CHAPTER 5
Felty Helmuth loved to sing. He sang while milking the cow. He sang while setting the table. He sang to Anna while she sat in her rocker and crocheted. And he loved the Christmas songs, even if he made up his own words to almost every one.
Katie put the finishing touches on Adam’s cake while Anna slid cookies onto a plate with her spatula and covered them with plastic wrap. Felty readied all the bakery deliveries in three large cardboard boxes on the table, all the while singing at the top of his lungs.
“O little inn of Bethlehem, how much we are like you. Our lives are crowded very full with all we have to do. To our King we’re not unfriendly, we love without a doubt. We have no unkind feelings, we simply crowd Him out.”
Maybe Titus had gotten his knack for poetry from his dawdi. They were both very clever with a rhyme. Her heart swelled. Nobody had ever written a poem for her before Titus. The thought was thrilling and exhilarating, like jumping into a cold river on a hot summer day.
Had she ever met such a smart boy? She bet there wasn’t a boy in Augusta who would have been able to rhyme gadget with had yet. It was brilliant.
After all, the bakery had been his idea, and it couldn’t have been going any better. She already had as many orders as she could manage, even with the Helmuths’ help.
Katie spread the last bit of chocolate frosting on Adam’s triple chocolate cake. No coconut, no chocolate sprinkles, and no fruit on top. At least three times a week, she made Adam a small cake that he could eat himself, no bigger than two cans of tuna fish stacked on top of each other.
She frowned. Things couldn’t have been going better with Adam. He had come to dinner six times in the last two weeks, and he’d spent last Saturday on Huckleberry Hill visiting with Katie while she kneaded bread and made cookies for her bakery orders. It didn’t seem to bother him that she said so little. He filled up any awkward silences with his own stories. He had a very interesting life, and he loved to talk about hunting and his students at school. Little Mahlon Zook had gotten a splinter just last Friday. Dinah Neuen-schwander had lost her coat. Marvin Glick couldn’t understand fractions.
Katie found it fascinating.
At least she tried to.
She ignored the fact that her heart felt as heavy as a plow in the mud. She was simply worried about being an old maid. That was all. But why was she worried? Adam was thrilled that she could cook, even when she forgot and put raisins in his oatmeal raisin cookies. If he didn’t like how she made something, he always let her know. He was helping her improve her recipes.
He also seemed very excited about the money the bakery was making, because she’d have more money for the wedding. He was already anticipating marriage. Tears stung her eyes. She was overjoyed.
She finished frosting Adam’s cake and slid it over to Anna, who placed it in a little cardboard box. Titus had found the boxes at Walmart, and they had turned out to be the perfect size for minicakes and blocks of fudge. Titus could deliver baked goods without smashing them.
While Anna boxed up the cake, Katie leaned against the counter and pulled a crumpled piece of lined paper from her pocket.
Katie makes delicious cakes and fudge and cheese and pies. She misses home but if she left, we’d all cry out our eyes. Each day the people look to see just what she has in store. Because of her delicious food, we’ll weigh a whole lot more.
She smiled to herself and stuffed the poem back into her pocket. Titus had written her seven poems since she’d been here, each one better than the last. She marveled that he still had any ideas or rhymes left.
Her heart fluttered like a moth to the light when Titus stomped into the kitchen wearing the Vikings beanie that Anna had made him. His coat collar was pulled up around his ears. A flurry of snow blew in with him. “It’s wonderful cold out there,” he said. “Like an icicle.”
“Titus, you’re such a dear to take care of our special Christmas goat,” Anna said, handing Felty the box with Adam’s cake in it. “It’s going to be the best Christmas ever.” Anna winked at Felty. “Isn’t it, Felty dear?”
“For sure and certain, Annie-banannie.”
Titus had been, in a word, wunderbarr these last two weeks. In addition to his poems, he had gone to several neighbors in the community, both Amish and non-Amish, and had taken orders for baked goods. Then he had made deliveries every day but Sunday, even in the bitter cold, and brought back the money for Katie. When she had expressed concern that he was spending too much time on a bakery that wasn’t even his, he’d simply shrugged and said that the world should not be deprived of Katie Gingerich’s baked goods. Even though she knew he would never do it on purpose, he always seemed to know how to make her blush.
