Winter’s Awakening (20 page)

Charlie opened the door with a broad smile as soon as Josh and Gretta arrived. “Come on in and get warm! Caleb told me I got here not ten minutes after you left, Josh. I hope you don’t mind, but I think I’m going to have to stay here for a while.”

“I’m glad you’re here. I’m sorry I was gone so long. We had some phone calls to make, including one to your mamm,” Joshua said as he fought the wind and pushed the door shut with a hearty shove. “Which reminds me, you need to call her up as fast as you can. She’s worrying.”

Charlie pulled out his cell phone, but his gaze settled on Gretta. “Thanks, Josh. I’ll do that.”

Catching Charlie’s look of interest, Joshua performed the introductions. “Gretta, this here is Charlie.”

She smiled sweetly. “Hi.”

“Hi, Gretta. It’s nice to meet you. Lilly has said you’ve been a good friend to her.”

“I feel the same way about her. It’s nice to meet you, too, though I must say I wouldn’t have minded other circumstances.”

“You’ve got that right. Well, I better go call home—
again
,” Charlie said with a shake of his head, then walked a few feet away.

Joshua was just about to offer to hang up Gretta’s cloak on a hook when the wind outside gave another powerful whoosh. The gust was so strong, the building shook and windows groaned in protest.

Gretta’s eyes searched his. “I fear the storm is getting worse.”

“I think you’re right,” he murmured. Just as he reached for her hand, another blast of wind slammed the building. The lights flickered, then went dark. Outside, the last of the lit buildings turned dark as well, encasing the area in a black shroud. “Well, the power’s now out everywhere,” Joshua said unnecessarily, just as his brother Caleb approached, holding a lantern.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Caleb said. “We might as well set up a place to wait out the storm together.” He looked around. “How about here? There’s plenty of room for us to all sit together but still be able to look outside at the main street.”

“That’s a good idea,” Joshua said. “But first, we have much to do.”

Charlie strode forward. “How can I help?”

“Come with me, would you? We’ll look at the generator and then take a gander to see what all we might need to make this area comfortable.” He turned to Gretta. “Would you take this flashlight and go gather up some blankets and things from the back room? The generator will keep the food in the freezers from spoiling, but the heat won’t come back.”

She nodded. “I can do that.”

Josh smiled at her with a burst of pride. He had chosen wisely. His hoped-for future wife wasn’t panicking at all, but pitching in to help in any way she could.

While Charlie and Joshua rushed through the back room, Gretta picked up as many quilts as she could carry and set them on the wide wooden bench near the front desk. She was just wondering what else they might need when she heard knocking at the front door.

There was Cathy Plum, one of her favorite English customers at the restaurant. Gretta hurried to open it. “Mrs. Plum, what are you doing here?”

“For the same reasons as you, I expect,” she replied with a frown. “I’m afraid I’m stranded here in town. My stubbornness to heed the weatherman’s advice and go right home has gotten the best of me in this storm. Now the streets are too bad for me to drive on. I’m stranded.”

“Where’s your car?”

“In the back. Joshua and that young man he was with saw me in the parking lot. When I explained my situation, they offered to give me shelter.”

“I’m mighty glad you’re here.”

“I know I’ll enjoy your company, Gretta, as long as you dispose of that Mrs. Plum foolishness. Right now, I’m just Cathy, okay?”

“Okay, Cathy.”

“Now, what can I do to help you?”

“I just gathered some quilts, but thought I might look to see if there are some blankets we could use, too. Will you help me gather them?”

“I’d be happy to.” As the narrow beam of the flashlight illuminated their path, Cathy said, “Who’s that teen with Caleb and Joshua? Another stranded motorist?”

“His name is Charlie Allen. He is stranded, but he’s also a friend and neighbor of the Grabers.”

“Thank goodness Joshua was here,” Cathy said with a shiver. “I can’t imagine what I would have done if he wasn’t.”

“He rescued me from the restaurant. I feel the same way.” Joshua was proving himself to be a stalwart man. A man to trust during any occasion. He was so responsible, his family left the store in his care. Neighbors like the Allens turned to him for assistance and friendship. Other members of the community were now depending on him for shelter and safety.

