Amish Tulip Page 5
“What day were you thinking?”
“How about Wednesday night? I’ll take you home after the softball game.”
“Okay.”
Chapter 11
Later that day, Tulip regretted agreeing to the buggy ride with Nathanial when she saw Wilhem Byler again. Her hands were full of dishes and she was walking to the kitchen with Rose.
“Tulip.”
She stopped to talk with him and Rose kept walking. “Hello, Wilhem. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Lucy’s one of my cousins.”
Tulip laughed. “Lucy is a cousin of yours, and Jonathon is too?”
“Yeah, Lucy is a cousin on my mudder’s side and Jonathon is a cousin on my vadder’s side.”
“Everyone has so many cousins I can’t keep track.”
“I was hoping to see you here.” He looked down at the plates. “Can I carry those for you?”
She shook her head. “I’ll take these to the kitchen and come back out. Stay right there.” Tulip scurried to the kitchen, dumped the dirty dishes with all the others beside the sink, wiped her hands on a dishtowel, and hurried outside to see Wilhem.
“Has your onkel got some work for you? Is that why you’re back?” she asked.
“Jah, I’ll be here for about six weeks.” He looked around. “Shall we take a walk and get away from the crowd?”
She whipped her head around, looking for her mother, and when she couldn’t see her anywhere, she said, “Okay.”
Together they walked behind the food tables and out to a fence that separated two fields from the yard.
“Ah, silence,” Tulip said.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?”
“It sure is.”
“Tulip, I’ve been looking for you. I’m hoping I can see a bit more of you while I’m here.”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ve heard there’s a softball game on one night soon. I normally wouldn’t go, but if you’re going I’d go there.”
She had to think fast. Tulip couldn’t let Wilhem see her with Nathanial. They both seemed nice, but she was now confused and didn’t know which one she liked better. First there was no one and now she had two young men she liked. “I don’t like softball.” That was the truth.
“Okay. How about we go out somewhere else? Just the two of us?”
She nodded. “That sounds gut.”
“What if I collect you one day after you finish work?”
“Okay.”
“We could go out for dinner somewhere nice.”
“I’d like that.”
It was when he smiled she knew she preferred Wilhem to Nathanial. And her mother would be pleased about her choice too, since Mamm still hadn’t gotten over how Nathanial’s brother had upset Rose.
“Monday, then?”
“Monday would be perfect.” She glanced through the trees at the women collecting everything from the tables. “I’d better go back and help, or I’ll face my mudder’s wrath.”
“I’ll look forward to Monday,” he called after her.
She hurried away, wondering how she could get herself out of this mess. She’d agreed to see Wilhem on Monday for dinner, and then on Wednesday she was going on a buggy ride with Nathanial. It wasn’t right. She should’ve just chosen one or the other, but she hadn’t expected Wilhem to suddenly turn up out of the blue like he had. To make matters worse, who would she tell her parents was driving her home from the softball game?
The best thing she could do, she decided, was tell Nathanial she couldn’t make it on Wednesday.
After she took another load of dishes to the kitchen, she looked around for Nathanial. She couldn’t see him, but found Matthew, the cousin he was staying with.
“Matthew, where’s Nathanial?”
“Hi, Tulip. He’s left already.”
“Gone home? Back to Oakes County?”
“Back to our haus, not back to his home.”
“I see.”
“Do you want me to give him a message? I’m heading there now myself.”
“Nee. It was nothing. Denke, Matthew.”
* * *
The rest of the day, Tulip was worried about the mess she’d created. She couldn’t talk anything over with her younger sisters because they’d only spill the beans to their mother, who’d have an absolute fit if she learned she’d arranged to go out with Nathanial Schumacher.
Maybe Nathanial won’t even go to the softball game. He forgot all about our buggy ride once before.
Tulip decided to do nothing and let things run their natural course.
* * *
The next day was Sunday. There was no meeting that day as they held their meetings fortnightly and had just met the previous Sunday.
As she was wondering what to do for the day, she remembered her words to Jonathon. She’d agreed to put a good word in for him with Chelsea. Work was sometimes hectic, and besides that, it wasn’t a good place to talk about personal things. If the other girls heard them discussing Jonathon, they’d laugh about him and that wouldn’t help Jonathon get closer to Chelsea.
Later that day, Tulip knocked on the door of Chelsea’s home.
Chelsea’s mother opened the door. “Hello, Tulip. Come in. Are you here to see Chelsea?”
“Jah, is she home?”
“Chelsea!” her mother hollered.
Chelsea came running down the stairs and stopped abruptly at the bottom. “Hello, Tulip.”
“Hi, I was going for a long walk and saw your haus and thought I’d stop by and say hi.”
“You walked all the way from your haus?”
“I’ll get you girls some lemonade.”
“Nee, we can get it, Mamm,” Chelsea said.
The two girls sat at the kitchen table. “So, tell me what’s going on. What’s the real reason you’re here?” Chelsea’s brown eyes bored through hers.
