The Lopsided Christmas Cake (21 page)

“No,” Joseph replied, “but Thelma and I have been havin’ a good conversation.”

“I’m glad, but you can visit while we eat.” Delbert opened his cooler. “I’ll get out the beverages. Who wants a bottle of sweet tea?”

“I’ll stick with water,” Elma said as she spread the other blanket on the ground. She assumed she and Thelma would sit there and the men could share the blanket she’d sat on earlier.

But before she could make a move, Thelma knelt on the blanket closest to the picnic basket and began taking out the paper plates and napkins. Then Joseph, who had just finished putting Ginger’s food out, plopped down right beside her.

“Is it okay if I sit here?” he asked.

“Of course.” Thelma handed him a paper plate and passed a couple of others to Elma and Delbert, along with napkins.

Elma took the sandwiches from the cooler she and Thelma had brought and gave one to everyone. “I hope you like ham and cheese,” she said. “We have some potato chips, too.”

“Ham and cheese sounds good to me.” Delbert plopped his sandwich on the paper plate and plunked down in his folding chair, leaving Elma to sit on her blanket alone.

“Shall we pray?” Thelma suggested.

All heads bowed, and when their prayers ended, Delbert gave Elma a bottle of water. “What would you like, Thelma—water or sweet tea?”

“I think I’d like the tea.”

“Oh, Sister, there’s a lot of
zucker
in one of those bottles. I’ve read the labels before and it—”

“Unless she has diabetes or something, a little sugar won’t hurt her.” Delbert handed Thelma some sweet tea. “How about you, Joe? What would you like to drink?”

“If there’s enough sweet tea, I’ll have one of those.”

“No problem. I bought four bottles, thinkin’ we’d each have one.”

“If there were no zucker added, I might have taken one,” Elma was quick to say. She didn’t want Delbert to think she was ungrateful. She passed around the chips, veggies, and grapes to everyone.

As they ate, the twins talked about their grandparents’ house and how much work it needed. “Sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming,” Elma said, “but we’ve decided to take one project at a time.”

“Come Monday, Delbert will be taking care of one of your problems,” Joseph looked at Thelma. “If there are other things you need that don’t involve carpentry, let me know. I’d be glad to help.”

“Danki, we’ll keep that in mind,” Thelma responded.

When they finished with the sandwiches and other food, Thelma opened the wicker basket again and took out the cookies. “I hope you and Delbert like chocolate chip,” she said, offering the cookies to Joseph. He took a couple and passed the container to Delbert.

Delbert grabbed one and held it up, his brows scrunching together. “They look like they’re a bit burned on the bottom.”

Thelma’s face turned red. “Sorry about that. It’s hard to judge how long things should bake in our old oven. It’s a relic. Someday, if we start making enough money from the store, we hope to get a new stove.”

“Our oven is heated with wood, not propane,” Elma clarified.

“That explains everything.” Delbert grunted. “I’ll scrape off the dark part.” He took out his fishing knife, poured some of his tea over it, wiped it on his trousers, and scraped away the dark part on the cookie.

Eww,
Elma thought.
That really grosses me out.
She looked over at Thelma and discreetly pointed at Delbert’s knife.

Thelma shrugged. Didn’t this man’s lack of manners bother her at all?

“That was a good meal, and I thank you for it.” Delbert dropped the paper plate in a paper sack Elma had set out and rose to his feet. “Think I’ll try my hand at fishin’ again.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” Elma pointed to the darkening sky. “I felt a few raindrops, and it’s likely to get worse.”

Delbert waved his hand. “A few drops of rain won’t hurt us. I can’t leave here without getting at least one fish.” He looked at Joseph. “How ’bout you? Aren’t you gonna fish for a while, too?”

Joseph looked at Thelma. “Do you want to fish some more?”

She smiled and nodded. “I’m in no hurry to go home.”

“Okay, you three can fish, and I’ll put our lunch basket away.” Elma gathered everything up and got out her umbrella. She had a feeling these few drops of rain would soon become a full-blown rainstorm.

When more raindrops fell, Elma said she thought they should go.

“Let’s wait and see how bad it gets.” Delbert reached for some bait and was on the verge of putting it on his hook when a clap of thunder sounded. Everyone jumped, and Delbert hollered, “Ouch! I’ve got a fishhook stuck in my thumb!”

Topeka

D
elbert’s here,” Thelma said, peering out the kitchen window. “He came early, like he said. The rig he came in today, Sister, is far more untidy than the one he had at the pond. Guess that’s probably because this is Delbert’s work buggy.”

Elma, who had been folding a dish towel, joined Thelma at the window. “You’re right. Guess I’d better go out and explain to him what needs to be done.”

Thelma pressed her hands against her hips. “Delbert’s a
schreiner,
Sister. I’m sure he knows what to do.”

“Just because he’s a carpenter doesn’t mean he will know what we want to have done,” Elma argued.

“I thought we already told him when he came to look at the saggy porch.”

“We did, but I’ve thought of a couple other things since then.” Elma grabbed her sweater and scooted out the door. She stepped onto the porch, being careful not to trip on any of the loose boards. She paused to breathe in the fresh autumn air. “Look at God’s handiwork,” she murmured. Everything from the golden leaves to the mixture of colorful mums filled her senses.

Elma watched Delbert unhook his horse from the rig and waited while he walked Snickers over to their corral. A few minutes later, Delbert joined her on the porch, carrying his tool belt. “Guder mariye,” he said. “Beautiful morning, isn’t it?”

“Good morning, and jah, I was taking it all in and thinking the same thing. By the way, before I forget, how is your thumb?”

