[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (18 page)

“Say, when are we gonna eat?” one of the fellows shouted. “I’m starved!”

“If you men would like to help Nelson and Russell set up tables on the lawn, we womenfolk will bring out the food,” Suzanne’s mother said.

“Why don’t you go outside and relax on the porch until we’re ready to eat?” Suzanne nudged Esther toward the door.

Esther hesitated, then took a few steps toward the kitchen. “I don’t feel right about not helping.”

“Go on now. Just enjoy,” Suzanne insisted. Whenever Esther came over for supper, she always scurried around the kitchen, helping serve the food. Suzanne was determined that tonight her friend should just sit and relax.

Esther finally nodded and went out the back door.

A short time later, everyone was seated at the tables. After the silent prayer had been said, Mom passed the platters of food around: chicken fried to a golden brown, creamy macaroni salad with a bit of tangy mustard, pickles, several bags of potato chips, and olives.

“I forgot to bring out the potato salad you made this afternoon,” Mom said to Suzanne. “I’ll go get it right now.”

Mom hurried away and returned a few minutes later with the potato salad, which she set on one of the tables.

Titus plopped a big spoonful of it onto his plate and passed it to Nelson.

“No, thanks,” Nelson mumbled around a mouthful of chicken. “Think I’ll pass on the potato salad.”

“Not me. I’ve always liked potato salad.” Titus shoveled some onto his fork and took a bite. “Yuck!” His face contorted as he looked at Suzanne. “What’d you do, pour a whole bottle of vinegar in there?”

Suzanne’s cheeks burned like fire. She knew she shouldn’t have made anything for Esther’s birthday supper, but Mom had insisted she make the salad, and had even assured her that the recipe was easy to follow.

“It can’t be that bad.” Esther reached for the potato salad, spooned some onto her plate, and took a bite. Her lips puckered, and her nose wrinkled as she swallowed it down. “Whew … that’s really strong!”

Suzanne scooped up the bowl and dashed for the house. It was bad enough that she couldn’t cook well, but to be embarrassed in front of her friends was mortifying.

When she entered the kitchen, she raced to the garbage can and dumped the potato salad in. Then she grabbed a napkin from the kitchen table to dry her tears and flopped into a chair.

“I’m sorry if we upset you,” Esther said, entering the room. “Your potato salad was so strong, it took me by surprise.”

Suzanne sniffed. “I … I don’t know why I even try to cook. I stink at it, that’s for sure.”

“You don’t stink at it. You just need more time in the kitchen, and you need to sample what you make before you serve it. Maybe a bit of sugar would have cut the strong vinegar taste.”

“I don’t like being in the kitchen. I worry about messing up, not to mention Mom’s reaction to it.”

“You’ll never find a husband if you don’t learn to cook. Most men want wives who can fix tasty meals.”

Suzanne moaned. “We’ve been through this before.”

“But don’t you want to learn to cook so that when you find the man of your dreams you’ll be ready for marriage?”

Suzanne folded her arms. “I doubt I’ll ever find the man of my dreams. You, on the other hand, have already found someone you’re interested in, and once he finds out how well you can cook, I’m sure you’ll have him eating out of the palm of your hand.”

“Are you talking about Titus?”

“Jah.”

“I may be interested in him, but so far, he’s shown no interest in me.”

“He’s here at your party, isn’t he? I don’t think he would have come if he wasn’t interested.”

“Maybe he came because he wanted to meet some of the other young people in our area. Or maybe he came for the meal.”

“He’ll probably never come here for supper again if he thinks I might fix any part of it.” Suzanne motioned to the door. “I think we need to get back outside. As soon as everyone’s done eating, you can open your gifts. Then we’ll have the cake Mom made, which I know will be good.”

As Titus sat across from Esther, watching her open the gifts, he was filled with a sense of anticipation, wondering if she’d like the birdfeeder he’d made for her. She certainly liked the colorful quilt she’d just opened from Suzanne—even said she planned to save it for her hope chest.

“If Suzanne could cook half as well as she can quilt, she’d probably be married by now,” Nelson said with a snicker.

Suzanne shot her brother a look of disdain. Even Nelson’s girlfriend, Lucy, didn’t appear to be too happy with him.

“You did a nice job on the quilt,” Lucy said to Suzanne.

Suzanne smiled, although it appeared to be forced. “Open this one next,” she said, pushing the box that held Titus’s gift toward Esther.

Esther read the card Titus had taped to the box and smiled sweetly at him. “This is so nice,” she said, removing the birdfeeder. “Did you make it, Titus?”

He nodded. “Made it to look like one of the covered bridges we have in Pennsylvania.”

Nelson thumped Titus’s back. “I’m impressed. Seems like you can make just about anything and do it well.”

Titus smiled. It felt good to receive such affirmations. It felt good not to be compared to his twin for a change.

