Chapter 30
“Kyle, would you please run this basket over to the Lapps’ for me?” Ruthie asked when he was walking down the short path to the dawdi haus.
He was a sweaty, exhausted mess. He’d been working in the fields all day. He wanted a shower, about a gallon of water, and to collapse, and not even in that order.
Delivering a basket to the neighbors’ farm felt like climbing Mt. Everest. No, it felt like climbing a flight of stairs. Even something as small as that felt like too much. “Can it wait until tomorrow, Ruthie?”
“Tomorrow? No, it cannot. It’s a cake.”
Hadn’t they just given the Lapps a pie? “Why did you bake them a cake?”
“Pardon me?”
She looked completely taken aback by his tone, and who could blame her? He was being surly and rude. “Sorry, but I am awfully tired right now.”
“That’s why I’m asking you to go over there now. Before you get comfortable and relaxed.”
Her reasoning made no sense to him, but he was beginning to come to terms with the fact that a lot of times it didn’t. Ruthie and Mervin were used to doing things like they wanted. Whether or not their choices were good or bad never entered their minds. “All right. Fine.”
“Danke. When you get back, I’ll have your supper ready for you. We’re having cheeseburgers, freezer pickles, baked beans, corn on the cob, and tots.” She beamed.
And before he realized what he was doing, Kyle was smiling, too.
Sure, a lot of Amish men might yearn for fried chicken or a succulent meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes.
He loved burgers. And tater tots? Well, they were his guilty pleasure.
He loved them. And somehow Ruthie, for all her quirks, she was a whiz at cooking Tater Tots.
He had no idea what she did, but the tots coming out of her kitchen were amazing.
So amazing that he might even deliver a cake to the neighbors.
“You wouldn’t lie to me about supper, would you?”
“I certainly would not. We’re having everything I said. And I made us a dessert, too. We’re having peach cobbler.”
“That’s my favorite dessert.”
Ruthie’s gaze softened. “I know, son. So, will you please deliver the cake for me?”
“Sure.” Looking down at his grubby hands, he said, “I need a minute to get the worst of the dirt off, and then I’ll walk over there.”
“Thank you. It’s much appreciated.” She set the cake holder next to the steps leading into the dawdi haus’s entrance. “It will be here when you are ready.” Then, she turned around and headed back to the front of the house with a certain pep to her step.
Kyle watched her for a second. It sure seemed like she had a lot more energy than he did. He had no idea why she couldn’t have made the walk to the Lapps’.
But as he got inside his own home and strode barefoot into the bathroom, he smirked at his reflection in the mirror. “She didn’t want to make the walk because you work for her, you idiot. It’s your job to make her life easier, not the other way around.”
Plus, he couldn’t deny that she looked fresh and clean while he looked … anything but that.
Lifting the front of his shirt, he groaned. “You not only look dirty, you smell, too.”
He turned on the shower and stepped in the enclosure while the water was still running cold. The spray felt like needles against his skin, waking him up and reminding him to be thankful for his blessings.
By the time he had walked over to the Lapps’, he was almost feeling like himself. He had a plan, too. He would say hello to the family, check in with Daisy for a minute or two, then take the fifteen-minute walk back, with hamburgers and tots in his future.
Before he reached their front steps, Daisy’s father, Jed, walked out to greet him. “Hiya, Kyle. This is a nice surprise. What brings you here this evening?”
He held up the cake carrier. “I’m making a delivery for the Millers. Ruthie made you all a cake.”
He took the carrier, but frowned. “How come?”
“I’m not sure, but Ruthie was intent on me bringing it to you tonight.”
“Hmm. Well, thank you. I’ll let mei frau know. Would you like to come in for a spell?”
“Thanks, but Ruthie’s holding supper until I get back.”
“I get that. I bet you’re starving. And, maybe tired?”
“I can’t deny either,” Kyle joked.
“I spied you out working in the fields today.”
He nodded. “Jah. I was there all day.”
“Lukas was, too. It’s a hot’un.”
“Jah.” Just as he was about to head home, Kyle realized there was someone there that he wanted to see. “Hey, is Daisy around? I’d say hello to her before I walk back.”
“She is. She’s over near the coop.”
Jed looked like he was amused by something. “Is she feeding the hens?”
“Jah. But … it’s more than that. Both Lukas and Ben are out there with her.” He grinned. “Our Daisy came up with something that I still can’t wrap my head around.”
Kyle was still confused about why Jed sounded so mysterious. “What did she do? Is it bad?”
“Oh, nee. Not at all.” Grinning, he stuffed his hands in his pockets. “It’s … well, you’ve got to see it to believe it,” he added with a chuckle.
