Chapter 10
I ’m sorry, Jalon. That’s how it’s got to be.”
Jalon gaped at his boss, feeling like he’d been sucker punched.
He was clocking out for the day when Gary—a thin, overly energetic guy in his late forties who smoked too many cigarettes and drank too much caffeine—called him into the trailer that also served as his office while they were working on this construction project.
Jalon fought for composure. He should nod, thank the man for the work he’d been given, and go home. Instead he said, “You’re firing me?”
“Letting you go. Big difference.” Gary tapped a pencil against this desk. “You do excellent work. All you Amish do. I hate to lose you, but”—the tapping speeded up—“family is family. You get that, don’t you?”
Now he did. When Gary said today was Jalon’s last day, Jalon thought he’d done something wrong, even though he couldn’t figure out what it was.
He was always on time, never hesitated to work overtime, and made sure his work was as close to perfect as he could get it.
He even apologized for taking yesterday off, although he hadn’t explained why he had.
He thought maybe that was the reason for the firing, but once Gary mentioned family, Jalon knew he wasn’t simply being let go. He was being replaced.
The door to the trailer opened and a skinny, wiry guy who looked like a twenty-years-younger version of Gary walked inside.
He had on a brown leather jacket and wore a baseball cap that said CAVS on the front.
He came in and plopped down beside Jalon.
“Hey dude,” he said, nodding his head at Jalon. “How’s it going?”
“Gary,” Boss Gary said, the pencil hitting the desk at breakneck speed now. “I’m in a meeting.”
“Oh. My bad.” Younger Gary held up his hands. “Just wanted to know if we were still cool for Monday.”
“Yeah. Eight sharp.”
“That early?”
“Yes, that early.”
Younger Gary let out a small sigh. “All right. I’ll be here.” He stood, nodded at Jalon again, and left.
Boss Gary tossed the pencil on the desk.
“Sorry about that. He needs a job. College has been a challenge for him. School always has been, ever since his mother and I ...” He shook his head.
“Don’t want to drag you into the family drama.
If something opens up, I’ll let you know.
” He drummed his fingers against the desk. “I’m really sorry.”
Jalon nodded, keeping his expression blank despite the panic inside.
He walked out of the trailer, got in the van with four other Amish guys who worked with him and shared the same taxi ride, and kept his mouth shut on the way home.
His coworkers would find out he’d been let go soon enough. No need to discuss it here.
His hands clenched and unclenched. He’d worked for this particular construction company for three years, and it had paid well.
What was he going to do now? He needed this job.
He had a mortgage to pay as well as meeting regular living expenses.
Leanna contributed to those, but her job didn’t provide steady work.
He’d depleted his savings making up his father’s back payments on the farm, and he had nothing to put into the farm he now owned.
Being laid off was never in his plan. It never even crossed his mind.
On top of everything else, there was Phoebe and Malachi to think about. Two extra mouths to feed for who knew how long. His gut tightened. He’d have to find a new job, in the middle of winter, when jobs were scarce to begin with.
By the time he got home, his stomach was in knots. He walked into the kitchen, still thinking about his job prospects. Lack of job prospects, to be more accurate.
“Supper will be ready soon.” Phoebe stayed near the stove, as if she didn’t want to get too close to him.
For some reason that irritated him too. If he was wondering how she felt about him, she’d done a good job of showing him yesterday, keeping her distance, barely looking at him, then falling asleep so early.
Good thing she hadn’t read his last letter or he’d be dealing with embarrassment too.
“Okay,” he said curtly and left to shower and scrub off the dirt and disappointment from work.
He passed Malachi in the living room. He was on the floor in front of the woodstove, playing with a set of wood blocks that looked brand-new.
“Can you show me another yo-yo trick?” Malachi asked, abandoning the blocks and rushing toward him.
“Not right now.”
“Please?”
“Maybe later.”
“But I want to learn now.”
Jalon took a deep breath, keeping an even tone so he wouldn’t upset Malachi. “Later, okay?”
Malachi nodded, then went back to playing with the blocks.
The shower washed him clean, but did nothing to make him feel better. He dressed and, although he wasn’t hungry, headed for the kitchen. He’d go through the motions. Fewer questions that way.
