Sarasota Dreams (61 page)

“She’s not on duty now,” Mr. Fresh said. “Would you like to try one of our delicious flavors? We’re giving samples.”

“I’d like to later,” Charles replied. “But right now I want to see Ruthie.”

“Come back when you have time. And bring your parents. I’m sure a little frozen yogurt will help cheer them up.”

Charles had to pass the Kauffman family’s souvenir shop on the way to their house, so he slowed down and glanced in the window. Mr. Kauffman was talking to Rosemary, who hung her head and occasionally nodded. It didn’t appear to be a friendly conversation, so he quickened his pace so they wouldn’t see him.

A few minutes later he arrived at Ruthie’s front door. He was about to knock, but Mrs. Kauffman flung open the door before he had time to lift his hand.

“I’m so happy to see you, Charles,” she said. “Come on in and join us for some coffee cake.”

Between dealing with the house fire and wanting to see Ruthie, Charles still had so much on his mind he hadn’t thought about food much. The mere mention of coffee cake sent his stomach rumbling as he followed Mrs. Kauffman to the kitchen. She turned and smiled.

“Sounds like you could use a good meal. Why don’t I make you a sandwich?”

“I don’t want you to go to any trouble,” he said.

“Oh it’s no trouble at all. In fact, I enjoy feeding people.” She walked into the kitchen and motioned toward the table, where Ruthie sat. “Have a seat and I’ll bring your sandwich in a minute.”

His pulse quickened as he saw Ruthie. “So how was your first day on the new job?”

Ruthie shrugged. “Okay I guess but busy.”

“That’s a good thing, right?”

“Ya. I guess it is.” Ruthie took a sip from the cup in front of her. “How are your parents?”

Before Charles had a chance to say a word, Mrs. Kauffman glanced over her shoulder. “Did you have a chance to see the house you’ll be moving into yet? My husband took over some dishes and cups. They might not be as nice as you’re used to, but they’ll work until you can find something you like better.”

“I haven’t, but that’s where Mom and Pop are now. That was such a nice thing for everyone to do for us.”

Ruthie raised her eyebrows, giving him the impression she didn’t know what they were talking about. But she didn’t say anything. Instead she sat and waited.

“It’s not too much when several families participate,” Mrs. Kauffman said as she cut the sandwich and carried the plate over to the table, where she set it in front of Charles. “I hope you like ham.”

The ham was good but even better was being with Ruthie. Charles felt an odd combination of excitement, warmth, and security when he was with her. No matter what else was going on, looking at her sweet face gave him the feeling that all was right in the world.

Mrs. Kauffman joined them at the table with her cup of coffee. “The Penners are stocking the pantry. We weren’t sure what your family liked to eat, so they’re putting a little bit of everything in there. The Yoders brought bedding, and the Burkholders’ older son had some extra furniture he wasn’t using.”

Charles listened in amazement as she rattled off all the things people had done for his family. They’d thought of everything. “I just hope we can repay all of you, but it’ll be hard as generous as you are.”

“The way to repay anyone is to live for the Lord,” Mrs. Kauffman said. “That is what most of us are trying to do.” She stood. “I think I’ll leave you two alone for a little while. I’m sure you have some talking to do after last night.”

Ruthie blushed as her mother smiled down at her. Charles wanted to reach out and touch her red cheek, but instead he clasped his hands together on top of the table.

Once Mrs. Kauffman left the kitchen, Charles leaned toward Ruthie. “I had a really nice time yesterday until we got the news.”

“Me, too.” She started to smile but caught herself. “I am so sorry about what happened to your house. Any idea what caused it yet?”

“Pop and I talked about it, and we can’t come up with anything. We’ve always been so careful, so I can’t imagine what happened. Mom was in the kitchen, but according to her, it didn’t start there.”

“I hope the authorities find the cause soon,” Ruthie said.

As their gazes met, he felt unsteady even though he was sitting. The desire to leap toward her and plant a kiss on her little bowed lips nearly overwhelmed him, but he didn’t want to startle her. Instead he took a deep breath, shuddering as he exhaled.

