Katie Opens Her Heart (2 page)

Yah, Mamm
should marry again, Katie decided.
Mamm
’s sorrow over losing her husband was still written on her face after all these years. Was it not high time things changed?
Yah
, and Katie would pray about the matter.

Da Hah
must already be thinking the same thing if He was sending
Mamm
a suitor in the person of Jesse Mast. So why couldn’t
Mamm
see this and accept Jesse’s offer of marriage? Was she turning him down because he wasn’t much to look at?
Yah
, he was a little rough around the edges. But it wasn’t like
Mamm
to be so concerned with outward appearance. She went more by a person’s kind heart than how he looked on the outside. Perhaps it was the fact that Jesse’s
frau
, Millie, had died and left him with a family of five children. Was that why
Mamm
objected? She didn’t want her household increased so dramatically?

Nee
, Katie decided that couldn’t be the reason either.
Mamm
didn’t mind hard work. And if a large family was the problem, she should have been happy after turning down Jesse. Instead,
Mamm
had walked around the house with the lines on her face running deeper than ever. So why had she turned Jesse down? That was assuming
Mamm
had turned him down. The proposal of marriage was just a guess on Katie’s part, but she was sure she was right. It couldn’t have been anything else. The two had talked for a long time while sitting on the porch swing. Afterward, Jesse had stood in the yard for a few moments longer, still speaking with
Mamm
. He’d held his hat in his hand, the sweat ring in his hair still apparent from where the hat had been pressed tightly on his head. Then Jesse had walked back to his buggy, his head bowed. Even Jesse’s horse, Lucy, had looked depressed as they drove down the lane.

Katie had been ready to ask
Mamm
what Jesse wanted, but one look at her face caused her to change her mind.
Mamm
looked troubled and yet, at the same time, ready to give someone a piece of her mind. A question from Katie could easily have resulted in another lecture she didn’t want to hear. A lecture about being satisfied with one’s lot in life and not reaching for the stars. That was the standard lecture
Mamm
always gave when Katie dared complain about attending more of the Amish youth gatherings.

“You don’t know how nice you have it,”
Mamm
would say. “We have enough to eat, a roof over our heads, and horses to drive us to work and church. What more could we ask for?”

Well, Katie thought, there was plenty more to ask for. All kinds of things a young woman could want. Things that were out there just waiting to enrich one’s life—and, happily, things that were not forbidden by the
Ordnung
. Like liking a boy. Like someday loving a man who would love her back and consider his life empty without her. Someone who’s eyes would light up when he saw her. Someone who called her sweet things on Sunday nights as he sat on the couch beside her. Wasn’t that what dating couples did?
Mamm
wouldn’t say when Katie asked, other than muttering something about useless talking until all hours of the night.

How could such time be considered wasted? Katie wondered. It would be glory indeed to sit beside a boy—a soon-to-be man so near she could touch him. What delight it would be to hear his deep voice rumble when he spoke or feel his eyes watching her long before she looked up to meet his gaze.
Nee
, this couldn’t be wasted time. It would be a touch of heaven, and the most worthwhile thing a girl could set her heart on. Especially if the boy were Ben Stoll…

Katie sighed. So had Jesse Mast asked for
Mamm
’s hand? Had she turned him down? She’d sent him away looking disappointed, so something was going on. And then there was that look on
Mamm
’s face in the evenings after the sun had set and the house was quiet.
Mamm
didn’t like the loneliness of their house either—the hours without a man’s voice being heard. She’d been silent after Jesse left that night, staring at the kitchen wall and seemingly more troubled than usual.

What could she do to help? Katie wondered. She should do something,
yah
.

A car passed Katie’s buggy, its engine roaring. Katie forced her mind back on the road ahead. Her horse, Sparky, knew the way to Byler’s Store. He should after all this time she’d worked there. But even so, he mustn’t be allowed to go his own way.

Ahead of her, Bishop Jonas Miller’s place was coming up. His wife, Laura, was out in the yard hanging wash on the line. Katie leaned out of the buggy to wave, and Laura paused long enough to wave back before bending again to her work. At least the older Amish folk didn’t think she was strange, even with
Mamm
the way she was.

Katie settled herself in the buggy seat again. If
Mamm
married Jesse, she might have to stay home from her job at Byler’s and help with the added work five children entailed. But that would be an attractive kind of work—more normal almost. And it could lead to other kinds of normalness in her life. And perhaps even to a boy sitting on the couch beside her some Sunday night after a hymn singing.
Yah
, somehow
Mamm
must be persuaded to accept Jesse’s offer of marriage.

Katie turned into the parking lot at Byler’s and pulled Sparky to a stop at the far end of the hitching rail that was located on one side of the store. She climbed down, unhitched the buggy, and led Sparky around to the back where he could munch at stray pieces of grass during the day. She tied him to the fence with a long rope before walking back to the buggy. She pushed both doors shut before heading to the employee entrance of the store.

Chapter Two

Katie’s day moved slowly. Every so often she would glance at the clock, which seemed to be stuck. Wasn’t it 3:15 the last time she looked? How could it be only 3:20 now? It wasn’t that Katie disliked her job. She really did enjoy seeing people—mostly the regulars who came once or twice a week. Her present customer, Beth Kallen, was one of those. Her full shopping cart would probably last only a few days with her husband and their six children—two of them teenagers.

Katie finished scanning and bagging the groceries. She waited while Beth wrote out a check. Behind Beth, the line of customers stretched into the aisle. At the register across from Katie, Arlene Troyer was also ringing up customers. Her line was just as long, and there were no other clerks to summon for help. Katie and Arlene would have to hurry, and those in line would just have to wait.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Beth said as she handed Katie the check. “Seems like these middle-aged hands don’t move very fast anymore.”

