Waiting for Summer's Return (25 page)

Summer sighed. “There is much to think about. I suppose it’s good I still have a few weeks to sort everything out. I hope my money will stretch far enough to cover everything. I still have no job.”

“If it is God’s will, a job will come,” he said. “Think of all things that have worked out so far. You bought the land without problems from the Gaeddert brothers. The council considers your acceptance into church membership. Some women from town choose to be your friend.”

Summer smiled as she remembered times of coffee and cinnamon cake with Katherine Kraft, Bertha Klein, or Martha Jost. Most of the women still kept their distance, but now that Summer understood their reason for holding themselves aloof, she had confidence they would eventually come to accept her. Long-held hurts took time to heal.

“Yes, God has been good to me,” she agreed. “So I’ll trust Him in the acquiring of a job.” She carefully stacked two plates, her thoughts on the months ahead and all the changes in store. “I’m so glad you bought Thomas that bicycle. He should be able to visit me regularly.”

“You will miss the boy.”

“Yes.” Her throat caught on the single-word answer.

Peter pushed off from the wall. “You need distraction today. When the dishes are done, you put on your coat. I will take you to visit
Frau
Kraft. She cannot get out much now with the burden of the baby she carries, but she will welcome your company.”

Summer immediately perked up with this idea. “Are you sure it wouldn’t be an inconvenience?”

“Her boy, too, is gone now after a long break from school. She will be looking for a distraction, for sure.”

Summer liked the way he’d said “her boy, too,” as if Summer had a right to claim Thomas as a little bit her own. “Thank you. I’ll be ready in less than half an hour.”

“I will be in barn. Come out when ready you are.”

28

P
ETER’S HEART HAD
lifted when Katherine welcomed Summer with a warm hug and invited her to stay for tea. Summer bid him farewell, and he rolled on toward town, his mind on the morning’s conversation with the woman.

She wanted a house, but he suspected she had little knowledge of how a house was built. Left to herself, it would be a sorry house, ill planned. But he knew how to build, and planning he could do for her.

First he would stop at the sawmill and get prices for lumber. While there, he would also ask Lundy Wismer about rock for the foundation and about digging a cellar. The man was handy when it came to such things. At the General Merchandise he would find out how much windows were priced these days—prices went up all the time. The woman would need to follow a tight budget.

At Nickels’ he would ask to borrow the Montgomery Ward and Company catalog for a few days so the woman could look at furniture. All she had was a chair and a handmade rope bed. She would need much to fill even a small house. Also he could ask about jobs.

Maybe the hotel could use her to do cleaning or dishwashing. There must be something a woman could do to support herself. He did not think it was wise to begin building the house until she had a job, but he would not tell her what to do. He would only pray for her wisdom, which he did even while he drove to town.

The sound of the steam-powered sawmill engine filled his ears before he made the final curve into town. Good that even in the winter,
Herr
Wismer could continue to cut lumber. Peter had to save carefully through the months to make sure his and the boy’s needs were met all year. The bicycle had been an extravagance, but Peter did not regret it. Giving the boy delight now and then would not spoil him.

He ordered the oxen to halt outside the sawmill, hopped down, and entered the noisy building. Two men worked at the saw, guiding logs through the great teeth and turning them into boards. Peter thrilled to the vibration of the saw and the pungent smell of freshcut wood.

Herr
Wismer gestured for Peter to come into the small office at the front of the mill. It was slightly quieter there. Peter had to yell to make himself heard, but he left assured the mill could provide the woman with what she needed to build her house.
Herr
Wismer promised to loan Peter some floor plans from which the woman could choose. He also said he would make a list of the needed lumber and its cost when she’d chosen a plan. The men shook hands, and Peter started to leave.

Then he remembered something else and turned back. After a brief consultation, Peter left with a smile on his face. He did enjoy giving other people surprises.

He left the oxen nosing the ground in front of the sawmill and walked to Nickels’, where Nick agreed to let him take the catalog with the assurance it would come back with no missing pages.

“Why would I tear out pages? In the house I will use it, not the outhouse,” Peter teased.

Nick shook his head. “Some customers tear out the pages so they remember what they want to order. What use is a catalog with missing pages? I trust you to bring it back whole, Peter.”

Peter tucked the catalog into the large pocket inside his jacket and moved on to the General Merchandise. As he had feared, windowpanes would be pricey.

“It is the railroad, Peter. I have to raise my prices to allow for the shipping.”
Herr
Brunk sounded apologetic. “The more fragile the good, the higher the price to ship it.”

“I understand,” Peter answered. “But I know the woman has limited means.”

