Allison's Journey (19 page)

The minute Herman entered the house he knew his sister was in a foul mood. She stood in the middle of the room, holding a mop in one hand and wearing a frown on her face that could have stopped the clock on the kitchen wall from ticking.

“I hope you wiped your feet before you entered the house,” Catherine growled. “Because if you didn’t, then you can turn right around and head back outside.” She pointed to the muddy boot prints marring the floor. “When Peter came in awhile ago, that’s what he left behind.”

Herman’s face heated up. He was tempted to tell Catherine that she could get more bees with honey than vinegar but decided it was best to keep his tongue. “I’ll be right back,” he mumbled as he went out the door.

A few seconds later he returned, having left his boots on the back porch. “I came in to see if there’s any coffee brewing,” he said.

She gave a curt nod toward the stove. “Help yourself.”

Herman tiptoed around the spot she was mopping and removed a mug from the cupboard. Then he poured himself some coffee, added a teaspoon of sugar, and took a drink. “Ugh! This coffee is way too strong! How many scoops did you put in?”

“If you don’t like the way I brew coffee, then you ought to
start making it yourself!”

He poured the rest of the coffee down the sink. “Guess maybe I’ll do that from now on.”

Catherine kept mopping. He could tell from the determined set of her jaw that she had no more to say on the subject.

“I thought after Allison left that there’d be less work for me to do, but I find instead that there’s more,” Catherine grumbled.

“Why would there be more?”

“Because you and Peter never wipe your feet or pick up after yourselves.”

“I forget sometimes, but I’ll try to do better.”

“I shouldn’t be expected to do all this work by myself, you know.”

“Do you want me to ask Allison to come home?”

She shook her head. “She wasn’t a lot of help anyway.”

“Maybe that’s because you didn’t let her do much of anything.”

Catherine opened her mouth to reply, but only a groan came out, and she doubled over.

Herman dashed across the room. “What’s wrong? Have you got a crick in your back?”

She gritted her teeth and placed both hands against her stomach. “It’s not my back; the pain’s in my stomach.”

He pulled out a chair and helped her over to the table. “I think it’s time you see the doctor, don’t you?”

She nodded slowly, as a deep frown marred her forehead. “I was planning to anyway. Sally’s mamm came over the other day, and she talked me into making an appointment.”

“Have you done that?”

“Not yet.”

“How come?”

“Just haven’t gotten around to it.”

“Do you want me to make the appointment for you?”

“No, I’ll do it today.”

Herman breathed a sigh of relief. If Catherine got in to see the doctor, they would soon know the cause of her pain. He just prayed it was nothing serious.

A
llison had just placed her faceless dolls on the table she and Aunt Mary had set up at the farmers’ market when she caught sight of Aaron heading her way. Her heart lurched. Would he be as happy to see her as she was to see him?

“I didn’t know you were going to be here today,” he said, stopping in front of the table and leaning on the edge of it.

“I didn’t expect to see you, either. I figured you’d be working at the harness shop.”

“I usually do work on Saturdays, but Paul said I could have the day off.” Aaron grinned. “I can’t figure out why, but lately he’s been nicer to me.”

“Maybe he appreciates all the hard work you did at the shop while he and your mamm were in Springfield during your sister’s hospital stay.”

“That could be.” He glanced around. “Are you here alone?”

She shook her head. “Aunt Mary and Sarah are getting some produce and baked goods from the buggy. I’ll be sharing this table with them.”

Aaron picked up one of Allison’s dolls. “Looks like you’ve been hard at work. This is real nice.”

“It took me awhile, but I think I’m finally getting a feel for the treadle machine.”

He nodded and placed the doll back on the table. “I would say so.”

“Are you planning to sell anything today, or did you just come to look around?”

“Actually, I came to see Gabe. He’s supposed to be selling some of his wooden items here today. Melinda will probably sell her drawings and maybe some of her grandpa’s homemade jam.”

“I didn’t know Melinda was an artist,” Allison said with interest. “With all her animals to care for, plus keeping house and cooking for a husband, I wonder how she finds the time to draw.”

“Melinda makes time to do whatever she feels is important.”

“Maybe she won’t be able to do so much once the boppli is born.”

Aaron chuckled. “Knowing Melinda, she’ll try to do everything she’s doing now, and then some.”

“Aunt Mary’s like that,” Allison said. “She keeps busy all the time and is good at everything she does.”

Aaron motioned to the faceless dolls. “Looks to me like you’re able to do lots of things, too.”

Allison shook her head. “I’m good at baseball, fishing, and most outdoor chores; but my sewing skills are just average, and I still can’t cook very well.” She grimaced. “You should have
tasted the buttermilk biscuits I made the other night. They were chewy like leather.”

He snickered. “I doubt they were that bad.”

“Let’s just say nobody had seconds.”

“Speaking of food, how would you like to go across the street with me at noon and have a juicy burger at the fast-food restaurant?”

