Chapter Fourteen
As she and her friends stood in the shade among other wedding guests who’d finished their dinner, Jo watched Lydianne disappear behind the Miller house—and then saw her walking along the fence toward the road. She stepped closer to Molly and Marietta. “Something’s not right with Lydianne today,” she murmured. “I can understand why she was startled when Glenn showed up as Gabe’s side-sitter, but it’s not like her to let such a thing spoil her whole day.”
“Jah, who’d ever imagine she’d leave Regina’s wedding?” Molly asked as she, too, caught sight of the retreating side-sitter.
“Those two have been best friends ever since Lydianne came here,” Marietta put in. “I think they share a special bond because Regina lost her parents so young, and because when Lydianne arrived, she didn’t seem to have any family, either.”
“Which is pretty odd, when you think about it,” Molly remarked. “She moved right into her rental house—alone. I guess because she hasn’t mentioned anybody but a couple older sisters who live at a distance, we’ve not quizzed her about her previous home or her family.”
“She’s been pretty private about those things, jah,” Jo agreed speculatively. “But still—I hate to see her heading home so early in the day. She must be very upset about something, and I don’t like to think about her dealing with it all by herself.”
Molly considered the issue for a moment. “Do you suppose we should go over there? We’ll tell Regina we’re checking on Lydianne—and not totally skipping out on her party.”
Jo sighed. Because she and her mother had given the Helfing twins a ride, she foresaw a potential problem. “It’s the right thing to do—and Lydianne would do that for any of us—but I hate to leave, in case Mamm wants to go home before we return.”
“We’d be happy to run your mother home,” a familiar male voice behind her put in.
Jo blinked. When she turned, Michael Wengerd, who’d been chatting with a couple of the other young men in attendance, flashed her a brilliant smile. “Sorry if I overheard your conversation and butted in,” he continued apologetically. “Considering all the extra meals your mamm cooks for us—and the way she accommodated us when we came back last night for Gabe’s wedding—giving her a ride’s the least Dat and I can do.”
For a moment, Jo got so caught up in his sparkling eyes, watching them change from blue to gray and back again, that she forgot to respond. “Uh—oh, but that would be very nice of you!” she said a little too quickly.
He nodded, suddenly seeming as shy and tongue-tied as Jo herself felt. “I’ll let Mamm know—and we girls will be off. The sooner we can talk with Lydianne, the sooner we’ll be back. Denki for your offer, Michael.”
Jo noticed the knowing look that passed between the twins, but she didn’t take their bait. Why should she make a big deal out of Michael’s kind offer, when there couldn’t possibly be any romantic interest attached to it? Molly and Marietta were seeing what they wanted to see, but Jo knew better. Even if Michael weren’t so quiet and shy, he’d never be attracted to a tall, big-boned, horsey-faced girl like her. No man in his right mind would consider Joe Fussner’s look-alike daughter as marriage material.
After they found Mamm in the crowd and told her she had a ride home if she needed it, Jo led the way to the long line of buggies parked alongside the pasture on the gravel lane leading from the road to the Miller house. While Jo whistled for her horse, Molly rolled the rig backward and away from the fence. A few minutes later they were driving down the road.
“It was very nice of Michael to speak up about taking your mamm back,” Marietta began with a knowing smile.
Jo shrugged. “Michael—and his dat—are both very polite,” she remarked, hoping to let the matter go at that.
“So, when it’s time for a meal,” Molly took up the thread, “does Drusilla carry their food out to the dawdi haus? Or do they eat in the kitchen with you two?”
Jo laughed out loud, knowing the twins were fishing. “When they first started staying over on Friday nights before working at The Marketplace on Saturdays, she wanted no part of having them in the house. But after Nelson fixed a clogged drain and replaced the glass in a window for her, she softened up a bit.”
Watching for cars, Jo navigated the turn onto the county highway that ran through Morning Star. “Now they show up around six on Fridays for supper. It saves Mamm and me the effort of toting their meal over to them and fetching their dirty dishes, after all.”
“Uh-huh,” Marietta teased. “You can deny it till the cows come home, Jo, but I think you and your mamm enjoy the Wengerds’ company more than you’re letting on.”
“Why wouldn’t we enjoy their company?” Jo shot back defensively. “I could make the same assumptions about you two and Pete, but I’m considerate enough to keep my speculations to myself.”
Although the twins exchanged one of their silent communications—probably confirming that they were right about her and Michael—they stopped teasing her.
The buggy rolled through Morning Star slowly because of all the cars on the road, but finally Jo guided her mare toward the familiar lane leading up to Lydianne’s house. It was a neatly kept home, still painted the deep yellow her English landlord had chosen. With the maple foliage in the front yard starting to turn orange and deep red, Lydianne’s place was as pretty as a picture postcard.
“What do you suppose we ought to say to her?” Jo asked as she drove up Lydianne’s lane.
The twins’ pensive frowns and shrugs were identical, except that Marietta’s face and shoulders were much thinner because of her recent cancer treatment. “I have no idea,” Molly admitted. “We mostly just want to be sure nothing serious is wrong, jah?”
“And that it’s only Glenn who’s got her so upset,” Marietta confirmed.
Nodding, Jo set the brake after the horse stopped at the side of the house. “We’ll hope God gives us the right words. Her windows are open a crack, so she probably knows we’re here.”
