Chapter 13 #2
After breakfast, Emma and Marlin had loaded their fishing gear, and the lunch Luellen had fixed for them also went into Ivan’s buggy. Then the three of them headed for the pond Ivan had chosen for them to try their hand at fishing.
Luellen saw this as a good time to get a few things done in the house and yard, although she wasn’t sure how much she would accomplish with that whining dog in the utility room while she worked indoors.
Fawn would also end up making a nuisance of herself when Luellen was outdoors cleaning the chicken coop and pulling a few weeds in the garden.
It would be easier not to let the pup outside, but it wouldn’t be fair to leave Fawn inside all day either.
So Luellen put up with the dog’s antics, thankful that so far, Fawn hadn’t done anything worse than dig a few holes in a patch of ground near the coop, which Luellen had just finished cleaning.
I wonder if we should let Emma take the mutt with her when she goes home in August or maybe September, she mused.
Guess it will all depend on whether Dianna and Philip would be in favor of that.
I sure don’t want to keep the pooch after Emma leaves, but I know it’ll be hard to convince my husband to drop it off at the shelter.
Maybe the owners will turn up, and we won’t have to worry about deciding on what to do. She sighed. One can only hope.
Luellen took a seat at the picnic table her husband had made many years ago and watched as the puppy rolled in the grass. At this rate, the hund’s fur would be interspersed with grass clippings from the freshly mowed yard.
What if my efforts to teach Emma the skills she needs to cook and sew have failed by the time summer is over? Luellen asked herself as her thoughts went in another direction. I’m sure my daughter wouldn’t be too happy if her decision to send Emma here to learn domestic skills was for nothing.
While Emma had shown a bit of promise with some things, she was still a long way from perfecting her skills as a cook or seamstress.
“She would rather go fishing than spend the day sewing,” Luellen said aloud.
She shuffled her bare feet against the cool grass blades beneath the picnic table and pursed her parched lips.
If only I could convince Dianna to allow Emma to stay here longer.
Not just to have more time to continue teaching her, but because she’s been quite helpful for me as well.
I will certainly miss my granddaughter when she goes home, and I’m sure Marlin will too.
Well, the time for Emma to leave is still a few months off, so I’ll try not to worry about it.
Luellen heard the rumble of a vehicle coming down the road, and she watched to see if she recognized the driver, knowing it was not an Amish buggy approaching.
As it came into view, Luellen realized it was a delivery truck.
She forgot all about her dry mouth when she saw the words painted on the truck: Mattress Shop.
Their new mattress was obviously being delivered, but they’d had no way of knowing that ahead of time, because they had no phone for the store to call and notify them.
Luellen stood and called for Fawn to come.
She was thankful when the dog listened, and she quickly scooped the pup up before the driver got out of the truck.
I wish Marlin was here, and Ivan too, for that matter, she thought.
If Marlin and I had known the mattress would be coming today, we could have removed our old mattress in readiness for the new one to take its place.
I hope there are two men in that delivery truck and that they’ll be willing to take the old mattress off the bed and haul it away.
“Looks like our chaperone is having a great time, doesn’t it?” Ivan scooted closer to Emma and pointed in the direction of where her grandfather leaned against the trunk of a tree with his eyes closed and his fishing pole lying across both knees.
She covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud, which would no doubt wake Grandpa. “If he gets a bite, he’ll probably never know it.”
Ivan snickered. “That’s for sure.”
“If it should happen, guess one of us could grab his pole and reel the fish in without him even knowing it.”
“Or,” Ivan said with raised brows, “he could wake up in the middle of it all and start shouting because we’ve taken his pole.”
“I doubt that would happen,” Emma replied. “I’ve never heard my grandpa raise his voice—I mean, not in an angry sort of way. His tone of voice does raise a bit when he gets excited about something though.”
“Well, you know what they say—there’s a first time for everything.”
Emma giggled. She figured Ivan might be right about that.
Around noon, with the sun beating down on them, Emma peeked at Grandpa and was surprised that, although he still slouched against the tree, he had one eye open as though looking through the lens of a telescope.
“How come you’re lookin’ at me so strangely?” he asked. “Have ya never seen a man half asleep and half awake?”
Ivan slapped a hand against his thigh. “Ha! That was a good one, Marlin.”
Grandpa sat up and leaned forward with both eyes open, peering at his pole, devoid of any fish.
“What are you looking at, Grandpa?” Emma questioned.
“Nothin’, but I’d rather hoped that, when I woke up from my nap, there’d be a big fish on my line.” He pointed at Ivan. “Figured you might reel it in for this tired old man.”
Emma wanted to refute that statement, but the truth was, Grandpa’s seventy-nine years did qualify him as being old, especially compared to her and Ivan’s youthfulness.
Even so, for the most part, her grandfather didn’t act old, and he certainly wasn’t crippled like some folks his age.
As far as Emma knew, both of her grandparents were healthy and still got around fairly well.
Grandpa and Grandma were like that, except for Grandma’s sore back, which Emma hoped would be remedied once their new mattress came and they’d slept on it a few nights.
“You two catch anything?” Grandpa directed his question to Ivan.
Ivan shook his head. “Naw, but it’s been nice to sit out here and enjoy the warm sun and fresh air.” He gestured to his horse, hobbled under a leafy tree and nibbling on some wild-growing grass. “I think King’s enjoyed the day so far too.”
“I bet that’s true.” Grandpa turned his head toward Emma. “I’m hungerich. Isn’t it about time for lunch?”
“Jah, Grandpa. I’ll go to the buggy and get the basket Grandma and I packed for our noon meal. Be right back!” Emma was on her feet before her grandfather could comment.