The Gift (18 page)

“What do you want us to do?” Linda looked up at Leah inquisitively.

Leah went to the box she’d placed on the kitchen counter and removed the feeder. “This is a special kind of feeder for hummingbirds. Do you girls know what a hummingbird is?”

“Course we do,” Amy spoke up. “They’re little birds with long beaks.”

“And they fly real fast, too,” Linda added.

“That’s right,” Leah agreed. “And hummers, as they’re sometimes called, don’t eat birdseed like most other birds do. They drink sweet nectar instead.”

“What’s sweet nectar?” Linda asked.

“It’s sugar water.” Amy poked her sister’s arm. “I’ll bet even Carrie knows that.”

Linda poked her back. “Bet she doesn’t.”

“Let’s go ask her then.” Amy tromped across the room to where Carrie sat, stirring the milk around in her cereal bowl. “What’s sweet nectar, sister?”

Carrie grinned at Amy and said, “It’s
zucker wasser.
”

“That’s right!” Amy patted Carrie’s back.

Linda rolled her eyes. “I’ll bet she was listening to what we said. That’s how she knew.”

“Let’s mix some of that sugar water right now,” Leah was quick to say. “First, we need to rinse the feeder real good, to make sure it’s nice and clean. Then we can all go outside and get the feeder hung.”

“Do you know how much to mix?” Amy questioned.

“I sure do. The general rule is four cups of water and one cup of sugar. At home, I prepare the mixture every night and keep it in a container in the refrigerator. So if your uncle has something in his kitchen to store it in, we’ll do the same thing here.” Leah watched as all three girls listened intently. “So what do you say? Are you ready to find a good spot for the feeder?”

Carrie and Linda bobbed their heads agreeably. Amy merely shrugged her shoulders, but she did get a bag of sugar from the pantry while Linda found a plastic container and got the cup to measure water in. Leah had a feeling that Amy was more interested in feeding the hummers than she let on.

“I wonder how things have been going for Leah since she started watching Adam’s nieces,” Elaine commented as she and Priscilla headed down the road in Priscilla’s horse and buggy. They’d gone out for breakfast and were on their way back to Elaine’s.

“I don’t know. It’s been awhile since I’ve talked to her,” Priscilla said. “Maybe we should stop by Adam’s and say hello.”

Elaine smiled. “That’s a good idea. If you have the time, that is.”

Priscilla nodded. “Mom closed our store for the day so Dad can paint it. When I left this morning, she said not to hurry back and to take the rest of the day for myself. I can’t think of a better way to spend it than with my two best friends.”

“I would have invited Leah to join us for breakfast,” Elaine said, “but I knew she’d have to be at Adam’s early to watch the girls.”

Priscilla pulled back on the reins a little to slow her horse some. “I wonder how much longer Leah will keep watching Adam’s nieces.”

“I would think at least till her mamm comes home. And who knows, she might even keep on after that.”

“I guess that’s possible, but being at Adam’s all day is probably affecting Leah’s ability to practice reflexology.”

Elaine shook her head. “From what Leah said when I saw her at church the last time, she’s been working on people’s feet during the evening hours.”

Priscilla drew in a sharp breath and released it slowly. “Wow, that makes for a long day. I wonder how long she’ll be able to keep up with that schedule.”

“We do what we have to at times when it’s needed.” Elaine reflected on her own situation when her grandmother was alive. She’d put in long hours caring for Grandma, in addition to doing whatever she could to make a little extra money. But she had no regrets. She had made a commitment to Grandma and kept her promise to Grandpa before he died. As tiring and stressful as those days had been, she would do it all again if it meant having Grandma with her right now.

Life keeps moving on,
she thought,
and I’ve had to learn to live by myself and carry on.
The pain of losing both her grandparents was still with Elaine, but she’d learned to trust God and look to the future. The question was, would Elaine’s future be with Ben Otto, or did he only see her as a good friend? An easy friendship was all she wanted from Ben for now, but perhaps someday it could turn into something more.

Elaine closed her eyes, and an image of Jonah Miller popped into her head. She’d never loved anyone the way she had him. But that was in the past, and she’d forced herself to let go. Their relationship had ended the day Elaine had learned that Grandma had dementia. She reminded herself once more that her love for Jonah had prompted her to break things off with him. Setting him free to live a life with Sara and her son had been the best thing for Jonah. He and Sara were happy. Every time Elaine saw the couple together, their love and devotion to each other was more evident.

“We’re here. Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Elaine’s eyes opened. “I wasn’t really sleeping—just thinking is all.”

Priscilla smiled. “I hope they were good thoughts.”

Elaine nodded.

Once Priscilla had the horse secured at the rail near Adam’s barn, she and Elaine headed across the yard, where they found Leah and the girls sitting in chairs on the porch.

“It’s good to see you,” Leah said. “Look what I put up for the girls.” She pointed to a hummingbird feeder hanging from a hook under the porch eaves.

“How nice.” Elaine looked at Amy and smiled. “Have you seen any hummers yet?”

The child shook her head. “Probably won’t, neither.”

“What makes you think that?” Priscilla asked.

“Nothing good ever happens for me.”

Leah put her arm around Amy. “Good things come to those who wait. It’s going to take a bit of time for the hummingbirds to find our feeder, but when they do, more hummers will come. Who knows? We may even need another feeder or two. Oh, and let’s not forget that next Wednesday morning we’ll be going over to my place to watch my neighbor put little bands on the hummingbirds.” Leah looked at Elaine and Priscilla. “If you two aren’t busy that day, you’re welcome to come and watch, too.”