“Once all this fire business is settled, I would like to take you someplace nice.”

She offered a shy smile. “That would be very nice.”

“As soon as we get settled in our new place, we can make plans. Pop wants to sell the car, though, so we might have to take the bus or call for a ride.”

Ruthie beamed. “You already know I don’t mind riding the bus.”

A
fter Charles left the house, Mother enlisted Ruthie’s help in the kitchen. As they worked, she chatted about a variety of topics, from the souvenir store to Ruthie’s new job.

“The Polks are taking this whole thing extremely well,” Mother said. “I’m sure it’s difficult, but with the prayers and community support, they can get through this.”

“Ya.” Ruthie didn’t know what else to say, so she just bit her lip.

Mother stopped stirring and smiled at Ruthie. “You and Charles seem to like each other very much.” She turned back to the pot on the stove but continued talking. “Did you know that your papa and I didn’t know each other very well before we decided to get married?”

Ruthie abruptly turned to Mother. “I thought you lived on neighboring farms.”

“We did but that was only after your father moved in with his grandparents after his parents were killed in a horse and buggy accident.”

Ruthie knew Papa’s parents had died young and that he and his brothers moved in with his grandparents, but he was born in the same general area as Mother. “Didn’t you know him before that?”

“Well,” Mother began slowly, “I’d seen him, and I knew who he was, but he is quite a bit older than me. It wasn’t until his older brother asked me on a date that he even noticed me.”

Ruthie blinked in shock. “You dated Uncle Paul?”

Mother giggled. “No, of course not. I wasn’t interested in Paul. In fact, after I turned him down, your papa came to see me to find out what was wrong with me. It didn’t take long to realize he and I were more suited for each other.”

“I had no idea,” Ruthie said. Her parents rarely discussed their past, so she assumed they knew each other for a long time, courted, and got married when Mother was old enough. “Uncle Paul is such a sweet man, but I can’t see you and him … together.”

“Ya, he is very sweet, and fortunately there were no hard feelings when your papa told him he wanted to court me.”

“How long did you date Papa before you agreed to marry him?”

Mother gave her a sheepish grin. “Six weeks.”

Ruthie was speechless. She couldn’t imagine marrying someone after only dating for six weeks.

“I know you are in the early stages of your relationship with Charles, but I can see the sparks between you,” Mother said. “While I realize love can happen quickly, I would like the two of you to wait a bit longer than your papa and I did. At least we shared similar backgrounds and faith. You and Charles don’t have that.”

“Mother! I haven’t even thought about marrying Charles!”
At least not until now
. Ruthie placed the salt shaker back in the cabinet, pulled a fork from the drawer to turn the meat in the skillet, and turned her back so Mother couldn’t see her face.

Before Mother had a chance to respond, Papa walked into the kitchen. “Rough day,” he said. “I had to let Rosemary go.”

Ruthie dropped the fork into the pan. “What are you going to do now?”

“I have no idea. Do you know someone who needs a job and is good with numbers?”

“I would like to come back to the store, Papa.”

He shook his head. “No, you’ve got a job, and from what Rolf Fresh has said, you are very good with the customers.” He smiled at her. “I’m proud of you, Ruthie.”

“But—”

“I hear Lori Polk needs more hours, but Joseph Penner can’t give them to her,” Mother blurted. “How about hiring her part-time?”

Papa’s eyebrows shot up, and he nodded. “Ya, that might be a good idea. Lori is apparently very good with numbers, and she seems to have a good head on her shoulders. I’ll talk to her after they get settled in their new house.” He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment as silence settled in the kitchen. Then he turned to Ruthie. “Since you’re working part-time at Fresh’s, I would like you to come in for a little while until we get Lori trained … that is, if she takes the job.” He paused as he looked at Mother. “Is that okay with you, Esther?”

“Of course it is. I can handle things just fine around here.”

