A Simple Vow (24 page)

Without knocking, he stepped inside. Drew sat at the tiny table with a beer can in front of him, his head resting in his hands. “Yeah? Whaddaya want?” he murmured.

Asa crossed his arms. “Was it you driving the buggy that was going hell-bent for leather, after Gingerich left the twins with Edith? Midnight and I both got hurt, you know.”

Drew didn’t move. “
Jah
. I had to get home so you wouldn’t know I’d been listening in on you.”

“So you left me on the side of the road, out cold?” Asa demanded. Once again he felt his temper rising, and he couldn’t stop it. “Your
secret
was more important than how badly I might have been hurt? That stinks, Drew.”

“It does. I’m sorry.”

Appalled by his twin’s lack of compassion, Asa spun on his heel and left. He slammed the apartment door, filling the furniture shop with the clatter of his boots on the wooden steps. The fresh walls of the showroom were a big improvement over what they’d had in Clifford, but Asa was in no mood to appreciate his new workplace. He just wanted to be away from his brother, even if it meant spending the night totally alone in the house in which he’d planned to begin his new life with Edith.

Such a sweet dream their marriage had been, but now he wondered if it would ever come true.

Chapter Twenty

Monday morning Nora sat at her small desk recording her weekend’s sales on her computer spreadsheets. It was drizzling outside, and she was so immersed in her bookkeeping she didn’t hear the bell above her shop door jingle. When she sensed someone’s presence, however, she glanced around the shelves containing the pottery display.

Edith was standing near a dining-room set the Brenneman brothers had brought in after Asa had purchased the previous table and chairs for her wedding present. Nora nipped her lip. The poor young woman appeared lost and listless, as though she’d forgotten why she’d come into the shop. No one could possibly understand the depth of Edith’s disappointment—not only because her wedding had been canceled, but because the twins had been taken away, as well—so Nora quickly considered what she could do to make Edith feel better.

“Hey there, Edith, it’s
gut
to see you,” Nora began in an upbeat voice. “I’ll have you know I’ve sold every one of those baskets you brought in—so I hope you’ve got more goodies for me in that big tote you’re carrying?”

Edith blinked. “Oh—
jah,
Loretta’s finished another rug,” she replied in a voice Nora could barely hear. “I got a big shipment of basket-making supplies a while back, but I couldn’t focus this weekend. My hands and my head seemed miles apart.”

“You’ve had a lot on your mind,” Nora said as she went to stand beside Edith. “How can I help you? Would you like to bring your supplies here to work for a while? Maybe a change of scenery would make you feel better,” she suggested as she removed the woven oval rug from Edith’s bag. “Oh—this blue, yellow, and cream color combination looks very nice! Fresh and soothing.”

Edith’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Loretta misses the twins so much, she spent all day Saturday finishing this rug and starting another. We . . . we all think we should return what’s left of the baby things the local ladies loaned us,” she continued with a sigh. “So I’ve come to ask if you could swing by in your van to fetch them. I—I also want to pay the gals who loaned us the clothes and toys Mrs. Ropp took.”

Nora considered her answer. She could understand why the Riehl girls didn’t want reminders of Louisa and Leroy around the house, yet she hoped that by some stroke of luck or God’s grace, the babies would come back to Willow Ridge. “What if I store that stuff for you—in case the twins return?” she asked gently.

Edith glanced away, pain shadowing her face. “Oh, Ruth Ropp—the twins’ grandmother—was pretty clear about the wee ones being raised by family, and about how she didn’t want them anywhere near Drew Detweiler.”

Nora slung her arm around Edith’s shoulders to guide her toward the office. The rain was coming down heavily enough that it drummed against the roof of Simple Gifts and made the store appear shadowy and more subdued. “How about some tea? And I have some really cute cookies Lena Witmer decorated, too.”

Edith shrugged. She entered the office and sat in the padded chair Nora gestured toward. A few moments later the electric teakettle was steaming, and Nora had brought in two mugs and plates from the store’s pottery display as well as some of the wrapped sugar cookies she kept in a basket near the cash register. She dropped peach teabags into the mugs and poured steaming water over them, hoping the fruity fragrance would lift Edith’s spirits. As Nora unwrapped two large, cheerful butterfly cookies, however, she sensed her guest wasn’t going to be enticed by the refreshments . . . so perhaps some straightforward talk was what Edith needed.

“How are you and Asa getting along?” Nora asked as she sat down beside her guest. “Now that Drew’s storm has blown over, are you setting another wedding date?”

