The Decision (29 page)

Jonah had just begun showing his dad around the buggy shop when Timothy showed up. “Did you get all the supplies I needed?” Jonah asked.

Timothy shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. “Jah, they’re in the trailer behind your buggy. Should I bring everything inside?”

“That’d be good, but first I want you to meet my daed.”

After Jonah made the introductions, Dad smiled at Timothy and said, “So how do you like the buggy-making business?”

“Like it just fine.” Timothy grinned at Dad. “I was glad when Jonah offered me the job.”

“And I’ll bet Jonah’s happy to have you.” Dad looked at Jonah and winked.

“I’ll go out and give you a hand bringing in the supplies,” Jonah said. “Dad, you can stay here and look around the rest of the shop if you like.”

“Once we get everything hauled inside, you’re free to go,” Jonah told Timothy as they walked toward the buggy trailer.

“Are ya sure?” the boy questioned. “It’s still kinda early yet.”

“That’s okay. I’ve decided to close the shop earlier today so I can visit with my folks before we head out to supper. After all, it’s Jean’s and my birthday.”

“All right, that sounds good to me. Maybe I’ll stop at your fishin’ hole on my way home. Oh, happy birthday, and I hope you have a good birthday meal tonight.”

Jonah smiled. Timothy had been bringing his fishing pole with him to work every day, and often fished in Jonah’s pond before going home.

“Better keep an eye on the sky this afternoon while you’re fishing,” Jonah cautioned the boy. “Just in case the storm they’re predicting rolls in.”

“I’ll do that,” Timothy said with a nod. “And if it starts rainin’, I’ll head straight for home.”

After Jonah and Timothy made a few trips into the shop with supplies, Timothy headed for the pond. A few minutes later, Jonah caught sight of Priscilla riding in on her bike. Was she here on business, or had she spoken to Elaine?

She pulled her bike alongside of him near the empty trailer. “I came by to tell you that I talked to Elaine,” she said, getting right to the point. Her grim expression told Jonah that it wasn’t good news. “There’s no easy way to say this, Jonah, but Elaine said she doesn’t love you.”

Jonah’s stomach twisted. “Do you believe her?”

“I don’t know, but Elaine’s never lied to me.”

“I see. Well then, I guess I have no choice but to accept her answer.” Jonah felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. It was just as he feared—what he thought he had with Elaine was over.

“I’m really sorry, Jonah,” Priscilla said sincerely. “With the way things are for her grandma right now, I think Elaine may have shut herself off from love.”

Or maybe
, Jonah thought with deep regret,
Elaine made her decision because she really never cared for me at all. It might be that until recently, she was just too afraid to say it
.

A
re you all right, Jonah?” Jean asked as they entered Yoder’s restaurant with their family. “You look like you’re not feeling well this evening.”

“I’m okay,” Jonah said. “Guess I’m just tired, is all.” There was no way he would spoil the evening by talking about his woes. Besides, discussing the situation with Elaine wouldn’t change a single thing. He needed to move on with his life, but it wouldn’t be easy. Although Jonah was uncertain of his future, he had to trust God and wait to see what the plan was for him from here on out.

“Looks like there’s quite a crowd here tonight,” Dad commented, glancing around the restaurant. “The place must have good food.”

“They sure do,” Jonah and Jean said in unison.

Jean’s husband, Nathan, chuckled. “You two may not be identical twins, but I think it’s kind of funny the way you often speak at the same time, and sometimes even say the exact thing.”

“We’ve been doing that since we were kinner.” Jean giggled and nudged Jonah’s arm. “Haven’t we, big brother?”

Jonah chuckled. “Jah, we sure have.”

The hostess came then and led them to the back of the room where two tables had been set up for eleven people. Since only eight were in their group, Jonah didn’t know why there were three extra seats. He was about to ask when Jean spoke up.

“I invited your friend Melvin to join us this evening, and also Sara and little Mark, since Sara’s my best friend,” Jean explained. “They should all be here soon, I expect.”

