Made with Love (15 page)

“It—it doesn't look like this now, but it can.” Lovina turned her gaze to her father. “Do you know the old warehouse near the back of Roy Yoder's place? It's for sale, and I'd like to buy it. It would be the perfect place for a pie shop. I know I've wanted to have one for such a long time, but Dat, this is the perfect time. This is the perfect place!”

She raised her hands, palms out toward Dat. “Don't say anything yet. I've thought everything through, and I know it's been an unreachable dream for so long, but I really think this can happen now.”

Lovina went on to explain about the cost of the building and how she'd already worked on all the paperwork with Jason Schlabach over at Everence Credit Union.

“Ja, Lovina. I know this has been your dream for a long time…but there is a big difference between buying a building and opening a pie shop.”

“Faith!” One of the other, older waitresses called out to her. “Your table is ready to order, dear.”

Faith took a step back reluctantly. “I best go.” The concern on Faith's face was clear. And both of her parents wore the same looks of concern and reluctance in their expressions.

Lovina was thankful when Faith turned and strode over to the table, smiling at her customers waiting to order. Lovina was going to have a hard enough time trying to convince her mem and dat. She didn't need Faith butting in with her opinions too.

“There is going to be a huge cost for the remodel and all the supplies. There are advertising costs and…”

“Advertising?” Lovina couldn't help but chuckle. “It'll be in clear view of the parking lot at the Tourist Church, where all the buses stop. There's a crowd there numerous times a day during season. More than that, you know how word always spreads in Amish communities. The Englischers have to pay to get the word out about their products, but I'd wager that news spreads far quicker at Amish sewing frolics and church socials.”

Mem sat next to Dat, as quiet as a church mouse, but she didn't need to speak for Lovina to know her thoughts on the matter. Mem's round face was all pinched up as if she'd just eaten a lemon.

“Dat, that's not even the most amazing part,” Lovina continued, ignoring her mem's focused gaze. “The warehouse is filled to the top with all types of old things. It looks like a lot of junk to me, but there is someone who is willing to do all the remodeling of the building in exchange for those things. He sells them to Sarasota Salvage and—”

“Who is this?” Dat asked. “Who is willing to do such a thing?” He clicked his tongue and pushed his ice cream bowl to the side. “And you have to know that a job like that is impossible for one man alone.”

“He won't work alone. He has a crew.”

Mem's eyes widened in disbelief. “A crew…a whole crew of men who are going to remodel a warehouse and turn it into a pie shop in exchange for some junk?”

Mem's eyelids fluttered closed in disbelief, but Dat's gaze was fixed on Lovina. He tilted his head and wore a knowing look.

“Tell me about this, Lovina. It seems you've given it a lot of thought. This man you spoke of, was he the one who did these sketches?”

“Ja, Dat. It's Noah Yoder. He's a carpenter and…”

“Noah Yoder? Roy Yoder's nephew? I think not.” Mem's voice rose, causing the patrons at the next table to pause their conversation and turn. “Lovina, surely this is some type of joke. Do you know anything about this so-called crew? What are their names? What are their ages? Do they have experience?”

“I—I'm not sure. I don't know.”

“Of course you don't.” Mem lowered her voice. “Do you ever pay attention to this world around us? Are pies all you think about?”

Lovina turned to her father, hoping for an explanation.

Dat rested his arms on the table and leaned forward. “I've met Noah Yoder, and I know the three teens who are living with him, working with him. Stories have followed those young men down from Illinois.” Her father's voice was gentle but firm. “It seems a few years ago Noah got himself in trouble too. He was in an accident, as a driver of a car…”

“A car, of all things,” Mem interrupted.

“A few years ago?” Lovina's eyebrows furrowed. “He was in his rumspringa no doubt. Dat, please. If you discounted every young man who got in trouble during his rumspringa years there'd be no more marriages in Pinecraft! Or in any Amish community!”

“It's more than that.” Mem pushed her ice cream back from her. “It's this whole thing, Lovina. Do you really want to go down this path? Opening up a business is a lot of work. All that money and all that time. Is this really what you want to do with your life? Have you ever considered having a family?”

Had she ever considered having a family? What young Amish woman hadn't? But it was easier to dream about a pie shop than about a husband. She could build a pie shop with her two hands, but gaining someone's love and favor seemed daunting, impossible almost.

Lovina let her eyes flutter closed, reminding herself that the best response was a kind one. She opened her eyes, picked up her spoon, and slowly stirred the melting ice cream. How could she explain that although Mem had other dreams for her, Lovina was content to live the life God had called her to? Not every Amish woman married. Would Mem ever understand that Lovina had no expectation of that?

She lifted up the drafting sketch of the warehouse and looked at it. She was about to explain their ideas for remodeling only half of the warehouse to start when Faith hurried to the table, moved Lovina's satchel off the chair, and sat.

“All right, things have slowed down. I don't think I'm intruding, am I?” Faith picked up Lovina's spoon and took a bite of her nearly melted ice cream.

Lovina glanced at her sister, wondering what to say next, wondering if she should just give up the idea when Faith reached across the table and placed her hand on Mem's.

“Do you know what I like about the idea of this pie shop? It'll be the perfect gathering spot for the young people of Pinecraft. Mem, just think about it. A pie shop will be the new talk of town. It'll be a destination spot—the first place people go when they get off the bus.” The words bubbled out of Faith. She was in a much better mood than she had been this afternoon.

Mem jutted out her chin. “There are other places. There is the park…”

“The park is always so crowded,” Faith continued. She looked around. “Both Yoder's and Der Dutchman are always busy too. A pie shop like this will not only be the first place visitors go, but think of the bachelors. Don't you think they'll be eager to watch the bakers working in the open kitchen?”