Now, she, too, was in his care, and had never felt more cherished. Sometime over the last few weeks, she’d begun to focus on her fears instead of focusing on Joshua’s many good qualities.

She’d dwelled on the negatives instead of opening her heart and mind to a bright future. And to the Lord’s will.

Now she realized the truth—this time had been a test for her. A test to see what she really wanted. A test to see what she was willing to give…and receive. Stopping in front of a stack of horse blankets, Gretta shined her light on them. “Cathy, would you help me gather some of these? They’re thick enough to sleep on, I think.”

Cathy picked up two as did Gretta. Then they started back toward the front of the store, the flashlight making a wobbly line of light to follow as Gretta carried both it and the blankets in her hands.

As the front windows rattled again, the older lady shivered dramatically. “I guess the Lord really has been watching over me. I’m thankful He gave me this store and your company to weather the storm in.”

“I’m thankful for it, too,” Gretta murmured.

“Look what we found,” Charlie proclaimed as they entered the area, holding a portable stove.

“That looks like something I’d cook with when camping,” Cathy said after introducing herself to Charlie.

“That’s because this is a camping stove,” Joshua said with a grin. “It will let us heat up some water for coffee and such and keep warm.”

Gretta pointed to the pile of quilts. “Cathy and I brought these in, and some horse blankets, too. I hope they’ll work.”

“They’ll be great,” Joshua said, his voice soft and low.

Once again, Gretta caught herself meeting his gaze
and feeling her insides take a tumble. Even though they were stranded in the storm, there was no one with whom she’d rather be. She’d missed him.

As the wind and ice splattered the glass panes in the front door, Mrs. Plum looked at their little group. “Would you all mind too much if we said a little prayer? Though I think He led me here, I’d sure like to think that we still have his ear.”

“We’d be most grateful,” Gretta said. “Prayer always helps.”

One by one, they each bowed their heads.

“The power’s out, Mom,” Lilly called out from the kitchen.

“Thanks for the update,” her mother called down, sarcasm thick in her voice. “I was just changing clothes. Now I’m stuck in the closet, hoping things match in the dark.”

Chuckling, Lilly said, “Where are the candles?”

“Candles? Hmm. Some might be in the dining room. Oh, and we might have a flashlight in one of those cabinets on top of the refrigerator. I could have sworn I stashed a couple of boxes up there. Scott? Can you look around?”

“I’ll try,” he said as he wandered into the dim light of the kitchen.

Lilly looked at him gratefully. “What a mess. I don’t know how were going to find anything. We haven’t unpacked every box for the dining room and kitchen.”

“I’m afraid you’re right. I think your mom has put off
opening a lot of the boxes since it seemed like we were doing just fine with some of our stuff packed away. I sure didn’t think there was any hurry.”

“Now we’re in a big hurry for candles and flashlights.”

“Well, let’s see what we can do.”

As the wind howled outside, Lilly and her father franticly searched the cabinets for anything that they could use as a light source.

They couldn’t find a single thing.

“Boy, this isn’t good,” her dad said in an extreme bit of understatement. “I don’t know what we’re going to do if we don’t even have any candlelight.”

“I’m starting to get a little worried,” Lilly admitted.

Slowly, her mom came down the stairs holding Ty’s hand. Lilly wasn’t sure if she was holding hands to comfort her brother or herself. In the waning light, she looked at them both. “Any luck?”

“None, Barb. We’re really up a creek,” her dad said worriedly. Lilly noticed that he lowered his voice so Ty wouldn’t get worried. “The temperature’s going to drop as soon as the sun sets. It’s going to be really cold and unpleasant in here in the dark.”

“I don’t want to be cold,” Ty announced.

“I don’t either, but we’ll be okay,” Lilly said, but tried to make her voice sound a whole lot more hopeful than she felt. “Who knows? Maybe the power will come back on soon.”

“I doubt that.” Her dad patted his cell phone. “I just got a call from my boss. The roads are so treacherous they’re asking everyone to stay off of them. Already,
there are a number of wrecks outside Mansfield. That’s why the phone company hasn’t called me in to help man the customer service desks. They’re thinking it’s just not worth the danger.”

“Well, I guess I’m glad after all that Charlie is at the Graber Family Store,” her mom said matter-of-factly. “At least there will be plenty of supplies for him and he’ll be off the roads.”