As her parents chatted, Ruthie’s thoughts went straight to Rosemary. She wondered what had happened—if Papa had another reason for letting her go. Something about Rosemary seemed suspicious.

Sunday morning, Charles woke up feeling out of sorts. He was still at the Penners’, in Mary’s old room. He sat up in bed and thought about all the things he and his parents needed to do, on top of working for Abe. Fortunately, Abe offered them extra time off when needed to get things in order. However, when Charles and Pop talked about it, they came to an agreement that they’d do as much as they could on their own time because there was so much work to be done on the farm.

The sound of Joseph Penner’s booming voice rang through the tiny house. “Breakfast is ready for anyone who wants it.”

Charles wasted no time getting out of bed, dressing, and straightening the room. He arrived in the kitchen ten minutes later.

Mr. Penner belted out a hearty laugh. “I knew you’d be hungry. Have some biscuits and ham. If you want jam, there’s plenty in the cupboard.”

“Don’t dillydally,” Mrs. Penner said. “We like to get to church in time to help the pastor, and since you are our guest, we expect you to join us.”

“Yes, of course.” Charles nodded. “I would be honored.”

He saw the exchange of glances between Mr. and Mrs. Penner. “Good boy,” Mr. Penner said. “I suspect you want to see Ruthie, too. She’s a sweet girl but awful quiet.”

“Joseph,” Mrs. Penner said in a warning tone. “Don’t embarrass our guest.”

Charles gobbled down a couple of ham and biscuit sandwiches, took a few sips of Mrs. Penner’s notoriously strong coffee, and left to brush his teeth. He joined Mr. and Mrs. Penner on the front lawn for their weekly trek to the church.

As they rounded the corner, Charles caught sight of Ruthie pedaling her three-wheel bike, her parents right behind her on theirs. He grinned as she kept one hand on her skirt to keep it from billowing in the breeze.

Charles could tell when she saw him because her expression completely changed. His heart hammered as her eyes twinkled with recognition.

“The girl is smitten,” Mr. Penner said, jolting Charles and reminding him he wasn’t alone. “And apparently so are you.”

Struck speechless, all Charles could do was smile. Mr. Penner laughed until Mrs. Penner shot him a look that quieted him down.

Throughout church, Charles cast glances in Ruthie’s direction. He hoped Mr. Penner was right about Ruthie being smitten. He was certainly on the mark with Charles. The more he saw Ruthie, the more he wanted to be with her. Seeing the brightness of Ruthie’s smile made the fire seem less disastrous.

Pop stood up after the service was over and pointed toward Mom. “I have the keys to the house now,” he said. “Let’s go get your mom and take a walk to the new place.”

Ruthie stood by the church door. At first he thought she might be waiting for him, but when he saw her mother chatting nearby, he realized that was only wishful thinking.

As soon as Mom and Pop joined him, they headed toward the door. An expectant look crossed Ruthie’s face, but it quickly faded as he walked past.
Maybe she was waiting for me
.

“Go talk to your girl,” Pop said. “We can wait.”

Charles spun around and headed straight for Ruthie, who now had her back to him. When he said her name, she turned to face him, and the instant they made eye contact, everything else around him blurred.

“I thought you left,” she said softly. “Did you forget something?”

His mouth went dry as he nodded. “Yes. You.”

She frowned in confusion. “Me?”

“I came back to see if you wanted to go look at the new rental house with my family.”

“I … I, uh …”

Ruthie’s mother turned around, touched his arm to get his attention, and smiled at him. “She would love to.”

“But my bike—”

“We’ll get it home. Don’t worry about it,” her mother told her before addressing Charles again. “And afterward why don’t you and your parents come to our place for dinner?”

“I’ll have to ask Mom and Pop.”

“No you don’t,” Pop said from behind. “We’d love to come, if it isn’t too much of an imposition.”

“It’s never an imposition,” Mrs. Kauffman said. “Take your time. I’ll have dinner waiting for you when you get there.”