He held up his hand. “Still hurts a bit, but it’ll be fine with the bandage I’m wearing.”

“I hope you put some disinfectant on it after you got home Saturday.”

He nodded. “I’ve got more stuff in my work buggy, so as soon as I take it out, I’ll get busy on your porch.”

“Before you get started, I wanted to point something out.” Elma motioned to the handrail. “In addition to the boards in the porch floor, I’d like that replaced, too.”

He looked at her quizzically. “Are you sure? It looks like it’s still in fairly good shape.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not. See, right there, some of the wood is beginning to split.”

Delbert leaned down and studied the area she was referring to. “Hmm… I can probably fix that with some putty and wood glue.”

“I’d rather it be replaced.”

He shrugged. “Okay, if that’s what you want. Anything else?”

“I do have a few other tasks in mind, but maybe you should get this project done first.” Elma was about to step back inside, when she thought of something else. “Thelma and I will be at the store most of the day, but we’ll leave the front door unlocked so you can go in to use the bathroom or get a drink of water. One of us will come up to the house around noon to fix you some lunch.”

“There’s no need for that,” he said. “I brought my own lunch along.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later then.” With a quick smile, she went back into the house.

It was getting close to noon and Delbert was thinking about stopping for lunch, when Elma showed up. He knew it was her because she’d been wearing a dark maroon dress when she’d spoken to him earlier.

“How’s it going?” she asked, moving toward the porch steps.

“It’s going okay, but you’d better not come up here.” He motioned to the boards he’d pried loose. “Oh, and I’m afraid I’ve got bad news.”

Her forehead creased. “What’s that?”

“You have a problem with carpenter ants.”

“Oh dear.” Elma clasped her hand over her mouth. “How bad is it?”

“Pretty bad.” Delbert gestured from one end of the porch to the other. “They’re about everywhere, I’m afraid.” He lifted his hammer and smacked a big black ant crawling near his boot.

“I wonder how they got into the porch.”

“Carpenter ants build their nests in wood, so they’re often found in and around homes. They don’t actually eat the wood, but they bore through the wood, making a place for their nest.”

“Oh. So maybe that’s not so bad.”

“It can be. Carpenter ants can find their way into your home and even get into your food and water sources, so they need to be taken care of.” He smacked another crawling bug. “Have you seen any sign of them in the house?”

Elma shook her head and mumbled something about a rat and some mice.

“You’ve got a rodent problem, too?”

Her face flamed. “We did, but our katze have taken care of that.” Wrinkles formed above her brows. “What are we supposed to do about the ants?”

“The first thing will be to kill them off. You could call a professional company to come out and do that, but it’ll be expensive, and they might not get out here right away.”

“Would you be able to get rid of the ants?” she asked.

He nodded. “I can get some bait from the hardware store to lure them out, then trail ’em back to the nest so I can figure out exactly where they’re hiding.”

“Can you do it without using anything toxic? My folks have always tried to use organic methods, even when dealing with bugs and other critters that have invaded our garden. All natural is better than taking the chance of poisoning a pet or any kinner that may be playing in the yard.”

Reaching under his straw hat, Delbert scratched his head. “How often do you have children in your yard?”

“Well, maybe not here, but they do come to the store with their parents, and if one were to wander down to the house, then…”

Delbert lifted his hands in defeat. “Okay, I get it. I’ll make sure to use tamper-resistant bait stations.”

“Will it be toxic?”

“Jah, but it’ll be safer because—”

“Is there anything natural you can try?” she questioned.

“I’ve used a boric acid bait before. I’ll mix one-third powdered sugar with two-thirds boric acid, fill some bottle caps with the mixture, and set it down around the areas where I’ve seen the ants. When they return the next time, it will kill the ants that are already in the nest. See, the boric acid penetrates the insect’s body and dissolves in there.”

Elma wrinkled her nose. “That sounds ekelhaft.”

“It may be disgusting, but if it gets rid of your ant problem without using poison, then you oughta be glad.” He stepped off the porch. “Unless you have some boric acid here, I’d better run into town to get some.”

“I’m sure we don’t have any of that, but we do have some powdered sugar.”

“Great. If you’ll have that sitting out for me, I’ll mix up the stuff when I get back.”

“I’ll make sure it’s ready. I’ll leave the powdered sugar on the kitchen counter. Until you get the porch finished, my sister and I will only use the back door.”

“That’s a good idea. See you later then,” Delbert called over his shoulder as he headed for his horse and buggy.

When Delbert came back an hour and a half later, he found a box of powdered sugar and a large measuring cup on the kitchen counter with a note attached, telling him what it was for. “Like I needed that,” Delbert mumbled. “Does she think I’m
dumm
?”

Grasping the note, he read it out loud. “Before you leave for the day could you please come up to the store? There is something else I’d like you to do.”

“What does she want now? I’m not even done with the porch.”

Delbert wondered whether Elma was always so demanding or if she had singled him out. Maybe demanding wasn’t the right word. Elma was a little too opinionated to suit Delbert. She reminded him of his ex-girlfriend, Mattie, who’d wanted to make Delbert become the kind of man she thought he should be. Her constant suggestions and opinions about what he should or shouldn’t do had caused him to finally break things off and give up on marriage. Of course, having put up with five somewhat bossy older sisters when he was growing up hadn’t helped, either. But Delbert thought he ought to at least give Elma a chance, since Joseph was set on establishing a relationship with Thelma and wanted him to be a part of the foursome. He’d give her the benefit of the doubt and see what happened. After all, she was pretty cute.