Tulip giggled. “I love to walk, to go on really long walks. And I saw your haus.”
“Come on, Tulip. We’ve lived next to each other for a really long time and you’ve never come here and I’ve never gone to visit you. What is it?”
Tulip sipped on her lemonade. She couldn’t betray a confidence.
“Is it about work? Is that it? Am I getting the sack—fired—cut loose?” She clutched at her throat.
“Nee, nothing like that. Anyway, no one would tell me anything like that. I was the last to start so I’d be the first to go.”
“What is it, then?”
“Can’t a girl talk to another girl?” Tulip asked.
“Jah, of course.”
“You see, since Rose left and married Mark, I feel a little … a little lonely.”
“You need a friend?”
“Kind of. I mean, there’s the twins, but …”
“Yeah, well, I know what they’re like. They’re all giggles all the time. I don’t know how you live under the same roof as them.”
“Me either!”
“Between you and me, I find them annoying,” Chelsea said. “Oh, I shouldn’t have said that. That was mean.”
“See? We’re quite alike,” Tulip commented.
Chelsea smiled. “I suppose we are. I guess a girl can never have too many friends.”
“Exactly.”
“Cheers to that,” Chelsea said, offering her glass to connect with Tulip’s.
Tulip ‘clinked’ glasses with her, and the girls giggled. Now, how would she raise the subject of Jonathon without Chelsea knowing that was the real reason she was there? There was no way she could. The subject of Jonathon would have to wait for another day.
What she’d said was right, anyway. She really could use a friend now, since Rose had married. There was a gap in her life that Chelsea might be able to fill. Chelsea wasn’t one of the girls at work who had been making fun of Jonathon. She’d remained quiet. That was a hopeful sign for Jonathon.
“I’m glad you came here, Tulip. I’ve always wanted to be friends with you, but you’ve alw
ays been surrounded by your sisters.”
“I’m glad too.”
“Do you want to see my room?”
Tulip nodded and together the girls left their half-full lemonade glasses on the kitchen table and climbed the stairs of the farmhouse.
* * *
Tulip told Chelsea about Wilhem collecting her from work on Monday and then taking her out for dinner.
Her friend told her that she’d officially met him at the Bontrager wedding.
She didn’t tell Chelsea that she’d also agreed to be taken home from the softball game by Nathanial. She was still trying to figure out what to do about that.
Chapter 12
It was the middle of the day when Jonathon made his daily trip to the cake store.
“It’s Jonathon.”
“Why don’t you serve him, Chelsea?” Tulip suggested.
“Okay. Don’t you want to? Isn’t he a friend of yours?”
Tulip nodded. “He is, but he’d rather you serve him.”
Chelsea frowned at her but when Tulip disappeared into the back room, Chelsea had no choice but to serve Jonathon when he walked in.
Tulip looked at the other two girls talking as they worked in the backroom. It was nearly into their busy time of day and soon the store would be flooded with people. For now, Tulip was pleased they hadn’t noticed Jonathon so they wouldn’t say mean things.
When Tulip peeped out and saw Jonathon was now sitting at one of the tables on the pavement, she joined Chelsea behind the counter.
“Does he want a cup of coffee? I’ll make him one if he does,” Tulip said.
“You like him, don’t you, Tulip?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“But not as a boyfriend?”
“Nee, just as a friend,” Tulip said.
Chelsea asked, “Why not as a boyfriend?”
Tulip looked up at the ceiling while trying to examine why she didn’t like him as a boyfriend.
“Is it because he’s quiet and doesn’t talk to many people or is it because he’s fat?”
Tulip knew Chelsea wasn’t being mean.
“I don’t think it’s either of those. There just isn’t that spark I feel when I like a boy.”
“Not like the spark you have with Wilhem?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
“I’m glad you don’t say rude things about him like the other girls,” Chelsea whispered.
“Everyone’s different. They should put themselves in Jonathon’s shoes and see how they’d feel about the sniggers. I reckon he can feel it even if he can’t hear them. He’s a good and kind person.”
“That’s true,” Chelsea said.
Tulip was pleased she’d been able to do what Jonathon had asked. She didn’t know if Chelsea would ever feel the way Jonathon wanted her to feel, but at least she was doing her best without being overly obvious. At least, that’s what she hoped.
* * *
“Are you nervous about tonight?” Chelsea whispered to Tulip just before closing time.
“I am, but I’m trying not to be nervous.”
“It’s very romantic.”
“Is it?”
“Jah, a handsome stranger comes to the community and you’re the only girl he’s interested in.”
Tulip giggled. “I didn’t think of it like that.”
When closing time came, Tulip waited outside the store, nervous about the situation she’d gotten herself into. She still hadn’t canceled Wednesday night with Nathanial. She decided she had to put the situation about Wednesday night totally out of her mind for now in order to enjoy her time with Wilhem.
Her heart pounded in her chest when she saw Wilhem in the buggy heading toward her.
“It’s nice to see you again,” he said when she climbed in and sat next to him.