Katie’s eyes widened. Titus carried a full bucket of milk in one hand. “Bethlehem has never produced that much in one milking before.”
Titus unzipped his coat and grinned—with a toothpick between his teeth, of course. “That fancy restaurant in Shawano wants as much mozzarella as you can make and as fast as you can make it. So I bought another goat.”
Anna’s jaw dropped to the floor. “Another goat?”
Titus nodded. “Katie needs the milk.”
“But you’re spending so much time already,” Katie said. “How can I ask you to milk another goat every day?”
“It only takes me seven minutes to milk Bethlehem. It’s not that much more time. And that restaurant in Shawano pays gute money.”
Katie could barely move her lips around her smile. “Jah. They do.” If the restaurant kept buying, she’d make almost three hundred dollars from her cheese alone by Christmas. There weren’t enough words to thank Titus.
“Such a gute boy,” Anna said.
Titus placed his bucket on the floor near the door. “Do you want to see the new goat, Katie, just so’s you know where you’re getting the milk from? She’s real pretty and doesn’t say a word. I think she’s a little unsure of Beth.”
“Of course. I’m finished with my baking for the day.”
Titus motioned toward the boxes on the table. “Are these my deliveries?”
“Jah,” Katie said. She snatched a piece of paper from the counter. “And here is the list of houses each item goes to.”
Titus twirled the toothpick in his lips as he studied the list. Shuffling his feet, he cleared his throat and turned a darker shade of pink. “Would you . . . would you like to come with me?”
“To deliver?”
He nodded. “I can hitch the horse to the sleigh.”
All of a sudden, Katie felt breathless. A sleigh ride with Titus Helmuth sounded like the funnest thing in the world. “I would like that very much.”
His eyes shone as if there were a propane lamp inside his head. “Really? It’s wonderful cold. Are you sure?”
Anna beamed. “What a gute idea. I bet the people who are buying all your delicious baked goods would like to meet you.”
Katie pressed her lips into a hard line. What if she couldn’t think of anything to say to her customers? She didn’t have a way with words like Titus did.
Titus’s forehead piled up with creases. “I don’t mind going by myself. They’re always happy to see me when I’m bringing them a loaf of bread or one of your cakes.”
Katie swallowed the lump in her throat. She really wanted to go, even if she had to speak to total strangers. She’d be okay if Titus was with her. “I’ll get my coat.”
She put on her coat and bonnet and wrapped the scarf Anna had given her around her neck. It was caramel brown, made with yarn as soft as baby hair. Anna had also made her matching mittens and three dishrags. Titus zipped his coat up and smiled reassuringly as he stacked two of the delivery boxes on top of each other and lifted them off the table. Katie grabbed the third box. Felty opened the door for them, and more snow blew in from outside.
“Have fun,” Anna said. “There’s no need to hurry back. I’ll start dinner.”
Katie tried to hide her distress behind her scarf. Under no circumstances should Anna make dinner.
Titus’s toothpick bobbed up and down. “Don’t worry, Mammi. We won’t be long. I don’t want Katie to freeze.”
They trudged to the barn and loaded their boxes into the sleigh, then Titus slapped his gloved hands together. “Do you want to see the new goat?”
“Jah. Very much.”
He led Katie to the corner of the barn where the two goats sat on a bed of hay. Bethlehem’s red ribbon was tied to a wooden post, but Katie could see that Titus had lengthened it so that Beth had room to roam around the barn without escaping. The new goat had the same floppy ears as Beth, and her coat was the same caramel brown with eyes to match. They could have been sisters. Beth had a white patch of hair that ran in a V right between her eyes. The new goat had white hair on the tip of her nose. Titus had tied a green velvety bow around her neck. Katie reached down and took the goat’s soft ears in her hands. The goat baaed a greeting.
“I like the ears,” Katie said. “They look like a funny haircut.”
“She’s a real nice goat,” Titus said. “More sensible than Beth and not inclined to wander. I named her Judy. It’s short for Judea, as in Bethlehem of Judea. I hope Mammi doesn’t mind if we have a second Christmas goat. I’m hoping it will make Christmas twice as special.”
Titus was so clever.
He hooked up the horse to the sleigh, and Katie held on tight as they practically flew down the hill. The bells around the horse’s neck jingled merrily, and Katie didn’t think she drew a breath until they got to the bottom.
