Sarasota Dreams (59 page)

She blinked but still didn’t utter a word.

“Would that have been okay?” he asked. “I mean, I’ve never dated a Mennonite girl before…. Well, I haven’t dated much at all, and … well, I …” He didn’t know what to say, and now he feared he might totally blow any chance at all of Ruthie liking him.

Ruthie looked as perplexed as he was. “I’m not sure.”

“Do Mennonites … well, do they kiss?”

“Of course we do.” Her lips quivered into a smile. “But I’ve never … well, I haven’t kissed anyone before.”

Her simple admission drove his attraction to her through the roof. If he managed to get the nerve to kiss her tonight, he’d be her first.

Instead of pursuing this line of conversation, Charles decided to change the subject. “Ready for some lobster?”

She nodded. “Papa seems to think I’ll like it.”

He sure hoped she did. Fortunately, some of his old video games and gaming systems had brought in quite a bit of money. Mom and Pop had been shocked when he gave them several hundred dollars in cash and said he still had plenty to take Ruthie on their date. Mom actually started to cry. He forced himself back to the moment.

“I think you will, too. Lobster is one of my favorite foods.”

“What else do you like?” she asked.

All the way to the restaurant, they discussed their favorite foods. He noticed that most of the items she named were simple dishes that could be found in most homestyle restaurants. Mom had never been a great cook, but he’d eaten enough meals out to know a good meat loaf when he tasted it.

They’d barely reached the restaurant parking lot when his cell phone rang. He lifted it to see who was calling, and when he saw it was Pop, he answered.

“Are you in a position to talk?” Pop asked with a gravelly voice.

“Yes,” Charles said as he glanced at Ruthie, who sat looking straight ahead. “We just got to the restaurant. What’s up?”

“Um … I hate to do this to you, but you might want to take Ruthie home now.”

Adrenaline shot through Charles’s veins. “Why? Did something happen?”

“Yes.” Pop coughed.

“Is it Mom?”

“No, it’s the house.” He coughed again. “We had a fire. Someone tried to call you, but you must have turned off your phone.”

“I left it in the car when we went into the art museum.”

“It doesn’t really matter because there was nothing you could do. Now we need you here.”

“So tell me what happened.”

Charles glanced at Ruthie as Pop explained that the house had been consumed by fire and nothing was salvageable. As he tensed, he noticed the concern on Ruthie’s face.

“After you take Ruthie home, come on over to Penner’s,” Pop advised. “We have some decisions to make.”

He punched the
Off
button and put the phone down on the console. Ruthie laid her hand on top of his. “What’s wrong, Charles?”

“My family’s house burned down. We lost … everything.”

She gasped. “I am so sorry.”

Charles looked at her and saw that she was sincere. “I hate to do this to you on your birthday, Ruthie, but I need to take you home now. My parents really need me.”

“Of course,” she said. “You don’t have to apologize. I would be disappointed if you didn’t go to them.”

He drove straight to Ruthie’s house, where her parents stood on the front lawn. Mr. Kauffman came to the car window and leaned over. “We heard what happened. If you need us, don’t hesitate to call.” Ruthie’s mother looked Charles in the eye. “We waited here, in case you decided to take Ruthie home. Would you like us to go with you?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think we’ll be fine.”

“We would like to help in any way we can.”

After Charles thanked him, he headed for Penner’s, praying all the way there. The restaurant was still open, but there weren’t many cars in the lot.

Charles didn’t waste a minute. He hopped out of his car and took off for the front door that was opened for him before he got there. Mr. Penner gestured toward the corner. “Your parents are in the corner booth.”

To Charles’s surprise, the place was packed with people—most of them not eating. Immediately after he made his way to his parents’ booth, Mr. Penner walked up with a pot of coffee, and without asking if they wanted any, poured a cup for all three members of the Polk family.

Pop looked exhausted but resolved. Mom, on the other hand, appeared distraught. “Everything I owned was in the house. I don’t think there’s anything left.”

She shuddered but relaxed when Pop put his arm around her. “Everything that matters is right here. No one was hurt.”

