The HOPE of SPRING (9 page)

“What about them?”

“Won’t they be upset when they get here and see that we’ve invited someone to join
our little party?”

Norma shook her head. “Our granddaughters are both very social. I’m sure they won’t
mind a few extra people at our table. Besides, we should make the Hagens feel welcome,
so why don’t you go over there and invite them to join us?”

Henry’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why me? It was your idea, Norma.”

She clicked her tongue. “All right then, I’ll invite them.”

A few minutes later, Norma returned with Mary and Ben. They all ordered their meals
and got busy talking. When the couple mentioned that their twenty-seven-year-old grandson,
Brian, who was single, would be visiting during the summer, Norma perked right up,
saying they’d have to make sure that he met Susan, who was close to his age.

When their meal was over, the Baileys decided to go home. Susan and Anne were obviously
not coming.

When they entered their house sometime later, Norma was surprised to discover their
granddaughters sitting in the kitchen with an anniversary cake.

“Where have you been?” Susan asked, jumping up from the table. “We’ve been crazy with
worry about you.”

“That’s right,” Anne agreed. “How come you didn’t meet us at the restaurant?”

Henry’s eyebrows pulled together. “What do you mean? We were there. Where were you
two girls?”

“We were there with some of your good friends waiting for you.” Susan tipped her head
and looked at Henry with a peculiar expression. “What restaurant did you and Grandma
go to?”

“Pica’s Italian Restaurant in Upper Darby. Isn’t that where we were supposed to meet?”

“No, it was Keya Graves, the seafood and steakhouse here in Darby.” Susan looked at
Anne, and they both burst out laughing. When they finally quit, Susan explained that
she’d tried to call but had only gotten voice mail and that they’d ended up eating
at the restaurant with Grandma and Grandpa’s friends and had brought the cake home.

Norma chuckled and then told the girls how they’d met Mary and Ben and eaten supper
with them.

Henry pointed to the cake. “Well, we may not have celebrated our anniversary dinner
with you two, but we can sure eat this tasty-looking cake right now.”

“Good idea.” Susan jumped up and got out the plates, forks, and napkins, then cut
the cake.

“This tastes just like the buttermilk cake we had on our wedding day.” Norma smiled
at the girls after she’d taken her first bite.

“It is,” Anne said. “We found a bakery that makes vintage cakes, and couldn’t believe
it when we described your wedding cake and were told that they could make one just
like it.”

As they ate, they visited and laughed some more about the crazy evening and how it
had turned out. Although not together, at least they’d all had a good meal.

“It’s good to see you laughing,” Norma said, patting Susan’s arm. “You’ve been much
too serious lately—probably due to all the stresses at work and worrying about your
John Doe patient.”

Susan smiled as she started clearing the dishes. “You’re right, and this has been
a fun evening, even if you didn’t get to celebrate your anniversary with all your
closest friends.”

“We celebrated with our family,” Norma said, “and that’s what’s important. But I’m
sure we’re going to be in for a lot of ribbing when we see some of those friends at
church on Sunday.”

“Especially when they find out we went to the wrong restaurant.” Henry released a
noisy yawn and stood. “Guess I’d better head for bed.”

“Me, too,” Norma agreed, rising to her feet. “It’s been a long day and, I might add,
an exciting evening.”

“Before you leave the kitchen, there’s something I wanted to say,” Anne spoke up as
she got the sponge to wipe a few crumbs off the table.

“What’s that?” Henry asked, turning around.

“I wanted to remind you that Susan and I will be going to Lancaster County on Saturday,
and you’re more than welcome to join us.”

“That’s nice of you,” Norma said, “but your grandpa and I already have plans.”

He looked at her and quirked an eyebrow. “We do?”

She nodded. “We’re getting together with Mary and Ben, remember?” She placed her hand
on Susan’s shoulder. “You two should go and have fun. If your grandpa and I went along,
we’d only slow you down.”

