The Heart's Journey: Stitches in Time Series #2 (29 page)

His van pulled into the drive, shattering all the crazy thoughts.

She schooled her features. No need to let him know that she’d worried—obsessed, really—and imagined he didn’t want her anymore. She remembered how she’d attended that meeting of women who worked to overcome abuse. Allowing herself to feel unworthy, to be guided by someone else’s opinion—that had to stop. She’d been given a second chance with Nick.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, but he wasn’t standing on the porch. He was sitting in his van, looking deep
in thought. Then he looked up, and when he saw her, he shook his head slightly as if he suddenly realized where he was. He got out and strode up the walk.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” he said quickly as he climbed the front steps.

“I thought you’d changed your mind,” she blurted out in spite of herself.

He’d been bending to kiss her cheek but jerked back and stared at her.

When he didn’t immediately deny it, her heart sank.

“It’s not like that!”

“Naomi? Is that Nick?” Leah called.

“Tell her we need a minute,” he said tersely. “Please?”

Miserable, she shook her head. “It’s all right. You can just go. I’ll—”

“Tell her, Naomi. Then let me explain.”

Torn, she turned back to her grandmother. “We’ll be there in just a minute!”

She shut the door and stepped out onto the porch, wrapping her arms around herself. She’d forgotten how cool the weather had turned.

Nick pulled off his jacket and wrapped it around her, then guided her to a rocking chair and gently pushed her into it. He drew up one next to it and reached for her hands.

“So cold,” he murmured, chafing them with his own strong, warm hands.

“I’m sorry I worried you,” he began, searching her eyes as he spoke. “I was standing in the shower and washing off all the mud—and green slimy stuff you didn’t tell me was in my hair—and suddenly, it hit me.”

“Reality,” she said in a leaden tone.

“Sort of,” he told her. “I thought I had figured it all out, but I was wrong.”

“Our differences—”

“Ssh, you don’t know where I’m going with this.”

Of course she did, she wanted to say. But she stayed silent and let him continue.

“Anyway, I was standing there and it suddenly hit me—I’d forgotten all about something very, very important. It’s big, Naomi. Really big. No, don’t look like that. Wait.”

He took a deep breath. “I hadn’t thought about how I was going to support us,
lieb
.”

She opened her mouth, but he waved a hand to silence her. “No, listen. I thought, the only thing I know how to do is drive for a living. I was panicked. I don’t want to be a farmer and even if I did, farmland is too dear in Lancaster County.”

“You don’t have to be a farmer to—”

“Let me finish,” he said. “I almost flunked shop class in high school. Handyman work? I tried changing out the toilet seat in my bathroom last year and when I couldn’t budge the hinge screw, I tapped it with a hammer to loosen it.”

He stopped and laughed as he shook his head. “A metal hammer. Just as I tapped it I realized what I was doing, but it was too late. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Cracked the porcelain base and had to get a plumber to put in a new toilet.”

“I can support us until you find something,” she said quickly. “And I have some money saved.”

He raised her hands to his lips and kissed them. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to. I realized I was trying to work everything out and then it struck me that I don’t have to.”

He stopped. “I don’t want to,” he corrected himself. “One of the things that I’ve been trying to do is believe in God’s will. That He has a plan and purpose for us. So I sat down and prayed like I’ve never prayed, Naomi. And I gave it to God. I told Him that I needed His help, that I didn’t know what to do.”

“Funny thing,” he said as he stared at his van. “Sometimes I’ve prayed and waited a very long time for an answer from God. Sometimes I haven’t gotten what I thought was an answer at all and just had to trust. But today? I nearly got run over by the answer.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I had to wait at a light for a buggy and everything fell into place. Naomi, I’m going to buy Abe Harshberger’s business. I heard last week that he wants to sell it and move to Ohio where he used to live.”

Naomi frowned and tried to take it all in. “He takes tourists for buggy rides.”

“I’ll still be in the transportation business.”

