Chapter 23
23
Two weeks passed by quickly with the construction going on behind the shop. It was everything Moses had dreamed of—soon he’d have a tourist destination in Lancaster County. Something he’d wanted since he first saw the market in Delaware.
He guessed he’d been in denial, but he hadn’t asked Joey about the Byler family yet. He hadn’t done more research on Paul and Faith. He hadn’t asked his mother for any more information. He hadn’t requested a copy of his birth certificate, which he couldn’t locate in the important papers he had in the lockbox in his apartment.
No, he’d been doing his best to not think about any of it. Or about Sara, except to talk to her about the café. Or about Jane. He hadn’t received a reply to any of his— Menno’s —letters that he’d written after July 8.
He’d been putting all his energy into the Paradise Amish Market. Things were going well, finally, as far as his businesses were concerned. The grocery store was having the best summer yet. Business at the café was doing better. It seemed Sara had been putting more effort into managing it. And Paradise Found’s profits were higher than last year, even with paying more wages with Evelyn working part-time.
But two things weren’t going well. The first was Sara. She still seemed convinced that they’d pick their relationship back up in three months—two months now—even though he’d made it clear he wasn’t interested. She continued to claim they’d “gotten back together” before.
The other thing that wasn’t going well was Lois. She was so kind and open with customers, genuinely wanting to help them, providing tidbits of information about Lancaster County and special events and answering their questions about the Amish. She worked hard to make sales in a helpful, not pushy way. But she still barely tolerated him.
After he finished up at his office, he drove over to Casey’s parents’ farm to talk with Casey. The builders believed they’d be done by the last week of August. Moses planned to open the market the Friday before Labor Day. He wouldn’t start to see a profit from the market until the next year, since the summer season was the most profitable, but he was sure his investment would pay off.
He turned down the lane without looking across the road to where he’d grown up. He parked by the workshop. The door was open. Casey often worked after supper for a couple of hours.
Moses knocked on the doorframe and said, “Hallo.”
Casey looked up from the birdhouse on his bench. It was identical to the one Moses had bought for Mamm. He gave Moses his wide smile. “Hallo.”
After they chatted about the hot weather and the thunderstorm that was brewing, Moses said he wanted to give Casey an update about the market. “Have you decided about whether you’d like to manage it or not?”
“You think I can manage it and sell my things?”
“Jah,” Moses said. “You can do the market business part during the week. It will take several hours, but you’ll be saving time not having to commute to Delaware.”
Casey nodded. “That’s what I figured too. And I’d have a guaranteed spot inside before Christmas?”
“Jah. You can be inside or outside for the few weeks we have it open this fall. And then inside for sure through the winter. You can decide if you want to move outside by the time the weather warms again.”
“All right.” He placed both hands on the workbench. “I’d like to take the job.”
On his way home, Moses decided to swing by the care center to visit Mamm before she went to bed. As he parked his SUV, Lois came out the front door. She hopped on her scooter and sped away, with her reflective vest on, before he could call out to her. When he signed in at the counter, he scanned the visitors’ sheet. Lois had signed in at 3:14 to visit his Mamm. She’d stayed for over four hours. His heart lurched.
When he reached Mamm’s room, she was already in bed asleep. It seemed Lois had helped get her ready for bed. Most likely she’d tucked her in. Moses kissed Mamm’s forehead. He had a funny feeling that Lois had probably done the same just minutes before.
That evening, Moses sat at his desk in his apartment and stared for a few minutes at the painted bunting collage he’d bought that first day at Paradise Found, which made him think of Lois, which made him miss Jane. Then he wrote to the circle group about what he’d seen that day in the woods on the property—but he wrote, the woods close by , implying the location was in Delaware. He’d seen a northern flicker, with a flash of yellow in its wings, fly up from the ground as he walked to the back of the property. It was a woodpecker but it mostly dug for ants and beetles in the ground.
The leaves on the maples were already yellowing. Soon the sparrows’ nests would be visible. He’d also seen a white-crowned sparrow sitting on the branch of a pepperbush. He wrote about it too. It watched him until the builders’ circular saw started up and, startled, the bird flew away.
Had birds left the woods because of the construction? Would they stay away once the market started? A dog on the neighboring farm had barked and a wood thrush darted past him.
Moses wrote about all of those birds, leaving out any mentions of construction, and then addressed the envelope, put the letter inside, and sealed it.
He was tempted to write to Jane again but was sure she— Lois —wouldn’t write back.