“I don’t think so, Grandma,” Susan said, giving Norma a hug. “But if you’ve made other
plans, we understand.”

“Well, good night then.” Norma was glad Henry hadn’t mentioned anything about Mary
and Ben’s grandson, because that would probably put Susan on the defensive. Norma
had tried playing matchmaker with both Susan and Anne a few times, and it hadn’t been
well received.

Maybe I won’t have to play matchmaker
, she told herself.
I’ll just keep praying that God will bring the right men into my granddaughters’ lives.
After all, He knows better than I do who Susan and Anne both need, and if it’s meant
to happen, it will be in His time.

Bird-in-Hand

T
his day is turning out to be so much fun,” Anne said to Susan as they pulled into
the parking lot at the farmers’ market on Saturday afternoon.

“Oh, I know,” Susan agreed. “The homemade rootbeer and soft pretzel we had at that
roadside stand awhile ago were sure good. I’m glad we bought a gallon of rootbeer
to take home so Grandma and Grandpa can enjoy it, too.”

“Yes, and it’s a good thing you thought to bring the cooler along.” Anne parked the
car and turned off the ignition. “Maybe we’ll find some other tasty morsels inside
the market.”

Susan chuckled. “If we eat anything else, we’ll probably be too full for supper.”

“I don’t care if I am,” Anne said. “I’ve waited a long time for this trip, and I’m
going to enjoy every minute of it—including the food. By the way, Susan, did I mention
how much I like that cute pink blouse you’re wearing today?”

“Glad you like it. On a whim, I stopped at the clothing store near the hospital the
other day and found this on the bargain table.” Susan held the market door open. “Now
let’s go see what we can find to eat!”

When they entered the building, Susan inhaled deeply, enjoying the delicious aromas
coming from the various food vendors. At a booth near the door stood a man making
fried corn fritters. The smell of coffee brewing was in the air, as well as the sweet
aroma of baked goods coming from the stand across the aisle. From where she stood,
Susan could see they had whoopie pies, apple fritters, homemade bread, cookies, and
an assortment of delicious-looking pies. It would be hard to get past that booth without
taking something home for dessert.

Susan glanced in one direction and then another, unable to take everything in. All
the seats were filled in the eating area, and she noticed several people enjoying
sandwiches and hot dogs.

“Let’s start over here,” Anne suggested, pointing to her right.

As they walked up and down the aisles, they stopped to sample some pickled vegetables,
then moved on to taste a few homemade pretzels and chips with several dipping sauces.

“Look at this,” Susan exclaimed as they approached a stand with unique wooden art.
“Imagine taking an old shutter and turning it into something that beautiful.”

“The artist must be very talented.” Anne ran her hand over the smooth piece of shutter
that had a deer scene carved into the wood. “I wonder if Grandpa would like something
like this to hang on the living-room wall.”

“I think he might. We’ll get it for him before we leave,” Susan said. “It’ll make
a nice belated anniversary gift to surprise him with.”

“I’m thirsty now,” Anne said as they continued browsing. She pointed to a vendor selling
freshly squeezed lemonade. “Let’s get something to drink.”

Susan followed Anne over to the stand, and as they stood drinking their lemonade,
she noticed a young, blond-haired Amish woman across the aisle selling faceless Amish
dolls. “I think I’ll go over there and see how much those dolls cost,” she told Anne.

“Seriously? Are you thinking of buying one?”

Susan nodded. “I’ve always been fascinated with the Amish culture, and a doll like
that would look cute on my bed.”

“I’m fascinated, too, but I think I may buy a quilted wall hanging or table runner
to give Grandma,” Anne said. “We might find something else for Grandpa before we’re
done, as well.”

Susan smiled. “Since the party we planned for them didn’t work out, the least we can
do is get each of them something nice.”

“I think so, too,” Anne agreed.

“I wonder if Grandpa would like one of those straw hats they’re selling over there?”
Susan pointed in the direction of the hats. “He could wear it when he’s working in
the yard, and it’ll keep the sun off his head.”

