Amish White Christmas Pie (27 page)

“Where were you heading when you spotted us?” Karen asked after Will had joined her in the buggy.

“Over to your place. What brought you out on a cold night like this?”

“I was going to see you. I wanted to talk about what happened this morning and apologize for blurting out what Susanna had said.”

“You had no way of knowing I hadn’t read
The Budget
. You were only going on what you’d heard.”

She reached across the seat and took hold of his hand. “Are you going to contact your real daed?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“You know, I used to dream about seeing Pop again.” Will sighed. “But he gave up the right to be my daed when he walked away and never returned, so why would I want to talk to him now? I mean, what would I say after all this time’s gone by?”

“You could tell him the way you feel about having been abandoned, and you could let him explain why he left the way he did and never tried to contact you until now.”

Will grunted. “Don’t see what good that would do. If he didn’t care then, I don’t see why he cares now.”

“The choice is yours, of course, but I really think you should pray about things and seek God’s guidance before you make a final decision.”

Karen’s words jolted Will to the core as he gathered up the reins. He hadn’t prayed about this matter or sought God’s direction. Lately he’d been remiss in reading the Bible—not like when he’d gotten baptized and joined the church. Back then he’d been eager to spend time with God by reading the Bible and his little devotional book.

“I’ll pray about the matter,” he finally said.

She smiled. “I’ll be praying, too.”

As Will pulled his rig in front of Karen’s buggy, she offered up a silent prayer.
Lord, please help Will get my buggy unstuck and help him see that he needs to speak with his daed
.

“Here you go,” Will said, handing Karen the reins.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Just sit here in my buggy while I unhitch my horse and hook him to your buggy.”

“My horse couldn’t pull the buggy free from the snow, so do you really think your horse can do it?”

“Jah, I do. Blazer’s a strong horse with a lot of spirit. Besides, my own buggy has been stuck in the snow a time or two, and I’ve always managed to get it out.”

“Okay, but isn’t there something I can do to help?”

He shook his head. “Just stay in here where it’s warmer.”

Will left the buggy, and Karen watched out the front window as his feet slipped on the ice while he attempted to unhitch Blazer from his buggy and then hitch him to hers. Once that was done, he waved at Karen and climbed into her buggy.

Karen started praying again, asking God to guide Will’s hand and give his horse the strength to pull her buggy free.

The buggy wheels spun, and Will’s horse appeared to be straining, but finally he pulled the buggy out of the mound of snow.

Karen breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank You, Lord
.

Will opened the door of the buggy and stuck his head inside. “I’ve got my horse hitched to my own rig again, and I’m going to hitch Ginger up to your rig. Then you can head for home, and I’ll follow behind.”

“Okay.” Karen climbed out of Will’s buggy and stepped into hers. As soon as he had Ginger hitched to the front, she took up the reins. She was thankful Will had come along when he did; she just wished she’d been able to make him see that he needed to contact his father.

W
hen Will and Papa Mark stepped into the kitchen the following morning, Will’s nose twitched as a tantalizing aroma greeted him. Mama Regina had made his favorite breakfast food—buttermilk pancakes smothered in warm maple syrup.

“Guder mariye.”
Mama Regina motioned to the table. “If you two will take a seat, I’ll bring the pancakes to the table.”

“That maple syrup you’ve got heating on the stove sure smells good,” Will said.

Mama Regina placed the platter of pancakes on the table in front of Will. “I know it’s your favorite, and I haven’t fixed it in a while, so I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

Will nodded. “A very nice surprise on this cold November morning.”

She smiled. “I’ve been planning our Thanksgiving menu, and I think maybe I’ll make some White Christmas Pie, since I know that’s one of your favorite desserts.”

“That’d be real nice.”

Everyone bowed their heads for silent prayer. As Will thanked God for the food he was about to eat, he remembered that he’d promised Karen he would pray about the situation concerning Pop. He’d been tired when he’d gotten home last night and had fallen into bed without praying.

Lord Jesus
, he added to his prayer,
please give me a sense of peace about the decision I’ve made not to see Pop
.

Papa Mark cleared his throat, signaling that he’d finished his prayer, so Will opened his eyes.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Mama Regina said, handing the platter of pancakes to Will. “And I hope you’ll be receptive to it.”

