Chapter 29
“Here for another stack of books, Daisy?” Lucinda asked when she spied Daisy walk through the doorway.
“I guess I am.” She smiled at the attractive librarian. “I can’t seem to stay away.”
“That’s a good thing for us. You always bring a smile. How were the books? Did you enjoy that new author?”
“Kind of,” she said honestly. “I liked her characters but the mystery seemed a little too easy to figure out.”
“That happens sometimes, doesn’t it?”
“Jah, but thank you for the recommendation.”
“I’ll be happy to give you some other cozy mystery authors’ names to try. Or, are you feeling like you won’t have as much time to read anymore?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to have too much time,” she said as she lifted the canvas bag off her shoulder and plopped the four books on the countertop.
“How come?”
After checking behind her to make sure that there was no one else in line, Daisy said, “I still have a cast on my foot. Obviously.” She took a deep breath and then decided to confess everything. “Then there’s the fact that I lost my job.”
“Where were you again?”
“At the bulk food store.” Not wanting to make it sound as if Melissa had been completely unreasonable, she tried to explain.
“The job there involved a lot of heavy lifting. We got in big boxes of food and other items and they all had to be unpacked and put on shelves. I can’t do a lot of that with a bad leg. ”
“I’m sorry.” Her expression full of sympathy, she said, “What about when your cast is off? I bet then they’ll let you reapply.”
“To be honest, I think I want to find something else. I didn’t enjoy my job there all that much.”
Lucinda leaned forward. “Want to know a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I’ve never really enjoyed going in that store,” she whispered.
“Well, bulk food ain’t for everyone.”
“It wasn’t that. I found a lot of items there that I wanted. It was the manager. She never smiled and no one working there did either.”
Daisy figured the reason for that was because no one enjoyed working for Melissa. But that seemed rather mean to say. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Well, if you ever want to think of a career change, come see me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m in need of a personable librarian assistant and I think you would be great.”
“Truly?”
“Of course. You like to read, you usually have a smile on your face, and you can chat with most everyone. Plus, if you are used to working at the bulk food store, that means that you’re used to working hard. That Melissa might be a lot of things, but a slacker isn’t one of them, is it?”
Daisy chuckled. “It certainly ain’t.” Still thinking about the job, she said, “Lucinda, were you being serious about me being able to apply?”
“I was being very serious. Ryan was terrific but he moved to Florida now that his wife has retired from her job. This just happened about a week ago, but I haven’t posted the job because I’ve been dreading the interview process.”
“Does the job pay anything?”
Lucinda blinked, as if the question surprised her.
“Yes. Of course. Now, you won’t make a fortune here, but I’m pretty sure it’s about the same amount of money per hour as the grocery store or a couple of other small retailers in the area pay.
” She smiled slowly. “Daisy, are you seriously thinking about it?”
“I am. I mean, I want to think about it, and I’d need to know more about what you expect. You do realize that I never went to school past the eighth grade?”
“Like I said, I know what I’m looking for, and it isn’t necessarily a person with a degree.” She smiled at an older man who just stepped into line. “How about you think about it for a day or two? I’ll hold the position for two more days.”
“You’d be willing to do that?” That was hard to believe, especially since it was on a hunch. It felt like a lot of pressure, too.
As if Lucinda was reading her mind, she reached out and clasped Daisy’s hand.
“Daisy, all I’m presenting is an opportunity.
And not all opportunities are meant to be taken.
Go home, talk about it with your friends and family.
Pray about it. If you decide that this isn’t a good fit, I’ll understand. ”
“But what if I do want to pursue this opportunity? What then?”
“If that is what you decide, then we’ll start discussing pay and schedules and the number of hours you want to work.”
“Thank you for telling me about this. It might just be what I need to do, but I’m going to need to go home and discuss the details with my family.”
“Yep.” Lucinda’s smile was brilliant. “Do what you need to do, Daisy. But, at the very least, don’t forget to look at those cozies in the mystery section before you leave.
” She named three authors. “I promise, those women’s novels are delightful.
I feel certain that you’re going to love one of their series. ”
This was why Lucinda was such a good librarian. She talked to the patrons and made them feel seen. If she ended up working there, she wanted to be the same way. “Danke. I’ll go look at them right now.”
Feeling as if she was in a daze, Daisy walked down the mystery aisle and perused the titles, and the authors Lucinda had mentioned. She did what she had come in to do, which was scan the backs and inside covers of several of the books and picked out four to try.
But as she did so, Daisy found herself thinking about shelving books and maybe even eventually helping someone else.
