One step forward, two steps backward. Was it like that with all men or just Jasper? Wiping her forehead with her sleeve, Esther Marie stifled a groan. She stuck the mop she’d been using on the deli floor into a bucket and swished it around. The AC unit in the store couldn’t keep up with the humidity in the air. Dark, nasty clouds hid the mountains when she had arrived at work. The only way to get relief would be a good, soaking rain.
And a word face-to-face with Jasper.
Four days had gone by since she found Jasper’s lovely gift of jelly beans on her bag in the deli. Finally, a signal, a sign, a move that said Jasper, too, wanted to go for that gusto. He liked her. He’d finally found a way to express it. She waited until he was talking to a farmer in the produce section about buying his corn on the cob to set her offering of apple pie on his desk in return.
The next day the empty, clean pan appeared on top of her lunch cooler with a thank-you note signed “J.” The following day an entire bag of jelly beans in every flavor imaginable found its way into her cooler with a note that said “sweets for the sweet.” In response she made snickerdoodles and left a package of four on his lunch bag. No note. Instead she waited for him to come looking for her.
But he didn’t. Whenever their paths crossed, Jasper smiled, ducked his head, and squeezed past her with a muttered hello. Like a young boy too shy for his own britches.
There had been no more outbursts, no intruding on her work, and no bossing anyone around. He simply took care of the paperwork, tallied the receipts, and made the deposits. He continued to bring in produce from the farm as his family and friends harvested it. Fresh corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, radishes, and leaf lettuce. He smiled at the customers and the employees alike with a hearty “good morning.” Esther Marie had to look up to make sure it wasn’t Fergie himself, back from his hospital stay.
So why the deflated feeling? The sense of anticipation fizzled. She found herself peering out the window before she went to bed, sure she’d heard horse hooves. Nothing.
Her dream of a buggy ride did not materialize. Not just any buggy ride, but one with Jasper. She should be happy that he obviously recognized that she could run the store on her own. That should make her happy. Instead, the feeling that life had passed her by shrouded the deli while she worked.
Time to get over him and move on. That’s what her mother would say if Esther Marie told her, which she did not. It would only lead to more supper guests. What would Raymond say? Go for the gusto. Time to up your game. That’s what Raymond would say.
How? In this case of two awkward, mismatched Plain people, what would that mean? Esther Marie puzzled over that conundrum as she sprayed the cooler doors with glass cleaner and wiped them down until they sparkled. It had been a busy day, but business was winding down.
“Hey, did you see the sky out there?” Rachel trudged by pushing a bucket on wheels with a mop stuck in it. “It’s dark as night. It looks like it’s about to rain cats and dogs.”
“Ach, nee, B-B-B-art and Darcie are br-r-r-ringing Fergie b-b-b-back to the house this after-r-r-r-n-n-n-oon. They’ll be c-c-c-c-caught in it.”
“Mr. Daugherty says they’re forecasting a gully washer with high winds and hail.”
“In that case, we should close up early.” A stack of folders and a clipboard in one arm, Jasper strode toward them. He had a pencil behind one ear and a distracted look on his face. “If the weather is that bad, nobody will be shopping for groceries, anyway. We’ll put a sign on the door, Closed Due to Weather.”
“You sh-sh-should leave n-n-n-ow.” No matter how many times Esther Marie reminded herself to breathe, to picture the words, to relax, she still couldn’t make them come out smoothly. Raymond’s book was full of good ideas, but nothing really changed for her. It was beyond frustrating. To talk to Jasper like a normal woman would be so sweet. Maybe then he would do more than give her jelly beans.
Gott, why? Why can’t You take this thorn from my side? “S-S-S-o you c-c-can be there when F-F-F-Fergie g-g-g-gets home.”
“That’s okay. I should be the one to stay behind and close up.” He hugged the files to his chest. “Rachel, tell the other girls to pack up and go. You don’t want to be caught in the wind and rain on your bicycles.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.” Rachel tossed a sympathetic smile at Esther Marie and sped away.
“You go too.” Jasper cocked his head toward the back. “I have to finish this paperwork, and then I’ll lock up.”
“I’m r-r-r-r-running out of the h-h-h-ams. I n-n-n-need to order m-m-m-more.” She would leave when he did. She didn’t mind getting wet, and folks liked to exaggerate these summer storms. They didn’t strike often and they came and went in a flash. Winter snowstorms were far more exciting. “D-D-D-o your paperwork. I’ll lock th-th-the d-d-d-oor after the g-g-girls.”