After the cake had been eaten, the young people visited until it was dark; then people started leaving. One of Suzanne’s cats leaped into Titus’s lap and swiped its sandpapery tongue on his hand. He shooed the cat away and stood. “I’d better go. Thanks for inviting me to the party,” he said to Suzanne.

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you were able to come.”

Titus smiled at Esther. “Would you like me to get your horse?”

“I appreciate the offer,” she said, “but Nelson’s already gone out to get Ginger, and Russell’s volunteered to carry my gifts out to the buggy.”

“Okay. I’ll walk out with you and hitch your horse to the buggy when he brings her out.”

In the light of the full moon, Titus could see Esther’s pretty face as she looked up at him and smiled.

They walked across the yard, and when they got to her buggy, he turned to her and said, “Have you ever visited the Jefferson Davis Monument?”

She shook her head. “I’ve driven by it many times but have never gone inside the gift shop or the monument.”

“I’m planning to go there this Saturday with Allen Walters and his girlfriend. I was wondering if you’d like to go along.”

Esther nodded eagerly. “That sounds like fun. What time?”

“Allen said he’d pick me up around ten in the morning.”

“I’ll ask my folks if I can take that day off.”

“Great. I’ll stop by the store on my way home from work tomorrow evening and see if you’ll be free to go or not.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She flashed him another dimpled smile. “Thanks again for the birdfeeder. I like it a lot.”

“You’re welcome.”

Just then, Nelson showed up with Esther’s horse, Ginger, so Titus hitched her horse to the buggy, said good-bye, and went to get Lightning.

When Titus entered his trailer that evening, he lit a gas lamp and headed down the narrow hallway toward his bedroom. As he approached the bathroom door, he halted. All the toilet paper had been pulled off the spindle and lay shredded on the floor.

He grimaced. “What in the world?”

Meow! Meow!

Titus kicked the toilet paper aside and followed the
meows
coming from his bedroom. When he stepped into the room, he screeched to a stop. At the foot of his bed lay Callie and four tiny kittens!

A
s Titus headed to work on Friday morning, he thought about Callie and how she’d chosen his bed as a place to give birth to her kittens. He couldn’t leave them there, of course, so he’d found a wooden box and lined it with rags. Then he’d put the cat and her kittens inside and taken the box to the barn. He’d checked on them before breakfast and fed Callie, knowing she needed plenty of nourishment.

“No wonder the cat was getting fat,” Titus mumbled as he guided his horse onto the road leading to the Yoders’ place. It wasn’t that she’d been eating too many mice at all.

He groaned. “Stupid critter came up with a way to get in the house, but hopefully, now that she’s had her babies she’ll stay put in the barn.”

Titus’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket, but he was running late and couldn’t take the time to stop and answer it now. It would be too hard to hold the cell phone in one hand and control Lightning’s reins with the other. He was sure whoever had called would leave a message, so he’d just call them back when he got to work.

Enjoying the early morning breeze and scent of blooming trees along the road, Titus drew in a deep breath and relaxed in the saddle. He’d enjoyed horseback riding ever since he was a boy.

As Titus passed the road leading to the Beilers’ store, he thought about Esther and how pleased she’d seemed when he’d invited her to see the monument with him. It might be good to start courting again. Maybe it would help him forget about Phoebe. He still wondered, though, if Phoebe would end up staying in California. It might be best for him if she did. It would be easier than her moving back to Pennsylvania and marrying someone else—maybe even someone he knew.

Feeling a tightness in his throat, Titus forced his thoughts off Phoebe, reminding himself that there was nothing he could do about her decision. He had to concentrate on his life here and hopefully the beginning of a new relationship with Esther.

When Titus arrived at the Yoders’, he put Lightning in the corral. He’d just started walking toward the shop when his cell phone vibrated again. He stopped, pulled the phone from his pocket, and said hello.

“Hi, Titus. It’s me, Timothy.”

“It’s good to hear your voice. Was that you who called earlier?”

“Jah. I was gonna leave you a message but decided to try calling again before I did.”

“I’m almost at work, so I’m glad you caught me before I went into the woodshop.” Titus took a seat in one of the wooden chairs under the maple tree in the Yoders’ yard. “How are things going?”

“Not so well.” Timothy’s voice sounded strained. “Hannah’s still not dealing with the miscarriage. She seems to have shut me out. Just sits in the rocking chair with Mindy in her lap, stroking our little girl’s face and crying. Hannah’s mamm is staying with us for a while, so she’s doing all the cooking and cleaning right now.”

“I hope things will go better soon.”

“Me, too. Mom’s tried talking to Hannah, and so has Hannah’s mamm, but neither of ‘em has gotten very far.”

“Maybe you should bring Hannah and Mindy here for a visit. Might be good for all of you to get away for a while.”

“We can’t do that right now. Dad and I are finishing up planting, and when I’m not helping him, I’m painting for Zach and Arthur. Besides, from what I understand, your place is too small for visitors to stay with you.”