“I think this one is working out so far.” Matthias stepped back so Leroy could examine his progress.
“Beautiful,” Leroy said. “Your Dat couldn’t have done a better job on the inlay. But it isn’t a table leg yet.”
“I thought I’d try doing the inlay first, and then shape the table leg. I tried shaping the leg before doing the inlay and just couldn’t get it to work. The curve in the leg’s shape made it too difficult to get it to look right.”
Matthias took the piece of wood out of its clamps and handed it to Leroy. His boss looked at it from all angles.
“The inlay is nice and deep. It looks like your method might work.”
“I’ll let the glue dry over the weekend and work on the shaping on Monday.”
Leroy passed his thumb across the grain with a smile of satisfaction that eased Matthias’s worries. If Leroy was pleased with his work, then he knew he had done the inlay correctly.
“How is your mother doing?” Leroy said, leaning back against the workbench. “She has gone through quite a bit, with the move back to Shipshewana and all.”
Matthias shrugged. “I think she’s getting along fine. She likes being back here where we’re close to the girls.”
“But?” Leroy’s gaze didn’t waver.
“She regrets moving to Wisconsin. I think she believes things would have turned out differently if we had stayed here.”
“Jah.” Leroy crossed his arms. “I have gotten that feeling from what my wife has told me. Franny thinks that Essie is holding on too dearly to the past.”
Matthias took a rag and started wiping his tools and putting them away. “Are you asking as a friend or as a deacon?”
Leroy chuckled. “I guess a little of both. As a deacon, I’m concerned about all the members of the G’may. We’re a family, and if one is suffering, we’re all suffering.”
“I think Mamm is beginning to adjust. Dat’s passing was sudden.” Matthias swallowed. He didn’t trust his voice to speak normally.
“Did you get Ervin’s investment back when you sold the farm in Wisconsin?”
Matthias shook his head. “Dat had taken out a mortgage to buy it. After the funeral, Simon took the first offer that came along, but it was only enough to pay off the loan. He sold the livestock to buy our place here and to pay for the expenses of moving back to Indiana.”
“Your horse and buggy?”
Matthias’s throat closed. “We lost them in the accident.”
Leroy stroked his beard while Matthias put the chisels back into their case.
“If you were in need, you would tell me, wouldn’t you?”
Matthias hesitated. “Dat wasn’t one to ask for help. I don’t know how Mamm feels about it.”
“It’s a prideful man who considers himself above the rest of the community. The church supports all its members.”
“Simon gave us a cow to use, and the girls all made sure the cellar is full. We have plenty to eat.”
“But you ride your bicycle to work, even when it’s snowy and the days are short. You’re riding to and from work in the dark.”
Matthias closed the chisel case and put it in the drawer. He didn’t have an answer for Leroy. The old house on the other side of town was small and crowded. Mamm spent money to hire a driver rather than buy a new buggy and horse. And at night . . . Mamm sat in her chair through the long evenings, staring out the dark window.
Leroy leaned closer. “We’re here to help, Matthias. There is money in the deacon fund to provide your family with a driving horse and a buggy. We will make sure you have enough propane to last the winter. I also know that the Fishers butchered an extra steer this week. They’ll send some of the meat to your house.”
With a sigh, Matthias turned to Leroy. “I don’t know what Mamm will say about it, but I can only give you my thanks.”
Leroy put a hand on Matthias’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Essie. I’ll see if Franny can go over this afternoon and talk to her about it.” He grinned. “And now, speaking as a friend and your boss, I want to make sure you know you have a job here as long as you want it. Consider yourself one of the family.”
“I want to earn my job. Don’t keep me on if I don’t fit here.”
The older man chuckled. “Never worry about that, son. Your work speaks for itself. You have a knack for working with wood, and your skills are valuable to us.”
Matthias took a rag and wiped the newly inlaid wood one last time. “I wish today wasn’t Friday. By tomorrow, the glue will be dry, and I could start working on shaping the table leg.”
“You could come in, if you’d like. Franny and I will be in Middlebury, visiting her sister for the day, but Ada and Rose will be working in the store. Just let yourself in and work as long as you want to.”
“I would like that, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Folks have been asking for fine woodworking in the store, but there aren’t enough hours in the day for me to work on both furniture and the clocks. The sooner we can put one of your pieces in the showroom, the sooner we’ll be able to start selling them.”
“You’re that certain? I’ve only done one inlay. This is a long way from being a piece of furniture.”
“I’ve watched you work. You have your father’s skill and attention to detail. I’m sure your pieces will sell just as well as his did.”
Matthias smiled as he took a deep breath of the comfortable scent of wood and sawdust, feeling more at home than he had for years.
By the time Rose returned from her dinner break, Ada was ready for her help. The sun had emerged from the gray clouds and turned the afternoon into a sparkling wonderland of snow. Shoppers, eager to find something special for Christmas, filled the little shop. Ada kept
