Chapter 35
Slowpoke’s expression gave new meaning to puppy-dog eyes. Elijah groaned. “Nee. The last time you went in the shop, Bonnie
fell.”
More sad eyes. A whimper. Slowpoke was good. Elijah held up the sub sandwich shop bag. “If you stay in the buggy, I’ll give
you half my sandwich. It’s meatballs and Swiss cheese with ketchup and spicy mustard. Just how you like it. I’ll even take
the lettuce and tomato off your half.”
Slowpoke plopped down in front of Homespun Handicrafts’ door. He barked once. The dog drove a hard bargain.
“Fine. Fine. But you better mind your p’s and q’s. You stay out of her way.”
Slowpoke huffed as if offended that Elijah felt the need to voice these concerns.
Elijah heaved a breath. He squared his shoulders. “Here we go.”
As if on cue, Slowpoke moved aside, allowing Elijah to open the door. Of course, Puff appeared immediately. She didn’t look
happy to see Elijah, or maybe it was Slowpoke. “Howdy, Puff. We come in peace.”
She stuck her nose in the air. Her tail swished. Then she was gone.
Bonnie stood behind the front corner, ringing up a college girl’s purchase of a life-size sloth stuffie. Her purple-and-white tank top advertised her university, the sloth, her youth. They seemed engrossed in a conversation about fruit smoothies. The girl urged Bonnie to drink more of them with nutritional yeast, ground flax, and some other ingredients Elijah didn’t recognize.
Of course Bonnie graciously took all this well-meaning information under advisement.
Then she glanced up. Saw Elijah. And stiffened. The college girl swiveled and peered at Elijah through purple-rimmed glasses.
“What a cute dog! Can I pet him? I love dogs. My folks have a mutt that looks like him at home.” She padded in flip-flops
that smacked on the wooden floor over to Slowpoke. “Is he friendly?”
His tail whapping so fast it was almost invisible, Slowpoke nudged her hand with his nose. Pet me, pet me. “Very friendly.”
Elijah stared at Bonnie while the college girl carried on an extended conversation with his dog. Bonnie cocked her head toward
the hallway that led to the office-slash-workroom. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I hope you don’t mind I let Slowpoke come in. He was about to have a conniption fit.”
“He’s always welcome.” Did she really emphasize he’s or was that Elijah’s imagination? “You know that.”
“Come on, hund. Let’s get out of the way so this customer can finish up her purchase.”
Fortunately the college girl took the hint. She let Slowpoke lick her fingers one more time, muttered a few sweet nothings in his misshapen ear, then headed back to the counter. Elijah spent the next five minutes pacing in the workroom, touching Bonnie’s works-in-progress, ordering Slowpoke to pick a spot, lie down, and stay there, all the while thanking God that Bonnie’s mother wasn’t here. He hadn’t even considered that she might be.
“Why didn’t you sit down?” Bonnie rolled to a stop at the worktable. “I’m sorry I kept you waiting.”
“Nervous, I guess.” Even admitting he was nervous made for more nerves. Elijah motioned toward the bags. “I hope you’re hungry.
You know how big their subs are. I got you chips and a white chocolate macadamia nut eppy for dessert.”
“Yum. I love their eppies.” Bonnie maneuvered into a chair. “How much do I owe you?”
“Nothing. You don’t invite a woman to lunch and make her pay.” Courting was hard, but at least that rule was easy to understand.
Elijah opened her bag and laid out the food. “It’s no feast, but my mudder sometimes says any meal she doesn’t have to cook
is a feast in her eyes.”
“With nine kinner, including five buwe, I can see how she would feel that way.” Bonnie took a sip of her drink. If melted
ice had turned it watery, her expression didn’t register that fact. “You said we need to talk. About what?”
“I reckon you know.” Elijah took a bite of his meatball sandwich. It felt like sawdust in his mouth. He took a long swig of
root beer. The carbonation tickled his throat. He coughed.
“Are you all right?”
Slowpoke whimpered. The little beggar. Elijah tore off half his sandwich and laid it on the floor on top of a paper napkin.
Slowpoke barked once appreciatively. He slunk across the floor, low on his belly, until he was close enough to snarf a bite.
“I’m fine.”
“My mamm would be horrified to see you feed an expensive sandwich to a hund. She thinks scraps or dog food bought at the Bent-and-Dent
are gut enough for pets.”
“Mine too.” Elijah ran his hand over Slowpoke’s massive head. “Slowpoke’s not a pet. He’s a friend.”
“Man’s best friend.”
“Woman’s, too, if she lets him.”
“I know you didn’t come here to talk about hunde.”
“Nee. After we talked the last time, I did a lot of thinking.”
“Did it hurt?”
“Very funny. You and my bruder Declan, the jokesters.”
“Did you come to any conclusions?”
Elijah wiped the ketchup from his mouth onto a napkin. He sipped his drink again. “I called an auction yesterday. The entire
auction of farm equipment and tools for the Hershberger retirement sale.”
“That’s wunderbarr.” A smile bloomed on Bonnie’s face, then faded. “It is wunderbarr, isn’t it?”
“It is.” Elijah handed the rest of his sandwich to Slowpoke. The dog ignored the bread and went directly to the meatballs.
“I can’t be seen as a failure by those who don’t understand who I am or what I want to be.”
A flush of relief ran through him. That part of his life had ended. He could move on with no sense of remorse, loss, or feeling
less-than.
