The Lopsided Christmas Cake (5 page)

As she and Thelma headed for Shipshewana in their grandparents’ closed-in buggy, Elma gripped Rusty’s reins. Grandpa’s open buggy, which he and Grandma had been riding in when their accident occurred, had been demolished. Thinking about it now sent shivers up Elma’s spine. She’d give anything if she could bring her grandparents back and make everything as it once was.
I still wonder why they left their home, the store, and all their possessions to me and Thelma. I wish
that
would have been stated in their will.

“What are you thinking about?” Thelma asked, breaking into Elma’s thoughts.

“How do you know I was thinking about anything?”

Thelma gave Elma a gentle nudge. “You had that ‘I’m mulling things over’ look.”

Elma snickered. “Since you know me that well, maybe you can figure out what I was thinking.”

“Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Jah. Riding in their buggy makes me miss them even more.”

“I know what you mean.” Thelma gestured to the horse. “At least Rusty’s cooperating.”

As if he had heard her, the horse picked up speed. Elma tried to hold him back, but a car coming from the opposite direction honked, causing Rusty to go wild. When the horse darted into the other lane, she screamed. A vision of her grandparents flashed before her eyes. Was this what it was like before their buggy got hit? Elma knew if she didn’t get control of the horse, they were going to collide with the oncoming car.

R
usty’s hooves slammed down on the pavement. He whinnied then shook his head with force as steam surged from his flaring nostrils. Elma’s heart pounded as she gripped the reins with all her might, trying to guide him back to the right side of the road. The stubborn horse planted his feet firmly and wouldn’t budge. She could almost hear her father’s voice telling her to hold on tight and let Rusty know who was boss. Fortunately, the oncoming car had pulled over to the side of the road and stopped.

Elma had been around horses since she was a girl. She and Thelma had been given a pony and a cart for their tenth birthday. They’d begun driving a full-size horse and buggy by their early teens. But she’d never been this frightened or felt that she had so little control. Struggling with a sense of panic, Elma looked at her sister. “I can’t make him go.”

“Let me see what I can do.” Thelma hopped out of the buggy and grabbed the horse’s bridle. Rusty kept trying to shake his head, but Thelma held firm, while talking to him in a calm tone and stroking his side. Eventually, she was able to lead him and the buggy to the right-hand shoulder of the road.

The car moved on, and Elma breathed a sigh of relief. Her hands shook so hard she could barely hold on to the reins. She didn’t want to go to Shipshewana now, but turning the horse around and heading back home was frightening, too. What if Rusty acted up again? The next time it might not end so well.

Thelma opened the door on Elma’s side of the buggy. “Slide over, Sister. I’ll take over now. I can see that you need a break.”

“Maybe we should go home and forget about shopping. I’m not sure we can trust Rusty to get us to Shipshe.”

“We’ll be fine. He needs to know who’s in control. Besides, this is Rusty’s first trip out since we moved here, and he’s not used to us yet. We’ll have to use him more and our bikes less.”

Elma slid to the passenger’s side and handed Thelma the reins. Closing her eyes, she prayed, asking God to give them a safe trip.

With an air of confidence, Thelma directed Rusty onto the road. So far, the horse was behaving himself, but Elma kept praying. Thelma had always been the braver one, but in the past, they’d both done well with horses. Now, Elma wasn’t sure she could ever drive Rusty again. It was a good thing the woman who’d driven them from Sullivan to Topeka had a van, so they’d been able to bring their bikes. Despite what Thelma said, Elma planned on using her bicycle for her main mode of transportation. Of course, she wouldn’t be able to ride it when the weather turned bad or if she had to travel a long ways.

She glanced over at Thelma and was amazed to see her relaxed expression. “I wonder if this cooler weather has anything to do with Rusty acting up. If it does, then with winter coming he’ll probably get worse.”

Thelma shook her head. “I don’t think that’s the horse’s problem. He just needs a lot of work.”

“None of our horses ever acted like that when we hooked them to our buggy. Maybe we ought to sell Rusty and have one of our horses from home brought to us.”

