Christmas at Promise Lodge (7 page)

Chapter Seven

As Mattie checked the tables one last time late Thursday afternoon, Rainbow Lake shimmered with sun diamonds and the reflection of trees ablaze in crimson and gold foliage. For the adults who preferred not to sit on the ground, they'd set up a long table with chairs. A short distance from Truman's fish fryer, they'd placed a serving table to hold the plates and the food—and everything was shaping up for a wonderful evening.

The three Peterscheim boys and Lowell Kurtz raced out the lodge's back door with whoops of joy, set free from school a little early by their sympathetic teacher, Minerva Kurtz. Their sisters, Lily Peterscheim and Fannie Kurtz, already close friends, walked quickly toward the picnic site to help with the preparations.

“What can we do?” Fannie called out. At fourteen, she stood a head taller than blond Lily, and her expressive dark brows and hair set off a peaches-and-cream complexion.

Lily went straight to an oblong container near one end of the serving table and lifted its lid. “No doubt you need a cookie tester, and I'm just the one for that job!”

“Cookies!
Jah!
” the boys hollered. They swarmed the table, reaching around the girls to snatch treats.

Mattie laughed, slinging her arms around Christine and Rosetta. “You were right to make a lot of those cookies and to save back another bin of them. What with the kids grabbing them by the handfuls, they're going fast.”

“And we'll have a cake, too,” Christine said. “Beulah did a dandy job decorating it.”

Mattie heard a hint of mystery in her sister's voice but decided not to push for an explanation. It wasn't unusual for the Kuhns to bake cakes, but adding decorations suggested a special occasion . . . perhaps an early birthday celebration. “It was nice of Truman to mow the grass shorter so Preacher Marlin could set up the wickets for croquet—”

“We've decided the old guys should challenge the young bucks to a volleyball game,” Amos called over to them. He and Preacher Eli were stretching the net between the two posts while Bishop Floyd and his brother Lester carried buckets of water from the lake to set beside the woodpile that would become their bonfire.

“Hey! Who're you calling
old?
” the bishop teased. “I'm way too young to play on your side of the net, Troyer.”

Mattie and her sisters laughed, pleased that the tensions between the men had eased since Noah's wedding. A big pickup truck rumbled as it turned off the county road and approached them.

“There's Truman with his
mamm
,” Rosetta said, waving at the vehicle. “And here come Frances and the girls with the fish and hot dogs.”

A series of loud
woofs
announced Queenie's arrival as she escorted Harley Kurtz, along with Roman, Noah, and Deborah.

“What a wonderful party,” Mattie said happily. “All of our family and friends, here to play games and eat
gut
food together.”

“And we brought you a few little surprises, too,” Rosetta said with a secretive smile. “We've stashed them in the shed for you to open after dinner.”

Mattie's jaw dropped. “It's not my birthday yet. Why're you giving me presents when I already have everything I—”

“Surprise! They're shower gifts!” Christine blurted. “We thought you and Amos should have some new things as you set up housekeeping together.”

“I sure wish somebody would throw a shower for me,” Frances teased as she pulled a high-sided wagon to the serving table. “After more than twenty-five years of marriage to Floyd, our towels and sheets are wearing thin.”

Mattie blinked back sudden tears and once again hugged her sisters. Frances and Gloria were lifting her favorite glass cake stand from the wagon, and the tall square cake on it said
CONGRATULATIONS, AMOS AND MATTIE
in chocolate script across the top. Orange and yellow flowers bloomed in the corners and trailed down the sides of the cake.

“What a fine surprise,” Mattie murmured. “I didn't expect you to—”

“All the more reason to throw you a party, Sister,” Rosetta said. “We wish you and Amos all the best.”

“We're calling this a practice run for your wedding cake,” Ruby remarked as she and her sister approached the picnic area with bins of bread, hot dog buns, and condiments. “Let us know what colors you want for the decorations—”

“And what you'd like us to cook for your dinner, too,” Beulah put in. “We can cook the traditional chicken, dressing, and creamed celery in our sleep, practically, but if you'd rather have something different, we'd love to fix it for you.”