“I wish I could,” Elaine said, “but I have a dental appointment that day.”

“I’ll try to make it,” Priscilla said. “I’m sure it’ll be fun. Don’t you think so, girls?”

Linda nodded, and Amy said nothing, but Carrie moved closer to Leah and climbed into her lap. “I’m gonna sit right here and wait for the hummers to come.”

Elaine looked over at Priscilla and smiled. It was obvious that Leah had won Adam’s youngest niece over. Elaine figured it wouldn’t be long and her friend would have them all coming to her for the love they surely needed.

That night, Adam read Carrie and Linda a bedtime story in their room. According to Amy, it was Carrie’s favorite story. Carrie had closed her eyes after he’d only read halfway through the book. Thinking she had fallen asleep so he wouldn’t have to read the whole story, he’d skipped to the last page to finish it quicker. When he was about to close the book, Carrie sat up and announced that he’d skipped the most important part. Linda agreed. Sheepishly, Adam went back and finished reading the rest of the story.

He smiled as he came downstairs and headed to the kitchen to get a drink. At least he was making some progress with Carrie, although she still preferred Leah over him. As he stepped into the kitchen, he realized that the moon was very bright. He could see everything he needed by its glow shining in through the window.

“Let’s see now, what do we have in here to drink?” He opened the refrigerator door. There was a carton of milk and some orange juice, but he wasn’t in the mood for either. Then Adam spied another container he assumed Leah had made for the girls—probably lemonade, he decided. After pouring himself a glass, he stood by the window and took a big gulp. “Ugh! What is this sweet stuff?” Then he realized he’d forgotten all about the nectar the girls had helped Leah mix for the hummingbirds that day. During supper, Linda hadn’t been able to stop talking about the feeder Leah had brought them and how they’d waited patiently for the first hummer to arrive.

Adam had to admit he was happy to see Linda’s enthusiasm. If only Amy would come out of her shell and try to find some interests. He was glad that Leah was so good with his nieces. Carrie had especially warmed up to her. This evening, she’d started crying when Leah was getting ready to go home. It was hard watching Carrie cling to Leah’s dress, pleading with her not to go. Leah had even teared up, assuring the child that she’d be back bright and early the next day. It seemed to satisfy Carrie when Leah said they would have lunch out on the porch tomorrow so they could watch for any hummingbirds that might come to the new feeder.

Adam missed his sister but hadn’t had time to mourn her death since his nieces had come to live with him. Although it hadn’t been easy at first, he’d begun to think that the girls were there for a reason, and he couldn’t help but wonder if Leah might be, too.

T
he next Wednesday found Leah scurrying about the kitchen, getting the breakfast dishes washed, dried, and put away. Normally, she would have been over at Adam’s by now, but since he’d be bringing the girls over to see the hummingbirds get banded, she wouldn’t go there until the banding was done. Last evening, Leah had prepared a few snacks to share with everyone after the process was finished. She’d cleaned and cut fresh vegetables, made some creamy ranch dip, and fixed her favorite chocolate-chip cheeseball. She had also found a cake recipe named, of all things, Hummingbird Ring. It was easy to make and the perfect dessert to serve for this occasion.

Leah looked forward to watching this exciting event and was sure the girls, and maybe even Adam, would enjoy it, too. She hoped Sara and Mark would be able to join them, as well as Priscilla.

It’s too bad Elaine can’t make it,
Leah thought as she put the silverware away.
I’m sure she would find it interesting.

Leah glanced out the window, and when she saw Adam’s horse and buggy coming up the driveway, she hurried to the door. When Leah had first started watching the girls, she’d hoped Adam would find someone else, but now she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do than be with Adam’s nieces. She didn’t even mind having to schedule her reflexology appointments during the evening. In some ways, it was more convenient for those who came to her, since many of them had day jobs and couldn’t take time off from work to get a treatment. So it had worked out best for all.

“Look at all the hummers!” Linda exclaimed when she and her sisters looked around the backyard, where Leah’s feeders hung, before stepping onto the porch. “Wish we had that many at Uncle Adam’s place instead of just a few.”

“It took awhile before so many hummingbirds showed up here,” Leah explained, patting the top of the little girl’s head. “But since I started feeding them, they’ve become quite active. In fact, I mark the calendar every year on the day that I first see them, and it’s pretty much around the same time when they start arriving each April.”

“Maybe that’s something we can start doing.” Linda’s eyes sparkled with enthusiasm.

“That’s a good idea.” Leah leaned down to give Carrie a hug while Amy’s gaze remained fixed on the hummingbirds.

“Are we here too early?” Adam asked when he joined Leah and the girls after taking care of his horse.

“No, it’s fine,” Leah replied. “My neighbor Alissa, who does the banding, should be here soon, along with the others I invited to watch.” She gestured to the chairs on the porch. “Why don’t we all take a seat, and we can watch the hummers eat at the feeders until Alissa shows up.”

The girls scampered over to the porch swing and sat together while Adam took a seat in the chair beside Leah’s.

“Sure is a nice day,” Adam commented. “There’s not a cloud in sight.”

Leah nodded. “I was hoping it wouldn’t rain today. That would have put a damper on things.”

Adam removed his straw hat, placing it on his knee. “I think getting the girls a hummingbird feeder was a good idea, Leah. Even Amy showed some interest in it this morning. She seemed eager to come over here as well.” He paused and grinned at Leah. “Course, it may be less about the hummers and more about spending time with you.”