The Promise of Palm Grove (12 page)

“You sure?”

Effie shook her head. “Really, I have no idea at all. But I have a feeling I'm going to find out pretty soon.”

When Rosemary walked away, Effie forced herself to get her things together and start walking, too. And as she made her way down the hall, for once she wasn't worried about keeping her limping to a minimum. Instead, she was wondering what had just happened with Jennifer C.

No one suddenly decided to want to be someone's friend without a reason. Was it because of Zack? Though he was
much older, that didn't stop most girls from wanting to be around him.

Or was it because her mom had seen them talking at Yoder's? Maybe she'd felt sorry for Effie, thinking she needed more friends. Sometimes moms loved to mess everything up with their good intentions.

Whatever the reason, Effie wasn't sure what to think about Jennifer's new friendliness. All she did know was that she didn't trust her. And that there was no one in her family who would understand why Effie felt that way.

P
eople flock to those boys like flies to sugar water,” Mattie whispered as she picked up her bottle of water from the little hole she'd dug for it in the sand, and took a fortifying sip. “I don't know whether to be impressed that they're so well liked or a little concerned that we've elected to spend so much time with them.”

Though Leona didn't much care for the fly image, she couldn't deny that her friend's comment was true. All day long, Zack and Danny had been introducing them to their friends—and they had a lot of friends.

Some were boys, like Adam and his three buddies on the bus. Others were girls about their age. All of them had been nice and had seemed genuinely happy to meet two girls who were visiting from Ohio. When they'd gotten off the bus, Zack had guided them to the most beautiful beach she'd ever seen. It seemed to go on for a solid mile, and the sand under her feet was soft and white and felt like silk along her skin. After Leona had taken a moment to stop and admire it all, Zack pointed to a group of men and women.

“There's Adam and a couple more of my friends. Do you mind if we join them?”

“Of course not.”

He'd smiled. “Good. You're going to like everyone, I promise.”

“What would you have done if I had said that I didn't want to sit with everyone else?” Leona teased.

“I would have stayed by your side.”

“You really would have?”

He'd shrugged, suddenly looking embarrassed. “I didn't ask you to come to the beach in order for you to have a bad time, Leona. I want you to be happy.”

Everyone had joined them again after that, and Leona had been glad about it, mainly because Zack's words had affected her too much. It had been a long time since she'd felt that she was the focal point of any other person's attention.

Certainly Edmund had never been so accommodating.

But there was no way she would admit how touched she was. So she'd pushed off her serious mood and shrugged. “That's good to know.”

His eyes had lit in amusement, but he'd said nothing more before he turned away when Adam claimed his attention.

A couple of the girls had called her and Mattie over. Soon they were helping them spread out quilts and beach towels on the smooth white sand, open up Tupperware containers full of sandwiches, chips, cookies, and fried chicken, and twist open Mason jars full of sweet tea.

Some of the boys had taken off their shirts and started playing volleyball. Some of the girls—to Leona's amazement—took off their dresses to reveal bathing suits underneath. They'd gone swimming, lain in the sun, and talked with their friends.

Leona still felt a little self-conscious in her short-sleeved
dress, though at least she didn't feel embarrassment anymore about pulling it up to reveal her calves and knees as she sat on the beach. When Mattie did the same, they shared a smile. They were fitting in just fine.

Leona soon learned that it was definitely an anything-went atmosphere. The freedoms displayed confirmed some of the whispers she'd heard from girlfriends who had been to Pinecraft, that even the biggest Amish sticklers in Sugarcreek or Berlin looked the other way when they came to Siesta Key. She wondered if all the other people were in the midst of their
rumspringa
or they simply were enjoying a few days of freedom from the rules of their local church district.

In no time she and Mattie had settled in and relaxed, which brought them to their present activity, watching everyone dart back and forth in front of them.

“This day is flying by,” Mattie declared suddenly. “Not only has everyone been so nice, but they've made us feel like we're part of their group.”

“I completely agree. This is the first time in two hours that the two of us are sitting by ourselves. I was kind of afraid that we were going to spend most of the day feeling out of place.”

“Zack wouldn't do that to you. He's been superattentive.”

Leona thought that, too. From the moment he'd introduced her to his friends, he'd taken care to make sure that she hadn't been left out.