“I'll give it some thought and tell you tomorrow,” Mattie said. “Let's help Irene to the table so she won't stumble over the volleyball or the croquet wickets.”

Rosetta was already heading toward the passenger side of Truman's truck, and when the door opened, his mother waved cheerfully. Irene Wickey didn't often join them for outdoor events because she had trouble keeping her balance on uneven surfaces, but everyone hated for her to be home alone while they were having fun. With Truman standing on one side of his mother and Rosetta on the other, Irene cautiously walked the grassy distance to the table.

Mattie pulled out a chair at the table for her. “Irene, we're so glad you could come,” she said, squeezing the older woman's slender shoulders. “It seems these folks have pulled a fast one and turned this into a wedding shower for Amos and me.”

“Puh! I've known about that since Sunday, Mattie,” Truman's
mamm
teased. “I wore my new flowery dress for the occasion. What do you think?”

Mattie fingered Irene's collar, which lay neatly over the brown fleece jacket she was wearing. “I like the feel of this twill.”

“And those deep red and orange mums are perfect for this time of year,” Christine remarked. “You and Beulah and Ruby, with your bright floral prints, make me feel like I'm standing in a beautiful garden.”

“A garden you didn't have to hoe,” Minerva Kurtz pointed out happily. She'd just come from the lodge with several long metal sticks for roasting hot dogs and a big bag of marshmallows. “I think this is the last of the food and utensils from the kitchen. Let's start the party!”

Amos and the other men came over to greet Truman and his mother. “We're thinking we'd best play our all-man volleyball game now, before we load up on food,” Amos suggested. “It's the older guys against the kids, Wickey. We'll leave it up to you as to which side of the net you choose.”

Truman laughed. “If all the athletic talent is on one team, how do the three Peterscheims and Lavern figure to score any points?” he challenged the boys.

“Oh,
that
's a funny one!” Lavern cried. “We get Noah and Roman on our team! We'll lob the ball over the net nice and easy until we catch you old guys napping, and then we'll spike it right down on your heads.”

“
Jah
, you won't know what hit you—or how your team all of a sudden lost the game!” Johnny said in a swaggering voice. “Let's do it, guys!”

“Won't take but three minutes to win!” Menno chimed in. “Let's let the men serve first or they won't score any points.”

The younger boys grabbed Noah and Roman by their jacket sleeves and jogged to one side of the net. The men sauntered over to the other side, chatting among themselves about who should take which position in the rotation. Mattie and the other women set the chairs along one side of the table and took their seats. Minerva and Deborah stood off to one side of the net to watch while Gloria hurried to the opposite side.

“Show them how it's done, Roman!” she called out.

“Somebody grab Queenie,” Noah said, “or she'll want to be right in the middle of the action.”

Rosetta whistled for the dog. With a glance over her shoulder at the volleyball players, Queenie trotted over to lie down between Rosetta and Christine's feet.

“I know!” Lily said to Fannie. “We could get Queenie's Frisbee and throw it for her. But let's go down by the barn, away from the volleyball game and the croquet wickets. Come on, Queenie! We'll play with you.”

Mattie smiled at the young girls, envious of their energy as they began to hurl Queenie's red Frisbee to each other while the dog raced back and forth between them—and then leaped into the air to intercept it. When Mattie saw the wistful expression on Mary Kate's face, she followed the girl's gaze to where Roman was squatting and stretching in front of the volleyball net—and Gloria was murmuring encouragement to him. Mattie patted the chair beside her. “Probably a
gut
idea for you to sit here,” she encouraged the bishop's younger daughter.

“
Jah
, away from all that spiking and lobbing the boys are planning,” Mary Kate agreed. She settled into the chair and placed her hands on her rounded belly. “The way this wee one's moving around, I wonder if he's playing his own little game of volleyball.”

