CHAPTER 15
A greeing to meet with Reuben a second time had been a bad idea. Thinking about the way he’d acted, the way he’d presumed she’d simply drop everything for him . . . well, it made her boiling mad.
Their conversation had been so bad that it was right up there with the moment she’d discovered that Reuben had been stepping out on her. That he’d been meaning to break up with her but hadn’t been in any hurry to do it properly.
Having a boyfriend not feel that you were worth even ten minutes face-to-face to break up with had been a blow to her ego. Especially because everyone knew he’d felt that way.
But today had come close.
As that sinking feeling settled in like a bag of rocks, she grimaced.
“This is why you are such a mess, Treva,” she told herself, as she locked the front door of the café a little after five o’clock. “You need to simply put that man out of your mind. Forget about him and move on. Instead, you overthink everything.”
She was pretty sure that was no lie, too.
What she would give to have been able to have known exactly what to say to Reuben when he’d shown up out of nowhere. Instead, she’d felt as if she’d been in slow motion. She could barely do more than stare at him . . . all while her mind had been spinning as she’d tried to figure out why he’d sought her out.
Which she still had no idea.
Walking inside the house, she saw a pot of soup on the stove, but otherwise it was quiet. Pleased to have some time to herself, she trotted upstairs to her room and changed into one of her oldest and most comfortable dresses.
Then, instead of sitting on the downstairs couch and reading or working on a puzzle, her mind started spinning again.
Just like that, she remembered how awkward everything with Reuben had gotten when Jonny and his sister had come into the café. And how Jonny had decided that she’d needed saving. Then his sister had gotten into the act! And she’d let them!
There was no way she was going to be able to simply sit around, so she pulled out all the cleaning materials, filled up the bucket with hot, soapy water, and got down on her hands and knees.
Feverishly scrubbing the bathroom floor, she attacked the tile as if it had personally affronted her.
And wondered yet again why she’d ever wanted to give Reuben even a moment of her time. Why had she?
Honestly, why was everything in her love life so difficult? Did she make it so, or did she, for some reason, create chaos? Why couldn’t she have fallen in love with a steady sort of man like Paul Troyer? Thinking of Paul, she felt a burst of melancholy. Paul had tried to court her when they’d just graduated middle school. She hadn’t given him the time of day, though. Instead of longing for quiet, steady, boring Paul, her eyes had followed Reuben.
But then, after she’d spent years by Reuben’s side, silently pining for a proposal, Reuben had up and left her for an English girl.
And Paul? Paul had turned his attention to Jenna Weaver. Now Paul owned a large farm and had two children with Jenna.
She? She had a busy coffee shop.
After dipping the sponge into the hot, soapy water again, she scooted back toward the wall and continued her washing tirade.
Why had she never actually answered Reuben? Why had she hesitated? Was it because she’d never gotten over him? And if it was, what did that say about her?
“Treva!” her mother called out. “What are you doing?”
“Cleaning the bathroom floor, Mamm!”
Two seconds later, she heard her mother trot up the stairs. When she appeared in the bathroom’s doorway, so pretty in an eggplant-colored dress, she frowned. “Why in the world are you cleaning the floor? I washed it just a few days ago.”
Surprised, she sat back on her knees. “But this is my job.”
“Darling, you have a business to run now. You’re cleaning the bathroom there. I washed this floor before you got old enough to walk on it. I’m not so old that I canna do it now.”
Her mother was in good shape. There was no denying that. But that didn’t mean her mom had to take over her chores. That wasn’t fair at all. “I feel bad about that, though.” Pulling the wash bucket closer, she rinsed the sponge.
“I disagree.”
She tried one more time. “Mamm, I might clean bathrooms at the café, but that’s to be expected. When I asked you and Daed if I could open my café in our old barn, I never intended to stop doing my part around here.”
Her mother propped a hand on one of her hips. “I think it’s time we talked.”
“Okay. I’m listening.”
“Not here, child. Downstairs. At the kitchen table. Over a glass of lemonade.”
“Oh.”
“Now.”
Her mamm ’s tone left no room for argument. “Yes, Mamm. I’ll be right there.”
Her mother didn’t budge. “Hand me the sponge.”
“I was just going to finish the floor.”
She wiggled her fingers. “Exactly. Hand it over, dear.”
“Fine. Here.” Handing her the soapy sponge, Treva felt like laughing. Who would’ve ever thought that her mamm would have to practically use force to get her to stop cleaning a bathroom floor?
“Thank you. Come along.” After taking two steps, she paused and looked back over her shoulder. “If I have to come back for you, I’m not going to be pleased, Treva,” she warned.
“I know.”
“Hmmph.”
Memories of being fourteen and obstinate came running back. Her mother was the sweetest, most kind-hearted woman in the world. But when she wanted Treva to do something, she expected it to be done right away. If that didn’t happen, she’d deliver the longest lecture, bringing up every supposed infraction Treva had done in her entire life.
She’d often wished her mother would have been like her friend Beth’s mamm , who’d rapped Beth’s knuckles with a wooden spoon. Beth had said the sting would only last a minute or so. Here Treva was, all these years later, still remembering portions of those lectures.
“You won’t have to come get me.”
“Umph. We shall see.”
Treva mentally rolled her eyes. Of course, her mamm had to get in the last word.
She carried the bucket downstairs, poured its contents outside on the gravel near the driveway, then walked back in and washed her hands in the stationary tub’s faucet.
When she sat down at the table, only five minutes had passed. Not even her mother could find fault with that.
Her mamm brought her a glass of lemonade. “Have a sip of your drink, child.”