“The more, the merrier.” Jonah helped Jean and Nathan situate their children on booster seats before taking a chair himself. Try as he might, he couldn’t help but wonder what Elaine was doing tonight.

“
Hallich gebottsdaag
,” Jonah’s four-year-old niece, Rebecca, said, grinning over at Jonah from where she sat in a booster seat.

Jonah smiled, reaching over to tweak the little girl’s nose. “Danki, Becca.” It was amazing how the simple smile of a child could lift one’s spirits.

A waitress came to take their beverage orders, and just as Jonah asked for a glass of lemonade, his friend Melvin showed up.

“Sorry I’m late.” Melvin seated himself in the chair on the other side of Jonah. “There seems to be a lot of traffic on the road this evening.”

“Not a problem,” Jonah replied. “We’re still waiting for Sara and her son, Mark, so we wouldn’t have ordered our food without you.”

“I appreciate that, and oh, by the way, Hallich gebottsdaag, Jonah. You, too, Jean.” Melvin handed Jonah a paper sack. “Here’s a little something for your birthday, my friend.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” Melvin bumped Jonah’s arm. “Go ahead, open it. I’m hopin’ you’ll like what’s inside.”

“Okay, but first let me introduce you to my mom and dad, Raymond and Sarah Miller.”

After Melvin shook hands with Jonah’s folks and had told them a little about himself, they got to talking as if they’d known each other for a good many years. Then Melvin looked over at Jonah and said, “I think your little niece is anxious for you to open the gift I brought ya.”

Jean laughed. “That’s right. Rebecca’s been sitting there quietly, staring at it, since you first arrived.”

“Do you want to see what’s in the sack?” Jonah asked Rebecca after seeing the anxious look on her face.

“Jah, open it, please.” With an eager expression, she clapped her hands.

“Naw. Think I’ll wait till after we eat.” Jonah winked at Rebecca. “Just kidding.” When he opened the sack and withdrew an ornate pen with a buggy carved on the wooden base, he grinned. “Wow, this is sure nice. Danki, Melvin.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Where’d ya find something like this?” Jonah asked.

“Had it special-ordered. If you turn the pen over, you’ll see that the name of your buggy shop is engraved there. Thought if you liked it well enough, you might want to order more of the pens to give out to your customers.”

“That’s a good idea.” Jonah bobbed his head. “I never thought of doing something like that.”

“Can I take a look at that?” Dad asked, peering over at Jonah.

Jonah handed the pen to his dad, and after Dad studied it for a bit, he passed it around the table so the rest of the family could see.

“Think I might have to get some of those made up to hand out to my buggy-shop customers, too,” Dad said. “I really haven’t done much advertising in that way; just mostly through word of mouth.”

“Sometimes word of mouth is the best form of advertising,” Nathan put in. “But then, handing out the pens to customers could also be beneficial. It’s useful to them and good advertising.”

“Oh good. Sara and Mark made it,” Jean said, motioning toward the front of the restaurant. “Now we can all order our meals.”

When Sara entered the restaurant, holding tightly to Mark’s hand, she struggled with her balance. Pausing to take in a deep breath, Sara started walking again toward the tables where Jean and her family sat. She didn’t know why, but she felt out of place tonight. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend time with Jean. She just would rather have gotten together with Jean on her own—maybe gone out to lunch or had Jean over to her house for a meal. They would have had a better chance to visit that way.

A few days ago, Sara and Jean had gotten together, but Sara couldn’t count that as much of a visit. She hadn’t been feeling well, and Jean had ended up entertaining Mark, along with her own children, while Sara rested. She hoped she and Jean could get together again, maybe sometime next week, after Jean’s parents went home.

“I’m glad you and Mark could join us,” Jean said as Sara and Mark neared the table. She quickly introduced Sara to her and Jonah’s parents, noting her mother had the same first name as Sara, only spelled differently.

