Chapter Twenty-One
Regina hurried along the shoulder of the county highway Tuesday afternoon, a white sack in her hand as she headed to The Marketplace. She’d had no time to cook anything for the maidels’ potluck, so she’d chosen an assortment of candies and cookies at the bulk store after work. Her hands and dress were messier than usual because Martin had startled her by coming into the staining room when she’d been carrying an open container of walnut stain—which had splattered all over her. She hoped her friends wouldn’t be too put off by the fumes.
“Regina, wait up! Come ride with me!” a familiar voice called from behind her.
Lydianne was waving from her open rig. A few moments later, Regina climbed in on the passenger side and the two of them continued along the county highway, which was busy with what counted as rush hour traffic in Morning Star. Whatever Lydianne was bringing to their supper smelled heavenly, but Regina didn’t get a chance to ask about it.
“I looked all over for you after work, but you’d disappeared,” Lydianne remarked.
Regina nodded. “I’d hoped to be out the door right at quitting time, but Martin came in for a little chat,” she said. “Seems he was making sure I’d actually been at the factory working these past couple of days, because he hadn’t seen me—”
“Because you were trying to maintain the necessary separation,” Lydianne put in with an exasperated sigh. “If I’ve told him that once, I’ve said it at least three times since yesterday. So . . . hopefully he wasn’t hinting at firing you?”
Regina shook her head, but she felt none too confident about the real motive behind her boss’s appearance. “When I assured him I wasn’t the sort to miss work without telling him, he went off onto a tangent about Gabe being gone and how many orders were piling up in his absence,” she replied. “I wasn’t sure what to say about that, considering Martin was the one who ordered Gabe not to come to the factory until his attitude improved.”
“Jah, I’m guessing things at the Flaud house are tense,” Lydianne murmured. “Doesn’t help that Delbert Plank had to go to the clinic for ten stitches today, so he can’t use his right hand for a long while.” She let out a humorless laugh. “Martin might be asking us girls to operate some of the shop machinery if we lose any more of the men.”
“Maybe he should reconsider what he said to Gabe,” Regina said softly. “I-if I were in Gabe’s shoes, I’d feel like I’d been cast out by my family as surely as by the congregation.”
Lydianne looked speculatively at Regina. “Martin expected his son would come around immediately to apologize. The way you’re telling it, I’m wondering if you know more than the rest of us about Gabe’s feelings.”
Regina nipped her lip. She’d already said too much to the astute young woman beside her.
Checking the traffic in both directions, Lydianne steered her mare into a left turn to approach the white plank fence surrounding The Marketplace. “All right, I’ll come clean,” she said with a chuckle. “I spotted you and Gabe in his buggy yesterday afternoon. And I’m happy for you both, Regina.”
Lydianne might as well have punched her in the stomach. “Oh my,” Regina gasped. “Please don’t let on about—”
“I won’t say a word, Regina.”
“—especially to Martin, because—”
“Especially not to Martin,” Lydianne assured her, “and not to our friends this evening, either, unless you say something first. They’d be delighted to hear about you two being together, though. Gabe’s such a nice guy—and he did rise to your defense on Sunday.”
“Why are you already making us out to be a couple, Lydianne?” Regina demanded, more stridently than she had intended.
Shrugging playfully, Lydianne hopped down to open the gate, which had been left unchained by the maidels who’d already arrived. After Regina clucked for the mare to pull the rig through the opening, Lydianne closed the gate again and hooked the padlock on the chain without snapping it shut. She was still chuckling as she clambered back into the driver’s side.
“Deny it if you want to, girlfriend, but you two were coming back into Morning Star from wherever you’d been, looking like you’d had a fine time,” she said. “And I think it’s wonderful, Regina. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Regina’s cheeks went hot. She chuckled nervously, hoping she could indeed trust her longtime friend. “Okay, so I couldn’t come to a Marketplace meeting last night because I did load up my painting supplies, like I told you,” she said in a rush. “Gabe suggested that we should take his guitar and my art things to the thrift store together—to hold each other accountable, you know—so we were on our way to do that. But he drove past the turnoff.”