“Now you’ve really got my interest piqued.”
“It should be,” he said with a laugh. “Go on over there and say hello.” He raised an eyebrow. “If you have time, that is.”
“I’m going to make time now. She’s in the barn, you said?”
“Nee. The pen near the henhouse.” He frowned. “Don’t worry. You won’t miss everything that’s going on.”
“Danke.” Feeling even more curious, he strode down the flagstone path that led from the front door to the barn. Over the years someone had taken care to line it with flowers and shrubs. It was as lovely as it was practical.
When he realized that the stones must have been recently power-washed or scrubbed, he knelt down on one knee to inspect it more carefully. His parents’ walkway could use something like this, he decided. He didn’t think anyone had made any improvements to it in decades.
Unfortunately, it looked like it, too. He made a mental note to try to remember to tell his daed about it. Maybe he’d want to power-wash it in the fall.
Then he heard the laughter.
“Daisy, look at Gladys! She doesn’t want to get off.”
“I know,” Daisy said in a merry tone. “Have you noticed how Darren and Phil are standing in line? This is gonna be a problem.”
“I’m going to take a picture of this and send it out. Daisy, you’re going to make a fortune.”
“I don’t think so, Ben. I mean, maybe it’s just our chickens who enjoy swinging.”
Swinging? Every bit of his exhaustion long gone, Kyle picked up his pace.
And then gaped at the sight before him.
There was a hen swinging on a little perch. No, it really was a little, chicken-sized swing. Right smack in the middle of the hen’s pen outside.
“How many of these do you think you could make in a—oh, hiya, Kyle,” Ben said.
“Hey. Uh, what’s going on?” Which sounded like a pretty silly question, he realized. Because it was very obvious what was going on, and that was that Daisy’s chickens had decided that they enjoyed swinging in their spare time.
Never in his life could he have imagined such a sight.
Lukas raised his eyebrows. “Well, as you can see, we’re all watching the hens wait in line for their turn to swing.”
“Uh, why?”
“Why what? Why are they waiting in line? Why won’t Gladys get off?”
It was obvious that Lukas was attempting to hold back his laughter. Kyle would be laughing too … if he wasn’t so shocked. “Why do your chickens have a swing in their coop?”
“Daisy made it.”
“I overheard that.” He could still hardly look away from the sight before him. “When did you decide to make … chicken swings, Daisy?”
“Today.”
She sounded so perplexed, he walked closer. “Why?”
“I read about it and thought, why not? I’ve had a lot of time on my hands.” She shrugged.
“I’m sorry … but I still don’t understand.”
“I’ll give you the short version,” Ben said as he stepped forward. “Mei little sister here went to the library, got offered a job, checked out some books to look at while she considered it, read a mention of a chicken swing, and then decided to make one for the girls.”
He took a breath. “Within ten minutes, Betsy hopped on. Then, since she’s a diva, everyone else followed suit. But now there’s a problem because Gladys likes to think of herself as a queen bee and now won’t get off. Is that about right, Daisy?”
“Pretty much.” She was gazing at the group. “There’s a lot of drama going on. Honestly, I thought things were bad when I was a teenager, but these hens are being just as catty.”
“Poor choice of words, D,” Ben said.
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You know what I mean.”
Lukas shook his head. “Sorry, brother, but you’ve completely left out the part where we both think that this chicken swing thing is ingenious. Ben is going to put his Englischer schooling and classmates to good use and start marketing it.”
Kyle’s head was spinning. Chickens. Divas. Swings. “I see …” he said slowly.
“Oh!” Ben added as he wrapped his hand around Daisy’s shoulders. “We’re all pretty sure that our little sister is about to become rich.”
Kyle wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to smile any bigger than he already was. “Daisy, you’ve had a much more entertaining day than me.”
She grinned. “I can’t deny that I have. It’s … well, it’s been a great day.” She drew in a breath. “Oh! Look! Cupcake has made a move.”
Lukas laughed. “That goofy hen just side-checked Gladys.”
“No, wait … look, they’re sitting together,” Kyle said.
Ben’s eyes lit up as he lifted his cell phone and took another half dozen pictures. “Daisy, this is awesome! It’s going to be another selling point. Hens can swing in pairs.”
She snorted. “What kind of selling point would that be? Why would they ever want to do that?”
Kyle jumped into the conversation. “Sorry, but who cares? I never would’ve believed that a chicken would want to get on a swing.”
“I’m sure it’s a selling point,” Ben added. “I mean, just think about all those gentlemen farmer Englischers who buy fancy chickens without knowing how to clean a coop.”
Lukas frowned. “What does that have to do with hens on swings?”