Chapter Twenty-Five
When Johannes and Hannes arrived at the house, promptly at five o’clock, the kitchen smelled as if it were a holiday meal. Linda had spared no expense on the food for that evening. And Ella had somehow found the fortitude to actually cook it—with no help from anyone else, of course.
“How good to see you,” Linda said as she welcomed the two gentlemen into the kitchen. She gestured toward the table, which was set with a brand-new white linen cloth and the china from Ella’s mother.
Johannes removed his straw hat and set it on the counter. Hannes, however, kept ahold of his.
“Why, it smells wunderbarr gut in here!” Johannes gave Linda an approving look.
Linda clasped her hands together before her. “It isn’t very often we have visitors for supper.”
Fussing with his hat, Hannes looked at the table and frowned.
Blinking her eyes, Linda leaned forward to catch his attention. “Is something wrong, Hannes?”
He made a point of using his finger to count each of the plates. And then he frowned. “I see only five place settings.”
His observation practically bounced off of Linda. But Ella felt a moment of excitement. Hannes had noticed that there were not enough place settings. Did he realize that Linda had not included her in the evening’s meal?
To her surprise, Johannes also studied the table. “Ah, dear me. I must have been remiss.” He raised his hand and playfully knocked at his head. “The old thinker must not have been working properly. Did I fail to mention that I invited my sister and her husband?”
Dumbfounded, Ella’s mouth dropped. Not only at the fact that Hannes and his father had invited two more people, but that Hannes had not remembered her at all.
For once, Linda appeared equally stunned. “Your sister?”
“Ach! I did forget.” Johannes made an apologetic face and sighed. “How terrible. I do apologize.”
Hannes rolled his eyes and shook his head. He leaned toward Linda as if conspiring with her as he said, “Daed ’s grown a bit forgetful in his old age, I fear.” Then Hannes bestowed a charming smile on Linda. “Fortunately, I see from all of the food you’ve prepared that it shouldn’t be a hardship to include them, ja? Perhaps if Drusilla or Anna would just add two . . .” He paused, quickly counting the plates and chairs. “No, wait, three more settings.”
“Three?” Linda practically choked. “Have you invited another family member, then?”
“Oh, no.” Hannes laughed politely. “I believe one blunder is enough for an evening, ja? But I do believe you forgot to include a spot for yourself.” He pointed at the table. “. . . Unless, of course, you forgot to include Ella?”
For the first time since he entered the kitchen, Hannes looked directly at her. He wore a look of triumph as he stared at her, just for a split second. But it was enough. If moments earlier Ella had been crestfallen, believing that Hannes had completely forgotten about her, Ella suddenly realized that she had, indeed, been mistaken.
Delightfully mistaken.
And she had to press her lips together to suppress a smile.
Linda had just opened her mouth to respond to Hannes, most likely to defend herself, when their conversation was interrupted by the opening of the kitchen door. Everyone turned, and before anyone could speak, Johannes spread his arms to greet the newcomers. “Ah, there you are!”
With wide eyes, a startled Ella found herself staring as John and Miriam King walked into the kitchen.
Apparently Ella wasn’t the only stunned person in the house. “What on earth . . . ?” Linda couldn’t even finish her sentence.
Miriam gave Johannes a quick embrace before greeting Linda. “How kind of you to invite us for supper! It’s not often we get to spend time with my bruder. Blue Springs is too far for frequent visits, so this is such a delightful treat.” She glanced around the kitchen. “Good friends, good food, and good family. That’s the recipe for a wunderbarr evening, don’t you think?”
Her husband nodded. “For sure and certain, Miriam.”
Miriam crossed the room and eyed the platters on the counter. “Oh help! Look at all this food.” She looked up at Linda, who had not moved from where she stood. “I can scarce believe this feast, Linda! And everything looks most delicious.”
Since Drusilla and Anna had not moved, either, Ella slipped away from the shadows and made her way to the cabinet where her mother’s old china was stored. She carried three more plates and set them on the table.
“Why, there you are!” Miriam gave her a big smile. “You were missed last weekend at the charity event. I hope you weren’t ill, Ella.”
Ella didn’t have a chance to respond.
Somehow Linda found her voice and addressed her daughters. “Girls, go fetch more chairs.”
