Arden grinned, seemingly enjoying this.
“I guess you didn’t have these kinds of meetings, then?” she asked.
“My parents decided most everything. There was very little input from any of us.”
“Well, we only got to discuss activities and whatnot. We weren’t involved in what you’d call any significant decision-makin’.”
Arden drew a breath, his shoulders rising. “I hope talkin’ like this isn’t making ya more homesick, Lena Rose.”
She shook her head. “Remembering the happy times isn’t a sad thing. I don’t want to forget them.”
The waitress brought their coffee and the single piece of coconut cream pie, and the conversation moved on to other topics, including Rebekah Petersheim. “My Mamm thinks it’s mighty kind of you to befriend her when others are a bit cautious.”
Lena’s skin prickled. “Why, though? Rebekah’s as devout a woman as any I know.”
“My parents and I have nothing against her,” Arden said.
“She deserves only compassion,” Lena said, though she didn’t say more. Some things should only come from Rebekah’s own lips.
“I like that ’bout you,” Arden said softly and leaned forward. “You stick up for people. You’re loyal.”
She nodded, feeling pensive. “Dat and Mamma always were, too. I guess I learned it from them.”
“You’ve been through so much . . . and you’re still a strong person.” Arden picked up his coffee cup and held it, looking over at her before taking a drink. Then, smiling, he said, “I’ve been thinking ’bout something lately . . . quite a lot, to tell the truth.” He paused, his expression earnest. “This is what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She wasn’t sure what to expect.
“I’d like to be more than friends, if you’re willin’.”
She was tempted to say that it was too soon after her breakup with Hans, but she caught herself. It wasn’t simply a matter of whether she was available. Lena needed to make things clear. “I’m flattered . . . but I’m determined to return to Michigan as soon as I can.”
Surprisingly, Arden didn’t seem fazed. “That doesn’t mean I can’t try to change your mind, jah?” He gave her the dearest smile, his eyes searching hers.
You might try, she thought, holding his gaze.
By the time they’d finished their coffee and the shared piece of coconut cream pie, the time had gotten away from them. “Goodness, I hope Cousin Harley isn’t concerned,” she said as Arden helped her into his shiny black courting buggy after paying the bill.
“I’ll get ya right home.” Arden ran around to the driver’s side of the open buggy and leaped in, and they were off.
As Arden directed his horse over near the mailbox on the shoulder of the road, Lena noticed the Stoltzfus farmhouse was dark except for the kitchen. He got out to help her down, holding her hand long enough to squeeze it gently. “I’ll be thinkin’ of ya this week, Lena Rose . . . praying, too.”
She contemplated saying something pleasant back or simply thanking him, but nothing seemed appropriate. Certainly, she shouldn’t encourage him, even though a part of her wanted to. It was real nice to have a fellow’s attention again, especially one as good-looking and congenial as Arden Mast. “I had a gut time, and the pie was delicious” was her response. She waved to him and hurried up the driveway. “Gut Nacht.”
Just before she turned to step onto the walkway, she looked back and was surprised to see him still standing outside his courting buggy, its large red safety lights flashing. He raised his arm high to wave to her.
His words from earlier that evening echoed in her mind: “I’d like to be more than friends.”
Never had her heart pounded so hard, clear up to her ears. Not waiting a second longer, Lena walked to the back steps and opened the door.
———
Harley was sitting by the upstairs window in Mimi’s comfortable chair while she slept, waiting for Lena Rose. He hadn’t worried, really, when she didn’t arrive home as early as he had expected, but as he’d sat there praying about a number of things—one being his improving relationship with Manny Beiler—he offered a request for God to guide Lena as to her future, just as Mimi had also been fervently praying.
Now, thankfully, he could hear Lena’s light footsteps on the stairs and knew she was safely home. Harley tried to imagine what it would have been like had he and Mimi ever made the trip to Michigan to see Cousin Jacob and his family. Might they have been closer . . . and might Tessa and Lena Rose have become friends?
Who’s to know now? he thought as he pulled himself up from the chair to make his way to his side of the bed.
All through the rest of March, Lena continued to attend various youth outings—the evenings away helped her to feel less lonely. Lydia, it seemed, was usually with Eli, and Arden frequently sought out Lena. And while spending time talking with him was definitely something she looked forward to, the high point of each week remained the many letters Lena received from her family.
The sometimes foggy, wet mornings of March soon turned balmier, and Lena quietly celebrated her nineteenth birthday with the Stoltzfuses on Friday, March 24. Evidently a little bird had also alerted Arden, so Lena Rose had a visitor that evening who arrived with a wrapped present—a poetry book by Helen Steiner Rice—and a birthday card with a thoughtful greeting. Mimi didn’t seem too surprised at Arden’s arrival, as she had another placemat and dessert plate at the ready for Arden to join them for cake and ice cream.
Arden also stayed to play Dutch Blitz with all of them, including Solomon, whose spectacles kept slipping down his nose as he studied his cards. Thankfully, Solomon didn’t make a big stir about Arden’s being there, which only further endeared Harley’s elderly uncle to Lena.
Then, when everyone