The Restoration (10 page)

“Okay, Mom, whatever you say.” Jared grabbed his hamburger and took a big bite.

Cora felt relieved. At least Jared hadn’t argued about her decision. Their house was barely big enough for the two of them. The last thing she needed was Chad coming around and undoing all the good that had developed between her and Jared this past month.

A
dam went to the office to get his jacket and hat. He was anxious to get home early because they were celebrating Linda’s eighth birthday. Since Scott and Jared had already arrived, he was leaving Ben in charge of overseeing the boys and closing up for the day.

Adam opened his filing cabinet drawer and retrieved the gift bag with the book he and Leah would give Linda for her birthday. He was glad the store had this particular book about birds specific to the state of Illinois—especially since Leah had recently hung out a suet feeder. They both felt Linda would enjoy learning from it.

“See you in the morning,” Adam called as he waved good-bye to Ben and headed out the door. Already, he imagined how good the house would smell once he got there. Leah probably had the cake made, and the meat loaf was likely in the oven. Adam’s favorite dessert was brownies, but chocolate cake with peanut butter icing was high on his list of favorites, too.

“Come on, Flash. Let’s get moving.” Adam clucked to his horse. Leah’s parents were no doubt there already. This was one evening when he wouldn’t mind if Flash felt frisky.

Everything was going according to plan when the girls got home from school Friday afternoon. Even though this was Linda’s first birthday without her parents, she seemed to be handling it well. Amy and Carrie were excited about their sister’s birthday, too.

Leah had baked Linda’s birthday cake earlier in the day, while Carrie was napping. Adam was the only one aware of the three-layer chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. Even the corn on the cob, hidden in the lid-covered pot on the stove, would be a surprise for the girls.

Leah glanced at the clock, noting Adam should be home shortly.

“Danki for bringing the corn,” she told Mom, who stood at the counter, mashing potatoes.

Mom smiled. “You’re welcome. We had an abundance of corn in our garden this past summer, so I was able to freeze and can quite a bit.”

Leah peeked out the window. “I see Dad’s still chopping wood, and Coal’s there to keep him company.”

“Jah, he likes to keep busy. Bringing in more wood for you is his way of helping out.”

“It’s appreciated.” Walking back to the stove, Leah double-checked all the food. “Everything should be ready as soon as my husband arrives.” She smiled inwardly, remembering the days when she’d had no interest in Adam. For a time, he’d actually gotten on her nerves. But that was before Amy, Linda, and Carrie came to live with him. After the girls had been in his charge for a while, a change had come over Adam. Leah loved him more than she’d ever thought possible.

“Those girls are sure focused on the window in there.” Mom gestured to the other room.

“They love watching the birds eat from the suet cake.” Leah opened the oven door to check on the meat loaf one more time.

Just then, Adam and Dad walked into the house. Before they could say anything, Linda started crying. “What’s going on?” Adam asked.

Leah shrugged. “I don’t know.”

All three girls dashed into the kitchen. Still crying, Linda raced out the back door.

“What happened?” Leah looked at Amy.

“A bird flew into the window.” Carrie sniffed.

Amy’s sober expression let Leah know she, too, was on the verge of tears.

Leah turned down the stove and oven and followed Adam and her folks out the door. She found Linda on the porch, tears streaming down her face. “Is… is it dead?” She gulped on a sob, lifting her cupped hands out to reveal the still form of a black-and-white bird.

Time hung suspended as everyone stared at the bird. Adam pointed to Linda’s feathered friend. “Look, its eyes are blinking.”

“Its little head is moving now, too.” Amy moved in closer to Linda.

Linda’s eyes widened when the bird hopped to her finger, clutching with its tiny feet. It sat, looking around, as though quite comfortable at being the center of attention.

Leah’s voice lowered so she wouldn’t startle the bird. “I believe, looking at the markings and color, it’s a male downy woodpecker.”

“You’re right,” Adam agreed. “You can tell by the little red area on top of its head. The females are black and white.”

Before anyone spoke again, the little bird flew off and landed in the nearest tree. Everyone clapped, watching it fluff its feathers. Leah was thankful the woodpecker’s adventures hadn’t spoiled Linda’s birthday.

“Maybe you should hang the suet feeder a little farther from the house,” Leah’s mother suggested.

Leah nodded. “Good idea. We can hang it from the tree over there, where we can still see from the window.”

“I’ll bet the bird saw its reflection in the window and thought it was another bird,” Leah’s father interjected.

“You might be right, Dad,” Leah agreed.

Adam moved toward the door. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to eat and help someone celebrate her birthday.” He winked at Linda.

“Me, too!” Giggling, she clapped her hands.

“Okay, girls, after you’ve washed your hands, you may take your seats.” While the girls went to wash up, Leah took the meat loaf from the oven, and Mom put the mashed potatoes and broccoli in serving bowls. Adam set the corn on a plate, and Dad took each item to the table.

