CHAPTER 22
A fter Matt had dropped off Treva and Jonny at her house, Jonny had come inside and stayed for a glass of lemonade. Then, after gifting her with a sweet, very gentle hug, he’d gone on his way. Jonny had known how tired and emotionally drained she was.
Just as she was about to escape to her room with a cup of herbal tea, their doorbell had begun to ring.
All too soon, their large kitchen was packed with people.
So many people!
Nee , they weren’t just people , they were family , Treva corrected herself. That was different.
The problem was that she had such a large family. It was humongous. When word had gotten out about her bicycle accident, everyone had come running. With food and flowers and books and even a rather itchy shawl stitched together with an unfortunate shade of yellow yarn.
The item also smelled faintly of mothballs, which was a sign that it had been made by one of her aunts or great-aunts as a gift of comfort and eagerly pulled out for Treva’s use. Never mind that she’d been out bicycle riding in the sun and both their house’s living room and her bedroom were warm. Even the prettiest and sweetest-smelling wrap was unnecessary.
There was nothing to do but keep the shawl spread out on her lap, however. It was a gift, and it had been given to her in love. She was grateful.
But what she really would’ve been grateful for was a hot shower and some peace and quiet in her room.
That wasn’t to be.
Nope. There was a party going on in their kitchen, and her parents and Aunt Ruth looked delighted about it, too. She was going to have to smile and look alert for as long as possible. Anything less would hurt someone’s feelings, and she couldn’t do that.
“Treva,” her cousin Summer said, “so far, I’ve heard about your visit to the hospital, riding an electric bike, and your thoughts about both broccoli soup and taco casserole. But what I haven’t heard about is the boy.”
“The boy?”
“Jonny,” Summer replied. “Jonny ‘I Want to be Amish’ Schrock.”
The moniker spurred a burst of laughter from her parents. And though Summer’s words were true, they still made Treva feel vaguely uncomfortable. “Jonny is more than that,” she said. “He’s a lot more.”
“I knew it!” Aunt Ruth exclaimed. “All this talk about you and him being just friends in spite of the fact that he paid you a call . . . and just this morning took you on a date.”
“He took her on a bike ride where she got hurt,” Treva’s cousin Penelope pointed out in a cross voice. “There’s a difference there.”
Aunt Ruth shrugged. “Perhaps, but still. He did seem mighty concerned when he sat with her on the couch and sipped lemonade.”
“Jonny seemed concerned because he actually was concerned,” Treva blurted.
“So you think,” Summer said.
Her mother interrupted. “ Nee , Treva is right. Jonny was very attentive at the hospital. And sitting here in our living room.”
“Well, he certainly should’ve been,” Penelope said. “Why, it’s his fault she’s gonna have a cast on her arm.”
“ Jah , but I don’t think he meant for her to get hurt,” Ruth said.
“How could he not have expected it, though?” Penelope asked. “We all know Treva isn’t the most graceful of girls.” Looking far too full of herself, she added, “You weren’t very graceful even as a child, cousin.”
Why was her cousin even there? They’d never been especially close. “Neither were you, Pen.”
“Treva,” her mamm said.
“Sorry,” Treva said, though she wasn’t sure who she was actually apologizing to. She supposed it didn’t matter.
“What we need to figure out now is what happens next,” Aunt Ruth said, as she gave the counter a firm swipe.
Her mother rearranged two of the casseroles on the counter. “No, what we need to figure out is what to do if Jonny Schrock wants Treva to go out bicycle riding again.”
As if half the women in the kitchen had been waiting for such a statement, the entire room filled with excited chatter.
After thirty seconds had passed . . . and then sixty, Treva couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop,” she blurted, unconsciously muttering what she’d been thinking to herself.
Her mother and aunt stared at her in surprise. “Stop what?” her mother asked.
“Stop talking so badly about him. Stop acting as if me falling off a bike has anything to do with Jonny.”
“Sorry, but it has everything to do with Jonny Schrock. Why, if it weren’t for him, you wouldn’t have been on a bike in the first place,” Penelope said.
“Hush, Penny. You weren’t even there.”
“Well, I was at the hospital with ya, so I think I’m allowed to have an opinion. And I think that Jonny shouldn’t have bullied you to get on the bike,” Aunt Ruth said.
“He didn’t bully me.”
On a roll, Aunt Ruth waved a hand. “Furthermore, I don’t know how he treats all those English girls he must have dated, but he shouldn’t have treated you that way.”
What English girls? “Once again . . . Jonny did not bully me. Going on the ride was my choice.”
“Perhaps,” her mother allowed. “But I have a feeling you were a little reluctant to go.”
Her mother was right. She had been reluctant and scared and had made no bones about it to herself and her family. “I think I needed to get pushed out of my comfort zone. Even though I broke my arm, I’m glad I tried something new.”
“We’ll see how you feel if the doctor tells ya that you need surgery,” her mother said.
Treva simply couldn’t take any more of the awful, gossipy conversation. “I’m too tired to do this anymore right now. I’m going to go lay down.”
Immediately, her mother hurried to her side. “You’re right. This was the wrong time to talk about the whys and what happened.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, Mamm. You didn’t raise me to be so judgmental, you know.”
Looking even more shamefaced, her mother nodded. “You’re right. Now, what do you need? A blanket? More pain reliever?”
“No more blankets. I took some an hour ago. It will kick in soon.”
“How about a bag of ice? Or a hot water bottle?”
“Neither, but, um, thank you.”
“All right, dear. Now, try not to worry, okay? We’ll get everything figured out in no time at all. After all, there’s a time and a season.”
A time and a season? For what? “I know.” As far as she was concerned there wasn’t going to be a right time for her mother and aunt to sound so spiteful, but no way was she going to say that. “See you in a little while.”
Her aunt hurried to her side. “Want some help getting to your room?”
Treva took a deep breath in order to not remind Aunt Ruth that she’d injured her arm and not a leg. “ Danke , but I am fine,” she said. Without looking back at the group of women, she climbed the stairs with more power than she actually felt was inside of her.
Even though she’d been looking forward to taking a bath, suddenly, that sounded like too much trouble. Instead, she closed her bedroom door firmly, unpinned her kapp and set it on her dresser, then crawled into bed.
Her arm was throbbing, but she reckoned the worst of the pain would lessen as soon as she relaxed. The conversation and the company down in the kitchen had been stressful.
Carefully moving to her side, she rested her broken arm on the outside and closed her eyes. Reflected on all the things her aunt and Penelope had been saying . . . and tried to decide if they’d had a point.
No. No, they didn’t.
Sure, she’d been a reluctant rider, but she hadn’t been scared to death. And Jonny had been nothing but supportive and encouraging.
Furthermore, she knew he did care about her. Just as she cared about him. Was she sure that they were heading toward a more serious relationship? Did she think they might marry one day?
She had no idea, but as her body settled into the covers, Treva decided that she didn’t need to know that answer. What mattered to her was that Jonny Schrock had stared at her like she was something special.
No, like she had his heart.
That, to her, was all she needed to think about.
She fell asleep thinking about his very blue eyes gazing into her own.