She liked that idea. She wasn’t sure if she was willing to give up all her dreams about being a farmer and spending her days working on the land, but Lucinda’s offer certainly did make her feel as if there were other choices in her life that she’d never contemplated before.
Daisy was still thinking about becoming a librarian’s assistant when she ran into Winter and her mother on the sidewalk near the fabric store.
As much as she wanted to dart into the hardware store in order to avoid them, that wasn’t an option. They’d already seen her. Plus, she needed to stop letting Winter get under her skin.
“Hi, Maude and Winter. I hope you both are well. It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?”
“Hello, Daisy,” Maude replied with a warm smile. “It is indeed a lovely day. How are you feeling?”
“I’m doing better, danke.”
“How much longer will you have to wear that cast?” Winter asked.
“A few more weeks, at least.” Tapping one of the Velcro fasteners, she added, “At least I can take this one off to shower. That’s a blessing.”
“I bet,” Winter said. “And then what happens?”
“Then, I will be, hopefully, as good as new.”
“But what if you aren’t?”
Daisy was taken aback by Winter’s slightly condescending tone. Then she reminded herself who she was talking to. Winter had always acted as if she was a little bit better than everyone else. “If I’m not, then I might have to have another surgery. The doctor says that ain’t likely, though.”
“I hope that isn’t the case, dear,” Maude said. Giving Winter a meaningful look, she added, “It’s always better to look on the bright side of things.”
“I feel the same way. It’s in the Lord’s hands, though.”
“The Lord’s and your own,” Winter corrected. “Should you even be out walking with just one crutch? It looks foolish. If you could easily fall.”
Mrs. Walker frowned at her daughter. “Winter, what in the world?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean how that sounded. I mean, if I sounded confused,” she continued in a slow, sweet tone. “I was just worried about you.”
It was so tempting to finally tell Winter just how tired she was of her mean comments.
But it wasn’t worth it. Winter wasn’t going to change.
Not any more than Daisy was. They were who they were.
“I appreciate your concern, but I am not doing anything I shouldn’t. I hope you both have a nice afternoon.”
“Oh, we will. We’re going to shop for fabric for a new dress,” Winter said. “Now that Kyle Hostetler has been calling on me so much, I’ve realized that some of my older dresses are too bedraggled for company.” She laughed, though it sounded very fake. “I’m sure you understand.”
“I do.”
“Please tell your mamm hello, Daisy,” Maude added. “It’s been too long since I’ve spent time with her.”
“I’ll be sure to tell her that you asked about her,” she said before she was finally able to escape the conversation and head home again.
But as she heard the fabric store’s door open and shut behind her, Daisy realized that her mood had plummeted again.
Sure, she and Kyle had gotten off to a bad start, but they’d become friends.
Good friends.
And while she’d occasionally imagined that their friendship could eventually grow into something deeper, she’d also accepted the fact that he might never see her in a romantic sense.
But why did he have to see Winter that way? Daisy would be so disappointed if he took Winter as his wife. Winter was so mean and petty. Kyle could do a lot better.
Feeling tired all of a sudden, Daisy sat down on a bench near Walden’s town square. There was a park right in front of her and several children were squealing and playing, just like she, Ben, and Lukas used to do.
The group in front of her was a little different. Some were Amish and some were English. Most of their parents were off to the side, half watching them, half talking to each other and glancing at their phones. But that moment in time was as familiar as it was a common sight.
It was also a welcome reminder about the way one’s life moved on. No one stayed in one place for very long. Babies became toddlers who became busy, exuberant kids like the ones currently in the park.
Eventually, they grew up and got married or had jobs. And then one day, they’d take their children to the same park where they used to play.
It was how everything was supposed to be.
One couldn’t wish that everything stayed the same, because it wasn’t possible.
“You need to accept your reality, Daisy,” she whispered to herself.
“You need to stop having childish dreams and accept your adult responsibilities.” And those responsibilities included the knowledge that she was never going to be able to buy a farm and run it all by herself.
It was too much work and too much money.
She was never going to enjoy sewing.
An electric bicycle was never going to solve her problems or make her feel better.
And Kyle Hostetler might enjoy her company and like being her friend, but he was never going to see her the way he viewed Winter Walker.
Those were the facts that she needed to face.
As she walked the rest of the way home, Daisy reminded herself that accepting the truth was a good thing.
Even if it hurt a bit.
Looking down at her cast, she said, “You’re living with a bit of pain right now and you’re surviving just fine. You’ll be able to do it again.”