Sarasota Dreams (8 page)

Before she even heard his voice, Mary felt Abe’s presence behind her. “That was a very touching service,” he said softly. She turned to face him, and he lowered his head so only she could hear him. “I saw that you felt it, too. How sweet the sound of young, innocent voices.”

Mary managed a small smile, and she nodded. “Yes, they were very sweet.”

“I vaguely remember standing there singing for the congregation when I was a boy. If I knew then what I know now …” Abe chuckled. “Famous last words of many a man.”

“Abe!”

They turned to see Grandpa heading toward them. “Don’t look now, but I think we’re about to have a chaperone.”

“Mary, your grandmother needs you over by the dessert table.” He looked at Abe. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“For the sake of my sweet tooth, by all means, please see what your grandmother needs.” Abe gestured toward the food. “I don’t think anyone will leave hungry.”

“I’ll go see what she wants,” Mary said as she took off toward the cluster of women arranging pies, cakes, and cookies. Deep down she was glad to have something else to do. All that talk about the innocence of children conjured up memories that had kept her up many nights.

Mary passed one table laden with various versions of potato salad, coleslaw, and an assortment of other cold vegetable dishes. The table on the other side hosted platters of roast beef, ham, and chicken. Abe was right. No one would go hungry today.

She’d barely arrived by her grandmother’s side when the older woman shoved a platter of cookies toward her. “Take this to that extra table we’re setting up.” Grandma pointed to a bare table about twenty feet away. “We got more desserts than we expected.”

Mary busied herself with mindless tasks, helping get everything organized. As people filled their plates with what had been laid out earlier, quite a few more dishes seemed to appear by the minute.

After the women were finished, the pastor asked everyone to gather so he could bless the meal. Everyone held hands. One of the children who’d sung earlier stood on one side of Mary, and Grandma’s friend Helga was on the other. After the blessing, the little girl let go and scampered off, but Helga squeezed Mary’s hand and pulled her in for a hug.

“You are a good girl, Mary.”

“Thank you.” Mary leaned away, but Helga still didn’t let go.

“You do realize your grandparents love you very much, don’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Your grandmother still struggles with Elizabeth’s departure. Please understand how difficult that was for her.”

Mary nodded as she wondered what Grandma had told Helga. She didn’t know what to say, so she remained quiet.

“Sometimes I think Sarah is a little bit too stern with you, but I think she’s afraid to loosen up for fear of something bad happening.”

“I understand,” Mary said softly.

“Do you really?” Helga released her grip and placed one hand on Mary’s shoulder. “I know it can’t be easy when you feel like someone is always angry. My mother was like that, after my sister left and never came back.”

“I–I’m sorry. I didn’t know about that.”

Helga dropped her hand from Mary’s shoulder and tilted her head. “Some people don’t understand how blessed they are, and they go looking for happiness outside what brings true joy.”

“Yes, I know.”

“You’ll be just fine, sweetheart. Now what’s this I hear about Abe courting you?”

“Oh, we’re just friends.”

Helga leaned back and laughed. “Sure you are. Mary, you need to open your eyes and see how that man looks at you. He’s smitten, even if you’re not.”

Once again Helga had rendered Mary speechless. She smiled and shrugged.

“Looks like the rest of the men are all in line now, so let’s join the others, shall we?” Helga didn’t wait for an answer before taking Mary by the hand and leading her over to the crowd around the tables.

After Mary filled her plate, she glanced around until she spotted Abe sitting at a table with some of the children. There was an empty place next to him. She wondered if he might be saving it for her. She was about to walk toward him when Ruthie plopped her plate on the table, and she sat down next to Abe. A stabbing sensation shot through Mary’s chest, and she forced herself to turn away.

“Over here, Mary,” Helga said, her hand lifted in the air. “We saved you a spot.”

Thankful for a place to go, Mary darted over to where Helga, Helga’s husband, Paul, her grandparents, and a few other people their age sat. As she passed some of the people she knew from school, some of them looked away as though pretending they didn’t see her. Before sitting down, she looked around for Shelley.

“Who are you looking for?” Helga asked.

“Shelley. Do you know if she’s here?”

“Her brother is sick, so she left right after church to help his wife,” Grandma replied without looking up.

Mary suspected the reason Shelley was so kind to her was that her older brother had left the church before Mary met her, so she knew some things were out of Mary’s control. Shelley still didn’t understand all Mary had experienced.

“These rolls are excellent, Sarah,” one of the other ladies at the table said to Grandma. “What’s your secret?”

“Butter,” Grandma replied. “Lots of it.”

“Butter makes everything better.”

“Looks like the tourists are coming early.”

“Ya,” Paul said. “And they like their ice cream.”

Everyone smiled and nodded. “Your ice cream is the best there is.”

“So I’ve been told.” A few people laughed.

“You better make some pies and freeze them, Sarah. With all these tourists coming to Sarasota, they’ll be wanting dessert every day.”

“I might have to teach my granddaughter how to make pies instead of having her wait on tables, taking orders.”

Mary nodded. “I’ll do whatever you need.”

Helga nudged her. “I don’t know if it’s such a good idea to stick Mary back in the kitchen. She’s still a young girl. She needs to be around people.”

Grandma snorted. “She’s around people in church. I don’t think she needs to be around all the customers.”

Mary squirmed. She hated people talking about her. Helga reached for her hand and offered a conspiratorial smile before turning to face the others. “I hope this weather stays nice for a while.”

That was all it took for the conversation to turn to weather. “It’s gonna be a hot summer,” one of the men said.

Helga leaned toward her and whispered, “Abe keeps looking over here. I bet he wishes you were there instead of Ruthie.”

“I’m sure he’s just fine sitting next to her.” Mary used every ounce of self-restraint to keep from glancing in Abe’s direction.

