Lavinia had the shop to herself as her mudder took the day off to help with the new boppli in the familye. She loved her job and loved the shop, but today she wanted to be anywhere but here, having to pretend all was well when she just wanted to hide in her bedroom and avoid people.
Well, it wasn’t like her to have a pity party. So she let herself into the shop, started a pot of coffee, and put her things in the back room. Soon it was time to open, and she had her hands full with so many customers she didn’t have a moment to think about her argument with Abe.
Emma came after lunch and found Lavinia busy ringing up sales while several customers stood in line. She pushed John’s stroller behind the counter where Lavinia stood and jumped into action immediately.
John reached out and tugged at the hem of Lavinia’s dress, and she bent down to say hello. “I am so glad to see you and your mamm, John.”
“Where’s your mudder?” Emma asked.
“At Sadie’s house, helping with the new boppli.”
Lavinia folded a set of woven place mats into a shopping bag and handed it to her customer. “Thank you for shopping with us today. I hope you’ll come again.”
“I will. You have some lovely things.”
The next customer stepped up with one of Lavinia’s rugs. “Do you have another in this same color and size? I’d really like to have two in my family room.”
“I’d be happy to make it for you,” she said.
“That would be wonderful. I’d need it mailed, since we’re here on vacation.”
“That’s no problem. I’ll make it for you right away and put it in the mail to you.”
“So you made it?”
Lavinia nodded and smiled. “I’m glad you like it. Let me ring this up, and then I can fill out an order form for you.”
Emma took over the register while Lavinia got out an order form and took down the information.
“That worked out well, selling one rug and getting an order for another,” Emma remarked when the woman left and they had a brief lull.
Lavinia picked John up. “I didn’t get to say much of a hello to you, big guy.”
He grinned and patted her cheeks.
“Tell me about Sadie’s new boppli,” Emma said. “I heard she had a bu.”
“She did. He’s so cute. Looks like his dat. We were there the night he was born.” She bounced John on her hip, and he chuckled.
Emma glanced at the clock. “Have you had lunch?”
Lavinia shook her head. “I was too busy.”
“Why don’t you go in the back and eat before we get busy again? John and I ate at Hannah’s before we came over here.”
“I think I’ll take you up on that. C’mon, John, keep me company.”
“You don’t have to take him.”
She looked at Emma. “I like buwe. They haven’t grown up to be irritating men yet.”
“Oh my. There’s a story there. I want details.”
Lavinia just laughed and walked to the back room with John. There, she and her mudder had set up a playpen for the days Emma brought John to the shop. After she put him in it, she showed him the pile of toys in one corner, then got out her lunch. She ate her sandwich and apple quickly in case the shop got busy again, and when she finished and looked out into the shop, she saw that customers were streaming in. After draining her glass of iced tea, she put her lunch tote away.
Meanwhile, John had tired of the toys and lain down in the playpen. Soon his eyes were drifting shut and he was sound asleep. She slipped out of the room quietly and went back out into the shop.
“John got bored with me and fell asleep,” she told Emma.
His mudder laughed. “You’re not boring. It was time for his nap.” She put her elbows on the shop counter. “Now, I want the details. Tell me about the bu who grew up and got irritating.”
Lavinia sighed. “I shouldn’t have said that. It’s unkind to complain about someone.”
“But sometimes we need to. My friends were so gut to me when I had my unexpected blessing and left town because his dat didn’t want to marry me. My friend in Ohio listened and helped support me when I couldn’t work. I don’t know what I would have done without her.” Emma sighed. “Then when John and I moved back here, Hannah and Gideon and Rebecca were such gut friends to listen and help me work things out. And my schwemudder treated me like a dochder.” She paused. “Listen, I can tell you love Abe, and I’m sorry if he’s done something to upset you. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
She saw understanding in Emma’s eyes. “He’s just so old-fashioned. Thinks we shouldn’t get married while his farm is struggling. Says he wants to take care of his fraa.”
Emma nodded. “Some of the Old Order men are still thinking that way. But they forget their fraas have always been their partners with farmwork.” She was silent for a moment. “You know, Hannah went through that with Gideon. He and Eli inherited the farm after their dat died, and they agreed the first to marry would live in the farmhouse. So that meant when I came back with John, and Eli and I got married, suddenly Gideon didn’t have the house he thought he would have, and he felt he couldn’t marry Hannah.”