Titus glanced at her with a frown. “Am I going too fast? I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I forgot how the swoosh and the wind takes my breath away. I like it.”
Titus gave her a wide grin, snapped the reins, and prodded Felty’s horse into a gallop. It was the most terrifying, most exhilarating feeling in the whole world. “Whee!” she squeaked and threw her arms into the air. Titus’s smile couldn’t have gotten any bigger as they made their way up the road.
Katie needn’t have worried about meeting people. At the first house they went to, it was obvious that everybody loved Titus. Erda Beiler greeted them warmly at the door, and when Titus introduced Katie as the baker, the old woman threw her arms around both of them and declared she wanted to adopt them.
Titus seemed to be best friends with everyone. He was natural and likable and could keep conversations going without Katie, even while she felt included in all of them. Titus wasn’t like Adam, who never stopped talking. Titus seemed eager to introduce Katie to the neighbors, but didn’t act irritated if she didn’t say more than hello. She found herself talking to everyone because she was genuinely interested in getting to know the people who thought so highly of Titus. Titus’s endearing manner helped her forget herself and turn her heart outward.
After their fourth delivery where Mrs. Overton, an Englischer, had paid Katie ten dollars extra for a loaf of wheat bread, Titus cupped his hand around Katie’s elbow and helped her back into the sleigh. Once settled in, she picked up the list and her heart sank like a stone in the pond.
Next stop, Adam Wengerd’s house.
Titus was uncannily sensitive to subtle expressions on her face. “Is everything okay? Are you getting cold? We can go home, if you want, and you can stick your feet in the woodstove. I mean . . . I didn’t mean in the woodstove. By the woodstove. But not too close, because you don’t want to burn your toes.”
“I’m fine,” Katie said, because how could she explain the struggle raging inside her? Was Adam her last, best choice?
She chastised herself. How could she wonder about such a thing after only two weeks? She needed to give the relationship more time. It was silly to entertain doubts this soon.
“Are you missing home again?” Titus said, looking at her with so much sympathy, she felt like bursting into tears.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Christmas will be very different this year.”
“What is Christmas like at your house?”
“We have greenery and candles at every window, just like Anna does.” Last week, Anna had directed Titus to hang pine boughs and adorable little Christmas bows that Anna had crocheted herself. “On Christmas Day, Mamm makes chicken and corn and butter rolls. After dinner, we set twelve candles on our table and light them one by one. The person who lights the candle gets to choose a Christmas song, and we sing it before lighting another candle. My dat always lights the last candle, and we sing ‘Stille Nacht’ before going to bed.”
“And you’ll miss that.”
Katie nodded and blinked away the tears in her eyes. “I suppose when I marry, I’ll make new family traditions.”
Titus’s toothpick drooped precariously on his bottom lip. “Maybe Adam will want to carry on with your family’s traditions.”
She could barely force out the words in a whisper. “Maybe he will.” She couldn’t imagine Adam ever finding out about her family traditions. He never stayed silent long enough for her to tell him anything.
Katie bit her tongue. How could she think such a thing about the boy who was going to save her from becoming an old maid?
Titus drew a piece of paper from his coat pocket. Snowflakes made small tapping noises as they fell onto the paper. “I was saving this for later,” he said, “but maybe it will cheer you up.”
The mere thought of another poem tugged a smile from Katie’s lips. Did Titus ever have a selfish thought?
His cheeks glowed red from the cold. “Katie is pretty. Katie is sweet. Eating her potpies is such a treat. I hope she’ll be happy, I don’t like her sad. I hope she’ll discover Bonduel ain’t so bad.” He folded the paper and seemed to grow even redder. “I know ain’t isn’t a real word, but it fit with the rhythm better.”
Katie didn’t need her coat anymore. Her face felt as hot as if she had a fever. Did Titus really think she was pretty? Her heart knocked on her chest like a woodpecker on a telephone pole. Maybe pretty had been the only word that fit in the poem, but for sure and certain, she wasn’t going to ask.
“It’s very nice,” she said.
“Not half as nice as you are.” He gazed at her as if he believed every word of that poem, then seemed to remember he was supposed to be driving them somewhere. He picked up the reins, jiggled them slightly, and clicked his tongue to get the horse moving. “Where to next?”