Lovina glanced from Mem to Faith to Mem again. She never, in a million years, would have thought Faith would have jumped on board about this. And she'd never have guessed how quickly Mem's look could soften. Even Dat's gaze was focused on his wife, as if curious about her response. The assets were in Dat's name, yes, but maybe Mem was the one who held a grip on the purse strings.

“How did you remember that I wanted an open kitchen?” Lovina asked. “That I wanted to have a counter out front where customers could watch the bakers roll the pie crusts?”

Faith looked at Lovina with dark eyes that were so similar to her own—at least that was what everyone told her. “I listen too, ja? I know this has been on your heart for a while, Lovina. And sometimes, when I think about it, I even pray that God would make your way clear.” Faith's voice was soft, but there was something unsettling about her words. Why was this pie shop suddenly so important to her sister?

“But a pie shop.” Mem sighed. “That is so much work. Especially for a single young woman.”

“And we're all going to remain single too if something's not done about it.” Faith took another bite of ice cream. “It's not like back in Walnut Creek, Mem. We don't have singings and such. How else are we going to find husbands? Where are we going to meet bachelors? Nowhere. There is nowhere to go.”

Mem's forehead wrinkled even more, and Lovina knew she was thinking hard.

“I was worried about that when we moved to Pinecraft,” Mem mumbled to herself more than them. “There aren't many bachelors to choose from.”

“Ja, and a pie shop like this will be a
gut
place for young people to gather. But if you don't agree…” Faith trailed off.

Lovina tried to act as if her heart weren't about to burst. She reached over, gripping Faith's hand tightly, and held her breath. This had been her dream for so long, and then there was Noah. She swallowed hard just thinking about him. She wanted to spend more time with him. The idea excited her.

Mem glanced over at Dat. “The girls are right. There aren't very many ways to meet bachelors in these parts. At least a place like this would get them out of the house and they'd have better opportunities.”

Dat tilted his head in surprise. “Are you saying we should do it, Anna?”

Faith smiled and rose, as if sensing her job was done.

Mem shrugged. “It's your money, do with it as you will.” Which Lovina knew was as much approval as Mem would give, lest something happen later to prove it hadn't been a good idea after all.

Then Mem sat straighter in her chair, as if just remembering something. “But I do not like the fact that Noah Yoder will be the one helping with the remodel.”

“There is no harm in Noah,” Dat interjected. “I told you before that I've had a few conversations with him, and he seems an upstanding young man.”

Faith straightened her apron and then leaned down, as if offering up one last secret. She narrowed her gaze on Lovina. “Ja, and why should Lovina be worried about him when she has a date with Thomas Chupp tomorrow? He's taking her to the beach.” Then, without another word, she hurried over to the nearest table, checking on their meal.

“To the beach?” Mem clapped her hands together. “I haven't met him yet, but Vera says he's quite handsome, and that he inherited his father's farm up in Pennsylvania. Why did you wait so long to tell me?”

Lovina forced a smile.
Maybe because I care far more about the pie shop
, she wanted to say. Instead, she fingered the edge of the sketch and looked up shyly. “Well, maybe because I wanted to save that news for last.”

“That does it, John…” Mem turned to her father. “That does make the decision for us, doesn't it?”

Lovina understood Mem's train of thought. Mem was saying that opening a pie shop was unnecessary since Lovina already held the interest of a bachelor and wouldn't have time to run a business while going on dates and possibly getting married.

She didn't dare look at her mem, lest the wrong words—unkind words—slip from her mouth. Instead, she focused on Dat and felt tears rimming her eyes. She would take no for an answer, and she would learn to live with it if she had to, but more than anything she wanted to know that it was his opinion, his decision.

Dat let out a sigh, suddenly looking very old and very weary. “I wish I could say yes to cosigning your bank loan, but I'm afraid
I can't give you the answer you want. I've watched you over the years. I know how hard you've worked. You've always cared for others, and you've never given up your dream. But I've never felt comfortable in owing anyone. Not another man. Not a bank.”

Lovina's throat tightened. She took the sketches, refolded them, and put them back inside her satchel. “I—I understand, Dat.”

Emotions fought within her. Sadness and disappointment made their way to the top. But she wasn't going to argue. Dat had her mother and sisters to think of. She was just one of his daughters. He couldn't support her if it meant risking the welfare of the others.

Dat reached his hand across the table, and she looked up, surprised. “Your hand, Lovina.”

She removed her hand from her lap and placed it on the table before him. He grasped it and gave it a warm squeeze. Heat rose to her cheeks. He'd never acted like this before—not in public. Showing affection like this didn't happen often. It wasn't the Amish way. Yet Lovina had seen a difference in him in recent months. The move to Pinecraft had changed her father. Or maybe it was his sickness. He seemed more tender with all those around him. But even a tender father had to put his foot down at times. Especially with matters such as this.

“Lovina.” He spoke her name, and it was just a whisper. Hardly distinguishable in the crowded restaurant. “Lovina, I will not cosign a loan for you. Instead, I will give you what you need. Let me talk with Jason at the bank and with Noah Yoder and see what they think.”

Lovina's eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. She wanted to say something, but what could she say? She didn't dare glance over at Mem either, sure that the expression on her face would
ruin the moment. Instead, Lovina decided to focus on her father's face and soak up all the tenderness there.

“Thank you,” she managed to whisper.

He smiled. “I just want you to know that I'm not doing this so you and your sisters can draw in bachelors. I'm doing this because of who you are—who God created you to be. God put this in your heart for a reason, and it seems He's finally revealed the way for it to happen.”