The Gift (36 page)

Adam nodded. “I’ve often wondered how they would like it if we stared right back at them.”

“Or started asking a bunch of questions about their lifestyle,” Ben added.

Adam shrugged. “Guess they can’t help being curious, since we dress differently than they do, not to mention our slower-paced mode of transportation.” He thought about the English woman again and wondered if she could be his mother. Adam quickly pushed that thought aside.
If she is my mother, wouldn’t she have said something? Of course, how would she have recognized me? I’m not the frightened little boy she left behind twenty-five years ago.

“Get a hold of yourself,” Adam murmured after walking away from Ben. “You can’t go thinking every English woman you see is Cora.”

Leah had just ridden her bike up her parents’ driveway, when a car pulled in behind her. Turning, she saw that it was Cora.
I wonder what she wants.
Leah parked her bike and waited for Cora to get out of the car.

“I’m sorry for just showing up like this, but I wasn’t sure whether you’d check for messages this evening,” Cora said, joining Leah near the barn. “My back hurts again, and I was wondering if you’d be able to give me a foot treatment.”

Since she was hungry and wasn’t anxious to speak with Cora again, Leah hesitated. But she could see from Cora’s pinched expression that she was truly in pain. Leah hoped during the treatment that there would be no mention of Adam. “Okay. Let’s go inside. You can head on downstairs, and I’ll join you there shortly.”

Sparky rushed over to greet Cora, like he did whenever they had visitors. Leah watched as Cora bent down to pet the terrier. “You’re sure a cute little fellow,” Cora said when Sparky licked her hand. “I wouldn’t mind having a dog like you.” Cora gave Sparky’s head a pat, and he seemed content with that, for he went back to his spot on the porch and lay down.

As Cora descended the basement stairs, Leah stopped briefly to say a few words to Mom and explain that Cora had come for a treatment. She then went over to the stove to see what was simmering, because something sure smelled delicious. Mom had made a pot of chicken-corn soup and had just taken a loaf of bread from the oven. The kitchen had such a wonderful aroma that it almost made Leah light-headed.

She smiled, glancing at Sparky, now lying by the stove. He certainly wasn’t going to let Mom out of his sight for very long. Leah could understand that, for she was equally glad to have Mom back home.

“What about supper?” Mom asked, placing the bread on a cooling rack. “Surely you must be hungry, Leah.”

“It’s okay. I can wait awhile to eat. Cora’s hurting, and I’m hoping a treatment will help. You and Dad go ahead and eat supper without me.”

“All right,” Mom said. “I’ll keep some soup warming on the stove, and you can eat when you come up from the basement. Oh, and I made a blueberry pie this afternoon. We can have that for dessert.” She chuckled. “Your daed was hinting last night about blueberry pie.”

“Dad’s always liked your blueberry pies.” Leah smiled as she headed to the basement.

Seeing that Cora was settled in the recliner, Leah poured some massage lotion on her hands and began to pressure-point Cora’s right foot. “Does this seem to be helping at all?” she asked.

“I can’t tell yet if my back pain has lessened, but my feet feel better than they have all day.”

“I can imagine being on your feet for so many hours would cause them to ache an awful lot.” Upstairs, Leah could hear Mom talking to Sparky, and every now and then, Sparky would bark.

“That dog of yours is sure sweet.” Cora smiled. “Sometimes I wonder if I should get Jared a puppy. But what if he didn’t want it? I’d end up being the one taking care of the dog. And with my schedule, I just don’t have the time for that. Although, on a positive note, a dog would make a good companion for me, since Jared doesn’t seem to want much to do with me anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” Leah murmured. “Perhaps in time he will come around.”

“I’m still hoping for that.” Cora closed her eyes and seemed to relax a little. Leah was glad. It would be better for both of them if they didn’t make idle conversation. She could concentrate more fully on finding the right pressure points, and Cora could just let everything go.

Leah had just started on Cora’s left foot, when Cora surprised her with a question. “How are your wedding plans coming along?”

“We still have some last-minute things to do, but we should be ready on time for the wedding this Thursday.”

“After you’re married, will you continue to see people for foot treatments here, or will you have a place to do that at your new home?”

“I’m not sure,” Leah replied. “I’ll need to speak to Adam about that.”

“Adam?”

“Yes, Adam Beachy, my soon-to-be husband.”

Cora bolted upright in her chair, nearly knocking the bottle of massage lotion out of Leah’s hand. “Adam Beachy? I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not, but my first husband’s last name was Beachy, and as I had mentioned before, my Amish son’s name was Adam. Oh, Leah, if there’s even a chance that it’s him, I need to know where he lives, so I can go talk to him.”

While Cora babbled on, Leah gulped. A wave of heat spread across her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she’d been dumb enough to blurt out Adam’s name like that.
Oh my, what have I done? If Adam finds out, he’ll probably never speak to me again. And he might even call off the wedding. What do I say to Cora? I don’t dare tell her where Adam lives, because she’s bound to go there, and that wouldn’t sit well with Adam at all.

Cora touched Leah’s arm. “Oh, Leah, do you think your Adam Beachy might be my son?”

Leah nodded. “Jah, I believe he is.”

C
ora trembled, and her mouth felt so dry she could barely talk. “How long have you known that the man you’re engaged to is my son, and when were you planning to tell me about it?”

