She knocked again, and Salome finally answered the door but didn’t invite Noelle inside, which seemed odd. Noelle handed her the envelope of money and then asked if she could speak to Moriah.
“She’s not available,” Salome said, which wasn’t a phrase she normally used either.
“Would you ask her if she would help me bake tomorrow?”
Salome pursed her lips. “Are you going to follow Mamm’s plan about the products?”
“Am I working at the market on Thursday?”
Salome nodded.
“I think, perhaps . . .” Noelle’s voice was so low she could barely hear it. She cleared her throat. “I believe I will be selling some of the mini items again.”
“The business will be ruined by the time my back is healed.” Salome shook her head and then closed the door.
Stunned, Noelle headed toward the farmhouse. What was going on with Salome? She didn’t want to celebrate Family Christmas. She wanted to be completely in charge of the baking business. She was ignoring Dat’s condition. She’d practically just slammed her door in Noelle’s face. And she was being secretive about something.
Tears threatened to flow as Noelle took a deep breath and pushed through the back gate of the farmhouse. She’d come the closest she ever had to standing up to Salome, only to be shut down. She traipsed through the snow up to the porch and knocked softly. Perhaps LuAnne was napping while the little ones did.
However, after a couple of minutes, she came to the door with her two-year-old, Willy, on her hip. Noelle followed her inside, thanking her for the casserole and putting the pan on the counter.
The farmhouse was over a century old with the original hardwood floors, molding, and fireplace. Ted and Salome had put in new kitchen cabinets and a new woodstove, which still barely kept the drafty place warm. The Dawdi Haus and now the new house were both much better insulated. But LuAnne loved the old house and Noelle loved that about her.
“I was wondering if you’d heard anything about using the school for Family Christmas?” Noelle asked.
“I asked when I dropped the kids off,” LuAnne said. “It’s already been claimed for Christmas Day by another family.”
Noelle’s heart fell. “Any other ideas?”
LuAnne shook her head. “You could call some of the nearby churches. Like the Mennonite one that’s close by. Maybe they could help us out.”
Noelle nodded, thinking of what Holly had suggested. She hated making phone calls, but she’d force herself to do it.
“I have another question to ask you.” She explained about how Dat couldn’t be left alone, at least not for long, and she needed to work at the market this week.
“I’ll work it out with Salome and Moriah,” LuAnne promised. “I’ll take responsibility to make sure someone is with him.”
Noelle thanked her. That was a big worry off her shoulders.
She stopped by the phone shed on the way back and pulled out the phone book, going through the Mennonite church listings. Finally she found the one closest to them. She took a deep breath and dialed the number, then managed to explain her request to the woman who answered.
“I’m sorry,” the woman said. “Another family is having their gathering at the church that day.”
Noelle thanked the woman and hung up the phone. She called the other two nearby churches and got the same answer.
She arrived at the market on Thursday morning with her boxes of mini whoopie pies, half-moon pies, and creamsticks, along with an assortment of regular-sized pies. Holly wasn’t in her booth; instead, Carlos was setting everything up.
“Where’s my twin?” Noelle asked, surprising herself with how light and cheery she sounded.
Carlos grinned. “She’s taking her last final.”
Noelle didn’t know what else to say. She knew a “final” was an exam, but she had no idea how difficult it was or what it really meant.
“She’s going to take the bus later.”
Noelle wished she could just watch their booth so Carlos could pick Holly up, but she knew it would be hard to manage if it got busy. And hopefully it would.
At first it wasn’t, and the morning dragged along. Carlos stepped back to Jesse’s booth. The two must have joked about something because soon they were both laughing. The sound of Jesse’s laughter was like a stab to her heart. She’d missed it.
On Sunday, on her way home from Ben and Barbara’s with Dat, after the revealing conversation with Jesse, Noelle wondered if Jesse had been out courting someone that day. Once again, he’d find someone he’d have more fun with, someone more outgoing than she was. He’d probably had dinner at some girl’s house or, if she was in a different district, attended church with her. He wouldn’t stay single for long, which would be a blessing. The sooner he was married again, the better—for all of them.
It was almost noon by the time Holly showed up. First she oohed and aahed over Noelle’s new products. And then she claimed to be good luck because business actually picked up.
One customer bought three boxes of Noelle’s mini whoopie pies. Then a man bought ten of the half-moon pies, saying he was taking them back to his co-workers. He grinned. “They’ll owe me big-time.”
Another customer came specifically for a pie and asked Noelle if she could make five more for Christmas. Noelle said she could, as long as the woman could pick them up on Christmas Eve. Noelle wrote down the woman’s order and then gave her the address of the new house. Then she smiled at the woman and said, “Merry Christmas!”
The woman smiled back and thanked her profusely.
Noelle wouldn’t tell Salome about the special order. She’d only be critical of another new business idea.
“What was that about?” Holly asked from across the aisle.
“Pies for Christmas.”
“Ooh, you’re branching out.”
Noelle gave her a sassy smile.
“And enjoying it. Your customer service has really improved, ya know?”
Noelle ducked her head at the compliment, but Holly was