Edith glanced glumly into her tea as she stirred it. “He ate dinner with us Friday afternoon, but I haven’t seen him since. He, um, left it up to me to reopen the conversation.”

Nora didn’t like what she was hearing. Last week Edith had been so in love with Asa, so eager to marry him, that nothing was going to stand in her way. “So Drew’s in the apartment above the shop, and Asa’s in that big house by himself?” she asked gently. “Any reason you haven’t been over to talk to him?”

With a shrug, Edith sipped her tea. She broke off a wing of her butterfly cookie, but left it on the plate. “I don’t know what to say.”

Nora thought hard as she bit into her cookie. Was Edith still despondent about the twins’ being taken away? Or was there a lot more to the situation between the Detweiler brothers than Nora had heard? “Have your feelings for Asa changed now that you’ve met his brother? Even though your relationship with him came on fast and furious, I thought the two of you would make a
gut,
steady couple—and strong parents for the twins.”

“But with the babies gone . . . I just don’t know,” Edith murmured. “It seemed God—and Will—were answering my prayers by providing the children I couldn’t have. As I think about that big house with just Asa and me rattling around in it like two peas in a shoebox, I’m not sure my days would have meaning. And it wouldn’t be fair to Asa if I married him, because he loves children as much as I do.”

“You might be surprised at how much joy and love you and Asa could discover if you have time together, just the two of you. Luke and I certainly have,” Nora insisted with a smile. “And then you can find other babies to—”

“But I love Louisa and Leroy!” Edith blurted. “I’m so worried that the Ropps won’t get them the goat milk they need, and that those poor little babies will never feel truly loved. It was easy to see that Ruth and Orva weren’t comfortable with them,” she went on in a rush. “They took the twins out of a sense of duty, because they didn’t approve of the man who fathered them.

“And the whole scenario got even more twisted because the twins’
mamm
thought Asa was the father.”

Nora was glad Edith had gotten these difficult issues off her chest, because she would find no healing, no peace, if she dwelled on the unfortunate details that had been revealed after her canceled wedding. The mug Nora was holding—and the cookie she bit into—gave her another conversational path to follow. “Children can make all the difference in a marriage—for better or for worse,” Nora began, tapping Edith’s plate with her fingertip. “For instance, the lady who makes this beautiful pottery? Amanda lost her first husband, and was raising her three girls when another attractive fellow came along—and Wyman had five kids. When they married, it seemed like a match that met everyone’s needs, until Amanda snapped. Ran away from home.”

Edith’s doleful brown eyes widened. “Amanda left her girls—the whole raft of kids? I can’t think Wyman stood for that!”

Nora smiled. She loved picking up pottery at Amanda Brubaker’s place because their home was always busy and bubbling over with the children’s activities—but Nora also knew she’d go crazy trying to mother eight children. “Wyman had expected Amanda to slip into his first wife’s place, in his previous home, so his life could go on as it had before,” she explained. “But that didn’t work for Amanda.”

“I should think not. Raising eight kids is a lot different from caring for three of your own girls—and in a different house, no less,” Edith replied with a shake of her head. “That would take a huge adjustment, no matter how much you loved your husband.”

“
Jah,
it would. Wyman eventually realized that he had to make some adjustments, too, so now the Brubakers are one big, happy family,” Nora remarked. She unwrapped a cookie shaped like a tropical fish, decorated in bright pink and yellow frosting. “And Lena, who makes these cookies in her home kitchen, came to Willow Ridge with Josiah Witmer last winter when she was carrying his child, but not married to him. She wanted to be a mother and a wife more than anything, but Josiah couldn’t commit to such responsibilities.”

“Lena was in a tough spot, between an Amish rock and an Old Order hard place,” Edith quipped. She drained the tea from her mug and picked up the wing of her butterfly cookie. “And yet, from what I’ve seen of Lena and Josiah, they’re devoted to each other and to baby Isaiah.”

“They are,” Nora agreed. She was pleased to see Edith perking up now that they were discussing other couples’ difficulties. “They have a nice home just outside of town, and they took over the restaurant business from Miriam Hooley—after the place burned down and was rebuilt—and now their marriage and their café are both a huge success. Their families are very happy about the way things have worked out for them, too.

“But Lena’s parents originally believed that Josiah was bad news all around, and they wanted him out of their daughter’s life,” Nora continued, dunking her fish cookie into her tea. “Lena had to do some tough talking—had to let Josiah know exactly where she stood and what she wouldn’t stand for. Amanda did, too. They’d be miserable today if they hadn’t spoken up and told their men what they needed. What they couldn’t live without.”

Edith bit into her cookie, closing her eyes. “Lena bakes a mighty fine cookie,” she murmured. “So, you’re telling me I need to speak my mind to Asa?”

“It’s the only way he’ll know what you need, Edith. Men sometimes let on as though we’re to be seen and not heard—although Luke knows better than to expect that of me!” she replied with a laugh. “Most husbands truly want to make their wives happy. They just need to know how. They can’t read our minds . . . and they’re
guys,
after all. They never catch on to the emotional stuff as fast as we do.”

Edith’s smile brightened her face. “
Jah,
you’ve got that part right,” she replied. “My sisters and I have given up on believing Dat will ever understand why we feel the way we do—about the twins, for instance. He took off for Kansas City again this morning, to buy clock parts. He seems to need a day away after he gets riled up.”

How many clock parts could Cornelius possibly need?
Nora wondered as she finished her cookie.
Wouldn’t ordering them through the mail and getting them delivered be cheaper than hiring a driver?
She kept these questions to herself, however, because Edith seemed to be coming out of her shell.

“Asa impresses me as a fellow who shares a lot of your hopes and dreams, Edith,” Nora said. “By the time we left the house last Friday, after hearing Drew’s answers, I could tell Asa was worried about the impression his brother was making on you. If you love him, he needs to know you don’t blame him for what Drew did—and that you don’t believe he’ll allow Drew to interfere with your relationship anymore.”

Nora observed the subtle changes in Edith’s expression. She was really listening, thinking about what she might say to Asa—and that was a step in the right direction.

“I’ll keep you and Asa—and Drew—in my prayers, Edith,” Nora said softly. “It seems like such a little thing sometimes, praying for people. But I believe God listens.”

Edith’s lips curved. “Sometimes having somebody listen makes all the difference,” she murmured. “
Denki
so much for being my friend, Nora, and for helping me through a rough spot.”

Nora nodded. “Happy to help. Do you still want me to come fetch the baby things? If it would be less painful not to have them around—”

“I think we’ll gather everything into the spare bedroom, at least for a while,” Edith replied in a pensive voice. “If we sisters pray for the twins, believing that God will find the best home for them to grow up in, maybe someday soon they’ll come back to Willow Ridge. If I think happy thoughts of Leroy and Louisa when I look at the playpen and the toys, that’ll be a lot better than crying—no matter how God answers us. I’m really tired of crying.”

Nora squeezed Edith’s hand. “I bet if you share that idea with Asa, he’ll pray for Leroy and Louisa, too. It’s obvious he loves them and wants what’s best for them. So does Will.”

“
Jah,
they do. That’s a fine idea.” As sunlight shone through the small office window, Edith smiled at it. “Look what you’ve done, Nora! You’ve chased away the rain and my gloomy thoughts, like this beam of heavenly sunshine.”

A short while later, as Edith left for home, Nora returned to her bookkeeping with a smile on her face and a sense of satisfaction. She couldn’t take credit for the heavenly sunshine, but if she’d spread some cheer while lifting Edith’s spirits, she’d done a good day’s work.

* * *

Asa sucked in air and bit back a curse word when he nicked his thumb with his carving knife. He immediately pressed the wound together between his other thumb and forefinger, but before he could resume his work on the headboard he was restoring, he had to stop the bleeding. Getting a bandage to stay on his thumb would be a challenge.

“Cut myself,” he muttered to Drew as he headed for the door.

His brother looked up from his sewing machine, nodded, and went back to stitching the pleats for the skirt of a couch he was reupholstering.

Asa sighed as he hurried toward the house. Once upon a time, Drew would’ve at least expressed some concern or helped him find Band-Aids, but their communication had been as scarce as hen’s teeth since his twin’s revelations last week. It was Tuesday, four days since he’d learned of his brother’s duplicity. The silence in the shop was deafening. The evenings alone in the house while Drew remained in his apartment stretched into forever, as well.

“Asa! Wait for me!”

Thinking he was hearing imaginary voices, Asa turned to see Edith hurrying up the lane toward him, carrying a picnic basket. His heart did a cartwheel. For a few seconds he forgot about his wound and the blood that was seeping out of it. He drank in the sight of Edith’s lovely smile, daring to dream that she was coming back to him, forever.

“Edith, it’s so
gut
to see you,” he murmured when she’d caught up to him. “I’m going to the house for a bandage—”

“Oh, my! That’s a nasty cut.” She set down her basket and grabbed a napkin from inside it. When she’d wrapped the napkin tightly around the wound, she looked up at him. “We’d best get you into the house and clean up the cut before the paper sticks to it.”