The Fruits of Fall Read online

  “Tell him we have pancakes ready,” Emma said. “I just put them in the oven to keep them warm while I finish frying the bacon.”

  Tena turned away from him and moved to the refrigerator, obviously disappointed—and upset? He’d have to get her alone later so they could talk. Right now, though, he needed to see if Emma’s guest would join them for breakfast.

  “I’ll be right back.” Wayne stepped out the back door and into the humid August air. He made his way down the porch steps and past the rows of fruits and vegetables he and his friends had planted in the spring, in what they called Henry’s garden. Henry was Emma’s late husband.

  The ground was soggy with the aftermath of the much-needed rain from last night—a blessing for their crops. The colorful array included some of his favorites: celery, lettuce, cantaloupe, watermelon, red and green peppers, radishes, squash, zucchini, and red tomatoes. Beyond the vast garden, cornstalks stretched toward the sky. Gorgeous blooms exploded in Emma’s flower garden next to Henry’s garden, giving another splash of vibrant color to her beautiful land.

  The community garden project had come about last Christmas Eve, when Wayne; his best friend, Ephraim Blank; Ephraim’s younger sister, Katie Ann; and her best friend, Mandy Bender, visited Emma. It was her first Christmas after Henry passed away. They found themselves snowed in, and they spent the night sleeping on the floor in Emma’s family room.

  During that same visit Katie Ann proposed starting a community garden in Henry’s memory. They began planting in April, and with lots of hard work by multiple volunteers, the garden had flourished. The sales at their roadside stand had been brisk, making it possible to donate a good amount of money to the Bird-in-Hand Shelter, Henry’s favorite charity.

  Wayne stepped into the barn and found Alex packing. “Good morning. How did you sleep?”

  “Fine, thanks.” Alex tied his jacket around his waist and slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.

  “Are you hungry?” Wayne pointed in the direction of the house. “Tena made us pancakes.” When Alex remained silent, Wayne added, “They’re the best pancakes in Lancaster County. Trust me.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but as you know, I don’t have any way to pay for them.”

  “I didn’t ask for money. I asked if you were hungry,” Wayne said as he turned to tend to Emma’s horse.

  “Well, if you’re sure.” Wayne heard Alex let his duffel bag drop onto the barn floor with a thud.

  “I am. Give me a hand here, and then we’ll go get some of Tena’s wonderful pancakes. We’ll worry about the air mattress later.”

  Once he and Alex were in the house, the delicious aroma of pancakes, bacon, and coffee again made his stomach growl.

  “Good morning, Alex.” Emma greeted him with a wide smile. “I hope you slept well.”

  “I did. Thank you.” Alex shifted his weight on his feet as he stared at the table and then looked over at Tena.

  Tena nodded at Alex, her expression tentative as she filled four mugs with coffee.

  “I think we’re ready.” Emma made a sweeping gesture over the table. “Why don’t you two wash up, and then we’ll eat.”

  Wayne washed his hands at the sink while Alex stepped out to the bathroom, and then he sat down beside Tena at the table. “Everything looks and smells appeditlich.”

  “Danki.” Her smile wasn’t reflected in her eyes. Was she upset with him? But what had he done since she smiled at him earlier?

  When Alex returned, he sat down beside Emma.

  Wayne bowed his head in silent prayer and then rubbed his hands together when Emma and Tena had finished praying too. “I’ve been thinking about these pancakes since I got up this morning.”

  Tena handed him the platter. “Help yourself.”

  “Thanks.” He grinned at her, and then he set a pile of pancakes on his plate, ready to smother them in butter and syrup.

  Tena took two and then passed the platter to Alex.

  “I was thinking, Alex,” Emma began. “You’re welcome to take a shower here. I also have my late husband’s shaving kit, if you’d like to use it. I’d be happy to wash all your clothes too. You can borrow some of Henry’s clothes while you’re waiting for yours to dry. I think they’ll fit. He kept a youthful figure and was about your height.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Wayne saw Tena still. She stared at Emma, obvious surprise flickering in her beautiful eyes.

