Her Brother's Keeper (16 page)

C
harlotte hurried down the road back to Hannah's, thankful it was a downhill trek. She held her breath as much as she could. She'd tried not to move when she'd met her visitor on the porch, but that didn't stop the black-and-white intruder from spraying her from head to toe. There were two things in life that Charlotte couldn't stand to smell. Hard-boiled eggs and skunks. Over the years, she'd learned to tolerate the eggs, but she would never get used to this smell.

Once the house was in view, she picked up the pace. Jacob was in the front yard, and as Charlotte got closer, she could see that his telescope had arrived. He waved as she got closer, but Charlotte stopped a good ten feet away from him. When Jacob grimaced and pinched his nostrils, she realized that she should have hung back even farther.

He rattled off a string of Dutch that Charlotte didn't understand, but he ended with a chuckle. “You're going to need a tomato bath.” He let go of his nose and waved a hand in front of his face.

“Tomato bath?” Charlotte remembered that she had a date with Isaac later in the afternoon.

“Ya.
That will help take away the smell.” He laughed again. “I would ask you to come look through my telescope, but maybe, uh . . . after that bath.”

Charlotte hung her head. Something in the universe was working against her when it came to Isaac. First the green hair, now this. She waved to Jacob and headed toward the house. Hannah met her on the porch.

“I was wondering where you were,” Hannah said, but then her eyes grew round and she backed up until she was against the side of the house. “Skunk!”

Charlotte couldn't help but grin while she walked up the porch steps. “I went for a walk. Jacob said I need a tomato bath. Does that take the smell away?”

Hannah pinched her nose. “
Ya.
I will go gather some tomatoes and see how much sauce we have.
Mamm
usually keeps some store-bought sauce for unexpected guests or emergencies.” She grinned. “And this is surely an emergency.”

“Ugh. Tomatoes don't sound nearly as good as that goat-milk stuff your mom makes to put in the bathwater. I'll get out of these clothes while you find everything.” Charlotte moved toward the screen door.

Hannah burst out laughing. “
Ach
,
nee!
You can't come in. There is an old claw-foot tub in the barn.” She pointed behind Charlotte. “
Mamm
makes
Daed
and Jacob bathe outside when they are really dirty, and Jacob met up with a skunk once too. Come to think of it, maybe that's why Jacob doesn't like tomato sauce!”

Charlotte turned toward the barn, then back to Hannah. “You expect me to take a bath in an old tub in the barn?”

Hannah smiled. “Of course.” She spun around and went inside.

Charlotte sat down on the porch step, longing for a spa day back in Houston, followed up by a nail and toes appointment, then finishing off at the hair salon. Getting her hair done was a necessity in her mind. The spa day was something she sprung for after she'd finished a big project. She was going to consider this entire endeavor one big project. She took a deep breath, but nearly choked on her own smell, so she held her nose and waited.

This was one bath she was not looking forward to.

About ten minutes later, Hannah supplied her with several jars of tomato sauce, some fresh tomatoes, and a water hose, and Charlotte trudged to the barn in the wake of Hannah's giggles.

She filled up the claw-foot tub, dumped everything in, then stared at the red water with clumps of tomato floating on top. After glancing around the barn, she eased one foot into the cold water, then slowly lowered herself
in. Wearing nothing but her prayer covering, in an effort to keep her hair up and away from the water, she tried to relax. But this experience would forever remain in the top five grossest things she'd ever done.

After her soak, she tucked her head into the crook of her arm. All she'd done was add the aroma of tomato sauce to the skunk smell. One day she'd laugh about this. This was not that day.

After Googling other remedies to get rid of the smell, she asked Hannah to help her concoct a solution using hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Two baths later, she could finally tolerate herself, but she wasn't going to torture Isaac by exposing him to the smell, albeit faint, of skunk pizza. So she called and canceled their picnic, hoping he wouldn't be too upset.

Isaac had surprised himself by asking Mary to go on another picnic, but he enjoyed her stories, and it would've been nice to be away from his parents and all the fighting. He was a little disappointed when she canceled, although he could certainly understand why. Even though he was more interested in spending time with Hannah, Isaac didn't think she was ready to date. Just the same, his friendly interactions with Mary made him feel a little guilty. He didn't want to lead her on.

“I caught the tail end of your conversation with
Mary,” his mother said, walking into the living room. “That's terrible that she got sprayed by a skunk.”

Isaac scratched his head. “
Ya
, I know. She must have scared the animal or something while she was on her walk. They aren't normally aggressive.” Now that he had the day to himself, he was wondering what to do. “Where's
Daed
?”

“I don't know.” His mother pushed one shoulder forward, tipped her chin down, and closed her eyes for a few moments. She held the expression long enough to make her point, then sighed. “I'm just glad he's not inside this house. It's
gut
for him to be outside busying himself.”

Isaac looked out the window, but saw no sign of his father. “I hate it when the two of you fight,” he finally said when he turned back to her.