“I’d like that.” Allison couldn’t get over how relaxed Aaron seemed to be. All the times she’d been with him before, he’d seemed kind of nervous and hesitant, like he might be holding back from something. The way he looked at her now made her feel like he really wanted to be with her.

“Guess I’ll head over to Gabe’s table now,” he said. “I’ll be back to pick you up for lunch a little before noon.”

“I’ll be right here.”

As Aaron headed across the parking lot, he thought about his conversation with Allison. He couldn’t get over how contented she looked this morning. He wondered if something had happened since he’d last seen her. Maybe she was just excited about being at the farmers’ market and trying to sell some of her dolls.

Aaron spotted Gabe and Melinda’s table on the other side of the open field. He jogged over to it and tapped his friend on the shoulder. “How’s it going?”

Gabe nodded at his wife. “Why don’t you ask her? She’s the one who’s selling everything this morning.”

Melinda smiled. “Most people have been buying Grandpa’s rhubarb-strawberry jam, but I have sold a couple of my drawings.”

“At least you’ve got people coming over to your table,” Aaron said.

“How come you’re not working today?” Gabe asked.

“Paul gave me the day off, and since I knew you were planning to be at the market, I figured I’d come by and see you.”

“Anything in particular you wanted to see me about?”

Aaron placed his hands on the table and leaned closer to Gabe. “I was wondering if I could hire you to do a job for me.”

Gabe’s eyebrows lifted. “What kind of job?”

“I need a dog run built for Rufus. He’s not happy being tied up all the time, and if I let him run free, he chases Bessie’s kittens.”

“A dog on the loose can be a problem,” Gabe agreed.

“You’re right,” Melinda put in. “Remember when Gabe built a dog run for my brother’s dog? Jericho was chasing my animals all over the place, and he kept breaking free from his chain.”

Aaron nodded. “Gabe did a good job, which is why I want him to build a run for Rufus. I’ll pay whatever it costs.”

“Sorry, but you can’t hire me,” Gabe said.

“How come? Are you too busy at your shop?”

“You’re my good friend, Aaron. I’ll gladly build the dog run as a favor, with no money involved.”

“That’s real nice of you. I’ll pay for all the supplies, of course.”

“Sounds fine. When do you want me to start?”

“Whenever you have the time. There’s no rush, but the sooner I get Rufus in his own run, the sooner Bessie will quit bugging me.”

Gabe chuckled. “I’ll come over and talk about where the run should be built some evening after work. How’s that sound?”

“Sounds fine to me.” Aaron rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “Say, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you and Melinda join Allison and me for some fishing at Rabers’ pond one night next week? If you drop by my place before we go, I can show you where I was thinking the dog run could be built.”

“I think that would be fun,” Melinda said. “I love going to the pond, where there’s so much wildlife. It will give me a chance to get to know Allison better, too.”

Aaron smiled. “I still need to ask Allison, but I’m hoping she’ll say yes.”

Allison sat in a booth at the restaurant, with Aaron in the seat across from her. They both had double cheeseburgers and an order of fries. This felt like a real date, and she couldn’t seem to calm her racing heart. Was it her imagination, or did the look of admiration on Aaron’s face mean he was beginning to care for her? Maybe he didn’t mind that she was a tomboy. She hoped that was the case. And she hoped. . . . What was she hoping for—that she could stay in Webster County and be courted by Aaron? After that first young people’s gathering when James had brought her home and then stolen a kiss, she’d thought he might ask to court her. She was glad he hadn’t. She’d been so flattered by his attention, she might have said yes. After hearing all the negative things others had said about James, she knew he wasn’t the sort of fellow she would want to court her.

It’s strange
, she thought.
James hasn’t been around lately
. The last time Allison had seen him was at their preaching service a
few weeks ago, but she hadn’t had a chance to speak with him, and he’d hightailed it out of there as soon as the service was over.

Allison bit into another fry and tried to imagine what it would be like if she and Aaron were married.
Would he be willing to teach me how to work in the harness shop? I’ll never find out if Aaron and I can have a future together if I go back to Pennsylvania at the end of summer. If Aaron asked me to stay, I’d write Papa a letter and see what he thought of the idea
.

“There’s something about you that looks different today,” Aaron said, breaking into Allison’s thoughts.

She smiled. “Actually, I am different, and for the first time in my life, I feel carefree and happy.”

“In what way?”

“I accepted Jesus as my Savior last week.”

His forehead wrinkled. “You’ve never done that before?”

She shook her head. “I’d heard some of our ministers talk about how Jesus had been crucified on the cross, but until Aunt Mary explained things to me, I didn’t realize He had died for my sins.”

“I suppose there might be some in our community who don’t understand about having a personal relationship with Christ,” Aaron said. “But my mamm started reading the Bible to me, my brothers, and sisters as soon as we were old enough to comprehend things. I confessed my sins when I was fifteen and joined the church by the time I was eighteen.” He reached for his glass of root beer. “Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m the perfect Christian. I’ve had my share of problems along the way.”