  “I don’t want you to go out of your way,” Alex said. “You’ve already done too much for me.”

  “Nonsense.” Emma lifted her mug. “Would you like that shower?”

  Alex hesitated, but then nodded as he chewed.

  “And would you allow Tena and me to wash your clothes?” Emma gestured at Tena, who was still staring at her.

  “That would be wonderful.” Alex forked more pancake into his mouth.

  “It’s settled, then.” Emma seemed satisfied with her declaration. “After breakfast, bring us your bag, and we’ll start washing your clothes while you’re cleaning up.”

  Tena’s lips pressed into a flat line as she turned her attention to her plate. She’d taken only a few bites of her food, and now she merely pushed it around with her fork.

  He leaned toward her. “Aren’t you hungry?”

  She shook her head. “Not really.”

  “Why?”

  She shrugged and picked up her mug of coffee.

  “How are your parents doing, Wayne?” Emma asked.

  “Fine, thanks.” Wayne speared a piece of bacon. “Dad is staying busy. He sold three horses last week, and we have customers coming up from New Jersey to look at a couple of horses on Tuesday.”

  “Your father owns a horse farm?” Alex asked.

  “Yes.” Wayne took a sip of coffee. “We breed, train, and sell them.”

  Wayne spent the rest of breakfast answering Alex’s questions about his father’s business. When they were all finished eating, Tena began clearing the table.

  Emma turned to Alex. “Why don’t you get your bag, and I’ll find Henry’s shaving kit.”

  “All right.” Alex headed toward the back door, and Wayne again noticed his slight limp.

  When Emma left the room, Wayne joined Tena at the counter.

  “Was iss letz?” he asked.

  “Nothing.” She kept her back to him as she began scraping a plate.

  “Tena, look at me.” He took her arm and gently turned her toward him. “Talk to me. What’s bothering you?”

  “It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well last night.” She turned back to the sink, plate still in hand.

  He reached for her shoulder but then pulled back. He’d already been too forward with her, but her silence was eating him up inside.

  When she began filling the sink with water, he took a deep breath. He had to find the courage to ask her for a date. He would have to get her parents’ phone number first and ask her father’s permission. It was all he thought about. But right now he wasn’t sure she’d accept.

  “Tena, I just—”

  The back door clicked closed and Alex reentered the kitchen.

  Emma appeared holding a small zippered case and a stack of towels. “I found the shaving kit, and I also found a brand-new toothbrush you can have. Let me get you set up in the downstairs bathroom, and then I can show you where I keep Henry’s clothes. I haven’t been able to bring myself to give them away just yet.”

  She took him into the utility room to drop off the clothes in his bag, and then they both left the kitchen.

  Tena’s back had stiffened.

  Wayne moved closer to her and lowered his voice. “Do you think we could talk later?”

  “Wayne!” Ephraim Blank announced as he burst into the kitchen, followed by their friend Christian Lantz. “Why aren’t you already outside to help us? We have to fix that broken fence today before we have ourselves some invaders.” He looked over at Tena. “Hi, Tena.”

  “Gude mariye.” She tossed the words over
her shoulder without turning around.

  “Gude mariye,” Chris responded with a raise of his hand.

  “I’ll be right there,” Wayne said. He’d forgotten all about the fence.

  “We’ll get started.” Ephraim gave a wave, and then he and Christian disappeared through the mudroom.

  Wayne swiveled toward Tena as disappointment rolled through him. He’d lost his chance to talk to her alone. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

  “Sure.” She turned and gave him a forced smile before returning to the dishes. How were they going to work through this— whatever it was—so he could ask her to be his girlfriend?

  As soon as the back door clicked shut, announcing that she was alone in the kitchen, Tena leaned forward on the sink and closed her eyes as frustration and disappointment itched beneath her skin. It was bad enough that an Englisher had spent the night in Aenti Emma’s barn. But now he was showering in her great-aunt’s bathroom and was going to use her uncle’s shaving kit and wear his clothes!