Drusilla and Anna started to move, each in a different direction. And then, realizing their mistake, they turned to look at Linda. It was Anna who asked the question.
“Uh . . .” She lowered her voice. “Where do we keep them, Maem?”
Linda paused, the color draining from her cheeks. “Oh . . .” She turned to look at Ella and, with a strained look in her eyes, silently implored her for help.
“The basement,” Ella said quietly. “The extra chairs are kept in the basement.”
While Drusilla and Anna disappeared downstairs, Johannes and John sat down at the table, each taking one end. Hannes joined them by sitting in the middle on the side facing the kitchen counter.
“Now, Linda,” Miriam said. “It’s not like me to come empty-handed, but when Hannes told me about the apple crisp pies and how your dochders were making them tonight for dessert, I knew I couldn’t compete. Why, Hannes has done nothing but rave about that apple crisp pie since last week! And to think, both of your dochders baked it together? I simply cannot wait to see who wins this contest tonight!”
Linda tried to respond, but no words passed her lips.
Miriam bustled over to the kitchen counter. “Now, let me help serve the meal, ja?” She glanced up at Ella and smiled. “Just put me to work, Ella.”
By the time the platters adorned the table, Drusilla and Anna had returned to the kitchen with the chairs. Hannes made certain that they sat on either side of him. Ella sat next to Hannes’s father, with Miriam seated beside her. And Linda was placed just to the right of John King.
After the silent prayer, everyone began filling their plates. Roast chicken, herb-crusted potatoes, carrots cooked in maple syrup, fresh pumpkin bread, cinnamon applesauce, and chow chow. The food seemed endless, and everyone took a few minutes to sample everything before Linda managed to ask the question that was lingering in Ella’s mind.
“I’m quite surprised to learn that you’re family to the Kings. I would have thought you might have told us that,” Linda said, addressing Hannes directly. Her voice was filled with trepidation, and Ella could understand why. She recalled only too clearly how Linda had spoken about Hannes to Miriam at the store that one day.
But Hannes didn’t hear her question, or perhaps he was merely more focused on the food. As he sampled the potatoes, Hannes shut his eyes, a look of sheer pleasure on his face. “Why, these are so delicious.” He looked at Anna. “What are the herbs you used? Are they from your garden?”
“I . . . uh . . .” Anna stumbled over words as she tried to respond but couldn’t.
“And these carrots.” Once again, Hannes shut his eyes as if savoring them. “Which one of you cooked them? They’re absolutely perfect.”
Both Drusilla and Anna stared at him, although Hannes had moved on to the next item on his plate.
“And the chicken. Such flavoring. What is it?” This time, he turned to look at Anna and then Drusilla, clearly waiting for a response.
Neither Drusilla nor Anna answered, and an uncomfortable silence fell over the table.
Finally, Ella cleared her throat. “Paprika and rosemary,” she said. “And a healthy salt rub on the skin with a fresh butter and garlic mixture under it.”
No one spoke except Hannes, who lifted his eyebrows and took another bite. “How kind of you to help your stepsisters, Ella.”
Linda leaned forward and gave Ella a stern look of reproach. Then, just as quickly, she plastered another smile onto her face and addressed Johannes directly. “I’m so curious, Johannes, to learn more about this surprise that you’re related to our dear Miriam.”
This time, it was Miriam who responded. “Oh, Linda, surely you remember my maem talking about my older bruder when we played Scrabble, ja?” She laughed good-naturedly and waved her hand in the air dismissively. “In fact, I thought for sure that I had mentioned that my nephew was staying at my haus.” She pressed a finger against her cheek as if thinking. “Oh help. Mayhaps I didn’t. I was too interested in the game, I reckon.” She gave a little laugh. “I must have forgotten.”
Ella was stunned by this new information. All those trips to Echo Creek, Hannes had been staying at the Kings’ house? She had never once thought to inquire about where he was staying when he visited their town. It was too far to go back and forth to Blue Springs. But she hadn’t thought to ask.
Suddenly things began to make sense. After all, how else would Hannes and his father have heard about the store to begin with? If Linda had spoken to the deacon, certainly one of them might have reached out to Miriam’s brother in the hope that an arrangement could be made to help the Troyers.
And then, something else dawned on her.
Miriam.
