The boy stopped. Turned. With a huff, he walked back to the wagon. Abby picked up his forgotten cooler and handed it to him with a smile.
“Have a gut day,” she said.
Under the heavy stare of his father, Reuben gave a slight nod, then turned and raced over to his friends.
Jakob made a clicking noise and the horse walked on. They passed another buggy coming into the schoolyard. They waved, but Jakob didn’t stop to chat. Abby could see the woman craning her neck to look at her and was grateful he kept going. She would have plenty of people to meet and questions to answer at church on Sunday.
“Reuben said you put something special in his lunch box,” Ruby said.
Abby turned in her seat, conscious of Jakob’s interest in the conversation. “Ja, that’s true.”
“Is it a real nice surprise?” Ruby asked, obviously digging for more information.
“I think so. Would you like to know what it is?”
The girl nodded eagerly, a wisp of brown hair escaping her small kapp.
Reaching into her purse, Abby withdrew a carefully wrapped bag of chocolate chip cookies tied with a bit of yellow string. While Naomi made breakfast, she’d prepared them for the bakery.
“I was saving the cookies to give to you later on, but if it’s okay with your vadder, you can have them now,” she said.
Ruby leaned forward and pressed her cheek against her father’s shoulder. “May I have them now? Please, Daedi?”
Abby’s heart melted. The girl asked so sweetly that it would be difficult for anyone to refuse her anything.
Jakob chuckled. “Ja, you may.”
Abby handed the cookies over.
“Danke.” The girl undid the string and then made an exclamation of surprise. “Ach, what is this?” she asked, holding up a little slip of paper with writing on it.
“What does it say? Can you read it?” Abby asked, knowing very well what it said since she had written the note.
Ruby tried to sound out the words, but got only the first three correct.
“‘You have an amazing smile.’” Naomi read it out loud for her.
“I do?” Ruby asked.
“You most certainly do,” Jakob said from the front seat.
“Ja, you do.” Abby faced forward and hid a satisfied smile. She’d written something similar on a piece of paper for Reuben, too. Simple words that would hopefully make him smile.
“That’s nice,” Naomi said.
The girl showed the paper to her father. “See what Abby gave me, Daed?”
Jakob nodded, looking at Abby with a thoughtful frown. “Ja, it was very nice of her.”
“I hope it makes you feel gut,” Abby said, thinking that Ruby and Reuben needed to hear something positive for a change. Maybe her notes would help them feel not quite so lonely for their mother.
“When I go to school, I’ll learn to read better.” Ruby tucked the note into her hand, obviously planning to keep it.
“You’ll learn many interesting things in school,” Abby agreed, remembering her own education as some of the fondest times in her life. For those few hours each day, she had been free of her father and brother. Free to be herself. Free to be happy.
After eighth grade, she’d had to return to the house, where she’d been constantly at their mercy. When her father had died three years earlier, she’d had no choice but to live with her brother and his new wife.
“The Hostetlers live down that road. They raise nothing but hay and draft horses. They sell their Percherons to buyers all across the nation. They hire big trucks to come in and transport the hay for them,” Naomi said.
She pointed out several other points of interest as they rode the rest of the way into town. Ruby munched on her cookies, even sharing one with her father. By the time they arrived in the alleyway behind the bakery on Main Street, they were in fairly good spirits.
“Guder mariye!” Sarah Yoder greeted them as Jakob pulled the buggy wagon to a stop and hopped out. Two other buggies were parked in the alleyway with men and women carrying baked goods into the store.
“How are you?” Naomi asked Sarah as she helped Ruby climb down from the buggy.
“Gut.” Sarah smiled at Abby. “You look much more rested than when we first met yesterday.”
“I am, danke.”
“Let me help you.” The woman took the box of frosted cupcakes Abby had lifted out of the back of the wagon, leaving her free to retrieve something else.
“Danke.” Abby smiled.
As they walked into the store, Sarah leaned closer and spoke low so that other people wouldn’t overhear. “Have you decided to stay in Riverton after all?”
Abby nodded. “For the time being.”
Sarah’s gaze followed Jakob as he carried a heavy case of baked goods into the store. “Amos and I both hope you might soon find a reason to stay permanently.”
Abby understood the woman’s meaning perfectly, but didn’t acknowledge it. She didn’t want gossip to spread that she and Jakob were courting. Because they weren’t.
Inside the shop, Abby helped fill the display cases with fragrant pastries, pies, breads and other baked goods. Ruby helped, too, picking up each wrapped loaf of bread carefully before handing it over to Abby.
“You’re new to the district, aren’t you?”
Abby looked up from her work. An attractive young woman with reddish-blond hair and wearing a sky-blue dress and white apron stood next to her, arranging a tray of frosted sugar cookies.
“Ja, I’m from Ohio.”
“I’m Lizzie Beiler. My familye is from Lancaster County. We moved here eight years ago.”
“I’m Abby. Abby Miller,” she said.
Lizzie nodded, but her slight smile didn’t quite reach her eyes and it quickly faded. “I’m glad to meet you, Abby. Are you going to be working here in the bakery now?”
Abby shook her head. “Ne, do you work here?”
“Ne, Sarah has two older daughters who help her run the place, but one of them will be marrying soon. Since you’re new in town, I thought perhaps Sarah might have hired you.”
“I’m just helping Naomi drop off her baked goods.”
Lizzie slid the tray of cookies into the display case. “The store is only open two days a week, on Fridays and Saturdays. In a town this size, there isn’t enough business to keep it open more often than that. Everyone knows the hours and they come in to buy their bread, pies and cookies for the week. A number of us make baked goods to sell. We use the same recipes for consistency. Sarah usually sells everything by close of business on Saturday evening.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Abby, we’re ready to go,” Naomi called to her from the doorway, wiping her hands on her long apron.
Ruby ran to her grandmother. Jakob stood just behind Naomi, speaking to Bishop Amos Yoder. He shifted his weight, seeming a bit nervous. He glanced at Abby, and she wondered what the two men were discussing. When Jakob nodded and turned away, she breathed in silent relief. No doubt he was eager to get their shopping done so he could return home to his work there.
“Goodbye,” Abby said.