  A door clicked shut somewhere beyond the kitchen, and then the sound of running water filtered into the room. Tena tried to focus on the dishes and shove away her anxious thoughts. Why did Aenti Emma have to invite Alex into their home as if he were a long-lost relative? It just didn’t make any sense. She knew how badly Micah had been hurt by that Englisher!

  And Alex said he had nightmares after his service in the army. For all she knew, he could be taking drugs for that. He could be abusing them too.

  “I’m going to fill this with the other clothes Alex took from his bag,” Aenti Emma said as she returned to the kitchen carrying a basket with the dirty clothes he’d apparently left outside the bathroom door. “Then I’ll start washing them.”

  “Do you want me to do it for you?” It was only proper for Tena to offer.

  “No, no.” Aenti Emma waved off the suggestion. “I’m sure your freinden will be here soon, and you have so many chores to do around the garden on Saturdays, especially today since the rain cut your work short yesterday. I can handle the laundry.”

  When the back door clicked open, Tena turned.

  “Gude mariye!” Katie Ann Blank called as she entered the kitchen followed by Mandy Bender. “It’s a schee day after that rain we had yesterday.”

  “Wie geht’s?” Mandy waved and then bent down as Hank rubbed at her legs. “Hi there, Hank. How are you today?”

  Hank looked up at her and blinked.

  “It smells like pancakes in here.” Katie Ann joined Tena at the sink. “Let me dry the dishes for you.”

  “Danki,” Tena said.

  “Do you need help with that laundry, Emma?” Mandy asked. “Where did you get those clothes? They don’t look Amish.”

  Tena braced herself as she waited for her great-aunt to explain.

  “We have a guest staying with us,” Aenti Emma said.

  Katie Ann spun toward Aenti Emma. “What kind of guest?”

  Tena scrubbed the syrup off forks and knives while Emma told them how Alex had come to stay with them last night.

  “He slept in the barn?” Mandy asked.

  “He’s taking a shower right now?” Katie Ann chimed in.

  “That’s right. He needs our help, so we’re helping him.” Aenti Emma’s words were calm despite Tena’s festering anxiety at the situation.

  “Wow. You’re sure you don’t need some help with the laundry?” Katie Ann said.

  “I can handle it. I know you maed have things to do in the garden.”

  “Let me at least carry that basket for you.” Katie Ann crossed the kitchen and took it before following Aenti Emma into the utility room, where the wringer washer and cleaning supplies were stored along with Hank’s litter box.

  Tena rinsed the last of the utensils and set them in the drying rack.

  “I’ll help you finish the dishes.” Mandy appeared beside her. “Are you okay? You seem upset.”

  Tena bit her lower lip. Where should she even begin?

  Mandy leaned on the counter and looked up at Tena. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “No, but danki.” Tena shook her head. “I’m fine. I’d like to finish cleaning the kitchen and then go work at the stand. How does that sound?”

  Mandy smiled, her bright-blue eyes sparkling. “That sounds wunderbaar.”

  CHAPTER 4

  After they set up the stand with fruits and vegetables from the garden and a variety of fresh cookies and pies their friends had baked to sell, Tena hopped onto a stool and turned to Mandy beside her. “How are things with Ephraim?”

  “Wunderbaar.” Mandy’s eyes sparkled as she gave a dramatic sigh. “They couldn’t be better.” She ran her fingers over the counter as she seemed to lose herself in thought. “It’s like I have another best freind. We talk for hours, and he’s kind and supportive. He’s just everything I’d always hoped I’d find in a boyfriend.”

  Tena nodded and looked toward the land across the road. She’d once felt that way about Lewis Yoder. He’d been her friend in youth group before he asked her to be his girlfriend.

  For more than a year, he’d seemed like the perfect boyfriend, and he became her closest confidant. When he asked her to marry him, she was over the moon with joy. But that all changed when she learned he’d been seeing an Englisher woman behind her back.

  Tena had been so overwhelmed with grief that she’d jumped at the chance to visit Aenti Emma when her mother suggested it. Getting away from Lewis and their community seemed like the best medicine.

  “What about you and Wayne?”

  “What?” Tena spun to face Mandy.

