh of relief. It had been almost impossible to concentrate on anything while they'd been there. “
Danke
for coming in,” she said politely, just like Jana had taught her. “I hope you will come back soon.”

He stayed behind after his family filed out. “If I come back, will I have a good chance of seeing you?”

“You will if I'm working,” she teased.

“What days do you work?”

“Almost every day.”

A dimple appeared. “Which means?”

Though he was being a tad bit forward, she couldn't deny that she was flattered. “I work mornings on Monday through Thursday. Some Saturdays, too.”

“So, if I come in, and you happened to see me . . . Would you make time to talk to me?”

Christina gulped. Her sister Treva would have played hard to get. Her mother would have told her to ignore him completely. But she didn't have any desire to play games. “If you do come in, and I happen to see you . . . yes, I will talk to you,” she said with a small smile.

“I'll see you one day very soon, then.”

She nodded stupidly as she watched him leave, only realizing after he and his family left that she didn't even know his name.

And that for the first time in days, she'd hardly spared Aden Reese a thought.

“Who was that?” Jana asked as she walked to Christina's side. “He sure is cute.”

“I don't know.”

“Really? It looked like you two were chatting just a second ago.”

“We were. Um, he asked about my schedule, saying he planned to come in soon.” Impulsively, she said, “He said he wants to see me.”

Jana chuckled softly. “That would make any girl's day, I think. He was very handsome. And if you don't mind me saying so, it looked like he only had eyes for you.”

It certainly had felt like that. “He was nice.” Realizing she was standing there like a statue, she shook herself out of her reverie. “I'd best get busy.”

As she walked away, Christina wondered if the Lord had decided to shine on her a bit that morning. Here she'd been so upset, thinking about Aden leaving her. And so jealous, thinking that he'd found someone to court.

But maybe the Lord had brought this boy in the restaurant as a reminder that there were a lot of other men out there. A lot more fish in the sea, as her mother liked to say.

And if that was the case? Well, that was a mighty nice thing to remember. For sure and for certain.

A
s she walked back to her office, Jana couldn't help smiling. That Christina was as cute as a button. Seeing her shyly flirting with that young man made her think of younger days.

And how time flew.

Once in her office, she closed her door and leaned back in her chair. Almost at once, her eyes fastened on an old family photo, one they'd hired a professional photographer to take in front of their house.

Oh, but they'd all loved that house. She and Harrison had worked with a builder for two full years to get the Victorian design just right. It had a wraparound porch, a three-season room, and three fireplaces. The back of it faced the woods, offering her some valued privacy, but it also was nestled in the middle of a street, giving her four children plenty of friends to play with.

Those had been such happy years.

Then Harrison had gotten sick. Too soon after that, she'd been a widow with four teenagers.