The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club - 02 - The Tattered Quilt (16 page)

Goshen

Cheryl had no more than taken a seat at her desk when the phone rang. “Edwards’ Law Firm,” she said after she’d picked up the receiver.

“Hey, Cheryl, it’s me, Lance.”

“Why are you calling me here at work?” Cheryl asked with irritation. She didn’t know why her ex-boyfriend would call her at all, much less at her place of employment. She didn’t want Mr. Edwards to think she was using the office phone for personal use. He probably wouldn’t appreciate it.

“I tried your cell number but all I got was your voice mail,” Lance said.

Cheryl reached into her purse and realized that she’d left her cell phone at home. “What do you want, Lance? I have a lot of work staring me in the face and don’t have time to talk.”

“I won’t keep you long, but April’s birthday is next week, and I need a suggestion as to what I should buy her.”

Cheryl tapped her fingernails on the desk. “Why ask me?”

“You and April used to be good friends—college roommates, in fact. So if anyone should know her likes and dislikes it ought to be you.”

“You’re the one spending time with her now. April and I don’t see each other anymore, so you should be able to figure it out on your own.” Cheryl clenched her teeth, struggling to keep her emotions in check.

“I know that, but you used to be best friends, so I thought—”

“Well, you thought wrong. April’s your girlfriend, so figure it out. And please, stop calling me!” Cheryl hung up the phone before Lance could say anything more. It was bad enough that he’d dumped her for April. Did he have to rub it in her face?

She grabbed the morning’s mail and thumbed through it, anxious to get her mind on something else. As a Christian, Cheryl knew she needed to forgive April and Lance, but with him calling her like this, it was hard to control her temper. Whenever Lance called, it felt like someone had poured salt into her wound. Just when Cheryl thought she was over Lance’s rejection and April’s betrayal, he’d call again, wanting to know something about April so he could make a good impression.

What was that verse Ruby Lee told me about? Oh yes, “I can do all things through Christ….” I surely ought to be able to take control of my emotions and not get so angry like this. Maybe I should talk to Ruby Lee or Pastor Gene about it
.

Middlebury

When Anna arrived at work Monday morning, the first thing she did was boot up the computer to check for e-mails from any of their English customers, who often placed their orders online.

After she’d taken care of that, since no one but her was in the office, she decided to surf the Internet and check out some sites that sold English women’s clothes. She was fascinated with the bright colors, fancy scarves, pretty blouses, slacks, and jewelry. One of these days when she went shopping in Goshen, she planned to try on some English clothes. A few of Anna’s friends like Mandy, who hadn’t yet joined the church, dressed in English clothes whenever they were away from home and out having fun. Anna spent most of her time at work and didn’t have much free time to spend away from home, so she hadn’t been able to do all the fun things her friends did since they’d gotten out of school.

At least I can look at pretty things online
, she mused, admiring a fancy pair of women’s platform shoes. The shoes featured suede and tweed uppers, dotted suede details at the heel, and a vintage-looking bow. “Those are amazing,” Anna murmured.
Of course I probably wouldn’t be able to walk in them without falling over. It’d be fun to try, though
.

Anna had taught herself how to use the online search options, and the more she used the computer, the more fascinated she became. She was amazed at the information available by simply typing in a word or two in the search window. She could visit places she’d only dreamed about, see clothes she longed to wear, and take part in some chat rooms, where she could converse with others outside the scope of her Amish community. Since the computer was in a separate room, away from where the windows were made, Anna used it for her own enjoyment whenever no one else was around. If a customer came in, she could easily minimize whatever page she’d been looking at. And she could usually hear Dad’s footsteps when he was approaching the office, so there was time to click out of whatever site she’d been exploring before he discovered what she was up to.

Anna wished she could have a computer at home, but of course that was against their church’s rules. And it wasn’t bad enough that the church had rules. Mom and Dad had their own set of regulations, which was why Anna felt like a little girl so much of the time. If only they’d give her the chance to explore the English world, she might not feel so frustrated.

“Anna, what are you doing?”

Anna jumped and tried to downsize the website she’d been on. In the process, the mouse flew right off the desk, as Dad’s booming voice echoed in her ear.

“Ach
, Dad, you scared me! I—I didn’t hear you come in. I thought you were in the other room.”

