Sewn with Joy (8 page)

“I told Lovina we needed to sit down with you and Grace and, uh, talk.” She bit her lower lip.

A stab of worry knifed through Joy's stomach. She stepped closer to her sister. “What's going on? You have to tell me.”

Faith released a heavy sigh. She finally turned and caught Joy's gaze. “I heard you asking
Dat
if he's okay. The truth is, he's not.”

“What do you mean?”

“I overheard him and
Mem
talking the other day. The medication he was using isn't effective anymore. The doctor has given him a new prescription.”

“Will it help?”

Faith shrugged. “I'm not sure if we'll find out. He's refusing to fill it because it costs so much. He doesn't want to turn to the church for help either—he thinks others have more important needs.”

Joy pushed aside her things and sank down on her bed. She'd been so focused on the quilt shop and on Matthew that she hadn't spent much time with her parents lately. Sometimes when she got up in the morning,
Dat
was still in bed. Other times, when she returned home from an outing or walk with Matthew,
Dat
had already retired for the night. Both of those things should have been clues to her that something wasn't right.

“Do you know how much the medication will cost?”

“
Ne.
But I plan on talking to
Mem
tonight.” Faith scooted over one of the paintings, sat down on her bed, and jutted out her chin. “I hope she's not going to be stubborn and refuse to let me help pay.”

“Do you mean let
us
help pay?”

Tears welled up in Faith's eyes. She reached over and grasped Joy's hand.

Joy squeezed. “You didn't think I'd let you carry this burden alone, did you? In fact, we can talk to Grace, Lovina, and Hope, and—”

“Ne.”
The word shot from Faith's mouth. “I don't want you to talk to them about it. Not yet anyway. Let's at least figure out how much the cost is going to be. Grace doesn't have a regular job, and both Hope and Lovina are getting married soon—right before Christmas. It's a special time in their lives. I don't want to take away their joy. We'll have plenty of time to talk to them after their weddings. Besides, we don't even know how much money is needed.”

Joy nodded, but she wasn't convinced. If her
dat
's health was failing this much now, what would he be like in a few months? What if things got worse quickly? Would they regret not telling her sisters, getting more help?

Then again, she could easily picture both sisters postponing their weddings to make sure
Dat
had what he needed. And he would hate that. It would hurt him to know he was a burden. Faith was right. They needed to know the cost first and then make a plan. She had saved up money from her job. She also had some quilts she could sell if it came to that. They'd somehow scrape it together—they just had to.

“
Ja
, we'll wait to tell them, but find out how much is needed as soon as you can. I can give you most of my next paycheck, and Lovina has asked me to make more aprons to sell at her shop. I've been meaning to do that.”

Joy stepped forward and pulled her sister into an embrace. Faith's shoulders felt tight and tense. How long had she been carrying this burden alone? Too long.

“Please, don't get worried,” Joy whispered in her sister's ear. “I know how you tend to do that.” She offered a soft smile. “Have faith, Faith.”

“
Ja
, I'll try. It's just…” Faith lowered her head and focused on her paint-splattered tennis shoes. “I just don't know what we're going to do around here without
Dat
.”

Joy flashed a bright smile and hoped it made her look more confident than she felt. “Let's not think of that. We'll figure it out. God will provide. I know He will.”

Eight

When life gets too hard to stand, kneel.

A
MISH PROVERB

J
oy knew
Mem
was going to stop by Yoder's Produce after the sewing frolic. Her plan was to find her, help with the groceries, and then ask about the medication cost. She not only needed to help
Dat
, she needed to help her sister Faith too. Faith tended to take on everyone else's burdens as her own. The sooner Joy could find a way to help, the better for everyone.

As she turned down Kaufman Avenue, she stopped short. The garage door was open at the Slagel house. Was Matthew home? Warmth filled her. She placed her right hand over her chest and noticed the quickening beat.

The sound of a saw filled the air. She followed it into the open garage, and the scent of fresh-cut wood greeted her.

Over the last few weeks, Matthew had been busy working on home construction around Pinecraft. A lot of building had been going on lately. Old houses were demolished and beautiful new ones were built in their place, but it appeared Matthew was working at home today. He concentrated on the wood and saw in his hands. She paused and waited until the saw blade stopped so she wouldn't distract him.

He glanced up as she neared and a smile filled his face. “Well, hello there.” A quiet stillness invaded the place where the saw's buzzing had been a moment before.

“I was just here not thirty minutes ago at the sewing frolic. You must have arrived just after I left. A change of pace today?”

He ran a hand down his face, brushing off sawdust—or at least attempting to. “I do have some landscaping work to do later, but I gave one of my construction projects to Noah Yoder's nephew Mose. He and his friends are saving up money to buy their own place, and I thought I'd help them out.”

