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Katie looked up at the sound of her name and was surprised to see Gwen looking down at her. The last thing she expected to see at the library was one of the Davis children.
Travis must not have said anything about the singing to their mother, or Gwen would most likely not have been allowed to be out and about town.
“Hey Katie. What are you doing here?”
“I am looking for recipes.”
The young girl's expression changed—into one full of mystery and intrigue.
“Ooh. For my brother?”
Katie let out a small sigh before answering. “Nee, they are for Freida, my freind at the bakery.”
“Oh.” Gwen's expression changed then—to one of something more than simple disappointment.
I must tread carefully here.
After Gwen had insisted that Travis drive Katie home the night of the singing, and that Katie sit up front with him, it had not taken long for Katie to realize that Gwen was entertaining—perhaps even encouraging—romantic ideas about how Travis felt about her.
Katie, on the other hand, was trying to convince herself that his feelings—and hers—stopped at friendship.
She was fairly certain Travis had done nothing to encourage his little schweschder's ideas, but Gwen was obviously on a mission.
“What brings you to the library today, Gwen?”
“I'm just looking for some new books to read.”
Ah, so those books in the front room of their house must be hers. Katie remembered seeing the many shelves filled to bursting with books on her visits to the Davis house.
Since the remainder of the family gathered in the den at the back of the house, she had wondered if the bookcases that were simply overflowing might have actually belonged to their dat, especially since she had never seen any of them with a book in their hands or setting beside them—as though they'd just put it down.
“What type of books do you like to read?”
The girl's eyes lit up at the question. “I like to read almost anything. Mysteries, science fiction, fantasy... romance...”
Katie noticed how her voice lowered as she said the last two words, as if she was expecting a reprimand.
“I suppose I am mighty boring by comparison. I mostly like to read cookbooks.”
Gwen's head came up in obvious surprise. “But you're such a wonderful baker. Why would you need to read cookbooks?”
“Ah,” She held up a finger for emphasis. “Perhaps that is because I read so many cookbooks. Reading about how others put together new recipes helps me to make fewer mistakes when I am creating my own recipes.”
“I had not thought of that.”
“Anything I bake... or read about... helps me to learn how to create new recipes to tempt and delight those who try them.” Katie bit her lip, trying to think of a gut example to give her young freind.
“If you think about it, it is much like math. First, you learn to add and subtract, making multiplication and division much easier to learn and understand. With baking—or cooking—you start out with basic recipes, then add different ingredients, making the food much more interesting and tasty.”
“I'm pretty good at math. I haven't had much of a chance to cook much, but I'm learning. Can you teach me how to make a cake?”
“Jah, I can. Last week I made a special cake for the Mayor and his wife; it was three layers, with orange and lemon flavoring in the cake—and in the frosting. The Mayor himself stopped by the bakery to tell Mrs. Simpkins how much their guests enjoyed it.”
“Oh, wow! I bet you were pretty excited and proud of what you had created.”
“Plain people do not seek hochmut—pride. It would not be pleasing to Gott.”
“Honestly, I don't know if I would want to be Amish... you guys have too many rules.”
“Jah, that is what most Englischers believe, but we believe it makes life easier. When you have no rules, how do you decide what is the right thing to do?”
“Well, most people just do whatever they want to do.”
“Jah, but sometimes that makes more trouble for everyone. Are you not happier when you follow the rules your mamm tells you to follow?”
“I guess so.” She looked down, a telltale pink stain spreading across her cheeks and neck.
Clearly she was thinking of the rules she had disobeyed the night of the singing.
After a moment, Gwen looked back up at Katie. The blush was fading and a look of mischief was back in the young maedel's eyes.
“Even if I don't want to be Amish, I really like the Amish people I have met. I don't know what we would have done last year if so many people hadn't brought us food and other supplies. And they helped in other ways, too.”
Gwen looked up at the big clock on the wall. “Speaking of rules, I have to get home. I don't want to be late and worry my mom. I'll see ya later.”
And before Katie could say anything, Gwen was rushing out of the library.
* * *
Katie walked back to work, wondering how she might help Gwen. It would be difficult for her at home with four bruders and no schweschders.
Katie had two younger schweschders, but she was blessed with many freinden her own age that she could talk to and confide in. She almost laughed out loud when Freida came running out to meet her on the sidewalk.
“Katie, I am glad you returned early from lunch. Mrs. Simpkins asked me to watch out for you. She wants to talk to both of us right away.”
“Did she say what she wanted to speak to us about?”
“Nee, she just said it was important and for me to watch for you and us to come back to her office as soon as you got back.”
“I guess we should go on back now then, jah?”
But before they walked into the kitchen, Mrs. Simpkins was coming out of her office to meet them.
“Girls, come on in. This won't take long.”
Quickly, the girls made their way to the office.
“Please have a seat. I appreciate whatever is said in this office to stay just between us.”
“Have we done something wrong?” Freida was quick to ask.
Thankfully, she stopped to give her boss time to answer her.
“No, dear. I only wanted to speak to both of you together. I know you probably have questions concerning what's been going on lately, but I would rather not go into all of that right now.” She paused for a moment to let her words sink in, then continued.
“I have asked Mr. O'Neal to stop coming by the bakery for awhile. Please trust me when I say that for now, this is how it must be. However, I feel dreadful about my actions—and behavior—during the past few weeks and want to apologize again for being angry, bad-tempered, and generally rude at times. It means everything to me that you girls have stuck by me even while I was cranky and difficult to be around.”
Katie spoke up immediately. “Mrs. Simpkins, we love working here. Please do not worry about anything. We just want you to be happy.”
“And I feel the same about you as well, both of you. Why, I think of you two as my own, dear girls. I don't know what I'd do without you. I wish I could take you both with me on the cruise, but I don't suppose it would be a good idea to close the bakery for almost a month.”
Freida nearly jumped out of her seat.
“Really? You would take us with you? On a big ship out on the ocean for a whole week?”
“Freida, stop. She can't, even if she wants to. We have to keep the bakery open and running.” Katie interrupted her over-zealous freind.
Mrs. Simpkins looked a bit embarrassed.
“Oh my dear, yes, I would love to take you with me, but it's just not possible this time. Perhaps there will be another time when it will be possible. Or perhaps when you marry, I can send you and your husband on a cruise.”
While Freida peppered Mrs. Simpkins with questions about her upcoming cruise and the idea of a honeymoon cruise, Katie sat quietly, thinking about what her dear, sweet boss had said.
What is it that she is hiding? What could possibly be going on that it has her changing everything about her normal behavior... How serious must it be that she cannot explain?
No matter how Katie thought about it all, there was no answer that made sense. She would simply have to wait for Mrs. Simpkins to decide if and when she could share more about what was going on with her.