She didn’t want to say it. Titus withered like a failed soufflé every time she mentioned Adam. He practically shriveled up when Adam came over. Had Adam been mean to him in school or something? Titus was so nice, Katie couldn’t imagine anyone ever being mean to him. “We . . . uh . . . next is the Wengerds.”
Just as she expected, Titus seemed to shrink about five inches. He attempted a smile. “Ach. Okay. Adam’s house next.”
“I haven’t been there for nine years,” Katie said, as her heart did a little flip. Would she be living there someday?
Titus guided the horse onto a short driveway right off the main road. “Here it is,” he said, giving her a wide smile that seemed a little sad.
Two bare oak trees stood in front of Adam’s mint green–colored house with a hunter-green metal roof. A smaller house sat right beside the big one. Adam had told her that his brother and his family lived on the farm. This must be his brother’s house. Directly behind the smaller house was a country red barn that looked as if it had recently been painted.
Katie pulled the small cake box from the bigger box.
“I’ll wait here,” Titus said, “so you and Adam can have a few minutes alone.”
Katie grimaced. She wasn’t particularly comfortable being alone with Adam. She never knew what to say. But what a silly thought that was. She never had to say anything when she was with Adam.
She set the cake box on the seat of the sleigh, then found the box of fudge, the nut-brown bread, and the loaf of honey wheat bread in one of the bigger boxes. Adam had hinted that his mamm liked whole wheat bread, and Katie was eager to please her.
She glanced at Titus. He had his toothpick clamped between his teeth. How mean had Adam been to him in school? She set the rest of her baked goods on the seat and jumped from the sleigh. Surely she could manage everything in one trip so Titus wouldn’t have to help. If she tucked the box of fudge under her elbow, she might be able to carry it all.
Titus saw her difficulty at once. He shot to his feet so fast, he probably pulled a muscle. “Here. I can help.”
She smiled sheepishly. “I’d be very sad if I dropped Adam’s cake.”
He returned her smile with one just as sheepish. “Last week I dropped the apple pie you made for the Johnsons.”
Katie caught her breath. “Ach, du lieva. I hope they weren’t mad about it.”
Titus shook his head and grinned. “They paid full price and said they’d scrape it out of the box.”
“If that ever happens again, I’d be happy to make them another one. I’m sorry, Titus. I’ve asked too much of you. I should be the one doing the deliveries.”
“I like delivering. Folks are always wonderful happy to see me when I have a plate of your cookies in my hand. I’ve become very popular.”
Katie studied the snow caking her boots. “I don’t wonder but you were already the most popular boy in Bonduel.”
He tied the reins and jumped from the sleigh. “Nah. Cousin Norman thinks I’m thickheaded, Aunt Esther scolds me, and Mammi Anna has given up on teaching me how to knit.”
“That’s not true. Anna can’t talk about you without smiling. She thinks you’re more wunderbarr than triple chocolate cake.”
Titus’s lips curled into that modest smile he often wore. “I think you’re more wunderbarr than triple chocolate cake.” He immediately swiped his hand across his mouth—without dislodging his toothpick—and lowered his eyes. His boots must have been as interesting as hers were.
Katie felt as if she was standing right next to a glowing fire. It was turning out wonderful warm for such a cold December day. Just how much did Titus like triple chocolate cake?
Titus carried the loaves of bread, and Katie got the box of fudge and the cake. In silence they trudged across the Wengerds’ lawn and up to Adam’s front door. Katie felt a little flustered. Would his mater even remember her? Would Katie have to try to make conversation with the whole family? What if she couldn’t think of anything to say?
Titus studied her face, and he seemed more worried than she was. “If you get stuck, ask them about hunting. They like to hunt. Or you could talk about food. Most everybody eats. Sometimes.” He frowned. “I didn’t mean that some people don’t eat. I mean, I know everybody eats. They all eat, all the Wengerds. They might like to talk about it, if you can’t think of anything else.” He reached into his pocket. “Do you want a toothpick? Sometimes I chew on my toothpick when I don’t know what to say.”
Katie crinkled her brows together. “I . . . I think I’ll be okay.” She was only stopping by to deliver a few baked goods. They’d be here two minutes at the most. Or maybe she should try the toothpick.