She exhaled with a mixture of frustration and exhilaration. “I spent the afternoon sketching down by the river, while he played his guitar and sang. We really are going to get rid of our stuff, Lydianne, but it didn’t happen yesterday as intended.”
Her friend’s expression softened. “That sounds so romantic,” she whispered. “But be careful, Regina. If I spotted you together, other folks could, too.”
As they pulled around behind the large red stable that housed The Marketplace, Regina wondered if anyone else had seen her and Gabe. When Jo and the Helfing twins called out their greetings, however, she composed her face so she’d give nothing else away. She loved all these young women dearly, but if they all found out she’d spent time with Gabe, the news was bound to spread.
“Gut to see you two!” Molly called out.
“My, but that’s an attractive dress you’re wearing, Regina!” Marietta teased.
Regina couldn’t help laughing. “Thanks to Martin, I sloshed stain all over myself today,” she said as she hopped to the ground with her white sack. “When you see what I brought for our meal, you’ll know I cook every bit as well as I mind my appearance, too. Grabbed some candy and cookies at the bulk store.”
“I didn’t cook, either,” Lydianne put in as she reached behind the seat. “I called ahead for pizza and picked it up on my way out of town.”
The twins clapped their hands, laughing. “We love pizza!” Marietta crowed.
“Mostly because it’s not made from the broken noodles left after we bagged them up today,” Molly remarked as she held up a casserole covered in foil. “You know how we always bring a noodle-and-cheese dish, jah?”
Jo was at the back door, chuckling as she held it open for them. “Mamm and I have zucchini coming out our ears already, and some green beans left from canning yesterday,” she said. “So I sautéed them together with oil and seasonings. Seems we’ve covered all the main food groups—and we’re all here together, which is the most important ingredient for a gut potluck.”
As Regina followed her friends up to the loft, she felt a twinge of sadness when she spotted the empty shop area where NatureScapes had been. She was grateful that the other maidels still wanted her to participate in their meeting despite her bann, however. As the five of them gathered around the old table in the office, Regina realized she was hungry for more than the assortment of food they were setting out.
“How did things go last Saturday? There was a big produce auction, jah?” she asked as she popped open her clamshell containers of chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and fudge. “After the talking-to I got from Saul and the Slabaughs on the previous Saturday, I didn’t think I’d better show my face.”
Molly put out a stack of paper plates. “It was our busiest day yet,” she replied. “We need to seriously increase our noodle production to keep up with the demand here.”
“The Wengerds brought a couple of wagons loaded with baskets of beautiful veggies from their fields and greenhouses,” Jo said enthusiastically. “Several folks from church had big baskets of produce, as well as people from as far away as Cedar Creek and Clearwater. Jude was our auctioneer, of course.”
“Customers were already asking when the next produce auction will be,” Lydianne said with a nod. “I think we should allow Nelson and Michael to set dates that will work well for them.”
“But we missed you, Regina,” Marietta said with a sad smile. She opened a bag of disposable forks and spoons. “Lots of folks were asking what had happened to the wonderful paintings in your store—”
“And that brings us to our first order of business tonight,” Jo said as she removed the foil from her casserole. “We’d dearly love it if you could come help us on Saturdays, Regina—act as a floater, perhaps, when some of us could use an extra pair of hands. The preachers surely couldn’t object to that, because you’d no longer be painting your pictures.”
Regina was so hungry she’d snatched a slice of pizza from the box, but she paused before taking her first bite. “I’m not supposed to speak with anyone or hand them anything, or—”
“It’s like Gabe said on Sunday,” Jo interrupted with a smile. “You can certainly handle transactions with English customers, ain’t so?”
“But won’t church members realize you’ve been communicating with me, if I’m working with you?” Regina asked pensively. “I don’t want to get you in trouble. I really appreciate it that you’ve invited me tonight, and that you’re not . . . shutting me out.”
