CHAPTER 23
A lan had sounded surprised when Jonny had called him the night before. It was no wonder—he had told Jonny a few days before that he was going on a vacation to Florida with his family. Jonny wouldn’t have called if something wasn’t important.
Then, he’d stayed silent as Jonny had relayed how he’d closed the shop for a few hours, then had been forced to keep it closed for the rest of the day and into the evening.
Admitting how irresponsible he’d been had been hard. Even though Alan had told him time and again to keep his own hours and not to feel badly if he needed either a morning or evening off, Jonny rarely had done such things.
Until yesterday.
However, his boss hadn’t seemed shocked by Treva’s accident, annoyed by Jonny’s decision to accompany her to the hospital, or upset that he’d kept the store closed for the rest of the day and evening. Actually, Alan’s only response had been to ask him if he needed anything.
Jonny hadn’t known what to say to that. He wasn’t the one who was hurt. Treva was.
But he didn’t argue the point or remind Alan that he’d not only caused a young woman to have an accident but the bike she’d been riding was now sporting a good couple of scratches, too. And his boss had only told him to get some rest and let him know if he was going to need to take off the next day, too.
Relieved that the phone call had gone as well as it had, Jonny had spent the rest of the evening in the barn. There was a small storage area filled with bags of feed, medicines for animals, excess wire, tools, and wood. It was a hodgepodge of abandoned scraps from the past. With two flashlights illuminating the space, he cleaned, dusted, discarded, and sorted the mess. Bugs and dirt, and even a mouse had scurried by.
Honestly, it was a thoroughly unpleasant job, and most of the time he would’ve done just about anything he could to put it off. But this time it felt fitting. He needed to do something hard because otherwise he would do nothing but sit and chastise himself for being so self-centered.
He’d been thankful both of his grandparents had been in bed when he’d walked back in the old farmhouse and taken a shower. Mere minutes later, he’d passed out on his bed.
When he’d woken up a little after eight that morning, he’d been shocked that he’d slept so long. After quickly getting dressed, he’d hurried downstairs to help with the morning chores.
There, he found his grandparents sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee.
“ Gut matin ,” he said.
“Ah, here you are,” Dawdi said. “Did you get some rest, Jon?”
“Yes.” Rubbing a hand over his face, he said, “I’m sorry I slept so late.”
His grandmother stood up and rubbed her hand up and down his spine. Just as it had when he was a little boy, her touch felt soothing and sweet.
“I’m glad you slept, son. You were exhausted. Sit down and I’ll get you a cup of kaffi .”
He didn’t move. “You don’t need to wait on me, Mommi.”
“Ach, I know that. Don’t be stubborn. Sit down.”
He knew that tone. He sat. “ Danke ,” he murmured when she handed him one of her thick stoneware cups filled to the brim. Taking a tentative sip, he sighed. His grandmother’s coffee was strong and piping hot. Although it wasn’t fancy like Treva’s, it tasted just as delicious. Probably because there were memories in the mixture.
Memories of being comfortable in this kitchen. Of talking with his grandparents without feeling a bother. Of good conversations and hearty food and no pressure to be anything but himself.
His grandfather chuckled. “Boy, you always look like you are tasting a slice of heaven whenever you take your first sip of your grandmother’s coffee.”
He smiled. “That’s because it feels like it. I love it.”
“No need to butter me up, Jonny. I have it on good authority that there’s another woman’s coffee that has claimed your heart.” His grandmother winked. “Rumor has it that you’ve been paying her at least twenty dollars a week for it, too.”
It was more than that, but as far as he was concerned, it was worth every penny.
“I do like Treva’s coffee, but I love sitting here with the two of you in this kitchen. Mommi, your kaffi reminds me of being twelve years old and sitting at the table with Martin, Beth, and Kelsey. And the two of you, of course.”
“Those were some noisy mornings, for sure and for certain,” his dawdi said. “The four of you started each day with either an argument or some type of outlandish plans I would have to find a way to shut down.”
This was news to him. “I don’t remember that any of our plans were that out of the ordinary.”
His dawdi grunted. “Mommi and me buying a herd of goats?”
“Cutting up my sheets so you all could go trick-or-treating?” his mommi added.