Soon Linda and her sisters joined them at the table. The look on Linda’s face was priceless as she pointed to the steaming corn on the cob. “Yum! Everything looks
appeditlich
!”

“It’s time to give thanks for this delicious food.” Adam bowed his head, and everyone else did the same.

“This is the last dinner I’ll be hosting this month.” Elaine removed a pumpkin pie from the oven and smiled at Priscilla. “I could never have done all these dinners so close to Christmas without your help.”

Priscilla took the second pie from the oven. “I’d have been happy to do it even if you weren’t paying me. It’s given us a chance to visit more than usual, and I’ve certainly met a lot of new, fascinating people.”

Elaine laughed. “Some of them have been rather unusual—like the man with the musical tie who came to the dinner last night.”

Priscilla snickered. “Don’t forget the woman with little silver bells. Every time she moved, they jingled.”

“Thursday night’s dinner guests were quite the musical group. It’ll be interesting to see what tonight’s group brings.” Elaine got down the teapot. “Let’s take a break before we start setting the tables.”

“Sounds good.” Priscilla got the cups, while Elaine brewed the tea; then they both took a seat at the kitchen table.

“Other than helping me here, how’s your week gone?” Elaine questioned. “We were so busy with the dinner last night, I didn’t get a chance to ask.”

“I helped my mamm do some cleaning, and I visited David.” Priscilla blew on her tea before taking a tentative sip.

“How’s David doing?”

“A little better; although he’s still having some pain.” Priscilla smiled. “David was getting tired of being cooped up, so I took him for a buggy ride.”

“Was Elam there, too?”

“No, just me and David.”

Elaine quirked an eyebrow. “I don’t like to be so direct, but is it good for you to spend so much time with David? Won’t Elam be
vergunne
?”

Priscilla shook her head. “There’s nothing for him to be envious about. David and I are just good friends. David is Elam’s friend, too.” Why was Elaine giving her a hard time about this? Had she talked to Mom?

“True, but some folks, and maybe Elam, might get the wrong idea if you spend too much time with David.”

“Now you sound like my mamm. She’s worried for the same reason.” Priscilla frowned. “I just learned that David wrote to me several times during his first year of college, but Mom intercepted his letters.”

“What?”

“She threw the letters away and never told me about them. The other day, the truth came out.”

“Why would she do something like that?”

“Said she was worried David might influence me to leave the Amish faith.” Priscilla clenched her fingers tightly, causing some tea to spill out of the cup.

“Be careful you don’t burn yourself.” Elaine grabbed a napkin and wiped up the spill.

“I’m okay. Talking about those letters I never got to read upsets me.”

“I’m sure it does.”

“Mom apologized, of course, but it hurt to know she would do such a thing.”

Elaine drank more tea, and sat several seconds before responding. “What your mamm did was wrong, but I suppose she was only trying to protect you.”

“I didn’t need it then, and I don’t need it now. David has never tried to influence me to go English.”

“You wouldn’t consider leaving, would you?”

Priscilla shook her head. “I have no desire to give up my Plain life.”

“Whew! Good to hear. I can’t imagine going English, either. Our Amish values and the support we get from one another are important to me.”

“Speaking of support, my daed mentioned this morning he’d seen Jonah Miller yesterday.”

“Oh?”

“He said Jonah’s not doing well.”

“Physically or emotionally?”

“Emotionally. Losing Sara has been hard on him. Not only does he have the responsibility of raising his stepson and daughter, but he has his buggy shop to run as well. Poor little Mark has lost both of his birth parents. Fortunately, he’s truly taken to Jonah, and in every respect has become his son.”

“Losing a loved one is never easy, even for someone so young. At least Jonah’s folks live nearby and are available to help out and offer their support.” Elaine took her cup to the sink.

“Do you still have feelings for Jonah?” Priscilla dared to ask.

“Ben’s asked me to marry him,” Elaine stood at the sink, staring out the window.

“But you haven’t given Ben your answer, right?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“If you still care for Jonah, maybe you two will end up together.”

“Jonah loved Sara, and it’s too soon for him to even consider getting married again. Besides, what Jonah and I once had is in the past. There’s no point talking about this.” Elaine moved toward the room where they’d be hosting their meal. “Let’s go in now and get the tables set. There’s still much to be done before the dinner guests arrive.”

Priscilla pushed away from the table. From the way her friend had quickly changed the subject, she had a hunch Elaine still had feelings for Jonah.
I hope she doesn’t end up marrying Ben. I’ve never told Elaine this, but they’re not suited to each other.

“I’m surprised you’re eating supper with us tonight.” Elam’s mother passed him the basket of rolls and some butter. “Don’t you and Priscilla usually have something planned on Friday evenings?”

“She’s helping Elaine host another dinner,” Elam mumbled.

Mom’s eyebrows rose. “Again? Didn’t Priscilla help Elaine with a dinner last night?”

Elam nodded, spooning some mashed potatoes onto his plate. “I have a feeling Priscilla’s been avoiding me lately.”