The PIECES of SUMMER (3 page)

Yip! Yip! Yip!
Fritz now looked more like a white Dalmatian than the German shorthaired pointer
he truly was, with only a few spots of brown color showing from his coat.

Fritz sneezed, sending puffs of flour from his nostrils, and tried to gain traction
on the slippery white mess as he pursued the bandit-looking creature with determination.
Sheriff Tyler and Deputy Earl were hot on the chase, slipping and sliding where Fritz
had just been, while Meredith stood back, watching the whole thing as she struggled
not to laugh. It was really quite a comical scene, and she felt relief, knowing the
intruder was just an animal and not a robber after all.

Finally, with Fritz nipping at its bushy ringed tail, the varmint darted out the open
back door and into the yard.

“Whew! That’s a relief,” Sheriff Tyler said, quickly shutting the door. “Don’t know
how that critter got in your basement, but he sure gave us a merry chase.”

“What’s going on in here?” Alma asked, yawning as she stepped into the room. “I woke
up to use the bathroom, and as soon as I put my hearing aids in, I heard a ruckus
down here in the kitchen.”

Seeing Alma look around in obvious disbelief at the mess in the kitchen, Meredith
quickly explained what had happened. Flour dust was still in the air, but it slowly
settled, leaving a film on all the surfaces. Everyone burst out laughing when Deputy
Earl removed his glasses that were also coated with flour particles.

When their laughter subsided, the sheriff smiled and said, “When I responded to this
call I knew it couldn’t have been the fellows who’d done the robberies in the area,
because they were caught a few hours after I stopped by your place to warn you about
them. I was a bit concerned, however, thinking we might have another thief in the
area.”

“In a way, there was.” Deputy Earl motioned to the floor, where a hunk of carrot lay.
“I think that critter was all set to raid the root vegetables you’ve been storin’
in your cellar,” he said, looking at Meredith.

Alma slipped her arm gently around Meredith’s waist. “The next time Jonah drops by,
I’ll ask him to check for any places in the basement where an animal might get in
and fix it so that nothing like this happens again.”

Meredith shook her head. “Let’s not bother Jonah with that. I can ask my
daed
or Dorine’s husband, Seth, to do it. Right now,” she said, looking around at the
mess, “I have a kitchen to clean up and a disgruntled dog to bathe.”

“I sure like this straw hat you got for me at the farmers’ market,” Susan’s grandfather
said as the two of them worked together in the garden early Tuesday morning. “It helps
to keep the sun out of my eyes.”

“I’m glad you’re pleased with it, Grandpa.” Susan stabbed her shovel into the ground
and pulled up another clump of weeds. It felt good to be outdoors in the fresh spring
air, with her hands in the dirt. Gardening was kind of a hobby for her, and she found
a sense of satisfaction in it. Grandpa obviously felt the same way, because ever since
the weather had turned nice, he’d been spending several hours each day outside in
the yard. Susan didn’t have the luxury of gardening that often, though. Most of the
time when she got home from the hospital, she was either too tired to work in the
yard or it was late and already dark. Today, her shift wouldn’t begin until noon,
so she’d taken advantage of the early morning hours to help Grandpa get some weeding
done.

“Eww…look at this.” Susan wrinkled her nose as she watched a lengthy, plump earthworm
wiggling from the dirt, still clinging to the bottom of the weed in her gloved hand.

“Now that’s a good one.” Grandpa bobbed his head. “If I had plans to go fishing soon,
I’d suggest puttin’ the wiggler in my bait box. But for now, you can just throw him
in one of your grandma’s flower beds. It’ll be good for the soil.”

Susan did as Grandpa suggested. “Oops! I missed the flower bed,” she said, watching
as the worm landed in the grass.

“Don’t worry about it,” Grandpa said. “The ground’s damp over there, and I’m sure
it’ll worm its way under the grass and into the dirt.”