“That’s okay.” Katie gave her a warm smile. “Shall I put these bags in your cart so you can push them out to your buggy?”

“That would be so nice of you,” Beth said. “That’s what I like about this place. All of you girls give such good service.”

“That’s what we’re supposed to do,” Katie said. “We don’t want you all leaving us for one of those fancy chain stores in town.” She left her register for a moment to put the sacks in the cart and hold open the door for Beth as she pushed the cart through.

Katie returned and gave the next customer a greeting. The man only had a pound of cheese in his hand, and he gave her a quick nod as she rang it up. At least he wasn’t angry with the wait, even though he hadn’t said anything. Now, if the man had been at Arlene’s register, he would have taken the time to smile and say something sweet like, “My you look sunny today” or “How lovely you Amish girls are.” Men were funny that way when it came to pretty girls.

Katie pushed the thought away as she greeted the next person in line, an
Englisha
woman with a cart full of baked goods. She smiled and chatted while Katie rang up the purchases.

“I can’t believe I was so fortunate today. I tell you, I arrived just as these rolls were coming out of the oven. The girl back there told me so herself. And I knew it was true because I’d seen her brush the frosting on just moments earlier. Not that I would have doubted an Amish girl’s word, believe me. Honest folks they are, if ever there were honest folks walking under God’s great heaven. Aren’t you Amish yourself, darling?”

The woman didn’t pause for Katie’s answer. “I do believe you are Amish from the way you look. I was expecting non-Amish girls up here working the registers. Why, I don’t know. I guess I always think of Amish girls working with baked goods and heaving hay into hay mows in barns.” The woman stopped for a breath.

Katie smiled and said, “We do get off the farm once in awhile.”

The woman laughed. “Of course you do! That’s just my way of thinking.” She waved her hand over the baked goods. “And I’m not eating all this food myself. I know I look like I could hold all of it, like I’ve been eating all my life, but believe me I haven’t. My husband, he’s thin as a rail, and we’ve taken up healthy eating lately. Sort of a craze he’s insisted on. I hold out on one thing only—Amish baking. This stuff is
healthy
, I tell him. Look at the Amish. They live to ripe old ages, happy as clams in their plain homes. Ralph isn’t convinced though. Flawed logic, he says. But that doesn’t keep him from eating his share. And the children…Why they would carry off rolls and pies before I get them on the counter at home if they could. They should come down to Byler’s themselves, but they’re too busy they say. What with their jobs and all. But not too busy to stop by Mom’s place and load up on goodies. They even know the days I come down here. Figure that! And this from children who don’t even remember my birthday!”

The woman stopped for a breath again just as Katie bagged the last pie. The total on the register was high, but the woman never blinked as she slid her Visa through the credit card processor. Katie waited until the woman moved away from the counter before she turned to the next customer.

This one was an
Englisha
man about her age. He was tall, and his blue eyes twinkled as he smiled. Katie managed a quick smile as she ran his items over the scanner. Why was he looking at her that way? Katie wondered. Young, good-looking guys like this one never paid her any attention. Maybe he’s just having a very good day.

“That was kind of funny,” he said. “The way she never let you get a word in edgewise.”

Katie took a moment to look up before she answered. “Oh, I didn’t mind.”

“You must be very patient,” he said. “I find people like her interesting. Do you find people interesting?” He sounded curious.

Katie looked down and forced her hands to move, entering the amount for his sandwich manually. “Most people,” she finally managed, not looking at him.

Esther Kuntz had fixed this sandwich only minutes ago at the deli counter. That would mean this boy had talked with Esther. He probably was still under the spell of her many charms. That girl could spew out words like water from the rock Moses hit with his staff. So why was this boy speaking with her, with plain Katie, who usually couldn’t get an interesting sentence out if her life depended on it?

“You look like a person who is a good listener,” he said with a short laugh.

Her voice barely a whisper, Katie asked, “Will that be all?”

What a stupid thing to ask, she thought. Of course that was all he wanted. She was working the register, not the deli counter where customers often did want more. Esther would roll on the floor laughing if she saw this exchange. “No wonder you never get a date,” Esther would say. “Your verbal skills are on the level of a farm horse.”

“I think this will do just fine,” the young man replied, acting like Katie had just said something brilliant.

Katie took his offered money. The change came to a dollar ten, and she handed it to him.

He smiled but didn’t move on. “Do you work here regularly?”

“Most days.” Katie’s voice squeaked. “On weekdays, that is. Unless, of course, I’m sick, which is hardly ever. And sometimes on Saturdays.”

“I’ve seen you here before,” he said, eyes twinkling again. “Well, have a good day. And maybe you will listen to me chatter sometime.”

“Of course. I–I’d l–love to,” Katie stammered out.

The young man left then, the double doors swinging behind him. Katie stood still for a moment. Had she really spoken to an
Englisha
boy? Had he actually noticed she existed? She turned to the next customer and began scanning her purchases. This woman didn’t seem to mind her silence. She paid with cash when Katie announced the total.

As the woman left, Katie quickly glanced at Arlene. She was looking at her with a slight smile on her face.
Ugh
, Katie thought. Arlene had noticed the exchange with the
Englisha
boy. Did Arlene know him? It was possible. Arlene was in her
rumspringa
, and she seemed to know everyone in town—Amish and
Englisha
. Now there would be no end to Arlene’s teasing. Thankfully the customer line was still full at both of their registers, but this was bound to change soon.

Sure enough, twenty minutes later the lines had died down. Katie knew what would happen.

Arlene glanced around, and seeing no one approaching, sneaked over to whisper to Katie. “I can’t believe what I saw! You were chatting with Mark Bishop like he was your best friend.”