“That’s a good idea. Let’s get that for Grandpa, too,” Anne said with a nod.

When they approached the stand where the Amish dolls were being sold, the young woman
looked up at them and smiled. “Can I help you with something?”

“Yes, I’d like to know the price of your faceless dolls,” Susan said.

“The smaller ones are thirty dollars, and the larger dolls are forty dollars.”

“I think I’d like one of the larger dolls.” Susan looked at Anne. “Should I get one
with blond, brown, or auburn hair?”

Anne touched Susan’s straight bob. “Well, since you’re a brunette, why don’t you get
a doll with brown hair?”

Susan pursed her lips as she studied the dolls on display. “Come to think of it, I
may get a boy doll and a girl doll—both with blond hair like Eddie’s.”

A crease formed across Anne’s nose as she frowned. “This is our day off, and you’re
not supposed to be thinking about your patients.”

“I know, but seeing the color of these dolls’ hair made me think of him, that’s all.”
She picked up one of the girl dolls and studied the detail of its clothes—a dark blue
dress, white apron, and a little white cap. On the back of its cloth body was a tag
that read:
Handmade by Laurie King.

Susan smiled at the Amish woman. “Is your name Laurie? Did you make these dolls?”

“Jah. I mean, yes,” Laurie replied. “I enjoy sewing, and I’ve been making dolls like
these since I was fifteen.”

“You don’t look much more than that now,” Anne interjected.

A pink blush erupted on the young woman’s cheeks. “I’m nineteen,” she said, dropping
her gaze to the dolls.

“You do a nice job of sewing, and as soon as I make up my mind, I’m definitely going
to buy at least one.”

“It feels good to be here at the market,” Meredith said as she and Alma walked past
Groff’s candy stand, where delectable-looking fudge, peanut brittle, nuts, and dried
fruits beckoned people. “I just wish we’d gotten here a bit sooner, because everything
will close down in an hour or so.”

“I know, but I think we still have plenty of time to see what we want.” Alma made
a sweeping gesture of the booths nearby. “Even though there are bigger farmers’ markets
in the area, I like coming here because it’s close to my home, and it’s a much smaller
market than some.”

“That’s true,” Meredith agreed. “The Green Dragon and Roots Markets are a lot larger,
but it’s really hard to see everything; although I have enjoyed visiting those markets
many times before.”

They strolled past several other stands, and as they approached Sue’s Sandwich Shoppe,
Meredith halted. “Should we get some subs to take home for supper? That way we won’t
have to cook anything tonight.”

“Uh … I’m not really in the mood for a sub sandwich.”

“How about some other kind of sandwich or a pretzel dog?”

Alma shook her head. “You need a more substantial meal than that.” She slipped her
arm around Meredith’s waist. “I’ll fix us a hearty meal as soon as we get home.”

Meredith didn’t argue. If there was one thing she’d learned about Alma, it was that
once she’d made her mind up about something, there was no changing it. And the truth
was, her home-cooked meals were delicious, so Meredith figured whatever Alma fixed
would be a treat.

“If you’re really hungry and can’t wait for supper, why don’t we snack on a few samples?”
Alma suggested.

“Okay.” Meredith led the way to her dad’s stand, where he sold kettle corn. They visited
with him awhile and tasted a few of the little cups he had setting out for people
to try.

“Your kettle corn is as good as ever,” Meredith said, leaning on the edge of his table.

“I’ve always enjoyed making it, and it sells really fast. Especially today, with the
good crowd that’s here.” He grinned at Meredith. “By the way …
hallich gebottsdaag.
I heard you were coming here to celebrate your birthday.”

She smiled and motioned to Alma. “It was her idea.”

“And a good one it is,” he said, winking at Alma.

Several people came up to Dad’s stand then, so Meredith told him goodbye.

“Your mamm and I will see you tomorrow at church,” Dad called as Meredith and Alma
moved on.