Chapter 18 #2
Still looking at the spread in awe, Becca said, “That was really nice of you to pick all this up.”
“It wasn’t a problem,” Kurt answered. “Besides, you gotta remember that Jeremy is the youngest of four boys. We’re used to eating a lot in this house. It won’t go to waste.”
“Would you like something to eat now?” Jeremy asked.
Looking a little like a deer in the headlights, she whispered, “What do you want to do?”
Kurt smirked at Jeremy before clearing his throat. “Daed, I just remembered that I need to show you something on my phone. Let’s go upstairs.”
“Upstairs? Well, all right.”
When they disappeared from view, Jeremy motioned Becca toward the hearth room. “Let’s go in here. It’s usually pretty warm.”
As they walked, Becca said, “I was too embarrassed to ask this last time, but do all Amish houses look like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“You have carpet on the stairs, and I saw a recliner in the living room.”
“What about it?”
“I didn’t think you were allowed to have those things.”
“No, we can.” He thought about some of his other friends’ homes. “But everyone is different, right? I mean, just because someone is English doesn’t mean they all have the same stuff.”
“You’re right.”
When they got to the hearth room, he tried to look at it from her perspective.
There was a game table with two chairs in a back corner, a couch with a quilt on top of it, a braided rug one of his aunts had made for them, a bookshelf filled with games, puzzles, and books, and a pair of tables that held lights, one kerosene and one battery operated.
Luckily the fireplace was lit and the room was toasty. “Have a seat,” he said.
She sat at one end of the couch, looking shy again.
He wished he could read her mind. “What are you thinking? Does everything look weird to you?”
“Not at all. I think it’s really nice. It’s a lot nicer than our apartment.”
“Oh.”
Her cheeks turned red. “Sorry. I guess that sounded pretty bad.”
“No,” he said. “I was just thinking that I can’t think of anything to say, and now I feel stupid.”
“I feel the same way.” Her eyes darted to the games on the shelves. “Want to play a game?”
“Sure. Scrabble, Yahtzee, Monopoly, or Clue?”
“Clue.”
“That’s my favorite too. Come on. Let’s set it up.”
“I haven’t played this in years. Probably not since I was in middle school.”
“Me neither.”
As they unfolded the game board, arranged the cards in the secret envelope, and located pencils for the sheets that came with it, the tension between them eased. “Who do you want to be?” he asked.
“Mrs. White.”
“Okay, I’ll be Colonel Mustard.” He picked up the cards to pass them out.
“Hey, you guys ought to grab plates of food,” Kurt said at the doorway. “Daed’s starting to think he got too much and is about to call Trip and Russell to see if they want some too.”
“I’m sorry. My daed is kind of a nut. He’s always ‘more is better’ as far as family is concerned.” He got to his feet. “I’ll tell him that you don’t need to be around any more of us today.”
“I don’t mind if they come over.”
“You sure?” Kurt asked.
She giggled. “I think it’s cute that your daed wants everyone to be happy.”
Her words hit him hard. Not that he was surprised but because he realized that he probably took that for granted a lot of the time. “Come on, let’s get some food.”
They went into the kitchen, he handed Becca a plate, and then they helped themselves to crackers, grapes, apple slices, cheese, and pieces of salami.
“We got a couple of containers of cookies too,” Daed said as he entered the room.
“Of course you did,” Jeremy teased.
Kurt shrugged. “You can’t go to Walnut Creek Cheese and not get a little bit of everything.”
“I suppose not.”
“What did you two decide to do?”
“We’re going to play Clue,” Becca said. “Would you two like to play with us?”
“Really?”
She shrugged. “It’s more fun with four people.”
Jeremy realized she wasn’t just being nice. He nodded at his brother. “Yeah, you guys ought to come in and play.”
“All right then,” Kurt said. “Hey, I’ll help you extend the table too.”
“Thanks.”
When Kurt and Becca started out, Jeremy paused. “Thanks, Daed.”
“Are you sure you’re okay with the two of us spoiling your date?”
“You aren’t.”
“In that case, I’ll be right in.”
It turned out that Jeremy had a great time. Becca laughed and joked and was adorable. Jeremy could tell that both Kurt and Daed liked her a lot.
Hours later, after he and Kurt dropped Becca off, Kurt drove him back home.
“You know what? I was going to tell you a bunch of stuff tonight,” Kurt blurted.
“Like what?”
“Like to be sure that you aren’t just thinking about her when you decide whether to get baptized or not. And caution you that a lot of English girls have big plans that don’t have anything to do with our town. I didn’t want you to get your heart broken.”
“But you’re not going to tell me all that now?” He couldn’t resist the touch of sarcasm in his tone.
Looking completely serious, Kurt shook his head. “No. Becca is a lot different than I expected.”
“I hope you mean in a good way.”
“I do.” When he stopped at a light, he ran his fingers through his hair. “I think she really likes you.”
He hoped so. “I don’t know what to do. I wish making a decision about the rest of my life was easier.”
“I’ve started to realize that it never does get any easier. Look at Daed. He’s going courting, and he never thought he’d be interested in another woman besides Mamm.”
“Yeah, I didn’t see that coming either.”
“Hey, Jeremy, there’s something you’ve got that a lot of people don’t and that’s a lot of support. Russell, me, and Trip are going to support you no matter what you choose to do. And Daed’s a given.”
“Yeah.”
“And . . . try and bring that Becca around more. I think she might need us.”
Jeremy nodded. Because he didn’t think Kurt was wrong. There was something about that girl that made him want to protect her from anything that might hurt her.
Even though he didn’t know exactly what he was supposed to be protecting her from.