“They’re going to love you, all of them.”
“I hope so.” If they didn’t, Adam would never propose.
Titus, always so kind, knocked on the door when he saw that she couldn’t quite muster the courage to do it herself.
Adam immediately answered, as if he’d been waiting for her just inside. He burst into a smile. It was a very good sign. “Katie.” His smile faded slightly when he glanced at Titus. “Titus brought you for a visit?”
Katie infused her voice with extra enthusiasm. “We’re doing bakery deliveries.”
Adam’s eyebrows rose on his forehead. “Bakery deliveries? Wonderful-gute. Are you making lots of money?”
Katie didn’t quite know how to answer that. She’d never been very gute at math. “I brought you some presents,” she finally said, hoping Adam would forget about the money. She handed him one of her boxes. “Here is some chocolate swirl fudge.”
Adam peeked inside the box. “Without nuts?”
Katie could almost feel the embarrassment travel up her neck. “Jah. I’m sorry about last time.”
“It’s okay,” Adam said. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know I don’t like fudge with nuts.”
Katie relaxed slightly. It was wunderbarr of him to be so forgiving. She handed him the other box. “And this is a triple chocolate cake with no sprinkles, no coconut, and no chocolate chips. I hope you like it.”
Adam smiled, showing all his straight white teeth. “Like it? I’ll love it. You know chocolate cake is my favorite.”
“And these,” Katie said, taking the loaves of bread from Titus’s arms, “are for your mamm. Honey whole wheat and nut-brown bread.”
Adam set the two boxes on the small table next to the front door and took the loaves from Katie. “This is perfect, Katie. My mamm will be pleased. I don’t think she’ll like the nut bread, but you made the effort and that’s what’s important.”
Titus took a small step closer to Katie. “The nut-brown bread is so gute, I can eat a whole loaf by myself.”
Adam acted as if Titus hadn’t said anything. He placed the loaves of bread on the table, opened the cake box, and took a whiff. “Smells gute and looks gute, too. A little small, but that gives me a good excuse not to have to share with my bruders.”
Katie glanced at Titus with an apology in her eyes.
He smiled and winked at her.
She melted like butter on the griddle.
And almost forgot Adam was standing there.
Katie pried her gaze from Titus and back to Adam. “Well then, I hope you enjoy the food.” Adam didn’t offer to pay her. He never paid, and she didn’t expect him to. The baked goods were in exchange for a possible proposal.
Adam’s expression brightened. “Why don’t you stay? My mamm hasn’t seen you since you got back, and my brothers have been asking about you.”
Panic tightened a hand around Katie’s throat. She had only planned on being here for two minutes. “Well . . . we . . . have to finish our deliveries.”
Adam cocked an eyebrow and laid a hand on Titus’s shoulder. “You don’t mind making the deliveries by yourself, do you, kid? Katie and I want to spend some time together.”
Katie tried to hide her reluctance. “I should help Titus finish.”
Titus’s toothpick trembled. “I can do the deliveries. Nothing should stand in the way of true love.”
True love? Was that what this was?
Adam smiled. Or smirked. Sometimes Katie couldn’t tell the difference. “Okay then, kid. Make your deliveries, and be back in an hour.”
Titus didn’t seem the least bit embarrassed at being bossed around. He gave Katie a boyish grin that made her feel better about her staying. If a boy as kind and thoughtful as Titus thought she was as wunderbarr as triple chocolate cake, then maybe Adam would come to see her that way, too. The thought gave her confidence.
“I will come in an hour,” Titus said, giving her one last nod before trudging back across the snow-covered lawn.
Adam invited her into the house. He picked up the two loaves of bread and led her down a dark hall to the kitchen. Adam’s mamm stood at the sink, three of his brothers sat at the table, and his sister swept the floor. Katie held her breath. They looked up when she and Adam entered the room.
“You remember Katie,” Adam said, nudging her forward.
An awkward silence fell as they stared at her, no doubt expecting her to say something clever. She felt like she had a mouthful of sawdust. Could she turn around and march out the door?
Not without ruining her chances with Adam.
She’d have to be extra brave.
“So,” she said, her heart beating in her throat, “I hear you like to hunt.”