“Or how about my personal favorite . . . the idea of making a maze out of my wheat field?”
Jonny laughed. “I had almost forgotten that idea. It was Martin’s, by the way.”
“It doesn’t matter who had the idea, the other three of you leaped on it with great enthusiasm,” his mommi said with a smile. “You four kept your grandparents on pins and needles, for sure and for certain. We never knew what the four of you were going to dream up.”
Leaning back in his chair, his dawdi said, “I used to tell your grandmother that I needed to take a vacation whenever the lot of you left.”
Chuckling, his mommi added, “One time we did just that, too. We hired a car and driver and headed to a cabin in the Hocking Hills.”
“We did nothing but sleep, hike, sit in the cabin’s hot tub, and enjoy the quiet.” Turning to Jonny’s grandmother, his grandfather said, “We should plan a trip there again. It’s been so long.”
“I’m sorry we were so much trouble. And I promise, I didn’t mean to take you down memory lane. All I was thinking about just now was sipping my first cup of coffee in this very chair.”
“I’m glad that’s a gut memory.” Mommi ruffled his hair with her fingertips. “It was so loaded with cream and sugar, it might as well have been dessert.”
“I felt so grown up.” He knew now that it wasn’t just the coffee that had made him feel that way. It was how his grandparents had made him feel. He’d felt loved and secure.
No, he’d felt all the things he’d wished he’d felt in either of his parents’ houses.
After taking another sip of the strong brew, he said, “How are you two?”
They exchanged glances. “We’re worried about you, son,” Dawdi said.
“Me? I’m fine.”
“I don’t necessarily believe that,” Mommi said in a quiet voice. “Your grandfather and I heard you come inside last night. Your footsteps sounded as if you had a mighty big weight on your shoulders.”
He’d certainly felt that way. Unable to help himself, he added, “I’m not the one who has a bandaged arm this morning.”
“That is true.”
“I hope she’s going to be okay. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she isn’t.”
“First of all, you know she will, son. Treva has a broken arm. Nothing more and nothing less.” Crossing his legs, Dawdi added, “Furthermore, I happen to know Treva told ya that she doesn’t hold you responsible. Do you believe those words yet?”
It would be so easy to lie. To say the words that he knew his grandparents wanted him to say. But instinctively, Jonny knew that they’d know he was telling a falsehood. Which, of course, would make them feel even more disappointed in him. “No.”
“What purpose do you hope to achieve by keeping ahold of that guilt?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not thinking about me.” All of his thoughts were centered around Treva.
“I might beg to differ,” his grandmother said in a tart voice.
Stung, Jonny winced. “Wow, Grandma!”
“Listen to me, Jonny. Has she hinted that she feels you are to blame?”
“No. She’s said the opposite. Several times.”
“Yet you refuse to believe her.”
“I believe her . . . but I can’t help but worry if she’s keeping her real feelings to herself.”
“I doubt she’s lying, Jonny.”
“What do you think I should do? Go over to her house and see how’s she’s doing?”
“Perhaps you should think about giving her a moment or two,” his dawdi murmured.
“I guess so. I don’t want her to think I don’t care, though.” Which sounded kind of stupid. She already knew he cared about her.
His grandparents exchanged looks. “I think it’s time I fed you. I bet you’re starving,” Mommi said.
“I am hungry.”
“I’ll fix you a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. Then you may help me peel apples.”
“Yes, ma’am. What are you making? A pie, by chance?”
She chuckled. “I am.”
“That’s great news.”
“We have more news to share,” Mommi said. “Your father is coming over with his new girlfriend. I thought a pie might be a way to welcome her. What do you think?”
He froze. “My dad has a girlfriend?”
“It would seem so,” Dawdi said with an amused expression. “He called yesterday evening and said Kennedy was coming down for the night and wondered if he could bring her by.”
“And you said yes.”
“ Jah , my dear boy. That is exactly what I said.” He winked. “And now I can even show off the storage room, since it hasn’t looked so good since 1962.”
Jonny picked up his coffee and drained the cup. The liquid was still warm but not so warm that it stung his throat.
At least he was no longer consumed by guilt.
Now he had something far different to worry about. He supposed it was no less than what he deserved.