Chapter 16
LUELLEN AND MARLIN WERE STILL sitting in their chairs on the porch when Ivan came up the lane with his horse and buggy.
Once he had King secured at the hitching rail, he paused long enough to pet Fawn, since the dog had darted over and begun pawing at Ivan’s trousers, begging for his attention.
A few minutes later, after Ivan obliged the dog, he joined Luellen and Marlin on the porch.
“I came over as quick as I could,” Ivan stated, while rubbing the perspiration off his forehead. “How’s Emma doing? Is she up for some company?”
“Right now, she’s resting on the sofa in the living room,” Luellen was quick to say. “She might be sleeping, though, so let me go in and check for you.”
“Danki, I’d appreciate that.”
Luellen stood and motioned to her seat. “Here, Ivan, you can have my chair.”
“Okay. Much appreciated.” He sat down with a groan, then slipped off his straw hat and fanned his face with the brim. “Sure is hot and muggy this evening,” he said, turning toward Marlin.
Luellen opened the screen door and stepped inside.
When she entered the living room, Luellen saw that Emma’s eyes were shut, so she figured she was asleep and decided not to disturb her. Although Luellen was sure that Emma would be glad to see Ivan, rest was what her granddaughter needed right now.
Luellen draped a lightweight throw blanket over the lower half of Emma’s body and tiptoed out of the room. She would go to the kitchen and fix a light snack to take out to the men, along with some iced tea she’d made earlier today.
When Luellen went back outside carrying a tray full of goodies, she was surprised to see that the men were gone.
Figuring Marlin may have asked Ivan to help him move the old mattress to a better spot in the barn and lay it flat, Luellen returned to the kitchen with the tray.
It was all just finger food that needed no refrigeration, so she placed it on the table and went back outside to sit on the porch.
May as well enjoy the solitude for a while, Luellen told herself. I’ll just sit here and listen to the crickets while watching hummingbirds flit from feeder to feeder.
“Danki for helping me with this chore,” Marlin said as Ivan grabbed one end of the mattress leaning against the wall. “This would have been a little cumbersome for a man my age to handle on his own.”
“Not a problem. Glad I can help,” Ivan replied. “Where would you like the mattress put?”
“How about right over there?” Marlin pointed toward the back wall. Except for the concrete flooring and the pieces of hay strewn over it, the area was essentially barren.
“Okay, sure. Are you ready with your end?” Ivan asked, adjusting his straw hat.
“Ready as I’m gonna be.”
Ivan lifted on Marlin’s command, maneuvering the mattress to the other side of the barn.
After they dropped it in place, Ivan stood back with his arms folded as he sniffed in the sweet fragrance of hay.
“If you ever need to move it again or get rid of the mattress altogether, let me know and I’ll help you with it. ”
Marlin grinned at him. “I’ll sure keep that in mind.”
Woof! Woof! Woof! Fawn came out of nowhere and leaped onto the mattress. Then she plopped down and rolled over onto her back with all four legs in the air.
Marlin rolled his eyes. “Fawn does that when she wants her belly rubbed, and from the looks of it, she’s claimed this mattress as her own. I’ll bet the cats never get the chance to use it.”
“That could be.” Ivan chuckled and leaned over to stroke the pup’s stomach. “She may be kind of hyper, but Fawn sure is a cute dog.”
“Jah,” Marlin agreed, “but my fraa isn’t too fond of Fawn and her rowdiness. I think she’s still hoping someone will show up and claim the puppy.”
“I bet Emma would be disappointed if that happened.”
“You’re right. My granddaughter and that hund have made a real connection.”
“I can see why.” Ivan started to walk toward the barn’s entrance, but when Marlin called out to him, he turned around. “What is it? Did you need me to do something else?”
Marlin shook his head. “I just wanted to offer you an apology for what happened today, which was completely my fault.”
“You weren’t to blame for Emma falling in the pond,” Ivan stated.
“That might be true, but it was my fault she ran off in the first place.” Marlin’s shoulders curled forward as his head lowered.
“If I hadn’t said all those negative things about the cupcakes Emma made, she never would have gotten upset and run off in tears.
I had told my wife I wouldn’t do that anymore, but I got caught up in the moment. ”
Ivan stepped up to Marlin and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I may only be a young adult, but I’ve already concluded that it does no good to beat yourself up over something that’s already happened. Emma didn’t have to run off, you know. She could have stayed and defended herself.”