  Mandy smirked. “Oh, come on, Tena. I’m not blind. I see how you and Wayne seem to gravitate to each other. You’re so cute together.”

  “We’re just freinden.”

  “Right.” Mandy chuckled as she fished two bottles of water from the cooler by her feet. She handed one to Tena and then opened one for herself.

  “I’m telling you the truth. I’m not looking for a relationship right now.” Tena opened the bottle and took a long drink, enjoying the cool water on her parched throat. “Besides, I’m staying here only until after Thanksgiving. Then I’m going back home to Indiana.” Why did those words make her sad? Bird-in-Hand wasn’t her home.

  “Don’t say that.” Mandy touched Tena’s arm. “We’re all going to miss you.”

  “Danki.” Tena smiled. “I appreciate that.”

  “I know Wayne will miss you.” Mandy grinned. “I’ve never seen him so interested in a maedel, and I’ve known him since we were in school together.”

  “Really?” Tena wanted to take back her question. She didn’t want to encourage Mandy, but at the same time, she wondered what it would be like to date a man as kind as Wayne.

  I thought Lewis was kind too!

  “I don’t think he’s dated much either,” Mandy continued.

  Tena took another drink of water as she noticed a car slowing down on the road. “I think we have our first customers.”

  “Great.” Mandy set down her water bottle and rubbed her hands together. “Let’s make some money to help the homeless.”

  Tena squeezed mustard onto her cheeseburger and then added relish before taking a bite.

  “These hamburgers are fantastic,” Katie Ann said as she sat across the table from Tena. “Danki for bringing the beef for them, Clara.”

  Clara Hertzler shrugged as she sat beside Jerry Petersheim. “You’re welcome. And I’m grateful Jerry and Biena brought the chips and beans.”

  “And I’m grateful Emma had enough buns.” Jerry’s cheeks blushed. “I forgot to put them on my list.”

  “I guess that’s my fault,” Biena, his sister, added. “When we were at the store earlier, I should have asked him if we were supposed to bring anything else.”

  “It’s no problem,” Aenti Emma said. “I had quite a few packages of buns left over from the last time you all decided to have a cookout.”

  “How’s your burger?” Wayne aske
d the question close to Tena’s ear, sending chills cascading down her spine. What was wrong with her?

  “It’s great.” Tena smiled up at him. “I always love grilled hamburgers.”

  “I do too.” Wayne smiled and then took a bite of his.

  Tena gazed across the long table to where Alex sat between Ephraim and Chris. He looked like a new person with his hair washed and his beard and mustache shaved off. He was handsome in a rugged sort of way, despite a puckered scar on his chin. When he smiled, he revealed those white teeth, which also added to his attractiveness. She now guessed he was in his late twenties. She was relieved to see he was wearing his own clothes and that Onkel Henry’s clothes were stowed away once again.

  She’d been surprised earlier when she found him helping some of their friends weed the garden, and she’d been even more surprised when Clara invited him to stay for supper.

  Why hadn’t he moved on? Was he going to spend another night in the barn?

  Despite that question causing a ball of nerves inside, she took another bite of her hamburger.

  “Would you like to join us for church tomorrow, Alex?” Katie Ann asked.

  Alex finished chewing, swallowed, and then took a drink from his glass of water.

  “That’s a wunderbaar idea,” Aenti Emma chimed in. “You can ride to church with Tena and me.”

  Tena stilled and held her breath as she awaited his response. Please say no! Please say no!

  “Thank you for the offer, but I don’t think so.” Alex shook his head and looked down at his plate. “I appreciate the invitation, though.”

  “Maybe next time.” Aenti Emma turned to Clara. “How are your parents, Clara?”

  Clara smiled. “They’re fine, thank you.”

  Tena let out the breath she’d been holding as other conversations broke out around the table. When she felt someone watching her, she looked over at Wayne. His sapphire-blue eyes studied her rather intensely. She swallowed and then managed a smile.

  “Do you like the beans?” she asked. “I love this honey flavor.”

  “Ya, it’s gut,” he agreed. “Let’s talk later, okay?”