“That would be expensive. I’m sure once we’ve worked with Rusty awhile, he’ll be fine.”

“I don’t want to work with this horse.” Elma shook her head forcibly. “He’s too spirited and unpredictable.”

“Which will make him more of a challenge.” Thelma’s brows pulled in.

“Right. That’s why we need to sell him.”

Thelma let go of the reins with one hand and reached over to pat Elma’s arm. “Let me take care of Rusty. I’m up to the challenge.”

Shipshewana

When Thelma guided Rusty into the parking lot behind Yoder’s Complex, she felt relief. She’d been able to get them the rest of the way without a problem, but she’d been nervous—although she hadn’t let on to Elma. “Are you okay?” she asked her sister, noticing that her face was quite pale.

Elma slowly nodded. “I’m relieved to be here. You did an amazing job with Rusty. He didn’t act up for you at all.”

Thelma patted her sister’s cold hand. “I did what needed to be done. Do you want to secure Rusty to the hitching rail, or shall I?”

“I’ll take care of it.” Elma stepped out of the buggy and walked up to Rusty.

As Thelma watched, she heard her sister scold the horse. “You scared me something awful. Don’t ever do that again.”

Rusty jerked his head back, pawed the pavement, and snorted.

Thelma knew Elma was afraid of the horse, but she had to get past it, or the animal would sense her fear and get worse.

Once Elma secured the horse, Thelma got out. “Where shall we go first?” she asked.

“I’d like to look in Yoder’s Department Store for a pair of black dress shoes. When we were here two years ago, they had a good supply, so I’m hoping they’ll have the plain style and size that I need. When I’m done there, I may run across the street to Spector’s and see what kind of material they have.”

“Why would you want to do that when we have material at our store?”

“We’re getting low on some colors. If I find the color I want, I may buy enough to make a new dress. I still have some birthday money left.”

“That’s fine. While you’re trying on shoes, I’ll go across the hall to the hardware store and look for paint.”

“Why don’t we get something to drink first?” Elma suggested. “I could use a cup of herbal tea to help me relax.”

The twins headed for Yoder’s. After they’d ordered their tea, they sat in the restaurant and talked about all the things they’d need to do before their folks came to visit.

“It’ll be great to see Mom and Dad again,” Elma said. “But in some ways I wish they weren’t coming so soon.”

Thelma quirked an eyebrow. “Really? How come?”

“We haven’t accomplished much of anything so far. Now that we’re feeling the necessity of keeping the store open during the week, it’s doubtful that we’ll get much done at the house.”

“We’ll do what we can. I’m sure Mom and Dad won’t expect everything to be perfect.”

“I guess you’re right, but I do want to show them that we’ve made some headway.” Elma set her empty cup down at the same time as Thelma. “Are you ready to go shopping?”

Thelma chuckled. “Jah, sure. We can meet back at the buggy. After that, unless we want to do more shopping, we can go somewhere for lunch.”

“Maybe we could stop over at Jo-Jo’s and get a soft pretzel,” Elma suggested. “That would be cheaper than buying a whole meal, and almost as filling.”

“Okay. See you later.”

When Thelma entered the hardware store, she spotted some puzzles. Thinking it could be fun for her and Elma to work on one during cold winter evenings, she took one off the shelf. Placing it in her basket, she moved on to look at some bird feeders and seed. Grandma had always enjoyed watching the birds, and several feeders were hanging in the yard. Thelma had seen some birdseed in the barn yesterday, but she hadn’t taken the time to fill any of the feeders. Maybe she’d do it when they got home later today.

Moving on, she noticed an Amish man with sandy blond hair also looking at feeders. He was obviously not married because he had no beard. When he glanced her way, she quickly looked in another direction. She certainly didn’t want him to catch her staring.

Remembering that they also needed some batteries, Thelma hurried off. When she located the right size for their flashlights, she added a package to her basket. She stopped to glance briefly at some sleds, but they wouldn’t have need of anything like that until it snowed. When it did, if they found the time to go sledding, they could use the old ones hanging in Grandpa’s barn.