Susan was just getting ready to pull another weed when she noticed movement out of
the corner of her eye. She pointed in the direction where Grandpa was already looking,
watching a robin gobble up the worm she’d just tossed onto the grass.

“See what fun your sister is missing?” Grandpa chuckled as Susan made a face. “I tried
to talk Anne into joining us out here,” he said, “but she turned me down flat. Guess
she’d rather put on her jogging clothes and run all over the neighborhood, working
up a sweat, than dig in the dirt with us.”

Susan laughed and wiped the perspiration from her forehead. “And what do you think
we’re doing out here, if not sweating?”

He grinned and yanked up another weed. “This is different. At least when we work up
a sweat, we have somethin’ to show for our troubles. The only thing Anne has to show
for all that jogging she does every day is a skinny body, without an ounce of flab.”

“Well, you know my sister…She does like to keep fit and trim, which I’m sure helps
her as a physical therapist.”

Grandpa grunted. “She could get fit and trim pullin’ weeds, I’ll bet.”

“Not everyone likes gardening the way we do,” Susan reminded him. “Grandma doesn’t
like it that much, and it doesn’t seem to bother you any.”

“Well, she might not like to pull weeds, but she does cook all the produce we grow.”
Grandpa jiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Yes indeed, my wife’s a mighty good cook.”

Susan smiled. “I can’t argue with that.”

They worked in silence for a while, until Grandpa set his shovel aside and said, “Think
we got most of the weeds out now, don’t you?”

“Yes, but a few days from now, there will probably be more.” Susan motioned to the
picnic table under the leafy maple tree in the corner of the yard. “Should we sit
awhile and visit before it’s time for me to get ready for work?” she asked.

“Sounds good to me.”

After they’d both taken a seat on the picnic bench, Susan turned to Grandpa and said,
“When I got home from the hospital last night, you and Grandma were already in bed,
so I didn’t get the chance to tell you that Eddie finally woke up.”

Grandpa’s thick eyebrows lifted high on his forehead. “That John Doe patient of yours?”

She nodded. “I guess he came out of the coma on Saturday while Anne and I were in
Lancaster County. One of the nurses told me about it when I got to work yesterday.”

“That’s good news, Susan. Did you get to talk to the young man?”

She shook her head. “Unfortunately, he slept through most of my shift, and due to
the injury to his vocal cords, even when he was awake, he was unable to talk. I’m
hoping it won’t be long before he can communicate. I’m really anxious to find out
who he is and how he got injured.”

D
id you have a nice time in Florida?” Meredith asked when Laurie showed up at her house
the following Monday morning.

Laurie nodded enthusiastically, her face fairly glowing. “Oh, jah. It was a lot of
fun spending time on the beach. No wonder you stayed in Sarasota a whole summer when
you were eighteen. I think I could live there, too.”

“You’re nice and brown, so it looks like you got plenty of sun,” Meredith said, making
no comment about the time she’d spent in Florida. Sometimes she wished she could return
to those carefree teenage days, when all she had to worry about was being courteous
to the customers at the restaurant where she’d worked and enjoying her free time at
the beach.

“I sure did get some sun.” Laurie held out her arms. “With my fair skin, I had to
be careful not to burn, so I used plenty of sunscreen. It must have helped, because
I look more tan than burned.”

“What else did you do besides go to the beach?” Meredith asked, glancing at her own
arms, which were as pale as ever.

“Oh, we…” Laurie stopped talking and dropped her gaze to the floor. “So, have you
seen Jonah lately?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

“He’s dropped by a few times. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, just curious, is all.”

“Do you like him?” Meredith questioned, curious at how quickly Laurie had changed
the subject.

“Who?” Laurie dropped into a seat on the sofa.

“Jonah.”

“Of course I do.” Laurie smiled. “He’s a very nice man.”

Meredith hesitated a minute, wondering how best to express her thoughts. “I know you
are interested in him, but I don’t think it’s good for you to be so obvious about
it,” she said, taking a seat beside her sister.

