The walnut creek wish, p.9
The Walnut Creek Wish, page 9
When Rhonda entered the kitchen, she was surprised to see red roses on the kitchen table.
Now how did those get there? Could Jeff have bought them? She poked her tongue against the inside of her cheek. Today’s not my birthday, our anniversary, or any other special occasion, so what would have prompted him to buy flowers?
Opening the door under the kitchen sink, she took out two cut-glass vases. After filling them with water, she put the carnations in one vase and the roses in the other. Then, placing them both on the table, she headed down the hall in search of Jeff.
Rhonda was halfway between the kitchen and living room when she saw Jeff coming toward her with an old canning jar in his hand.
“Oh, good, you’re home; I have something for you.” Jeff gave Rhonda a kiss on the cheek.
“You mean the roses?”
“Yeah. I picked them up at the flower shop in town. Do you like them?” “They’re beautiful, and as you know, my favorite flower.” She tipped her head back to give him better eye contact. “Was there any particular reason you bought me flowers?”
“Just wanted to do something special for you.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled and held up the jar. “I couldn’t find any vases, so I went out to the garage and found this in one of the boxes.”
“No need for that now. I had put a couple of vases under the kitchen sink.”
“I never thought to look there.” Jeff thumped the side of his head. “Dummy me.”
Rhonda shook her head. “You’re not dumb. Guess I should have mentioned that I had put them there, but since you rarely buy me flowers …” Her voice trailed off. “Sorry, I just meant that …”
“It’s okay. I’ll work a little harder at being more attentive.” He caressed her cheek with his thumb. “You look tired. Did you have a rough day at the hotel?”
She touched both temples while closing her eyes. “You have no idea.”
“What happened?”
Rhonda opened her eyes and clasped his hand. “Let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll tell you about it while I fix supper.”
“I have a better idea.” Jeff gave Rhonda what appeared to be a heartfelt smile. “You can sit at the table, and I’ll fix us something to eat.” Rhonda pressed a palm against her chest. “Thank you, Jeff. I would appreciate that very much.”
When they entered the kitchen, Jeff’s gaze went to the table where she’d set the two vases filled with flowers. “You bought yourself some flowers too?” His brows lifted high on his forehead.
“No, they came from the hotel lobby and were replaced by a new bouquet,” she explained. “Since the carnations had a few days’ life left in them, I didn’t want to throw the pretty flowers out. Besides, I’d hoped their lovely aroma and soft, muted pink color might help me relax.”
Jeff set the glass jar on the counter, pulled Rhonda into his arms, and gently patted her back. “I’m sorry you had a rough day. I wish we both had jobs that could be done from home so we’d have more time to be here at our beautiful place.”
Rhonda took a seat at the table. “This house and property are like a sanctuary for me. At the end of a workday, I find myself more eager than ever to come home.” She released a lingering sigh. “Although working from home is a pleasant thought, it’s not likely to happen since both of our jobs require us to be in Canton.”
“True.” Jeff opened the refrigerator and took out two bisonburger patties from the bottom freezer. “I’ll thaw these in the microwave and then cook ’em on the outdoor grill. How’s that sound?”
“Delicious.” Rhonda’s stomach growled, reminding her that she’d missed lunch today due to all the craziness with the mattresses and a few other disturbances.
“You went in a little earlier than usual this morning. How did your day go at the restaurant?” she asked, keeping her focus on Jeff.
“Not too bad. And I’ll get to the reason why I went to work earlier, but first I’ll mention something else. We got our new menus, and the fresh items we offered seemed to be well liked by the customers who ordered them.”
“That’s good. A little change is always nice. It gives people a reason to keep coming back.”
“Yeah.” Jeff placed the meat patties on a plate. “And now the reason as to why I went to work earlier. I wanted to spend some time changing things up a bit, to give the restaurant a more country feel. I decided that the decor should go along with what folks might expect when they come into a restaurant that resembles an old barn.”
“What did you do to accomplish that?”
“I set some of my old bottles and jars on the tables as centerpieces. I also put some on a few shelves up on the walls.” He glanced over at her and grinned. “Now you won’t have to worry about lookin’ at those old relics sitting around here.”
While Rhonda would have preferred that her husband had sold some of his bottles and jars, at least he had taken them out of the garage and most likely emptied another box in the process. Determined not to say anything negative that could spoil this pleasant time of being together, Rhonda kept her thoughts to herself.
He cleared his throat. “Did you hear what I said, Rhonda?”
“Umm … you mean about the old relics?”
“No, actually I had moved on to another topic.”
“What about?”
“I was telling you that if I hadn’t left my cell phone at home this morning, I could have gotten some pictures of the tables and you could have seen how nice they look now.”
“You’ll be there tomorrow, so you can take some pictures then.”
“Good point.” Jeff put the plate in the microwave and set the timer to defrost the patties. “I got a phone call from my dad today.”
“That’s nice.”
“Being caught off guard, I asked him why he was calling me on the business line instead of my cell phone.”
“Did you explain that you’d left it at home?”
“No. I felt embarrassed and dumb at the same time when dad said all he’d gotten was my voice mail, which was why he called the restaurant’s number.”