“He’ll be fine,” Lilly agreed. “If I know Josh, he’s probably rigged up some kind of wood stove and is roasting hot dogs or something. He would be exactly the type of guy to handle any kind of crisis with ease.”

Her father groaned. “Don’t mention food. I wasn’t hungry until I realized that we don’t even have a way to open cans. Barb, we really should invest in a manual can opener, at the very least.”

“I’ll go bring down some blankets,” her mom volunteered. “We’ll all cuddle in the living room.”

“I think we should go next door,” Ty blurted, stopping them all in their tracks.

Lilly looked at him in surprise. “That’s a great idea, Ty! The Grabers’ house will be just fine in a power outage. They don’t use electricity anyway.”

Her parents looked at each other worriedly. “We can’t just show up, Lilly,” her dad said. “That wouldn’t be right.”

“I don’t think they’d mind, Dad.”

“But we can’t even call to see if it’s okay.”

Ty peered through the frosty glass. “I see lights on in their house. They’ve got their lanterns going.” His tone
turned wistful. “I bet they’re drinking hot chocolate, too.”

Their mom reached out and hugged him tight. “Honey, their house does sound cozy. But still—”

A loud banging interrupted the conversation.

Her father opened the door. “Mr. Graber! Hello! Come in!”

“I came to offer some shelter,” Mr. Graber said. “By the look of things, I doubt the weather will clear for at least another twenty-four hours. We’d be happy to have you join us at our house.”

Ty scampered to his feet. “Is Anson there?”

“
Jah
, of course,” he said with a welcoming grin. “He’s there and Judith and Carrie, and the little ones, too. Only Joshua and Caleb aren’t home. They’re stuck at the store.”

“Charlie’s there, too,” her mom said.

“
Jah
. And Gretta.”

Something in Mr. Graber’s voice alerted Lilly that maybe he wasn’t so worried about Joshua’s circumstances. No, he sounded almost bemused that the storm had forced Gretta and Joshua to spend a good length of time in each other’s company.

Lilly wasn’t worried either. Perhaps this storm was what the two of them needed. A forced time alone to work out their problems.

Her mom smiled. “Frank, I’d love to sit out this storm at your house, if you don’t mind. Thank you.”

He held up his lantern. “We’ll have a time of it,
jah
? But have a care now, it’s a long, cold, and icy walk in between our homes.”

Within ten minutes, all four of them had small bags packed. Lilly had extra socks, her pajamas and robe and her toothbrush and toothpaste. Then she helped Ty get his things together. He had almost the same amount, except he was bringing a favorite book and some of his Hot Wheels.

Though her parents didn’t say too much, she knew they were grateful for the reprieve from the cold house, too. Yet, she also sensed they were a little apprehensive. Lilly had a feeling they were wishing that they’d put in a little more effort into getting to know their Amish neighbors.

It was hard living next to someone and not have much of a relationship.

“Thanks again, Frank,” her dad said as they trooped outside and felt a splattering of icy crystals sting their cheeks. “You have really come to the rescue tonight. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen a coating of ice so thick.”

Mr. Graber reached out and tapped a nearby branch with his flashlight. The beam illuminated the thick shiny covering, making it seem like they were in a crystal wonderland. “It’s pretty out, but terribly dangerous. Take care with your footing, now.”

Slipping an arm around Lilly’s shoulders, her dad said, “That’s good advice.” Leaning a little closer, he whispered, “Are you doing all right, Lilly? Are we walking too fast?”

“I’m okay, Dad.”

His hand moved from her shoulders to gripping her
elbow securely. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll keep a careful hold on you. We don’t want anything to happen to you or the baby.”

Though they’d already talked through so much, Lilly’s heart warmed as she heard her father’s comforting words. “I’m glad you care.”

“I do, Lilly. I promise to do better about letting you know how much I do.”

As they continued on, one by one slipping through the thick hedge that separated their properties, then slowly climbing the hill that led to the Grabers’ home, her father said, “Actually, You’ve been right about a lot of things. Your mom and I thought we were handling things so well, but in actuality, we were simply living in denial. We thought if we didn’t talk about our past—or your pregnancy—if we only thought about your life the way we planned it, it would make everything all better.”