Posen, Michigan
Present day
Gideon wasn’t sure why he agreed to go to Second Christmas. Sure, there was plenty of food, but he’d done his best to avoid the restaurant since Faith had left town, and being here now only served to remind him of how much he missed her. He moved down the serving line and placed a spoonful of macaroni and cheese on his plate.
Irma set another large bowl of broccoli salad on the table. “I’m going to tell the new owners about your seasonal fruits. Hopefully they will continue to buy your produce.”
“Danki,” Gideon said. Irma was kind to think of him when her mind must be overloaded with so many other things. “Is the new owner taking over at the beginning of the year?”
Irma shook her head. “I’ll turn the keys over tonight once the celebration has ended and everything is cleaned up.” Her voice frayed. “I see empty dishes.” She snatched a vegetable tray from the table and rushed it into the kitchen.
The bell jingled above the door and the crowd parted like a polecat had been let inside. Gideon glanced toward the door at the person who had stirred the whispers. “Faith.” The word caught in his throat.
Mordecai limped toward the door, the bishop with him.
Gideon pressed forward. Perhaps if her father or the bishop couldn’t talk sense into her, he could. She would only bring more condemnation on the district showing up like this.
Faith spoke first. “Merry Christmas, Daed. Bishop Zook.” As she scanned the room, her gaze landed briefly on him and she smiled. “Hello, Gideon.”
“Merry Christmas, Faith,” he said.
She continued to scan the crowd. “Where’s Mamm?”
Irma bolted through the swinging doors. “Faith!” The two hugged for a long moment.
“I am home, Mamm,” Faith muttered, buried in the embrace.
Mordecai and the bishop shared the same sullen expression.
Gideon hoped to have a few minutes with Faith, too, but he wouldn’t interrupt the attention she was getting from her parents.
Several of the members gathered their children and put their coats and capes on as they headed to the door. The room thinned quickly, leaving Faith, her parents, the bishop, his wife, and Gideon.
A gust of wind swept through the door, and as Gideon turned to make sure the door was closed completely, an Englisch man stepped into view.
“Good evening,” the man said, removing his hat and shaking the snow off the brim. He stomped snow from his rubber boots, then shuddered, jowls flapping and red hair dropping over his eyes. “The temperature is dropping fast out there,” he said, combing his fingers through his damp hair.
Gideon eyed the man. “By the looks of your wool overcoat, it must be snowing hard.”
“It is indeed.” The man carefully removed his coat and draped it over his shoulder, then moved past Gideon and took a seat at one of the tables.
Perhaps the man thought the restaurant was open. “Excuse me, sir, the restaurant is closed.” Gideon motioned to the long table of food. “If you’re hungry, please, help yourself.”
The Englischer removed a thick envelope from an inside coat pocket. “I have business to discuss with the owner.”
“I’ll let them know you’re here.” Gideon hoped the man’s presence wouldn’t dampen the joyful mood. He approached Mordecai. “Excuse me. There’s someone here who asked to speak with you and Irma.”
Irma glanced over her shoulder. “Faith, why don’t you share the news with Gideon while your father and I see what this is about.” Her mother drew a raspy breath, then tightened her hand around the dangling set of keys Gideon recognized as belonging to the restaurant.
Gideon elbowed Faith’s arm. “Could we step outside?”
“Jah.” She glanced over her shoulder briefly toward her parents, then went with him out the front door.
“You didn’t write back,” Gideon said the moment they were outside.
“I was just given your letter yesterday.” She hugged herself, her lips quivering in the icy weather.
“I wrote you the day you found me in the orchard.”
“You saw the pictures of me in that Englisch dress and wearing makeup . . . I thought you’d given up on me.”
He looked down at the snowy sidewalk. “I thought finding out you were nett Amish had changed you and I assumed—”
“You assumed wrong.” Faith sniffled. “These last few months have been hard. Mei whole life was turned upside down, but that didn’t change mei beliefs. I wasn’t born Amish, but I believe in the Amish way. I still want to be baptized and join the church.”
His shoulders dropped under the weight of knowing it’d go against the Ordnung to be Amish living a worldly lifestyle. “Perhaps when you’re legally old enough to choose . . .”
“You said in your letter you would wait for me. Is it still true?”
“Jah, I’m still waiting. What about you?”
“Nay, nett anymore.”