“Don’t let it bother you. We all forget things at times.” Rhonda shifted in her seat. “How’s everything going with him?”
“Okay, I guess. He asked if he could come here on Saturday, and when I mentioned that I’d be painting the guest room, he volunteered to help.” Jeff moistened his lips with the tip of his tongue. “Are you okay with that?”
“Certainly. Especially since it means that spare room will get done, and we can finally use it for overnight guests.” She sucked in her lower lip. “Although, I can’t imagine who would ever spend the night. With my mom and sister living in New Philly, it’s not likely that they’d ever need to stay all night with us.”
“What about your nieces?” Jeff asked. “It might be fun to have Megan and Kimberly sleep over some weekends.”
“I’ll give that idea some thought.” Rhonda leaned close to the vase filled with roses and inhaled deeply of their fragrant aroma. Having Gwen’s girls stay here for even one night would only remind me that Jeff and I have no children of our own. She clenched her fingers while holding them in her lap. Do I really need that reminder?
Redirecting her thoughts, Rhonda focused on the beautiful bouquet from Jeff. It had been a long time since he’d given her flowers, and she appreciated the sweet gesture.
I need to make an effort to do more thoughtful things for him too. She tapped her fingers. Let’s see now … should I make a list …
“This is a mighty good chicken-and-rice casserole you fixed for our nachtesse this evening.” Orley looked across the table at Lois and smiled.
“Danki. I made our supper dish this morning before we left for the store, so when we got home, all I had to do was warm it in the oven.”
He wiped his mouth on a napkin and leaned a bit closer to her. “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “What’s that?”
“Do you still enjoy working at the store, like you did when we first opened the business? Or have you become bored with it?”
“Of course, I’m not bored. What made you ask such a question?”
“For the past month or so, you’ve been gone from the store more than usual, running errands and who knows what else? When we first opened Memory Keepers, you seemed to like it, but here lately you appear to be preoccupied with other things.”
Lois waved his question aside. “Everything is fine. I’ve just had more errands to run lately.”
Orley decided to be more direct with his next question. “What kind of errands have you had to run that’ve taken you away from the store several times a week for the past few months?”
Small circles of red erupted on Lois’s cheeks. “Why would you care about that? Are you worried that I may have been buying things I don’t need?”
He shook his head vigorously. “Of course not. I’m just curious since you are gone a lot.”
“Oh, I go here and there. It seems like there’s always so many things to be done.”
“Well, um …”
Their conversation was interrupted when a knock sounded on the front door. Orley rose from his seat. “I’ll go see who that is.” He hurried from the room.
Lois got up and cleared the table. During the couple trips made back and forth from the dining room, she glanced at her mending basket. My, my, that basket of mine has a pile of work needing to be done. With so many other things I’m expected to do, I don’t know when I’ll get around to doing any mending.
After placing all the dishes and silverware on the counter, she ran warm water and liquid detergent into the kitchen sink. She’d only gotten the dishes put into the water when Orley returned to the kitchen and announced that their closest neighbor’s cows had gotten out, and some of them were roaming around in their yard.
“So, I’m going out to help Abe round up the cows and get them herded back over to his pasture.”
“I hope it goes well, and please be careful.”
“I will. Don’t worry. See you soon.” Orley quickly exited the room. As Lois washed the dishes, she thought about the brief conversation she and Orley had at the table. It appeared that her husband didn’t trust her and felt the need to ask those questions. She wished there were something she could do to put his mind at ease.
As Lois sloshed the sponge across one of the plates and scrubbed it thoroughly, she looked out the window at Orley and their neighbor herding the cows out of their yard. No matter how busy I am with other things, I’ll make a concentrated effort to spend more time with him, either here at home or at the shop. Hopefully, that will put my husband’s concerns to rest.
Chapter 12
At nine o’clock sharp, Jeff glanced out the kitchen window and saw his dad’s convertible pull into the yard. The sporty-looking vehicle he drove was an eye catcher for a man in his midfifties.
What’s up with my dad? I don’t get it. When he and Mom were together, he drove an older sedan, and he seemed okay with it. Why the sudden change? Jeff shook his head and tried to compose himself.
“My dad’s here,” he called to Rhonda.
She stepped into the kitchen from the dining room, where she’d been unloading a box of her good dishes into the hutch. “Should I let him in, or did you want to greet your dad at the door?”
“Guess we could do it together.” Jeff moved closer to Rhonda and put his arm around her waist. They walked down the hall, and he opened the front door.
Jeff watched as his father got out of the car and came up the walkway carrying a canvas satchel. Dad’s trim but muscular body and full head of dark hair made him look much younger than his fifty-seven years. Jeff hoped he would look that good when he reached his father’s age.
“It’s good to see you, Son,” Dad said when he’d stepped onto the porch. “And you as well, Rhonda.” He greeted Jeff with a hearty handshake and a hug and then hugged Rhonda.
“Hi, Dad. Nice to see you too.” Jeff invited his father inside.
“Welcome to our home, Don.” Rhonda motioned to the three boxes stacked in the entryway. “As you can see, we haven’t fully unpacked yet. It’s my goal today to open these and find a suitable place for everything inside.”