“What’s that?”

“I spoke with your daed last night on the phone.”

“Why would you call Papa Mark on the phone?”

“I was referring to Frank—your real daed.”

Will’s eyebrows shot up. “How’d he get our phone number?”

Mama Regina’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I…uh…called him yesterday, but he wasn’t home, so I called again last night.”

Will gripped his fork so tightly that his fingers turned white. “Wh–why would you do something like that when you knew how I felt about things?”

She fiddled with the napkin beside her plate. “I thought he had the right to know where you are, and—”

“You told him where we live?”

“I just said we’d moved to Indiana and lived outside of Middlebury, but I didn’t give him our address.”

Will slowly shook his head. “I can’t believe you would call him without discussing it with me first.”

“I don’t think your mamm felt she was doing anything wrong,” Papa Mark cut in. “I’m sure she thought if she made contact with your daed and found out why he never returned or contacted us until now that you might be more willing to meet with him.”

Will leaned forward in his chair as he looked at Mama Regina.”
Did
you find out why he never returned or why we haven’t heard from him in all this time?”

She shook her head. “He said he wanted to talk to you, so I didn’t press the issue.”

Will’s fork dropped to the table with a clatter. He couldn’t talk to Pop. He wouldn’t know what to say.

“Before we hung up, I told Frank that I would speak to you again and see if you’d be willing to meet with him.” Mama Regina reached over and touched Will’s arm. “I think it’s important that you see your daed and let him explain things to you.”

“I don’t see how that’s going to change anything. If he’d wanted to explain things, then he should have left me a note the day he left, like he told you he would.” Will grunted. “He should have written some letters letting us know where he was, and he should have come back to get me.” A lump formed in Will’s throat, and he grabbed his coffee mug and took a drink, hoping to push it down.

“Maybe there’s a good reason he hasn’t contacted you until now,” Papa Mark said.

Will shook his head. “There’s no reason for a man to leave his son and wait nearly sixteen years to contact him.” He looked over at Mama Regina. “Please don’t call him again.”

She slowly nodded. “All right, I won’t call if you don’t want me to.”

“Danki.” Will pushed away from the table and stood.

“Where are you going?” Papa Mark asked. “We haven’t had our devotional time yet.”

“I’ll do mine later. I need to be alone right now, so I think I’ll hitch up my buggy and take a ride.”

Mama Regina pointed to Will’s plate. “But you haven’t eaten your breakfast.”

“I’ve lost my appetite.” Will slipped into his jacket, grabbed his zipple cap, and rushed out the door.

Frank paced in front of his office window. He’d been dealing with problems all morning, and his stomach felt like it was tied in knots. One of his trucks had broken down, so he’d had to send a tow truck out to get it. Then one of the loads they were supposed to deliver had gotten canceled, and another load had been delivered to the wrong place. On top of that, it had begun to snow, which meant the roads would probably be bad for all his drivers.

He glanced at his cell phone. He hadn’t heard anything from Will or Regina yet and wished one of them would call.

If only I could talk to my son and explain things to him, we might be able to get back some of what we’ve lost. Maybe I should call home and see if Megan’s heard anything yet
.

He grabbed the phone and punched in the number. Megan picked up on the second ring.

“It’s me, Megan. I was wondering if Regina or Will has called.”

“No, Frank, not yet.”

He sank into his chair and heaved a sigh. “Maybe I should go on the Internet and look for the Stoltzfuses’ phone number. Regina said they live near Middlebury and that Mark runs a dairy farm and she has a health food store. I’m thinking either one of their businesses might be listed in the online phone directory.”

“That may be, but I really think you should wait and see if one of them calls you.”

“I’ve waited almost sixteen years to talk to my son—I’d say that’s enough time, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re right; it is a long time, but I still think you should try to be patient. If Regina has talked to Will, then I’m sure one of them will call soon.”

“I’ll wait awhile longer, but the first chance I get, I’m going online to see if I can find their phone number. If you hear anything on that end, please give me a call.”

“Of course I will.”

Frank turned in his chair and glanced out the window. One of his trucks was just pulling in—the one that had picked up the wrong load. “I’ve gotta go, Megan. I’ll talk to you later.”