“But you’ve never even ridden in a buggy, let alone driven one, have you?”

“I think you should take me for a ride in one after supper.” His eyes gleamed with mischief. “A long, long buggy ride.”

She laughed and put her hand on his chest to stop him from leaning forward to kiss her. Someone had to keep a level head. “Sounds perfect.”

“Buying Abe’s business or the buggy ride?”

“Both,” she said shyly.

He stood and pulled her to her feet. “I think it’s time to go inside and tell Leah, don’t you?”

Naomi saw the curtain move at the front window. She smiled. “I think she might have guessed,” she told him, gesturing at the window.

He squared his shoulders. “I prayed for her approval too,” he admitted as he opened the door and escorted her inside.

She remembered the talk she’d had with her grandmother about Nick and squeezed his hand. “Me too.”

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but she suspected that her grandmother wasn’t going to have the objections to their
marrying that Nick felt she had. Her grandmother had always acted fond of Nick, almost as if he was the son she hadn’t had.

Raising herself on her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek.

“One step at a time,” she told him. “You remember when we were driving back home from Florida and I said it was so dark beyond the headlights? You quoted that writer. I forget his name.”

He smiled. “E. L. Doctorow. He said, ‘Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.’”

She touched his cheek. “We don’t have to figure everything out right now. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

“Starting now.”

Nodding, she leaned forward and embraced him. “Starting now.”

The End

Glossary

allrecht
—all right

boppli
—baby

bruder
—
brother daed
—dad

danki
—thank you

dat
—father

Der Hochmut kummt vor dem Fall
.—“Pride goeth before the fall.”

Englisch, Englischer
—non-Amish person

fraa
—wife

grossdochder
—granddaughter

grossmudder
—grandmother

guder mariye
—good morning

gut
—good

gut nacht
—good night

gut-n-owed
—good evening

Ich liebe dich
—I love you

kaffe
—coffee

kapp
—prayer covering or cap worn by girls and women

kich
—kitchen

kind, kinner
—child, children

kumm
—come

lieb
—love

liebschen
—dearest or dear one

maedel
—young woman (maid)

mamm
—mother

mann
—husband

nee
—no

onkel
—uncle

Ordnung
—The rules of the Amish, both written and unwritten. Certain behavior has been expected within the Amish community for many, many years. These rules vary from community to community, but the most common are to not have electricity in the home, to not own or drive an automobile, and to dress a certain way.

Pennsylvania
Deitsch
—Pennsylvania German

rotrieb
—red beet

rumschpringe
—time period when teenagers are allowed to experience the
Englisch
world while deciding if they should join the church. According to Amish sources, it is not the wild period so many
Englisch
imagine.

schul
—school

schur
—sure

schweschder
—sister

sohn
—son

wilkumm
—welcome

wunderbaar
—wonderful

ya
—yes

Discussion Questions

Caution: Please don’t read before completing the book, as the questions contain spoilers!

  1. At the beginning of the book, Naomi begins to realize that the love her fiancé, John, claims to have for her may not be healthy. More young women than ever before are finding that their boyfriends, fiancés, or husbands are too controlling—sometimes even violent. Could you identify with her? How?

  2. How do you recognize the danger signs in someone who may be a potential problem?

  3. Do you believe that only women who suffer from poor self-esteem fall into this trap?

  4. How can you help someone break free from an abusive relationship?

  5. Sometimes it’s not easy to think that a man who looks like a rescuer will in fact be a problem himself. How can someone avoid this?

  6. Nick wants to help Naomi but in a way complicates things for her. How does he do this?

  7. Do you believe that people from different religions can forge a successful marriage? Do you know someone who has done this?

  8. How long do you think someone should avoid getting into a new relationship after breaking off the old? How do you think people can avoid getting into a “rebound” relationship?