Charles was numb and had a difficult time wrapping his mind around the whole situation, so he didn’t say anything. Some of the people standing nearby discussed who was going to do what to help them.

Mr. Penner placed the coffeepot on the table and sat down next to Charles. “Most of us live in small houses, so we don’t have room for your whole family. That’s why you’re staying with my wife and me, and your parents will stay with the Yoders.”

Charles glanced at Pop, who nodded. “What about clothes?” Charles asked.

Mr. Penner spoke up. “Some people from church have already brought some things over to the house—clothes and other personal items. They should do for the time being. My wife is putting your things away right now.”

When Charles looked back at Mom, he tried to picture her wearing the clothing from other Mennonite women. It was hard to imagine, but she didn’t have much choice at the moment. Then he remembered the money he’d planned to spend on Ruthie’s dinner.

“I still have a few bucks,” he said. “We can go shopping if you want.”

Mom shook her head. “No, keep that money for now. We might need it later.” Then she turned to Mr. Penner. “Would you mind if I had my son drive me to the Yoders’ house now? I’m tired.”

Charles stood. “I’ll come right back after I drop her off.”

People in the restaurant moved aside to make a path for Charles and his mom. Pop stayed behind.

Once they were in the car, Charles looked over at Mom as he turned the key in the ignition. “Any idea what happened?”

She leaned back against the headrest and closed her eyes. “No idea whatsoever.”

“I’m glad no one was home.” Charles shuddered to think about the disaster that could have been much worse.

“Oh, I didn’t say I wasn’t home. In fact, I was in the kitchen when I heard some popping sounds in the back of the house.”

Charles stopped the car before pulling out onto the road. He turned to Mom. “What did you do?”

“I ran toward the sound, but by the time I got there, the whole bedroom area was engulfed in flames. So I did what any normal person would do. I ran out of the house screaming.” She opened her eyes and offered a hint of a smile, but it quickly faded. “I can’t remember ever being that scared before.”

He lifted his foot off the brake and pulled out onto the road as he visualized Mom running from their burning house. “How long before the firemen arrived?”

“One of the neighbors must have called because I don’t think I was outside more than ten minutes before they came. By then every room in the house was on fire.”

When they arrived in front of the Yoders’ house, Charles could see a roomful of people through the picture window. “Looks like you won’t be alone.”

Mom groaned. “I tried to talk your father into getting a hotel room for at least one night, but with everyone insisting we stay here, he didn’t want to offend them.”

“I’ll go in with you.” Charles made it to Mom’s side of the car as quickly as he could so she wouldn’t have to take a step without him by her side. She latched on to his arm and leaned into him as they walked up the sidewalk.

Mrs. Yoder opened the door, and they were quickly embraced by the crowd that consisted of Jeremiah and Shelley Yoder, Jeremiah’s parents, Shelley’s parents, and a couple of other people from church whose names Charles couldn’t remember. He could tell they’d been involved in a heated discussion by the way they acted when he and Mom walked in.

Jeremiah’s mother quickly took Mom by the hand and led her away. “I’ll show you where you can get cleaned up. I have some clothes out on the bed in the room you and your husband will be sleeping in.”

After they left the group, Jeremiah walked up and put his hand on Charles’s shoulder. “Tough situation,” he said quietly. “Don’t let anything anyone says bother you. Some people can’t handle change, but they’ll eventually come around.”

Charles wasn’t sure exactly what Jeremiah was talking about, but he had a pretty good idea. He nodded. “I’m too worried about Mom to let other people bother me.”

“Don’t worry too much. My parents will take good care of her.”

Charles knew enough about Jeremiah’s past of leaving the church and coming back to open arms from his family to believe his mom and dad would be welcome in the Yoder home. However, some of the other people in the room continued to scowl their disapproval as they chatted with Jeremiah’s father.

“Is something going on that I need to know about?” Charles asked Jeremiah as softly as he could.

Jeremiah looked at Shelley, who nodded. “You better warn him,” she whispered.

“Okay.” Jeremiah tilted his head toward the kitchen then turned and headed in that direction. Charles followed. Once they were in there, he pulled out a chair and motioned for Charles to sit down, then he sat adjacent to him. “I’m sure you already know there’s a small but vocal group that is trying to keep your family from joining. This might be all they need to reinforce their argument.”