A fence would protect the woods on the market side, just as it did on the neighboring farm side. It would keep both people and dogs out. Although perhaps some people would want to go into the woods. Lois had already incorporated a bird theme into the shop—perhaps they ... Perhaps he could add trails through the woods for customers who came to the market. Maybe even a couple of picnic tables. Perhaps he could add a bird theme to the market too.
He’d have to come up with a way to bring up the topic with Lois. In the last Flight of Doves report, Teresa had encouraged everyone to emulate birds and be a good parent and/or leader. She’d written about how birds will risk their lives to distract a predator from their young, and how some corvids—crows, ravens, jays—raise their young up to two years, which makes those birds more adaptable and flexible to life’s challenges. Teresa had encouraged everyone, in whatever position and stage of life they were in, to emulate birds and be the very best leaders they could be. Nurture others , she’d written. But depend on their strengths too.
Moses definitely relied on Lois’s strengths at the shop. And now she was helping his Mamm too. Who did Lois truly have, besides Amy, to care for her?
The next morning, he tried. He asked Lois how she was doing. She answered, “Fine.” After he commented on how many birdhouses had sold that week—nine—he said, “I’ve been thinking about the woods and how we could incorporate the bird theme of the shop into the market and somehow tie the woods in too.”
She gave him a blank stare.
“We could order more birding books, specifically on birding in Pennsylvania.”
“You wanted me to get rid of the bird products, remember?”
“Right. But I changed my mind after seeing how well everything is selling.” He didn’t add, Remember?
“So now you like birds?”
He wanted to say he’d always liked birds, but that was something he used to tease her about in school—how much she liked birds. He’d pretended he thought it babyish, all while he was going birding with his Mamm every chance he got. “It’s not about liking birds—it’s about what’s selling in the shop.”
She crossed her arms.
He took a step backward. And then another. “Think about it.”
She scowled.
A few more retreating steps, and he was in his office. How could he have been so horrible to Lois, fifteen years ago and five years ago and four months ago too? Jane was all sweetness and light, while Lois was a pain.
But she was only a pain to him. And he’d made her that way.
Three weeks later, the building was completed and the concrete pads were finished for the outside stalls and food trucks. That Friday, the Paradise Amish Market opened with thirty vendors, including Casey and Amy. It was a warm, sunny day, so Moses put all the vendors outside, hoping the sight would attract more business. He placed picnic tables inside the shelter building and raised the garage doors so people would have a shady place to sit after they bought sausages, doughnuts, slices of pie, lemonade, and coffee.
The lot was full of cars, and several buggies were parked at the hitching posts. The buggies of the vendors were parked near the newly fenced-off section of the remaining grassy area, where their horses grazed.
Moses stopped by Amy’s stall and waited until she finished with a customer. “How’s it going?” he asked.
Amy smiled. “Better than I expected the first day to be. I’ve sold fifteen items or so. I’m hopeful.”
“Who’s watching the kids?”
“My Mamm.” She leaned forward a little. “I haven’t seen Lois yet.”
“The shop has been busy. Evelyn is working too, so Lois should be able to take a break soon.”
A few minutes later, Sara arrived at the market. When he excused himself to go to his office, she followed. Without closing the door, she said, “I’m beginning to think I’ve had enough of you.”
Moses sat down in his chair. “All right...”
“In fact, I’m done.”
“Done?” he asked in a lower tone.
“Jah. Done with the café and done with you.”
Moses hesitated for a moment and then said, “I see.”
“I’ll work for a few more weeks until you find someone to replace me. But then I’m going back to my uncle’s restaurant.”
Moses stood. “Thank you for the time you’ve worked for me. I appreciate it.”
Sara uncrossed her arms and pointed her right index finger at him. “Is that all you’re going to say to me? After all of these years?” More like months. They’d really only dated from February until the end of June. It had taken him that long to—what? Grow desperate about being alone? Get over Lois? And yet he hadn’t tried to contact Lois once during that time.
Moses spoke quietly. “I’m sorry. I know I haven’t handled this well.”
“Sorry?” Her voice was louder. “You’re nothing but a jerk, do you know that? A wealthy jerk—”
He winced.
“—but a jerk nonetheless.”
“I think you should go,” Moses said. “And if you’d rather not work at the café any longer, I understand.”
Sara glared at him and then left the office. She slammed the back door. At least she hadn’t gone out the front and somehow involved Lois in her antics.
Although he couldn’t help but wonder how much Lois had heard of the conversation. No doubt she agreed with Sara. He was a jerk.