“Why not?” She checked her Kapp with one hand while she straightened her apron with the other.
“If he asks you, it’s only to prove you would go with him. But he isn’t a nice man. He’ll only try to make you look foolish.”
Ada acted like she hadn’t heard him. “I knew he would notice me eventually.”
Rose came toward them, her feather duster dangling from one hand. “What is going on? Are you all right, Ada?”
Ada pushed past Matthias and grasped her sister’s hands. “Amos is going to ask me out. The Great Cookie Campaign worked!”
“The Great Cookie Campaign?” Matthias looked from Ada to Rose. “What’s that?”
Rose giggled. “It’s a secret.”
“We can tell him now.” Ada was smiling wider than he had ever seen. “Rose had the idea for me to take cookies to the workshop on Fridays to get Amos to notice me, and it worked.”
“Wait a minute—”
Ada interrupted him. “And Amos was only there for one of the Fridays.”
“Ada, listen to me. Amos isn’t going to ask you out because he wants to spend time with you. He and Vernon were laughing about you and calling you—” Matthias stopped. “Well, calling you names. If he asks you out, turn him down. Please.”
She turned toward him, frowning. “You don’t even know Amos. I’ve been waiting for this too long to let you spoil it. I think you’re just jealous because you didn’t think to ask me out first.”
As Ada hurried toward the entrance to the store, almost running, Matthias looked to Rose for help.
“Tell her I was only trying to warn her. She shouldn’t go out with Amos. He already has a girl.”
Rose looked at him, her eyes narrowed. “Maybe Ada is right. Maybe you are jealous. Don’t ruin this for her. She’s been working too hard for it.”
She left him standing alone in the showroom, the little table dangling from one hand. Was he jealous? He didn’t think so. All he wanted to do was protect Ada from being hurt.
CHAPTER FIVE
By Friday, Ada was beginning to think that she heard Matthias wrong. Every time Amos came into the store with Vernon to carry something out to the delivery wagon, she waited for him to look at her.
She had imagined the scene over and over. He would watch her until she looked up, surprised to see him. Then that slow smile would appear on his face as he walked over to her. He would lean across the bakery display case and reach one finger to touch the end of her nose. Then he would say—
“Ada?” Rose’s voice broke into her daydream. “You’re doing it again. The telephone was ringing, and you didn’t even hear it. I had to answer it in the showroom. What are you thinking about?”
“I was just wondering when Amos was planning to ask me to go out with him. It’s already Friday.”
“Did you take the gingerbread cookies in to the workshop? They smelled wonderful when they were baking this morning.”
“I’m going to take them at noon.” Ada glanced at the row of grandfather clocks; the place where the cardinal clock had stood still looked empty. “It’s a quarter to right now.” She straightened her apron. “Will you mind the store while I take the plate of cookies in?”
“Are you going to take them now?”
Ada pulled her lower lip between her teeth. If she took them now, Amos would be working and might not see her come in. But if she waited until just after noon, all three of the workers would be eating their lunches, including Matthias. She hadn’t spoken to him since Monday, when he tried to tell her not to go out with Amos.
“I’ll wait until twelve o’clock. Amos hasn’t asked me out yet, and if he’s eating lunch when I go in, that will give him a chance to talk to me.”
Rose leaned on the display case, right where Ada had imagined Amos would be when he finally talked to her. “If he asks you out, what will you say?”
“Do you really think I would turn him down?” Ada brought the box of frosted gingerbread cookies out from under the counter along with the wooden tray she would put them on.
“Sometimes it’s better if you don’t act too eager.”
“I’m not taking any chances that he might change his mind.”
Ada opened the box, taking a deep breath. The anise flavoring in the frosting mingled with the light spiciness of the gingerbread. She had tasted one of the cookies this morning and thought they were delicious.
Rose leaned over, taking in the fragrance. “Does Amos like licorice?”
“I don’t know.” Ada placed a dozen cookies on the tray. “The anise isn’t too strong.”
“But you know it’s there.”
“It’s only a little spicy. I think it tastes wonderful combined with the ginger and molasses.”
Ada covered the tray with a cloth napkin and glanced at the clocks. “Five more minutes.”
“You aren’t nervous, are you?” Rose giggled. “This could be the conclusion to the Great Cookie Campaign.”
“I hope it is.” She looked at the clocks again. Four minutes until noon. “What if he doesn’t ask me out, though? What if Matthias was wrong?”
Rose shrugged. “Then you keep on baking.”
Three minutes.
“It is only a few days until Christmas Eve. Are you still planning to make the jam thumbprint cookies?”
The first clock whirred in preparation to strike twelve. Ada hiccupped. It wasn’t noon yet. Dat had set the clocks to chime one after the other, from a minute before noon to a few minutes after. Some customers often stopped by the store just to hear them.
Ada nodded in answer to Rose’s question and picked up the tray of gingerbread cookies. She took a deep breath, then started for the workshop.
As she opened the door, she saw that her timing was perfect. Vernon had already sat at the table, while Amos was walking toward it with his lunch box in his hand. Matthias wasn’t anywhere that she could see.
She tried to keep a smile on her face as she walked across the