Charles’s breath caught in his throat, so he coughed. “What?”

“It’s not the general consensus of the church, Charles,” Shelley said. “It’s just a few who always fight change.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Jeremiah said as he raked his fingers through his hair. “When I came back, the same bunch told my family I’d never change.”

“I’ve never been in a situation like this before,” Charles admitted. “I have no idea what to do next. I guess I’ll need to go to the house tomorrow and see if I can salvage anything.”

Jeremiah shook his head. “No, you can’t do that. The authorities have the area roped off.” He cut a glance in Shelley’s direction before leaning toward Charles. “You’re not allowed to cross the tape until after they investigate.”

O
n Saturday, Abe sent word to Charles and his pop that he wanted them to take the day off and not even consider working on the farm. Charles drove over to the Yoders’ and picked Pop up to take him to the charred remains of the house. Mom wanted to go, but Pop told her he’d rather she didn’t, and Mrs. Yoder convinced her she should stay.

The acrid smell of smoke hung in the air so strongly, Charles could smell it when they were a block away. Pop’s jaw tightened, and he didn’t say a word as they pulled up in front.

“It’s hard to believe this is all that’s left,” Charles said, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Even the front porch roof is burned.”

“You should see the backyard,” Pop added. “Even the oak tree caught fire, and it’ll need to be cut down.”

Charles felt his throat constrict. Mom had planted the oak tree in Jennifer’s honor the year she died. Even though they’d planned to sell the house soon, they’d always assumed the tree would remain standing for decades. Mom had chosen an oak for longevity.

“One of the things the authorities are considering is arson,” Pop said, his voice husky with emotion. “There’s even a rumor that we might be responsible, since we were planning to sell in a tough market.”

“I can’t believe anyone would think we’d do something like this to our own place,” Charles said as they walked around the perimeter of the yellow tape. “We have so much of our lives in there, and now most of it’s gone.”

Pop started to say something, but he stopped, squeezed his eyes shut, shook his head, and shuddered. Charles hadn’t seen Pop like this in a very long time.

Some of the neighbors gawked, but no one came to see how they were doing. Charles thought about how with the three-car garage, he, Mom, and Pop pushed the remote on the garage door opener, pulled in, and closed it without getting to know any of the people on their street. There was never any reason to converse with the neighbors so they didn’t.

“It’s such a shame,” Pop said. “I know that all the stuff we lost was unnecessary, but I wanted to be the one to get rid of it.”

“Yes, I know, Pop.” Charles flung his arm casually over Pop’s shoulder, and together they walked back to the car. “What do we do now?”

“We have to find a more permanent place to live. I appreciate the Yoders and Penners, but I don’t want to impose on them any longer than we absolutely have to.”

“I agree.” Charles automatically went to the driver’s side of the car and got in. Pop looked at him for a moment then opened the passenger door.

“Now that we don’t have much left, why don’t we just go ahead and sell the car?” Pop said.

“Are you sure?”

With only a brief hesitation, Pop gave a clipped nod. “Positive. Once we do that, we’ll have nothing left to lose.”

Charles couldn’t argue that point, so he didn’t even try. He’d gotten used to the idea of paring down, but he obviously never expected it to happen so abruptly.

All the way back to Pinecraft, they discussed what to do next and where they’d live. “The insurance company should cover the cost of a hotel room until we find a more permanent place,” Pop said. “However, the claims adjuster said he needed an official report from the fire inspector to make sure it wasn’t … um …”

“Arson?” Charles said.

Pop didn’t answer right away, so Charles looked at him. He’d buried his face in his hands, and if his shaking shoulders were any indication, he was crying. Charles had only seen Pop cry once before, and that was the day after Jennifer’s funeral. He’d managed to remain stoic for Mom until then.

He took his right hand off the steering wheel and placed it on Pop’s hand. “We’ll get through this. I’m just glad Mom was able to get out before … well, before the whole house was consumed.”

Pop removed his hands from his face to reveal blotchy cheeks and reddened eyes. “I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if I’d lost your mother.”