“We never used to.” She sat on the couch, still clutching a towel she'd brought from the kitchen. “But his cancer has been in remission for a while. I've tended to him from the beginning, and I sympathize that he lost his leg. But he didn't lose his life, and he needs to be grateful to the Lord for that, not bitter and constantly saying he is now half a man.” She twisted the towel until it looked like a pretzel. “It's my fault. I should have encouraged him to do more from the beginning.”

Isaac could still recall when his father was diagnosed. They'd all been devastated to learn he had bone cancer in his right leg. And even worse was the fact that
Daed
's affected area was too large to be able to save his leg. Isaac sat down beside her. “What can I do to help?”

His mother twisted to face him and pressed her lips together as she slapped the towel to her leg. “Start the repairs on the
daadi haus
.”

Isaac's jaw dropped a little. “
Mamm.
I don't know when I'll have time to . . .”

“Make time. What are you doing now? Nothing. Go down to the house and give it a good look-over and make a list of what needs to get done. You know that folks in the community will help.”

It was a large undertaking. Isaac looked at his
mamm
. “Why now?”

Mamm
chuckled. “Do you want to live here with us forever? Now that you're dating again, I think you need to make those repairs a priority so that your father and I can move there one day, as it should be.”

He wanted to tell his mother that he wasn't exactly dating Mary, but this was the first mention of repairing the
daadi haus
in a very long time—years. This was his mother's way of encouraging him to find a
fraa
. He nodded. “Okay. I'll go find
Daed
. Maybe he'll want to help me.”

“Or maybe he won't.”
Mamm
put her hands on her hips. “Either way,
sohn
, I want you to work on that
haus
.”

Isaac nodded again, then left to find his father. Sometimes, his
daed
went to the barn and smoked a cigar. His mother hated that habit, and sometimes Isaac thought that was the only reason his father partook in a practice that was known to cause cancer. Even though the type of cancer his father had was rare, smoking
cigars wasn't healthy, and everyone knew it, despite the smoking that went on in barns before and after worship service.

He pushed the barn door wide and waited for his eyes to adjust. He spotted a figure facedown near a pile of hay.
“Daed!”

When Isaac got to him, he fell to his knees and rolled his father onto his back, relieved when he opened his eyes. “
Daed
, what happened?” Isaac glanced at his father's leg. His prosthesis was attached. Isaac helped his father to his feet.

“I guess I must have tripped and hit my head.” He pointed to the corner of his workbench as he ran his other hand across the back of his head. “Just a little bump, but enough to knock me out, I guess.
Gut
thing you came out here. Your
mamm
wouldn't have come looking for me.”

There was such bitterness in his voice, Isaac almost cringed to hear him talk about his mother like that; the woman who had spent the last three years giving up so much of what she loved to make sure that his needs were met. Isaac couldn't recall the last time she'd gone to one of her quilting gatherings or to lunch at a friend's house. She used to read a lot too. The only thing she attended anymore was the monthly Sisters' Day.

“Daed
, she would have come looking for you.” Isaac brushed the dirt and hay from his pants. “
Mamm
wants me to work on the
daadi haus
, so I was wondering if you wanted to help me make a list so I can get started.”

Scowling, his father shook his head. “We aren't taking on that project when there are so many other projects that need to be handled.” He pointed to his workbench. “I have a list written down on that pad.”

Isaac took a couple of steps, found the white pad of paper, and read:

1. Paint the back fence

2. Call the farrier

3. Replace boards at east end of porch and repaint porch

4. Take all money out of bank and put in new bank

Isaac paused, looked at his father. “Why are you moving your money?”

His father huffed. “Because the
Englisch
man at the bank is stealing it.”

Isaac stared at his father for a few moments before he returned to the list. Mr. Franklin had been their business and personal banker for as long as Isaac could remember.

5. Replace cracked windowpane in the mudroom

Isaac hadn't even noticed that it was in need of repair.

6. Clean the fireplace

7. Chop up Anna Ruth before first freeze

Isaac's heart skipped a beat.
“Daed . . .”
He walked to his father and pointed to number seven. “Did you mean chop up
wood
before first freeze?”

His father chuckled, then broke into a full-belly laugh. “
Ya, ya.
Of course that's what I meant.”

Isaac didn't laugh and went back to the list.

8. Take inventory at the furniture store

Phyllis and Tom had been doing inventory at the store for years, but Isaac kept reading.

9. Grease snow plow, general maintenance

10. Replace missing slat on east side of barn

Isaac set the pad down. “
Daed
, none of these are huge projects. I think we will still have time to work on the
daadi haus
.”

His father shook his head. “
Nee, nee.
Chopping your mother up will take some time.” He patted Isaac on the shoulder as he passed him and went out of the barn. Isaac sprung into step right behind him.

This time he would have to agree with his father. No time to repair the
daadi haus
. Isaac would be busy making sure his mother wasn't alone with his father.

Charlotte made her way up the stairs behind Hannah and Jacob. After devotions, they'd all splurged on a second piece of chocolate pie. Like the rest of them, Charlotte had eaten a piece following supper, but she didn't have the self-discipline to turn down a second helping when Jacob suggested it. She closed the bedroom door behind her and turned on the battery-operated fan. After she positioned it in front of the open window, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse.