Christmas at Promise Lodge (24 page)

“We'll keep you in our prayers, Lester. Give our best to your family.”

“
Denki
for your honest appraisal of Floyd's condition,” he said sadly. “Sometimes I suspect Frances isn't telling me the whole story—or maybe she doesn't have the heart to admit how seriously ill he is.”

As Rosetta finished the conversation and hung up the phone, she sighed.
The Lehmans could use a big helping of Your comfort and peace, Lord
, she prayed as she picked up the pan of candy cane–shaped cookies.
And meanwhile we here in the lodge thank You for blessing us with an evening of comfort and joy.

Chapter Twenty-Five

By Wednesday of the following week, the temperatures had dropped dramatically and more snow was falling. As Mattie washed the dishes after the noon meal, she overheard occasional remarks from the big room where Minerva was trying to keep the scholars' attention—but the boys were focused on the snow.

“After school we gotta go drill a hole in the lake to see how deep the ice is!” one boy said.

“Nuh-uh! Truman says we're not to go anywhere near Rainbow Lake until he checks the ice,” came another boy's reply. “But we can sled down the big hill in back of the Kurtz place!”

“Menno and Lowell, you'll be staying after class to make up for the time you've wasted chit-chatting,” Teacher Minerva said firmly. “Your parents won't be happy if I have to report your disruptive behavior to them.”

Mattie smiled at Rosetta and Ruby, who had also overheard the schoolroom conversation. “Sounds like the kids are getting restless. Ready to be out of school for a couple weeks' vacation.”

“
Jah
, I recall feeling that same way at their age,” Rosetta murmured. “Truman has no idea how he's captured the boys' imaginations by taking them to buy their skates and then telling them how cold it had to stay before he'd allow them on the ice.”

“Let's hope they all follow his precautions,” Ruby remarked as she dried a big blue enamel roaster. “A boy down the road from Delbert's place wasn't careful about where his sled went.”

“He fell through the ice on their farm pond and drowned,” Beulah added ruefully.

“We'll need to watch out the lodge windows every now and again, to be sure nobody gets too excited and sneaks out to the lake,” Mattie said as she peered outside. From the kitchen sink, they could see past Roman's house over to where Rainbow Lake appeared frozen and snowy. “After Amos and Floyd had such drastic accidents, I sure don't want to see anyone else get . . . hmm. There goes Queenie, barking like crazy. Who could that be coming down the lane?”

The other women crowded around Mattie to look out the window. Nobody recognized the large, green van approaching the lodge, so Rosetta set aside her tea towel. “Could be somebody wanting to buy soap or honey,” she said as she started toward the lobby. “I'd better restock my display.”

“Let me know if we need to open the cheese factory shop,” Beulah called after her. She smiled at Mattie and Christine. “After the big order the mercantile fellow picked up yesterday, we'll need to make a few more batches tomorrow. Seems folks are loading up on our cheeses for the holidays.”

Mattie resumed her dish washing, unable to recognize the folks getting out of the van—the three fellows in broad-brimmed hats and the two women bundled in their black coats and bonnets resembled most of the folks they knew. One man who seemed vaguely familiar leaned down to ruffle the fur behind Queenie's ears, and the dog jumped up to lick his cheek—something she only did to folks she knew. When the visitors entered the lodge lobby, Rosetta's exclamation made Mattie and Christine dry their hands excitedly.

“Barbara and Bernice, is it really you?” Rosetta cried. “And your husbands are here—and Allen! Oh, but it's
gut
to see you all!”

Mattie's heart sped up as she and her sister hurried to the lobby. That had been Allen Troyer patting the dog! What had brought Amos's kids all the way to Promise? She hadn't seen the Troyer twins since they married the Helmuth brothers and moved east. Allen left Coldstream right after his mother died. But now that all five of the guests in the lobby had removed their hats, there was no denying they were Amos's kids. “What a fine surprise,” Mattie said as she rushed in to greet them.

“We had no idea you folks were coming,” Christine put in as she, too, began hugging Barbara, Bernice, and a somewhat reluctant Allen. “Your
dat
will be so happy to see you.”