He groaned under his breath and waited for the white fog around his mouth to clear. “You don’t have to sound so giddy.” She no longer wants to wait for me and now she’s smirking. “Look, I’m sorry I misjudged you.”
“You misjudged Olivia too. She was so upset over being accused of stealing from the till that she called the tip hotline number. That’s how the Colepeppers found me.”
It made sense now why Faith didn’t want to wait for him. “I’m sorry, Faith. I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. I didn’t mean any harm to kumm, and I understand if that’s why you don’t want to wait for me.”
“Gideon, I have already forgiven you.”
“Danki.” He lowered his head. He’d made a mess of everything and now he’d lost the woman he loved.
Faith reached for his hand. “I don’t want to wait any longer, because Bishop Zook has already agreed to baptize me as soon as I finish the remaining classes. I don’t have to wait for the next baptism in spring.”
“I don’t understand. You live in Bloomfield Hills nau.”
“Mei Englisch parents live there. But I’m moving back home— here—where I belong. The Colepeppers are letting me choose where I want to live. I choose mei Plain life—I choose you, Gideon. If you’ll still have me.”
“You don’t have to ask.” He brought her into his arms and kissed her slowly, savoring everything about the moment. “I love you, Faith.”
“I love you too.”
Warmth spread to his core despite the wintery weather. He’d never experienced this much joy and he wanted to hold on to these feelings forever. “Faith,” he said, leaning back to look her in the eye, “we’ve been good friends for a long time. I already know I want to marry you.”
She smiled. “Don’t you think we should court first?”
He kissed her forehead. “I’m just telling you mei intentions are to never let you go.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“We’ll probably have to wait until you’re eighteen, but that should give me time to build our haus. I hope you don’t mind the view of apple trees.”
“Sounds perfect.” Her smile morphed into a frown. “But there’s something I have to tell you.”
He cringed. “What’s that?”
“Mei birthday is in March, nett October.”
Gideon smiled. “That’s gut. It gives me time to make you something different for your birthday.”
“Something different?”
“I made shelves for the restaurant. Only . . .” He glanced over his shoulder at the window. The Pinkhams were still busy talking with the man.
Faith tapped his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Your parents are selling the restaurant. The man sitting with them has kumm with the documents.” He brushed the back of his hand over her moist cheeks. “I wish it wasn’t happening tonight.”
“Me too.” Tears pooled in her eyes.
Gideon reached for her hand. “We better get back inside. Icicles are going to form on your lashes.”
She wiped her face and smiled. “It’s going to be strange nett baking bread every morning.”
“Things will work out,” he said. “They did for you coming home.”
She nodded. Once inside, she kicked the snow off her boots at the door. She looked at the floor and sighed. “I better get a mop and clean up this puddle so someone doesn’t fall.”
The redheaded man approached. “I understand you are Adriana Colepepper?”
Faith shot a look at Gideon that sent a shiver down his spine.
“Jah, I am she.”
“I was instructed to give this to you.” He handed her a card with her name scrawled on it and the set of keys Irma had been holding.
Faith opened the card. Tears flowed freely by the time she finished reading it and handed it to Gideon.
Dear Adriana,
Your father and I were thrilled when we finally found you after so many years. There hadn’t been a day that I didn’t think of you or remember holding you in my arms. But you are no longer a baby, you’re a lovely young woman whom we are proud to call our daughter. I thank God that you were taken care of so well. As much as it pains me to say good-bye, I know your leaving is for the best. The restaurant is our gift to you. I look forward to eating potato pancakes and sampling your homemade bread when we come up to the cabin for visits.
Please don’t stop praying for us.
Love,
Mom and Dad
P.S. Don’t worry about your sister. I insisted Olivia keep the reward money, and I’ll see that she has everything she needs to go back to school.
Gideon glanced up from the letter, but Faith was gone.
“Is everything okay?” Irma asked.
“I’ll find out,” he muttered. Gideon went into the kitchen and found Faith removing the mop from the utility closet. “Are you all right?”
She sniffled.
“Faith.” He stepped closer. “That was a wunderbaar thing your Englisch parents did for you.”
She nodded.
He swallowed hard. “Does it make you want to go back?”
“Nay,” she replied. “Mei place is here—with you.”
“Gut.” He rolled up his shirt sleeves. “I suppose you’re going to need a dishwasher, jah?”
Faith chuckled. “You know I won’t turn down help.”