Actually, he'd been really wonderful. “It is nice of them to volunteer to go over to the snack shack and bring us back ice teas.”

“They wouldn't let me pay.”

“I know.” Mattie shrugged. “But it is just iced tea. Best not to make a big deal out of that.”

“I thought the same thing.” Noticing that Mattie was once again following Danny's every move, Leona eyed her girlfriend curiously. “So, what do you think about Danny?”

“Danny? Oh, well, I think he's really nice.”

Obviously there was more to that story! “And?”

“And, I don't know,” Mattie said. But a new secret smile played on her lips. “Sara is going to be so sorry she stayed behind.”

“She seemed pretty happy to have some time to herself.” An awful thought suddenly occurred to her. “Was that the truth, or is she upset with me?”

“She's not mad at you, Leona.”

“Really?” Leona wished she'd been more honest about all the doubts she'd been having about a future with Edmund. Keeping her worries to herself had only brought on a lot of hurt feelings and misunderstandings.

“Really.” Mattie's voice was firm. “I meant what I said last night, and I think Sara did too. It's not our place to judge.” Looking just beyond Leona, she said, “I mean, I've never had a serious boyfriend.”

Seeing that Zack and Danny were approaching them, Leona scrambled to her feet.

“Girls, we brought you some iced tea and ice cream bars,” Zack called out.

“That sounds so good,” Leona declared before she realized she probably sounded a little too enthusiastic. Obviously, she wasn't doing much better than Mattie at hiding her interest in a certain man.

He handed her a chocolate-covered vanilla ice cream bar. “Do you like ice cream?”

“Of course.
Danke
.”

“You're welcome.” Looking adorably embarrassed, he said, “It's actually a bribe.”

Mattie tilted her head. “For what?”

“Well, I hate to tell you this, but I'm going to have to catch the one-fifty bus. I promised my mother I'd be home for Effie.”

“Oh, that's fine.”

Looking a little uncomfortable, he said, “If you don't want to leave yet, I bet some of my friends could help you get on a later bus.”

Leona stared at him. “That would be okay with you?”

“Well, sure. I mean, I want you to be happy. It's not your fault I need to look after my sister.”

He was right. It wasn't a big deal. But it was a big deal to her. It showed just how selfless he was. He was always putting other people in front of himself. Proving over and over again that he was worth taking a chance on. Worth risking everything she knew for the idea of what could be.

But that sure didn't mean she was comfortable with the idea of staying behind after he left. She might have told people that she'd come to Siesta Key with Zack in order to see the beach, but that wasn't the truth. She'd come to Siesta Key to spend more time with him.

“I'm fine with leaving with you,” she said simply. Feeling a little bit of tension—or maybe it was disappointment—from Mattie, Leona said, “But just because I don't mind leaving, it doesn't mean you need to, Mattie. I promise, if you want to stay longer, I won't mind one bit.” Actually, Leona would kind of like it if Mattie did stay longer. Then she could spend some time alone with Zack and wouldn't have to worry about being observed by Mattie.

Mattie's eyes held a good bit of longing, but she said, “I'm not going to stay by myself, Le.”

“I'd be happy stay with you,” Danny said in a rush. “I don't have to be anywhere until five or six.”

“Really? You wouldn't mind staying with me?”

“Not at all.” With a broad grin, Danny added, “I haven't stuck my toes in the water yet. We have to do that, right?”

“Oh, definitely,” Mattie said, her voice a little breathless. “I'd hate to have to tell my family that I went all the way to Siesta Key and didn't even stick my feet in the Gulf.”

It took everything Leona had not to tease Mattie about her comment. Suddenly, Mattie was acting like she absolutely loved the beach and the water. Leona knew that wasn't the whole reason she was electing to stay.

Sharing a small secret smile with Zack, she said, “It sounds like we have everything settled. I'll leave with Zack, and Mattie will meet me back at the inn later.”

“You sure you don't mind?” Mattie asked.

“Not in the slightest. Remember what Sara said at breakfast? It's nice that we three can go on vacation together but not feel like we have to be joined at the hip.”

Zack grinned. “I'm glad everything is working out so well.”

“Me too.”