Jeff’s father gave an ample, white-toothed smile. “As big as this place looks from the outside, I’m guessing there’ll be more than enough room for all of your things.” He set his satchel on the floor. “How about giving me a tour of the house before we begin painting?”
Just look at his teeth. I’ve never seen them look so white. Jeff tried not to stare and gave a hearty nod. “Of course. That’s what I’d planned to do.” He couldn’t help wondering if his wife had also noticed his dad’s bright smile.
“I have some laundry to do, so I’d better get that out of the way before I start unloading more boxes.” Rhonda smiled at Jeff and his dad. “By the time you two finish painting the guest room, it’ll probably be time for lunch, so I’ll have something ready for you to eat around one.”
“Sounds good to me,” Jeff’s dad said. “No doubt we’ll be hungry by then.”
While Rhonda headed off to the utility room, Jeff’s first stop was to show his dad the dining room and kitchen.
“Pretty nice. Looks like this place has a lot to offer,” Dad commented after seeing both rooms.
“Yeah, but wait till you see the rest of the house.” Jeff couldn’t help feeling a bit proud. To his way of thinking, having a home this nice was proof of his success as a businessman. And to be honest, he wanted to impress his father. Although Jeff’s younger brothers, Eric and Stan, were both married with three children apiece, neither of them lived in above-average houses. Eric was a journeyman electrician, but he didn’t own the business. Stan taught choir and band at a high school in Cleveland. There was nothing extraordinary about his home either.
Jeff continued with the tour of his house. The whole time, Dad commented on how big the place was and mentioned all the work it would take to keep it up, not to mention the expenses involved.
“I hope you and Rhonda didn’t bite off more than you can chew by buying this place,” he said, looking at Jeff with a serious expression.
“I’m not concerned about the extra work. In fact, it’s relaxing to putter around in the yard.” Jeff reached around to rub the back of his hot neck. Can’t my dad just be happy for me without having to make unnecessary comments?
“Too bad your job isn’t closer to home,” Dad said. “I imagine the commute will get old after a while.”
Jeff’s features tightened as he shook his head firmly. “I don’t mind the drive. Gives me time to think about things while I’m heading to and from work.” If my dad were the Christian he always says he is, then he shouldn’t be so critical. I wonder if Dad throws cold water on anything Eric or Stan chooses to do. Guess it’s a good thing I don’t live close to him anymore, or we might butt heads the way we often did in the past.
“Let’s take a look at the garage now,” Jeff said, moving their conversation in another direction. “There’s something I’d like to show you.”
When they entered the garage, Jeff pointed out the old sled hanging on the farthest wall.
“Say, that looks like your grandpa’s old sled.” Dad moved closer and seemed to be scrutinizing the item. “But that makes no sense. When my dad died, his will stated that he wanted your cousin Larry to have it.” He put his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “I remember how disappointed you were when Larry walked off with the sled and you got a jar of old marbles.”
Jeff lowered his head and shuffled his feet against the concrete floor. “It may seem silly to you, but I’ve always searched for a sled like the one Grandpa used to have and hoped I’d find one.”
“It’s not silly, Son. You enjoyed using the old relic when you were a kid, and I’m glad you found one so similar.”
Jeff looked up. “Really, Dad?”
“Of course. I’m also happy that you and Rhonda have this nice home.” Dad looked directly at Jeff. “Sorry if I came off earlier as though I didn’t support your decision to move here. I’m just concerned that you may have taken on too much—especially since you now have a mortgage plus a townhouse that hasn’t sold yet.”
“It’s okay. Our old place will sell soon.” Jeff placed one hand against his belly. “I feel it in my gut.”
“That’s good, but a little prayer wouldn’t hurt either.”
Here we go. Am I now going to get the religious talk? Jeff felt a tingling in his chest. If there was one thing he didn’t need, it was to hear anything about God. The man upstairs had taken Jeff’s mother, and Jeff didn’t think he could ever forgive God for that. Truth was, he wasn’t even sure there was a God.
If God’s real, then He could have healed her from the ravages of cancer, Jeff thought. If God is love, then why would He take a mother away from her young boys when they needed her so much? Dad needed her too.
Jeff had never understood why, after his mother’s death, his father had continued going to church, praying, and reading his Bible. Wasn’t he angry about losing his wife?
Eric and Stan, though not as open about their faith, had kept going to church after Mom died. But not Jeff. The moment they’d lowered his mother’s casket into the ground, he’d vowed never to pray again, pick up a Bible, or step one foot in church. He wanted nothing to do with God. Dad had tried to get Jeff to attend church many times over the years. But even as a boy, Jeff had refused, shouting that he’d run away from home if his father forced him to attend church or pray out loud at the table. His father must have known Jeff meant it, for he’d never forced him to do either of those things. Dad did, however, continue to pray at the table and talk about God. After Jeff married Rhonda and moved to Canton, his father had sent them religious birthday and Christmas cards. Jeff wondered if Dad thought he could wear him down and Jeff would eventually forgive God and start going to church like he had before Mom’s death.
