Chapter 5
“Have you decided?”
Daisy looked at the English waitress who appeared to be around her own age, then at her cousin, who nodded. “We’ll both have
the special.”
The waitress scribbled on an order pad, a blonde curl escaping the large bun on top of her head. “Two orders of country fried
steak. You each get two sides and a roll.”
Daisy and Grace picked their sides—black-eyed peas and mac and cheese for Daisy, grilled asparagus and yams for Grace—and
gave the waitress their soft drink orders. As the waitress left to turn in their ticket, Daisy looked around the Railway Diner,
taking in the uniquely themed restaurant and the busy crowd. Train memorabilia covered almost every inch of the walls, and
on the front page of the menu was an explanation of the very short history of the diner that had opened last year, plus the
owner’s affinity for all things train related. Even the tables had old train and railway photographs on the top, covered with
a transparent protective coating. “I like this place,” Daisy said as the waitress returned and placed her drink in front of
her.
“I’ve only been here once.” Grace unwrapped her straw. “I didn’t know there were so many things related to trains.”
“Is it always this busy at lunchtime?”
“Last time it was. They’ve had steady business since they opened.”
Right before lunch, Aenti Rosella had suggested that Daisy and Grace go to the diner while she repaired several of Onkel Howard’s pants and socks. “I’ve put off the sewing long enough,” her aunt said to Daisy. “You and Grace geh enjoy the afternoon.”
“And talk about the wedding?” Daisy said.
“Uh, of course.” Aenti Rosella scratched the side of her neck, ignoring Grace’s puzzled look.
But Daisy had seen it and was also confused. Last night after supper, Grace had been too tired to even talk about Maynard
and had gone to bed early, but this morning she and her mother had made breakfast together before Daisy had gotten up. Why
hadn’t Aenti Rosella said anything to Grace then? It was all so bewildering.
Grace pushed her chair away from the table. “Be right back.”
After she left for the restroom, Daisy looked at the train photos on the table, but those soon blurred as she thought about
last night again. With Grace retiring early and her aunt and uncle asleep in their chairs in the living room, that left Daisy
on her own.
Surprisingly, she wasn’t that tired, despite spending most of the day traveling. She fetched her stationery from her suitcase
and went back to the kitchen to write Maynard a letter. She wrote a few lines, telling him about Grace’s upcoming wedding,
even though she was sure Mamm had already told him. Then she wrote:
The wedding is in November. Hopefully by that time you and I will—
Quickly, she ran her eraser over the last half sentence. It was too impersonal to bring up “the talk” in her letter. Instead, she mentioned the weather before signing off. After affixing one of the stamps to the right corner of the envelope she’d brought from home, she placed the letter on the counter near the back door, ready for her to mail it early in the morning.
For the next half hour, she worked in the living room on her sister’s cross-stitch Bible verse, finishing it by the time she
stopped. She’d started stitching Bible verses to help her with memorization, and she found herself also contemplating the
words as she worked. So far, she’d stitched ten verses and designed the patterns herself with graph paper and a pencil. She
needed to frame this one now, and she would when she went back to Dover. Her next verse would be a wedding gift for Grace
and Kyle. She was still looking for the perfect scripture about love and marriage.
“I’m back.” Grace sat down and adjusted her navy blue cardigan that she wore over a light blue dress that matched her eyes.
“You looked deep in thought. Were you thinking about Maynard? We still need to continue our talk .” She grinned.
Daisy inwardly cringed.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you last night. I didn’t realize how tired I was until after I’d eaten supper.”
“It’s okay.” The longer she could put off discussing Maynard and kissing, the better. Maybe she could avoid it altogether
by continuing to change the subject. “Have you and Kyle finalized your guest list yet?”
Grace shrugged. “We haven’t really talked about it.”
“Not at all?”
“There’s plenty of time to figure out the wedding.”
“ Aenti Rosella doesn’t think so.”
Her cousin’s brow furrowed. “When did she say that?”
Daisy gripped her hands under the table, unsure how to respond. Since her aunt hadn’t said anything about the wedding plans
to Grace yet, then that meant Daisy still needed to keep her secret. Ach , the subterfuge was making her head hurt. “She didn’t. I just figured—”
“Huh.” Grace tilted her head toward the front of the restaurant. “I’m surprised to see Perry here.”
When Daisy looked over her shoulder, she saw Perry standing by the front door, Ferman next to him. Perry wasn’t wearing his
hat, and once again she noticed his thick, wavy-bordering-on-curly hair. Even though it was chilly outside, he was wearing
a short-sleeved shirt, suspenders, and blue pants that had some dust on them, but they weren’t all that dirty. He hooked his
thumbs underneath the suspenders by his waistline, drawing Daisy’s gaze to his well-built forearms . Sigh.
