Made with Love (9 page)

And as she parked her bicycle in the carport Lovina made a decision. She would share her notebook with Noah. She would offer that piece of her heart. In a strange way she trusted him to protect it.

The warm breeze blew, and she felt a gentle peace inside that she hadn't felt in a while. Could this be why she'd felt such urgency this morning? Was it in God's plan for her to find the warehouse and meet Noah?

Lovina's stomach rumbled again, but her heart felt full as she entered her family's house. For some reason she felt that it was.

 

Caramel Corn

2 cups brown sugar

½ cup light corn syrup

1 cup butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

6 quarts popped corn

1 cup peanuts, lightly roasted (optional)

Mix brown sugar, syrup, and butter in a heavy saucepan. Boil 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and add baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla. Immediately pour over popped corn and mix lightly but thoroughly. Add peanuts if desired. Place on large cookie sheets and bake at 250° for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool slightly and separate.

Seven

Enjoy today. It won't come back.

A
MISH
P
ROVERB

M
em was standing next to the oven, watching the timer tick down as Lovina entered. The aroma of banana sour cream bread baking in the oven gave the kitchen a homey smell. Twenty-three-year-old Faith was sitting at the kitchen table sketching. Nineteen-year-old Grace was sitting next to her, reading the business section of the
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
. Both glanced up briefly as Lovina entered and then returned to their tasks. The tip of Faith's tongue poked out from her lips as she sketched a scene that had captured her mind. Grace's brow furrowed as she read. Lovina had seen that look before and knew her baby sister was plotting to turn Amish businesses into the next “big thing.”

Lovina sniffed the air. “Banana sour cream bread?” She smiled at her mother. “One of Dat's favorites. Is it a special occasion?”

“Well, I hope so. I made some for your dat, of course, but I made extra to share.” The timer buzzed, and Mem used a toothpick to check on the bread in the oven. Seeing it was done, she removed it from the oven with her pot-holdered hand, placing the loaf pan on the trivet on the kitchen counter. Three loaves
were lined up. The first loaf had cooled off enough to be sliced. Half of it was gone. Lovina noticed the slightest crumbs at the corner of Mem's lips as she moved to her kitchen chair.

“Share?” Lovina asked. “Will Dat let you?” she chuckled.

“Ja. I already told him. When I was outside, putting a letter to Regina in the mailbox, Howard's Vera came strolling by. She had a full grocery bag as if she was expecting company. I asked her about it, and she says that her brother-in-law, Thomas Chupp, has come to town. He has brought his dat and mem down to look at a house they hope to buy. You know how things are here. Places around here sell almost as soon as the sign is put in the yard. I thought my banana sour cream bread would be a nice welcome.”

“Ah, that's
gut
. Is Thomas's wife here too?” Lovina asked. “Maybe she'd be interested in Joy's sewing circle. Joy was just saying last night she wanted to plan a frolic to finish the quilt for the Haiti auction.”

Mem lifted an envelope—a letter from Regina—from the table and fanned her face. Sweat beaded at her hairline. “Speaking of the Haiti auction, I need to remember to get my crocheting out.” Mem fanned harder. “It's hard to think about knitting gloves and scarves when it's so humid and hot outside, but if I don't get busy I'll have nothing to offer.”

Faith shuffled in her chair, and Lovina thought she was going to say something, but she must have changed her mind.

Mem stopped fanning and looked at something on the back of the envelope and sighed. “I talked to Vera yesterday at the park, and she didn't mention Thomas having a wife.”

“Thomas doesn't have a wife,” Faith interjected, her words sounding more forceful than usual. Three heads turned her direction. She paused her sketching and glanced up. Her eyes widened as if saying,
Why is everyone staring at me?

Mem lifted an eyebrow. “You know Thomas Chupp?”

Pink tinged Faith's cheeks and she shrugged. “I don't know him, but I met him. We had a nice talk…”

Her voice trailed off, and she lifted up her sketchbook and studied the landscape of a creek winding through a meadow as if it was the most fascinating thing ever. Lovina wasn't fooled.

No one said a word. Instead they waited for Faith to elaborate. It was a tactic Mem often used and one the sisters had picked up on. When one wished to hear more about a subject it was better to wait silently for the person to continue. People often felt uncomfortable about the silence and spilled the beans in short order.

“Okay, fine.” Faith tapped her pencil on the table, glancing up at them. “He was at Yoder's last night when I was working. He'd gotten there early—he was meeting a cousin for dinner—and I was on break. I sat down for five minutes—nothing more—and we talked. He mostly asked questions. He was curious about our family. He asked about our move to Pinecraft. He asked if I taught school.” Faith chuckled and her eyes brightened. She blew out a soft sigh at the memory.