Molly grasped Regina’s wrist, her expression earnest. “We just can’t do that, Regina,” she insisted. “Who will stand up for us maidels if we don’t stand together?”
Everyone around the table nodded as they began to eat.
“I think we can agree to not talk to you while you’re helping us—at least in public, while anyone’s looking,” Lydianne suggested after thinking about it.
“But that won’t stop us from winking or making faces or sticking our tongues out at you!” Molly teased. “What’re friends for?”
Laughter filled the room and lifted Regina’s spirits. Where would she be without these loyal friends? They ate in silence for a few minutes before the conversation continued.
“I can understand that you might not want to come since you wouldn’t be earning any income, though,” Lydianne said pensively. She pulled steaming slices of pizza from the box and positioned one of them on Regina’s plate.
“Jah, there’s that,” Regina agreed as she spooned up some zucchini casserole. “But as I recall, Lydianne, you’re not making any money here, either, because you volunteered to do the bookkeeping and to help the Flauds—or whoever needs you.”
“We might have a solution to that,” Jo said with a cat-like smile.
Everyone watched Jo fill her plate again, sensing she enjoyed making them wait for the explanation that had put a lilt in her voice. When Jo glanced up at them over a fresh slice of pizza, she began chuckling so hard she could barely chew.
“All right, so we have some gut news!” she announced. “First, the owners of the bulk store and Koenig’s Krafts want to open stalls here at The Marketplace, starting this Saturday—”
“Oh, that’s fabulous!” Lydianne said as the others nodded.
“—and second, Margaret Shetler and Delores Flaud have asked to hold their annual family reunions here this summer,” Jo continued happily. “So we’ll be needing someone to manage these events, and we’ll need to set the fees for using the facility. It seems only right that the person who becomes our event manager should be paid for her time, from those fees.”
Everyone began talking at once, filling the office with happy chatter. Regina was pleased about this news, even if the prospect of managing family events didn’t particularly appeal to her. Once she was stuck in her uncle’s guest room, however, it would get her out of the house more often.
“And our other topic for discussion tonight involves helping our Regina,” Jo put in with a kind smile. “Seems to me that if we’d like her to help us in our shops, we maidels should throw a packing frolic before she moves. Packing is a huge job, and I couldn’t imagine having to do it all by myself.”
Regina’s eyes widened as the office got quiet. “Oh my,” she whispered. “That would be such a help. Jessica—the real estate agent—hinted that the place would sell faster if it didn’t look so, um, cluttered.”
Lydianne laughed softly, squeezing her shoulder.
“But she also warned me to be patient, because it might take weeks or even months for someone to buy it,” Regina continued with a sigh. “Morning Star’s a small town. People need a compelling reason to move here.”
“Maybe if you keep your clutter, the house won’t sell—so you won’t have to move in with Clarence and Cora!” Marietta teased.
Regina laughed along with her friends. It was good to feel their support, to know their friendship hadn’t been affected by her bann. “I’ve thought of that,” she admitted, “but I doubt Uncle Clarence would allow it.”
“I don’t see why you should have to get rid of your house—especially because it belonged to your parents,” Molly said in a protective tone. “Nobody seems to care that Marietta and I have a house, or that Lydianne rents a place on the edge of town.”
“Single Amish gals have houses in other church districts, too,” Jo pointed out. “I’m thinking this is mostly Preacher Clarence trying to control his niece. We’re such a wayward, independent bunch, we maidels. We need constant guidance, you know.”
Regina smiled sadly. “Jah, you’ve pegged it right. I really don’t want to live with my aunt and uncle,” she said with a sigh. “I—I only put my house up for sale because Uncle Clarence said I had to . . . and because if Martin fires me, I can’t afford to keep it anyway.”
“Why would he fire you?” Lydianne shot back. “I’ve reminded him time and again that we can’t lose any more employees if we’re to keep up with all our orders.”