Stunned, Ella looked first at Hannes and then at his aunt. Both of them avoided looking at her, but there was a hint of a smile on each of their faces.
Things aren’t always what they seem, Ella, Hannes had said to her before he’d left Echo Creek after determining that he couldn’t partner with Linda. Sometimes things might be going one way and then, when you least expect it, they turn around in your favor.
He had been giving her a hint of things yet to come. Had he known even then?
“Oh help!” she whispered and looked once more at Hannes, his words echoing in her head.
And suddenly all of this made sense. The sudden interest in Drusilla and Anna. The surprise request to dine at their house. The strange desire for Drusilla and Anna to bake the pie in front of them. And then the inclusion of John and Miriam King at the supper.
Her mind reeled with all of this newly discovered information, which only made more questions for her, rather than answers. While she didn’t quite understand why this was happening, she certainly knew what was happening. She suspected, however, that she wouldn’t have to wait very long to find out more.
Johannes clapped his hands together and pushed back his plate. “I’ve had my fill of supper. That was quite a fine meal, Linda. Why don’t we say the after prayer now and retire to the porch while your dochders make this famous apple crisp pie? A bit of fresh air and some coffee sounds just about right, ja?”
A few minutes later, everyone but Drusilla and Anna sat on the porch. Ella had carried out a tray with a pot of coffee and empty mugs, and she began serving the guests. It was Johannes who frowned as she did so.
“Danke, Ella,” he said. “But I must ask, why aren’t you in there baking one of the pies?”
Linda’s cheeks drained of color. “Oh, but . . .”
John King saved her from her humiliation. “Nee, Johannes. The pie was made by Linda’s two girls. They said as much at the event.”
It was Miriam who chimed in. “That’s right. I remember it clear as if it were yesterday. I must have told John a dozen times if I told him once how impressed I was that Linda Troyers’ dochders baked a pie together for the auction, especially knowing that a young man would bid on it.” She leaned over and placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “Didn’t I, John?”
“A dozen?” He gave a single, hearty laugh. “Two dozen times.”
But Johannes scratched at the back of his neck. “Well now, that does create quite a predicament. After all, what we discussed today was that Linda’s dochders would each make a pie. Doesn’t seem right that Ella shouldn’t be included.” He looked at his brother-in-law. “Don’t you think?”
John shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t matter none to me who bakes the pies.”
Johannes turned toward Hannes. “Seems you might want to decide. After all, you’re the one interested in marrying the baker of that pie.”
At this, John raised an eyebrow. “Say now, what is this about?”
Once again, Miriam placed her hand on her husband’s arm. “Oh, John, didn’t I tell you?” She gave a nervous laugh. “Silly me. I must have forgotten to mention that Johannes has agreed to buy Troyers’ General Store and the haus, as Hannes says he will marry one of the dochders.”
John’s expression changed from curiosity to disbelief. He turned toward Hannes and simply stared at him.
Miriam, however, seemed oblivious to her husband’s reaction. “Ja, Hannes said he would do just that, but he wants only to consider the one who baked that pie.”
The shock in John’s face intensified as he looked from Hannes to Johannes and then to Linda. “Is this true?”
Johannes gave a little shrug. “The boy’s insistent.”
Hannes nodded. “Indeed I am.”
“As for the store and haus, Linda and I signed all the paperwork this morning, didn’t we now?” Johannes glanced at Linda who didn’t respond. She stood there as if still shell-shocked at how the evening was transpiring.
John King appeared stunned. “To marry someone because of a pie? Sure seems like a strange arrangement.”
Miriam clucked her tongue. “I reckon people have married for even more peculiar reasons, John. Of all people, you should know that. Why, you counsel most of the married folk in this town!”
But John was appearing increasingly unsettled. “A pie as a reason to marry? Why, I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
Miriam, however, was undeterred. Quickly, she stood up and approached Ella, reaching for her arm. “Kum, Ella. Let me go with you into the kitchen. I have a curiosity about this famous apple crisp pie, anyway. Mayhaps I might keep you girls company, ja? I’d love to watch how it’s made.”
Without waiting for anyone to argue otherwise, Miriam guided Ella away from the others on the porch and into the kitchen, but not before Ella caught the suggestion of a smile on Hannes’s face as he watched her leave.