Thelma had begun her search for paint, when she spotted two Amish women. One she didn’t recognize, but the other woman was Sadie Yoder. “It’s nice to see you again,” Thelma said, walking over to Sadie.

Sadie smiled. “It’s nice to see you, too. Now, which twin are you?”

“I’m Thelma.”

Sadie studied Thelma a few seconds, making her feel like a bug under a microscope. “I’m sure I’ll remember who’s who after I get to know you better. You and your sister look so much alike, it’s hard to tell you apart.”

“People have been getting us mixed up since we were kinner,” Thelma responded.

“Is Elma here with you?” Sadie questioned.

“She’s across the hall, looking for shoes.”

“Oh, I see. Well, Thelma, I’d like you to meet our bishop’s wife, Lena Chupp. You didn’t get to meet her the day of your grandparents’ funeral because she was home with the flu.”

The elderly woman smiled and greeted Thelma. “I’m sorry about your grandparents. They will be missed in our community.” Thelma’s throat constricted as Lena held on to her hand. “We’re glad to have you and your sister in our church district and look forward to seeing you at the service this Sunday.”

“Where will it be held?” Until now, Thelma hadn’t thought about this Sunday and whether it would be a day of worship or an off-Sunday. Her only excuse was that she had so much on her mind.

“The service will be at Herschel Miller’s,” Sadie spoke up. “You met his wife, Doris, yesterday.” She reached into her black leather purse and pulled out a tablet and pen. “I’ll write their address down for you.”

Thelma visited with the women a few more minutes, and after saying that she and Elma would see them on Sunday, she headed to the checkout counter to pay for her purchases.

As Thelma approached the counter, she was surprised to see the blond-haired Amish man waiting there as well. His arms were full, and she wondered why he hadn’t picked up a basket to put his things in. An elderly man stood in front of him with several items. Since there was only one clerk, Thelma figured it could be several minutes before she or the blond man were waited on.

He kept fidgeting and glancing over his shoulder. Suddenly the man turned, bumping Thelma’s arm.

“Oops. Sorry,” he mumbled, trying to juggle the other items as the tape measure fell from his grasp. The next thing Thelma knew all of his purchases were on the floor.

Setting her basket down, Thelma leaned over to help him pick them up, but in doing so, they bumped heads.

“Sorry about that. Are you all right?” His shimmering blue eyes revealed the depth of his concern.

Rubbing her forehead, to be sure a lump wasn’t forming, Thelma could only manage a nod.

The man smiled, revealing deep dimples in both cheeks. “Guess this is my day for being clumsy. This morning, I dropped a carton of milk when I was fixing breakfast.”

“It’s okay. No harm done,” Thelma murmured. It had been awhile since she’d met a man with such pretty blue eyes. They weren’t an average shade of blue, like hers and Elma’s. This man’s eyes reminded her of a clear blue lake, glistening on a summer day.

He motioned to her basket. “Guess I should’ve gotten one of those instead of trying to carry everything myself.”

Averting her gaze, Thelma reached for the tape measure still lying on the floor, but she ended up grasping his hand as he picked up the object.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It seems like I’m the clumsy one now.” Thelma’s face flooded with heat. “At least nothing appears to be broken.”

“No, everything seems to be fine.” He picked up the rest of his things and stood.

As Thelma clambered to her feet, she rubbed her hand down the side of her dress, still feeling the warmth from his hand when she’d accidently grasped it.

The older gentleman had finished checking out, so the blond-haired man put his purchases on the counter. After he paid for them, he gave Thelma a nod and left the store.

She paid for her things and was about to walk away, when she noticed a piece of paper on the floor. Thinking the man must have dropped it, she picked it up, but by then he was out of sight.
This looks interesting,
Thelma thought, realizing it was a flyer advertising a cooking show. The event would take place in Shipshewana the following month. Everything the contestants made would be auctioned off and go to the winning bidders. The proceeds would go to several families in the community with medical expenses. Since the Amish didn’t carry health insurance, they relied on events such as this to help in emergencies. Thelma thought this might be something she and Elma should take part in. It was for a good cause, and since they were now part of the Amish community in this area, they should do something to help.