“I was, but I’m here now, and I don’t like what I see!” His finger shook as he pointed at the computer. “I was afraid when I bought that thing that it’d be a temptation for you. Guess I was right because I see that you’re looking at fancy English shoes.” His forehead creased as he looked at her sternly. “What’s it gonna take before you become trustworthy, Anna? You hang around with Mandy even though we don’t approve, you’ve made excuses for not going to church, and now this? I can’t believe you, Anna.”

Anna dropped her gaze to the floor. “I’m sorry, Dad. I just wanted to see—”

“I know what you wanted to see. You have worldly ways on your mind, and this is not a good thing. I think it’d be best if you let me manage the orders and e-mails from customers from now on. You can work in the back on windows.”

“But Dad…”

“No buts, Anna. I will not have you, or any of my other
kinner
, using the computer to look at fancy things!” Dad pointed to the other room. “Now go in there and ask your uncle Sam what you can do to help.”

Tears welled in Anna’s eyes. If she couldn’t use the computer anymore, she’d be miserable. It was the only thing she had to look forward to at work every day. She needed to find another job. It was the only way she would be free from so many rules.

Anna squeezed her fingers tightly together.
If Mom and Dad would stop treating me like a child and let me make my own choices, I might not be so interested in fancy things
.

C
HAPTER
14

Shipshewana

O
n Wednesday, shortly before noon, Selma decided to rake the leaves that had fallen from the trees in her front yard. She’d had a late breakfast and wasn’t ready to eat lunch, so this seemed like a good time to tackle the job.

When John was still alive, he’d always kept the yard cleaned up, while Selma concentrated on her flower and vegetable gardens. Now the burden of everything fell on her shoulders. It was a lot of work, but she enjoyed being outside, which at least made the time go by quickly.

Selma went to the shed and got out the rake. Then, pushing her floppy-brimmed hat off her forehead a bit, she went right to work. She’d been raking for about thirty minutes when she spotted her neighbor, Frances Porter, who lived across the street, and noticed that she was also raking leaves. Frances was in her forties and worked from home, decorating cakes. Her husband, Earl, was a sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, so he was on the road a lot, leaving many of the chores to Frances and their twelve-year-old daughter, Gretchen. Frances didn’t complain, though, at least not to Selma. Of course, most of the neighbors said very little to Selma, unless she spoke to them first.

After Selma had worked her way to the edge of the lawn with her rake, she hollered across the street, “I hope you’ve insulated your roses against the cold weather we’ll soon be having. Some of those leaves in your yard would work well for that.”

Frances waved but gave no response. Was she avoiding Selma, or just too busy to talk?

“Humph!”
Selma grumbled. “Wouldn’t you think she’d have the decency to say she appreciated my suggestion?”

Selma turned aside and continued raking the rest of the leaves. When she was done, she put the rake back in the shed and headed for the house to fix lunch. She’d worked up a hearty appetite, and the thought of that ham sandwich she planned to make sounded pretty good about now.

She’d just started up the porch steps when she spotted that same mangy-looking gray cat she’d chased away the other day, sitting on her porch near the door.

Selma stomped her feet and clapped her hands. “Go on now! Shoo! Shoo!”

The cat tipped its head to one side and let out a loud,
Meow!

“Don’t think you can soft-soap me into feeding you,” Selma said, shaking her finger at the cat. “I give out free lunches to no one—least of all to a flea-bitten feline like you!”

Selma reached for the broom she kept near the door, but before she could pick it up, the cat took off like it had been shot out of a cannon.

“Good riddance,” Selma muttered as she hurried into the house. “I hope I’ve scared you enough that you’ll never come back here again!”

Mishawaka

Blaine was just getting ready to take his lunch break, when he caught sight of his ex-girlfriend Sue heading his way.
Oh great
, he thought.
I wonder what she wants
.

Sue stepped up to Blaine and touched his arm. “Hi. How are you?”

“Do you really care, or are you just being polite?” he muttered, hoping none of the employees had heard him. The last thing he needed was for word to get out that he’d been rude to a customer. Stuart might be his friend outside of work, but here in the store, all employees were treated equally—and that meant being courteous to every customer.

“Of course I care. We’re still friends, right?” she asked, looking up at him with an innocent smile.

“Yeah, sure. Now what can I help you with?” Blaine asked, trying to ignore his rapid heartbeat. Looking at Sue’s soft brown eyes and curly auburn hair made him miss what they’d once had together. And it hadn’t helped when she’d touched him, either.