She wrinkled her nose as she smiled. “
Ja
, you say that, but I know you were just wanting to get back to your shop. Have you finished staining the recipe box for your
mem
's birthday yet?”

“Shh.” Matthew held a finger to his lips. He glanced to the door that led into the kitchen. “She might hear you.”

Joy covered her mouth with her hand, and then laughter spilled out. She stepped forward. “I'm so sorry. I'm the worst about keeping secrets. I should let you know that now. I usually make homemade gifts for my family every Christmas, but none of them stay hidden long enough to get wrapped for Christmas Day. Mostly because I either can't wait to share or I spill the beans before it's time.”

Matthew stepped around the saw, moving closer to her. “That'll be
gut
to know for the future. I'll have to resist telling you any secrets from now on.”

She glanced to the shelf where the recipe box was hidden. “You know, I've been thinking,” she said only loud enough for him to hear. “I've been making aprons and dish towels for Me, Myself, and Pie, and they've been selling well. What do you think about making recipe boxes, and maybe even cookbook stands? I imagine they'd be popular with the tourists—taking a little bit
of the Amish community home with them and all that. You do such a beautiful job.”

Matthew's eyes brightened. “Do you think people would really be interested?”

“I do. But you might have to quit your construction work, because if they sell as well as my aprons and towels, you'll have trouble keeping the recipe boxes in stock.”

He got a queer look on his face, and it was hard to read his thoughts. He brushed his hands on his overalls, trying to brush away more sawdust, but it didn't help. His pants were just as dirty as his hands. Then he reached for her hand, and she placed it in his, not caring they weren't clean. His gaze kept steady on hers. Finally he tugged on her hand. “Come here,” he whispered. He pulled up two chairs, and they sat down.

“Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if you thought I wasn't appreciating your construction work, because I do. I just know you like—”

“Shh.” Matthew placed a finger near her lips. “You don't need to worry. That's not it at all, Joy, just the opposite. I'm not mad, but pleased. And you surprised me, that's all.”

She studied his eyes for a long moment, and he didn't move so much as an eyelash. There was intimacy in his gaze. He wanted to tell her something and was building up the nerve to do so.

He looked away, as if studying the pile of lumber stacked against the wall, and then looked back at her. “I've never told you this before, but I can't picture myself doing construction my whole life.”

She threaded a stray hair behind her ear and leaned forward, letting him know she was listening.

“I want to have a farm, but my shop is my favorite place. I would love to do more woodworking and make small things others might enjoy, but I just thought it was a silly dream.”

“It's not silly at all.”

“Yeah, well, my
dat
thinks it is.” Matthew paused before explaining. “He doesn't understand why I'd give up a
gut
-paying job like construction to spend my days in a workshop with
ne
guaranteed income—especially if I'm thinking of supporting a wife soon.”

Joy placed a hand over her heart. Matthew wasn't the type to give her a flowery proposal, telling her why he wanted to spend his life with her, and she didn't need that. It was romantic enough that he was pondering all these things and figuring out what made sense for a future with her.

“I don't have everything figured out yet.” Matthew shrugged. “And despite my
dat
's opinion, I don't think I have to know yet. Mostly, Joy, I'm not as concerned with
what
to do with my future as I am with
who
I want to spend it with.”

“And?” Her breath balled up in her chest, and in her excitement it was as if she'd forgotten how to exhale.

Matthew leaned forward, and Joy's eyes fluttered closed. He placed the softest kiss on her lips. His lips were warm, and he smelled like the sawdust that dotted his clothes. Tingles moved through her lips and down her arms. She lifted her face and encountered his blue, blue eyes, a deep blue like the color of the Florida sky just after a storm. She immediately remembered the first time she saw him. It was their first Sunday in Pinecraft. She thought he was handsome then, but she'd never imagined her first kiss would be from him. And she never imagined the emotions running through her would be so intense.

“And I know who that is,” he whispered, still only inches away from her lips. “I have
ne
doubt. You're exactly the type of woman I've been searching for.”

Joy saw the love she had hoped to see in a man's eyes someday.

The sound of voices interrupted the moment. Matthew glanced over and pulled back when he saw a small group of men riding by on bicycles. Joy did the same. As much as she wanted to revel in this moment, such exhibits of affection weren't approved of in public.

“How about we pick up a snack at Yoder's and take it to the park?” Matthew's voice was husky, and she knew all the heated emotions racing through her were affecting him too.

“That sounds like a perfect idea.”

And it wasn't until they were walking down the street to Yoder's that Joy remembered she had first set out to find
Mem
.

I'll wait until tonight to talk to her. Just like Faith had planned. We'll get it all worked out. Somehow we will.

And as she glanced up at Matthew walking in step with her, she knew God hadn't brought them this far to fail them—fail her—now.

Nine

Listening is 50 percent of our education.

A
MISH PROVERB