“Then tell her to get the smallest panes and put them together to make a bigger window,” the man encouraged. “Four little panes together make a good bedroom window. Three little panes over three more make a good parlor window. Of course, there will be sashes between the panes, but they should not block too much of a view.”

“This is good to know. I will tell her.” Peter wished he had brought some paper to write on.

“Why is the woman building a house?”
Herr
Brunk asked. Peter smiled. “I cannot stay forever in my barn.”

“I did not expect you to.” The man pulled his lips sideways and bit down on his mustache. “My
frau
tells me marriage is probable between you.”

Heat built in Peter’s neck. He forced a smile. “Your
frau
tells you wrongly.”

“
Ach
. Women!” Brunk waved his hand. “Always they have marriage on their minds. She meant nothing, I am sure.”

“I am sure,” Peter answered. “Thank you for helping with the windows. I will be back after the woman has picked her house design.”

Peter left the General Merchandise and headed for his wagon. Although he had intended to check into jobs for the woman, the hour was growing late and Thomas would be out of school soon. He did not want to miss the boy’s arrival on his first day back. He would hurry and pick up Summer from the Kraft farm, then together they would greet the boy.

Thomas pulled back on Daisy’s reins to slow her from a canter to a walk as he came upon the lane that led to his house. Would Summer still be there when he came home? Ever since Christmas, when Pa had said he didn’t love Summer, Thomas had worried. If he was back in school, Summer might go away. He didn’t want her to go away. She needed to be with him so Pa could grow to love her and she could grow to love Pa.

A funny weight sat in his tummy. It had been there all day. At first it was a little rock, nervousness about being back in school after his long time away. But over the day it had gotten bigger with Rupert’s teasing, some of the other boys’ questions, and Belinda Schmidt’s snooty faces. Those Schmidt women could make a snooty face better than anybody. Belinda had never turned it on him before, but today she had picked him out and made it hard for him to focus on the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Only Toby Kraft had stood beside him. At recess Toby had told Rupert to quit his jokes about Summer unless he wanted to never play with Toby’s erector set again. That had made Rupert and all the other boys shut up. Everybody liked to play with Toby’s erector set, which was the only one in town. Toby was his new best friend, Thomas decided. Toby had kept the rock from turning into a boulder. But Thomas’s stomach still didn’t feel right.

How come God had let him grow to love Summer if she wasn’t going to be his ma? All his life, he’d been taught God gave good gifts, God knew what was best, God answered prayers. But now Thomas wasn’t sure. That feeling scared him even more than the rock in his belly.

The house came into view.

“Whoa, Daisy.” Thomas brought the animal to a halt. He shielded his eyes with his hand and waited, watching. Was she there?

The door opened and Pa stepped onto the stoop. Even from here, Thomas could see Pa’s smile. Like everything else on him, Pa’s smile was big. Thomas waved when his pa waved, but he couldn’t smile back. Not yet. Where was she?

And then a shadow appeared behind Pa. The shadow moved beside Pa, and Thomas saw that it was Summer in her black dress. The smile he’d held in burst over his face. She hadn’t left him. Not yet. There was still a chance….

“C’mon, Daisy!” He dug in his heels and Daisy obeyed, carrying him briskly the final yards to the house.

“Well, boy,” his pa greeted, his big hands rolled into fists on his hips. “A good day did you have at school?”

Thomas decided it wasn’t important anymore what everyone had said and done. All that mattered was Summer was still here. “It was a good day.”

Summer tipped her head in that way she did when she was ready to listen. “Were you all caught up or do we have some extra homework tonight?”

The rock shrank when he heard the word
we
. She was still willing to help him. Just like a ma would be. “I am all caught up, and Mr. Funk said I am near the sixth grade level in arithmetic. He said I made good use of my time at home, and he is proud of me.” Thomas didn’t tell them Rupert had called him “teacher’s pet.”

“That’s wonderful, Thomas.” Summer smiled at him with her eyes all crinkly. “I’m proud of you, too.”

Thomas finally allowed himself to feel proud. “Uh-huh.”

“Well, you put that animal in the corral and let her run. She needs to stretch her legs after being tethered all day,” Pa instructed. “Then come inside.
Gruznikje
are on the table.”

Ammonia cookies! His favorite. Thomas’s mouth watered at the thought of biting into one of the big soft peppermint-flavored cookies. “Yes, sir!”

He stayed still long enough to watch his father turn to Summer and gesture toward the kitchen. Summer smiled up at Pa, and Pa touched her back as he followed her into the house.

