Chapter 15 #2
What must he think of me? she thought. It was bad enough that I messed up the cupcakes.
Did I have to run off like a child unable to face the truth?
Emma rubbed a spot between her eyes. It’s obvious to me, and I’m sure it is to Ivan, that I’ll never have the skills needed to be a good wife.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Ivan never wanted to see me again.
Emma didn’t know why that part even mattered.
She and Ivan didn’t know each other well enough to even be thinking about the topic of marriage.
They weren’t even a courting couple, so it was silly for her to be worried about what Ivan might think about the potential of her being anyone’s wife, let alone his.
Emma did, however, acknowledge how much they had gotten to know about one another in such a short period of time.
What if Ivan had been interested in her, and now any remnant of that interest was swept away from what occurred today?
Emma turned her attention to Grandma, sitting quietly beside her, while Grandpa chatted with their driver up front. At the hospital, he’d apologized for the things he’d said about the cupcakes, and she’d forgiven him, but it still hurt to know she’d messed up the recipe so badly.
A short time before Emma was released from the hospital, Ivan had gone home, saying he would see Emma later.
She wondered if “later” would be before this day was out, or if he would drop by sometime tomorrow after church.
Part of her wished she didn’t have to face Ivan again or at least could have time to regain her composure before she saw him.
The thought of getting up in the morning and going to church seemed overwhelming. Emma wasn’t sure she would even have the strength to get out of bed, much less get dressed and sit through a three-hour service in a hot, stuffy building.
Maybe I won’t have to go, she determined. The doctor did say I should rest for at least twenty-four hours and then take it easy for as long as I needed to. I’ll bring this topic up to Grandma after we get home.
When they arrived at the house, while Grandpa paid their driver, Grandma got Emma settled on the sofa, and then she asked if Emma wanted something to eat or drink.
Emma shook her head. “No thanks, Grandma. Not right now, at least. I just want to rest. Even the ride home wore me out.”
Grandma sat next to Emma and gently patted her hand. “I expected you would be exhausted. I’d be drained too if I’d gone through all of that, and honestly, I am worn out from worrying about you. I don’t think we should go to church tomorrow, either. You need to stay home and rest.”
“I agree,” she said with a nod. “I don’t think I could make it through the three-hour service.”
“And there’s no need for you to worry about that. All you should be doing is resting and concentrating on feeling better.”
Emma mustered a weak smile. “Danki, Grandma, for your understanding.”
“No problem. I’ll let you rest now while I go speak with your grandfather. I want to tell him about the new mattress that was delivered today.” Grandma gave Emma’s hand another soft tap, rose from the sofa, and left the room.
Luellen found her husband outside with Fawn. The dog was sniffing around the yard, while Marlin sat on the front porch. Above him, the wind chimes clunked slightly in the mellow evening breeze.
Luellen took a seat in the wooden chair next to his. “Emma’s resting, so I came out here to talk to you about something.”
He tilted his head toward her. “Is it about Emma, and the reason she ended up falling in the pond?”
“No, it has nothing to do with Emma’s close call. Besides, I already know the reason she was running and fell into the water. You told me when we were at the hospital, waiting to hear how Emma was doing.”
Marlin smacked the right side of his head. “That’s right. I forgot. Sorry, Luellen. My mind’s been whirling ever since the accident occurred.”
“I can imagine. No doubt it was very frightening.”
“You got that right. We could have lost our dear granddaughter if Ivan hadn’t taken action so quickly and jumped into the pond to save her.”
Luellen nodded. “I’m very appreciative too. We owe that young man our gratitude.”
“For sure.” Marlin looked at Luellen with a steady gaze. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Our new mattress was delivered this morning,” she replied. “It’s on the bed right now, in fact.”
His eyes widened a bit. “Now that’s a surprise. I wish we would have had some advanced notice so I could have taken the old mattress off and found a place to take it.”
“It would have been nice, but it’s too late for that,” Luellen responded. “The two men who delivered the mattress took the old one off, and at my request, they propped it against the back wall in the barn. I figured that once you came home, we would figure out how and where to discard the old one.”
Marlin rubbed his forehead as though deep in thought, and then he gave his left earlobe a tug. “Say, I have an idea.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Rather than getting rid of the unwanted mattress, I can lay it on the floor someplace in the barn where there’s enough room for it.”
Luellen touched the base of her neck. “What would be the reason for doing that?”
“To let the cats use it as a bed.”
Luellen blinked in succession, wondering if her husband had lost his sense of reasoning. “Why would they need our old, worn-out mattress for a bed?”
“Well, think about all the times you’ve said that you wished there was a warm, comfortable place for all of the mama katze to have their babies,” he replied. “Problem solved.”
Although Luellen thought it would not be practical to let the cats sleep on the mattress, she merely shrugged and said, “Do whatever you like, Marlin. However, my back’s still acting up, so I won’t be able to help you put the mattress in position.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about it,” Marlin said with a carefree tone of voice. “I’ll ask Ivan to help me as soon as he gets here.”
“Ivan is coming over? But I thought his driver was taking him home.”
“That’s right, but he’s planning to get his horse and buggy and come over here to check on Emma.
” Marlin leaned closer and said in a near whisper, “Ivan is planning to ask Emma if he can court her. He asked my permission today, and I said it was fine with me.” He clasped Luellen’s hand. “I figured you’d feel the same way.”
Luellen hitched a breath, unsure how to respond. Although Ivan Yoder seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, she couldn’t help wondering, and worrying a bit too, about what would happen to the young couple’s relationship once Emma went home.