Laurie’s forehead wrinkled. “What are you talking about, Meredith? I’ve never said
I was interested in Jonah.”

“Maybe not in so many words, but whenever he comes around, you smile at him and seem
to be hanging on his every word.”

Laurie’s cheeks flamed. “I’m not the least bit interested in Jonah. I just know he’s
a good friend of yours, and since he might end up to be my brother-in-law someday,
I thought I should be nice to him.”

Meredith’s mouth dropped open. “Wh–where did you come up with that idea?”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Meredith. It’s obvious that he’s smitten.”

“You can tell that just by how he looks at me?”

Laurie shrugged. “That’s only part of it. I don’t think Jonah would come over here
so often, wanting to help out, if he wasn’t interested in you.”

Meredith shook her head. “That’s ridiculous! Jonah’s just a friend, and he knows I’m
still mourning Luke’s death.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not interested in having a relationship with you whenever
you’re ready.”

Meredith stared straight ahead. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that. I love
Luke, and I always will.”

Laurie placed her hand on Meredith’s arm. “Of course you will, but it doesn’t mean
you can never love another man. Luke wouldn’t want you to grieve for him forever.
He’d want you to be happy and find love again.”

“How do you know what Luke would want?” The pitch of Meredith’s voice raised a notch.
“You can’t speak for him.”

“I realize that,” Laurie said, “but I know Luke loved you very much, and I’m sure
he would want you to move on with your life and, most of all, be happy again.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” Meredith instinctively looked around the living room
at all the things that reminded her of Luke. “You don’t understand what it’s like
for me.”

“No, I don’t, but I do know how it feels to be in love.” Laurie clamped her hand over
her mouth. “I—I…What I meant to say was…”

“You said a few minutes ago that you’re not interested in Jonah, so if not him, then
who?” Meredith questioned, bringing her focus back on her sister.

“I–I’d rather not say,” Laurie mumbled.

“If you’ve come to care about someone, then why not just admit it? What have you got
to hide?”

“Do you promise not to tell?”

“Tell who? Mom and Dad?”

Laurie nodded. “If they knew who I’ve been seeing secretly, they’d be
umgerennt.”

“Why would they be upset? Who is it, Laurie? Who have you been seeing that Mom and
Dad wouldn’t approve of?”

“Kevin Byler,” Laurie said in a near whisper.

“But Kevin’s not Amish, Laurie. You know what that would mean if you married him?”

“It would mean I wouldn’t join the Amish church like I’d planned to do this fall.
But at least I’d be going to Kevin’s Mennonite church, and they preach God’s Word
there, too.”

Meredith sighed. She knew how much their folks, and especially Mom, were looking forward
to seeing Laurie baptized into the Amish faith. She also knew, or at least hoped,
that their folks would show some understanding if Laurie and Kevin decided to get
married.

Meredith gave her sister a hug. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad that you’ve been seeing
Kevin, but if you two are getting serious, then you need to tell them yourself, and
soon, before they hear about it from someone else. News travels fast in our community,
and if anyone’s seen you and Kevin together, there is bound to be talk.”

Tears welled in Laurie’s eyes. “I know you’re right. Kevin has a stand at the farmers’
market, too, and we’ve sometimes taken our lunches together, but we’ve always gone
somewhere outside the market, where Dad and the others who work there couldn’t see.”

Meredith looked her sister straight in the eyes. “Was Kevin with you in Florida last
week?”

Laurie sniffed deeply as she gave a slow nod. “We weren’t alone, though. Three other
couples were with us. Oh, and the girls stayed together in one of the places we rented,
and the guys stayed in another,” she quickly added.

Meredith couldn’t believe her sister had been so deceitful, but then she didn’t think
it was her place to judge Laurie. “From one sister to another, I’d like to give you
some advice,” she said, giving Laurie’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.