“That's a
gut
sign your baby's healthy.” Mattie leaned forward to focus on the formations the volleyball players had decided upon. “Looks like Eli, Amos, and Truman are blocking at the net while Lester, Floyd, and Marlin are ready to move up and keep the ball from hitting the ground.”

“Except for Noah and Roman, the boys' team looks to be a little on the short side,” Christine murmured.

“But what they lack in height, they can make up for with speed,” Frances pointed out. “Just the fact that their legs are springier gives them an advantage—ah, and Harley's stepping in to play on the boys' side while Lowell acts as referee. That evens out the odds.”

“Oh my,” Beulah put in. “I hate to think about how sore I'd be for a week after playing one game of volleyball. Our men'll be feeling muscles they've forgotten they had.”

“All right, here we go,” Lester announced from the back corner. He was several years younger than his brother Floyd, and he gracefully lobbed the ball over the net with an underhand serve. On the boys' side, Harley moved forward to set the ball up for Noah, who passed it over the net—and Amos slapped it back with both his hands. Johnny Peterscheim rushed forward, but the ball went between his hands and bounced on the ground.

“First point,” Lowell announced, gesturing toward the older fellows.

Lester served again, and as the ball got volleyed back and forth Mattie enjoyed watching the setups and teamwork on both sides of the net. Some good-natured banter traveled with the ball, and it was fun to watch the boys rush around and dive to the ground to make dramatic saves while the men played more conservatively. Mattie's gaze lingered on Amos as he jumped up to block the ball, or pivoted to watch the men behind him playing their positions as the ball bounced on their hands before he or Eli or Truman spiked it over the net to score.

Within minutes the men had scored five unanswered points. Lester served again. Harley Kurtz rushed toward the ball and hammered it back over the net with the backs of his fists.

“
Ach!
Help us,” Fannie cried out from across the lawn.

The men immediately looked over toward the girls, distracted by the plaintive sound of Fannie's voice. When the volleyball hit the ground, the boys cheered. “Score one for us!” Menno hollered. “And it's our turn to serve.”

Amos gazed across the lawn. “You girls all right?” he called out.

“
Jah
,” Lily replied, pointing toward the old storage shed. “The Frisbee went wild and landed on the roof. Can somebody please get it down for us?”

As the men murmured among themselves, Amos loped toward the shed, which was where they stored the fishing gear and other equipment. “Won't take me but a minute to get the ladder and fetch that Frisbee,” he called back toward the volleyball players. “Then we older guys will show the young bucks what
gut
defense looks like!”

“Cookie break!” Johnny declared.

Mattie and Rosetta stood up to remove the covers from the cookie bins while the other folks chatted among themselves. When she glanced toward the shed, Amos was coming out with a tall wooden ladder, chatting with Fannie and Lily as he positioned it at the corner of the weathered old building. He adjusted the ladder so it was extended as far as it would go, resting against the very edge of the roof.

Mattie was relieved when Truman, Roman, and Bishop Floyd all started toward the shed. “Wait up, Amos,” Truman called over. “We'll hold that ladder steady for you.”

Amos was already climbing, however, nimble as a monkey. Mattie marveled at how quickly he clambered up the last few rungs, spotted the red Frisbee, and then stretched himself full-length across the old shingled roof to retrieve Queenie's toy with his fingertips. Was it her imagination, or was the corner of the building starting to droop? In a flash of dread, Mattie leapt from her chair. “Amos, watch out!” she cried.

“Hang on, Amos! The roof's giving way!” Truman cried as he, Roman, and the bishop sprinted the last few yards toward the ladder.

For a split second Amos looked toward their voices—and then he lost his foothold when the entire corner of the old roof broke off. As the ladder pitched sideways, Amos floundered and then fell through the air. Mattie felt as though the whole scene was taking place in slow motion. Even though she was running toward the shed, hollering at the top of her lungs, she knew deep down that no one would be able to stop what would happen next. There were no bushes to break Amos's fall, no way to catch—

Suddenly Bishop Floyd rushed forward with his arms extended. “Sweet Jesus, send Your mighty angels,” he cried out. “You've got to catch—”