Lavinia sank down on the stool behind the counter. She hadn’t heard the story because neither had talked with her about it. In a small community, many felt it was best to keep some matters private to reduce gossip.
“But it all turned out so well in the end,” Emma said. “Eli found a way to help them build their own house on part of the farmland, and now we’re one big happy familye with my schwemudder living in the dawdi haus. And one day our kinner will play together and work the farm together.”
“Sounds like such a happy ending.”
“It was. It felt so gut to stand there in the field with Eli and hear him tell them about his plans for the land and their house. Lavinia, what the four of us—Gideon and Hannah and Eli and I—learned is that when we try to figure out everything and control our lives, it just doesn’t work.”
“Abe said he wanted to provide for me. I told him I had a job and could provide for myself, and besides, it’s God who provides.”
“You’re right. What did he say?”
“I didn’t give him a chance to answer. I walked away and let him think about that.”
Emma smiled. “And I bet he’s doing a lot of thinking right now.”
* * *
Days passed, and Abe didn’t see or hear from Lavinia. He kept busy and told himself it was for the best. When she thought it over, he was schur she would see he was right. They could still see each other, spend time together. They just wouldn’t be married, which meant they wouldn’t be struggling, maybe even fighting over how to pay the bills. The last thing a man wanted was to have the woman he loved hurt by his failure to protect her, support her. Support himself. That wasn’t pride. It was looking out for her. Wanting the best for her. She’d see that soon, wouldn’t she?
He could still remember going with his dat to the auction of a dairy farm, even though it was years ago. The owner hadn’t been able to keep the farm going, and so it had been put on the auction block.
He frowned and rubbed at his temple. He was getting a headache from the din of his dat’s machine, which clacked noisily as it churned the ice-cream mixture his mudder made. She was inside taking a break from the heat after the two of them had insisted.
“What are you fretting about?” his dat asked him as they sat in front of the house tending the farm stand.
They’d just scooped up ice cream for a flurry of customers, and there was a welcome lull to catch their breath.
“I was remembering the auction the two of us went to when I was younger. Joseph Miller’s dairy farm.”
His dat nodded. “I remember that. It happens. If he was alive now, he’d be the first to tell you that he never had the heart for dairy farming. He took over the farm when his dat died and there was no one to inherit. Joseph always wanted to work in construction, and he got to do that after he sold the farm.” He looked at Abe. “He didn’t lose it because of problems, Abe. He simply decided he wanted another path.”
Abe hadn’t remembered it that way. He’d thought Joseph lost it.
“Besides, that’s not you. I remember one day you went missing when you were a kind. Do you remember that?”
When Abe shook his head, Faron grinned. “You were four. We found you out in the pasture lying on the grass watching the cows. Couldn’t keep you away from them. All you wanted was to help me milk them and take care of them.” He paused. “Now if you feel differently, if you don’t want to continue to be a dairy farmer, then we’ll talk about what to do.”
“Nee,” Abe blurted out, so quickly he surprised himself.
“Then stop thinking about what you might lose and think about how you can keep what you value. Don’t look at how big the problems are. Look at how big your God is.” Faron got up, reached for his cane, and, leaning on it, looked at Abe. “And think about what you could lose if you hold onto your pride and don’t marry Lavinia.” He straightened. “Going to go inside, get something cold to drink. Holler if you need me.”
Abe thought about what his dat said. His mudder was still letting him know she was upset that he hadn’t made up with Lavinia. He wondered if Lavinia’s eldres knew what happened and if they said anything to her about it.
A buggy pulled up, and Gideon Troyer climbed out and walked up to him. “Thought I’d pick up a pint of ice cream on my way home. Hannah’s fond of your mudder’s strawberry.”
Abe set about filling a pint container with the fresh strawberry. “And what about you?”
“I’m a fan of the chocolate.”
“Don’t usually see you around this time of day.” Abe put a lid on the container, then rinsed the scoop in a bowl of water and started filling another container with chocolate.
“Eli’s covering the shop for me. He gives me a break now and then to take care of some errands. Just like I help him with the farm when I can.” He took a seat on the wooden stool Faron had vacated.
“The two of you work together well.”
“We’ve been doing it since before we were born,” Gideon joked. “Being zwillingbopplin.”
Abe put the containers in a small bag and accepted money from Gideon.
“How’s the house coming?”