She and Zack made plans to get on their way in half an hour. When he and Danny went off so Zack could say goodbye to some of their friends, Leona sat down next to Mattie on the beach towel. “
Danke
for coming today.”

“You know you don't have to thank me. I'm really glad I came.”

“Do you like Danny?” There was no reason to beat around the bush, Leona figured.

“I don't know. I think I kind of might.” She bit her lip. “Is that bad?”

“I don't think so. But then, I haven't been making the best choices lately.”

Mattie stared at her hard, then shook her head. “Don't do that. Don't put yourself down that way.”

“I'm not, but it would be wrong of me to pretend that I am not causing you and your family a lot of pain. I bet your parents hate me.”

“Of course they don't hate you.”

“Mattie, I'm sure Edmund is pretty upset right now.”

“I bet he is. But let me tell you something. Leona, you were upset last night. And I would never have told you this before, but you've been acting upset for weeks. Maybe even months. Sara and I both noticed. As did your sisters.”

“Rosanna and Naomi noticed, too?”

“Yep. One day after church they asked me how I thought you were really doing.”

Rosanna and Naomi were both married now. And since they lived away from home, Leona didn't always get to have many conversations with them anymore. For them to seek Mattie out said a lot about their concern. “I didn't think it was that obvious.”

“It wasn't, but it
was
obvious that you weren't comfortable sharing whatever was wrong. Sara and I just weren't sure what it was.” She shrugged. “Actually, I was thinking maybe you were simply anxious about getting married. Moving in with a man, taking a new name, doing everything differently? Those are big changes.”

“Funny, I never even got that far. All I could think about was that something wasn't quite right with me and Edmund
and I didn't know how to change it.” Thinking about the way she'd been feeling—that deep-set worry in the pit of her stomach, and never having any relief—Leona realized now that she'd been a fool to think that she could actually make things better by completely changing herself. “I really was afraid you were going to be mad at me for the rest of my life.”

Mattie glanced at her, her expression soft. Then she wrinkled her nose. “I guess
Gott
gave me Danny.”

“What?”

Mattie waved a hand, “Oh, I don't mean it like that,” she said. “At least, I don't think I do.” She grinned. “I guess what I'm trying to say is that the first time he smiled at me, my insides got all flustered. Then, last night when we were going to sleep, I was thinking about today, hoping he would be here, too. Then, when we went for a walk and started talking, and I found myself talking and talking and talking, and he didn't even look like he minded . . . I felt really happy.”

“That's nice.”

Mattie nodded. “Even if nothing happens between us, I now understand what it's like to want to get to know someone better. And being willing to risk looking like a fool in order to do that.”

“You don't look like a fool. You're not acting like one, either.”

“Leona, do you really think that? I would be so embarrassed if I discovered I'd been behaving like a fool.”

“You're not. You're being your sweet self—”

“I'm more than a little awkward,” Mattie interrupted in a rush. “Once more—I have way too many freckles. I have dark auburn hair, which is a nice way of saying it's red.”

“Everyone likes your freckles, and your hair is beautiful. Everyone says so.”

“I talk too much. I get too excited about things. And until this trip, I always tried to keep a handle on myself.” She grimaced. “And we both know how that's gone.” Lowering her voice, she said, “Danny's probably already wishing he'd never agreed to go to the beach with Zack.”

Grateful to be concentrating on someone other than herself, Leona said gently, “Everything you are pointing out as flaws are what I consider to be some of the most special things about my friend Mattie.”

“Le, you are too sweet.”

“I'm sweet, but what I'm trying to say is that maybe Danny sees you the way I see you. Maybe he's a pretty smart guy.”

Suddenly, Mattie smiled wide. Her teeth were white and her cheeks looked like they might be hurting, she was smiling so wide.

Which made Leona laugh. If nothing else noteworthy happened on their trip, this day was worth it.

She knew that with all her heart.

“Hey, Leona?” Zack called out. “I'm sorry, but we really need to get going. I can't miss the SCAT.”

“I'll be right there,” she said, grabbing her towel, shaking out the sand, and hastily stuffing it into her canvas tote. “See you, Mattie.” Lowering her voice, she added, “And have fun.”

“I will.” Mattie grinned as she raised her voice. “See ya.” She waved. Then before Leona had even looked away, she turned and focused all of her attention on Danny again.