They said grace, then Karen passed Jalon a bowl of shredded carrots and cabbage that glistened with some type of dressing. “We went shopping today,” she said. “Charged it to yer account at Schrock. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“That’s fine.” What else was he supposed to say? Take back the food because he lost his job and he was broke?
“We were careful with yer money.”
Jalon looked at Phoebe, seeing the sincerity and trepidation in her eyes. Was she afraid he was going to be mad at her for buying food? He took a breath and tried to smile. “I’m sure you were.”
Her focus shifted back to her plate and she continued to eat.
He took a serving of what looked to be baked chicken. He cut it open, and white cheese oozed out, revealing thin slices of ham in the center. “What’s this?”
“Chicken cordon bleu.” Phoebe bit her lower lip.
“Sounds fancy.” And it looked interesting. Curiosity over-riding his lack of appetite, he took a bite. This was even better than the shepherd’s pie. “Wow. This is really gut .”
Phoebe lowered her head, but he could see a small smile form on her face. Suddenly he wasn’t so despondent. Nothing had changed, except he was eating some of the best food he’d ever tasted, prepared by a beautiful woman he seemed powerless to resist. Definitely a healing combination.
He finished his supper. So did Malachi for the most part, which was a surprise considering the meal wasn’t exactly kid friendly, although he ate approximately one piece of shredded carrot from his salad. When they finished, Jalon said, “How about I show you that yo-yo trick after we do the chores?”
Malachi grinned, which brought a genuine smile to Jalon’s face. He still had to find a job, and he and Phoebe couldn’t put off talking about the future for much longer. But for the moment he wasn’t tied up in knots, and he’d take it.
“Can I help you, Jalon?” Malachi asked.
Jalon looked up from the floor joists he was positioning on the concrete floor of the dawdi haus .
He’d spent the morning looking for a job and, as he suspected would be the case, he hadn’t had much luck.
He could have continued to look, but decided to renew his efforts tomorrow.
In the meantime he could work on the dawdi haus .
His father had already purchased the plywood and stored it in the barn.
All Jalon had to do was lay it down. Once he figured out the layout of the joists, he would hammer them in place. “Sure. You can hold this for me.”
For the next ten minutes, Malachi was an attentive assistant.
However, he soon became bored, and when Jalon caught him playing with the hammer, he took it away.
“Why don’t you see if Blue needs some company?
” he said. He didn’t have to make that suggestion twice. The boy shot out of the dawdi haus .
After he was finished with the joists, he stood and stretched his back, then went into the house. He was in the kitchen getting a drink when Phoebe walked in. “You’re home early,” she said.
A strange feeling came over him as he turned to face her.
The comment had been so natural sounding, as if she wasn’t a guest in his home .
.. or in his life. His eyes latched onto hers and held.
She didn’t look away this time, and the spark of attraction he saw pulled at him.
He had to jerk his gaze away. “I took the afternoon off,” he said, facing the sink again, trying to collect himself.
“Malachi said something about you working in the dawdi haus , but I thought he was being imaginative. He does that sometimes.”
He gulped down the water and faced her again. “He was helping me, until he got bored.”
“It doesn’t take long for him to lose interest in things. That’s pretty normal for his age.” She threaded her fingers together. “Jalon, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Malachi. I don’t know how to repay you.”
“You don’t have to repay me,” he said. And if she tried, he wouldn’t take a dime from her. “I’m just glad you and Malachi aren’t living with yer aenti anymore.” He paused. “Has anything changed at home?”
“Are you asking if I can geh back?” She shook her head. “ Nee. Nix has changed.”
“You called yer parents, then?”
Again, she shook her head. “They don’t have a phone.”
“Then how do you know nix has changed?”
Karen came into the kitchen carrying her purse and two partially bound books. “Sorry I’m late. Judith asked Ivy and me to stay an extra hour. I brought some of the work home with me.” She looked at Jalon. “I thought you’d still be at work.”
“Took the afternoon off,” he said quickly.
“I better get started on supper.” Phoebe headed for the pantry.
“I’ll be back in a minute to help,” Karen said. “I need to put this stuff away upstairs.”