Abe strained to see around some people who stood between him and Mary.

“I haven’t been to your family farm since you added the barn,” Ruthie said. “I hear it’s huge.”

“Ya.” Abe stuffed another bite of roll into his mouth, chewed it, and glanced over toward Mary. “It’s big, but I have a lot of cows. I need a big barn.”

“A dairy farm is a good business, according to my father. He says a man who has land and animals will never have to depend on anyone else to survive.”

“I s’pose your father is right.”

Ruthie put down her fork, placed her hands in her lap, leaned back, and sighed. “It’s such a beautiful day. Perfect for a long walk, don’t you think, Abe?”

“Ya, it is indeed a very nice day.” He knew what Ruthie was hinting at, but he didn’t want to go for a walk with her. He wanted to be with Mary, who wouldn’t even turn around and look at him.

“Would you … um …” Ruthie swallowed and fidgeted.

Abe took advantage of her nervousness and stood. “Thank you for your company, Ruthie, but I have to talk to some people. See you around, okay?” He smiled as warmly as he could.

She looked dejected, but she quickly recovered. “Ya. See you around. Will you be in church next week?”

“You know I’m always in church on Sunday.”

“Ya, that is true.”

“Bye, Ruthie.” Abe felt terrible. He hated hurting people’s feelings, but he couldn’t justify sitting there letting Ruthie think something might happen between them when he really wanted to be with Mary instead.

He suspected Ruthie was watching him as he made his way over to where Mary sat with her grandparents and all their friends. One by one, they looked up at him as he arrived.

“Hi, Abe. Did you enjoy the potluck?” Helga asked as she leaned back to give him a clear view of Mary.

When his gaze met Helga’s, he saw the depth of her understanding. A smile crept across her face, and her eyes twinkled as she grinned. He couldn’t help but smile back.

“Yes, it was delicious.” He turned to Mary. “Would you like to take a walk with me, Mary?”

“Um …” She looked at her grandpa, who gave a crisp nod. “That sounds good.” Then she paused for a moment. “But I have to help the women clean up.”

“Here,” Helga said, handing her some plates. “Take these to the sink in the church kitchen and consider your part of the cleanup done.”

“I’ll help,” Abe offered.

Before anyone said a word, he walked around the table and gathered some plates. Several of the men got up and started helping out as well. This started a snowball effect as everyone pitched in. In less than fifteen minutes, most of the yard had been cleared away.

“C’mon, Mary, let’s go.” Abe placed his hand on her shoulder and led her away from the crowd.

T
he streets were beginning to fill with cars, with license plates from a variety of northern states and Canada. The first of the summer tourists had made their mark on the town. Occasionally one of the members of the local Mennonite or Amish community passed them on a three-wheeler. Mary didn’t have much experience in Mennonite communities outside the one in Sarasota, but she’d heard about the horse and buggies in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where many of her grandparents’ friends were from. Some of them came from communities where they rarely had contact with Yankees. Here in Sarasota, that was impossible.

Once they were a block away, Abe looked down at Mary and grinned. The softness in his gaze turned her insides to mush.

“What’s wrong, Mary?” He slowed down his pace a bit.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s just that …” How could she explain that whenever he gave her that look, she felt the world was spinning, but she enjoyed the ride? How could she tell him how much she loved being with him, but she didn’t know what to think or how to act? Abe got her senses all out of sync. And then there was the issue of not knowing what he wanted. And all men wanted something, didn’t they?

“You can talk to me, Mary. I want to get to know you better.”

“We’ve known each other nine—”

“I know.” Abe snorted. “You keep reminding me. We’ve known each other a long time, but how well do we really
know
each other?”

“Well, I know you have a big farm.” Mary held up one finger then lifted another. “And you like to eat at my grandparents’ restaurant.” She raised a third finger. “You love bread and lots of grease.”

“Not that kind of stuff, Mary. I’m talking about knowing someone deep down.” He made a fist and touched his chest. “Things that really matter.”

“I don’t know. There are some things we probably shouldn’t know about each other.”

“Like what?” he asked.

“Why would I tell you anything?”

“Because I care?” Abe stopped, gripped her shoulder, and turned her around to face him. “Because I’ve liked you since I first met you.”

“So you’ve said.” She couldn’t help her eyes widening as he continued to watch her, almost as though waiting for something. “But why?”

“I wish I knew. It’s strange. When you walked into the classroom years ago, I saw something in your eyes that grabbed my heart.”

Mary had to stifle a gasp. “I don’t understand what you’re saying, Abe.”

“Okay, let me spell it out for you. I like you a lot, Mary Penner, and I want to spend time with you and see if you’re the woman God wants for me.” He held her gaze, making her insides flutter again. “I think you and I are meant to be together.”

“I don’t think you know what you’re saying.”

“Oh, but I do. Do you not like me?”

“I like you just fine, Abe.”

“Then what’s the problem? I like you, you like me. We can share our thoughts and feelings, and maybe …”

“What if you find out some stuff about me that makes you not like me anymore?” she asked.

“Or what if you find out something you don’t like about me?” He tilted his head and snickered. “That could happen, you know.” He took her hand and led her to a more secluded spot, away from the street.

Her heart thudded. “I’m sure it could.”

“Mary Penner, I have a question for you.”

She tensed. Questions generally led her someplace she didn’t want to go. “What is it?”

“Do you mind if I kiss you?”

Mary slowly turned her face up toward his again. As he lowered his lips to hers, an odd sensation ripped at her stomach. She pulled away. “No, don’t.”

A wisp of hair escaped her kapp and fell across her forehead, then covered one of her eyes. Abe lifted it and gently tucked it behind her ear.

“You’re beautiful, Mary.”