Grace waved Perry and Ferman over. “You don’t mind if they eat with us, do you? That way they won’t have to wait for a table.”
“Not at all.”
“I don’t think they see me.” Grace got up from the table and weaved through the crowd until she reached them. She started
talking to Ferman, while Daisy continued to look at Perry as his gaze darted around the room. He seemed a little out of sorts.
When his gaze met hers, she gave him an encouraging smile.
His expression relaxed a little. Ferman tapped him on the arm and they both followed Grace to the table. “Daisy,” Grace said,
gesturing to the older man. “This is—”
“Ferman.” Daisy smiled. “Nice to see you again.”
“Likewise.” His throat sounded like it was permanently lined with sandpaper, and he took the chair next to Grace, leaving
Perry the empty seat by Daisy.
The moment they sat down, the waitress showed up with the women’s meals—large pieces of chicken fried steak covered in white gravy, the vegetables in separate cups, and fresh, fluffy, yeasty rolls. Daisy’s mouth started to water. The food looked and smelled delicious.
“I’ll have what they’ve got, plus some of those potato square thingies,” Ferman said. “With an iced tea.”
“Same,” Perry said in a low, quiet voice.
The waitress nodded. “Two more specials coming up.”
“What have you two been up to this morning?” Grace asked.
Daisy glanced at Ferman, his brown eyes deeply set, with heavy etched lines around them. “Just finishing the first day of
my new job,” he said.
“I thought you were working at Wagler’s.” Grace took a paper napkin and put it in her lap.
“Nope. Got fired the day before yesterday.”
“ Fired is a strong word,” Perry said.
Surprise registered on Grace’s face, and Ferman explained what happened.
Daisy glanced at Perry, who was looking somewhat tense again, one of his knees bouncing up and down. They didn’t say anything
for a few minutes while Grace and Ferman talked about community news, and she went back to looking at the train pictures.
He leaned toward her. “ Geh ahead and eat.”
“I don’t mind waiting.”
“But your food will get cold. He glanced around the diner again. “We probably should have gotten ours to go.”
His leg bounced faster under the table. She wondered if he was even aware of it. “How was work this morning?”
“ Gut . Turbo decided not to give us any trouble this time.”
“Who’s that?”
“A gelding who thinks he’s boss of the world.” Perry smirked, but his leg wasn’t bouncing any more. “Ferman calmed him down while I worked on shoeing him. How’s your day been?”
“Not as exciting as yours. We just did some household chores this morning.” She didn’t bother to tell him which ones, not
wanting to bore him to pieces over a list of household duties. She also left out that she had mailed Maynard’s letter before
sunrise.
“I wouldn’t call my job exciting.”
“Then it’s predictable?”
“Wouldn’t say that either. More like steady. And stable. There are always horses to shoe around here.”
Daisy smiled, glad to see he wasn’t as uptight as he’d been a few minutes ago. Their conversation was basically small talk,
but it wasn’t strained. In fact, it felt surprisingly comfortable, considering she barely knew him.
When the waitress brought their meals, Perry thanked her, then cast a quick look at the front door. “Oh nee ,” he muttered.
“What?” She slid her fork into the delicious mac and cheese and lifted her head. Two women were by the front door, smiling
and waving as they walked toward their table. “Do you know them?”
“ Ya .” But he didn’t sound happy about it.
***
Perry held in another groan as Mamm and Phoebe headed toward him, Mamm grinning and waving. Of all the people to run into when he was sitting next to a young woman. For a split second, he entertained
the ludicrous thought of ducking under the table. Pointless, since they’d already seen them together. And it didn’t matter
that Grace and Ferman were also there. He could tell his mother and sister were already homing in on the unsuspecting Daisy
from Dover.
“ Hallo , Perry,” Mamm said, raising her voice above the diner noise. “What a lovely surprise to see you here.”
He nodded and glanced at Phoebe, who was talking to Grace. The whole Bontrager family had visited Marigold at one point or
another, just not all at the same time, so his sister already knew her. She and Mamm had probably met Ferman during a church service, or maybe at Wagler’s Buggy Shop.
But neither of them knew Daisy, and before they drew any conclusions, he quickly made the introductions. “She’s visiting Grace
for a...” He didn’t know how long she was going to be here. She hadn’t mentioned it.
“Two weeks.” Daisy smiled at them.
“Only two?” Grace frowned. “I was hoping you’d stay longer.”
An odd look flashed across Daisy’s face, only to quickly disappear. “I have to get back to... mei job.”
And Maynard. Perry almost mentioned him, considering the way Mamm was sizing up Daisy. He could practically read his mother’s mind, not that she was bothering to hide her interest in the
woman. Any minute now she would start peppering her with questions.