The three siblings glanced at each other as though they were uncertain about how to respond to this. Then Barbara gestured toward the two tall redheaded fellows behind them. “You remember Sam and Simon—”

Mattie smiled and nodded at the girls' husbands. It tickled her, the way the Helmuth men's names were always said together—
Sam 'n' Simon—
so they sounded like one word. “And it's
gut
to see you fellows, too,” she remarked. “I hope your nursery business is doing well?”

The redheads nodded. “Looking to expand,” one of them remarked, while the other brother curled the brim of his hat in his hands.

“
Jah
, we were saying as we came in that this area looks to be
gut
for growing trees and shrubs and such,” he said. “Do you know of any land that's for sale?”

Allen grunted. “Kind of putting the cart before the horse, aren't you?”

Barbara and Bernice seemed surprised about their husbands' remarks. Mattie had always been hard-pressed to tell Amos's daughters apart, so she wasn't certain which one was speaking. “We got a call from Dat a while back,” one of them said.

“And we thought we'd better come for a visit,” her sister continued. “Dat's doing all right, isn't he?”

Mattie exchanged glances with Rosetta and Christine. “I suspect Amos will be much better when he sees you've come to visit,” Mattie hedged. “Your
dat
lives in the second house up the road.”

“The smaller one,” Rosetta clarified. “And up the hill we've got a nice place where you can all stay during your visit, as Lester—the owner—won't be back until next spring.”

“Or Roman's got spare rooms in his place, a couple doors down from your
dat
,” Mattie said. Then she got a better idea, knowing the Kuhn sisters wouldn't mind and Bishop Floyd was in no shape to object. “You're also welcome to stay in rooms upstairs here in the lodge. Either way, we'll be glad to catch up with all of you—”

“And don't worry about meals,” Christine insisted. “We'll set you places at our table right here—and we've got a place for your driver to stay, as well.”

Sam and Simon glanced at each other and then one of them said, “If it's all the same to you, we'll stay here in the lodge where the food is.”

“
Jah
, whatever you had for dinner still smells mighty fine,” his brother put in. Then he smiled at Barbara and Bernice. “That way the girls won't have to hike through the snow before they have their breakfast.”

“Or their coffee,” the other Helmuth twin added wryly.

Mattie and her sisters laughed. “That settles it, then! We'll get three rooms ready—and one for your driver, as well,” Mattie said.

“Her name's Vicki Winstead, and she'll appreciate that,” Allen remarked. “She's been putting up with the five of us for a lot of miles, and she's ready to be off the road.”

“We started out yesterday afternoon and then stayed over when we picked Allen up in Indiana,” one of Amos's daughters explained.

“And we've been on the road all this morning,” her sister finished. “It's so
gut
to be here and to see you all again! We'll go on over and surprise Dat now.”

The five visitors put on their hats and went back outside to board their van.

“There's a story there,” Mattie murmured as she watched the vehicle head slowly up the road. “Amos never mentioned it, but I had the idea there'd been some misunderstandings or hurt feelings after Anna died.”

“Allen was always the rebel, hinting that he'd move away and jump the fence,” Rosetta recalled as they all headed back into the kitchen. “Mostly to spite his preacher
dat
, I always thought.”

“We'll hope for the best from this visit,” said Christine. “What a blessing, that Amos's kids have shown up at Christmastime.”

“And we'll plan for some happiness while they're here,” Rosetta chimed in. “Wouldn't it be wonderful if they stayed through the New Year?”

* * *

Amos's eyes widened as he finished shaving above his silver-shot beard. He'd come into the bathroom to clean up after lunch, and he'd heard Roman open the front door.

“Allen! Barbara and Bernice—and Sam and Simon!” Roman called out in surprise. “Wow, it's been a long time. Come in! Come in!”

His kids were here? Amos hadn't heard a word from them since he'd left his message on Barbara's answering machine. He quickly rinsed his face and blotted it with a towel, wondering what on earth to say to them now that they'd shown up without any warning. How would he explain his wheelchair? The accident? And what would he say to soften their hearts . . . to convince them to forgive him for being such a stern, hard-hearted father?