“That’s more than wunderbarr.” Bonnie laid aside her sandwich. Her chips were untouched. “No one should ever make you feel
less-than for simply being who you are. So you’re shy. You’re also smart, creative, and a hard worker. And faithful. I’m proud
of you, that you recognize that.”
“I don’t know how smart or creative I am, but I work hard. I know my self-worth isn’t measured by the same yardstick as my brieder. The qualities they need are different than the ones I need.” If only those good traits were enough to convince Bonnie to take a chance on him. And herself. “Now, if only you would do the same for yourself.”
“What do you mean?” Her expression turned quizzical. “No one tries to make me feel less-than. Just the opposite. They never
stop telling me I can do anything I want to do.”
“Except you.”
She shook her head. Her cheeks reddened. “That’s not what I do. I work hard at being realistic, to be content with who I am.
It’s different.”
“Not from where I sit. You make yourself feel less-than.” Elijah reached for her hand and recaptured it. The feeling of her
skin against his ignited the words. They flamed out. “When I look at you I see a hard worker, a faithful Plain woman, a smart
woman, a gut dochder, a gut friend, and a pretty woman. I’d be blessed to have someone like you in my life. For always and
ever.”
“Elijah.” Head bent, eyes shiny with tears, Bonnie tugged her hand away. “You don’t know what you’d be getting yourself into.
I can’t ask you to do it. I... care about you too much to allow that.”
Her face set in firm lines, she pushed back her chair. “I’ll get your report. It includes an inventory. Your toys are selling
well. I think you’ll be happy.” Her tone was all business. “Now that you’re home for gut, you can get busy and catch up with
inventory. You’ll need to restock just about everything. After you look it over, I’ll give you a check for your share of the
sales.”
Elijah ignored the paperwork in her hand. She laid it in front of him. “Elijah, sei so gut. Let’s be business partners. Friends,
even.”
“I don’t want to be friends. I faced my fears on that platform. Then I told my dat I was done with auctioneering. I came home because all I wanted to do was see you and tell you. To celebrate my gut news with you. Then get to work on more toys to bring to your shop.” Elijah stuffed his trash into the bag. He deposited his cookie next to hers, then stood. “All I’m asking is for you to give it a chance. To give me a chance. To give us a chance.”
“You don’t know what that really means. You have no clue.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “They’re already talking about
me using a wheelchair. Do you know my mamm puts my hair up for me because my arms aren’t strong enough to do it myself? She
cuts my toenails for me. Imagine being with a grown woman who can’t cut her own toenails.”
“Don’t be so full of hochmut.”
“Hochmut? There’s nothing prideful about my attitude or my words.” Bonnie’s face turned a dusty rose. “I’m being realistic.
What man wants to marry a woman who is so dependent on others for basic tasks?”
“You think you’re the only person in the world who has these challenges?” Where did the words come from? The reasoning? Even
Slowpoke looked impressed. The dog drew closer and laid his head on Elijah’s knee. Elijah smoothed his fur. His hands shook,
but his voice didn’t. “All over the world, people who love each other take care of each other. In sickness and in health.
You don’t have the corner on that market. Look at Sophia. She’s getting married. Full steam ahead. I heard that Carol is courting.
My mamm used the word besotted about her beau. I had to look it up in the dictionary. It sounds like a word only used in the silly romances she reads.”
Finally, he’d run out of words. Breathless, he gulped air. Slowpoke nudged his hand with his head. Pet me, pet me. It worked. Petting his dog soothed Elijah’s frazzled nerves.
“Romance stories aren’t silly.”
“That’s what you got out of my entire speech?”
“That, and you aren’t the man who came into my shop a few months ago hardly able to look me in the eye, let alone give such
a speech.”
“That’s a gut thing, isn’t it?” Elijah leaned forward. He fixed his gaze on her face. “I want to be a better man. Not because I think there’s something wrong with being reserved, but for you. I want you to look at me and see someone you can’t imagine living without. Talk about hochmut.”
“Not hochmut. It’s because I care about you that I’m drawing the line.” She grabbed her rollator and moved behind the desk.
Putting space between them. “It’s because I want you to have a happy, full life.”
“If you really mean that, you’ll at least try. Spend time with me. You’ll see. It’ll work. We’ll make it work.”
“I can’t.” She rolled away from the desk, headed toward the door. “I need to get back to work. It’s Hannah’s turn to have
lunch. We’ve been busy. A load of seniors entered from an assisted-living center in Lynchburg. Every one of them bought something.”
More distance. Talking business. Shop owner to vendor. The air had cooled to frosty.
“Bonnie.”
“When you’ve looked over the report, let me know. I will cut you that check.”
Elijah stood. He stepped into the aisle, blocking her escape. “Sei so gut, don’t do this.”
“Sei so gut, don’t make it harder.”
“Ahem.” The sound of a throat clearing. He whirled. Carol stood in the doorway. Her gaze bounced from Bonnie to Elijah and
back. “Sorry to interrupt. Moses Dalton is at the counter with a big box full of his mother’s crib blankets. He wants to settle
her accounts for her.”
“I’ll be right there.” Bonnie moved forward. Elijah had no choice but to step aside. “Tell him I just need to pull his inventory.”
“No rush, I’m sure.” Carol pivoted on her crutches in a smooth move perfected from years of practice. “If you two have business to finish, I can handle Moses.”
“No need,” Bonnie called after her friend. “We’re done here.”
“Didn’t sound that way to me.” Carol’s voice floated back, punctuated by the thump of her crutches against the wood floor. “Sounds like you need a do-over.”