Leah lowered her gaze as she squirmed on her footstool. Cora figured she was uncomfortable talking about this. After several awkward moments, Leah looked up at Cora and said, “I haven’t known very long. After the things you told me, plus the few things I already knew, the pieces started coming together. Then, the other day, I spoke to Adam about you, and he—”

“Adam knows I’m here?” Cora was suddenly filled with hope.

Leah nodded slowly. “But he’s bitter about the things that occurred in the past, and I’m sorry, but he wants nothing to do with you. In fact, he said if I saw you again, I was to tell you to move back to Chicago.”

Cora shook her head determinedly. “I can’t do that, Leah. I need to see my son and make things right between us. Please tell me where he lives, or maybe you could set something up so we can meet.”

“I cannot go against Adam’s wishes,” Leah said. “It would cause dissension between us.”

Cora sat, mulling things over. “What about my daughter? Does Mary live in this area, too?”

Leah clasped Cora’s hand. “I’m sorry to tell you this, but Mary and her husband were killed in an accident several months ago.”

Cora covered her mouth to hold back the sob rising in her throat. “Oh, no! That just can’t be. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. I wanted to make things right with my children.” As reality sunk in, Cora let her tears spill, while Leah sat quietly, gently patting her back.

“Oh, Leah, it’s too late to make amends with my daughter. I’d hoped that someday I would see both of my children again so I could apologize to them.”

Heartfelt sympathy showed on Leah’s face, and Cora thought she saw tears in Leah’s eyes. “It was hard for Adam to accept Mary’s death, but I think having her girls to raise has been a comfort to him in many ways,” Leah said.

Cora gripped the armrests on the chair as this new information penetrated her brain. “Are Adam’s nieces the girls you’ve been caring for?”

Leah bobbed her head. “And I’ll be more involved in their care after Adam and I are married.”

Cora drew in a sharp breath. “Those little girls are my grandchildren.” Pausing, she let out a whispered sigh. “I have granddaughters.” Looking up at Leah through blurry vision, she said tearfully, “I’d like the chance to get to know them.”

“Leah, Elaine’s here to see you!” Leah’s mother hollered from the top of the basement stairs.

“I’ll be up soon. Tell her to wait for me in the living room,” Leah called in response. She looked at Cora. “I’m sorry, but I need to go now. My friend probably came by to talk about last-minute details for the wedding.”

“I understand, and I surely won’t keep you.” Cora rose to her feet. “Before I go home, can I ask a favor?”

“What is it?”

“Would you at least put in a good word for me with Adam? Ask if he’d be willing to meet with me—or, at the very least, allow me to visit my granddaughters?”

“I’ll try,” Leah said, “but you’ll need to accept whatever Adam decides.”

I’m not sure I can do that,
Cora thought. If Leah couldn’t get through to Adam, then Cora would decide what to do next. One thing was for sure: she wouldn’t be moving back to Chicago now. Her place was here—with her son and granddaughters. Now Jared would get to know his stepbrother.

Elaine had been waiting in the living room for twenty minutes before Leah showed up, and when she did, she appeared to be quite upset.

“What’s wrong, Leah?” Elaine asked. “Have you received some bad news?”

Groaning, Leah flopped onto the couch next to Elaine. “I have, in fact.”

“What is it?” Elaine clasped Leah’s arm. “Has someone you know been injured or taken sick?”

Leah shook her head. “Remember the talk we had about Adam’s mother leaving when he was a boy?”

“Jah.”

“Well, that woman who was here getting a foot treatment is Adam’s mother, and she wants me to set something up so she and Adam can meet.”

Elaine’s eyes widened. “What did you tell her?”

“Said I’d see what I could do but made no promises.” Leah folded her arms in front of her chest, rocking slowly back and forth. “I’m the reason Cora made the request. I stupidly blurted out that the man I will be marrying is Adam Beachy.” She sniffed. “Worse than that, I broke my promise to Adam by telling his mother about him and the girls.”

“Are you going to tell him what happened?”

Leah nodded. “And I’d better do it before this day is over, because if I don’t talk to him about it now, Cora may decide to seek Adam out on her own. That could make things even worse.”

“I’ll pray for you, and for Adam, too.”

“We surely do need some extra prayers.”

Elaine picked up the cardboard box she’d placed on the coffee table when she’d first arrived. “I doubt this will make you feel any better, but I made you a pre-wedding gift.”

“What is it?” Leah asked, taking the box from Elaine.

“Open it and see.”

Elaine held her breath as Leah opened the lid and removed the rock.

“Oh, how beautiful! It looks like a ruby-throated hummingbird.”

Elaine smiled. “When I found that rock the other day among my collection and realized it resembled a hummer, I knew I had to paint it for you.”

Leah set the rock down and gave Elaine a hug. “Danki. Your timing was perfect. I miss the hummingbirds when they leave for the south. Now I’ll have this cute little rock to look at all year long. This special gift has brightened my day.”

Elaine was on the verge of telling Leah about Ben’s marriage proposal but thought better of it.
Leah has enough on her mind right now, and it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to help me decide whether I should marry Ben. Besides, that’s something I need to decide for myself, after I’ve prayed about it. If I agree to marry Ben, then I’ll tell Leah.