  9. What would you give up to be with the person you love?

10. Naomi reads
Gift from the Sea
, a book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, in which the author maintains that a woman must have a time and place to herself in order to have something to give to her loved ones. What do you do to have a well of strength and love for your family?

11. The Amish—and many other people—believe that God has “set aside” a person for them. Do you believe that there is just one person for you, or do you think that there is more than one person for you to love?

12. How important is it for the person you love (as a husband, boyfriend, or significant other) to love God?

FLORIDA RECIPES

Yoder’s Amish Restaurant Famous Peanut Butter Pie

Pudding:

1 cup cold milk

½ cup cornstarch

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 egg yolks

3 cups milk

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

2/3 cup sugar

Crumb mixture:

1 cup powdered (confectioners’) sugar

½ cup crunchy peanut butter

baked 9- or 10-inch deep pie shell

whipped topping (sweetened)

To make pudding:

Mix cornstarch, salt, 1 cup milk, egg yolks, and vanilla with a wire whisk and set aside.

Heat 3 cups milk, butter, and sugar until scalding, stirring constantly. Add cornstarch mixture to hot milk while stirring with whisk. Cool until thickened. Remove from heat before boiling. Chill.

To make crumbs:

Mix powdered sugar and peanut butter until small crumbs form.

Place half of the crumbs into pie shell. Spoon pudding onto crumbs. Place remaining crumbs on top of pudding, reserving a little for the topping. Top with whipped topping. Serves 6 at Yoder’s (or 2 small pieces).

Grateful acknowledgment is given for permission to share this recipe by Yoder’s Amish Restaurant, Sarasota, Florida

Shrimp and Grits

1 cup stone-ground grits

2 cups water

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

6 tablespoons butter

4 slices bacon, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, finely diced or minced

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 pound pink Gulf shrimp

¾ cup water, divided

½ teaspoon Old Bay seasoning

2 tablespoons seafood or vegetable bouillion granules

Heat 2 cups water, milk, 1 teaspoon Old Bay, garlic, and 3 tablespoons butter to almost boiling in a medium saucepan. Add grits and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt the other three tablespoons of butter and sauté bacon, garlic, and onion. When lightly browned, add flour and make a basic roux. Stir until fully blended. Add shrimp and ¼ cup water, ½ teaspoon Old Bay, and bouillion. Simmer until gravy thickens. Serve grits with shrimp and gravy. This makes a delicious dish for brunch or supper.

Recipe by Sherry Gore, Pinecraft, Florida

—From
Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens
by Sherry Gore

Fruity Florida Coleslaw

2 Florida oranges (or canned mandarin oranges)

2 apples, chopped

1 head shredded cabbage

1 cup red grapes

¼ cup coconut flakes

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 whole banana, sliced

1 (16 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained

Dash of salt

½ cup mayonnaise

¾ cup whipped topping

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Place cabbage, fruits, and nuts in large bowl. In small bowl, mix remaining ingredients well. Pour over cabbage mixture and serve in your prettiest glass dish.

Recipe by Shannon Gore, Pinecraft, Florida

—From
Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens
by Sherry Gore

Key Lime Pie

1 8-inch baked pie crust

½ cup fresh lime juice

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1½ to 2 cups Cool Whip

Green food coloring (optional)

Additional Cool Whip

Beat lime juice and condensed milk together. Add Cool Whip and food coloring and pour into pie crust. Top with additional Cool Whip. Fresh lemon juice will work same as lime.

Recipe by Laura Yoder, Sarasota, Florida

—From
Taste of Pinecraft: Glimpses of Sarasota, Florida’s Amish Culture and Kitchens
by Sherry Gore

Stitches in Time is a very special shop run by three cousins and their grandmother. Each young woman is devoted to her Amish faith and lifestyle, each is talented in the traditional Amish crafts and in new ways of doing business—yet each is unsure of her path in life and love. It will take a loving, insightful grandmother to guide them gently to see they can weave together their traditions and their desire to create, and forge loving marriages and families of their own.