Thomas’s heart pounded hard in his chest. They had looked just like Toby’s parents there on the stoop side-by-side and then going into the house together. He’d keep praying. Didn’t his Bible say the prayers of a righteous man availeth much? Maybe he wasn’t a man yet, but Pa had always told him God looked on a person’s heart. Thomas was righteous. His prayers would avail much, too.

“Let’s go, Daisy.” Thomas clicked his tongue and turned Daisy toward the corral. As long as Summer was here, there was still hope.

“Today, Peter? Really?”

Summer could hardly believe what she’d just heard. Her house could be started!

“
Ja,
today. Enough rock has been collected.
Herr
Kraft,
Herr
Ratzlaff, and
Herr
Hett have all said today they will help. So the foundation will be laid. You come so you show how you want the house to sit on the land.”

Summer dashed across the room to retrieve her coat. “It will face west so I can sit on the porch in the evening and watch the sunset. Kansas has the most beautiful sunsets.” Fastening her buttons, she turned to him eagerly. “Will we be ready to start building it tomorrow, then?”

Peter laughed, his eyes sparkling. “The wood is yet to be cut. This takes time. But in two weeks or so, by end of February?
Ja,
I think building will start. So ready you are to be out of my house?”

“I must sound like an impatient child.” She hugged herself. “Oh, I can hardly believe—my own house!” She removed his coat from its hook and pushed it at him. “Put this on and let’s go!” She dashed out the door with Peter behind her.

On the way to her land, she examined the house plan again. It was a small house, she acknowledged—nothing like the two-story Queen Anne in Boston—but it had a nice floor plan. If it faced west, as she desired, the south half would have the sitting room, dining room, and kitchen all arranged shotgun style from front to back. The north half would have two bedrooms with a small bathing room between them.

Summer had insisted on two things when choosing a plan—a dining room and a wraparound porch. Since the plan had three larger rooms on one side and three smaller rooms on the other, she would have her wraparound porch in front and also a small stoop leading to the kitchen at the rear of the house. The cellar would be outside the kitchen door. It was a good arrangement. Summer was pleased with her choice.

When the wagon rolled to a stop near the gravesites, the other men were waiting. Peter jumped down and then reached for her. The moment her feet touched the ground, she hurried to the others and beamed at each in turn. “Thank you so much for helping.”

Tobias Kraft removed his hat when speaking to her. “Helping neighbors is an easy thing. My Katherine sent a basket lunch for us, and she said to tell you the jar of pickled beets is to go home for your supper.”

Summer smiled her thanks as Peter came up behind her. He held several wooden stakes and a roll of twine in his large hands.

“
Frau
Steadman”—he always used her proper name when with people from town—“you show us now how far from the graves you want the house. Then we will begin digging to set the rocks.”

Summer scurried around, pointing to her choice of location. She listened to the men discuss why it should be shifted six feet to the north, nodded in agreement, then stood to the side with her hands clasped beneath her chin as the real work began. The men measured for the foundation using
Herr
Kraft’s measuring rule. They set the stakes and twine to show where the foundation must go, then
Herr
Ratzlaff and
Herr
Hett dug a gully in which Peter and
Herr
Kraft could set the rocks.

Summer trotted alongside Peter as he carried a large rock from a pile near the road. “Where did all these rocks come from?”

“Fields,” he huffed. “When farmers plow, they find them. Every farm has a rock pile. Then, when one is preparing to build, the rocks are collected for foundation. Works well.”

She nodded, turning with him back toward the rock pile. But he put his hand on her coat sleeve.

“
Frau
Steadman, I do not wish for you to be injured. Please sit off to the side for your watching.”

Although disappointed, she understood the sense of his direction. She sat near the graves and watched. Slowly, rock by rock, they laid the foundation for the house and porch. As the morning progressed, despite the chill air, the men shed their coats and worked in shirtsleeves beneath the azure sky. When the sun shone straight overhead, she brought out the basket lunch from the Kraft wagon and served the men. They ate quickly and returned to work.

By the time school was letting out, they were finished. The sweaty men loaded up the tools they had brought and donned their coats. Summer thanked them all again and told them their families would be welcome to visit anytime. After good-byes were exchanged, Peter and Summer were left alone.

Summer walked around the periphery of the foundation, imagining the inside rooms and the porches. With the rocks outlining the house, it was all so much more real than it had been on paper. She hugged herself, smiling.

“Summer, may I ask you a question?” Peter stood behind her right shoulder.

She squinted against the sun and gave a slight nod.

“That big space”—he pointed toward the graves—“between your husband’s grave and the grave of your oldest girl. Why is it there?”