“I insist you sit here,” Reuben said. I was pleased with his action as he helped relocate Dat to the head of the table, which meant the three children also stood.
“Come sit beside me.” I patted the long bench on my side of the table, and Nancy and Mary Lou scooted in next to me. My eight-year-old nephew, Jesse, chose to sit next to Reuben, which was natural. Marta perched across the table from me.
Dat commenced the silent prayer, and we all bowed our heads. A minute later, he cleared his throat in his usual guttural way, indicating he was through.
Had I even prayed?
Suddenly, my mind was inundated with prayer requests when I hadn’t even thought to thank God for my many gifts and triumphs. I was living by myself and able to sleep through the night—for the most part. I was running the café—as best I could. What would I pray for first and foremost?
Mamm worked her lower lip as she stared at the bountiful noon meal—an array of cold cuts and cheeses, pickled beets, salads, applesauce, and chocolate pie. All of Reuben’s favorites. Marta knew how to treat her man right. No wonder she had my brother wrapped around her little finger.
I sighed as I envisioned myself keeping a husband happy. Why was I worrying about a scenario that might never happen?
During the meal, Marta was uncharacteristically chatty. She asked me about the café and what my duties were, and then she flattered me with compliments about my many new accomplishments.
“I hear you’re thinking of starting a new business,” I said.
Reuben narrowed his eyes. “Just thinking about it.” He forked into the pickled beets. “Nothing’s decided yet.”
Marta spoke to me in a subdued voice. “If we open a business, we’ll be needing to hire someone like you.”
“That would be wunderbaar,” Mamm said, her first words since sitting down at the table.
“But I have a job. I can’t just up and quit without advance warning.” I dabbed the corners of my mouth. “Anyway, I don’t wish to quit. I’m doing fine at my job, and I like my little cabin.”
“You’d desert your own family?” Marta’s brows met in the center. I smiled in return. No use starting a confrontation with my sister-in-law. “We’d find a place for you to sleep,” she said. “Our dochders have been asking for you, haven’t you, girls? Wouldn’t it be fun to have your aendi living here?”
“Yah, yah! ” Each niece took an elbow and agreed. Nancy laid her head against my arm while Mary Lou gazed up at me with doe eyes. These charming girls might be the closest I ever came to children of my own.
Wheels in my head started gyrating. What if I were fired from the nursery? I had yet to meet the owner and his wife. If Beatrice unleashed complaints about me and told them I couldn’t cook, I might find myself with nowhere to live.
TWENTY-THREE
As I steered the buggy back to the nursery, I allowed Autumn to set a leisurely pace. My mind played a raucous game of badminton as I swung my racket aimlessly in the back of my mind.
A pickup tailgated me, so I pulled off to the side of the road to allow it to pass. The vehicle moved alongside of me, and I saw Stephen eyeing me through the window, past Beatrice. Her head pushed back against her headrest, she stared out the windshield.
Stephen pulled ahead on a wide strip, stopped his pickup, and jumped out. He came over to me. “How are you and Autumn doing?” He tugged a clean handkerchief out of his jeans pocket, reached over, and dabbed away a tear rolling down my cheek. I jerked. How humiliating. I never cried in public and hadn’t known I was.
“Are you okay, Evie?”
“Yah, I was just visiting my parents…” I rubbed both cheeks. “I’m fine.”
“I saw Autumn going so slowly I thought you might have some kind of trouble or she’d picked up a pebble.”
“Is she limping?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I feel so silly.” I forced the corners of my mouth to curve up. “I must have been daydreaming.”
“Not a good habit with cars on the road. You really should pay more attention.”
“I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” I wondered if he’d let me borrow Autumn and the buggy ever again.
He must have heard anxiety grating in my voice. “Don’t worry about it, Evie.” He leaned closer. “Do you need help getting back to the nursery?”
“No. I’m fine.” Obviously, I wasn’t, but I straightened my back and gathered the reins, causing Autumn’s head to jerk.
“Ruth said you stopped by to see Amos.”
“Yah, so sad. Poor man. And poor Ruth. My heart goes out to her.”
“Beatrice was terribly upset when she saw Amos. She told Ruth she’ll be praying for his recovery.” He glanced over to his pickup. “And we also saw Jake. And met Brandy.” He paused. “That must have been awfully hard on you.”
“Jake and Brandy claim the baby isn’t his.”
“I’ve walked in your shoes, Evie. I’ve played the fool before.” Meaning he thought I was a fool? “Seems we all have been taken advantage of at some time.” He rubbed his palms together. “Let’s just get you back to the nursery in one piece, and we can talk more there.”
“Wait. There is something I should have told you earlier. I found an Englischer in the café last night.”
His features hardened. “Why didn’t you call me right away? Or call the police?” His voice turned gruff. “Did you recognize him?”
“No. He said his name was Ralph, and that he used to work at the nursery. Ach, I should have called you, but he seemed harmless.”
“What gave him the right to break into the café?”
“He didn’t actually break in. He had a key.”
“But he was stealing food, was he not?” Stephen gave his head a shake. “So now