“She tried that, and I wouldn’t listen.”
“I was in on it too, you know. Although I didn’t make all the comments that you made, I am sure Emma could tell by my reaction to the bite of cupcake I spit out that I wasn’t thrilled with what she’d served us.”
“Guess you’re right,” Marlin agreed. “Those cupcakes were so salty that it was hard for me to hold back a reaction. But I still feel bad for the things I said.”
“Have you apologized to her?” Ivan asked.
“Jah. More than once, in fact.”
“Just as soon as I get the chance to talk to Emma, I’ll apologize too. Then we should both put it behind us and try to be more considerate of her feelings, if there’s a next time.”
Marlin thumped Ivan’s back a few times. “You’re pretty schmaert, ya know that?”
Ivan’s face warmed, and he swung the barn door open and held it for Marlin. Truth was, he didn’t always feel so smart.
Emma opened her eyes and blinked. For a minute, she didn’t know where she was. Her head felt full—like it had been stuffed with a wad of cotton batting, and she struggled to breathe. She remembered being underwater and how difficult it was to hold her breath.
She shivered and rubbed her arms briskly.
Although it wasn’t cold in the living room, the remembrance of her near drowning brought out goose bumps on her arms. If I’d only known how to swim, she thought, I could have stayed afloat and gotten myself out of the pond.
Why, oh why, didn’t I let my daed teach me when he’d wanted to?
Guess I was just a big chicken, afraid he wouldn’t catch me if I started to go under.
“Oh good, you’re awake.”
Emma jerked her head, realizing that her grandmother had entered the room. “Jah. Guess I must have dozed off for a bit.” Emma sat up and scooted over so Grandma could sit beside her.
“Ivan’s here,” Grandma said after seating herself on the sofa. “He and your grandpa are out in the barn right now, but I’m sure they’ll be in soon.”
“Okay.”
They sat quietly for a few minutes, and then Emma asked a question she’d been wondering about. “Did Grandpa tell you about the salty cupcakes I made?”
“He did.”
“I was pretty sure I’d grabbed the right container, but then maybe I messed up,” Emma said.
Grandma rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You know, I think I’ll go to the kitchen and check the plastic containers I replenished a few days ago with sugar and salt. Maybe I’m the one at fault, Emma.” Grandma rose from the couch. “I’ll be right back.”
While she waited for her grandmother’s return, Emma tried to focus on something positive so she wouldn’t think about her near drowning.
Hearing the steady tick-tock of the grandfather clock in the room, she thought about some of the things Ivan had told her as they’d traveled to the pond earlier today.
He’d said that tall, stately clocks had long symbolized tradition and craftsmanship and had initially become celebrated designs in the seventeenth century for their appearance and their accurate timekeeping.
Their elegant cases and chiming movements added character to formal living spaces.
In early American homes, however, grandfather clocks were practical and served as the main timekeeping piece, in addition to being a finely crafted furniture item.
Their solid wood construction and mechanical precision made them ideal heirlooms passed from one generation to another.
Ivan had also mentioned that an Amish-made grandfather clock could suit every style of room, whether it was practically bare or crowded with furniture.
He hoped to make one himself someday when he had more time to pursue such a project.
Grandma wandered into the room again. “I’m terribly sorry, Emma,” she said.
“I just discovered that I mixed up the lids on the containers I poured salt and sugar into, so when you reached for what you thought was sugar, you ended up with salt by mistake. So you see, dear granddaughter, you were not at fault for the cupcakes tasting salty.” She sank to the sofa with a groan.
“So if anyone is to blame for your accident today, it’s me. ”
“No, Grandma,” Emma said sincerely. “It was a mistake, plain and simple, and I do not hold you responsible. I should have been grown up enough to accept the criticism I got from Grandpa and not run off like a crybaby.”
Grandma gave Emma a hug. “You believed you messed up those cupcakes, even though you were so sure that you’d followed the recipe.
It was understandable why you were upset, Emma.
But now you know that you have gotten better at baking, so please don’t give up.
I think we all have something to be sorry for, and each of us has learned a lesson today. ”
Emma nodded. “Jah, we sure did.”
When Ivan entered the house with Marlin, he looked toward the living room, where Luellen had said Emma was resting. He was disappointed to discover that she wasn’t there and figured she may have gone to bed. Emma had been through a lot today.