“He said I looked like a schoolteacher.” Faith paused and then turned her attention back to her notebook. She picked up the green colored pencil and returned to her sketching. “Thomas said I reminded him of his favorite teacher, that's all.” She shrugged. “I told him that Lovina was the teacher of the family, and then my break was over—”

“Was Lovina
ever
the teacher of the family!” Grace chimed in, folding her newspaper and setting it down. “I had a busier school day during summer afternoons than those who went to school. When I finally was old enough to go, I can still remember Miss Patricia's face when I started reading on the first day.”

Lovina smiled at the memory. Hope was often in the garden, Joy behind the sewing machine, and Faith off pestering the teen boys hired to help with the farm or sketching “the scenery,” but Grace had been young enough to enjoy the full attention of her older sister.

“Ja, Lovina always was a talented teacher,” Mem commented, turning to her. “Maybe you should ask if there is a position open at the school here in Pinecraft.” Mem clasped her hands together. “Wouldn't that be lovely?”

Lovina nodded, but she had no intention of following through with Mem's suggestion. Teaching had been a good job—even one that she'd done well. But it wasn't her passion. Yet what would Mem say when she discovered the truth? Lovina touched her fingertips to her own forehead, feeling moisture there too. The cool rain of the morning was just a memory. Summer's heat had returned. The kitchen windows were still cracked open, and Mem had yet to turn on the air conditioning. Maybe her parents felt more justified in using the luxury only after they'd finished baking.

Lovina went to the refrigerator and pulled out a block of cheese. The sound of Faith's colored pencils on the paper brought a gentle peace to the room outwardly, but inwardly Lovina was a jumble of nerves. How would Mem respond to the idea of one of her daughters being a business owner?

Lovina didn't feel much like eating. Butterflies danced in her stomach—partly from the excitement of finding the warehouse, but also over the excitement of meeting Noah. She told herself it was because he believed in her dream, but when she couldn't get his smiling greenish blue eyes off her mind she knew it had to be more.

Lovina touched a warm hand to her cheek, wondering if all the emotions stirring inside showed outwardly. If so, her sisters
gave it no mind. As she sketched, Faith hummed a tune she'd no doubt heard at the grocery store. Lovina knew the words had something to do with “everlasting love,” which was just what Faith always dreamed of. Grace flipped another page in the newspaper, absorbed.

Lovina eyed her sisters, suddenly perturbed by how they were so caught up in their own hobbies. She wanted to run to them, to hug them and to tell them that her life had changed today—and that it would most likely continue to change for the better in the days to come. She knew they'd be happy for her. They'd want to know every detail. If she confessed, they'd follow her to Big Olaf's and spy on her, trying to get a peek at Noah. But she couldn't tell them, not yet. She couldn't jump ahead of herself. She had to do things right.

This was her only chance. If she couldn't convince Dat and Mem that her dream was a good investment then none of it would matter. A pain shot through her chest at the thought of it not working out, as if it had been a few years, not a few hours, since she'd walked into the warehouse.

Lovina made a simple cheese sandwich and poured a glass of lemonade for herself and one for Mem. Mem seemed distracted as she continued to fan herself with the envelope. Lovina sat down beside her, and Mem tucked the envelope into her Bible, pushing it in deep.

Had there been bad news from back home? Lovina didn't want to ask. She knew it all would come out when Mem was ready. Mem never was one to hold in her thoughts or opinions for long.

Lovina ate half of her sandwich, enjoying the peace, and then turned to Mem. “Would you like me to drop off the banana sour cream bread? I'm meeting a friend at Big Olaf's in a bit. I can swing by on the way.”

Faith's head jerked up.

Lovina turned to her. “Did you want to go?”

Faith lowered her head, returning to her sketch. “Well, I—”

“No need for Faith to do it,” Mem butted in, straightening in her chair. “You'll be out anyway.” Mem reached for her knitting basket on the floor against the wall. “Besides, I'm sure our potential new neighbors would like to be greeted by such a smiling face.” Mem pulled out a skein of navy blue yarn. “I don't know what's different about you, Lovina, but you haven't stopped smiling since you walked in that door.”

Lovina touched her fingertips to her lips. “Mmm. Well then, I'll drop the bread off on the way to ice cream.”

“Thomas will appreciate that, I'm sure.” Mem nodded with enthusiasm. And when Mem didn't ask Lovina who she was meeting for ice cream, Lovina knew her mother's thoughts were someplace else. Maybe on the letter from Regina? She'd been preoccupied with that envelope since Lovina had walked in the door.

Lovina just hoped Mem wasn't missing her dear friends in Ohio too awful bad. While all of them had left behind people they cared for, Lovina and her four sisters had carried their hobbies with them, discovering them anew in his balmy place. Mem, on the other hand, left most of her identity behind. She'd been the organizer of frolics and the first one to be called on when young mothers didn't know what to do about a fever, tummy ache, or blister. She'd helped with weddings and had always pitched in to provide food for singings. Mem's busy, bustling days had slowed, and the more she sat and thought the more she fretted about her daughters' lack of love interests. The walls of their house were thin, and Lovina had heard more than one conversation as Mem and Dat talked into the night. Mem always worried. Dat always trying to calm her fears.