Looking into his soft brown eyes, she said, “And you.”
He smiled and then gave the horse an order to move forward.
“Where are we going?” Tulip asked.
“I’ve made reservations at a place just outside town. It’s an old Amish farmhouse that has been converted into a restaurant.”
“I think I know the one. I’ve never been there but I’ve heard it’s good.”
* * *
The waiter placed their napkins on their laps, which Tulip thought an odd thing to do, but perhaps that’s what they did in posh restaurants. She was only used to diners and coffee shops. The waiter then handed them menus before he disappeared. Soon after, another waiter came to take their drink order.
“Should we get a bottle of wine?” Wilhem asked studying the list in his hands.
“I don’t drink alcohol,” Tulip said.
He closed the drinks menu, leaned over, and said, “Neither do I.”
Tulip was pleased that they had another thing in common. “Iced tea sounds good to me.”
Once they’d made their orders and were alone, Wilhem leaned forward slightly. “Tulip, why is a girl like you still single?”
“I can’t marry just anyone. I’ve been waiting for the right person.”
“That’s a good answer.”
“Everyone thinks a girl should be married before she is twenty, but not everyone has to follow the usual pattern of things. I wouldn’t mind if I never got married.”
“Don’t you want kinner?”
“I suppose that would be nice someday, but it’s not the end of the world if I don’t have any.” Now she knew she’d let her mouth run away with her when she saw that Wilhem looked puzzled. She did her best to rectify the situation. “I guess I want what every girl wants, but if it doesn’t happen …” She stopped abruptly. Perhaps she was digging herself a deeper hole. Here was a potential husband sitting right in front of her, a man who was obviously interested in her, and she was telling him she didn’t care whether she got married or not. She looked into his eyes, wondering how to get herself out of the mess.
He gave a laugh. “You’re quite different, compared with other girls I’ve met.”
“And you’ve met a lot of girls on your travels?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
“Not really. I only go from home to here. They’re the only places that I’ve been. Most girls think about nothing else other than being married, and that’s all they talk about, and hint at.”
Tulip tried to assess how the early part of the date was going. It was possibly a good thing that she was different from the other girls. She wondered exactly how many girls he’d been out with. A man as handsome as Wilhem could’ve been on many dates.
When they were halfway into their main course, he began to talk about what he wanted in life, and then added, “I’m thinking of moving here.”
“You are?”
“I’ve been talking about it with Jonathon. He wants to move out of his parents’ house and we figured we would share a haus.”
Tulip’s immediate thoughts were about Chelsea. She knew Chelsea might be more interested in Jonathon if he were living away from his parents’ home; it would make him seem more of a man and more independent.
“So what do you think of that idea?” he asked.
“I think it’s a great idea. Would you get enough work here?”
“I would. Besides my onkel, there are other people I’ve met that said they could give me work.”
Tulip licked her lips. That was the best news she’d heard for a long time.
“And when do you think this will happen?”
“Within the next few months. Jonathon is already looking for a haus and as soon as he finds one, I can put my plan into motion.”
“So you’ve moved on from thinking about it. You’re actually going to do it?”
He nodded. “Jah. I guess I should’ve said that. I hope you’re pleased.”
“Won’t your parents miss you?”
“I won’t be that far away and I can always visit them.”
At the end of their meal, Wilhem looked across at her. “Can I see you again soon, Tulip?”
“I’d like that. Can we talk about that on Sunday after the meeting?”
He drew his eyebrows together. “Okay.”
She hoped he wouldn’t ask why and was glad when he didn’t.
Chapter 13
On Wednesday, Tulip had every intention of not going to the softball game. If she wasn’t there, then Nathanial wouldn’t be able to drive her home. As she was eating dinner on Wednesday night, her father asked her to drive the twins to the game. The twins were old enough to drive the buggy, but their father had never allowed them to do so after a particularly nasty incident where they galloped a horse too hard against their father’s instructions.
Tulip had no choice but to agree to take the twins. And it was too far to drop them off and then collect them when it finished, so she would have to stay through the whole thing. She only hoped that Nathanial would forget about their former arrangement. A smile twitched at the corners of her lips when she realized that she wouldn’t be able to go on a buggy ride with him if she had to take the twins home. It was the perfect way out.
* * *
As soon as Tulip stopped the buggy at the field where the baseball game was being held, the twins jumped out and ran off to meet their friends, giggling all the way.
Tulip secured the horse and then looked into the crowd to find Nathanial.
She took a deep breath and walked toward the group of people. She saw him sitting by himself and then made her way to him.
“There you are,” he said, looking up at her. “Sit with me.”
She sat down. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to go on a buggy ride tonight after all.”
“That’s disappointing. I was looking forward to it. I even borrowed the nicest buggy and best horse I could.”
“I’m sorry. I have to drive my sisters home. Dat doesn’t trust them to drive the buggy.”
“That’s no problem. I could follow you home and then we could go from there.”
Tulip hadn’t thought of that. “The thing is that—”