“Almost finished the inside. You know how women are. Hannah’s still carrying around paint chips and trying to decide what color to paint the last couple rooms.”
Gideon gazed out at the field in front of them. “This time last year, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I wanted to marry Hannah, but Eli and I had made a deal that the first of us to marry would take over the farmhouse. We always thought it would be me. But then along came John and everything changed. Eli and Emma and John were the ones who moved into the farmhouse.” He turned his gaze to Abe. “And then Eli got this idea that we could build a house for Hannah and me on part of the farmland.” He took the bag from Abe. “I don’t think it was Eli’s idea.”
“Whose idea was it?”
Gideon stood. “I think he got it from God.” He stared off for a long moment, then looked at Abe. “Eli’s smart, but I’m not schur he could come up with such a gut idea on his own.” He stood. “Well, I guess I should get this home before it melts.”
“Danki for stopping by. Say hello to Hannah for me.”
“I will.”
He’d no sooner left than Faron came out in time to help with the next carload of Englisch customers that stopped. Abe helped them mechanically and thought about what Gideon had said.
“You’ve got that thinking look going again,” Faron said as the customers left licking their cones. He took a seat on the wooden stool.
He shrugged. “Gideon Troyer stopped by, and we were talking. He made me think about something I need to do.”
“Now?”
Abe shook his head. “I need to do some thinking about it first.”
His dat slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Careful, don’t strain your brain,” he joked, and laughed uproariously.
“I need some aspirin,” Abe told him. “Sorry, but that contraption of yours has given me a bit of a headache.”
“Hey, it’s working for you to bring in some dollars,” Faron told him as another car stopped and people walked over to look curiously at the machine. “Money in the bank, bu, money in the bank.”
The cashbox did indeed benefit from all the cones they sold to the occupants of the car. His dat offered to go get him some aspirin and Abe let him, figuring it was gut to get him out of the heat that didn’t seem to be letting up even though it was approaching five o’clock.
A car stopped, and a young man got out and walked up to him.
“Well, glad to see you’re doing well,” the man said. “Jason Halliday. I happened to drive up just after you fell off the roof. Your wife scared me to death that day running in front of my car, waving her arms at me and shouting at me to stop and call nine-one-one.”
Abe stood and shook his hand. “Lavinia told me about you calling for help and then waiting with her until it arrived. Thank you so much.” He didn’t explain that Lavinia wasn’t his wife.
“I’ve stopped here before and bought some great cheese from an older woman.”
“My mother.” He waved a hand at the basket of cheeses on the table. “Here, I want you to have this,” he said, picking up the basket and handing the whole thing to the man.
“I can’t take all that,” he said, stepping back and holding up his hands.
“Trust me, she would want you to have it, and if you don’t believe me, I can call her out here.”
Jason laughed. “No, that’s not necessary. Thanks. My girlfriend and I will certainly enjoy this. Listen, I left my card with your wife that day and said if you needed any help to call me.”
“I appreciate that. My parents live with me, so I’ve been pretty well taken care of.”
“Well, I design websites. I’d be happy to set up a website for you so you can sell your products online.”
“We’ve had a lot of unexpected expenses lately with the storm and dairy prices down, so I doubt I could afford it. But thanks.”
“I saw that in the news. It made me think I should stop next time I was driving by, see if I could be of assistance. I could set up the site for free for you.”
He pulled out a business card and handed it to Abe. “Think about it. My company encourages us to do pro bono work—free consults and work—for the community where we see a need. At some point, if things are better and the site is doing well for you, then we can discuss a reasonable payment for helping you run the site in the future.”
Abe fingered the card. He knew of an Amish church member who sold the handmade baskets his familye made online, using the services of an Englischer. The arrangement worked for both sides.
“I’ll do that,” he said slowly. “Thank you.”
Waneta came out with a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. Abe introduced her to Jason. She shook the man’s hand enthusiastically and thanked him.
“I told Jason you’d want him to have the basket as a way of thanking him.”
“Absolutely. And Abe, give him some pints of ice cream as well. What’s your favorite, Jason?”
As the man drove off with the gifts, Abe turned to his mudder. “The last customer of the day turned out to be the best one. He wants to help us sell our cheese online.”
“How wunderbaar!”
When Faron walked up to turn off his machine, she told him the news.
Faron gave him a thoughtful look. “Well, isn’t that something?” he said.
Abe put the bottle of aspirin in his pocket. His headache had miraculously disappeared.