“It’s nice to meet you.” Sara shook hands with them both and placed Mark in a booster seat. She sat in the chair between him and Jonah.

“Have you met Jonah’s friend Melvin?” Jean asked.

Sara nodded and smiled at Melvin. “I heard you and Sharon are getting married this fall.”

Melvin grinned. “Jah, and we’re gettin’ pretty excited about it.”

“Are you okay, Sara?” Jean touched Sara’s arm. “Your face is pasty white and you appear to be shaken.”

“I had a little problem with my horse on the way to the restaurant,” Sara replied, “but it was nothing serious, and I’ll be okay once my nerves settle down.”

“Was it due to all the traffic?” Melvin questioned. “It was pretty bad for me tonight.”

Sara shook her head. “Lilly kept tossing her head, and at one point I lost my grip on the reins. I guess my horse figured that meant she had the freedom to gallop.” Sara shivered, remembering how hard she’d had to pull on the reins in order to get Lilly to slow to a trot. It made her wish she had the strength of a man. For some reason, her hands and arms seemed to have less strength these days.

“I’m glad you and Mark are okay,” Jonah said. “And it’s nice that you both could join us tonight.”

“
Der gaul laafe
,” little Mark exclaimed, his eyes shining brightly.

“Jah, the horse ran, didn’t he?” Sara smiled, while the others chuckled at the boy’s innocent remark. She tried to remember how wonderful it was to see everything through a child’s eyes.

Sara relaxed a bit. Just those few kind words from Jonah made her glad she’d come to the restaurant to join them this evening. Jean was fortunate to have a brother who cared about people the way Jonah did. She still felt grateful that he’d found Mark when he did. The day they’d had their picnic by the woods could have ended tragically if her little boy had gotten out on the road. God was surely watching out for them, just as He had been this evening when she’d had trouble with her horse. She just needed to relax more and put her trust in Him.

A huge clap of thunder sounded, and the lights in the restaurant flickered. Sara nearly jumped out of her seat, and she grabbed Mark’s little hand, thinking he must be frightened, too. But her brave little boy seemed not to notice the storm brewing outside as he played with his spoon. Sara glanced out the closest window and shuddered. The rain was coming down in sheets, and soon it became a torrential downpour.

“I hope this storm passes by the time we leave here,” Sara said. “It’ll only spook Lilly if it’s still storming like this on the way home.”

“Don’t worry,” Jonah reassured her. “I’m sure that none of us are in a hurry to go. If the storm continues for a while, we can just sit here enjoying ourselves and hang out till the storm passes by.”

“My guess is that it’ll be over quickly,” Melvin put in as another crash of thunder boomed from above.

Sara was glad to be with everyone instead of being home alone with Mark. It made the storm less menacing. She glanced around and noticed that everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be paying little attention to what was going on outside. She decided to try to forget about the storm and concentrate on having a nice evening.

Remembering that she’d brought a gift for Jean and had tucked it in her tote bag, Sara wished she’d thought to bring something for Jonah as well. After all, today was his birthday, too.

Maybe it’s just as well that I didn’t
, she decided.
It might have seemed out of place for me to give him a gift since Jonah is courting another woman
.

A new thought leaped into Sara’s head.
If Elaine and Jonah are courting, then why isn’t she here tonight? I guess it wouldn’t be polite to ask
.

Several minutes went by, and when Sara next glanced out the window, the rain had stopped. That was a relief. At least she wouldn’t have to drive home in the midst of a storm this evening.

Two months later

E
dna stepped outside with a basket of laundry and shivered, wondering why it felt so chilly this morning. During breakfast, Elaine had said something about it being the first day of autumn, but Edna didn’t know what had happened to summer. Had it really gone by that quickly, as each day blended into another?

Sighing, Edna set the basket on the ground under the clothesline. She was about to hang one of the towels when she heard a horse whinny from the barn. She ignored it at first, but the whinnying continued, so she decided to check on things.