Chapter 8
— chapter eight
Leanna had started working at Brenneman’s two years before Willis died.
She’d gotten the job quite by accident. She and Willis had been standing by their buggy after church when Martin and his frau, Sarah, came over to say goodbye.
Leanna had always been fond of Sarah. She was a smiley sort of woman.
The type who rarely had an unkind word to say about anything, whether it was a thunderstorm, an impatient person in line, or a bite of stale bread.
Though some women whispered to each other that such good humor could be slightly irritating at times, Leanna found her to be refreshing.
She’d always gotten along with Sarah’s husband as well.
She and Martin had both attended the same Amish school.
Even though he was now the successful owner of a plumbing company and their district’s deacon, she couldn’t look at Martin without remembering his inability to ever get an A on a spelling test.
After they’d all commented on the preacher’s message and wished each other a relaxing Sunday afternoon, Sarah mentioned that the restaurant where she worked was in dire need of a new hostess. She then asked if Leanna would consider taking on the job.
In any other circumstance, Willis would have put his foot down.
He liked Leanna to stay at home and be at his beck and call.
But there was something in Martin’s and Sarah’s expressions that said they wouldn’t allow Willis to forbid Leanna to accept.
It was as if they knew she needed something else to occupy her mind besides a marriage filled with tension due to the fact that she couldn’t seem to have a child.
And so she did begin the job. Happily.
It wasn’t a difficult job, or overly taxing.
For twenty hours a week, Leanna stood at the reception desk at the restaurant, greeted people, and walked them to their tables.
She loved it. She appreciated the opportunity to make extra money, of course.
But more than that, she enjoyed chatting with other people.
She’d begun to feel so isolated on her farm.
Every time she worked, Leanna found her spirits lifting.
All of the other employees were nice, and many complimented her calm and kind demeanor.
For the first time in a while, she felt as if she was doing something right, and she cherished that feeling.
In more than one way, her job had become a lifeline, both before and after Willis passed away.
When Leanna walked into the restaurant at half past ten on Wednesday, she whispered a quick prayer of thanks. She needed to get out of the house today. No, she needed to do something in order to get her mind off Evan Keim.
From the time he left that Sunday night, she’d regretted her decision to push him away. While it was true that she wasn’t eager to marry again, there was a small part of her that knew she might change her mind if the man was the right man.
Nee, if it was Evan Keim.
Though her girlish crush made her blush, she couldn’t deny the truth about him. He was wonderful. So wonderful, for a few moments she’d imagined having a different life. A different sort of marriage. Even though taking a chance on such a thing was scary.
And that, she supposed, was what had propelled her to push him away.
Evan and his box of chocolates had broken through some of the shell she’d placed around herself when she was married.
He’d reminded her that not all relationships were difficult and not all men were cold and calculating in private.
Of course, it was very possible that she was imagining things about Evan that weren’t true. She could be pretending he was her Prince Charming when he was anything but that.
She just wished she would have given him a chance.
“You ready for another busy day at Brenneman’s, Leanna?” Sarah asked as she tied an apron around her work dress.
“As ready as I ever will be,” Leanna replied. “How are you today, Sarah?”
“Wonderful.” Her smile brightened. “Everyone in my family is doing well this morning. That’s all I can ask for.”
“Indeed.”
Sarah glanced over her shoulder. “Oh! Looks like our first customers have arrived.”
Sure enough, the front door opened, two couples walked inside, and Leanna got to work. She greeted the couples, walked them to their tables, and passed out menus. Did the same thing again and again. Mr. Brenneman arrived after an hour to give her a short break.
And when she got back to the reception desk, she was stunned to see a member of the widows club waiting for her.
It caught her off guard. Immediately, she thought of all the veiled and not-so-veiled warnings about keeping the widows club a secret.
Seeing a member here at her job was disconcerting.
But perhaps she should’ve been prepared for that.
After all, there were a great many women in the club. “Charlotte, hi.”
“Hi, Leanna,” she said with a warm smile. “What a nice surprise to see you here.”
“It’s good to see you too.”
“Have you worked here long?”
“A couple of years now.”
“I haven’t thought about taking a job, but maybe I should think about it.” Wrinkling her nose, she added, “I’ll ask my kinner what they think next time we get together.”
“Would they not like you working?”
“I’m not sure,” she said slowly. “I babysit my grandchildren a lot. They might not like it if I’m not available for them.”
Leanna wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She supposed family should always come first . . . but it would be challenging if she had to ask her grown children for permission to do something. Pushing those confusing thoughts aside, she picked up a menu. “Are you ready to sit down?”
“Sure.”
Leanna walked her to a table near a window in the dining room. She liked to seat single diners there because it was off to the side and allowed them to look out the window instead of at the other diners. “Today’s soup is cream of asparagus.”
“Danke,” she said as she took the menu. Just as Leanna was about to walk away, Charlotte said, “What did you think of your first meeting?”
“I enjoyed it.”
“It’s nice to be around other women in the same situation, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“I’ll look forward to seeing you again, Leanna.”
“I feel the same way.” The front door opened, and Leanna added, “Enjoy your lunch,” before she hurried to her post. “Welcome to Brenneman’s,” she called out with a smile. “How many in your party?”
The customer turned her way and almost made her feel a little dizzy. Her cheeks flushed. “Hiya, Evan.”
The barest hint of a smile formed on his lips. “Hello, Leanna. I’d forgotten you worked here.”
Did that mean he was sorry to see her? Of course, why would he be glad? He’d come calling, bought her an expensive box of chocolate, and she’d sent him away. “I, um, only work here part-time, and it varies week to week.”
“Ah.”
Becoming even more flustered, she pulled out a menu. “Just one, or are you waiting on anyone?”
“There’s going to be two of us. One of my sons is going to meet me, but he’s running late, so I’ll sit down to wait for him.”
She grabbed another menu. “Follow me, then.”
Without saying a word, Evan followed her to his table. As she walked, Leanna debated if she should say anything to him about his visit. Or was it better to never mention it? She didn’t know.
“How is this table?”
“It is fine, Leanna,” he answered without looking at it.
Even though she felt more than a little awkward, she knew it was time to try to smooth things out between them. “I . . . I am enjoying the chocolate.”
Surprise and maybe a spark of pleasure lit his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Jah. The, um, the caramels are especially gut.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed them.” His voice was warmer.
And just like that, her body responded yet again. Realizing she was standing there like a fool, Leanna cleared her throat. “I’ll walk your son over when he arrives.”
“It’s Jeremy.”
“I’ll be on the lookout for him,” she said with a smile.
But as she walked back to her station, she met Charlotte’s gaze.
Charlotte smiled, but it was obvious that she’d watched the way Leanna and Evan interacted. For some reason, she felt embarrassed.
Was she no longer supposed to feel anything for a man?
Widowhood was turning out to be far more complicated than she’d ever imagined.
All Leanna knew for certain was that she’d made a very big mistake that Sunday. She might not be in any hurry to marry again, but there was a part of her that yearned to spend time with Evan Keim again.
Hopefully there was nothing wrong with that.