September 30, 1916
The clay was a red lump of nothing, just waiting for her to shape the beauty within it. Ella smiled, excited about the challenge. It was good to have something to smile about again.
After the fire, neither she nor her father had the heart to stay at the fair. Hank Jepson had been happy to purchase the ten Jerseys Walter had brought for sale. After she’d talked to Mr. Henderson, being careful not to run into Max when walking through the exhibit halls, they’d loaded up Geraldine and headed home.
Ella had spent the next two days in bed. Finally, Walter had coaxed her out with the promise of making her french toast, just like when she was a girl. It was the one thing she knew he could make without burning, so she’d come downstairs. Sitting at the family table, sharing breakfast, they finally talked about everything that had happened. Then they talked about what could happen. It had been enlightening.
As much as her fingers itched to dig into the clay, Ella knew she had to wait. They were expecting company, and she couldn’t give a proper greeting with red-stained hands. She draped a wet cloth over the clay to keep it moist then went outside.
It was a beautiful day. Geraldine wandered in the pasture, along with the two other cows they’d decided to keep. Once her father had made up his mind to sell the dairy, things had moved quickly. Mr. Jepson had been so pleased with the cows he’d already purchased, he jumped at the chance to acquire the rest of the herd. Walter also made a good deal on most of the equipment. Now, the milk barn was mostly empty, as was the icehouse where Ella had done her sculpting.
There would be no more butter, no more butter sculpting, and no more butter-stained clothes. That part of her life was over, and she was ready to move on to the next part.
Gravel crunched beneath tires as a car came down the drive. Ella smiled to herself. The representative from Joy was right on time.
She walked up to the car just as the driver opened his door and got out.
“Hello, Max.”
He looked utterly confused. “I assume this is the reason I got my job back.”
Ella nodded. “Papa refused to deal with anyone but you. If Joy wanted to buy the dairy, then you had to represent them. They must really want this property.”
“I guess they must.” Max swallowed hard, as if afraid to go on. “Ella, I don’t … What does this mean?”
She reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “This should explain it.”
He took the paper and unfolded it. It was a letter. “Dear Miss Daniels,” it began, “I must inform you of an egregious error I made, as well as grievous misdeeds done by Mr. Philip Stanley.” His eyes jumped down to the bottom of the page. “My most sincere apologies, Mr. Orville Henderson.”
“I don’t believe it,” Max muttered.
“I was quite surprised when it came. He explains everything.”
“And you believe him?”
Ella nodded.
She could see the relief as it surged through Max. “Thank God. Now you know the truth.”
“Thank God, indeed. I’ve been thinking about that. About how God can use something terrible and turn it into something good.” She smiled at Max. “I thought I’d lost everything that night, but since then, God has done some big things in my life.”
He reached out as though he wanted to touch her, but then drew back. “What kind of things?”
She tapped her lips with her finger as if thinking. “I told my father how I feel about butter and what I really want to do. And he told me that he was tired of trying to keep the dairy going. As it turned out, we both wanted something else.”
“That’s great. Is that all?”
“No, there’s one more thing.” Now it was Ella who held out her hand. “A very important thing.”
Max took her hand. “You have my complete attention.”
“Good. Because God showed me how important love is, and how once you find it, you can’t let it go.”
Squeezing her fingers in response, Max nodded his agreement.
“I love you, Max. I don’t know if you still feel the same about me, but I had to tell you. I had to make sure you know.”
A laugh burst out of him. “I’ve loved you for so long, I don’t remember a time when I didn’t.”
He pulled her close, wrapped his arms around her, and kissed her. He pulled back and held her face gently between his palms, looking down into her eyes.
“Marry me,” he said.
“Yes. Oh yes.”
They laughed together and shared another kiss. Then Max stepped back, straightened his tie, and cleared his throat. “I suppose we should get the business out of the way.”
“Of course. Let’s get that out of the way.”
He leaned into the car and took some papers out of a briefcase. “This is the contract.” Before she could respond, he held it up and ripped it in half.
Eyes wide, Ella placed a palm flat against her chest. “What are you doing?”
“This property really isn’t right for processing margarine.” He looked around shaking his head. “I have a much better idea. Something that involves having a place for you to work on your art and filling up the house with many children. Why don’t we go talk to your father about it?”
He offered her his arm, and Ella took it. There was no wiping the smile off her face now. God was obviously still working in mysterious ways. And that was just fine with her. She may not have won a blue ribbon at the fair, but she’d come away with something much better: a future.