As the three of them crossed the porch, Jo glanced between the curtains in the front window. She saw Lydianne silhouetted in the sunlight that flooded the kitchen. “Lydianne,” she called out as she knocked on the screen door. “If you’re having a little pity party, that’s fine—but we want to come, too, all right?”
A few moments later, the door opened. Lydianne had removed her kapp, and she was dabbing at her red-rimmed eyes with a tissue. “So my getaway wasn’t such a well-kept secret,” she remarked glumly. “I didn’t want to be a wet blanket on Regina’s big day, so I came home.”
Jo nodded as she and the twins stepped inside. “If it’s any consolation, Glenn is long gone—he didn’t even show up to eat,” she said gently. “So why not pull yourself together and come back to the party with us? The four of us maidels can keep each other company, seeing’s how none of us will have weddings in our immediate future—unless Pete gets smart and takes up with one of the twins,” she teased.
“Puh! I’m thinking Riley’s smarter than Pete will ever be,” Molly countered with a laugh.
“We’ll see how that goes. His rent is only paid through September—we’ve not seen money for October or beyond,” Marietta remarked as she gazed around the front room. “You might be the smart one, Lydianne, not having a dawdi haus that accommodates extra guests.”
Lydianne made a weak attempt at a smile. “Denki for checking on me, girls, but I’d hate to walk around the party with a hangdog look all afternoon—especially because my scholars are there. I’ve given the other guests enough to speculate about for one day, ain’t so?”
Molly’s eyebrows rose in a challenge. “Could be folks are talking even more because both you and Glenn left the party,” she pointed out. “Who’s to say the two of you haven’t met up somewhere to be alone together?”
“Oh, there’s a story!” Marietta teased. “Maybe you two lovebirds staged that little tiff at the signing table so folks won’t think there’s anything going on between you.”
“But there’s not!” Lydianne protested. “Except in Glenn’s imagination.”
Jo smiled. The twins had pulled Lydianne out of her funk, and she was sounding more like herself. “If it’s your scholars you’re concerned about,” she began, “won’t they see a fine example of grace and personal strength if you come back with us? We maidels understand that sometimes you just need to get away from the whole wedding thing when it depresses you, but those kids—especially your teenaged girls—will think you let Glenn’s inappropriate behavior drive you away.”
“You really are above that, Lydianne,” Molly said, squeezing her shoulder.
“Jah, it’s Glenn who’s got the problem, not you,” Marietta chimed in. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Bishop Jeremiah seeks him out for some counseling sessions soon.”
Lydianne sniffled loudly, considering her options. “Well, now that you put it that way . . .”
Jo smiled kindly, letting her friend decide for herself. She’d spent many an evening in her room bemoaning her singular state, wondering whom she’d have for company after Mamm passed away, so she understood the bitter sting of reaching her late twenties with no prospects for a husband. She suspected blond, blue-eyed Lydianne wasn’t destined to share that fate, but she kept her opinion to herself.
“Take your time, girl. We’ll wait while you splash some cold water on your face and put your kapp on again,” she said gently. “If you’ve got some eye drops with redness remover in them, you’ll look no worse for wear. We can enjoy some cake and spend some time with Regina—because she’ll be more of a homebody now. I’ll miss having her at The Marketplace on Saturdays.”
Lydianne let out a long sigh. “All right, give me a minute,” she finally said. “I’ll go back to visit with the bride, jah—but also to keep you three from spreading tales about Glenn and me when I’m not there to defend myself.”
“You’ve got that right,” Molly teased.
When Lydianne turned toward the bathroom, Jo flashed the Helfings a thumbs-up. She could recall a few times when the maidels had lifted Marietta’s spirits when her chemo treatments were most grueling, and it was gratifying to know that the power of their friendship had rescued Lydianne, as well—even if Jo sensed the new teacher might be dealing with issues she wasn’t ready to talk about.
Glenn may have taken himself out of the picture for now, but that still leaves Bishop Jeremiah with a tendency to gaze at Lydianne when he thinks nobody’s looking. It’s only a matter of time before he tries again.
* * *
Jeremiah’s heart stilled as Jo drove her buggy up the Millers’ long lane and parked it. It was a good sign that the maidels had only been gone from the wedding festivities for about half an hour—and he smiled when he saw Lydianne following the Helfing twins out of the rig. She had a firmness about her jaw that told him she was determined to see this day through for her best friend—that she was no quitter.
A fresh surge of longing filled his soul. Lydianne appeared weary, as though the busy Saturdays at The Marketplace and the hours she spent at home preparing for school were draining her well of inner resources faster than she could refill it.
If you were my wife, sweet lady, you wouldn’t have to work at two outside jobs. You’d have a comfortable home and a man who cherished every moment he spent with you—
But this wasn’t the time to approach her. Lydianne still seemed raw from her spat with Glenn, and Jeremiah still needed to come up with some compelling reasons for her to go out with him. Besides, neither of them wanted to become the object of everyone’s attention this afternoon. He was guessing more than two hundred people were in attendance, eager for something else to gossip about.
Jeremiah relaxed. Sometime during the upcoming week, while he was harvesting corn, inspiration would strike. He and Lydianne could start again, slowly—and alone, rather than someplace where folks were watching them. Maybe he’d fetch her after school one day and they could share a picnic in his favorite place, on the rocks alongside the riverbank. Seated among the trees, where the leaves whispered in the breeze and the water sang a soothing tune, surely he and Lydianne could blaze a trail toward the happiness that was missing in their lonely lives.