“I don’t want to interrupt your lunch, but...”
Here we go.
“Can I talk to you for a minute? Outside?”
He reluctantly nodded. Then he realized that regardless of what she said, he would tell her to halt her latest matchmaking
scheme and he would be firm with her, much more so than he had been in the past. He followed her out the door and they sat
on one of the empty benches under the diner’s awning.
“It’s gut to see you, sohn .” Mamm took his hand and squeezed it quickly, then let go. “It’s been a while since you’ve visited us.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been busy with work.” True, although he should have made more of an effort to see his parents and the rest of his family. He couldn’t tell her that she was part of the reason he was avoiding Birch Creek. He wasn’t that cruel. After today’s conversation, he anticipated he wouldn’t have to worry about this marriage nonsense anymore.
“Spring is almost here. Soon enough we’ll all be too busy to think.” She fished inside her large purse and produced a packet
of letters. “Phoebe and I had planned to stop by your place after lunch and put these in your mailbox.”
He decided to feign ignorance. “What are they?”
She patted his knee, like she used to when he was a kid. “Now I know you told me you were fine—”
“I am fine—”
“—being unattached for so many, many years.”
Yeesh, she made it sound like he was a ninety-year-old never-been-married bachelor. Which would be fine if it were God’s will
and he lived that long. He’d already been burned once, and that was enough.
“So don’t be mad at me. Please.” She handed him the letters. “I thought you might find a pen pal or two in this stack.”
“A pen pal.” He looked at the girly script on the first envelope. “Right.”
“Just give the letters a chance, Perry.” She tapped the top of the packet. Your future frau might be closer than you think.”
The diner door opened, and Daisy walked outside. She glanced at Perry and Mamm , giving them a small smile. “Grace left something in the buggy,” she explained.
He watched her hurry to the row of buggies parked by a hitching post in the lot. Seeing her and Grace in the diner had been a surprise. So was Grace inviting him and Ferman to join them. He’d almost refused, feeling a little awkward. Then again, he was already feeling awkward in the crowded diner. In the end it didn’t matter because Ferman made the decision for them, and it was a good one. Talking to Daisy had helped keep his mind off being around so many people.
“Daisy seems like a lovely maedel .”
He turned to his mother, ready to tell her that Daisy was an acquaintance, and barely one at that. For good measure he’d also
inform her that she had a boyfriend named Maynard back home in Dover.
But before he could get any of that out, an idea hit him. Hard, like a smack upside the head. And instead of taking a second
to evaluate the wisdom or foolishness of said idea, he blurted out, “She’s a friend .”
Mamm ’s eyebrow went up. “A friend ?” She peered around Perry to see Daisy bent over in the buggy, her feet hanging above the ground as she reached far inside.
Then she sat back, her eyes wide with shock. “How long have you known each other?”
“A while,” he said a little too quickly. But Mamm didn’t seem to notice his overly swift answer. She was looking at Daisy again. “Grace, ah, told me about her, and I decided
to, um, write to her.”
“You’re pen pals?” Mamm clasped her hands with glee. “Why didn’t you tell me—wait, forget I asked. You’re a grown man. You don’t need me interfering
in your personal life.”
He gaped at her. That’s all she’d done over the past several years, and it had only amped up since his youngest brother, Elam,
got hitched.
Mamm leaned in close, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “She’s not only here to visit Grace, is she?” Grinning,
she took the packet from him. “Obviously you don’t need these anymore.”
He dug his fingernails into his palms, his stomach heavy, like an anchor was dragging it down. This was bad. So, so bad, and
he needed to clarify, or more accurately, tell her the truth.
Daisy walked past them, carrying a cloth tote bag. She waved her fingers at him and Mamm and went back inside the diner.
“Isn’t she sweet.”
He turned to Mamm and saw her huge grin and the happiness in her eyes. There was also something underlying her obvious emotions. Relief . He held his tongue. While his mother had overstepped her bounds more than once, she was well-meaning and loving. What would
it hurt to let her think he and Daisy were friends ? Just for a little while, and it would end her matchmaking for the time being. He’d burst her bubble soon enough.
“Can you do me a favor?” he asked. Despite rationalizing his decision, guilt was piling up by the second. Still, he plodded
forward. “Keep this between you and me, okay? Don’t let Daisy know I told you. We’re still getting to know each other.” Finally,
he’d said something truthful.
“Of course.” She shoved the letters in her purse and zipped her lips. “I understand completely. The fewer people who know,
the better, ya ? In case it doesn’t work out.” She stood. “I don’t want to keep you from your friend ,” she said with a wink and walked inside.
Perry slumped against the bench. What have I done?