You're a preacher—a man who delivers the Word of God
, Amos reminded himself. In his private moments, he'd often envisioned the conversation he so desperately needed to have with his children, yet now that the moment was at hand, he was at a loss for words that might end their separation. But the longer he took getting out to the front room, the more his children might assume he was stalling. When the kids had lived at home, he'd been up before dawn and had done most of a day's work by this hour—

Amos slid into his wheelchair and propelled himself out to where Roman was taking his visitors' wraps. “What wonderful music to my ears, hearing your voices again!” Amos called out. “Did you have any trouble finding us here in Promise? It must have been a long trip for you.”

Allen appeared impatient—as usual. “English drivers have computerized gadgets that show you the way,” he pointed out. “But you did find a place out in the middle of nowhere, compared to Coldstream. So what's with the wheelchair?”

Amos felt his temper prickling—as it always had when Allen spoke in such a sardonic tone. But it was his place, his sincerest desire, to put an end to the animosity that had come between them, so Amos smiled. “We moved here because we could no longer tolerate Bishop Chupp's way of chastising everyone except Isaac,” he replied cheerfully, holding his son's gaze. “Mattie, her sisters, and I felt Obadiah had lost his sense of perspective. His loyalty to God and his congregation were no longer his highest priorities. You were right about him all along, Allen.”

Allen's eyes widened. “Well, that's a first, you giving me credit for—”

“Allen, be kind,” Bernice warned her brother.

“
Jah
, we came here to make our peace,” Barbara reminded him sternly. “Don't put us at odds before we even have a chance to talk things through.”

Amos was pleased that his girls were still putting their younger brother in his place after all these years—and he took heart because Barbara and Bernice were taking their father's side, wanting to reconcile. “How about if we all sit down,” he suggested, gesturing toward the sofa and chairs. “I've not quite gotten my new place put together, but—”

“It's a sweet little house,” Bernice said as she gazed around. “I see lots of furniture from our home in Coldstream.”

“And Promise Lodge looks like a wonderful-
gut
new colony, from what we've seen,” Barbara said as she headed for the sofa. “We sent our driver back to the lodge, figuring she'd feel right at home there with Mattie, Christine, and Rosetta.”

“We're looking forward to taking them up on their invitation for meals, too,” Sam remarked as he angled his lanky body into the armchair nearest Barbara.

“
Jah
, some mighty fine smells were coming from that kitchen,” Simon said with a chuckle. “I remember meeting those three gals at our wedding, and they kept things pretty lively.”

Amos rolled his wheelchair so he was sitting between the end of the sofa and the two chairs that faced it. Despite the kids' easy chatter, it felt a little awkward, seeing his son and two daughters—now adults—and the girls' husbands gathered here in his front room. He would probably have had more—and newer—furniture if he'd married Mattie, but he set that thought from his mind.

“I've put the percolator on the stove,” Roman called from the kitchen. “If one of you girls would keep track of it, I'll leave you to visit with your
dat
.”

“
Denki
, Roman. You're a lifesaver—not that I'm comparing you to the candy,” Amos teased as he swiveled in his chair. “If you're going to the Lehmans', give them my best.”

When Roman waved and slipped out the kitchen door, Amos turned back to his kids. “You probably wonder why Roman's looking after me,” he said, patting the arms of his wheelchair for emphasis. “I'll give you the abbreviated story of how your old
dat
should've known better than to put his weight on a rotted roof.”

As Amos explained the fall that had caused his concussion and the weakening of his legs, he relaxed. It felt good to see his children's matured faces, to watch their expressions become more intense, more concerned, while he was telling them about his trip to the hospital and the physical therapy he was receiving. He didn't mention the part about canceling his wedding, because he hadn't ever told them he and Mattie were engaged.

Yet another mistake you made, not keeping the kids informed about your plans to remarry
, Amos mused as Barbara excused herself to fetch them some coffee. He'd thought his children would believe he'd swept their mother out of his life if he took another wife—and Amos realized now that he'd done Mattie yet another disservice by not telling his kids that she'd resumed an important place in his life. So many mistakes he'd made . . .