“Jah, but the way most men see it, we women shouldn’t be living on our own,” Jo reminded them. “Who’s to say that Martin and Clarence won’t put their heads together and decide that if Regina moves back into the Miller place, she won’t need an income anyway? So Martin might feasibly let her go because Preacher Clarence thinks it’s his responsibility to support Regina while he keeps her on the straight and narrow. From a male viewpoint, that would fit the Old Order’s way, ain’t so?”
Regina sighed glumly. She could certainly imagine that scenario happening. The way her friends were nodding, they understood the possibility of it, too.
Marietta finished her slice of pizza and eyed the desserts. “Regina, we’ll help you box up your stuff, but maybe you could keep your things around—”
“In case your house doesn’t sell—or in case your situation changes somehow,” Molly continued in a hopeful tone. “After you’re voted back into the congregation’s gut graces, maybe your uncle will decide you should stay in your house instead of being one more female at his place.”
Shaking her head, Regina reached for another slice of pizza. “I can’t see him changing his mind because of that,” she murmured. “Lots of men don’t have any sons or sons-in-law in the house.”
Once again Lydianne squeezed Regina’s shoulder. “We’ll pray that things work out so you’ll be happy, Regina. Maybe that’s God’s will,” she added emphatically. “Who’s to say Clarence Miller has a corner on knowing what God wants, just because he’s a preacher?”
Jo’s eyes widened. “I wouldn’t go spouting off on that topic in front of Clarence if I were you!”
“Jah, he’ll think Regina put us maidels up to saying that, and then he’ll be keeping an even closer eye on all of us,” Molly said. She flashed Regina an encouraging smile. “No matter what, we all want the best for you, and we’ll help you however we can.”
Regina was grateful when their discussion turned back to the more cheerful topics of the two new stores that would open on Saturday and the two upcoming family reunions. After they’d finished their meal and cleaned up, she and her friends went out the back way and headed home. Lydianne offered her a ride, so they left together.
“Do you want to be the events manager?” her friend asked after the mare was clip-clopping down the road. Without much car traffic, they moved along freely as dusk was falling.
Regina shrugged. “Hostessing isn’t really my cup of tea,” she replied, “but maybe it would give me something to do—get me out of the house once I’m living with Aunt Cora and Uncle Clarence. Unless you want that job, Lydianne.”
“I suppose if no one else jumps on it, it’ll fall to me as the business manager,” she replied, watching for traffic. “We’ve got some time to decide on that, though. The reunions aren’t scheduled until September.”
As they turned off the blacktop and approached Maple Lane, Regina wondered what she might be doing by September . . . after she and Gabe had completed their four-week shunning and their lives had settled into place again. It would be nice to know that at the end of the rocky path her life had recently taken, better times awaited her.
But life wasn’t a fairy tale. There was no way to predict a happy ending.
After Lydianne dropped her off, Regina hurried past the FOR SALE sign and entered the house. She’d always loved the way evening’s light softened her rooms, and she hoped to savor several more days surrounded by the eclectic furnishings she’d found at flea markets and antique stores. Everything was arranged just the way she wanted it—and once she moved in with her uncle and aunt, she’d have to be satisfied with the furnishings that were already in their guest room.
That’s so depressing. Don’t think about it until you absolutely have to.
Regina entered the kitchen to brew a cup of tea—and spotted a sheet of paper on the kitchen table.
Regina, we got an offer on your house today! It would be a perfect starter home for this young couple and they’re so excited! Once everything’s ’s been approved and signed—probably within the next month—they’ll be able to move in. They love your furniture and would like to buy most of it.
We’ll talk soon. Jessica
Regina sniffled as she reread the note. She’d be leaving by the end of July?
As this painful reality slammed into her, Regina left the kitchen, stifling a sob. She dropped down onto the couch and buried her face in one of the soft cushions—which would soon belong to someone else.
It was going to be a long, lonely night.