As always, the liquid was slightly tart, icy cold, and very delicious. “Danke.”
“You are welcome.”
Perching on the edge of her chair, her mamm exhaled. “Treva, dear, I think we should talk about Reuben.”
“I’d rather not.”
“That’s the problem. You’re keeping all your feelings inside. That ain’t good.”
“I agree, but I don’t know if there’s much to say. Reuben came back to Walden for a visit and just happened to stop into the café.”
“Just like that?”
“I think so.”
“Your Aunt Ruth seems to believe that he came for a special reason, and it wasn’t to see his parents.”
“You two are talking about him?”
“Reuben’s return is noteworthy, child. Now, what did he say when the two of you went out early this afternoon?”
“Well, first of all, we didn’t go very far. I refused to take a ride in his vehicle, so we walked to the park.”
“Why did he visit you, Treva?”
There was no delicate way to say it. “He paid me a visit because he wants me back.” She steeled herself for either a lecture or a tirade. She got neither. Instead, her mother appeared to be intrigued.
“Hmm.”
“Hmm? What does that mean?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, does it? You’re an adult and this is your life.”
“That’s what you have to say?”
She blinked. “Were you hoping I would say something else?”
“I was expecting you to offer your opinion.”
“I don’t know if I have one.”
“You don’t have any feelings about Reuben?”
“I’m not sure.” She shook her head. “No, that’s not right. I don’t want to have feelings for him, but I’m afraid I might.”
After taking another sip of lemonade, she set the glass down with care. “Here’s what I think, Treva. You loved him once. He left our community and became English. He also started dating another woman.”
“Janet.”
“Hmm. Well, ah, yes.”
“So I shouldn’t want anything to do with him, should I?”
“I don’t know. You see, I am feeling like the Lord had a plan in all of this. If Reuben hadn’t made those choices, you two might have already been married.”
She knew they would have. “ Jah .”
“So you would’ve never opened your coffee café.”
To her surprise, the idea of not having her little coffee shop made her insides clench. “I might have.”
“Perhaps the Lord would have guided you there, but I don’t know. You seemed certain that you would marry and have children right away.” She hesitated. “And then there are Reuben’s parents.”
“Sally and Neal.” Thinking about how both of his parents had never had an opinion they didn’t share, she winced. “They would’ve never allowed me to open a coffee shop.”
“What if you had really wanted that? Would Reuben have stood up to them?”
She didn’t need to think about that even for a second. “ Nee .”
“Now, I didn’t see Reuben, and you’ve yet to tell me your impression of him. But your aunt seemed to think that he didn’t seem all that bad. Was he?”
“No. At first, he caught me off guard, because he walked into Trailside like he wasn’t surprised I had the shop. Then he ordered a drink and a scone.”
“And then?”
“And then he was full of compliments. About the store and me.” She swallowed. “And then he said he wanted me back.”
“Well now, isn’t that something?”
“It’s something, all right.”
Looking thoughtful, Treva’s mother took a sip of lemonade. “I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like this new Reuben is a far different man than the boy you fell in love with.”
“He is.”
“Worse?”
“I . . . I couldn’t say. Maybe not.” She couldn’t lie about that.
“Treva, are you the same person who Reuben courted?”
“No. I’m a lot more confident. And . . . and I expect more. I expect more out of a relationship.” And of herself. And of whoever she was going to share her heart with.
“Aunt Ruth also shared that she got a good eyeful of Jonny Schrock.”
Treva squirmed. She’d been kind of hoping her aunt wouldn’t have shared the whole soap opera. “He was there. He’d come in with his sister Kelsey, who is now married to Richard Miller.”
Her mother didn’t crack a smile, but her dancing eyes made it perfectly obvious that she didn’t need to.
“Mother, my life is a mess, isn’t it?”
Though it was obvious she was attempting not to laugh, her mamm continued her pep talk. “On the contrary, it sounds like you’re having a mighty full life right now. You have two men interested in you and a busy café to run.”
“What do you think I should do? Part of me doesn’t want to see Reuben ever again, but part of me thinks I do. And I don’t know what I should do about Jonny Schrock. He’s not the type of man I thought I’d ever want, but I seem to think about him all the time.”
“Perhaps you need to give them both a chance.”
“Really?” Wasn’t her mother supposed to be guiding her to be more circumspect and cautious?
“One day, all of this will be over. You’ll have either chosen one of those men or someone else. But no matter what happens, you’ll have lots of time to reflect on this moment that the Lord has brought you.” Softening her voice, she added, “I would hate for you to look back upon this time and wish that you hadn’t rushed through it.”
“Or made the wrong decision.”
“I think if you open your heart, pray, and don’t hide out in our bathroom scrubbing the floor, you won’t make the wrong decision, dear. The Lord has a plan.”
The Lord has a plan. The words echoed through her heart and seemed to settle in. “I just have to listen.”
“Yes. And maybe . . . be a little selfish, too. There’s nothing wrong with asking the Lord to remind you about what makes you happy.”
“How did you get so smart, Mamm?”
“The Lord gave me a daughter. Raising her has taught me a lot about love and trust and happiness.” Standing up, her mother walked to Treva’s side, bent down, and kissed her temple. “Everything is going to be just fine, dear.” She chuckled. “Eventually.”
Sitting there stunned, Treva allowed her mother’s words to float into her heart.
And then, at long last she closed her eyes and spoke to the Lord.
And asked Him to help her find her happiness.
When a sense of peace settled into her heart, she knew that He’d heard her.
Or that He’d simply been waiting for her to reach out to Him.
Finally.