He didn’t argue. Instead he wandered in the direction of the office. “I’ll turn on the radio.”
Fergie kept a small battery-operated radio in his office for occasions such as this.
Esther Marie rushed to the front and helped Rachel and Cara close out their registers. She made up the sign as Jasper suggested. By the time she held the door for the girls, she could barely keep it from smacking the outside wall. A menacing layer of roiling black clouds hovered overhead. Rain splattered big fat drops on her face. The girls had to battle the fierce wind to unlock their bikes. None of them tried to ride away but instead began to push them.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Esther Marie yelled into the wind. “You could stay until it blows over.”
“Nee, we live close.” Rachel bent into the wind. “Don’t wait too long or you’ll be stuck here for hours.”
Sally was already across the parking lot. She also lived close by. Much closer than Esther Marie. She wrestled the door shut, locked it, and turned to lean against it. “Whew.” Raindrops slapped against the glass in a steady splat, splat. She jumped. “Silly girl.”
She’d better hurry or she would be stuck here. She scurried back to the deli and rustled through the folders she kept on the back counter. She also needed to order more ice cream. The hot weather had customers buying double and triple what they normally would.
She also needed condiments. She scratched her nose and considered the list in front of her. Spicy mustard, Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, and jalapeño mustard.
The lights went out.
Esther Marie froze. Seven o’clock on a summer evening and it was pitch black in the store. “Ach.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds to give them a chance to adjust. When she opened them, familiar outlines reappeared.
Moving with care, she edged toward the back drawers. Did she have a flashlight tucked in one of them? Maybe. Plain folks lived without electricity at home, but she had never experienced this darkness in the store. Goose bumps scurried up her arms. She shivered and rubbed them.
“Esther Marie?”
The bright beam of a flashlight danced across the countertops and hit her right in the eyes. She clapped her hands to her face. “Don’t sh-sh-sh-ine that in my f-f-f-face.”
“Sorry.” The light shifted to her chest. “What do we do now? All this frozen food and meat and the produce in the produce room. Everything will spoil!”
Esther Marie slid her hand along the counter, allowing it to guide her closer to Jasper. “We have t-t-t-time. L-L-L-eave the freez-z-z-zer doors shut. The c-c-c-cases will hold their t-t-t-temperature for a f-f-f-f-ew hours.”
If the electricity stayed off overnight, they would have problems with spoilage.
“It seems like we should do something.” The light bounced up and down as Jasper talked. Esther Marie had the urge to touch his hand, to soothe his shaking. She moved closer. It bounced away. “We could lose a mountain of produce if it gets too warm in the produce room.”
“We have k-k-kerosene l-l-l-anterns on the hardw-w-ware aisle.” She pushed through the swinging doors. “C-c-c-candles up front by the c-c-c-ook-b-b-b-ooks.”
“Gut idea. We can shed light on the situation.”
As her eyes adjusted Esther Marie could see the outline of his face but not his expression. He sounded nervous yet pleased somehow.
They were alone in the store. It took a second for that thought to sink in. She and Jasper were alone together for the very first time. In the dark. Heat trailed across her face, down her neck, and finally along her spine. Now her hands shook. “L-L-Lead the w-w-w-way.”
He kept the flashlight trained on the floor in front of them. Esther Marie stayed close. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, but she had no desire to trip and break her neck either. The hardware aisle proved to be a bust. They were sold out of lanterns.
“I guess people knew this was coming.”
People who watched the TV meteorologist’s reports and listened to the radio, two things neither of them did. From there, they traipsed to the front. The candle supply had a dent in it, but several remained.
Using her apron as a catchall, Esther Marie collected them. “W-w-w-we can use s-s-s-some j-j-j-ars from the canning section—”
“Look.”
She followed Jasper’s gaze to the floor-to-ceiling windows that ran along the front of the store on either side of the double glass doors. Rain fell in sheets. Lightning strikes came so close together at times they seemed to light the sky from corner to corner. The continuous rolling thunder sounded like a train coming closer and closer. The trees that lined the far edges of the parking lot bent so low they were in danger of breaking. A ping-ping-ping against the glass deepened until it burst into a bang-bang-bang. Hail threatened to break the windows.
“I don’t think we’re going anywhere for a while.” Jasper held the flashlight higher. She could make out his face now. Tension mixed with excitement. “We’re on our own.”
That same excitement ran through Esther Marie. “We can handle it.”
Not a single stutter.