Second Chances (32 page)

“Can you believe it?” Hannah whispered into her ear, bumping up against her as she
took two plates of bread from the counter. “I wonder that he's returned so soon!”

Anna bit her lower lip and acted as if she wasn't following Hannah's train of thought.

“Freman, you goose!” Hannah clarified. “He was sweet on Leah, you know!” Then, as
if in afterthought, Hannah gasped and stared at Anna. “Oh, help! You don't think
that . . . ” She paused and looked around, making certain no one could overhear her.
“I saw him staring during the service.
Mayhaps
it wasn't Leah after all . . . ”

From Hannah's expression, Anna read her mind.

“Oh, help!” Hannah whispered as she took the plates of bread and started to walk
away. Hesitating, she
looked back at Anna. “You'll tend to the men,
ja
? I don't want
Freman thinking . . . I mean, I am engaged to Caleb now . . . ”

During the fellowship meal, Anna made certain to position herself so that she was
responsible for refilling water cups for the men. She lingered behind Freman, the
pitcher of water heavy in her hands, as she waited. Her heart beat and she felt weak
in the knees. She needed to speak to him, but she was uncertain how to approach him.

When she finally noticed that he lifted the cup to his lips, she took a step forward
and ever so softly touched his shoulder. When he glanced up, she saw a different
look upon his face. Gone was the harsh looks from his initial days in Sugarcreek.
In its place was one of warmth and—dare she breathe the word—hope.

“More water?” she said softly, averting her eyes.

“
Danke
, Anna.”

With a trembling hand, she reached for his cup at the same moment that he too stretched
out his arm to retrieve it. For a split second, their hands brushed against each
other, and when he glanced at her, she blushed.

Holding the cup, she tilted the pitcher so that it was filled once again and handed
it back to him. And then, she hesitated, just long enough to realize that she might
not have such an opportunity again. “
Mayhaps
we shall see you at the singing tonight.”
Her words were uttered so softly that she wondered if he had heard her, for he had
turned his attention back to the man seated to his left. She could only hope that
he had and pray that he did.

“Anna?” someone called out from the other side of the table. She looked up and saw
Willis staring at her. He cleared his throat and glanced down at his own glass,
indicating
that he too needed a refill. Then, with a smile, he lifted his wide eyes back to
meet hers. Several men seated around him noticed and she saw them nudge each other
as if they shared a newly found secret. Willis continued to smile at her, not seeming
to care if others were paying attention. She wondered if he had overheard her words
to Freman; it wasn't like Willis to call attention to himself, or others, like that.
With a heaviness filling her chest, Anna returned to her duties and tried not to
cast sideways glances in Freman's direction while she attended to the demands of
the other men.

With so many people to feed and only so much space at the tables, the
g
'
may
always
had at least two seatings.
At some worship services, when guests came visiting or a special preacher stopped
by, they might have even more attendees so they had to serve three meals. The unmarried
men and women always ate last while the older men, visitors, or the men with smaller
children usually congregated outside, or in the case of inclement weather, in the
barn. Freman had eaten with the first seating, so she suspected that he now stood
outside, perhaps talking with the other men or eager to harness his horse and leave,
for she saw no sign of him when she sat at the table.

Almost an hour passed before the second seating finished their meal. Anna barely
ate anything, just picking at some pretzels and cup of cheese. Only Lydia noticed
Anna's lack of appetite.

“Not nourishing your body won't nourish your soul,” Lydia said softly to Anna as
she carried her plate and cup to the waiting wash tub in the kitchen.

Anna tried to smile but couldn't. “I'm just feeling . . . ” She couldn't finish her
sentence. She wasn't certain what she felt.

Lydia nodded her head and took a deep breath. “I understand, Anna. There's a lot
weighing heavily on your mind.” Gesturing toward the kitchen door, open to let in
fresh air for the room had grown warm with so many people crowded inside, Lydia added,
“
Mayhaps
you might walk on home before Mary finds you and has you watching her
kinner
again.”

The scowl on Lydia's face almost made Anna smile, knowing full well that the comment
was not out of line. Despite having been away for so long, Mary would undoubtedly
seek out her sister so that she could sit and visit without having her sons tugging
at her apron. “That's a
gut
idea, Lydia,” Anna said quietly. “
Danke
.”

Once outside, she glanced at the sky. The heaviest of the rain seemed to have passed
by, leaving puddles in the road and a sheen of glistening raindrops on the grass.
Anna walked alone, grateful to have the quiet and solitude to sort through her thoughts.

Between Willis's unwanted determination and Freman's unexpected appearance, she felt
torn: How could she thwart the one's attention while trying to attract the other?
She knew that to achieve the former, she'd hurt someone's feelings, while in order
to attain the latter, she risked embarrassing herself and possibly others.

Oh!
she thought.
What to do!

No sooner had she paused at the stop sign, looking both ways to ensure that neither
car nor buggy approached before crossing, than Anna heard someone calling her name.
At first she thought she had heard incorrectly, but
when she heard a male voice shout,
“Anna!” a second time, she turned around and squinted as she looked down the road
from the direction she had just walked. Barely could she make out the tall, dark
figure walking toward her from the bishop's driveway. But as soon as she did, she
inhaled sharply: it was Freman, and he had called her name. To her further surprise,
he beckoned for her to pause so that he might catch up.

Standing beside him, she felt small in his shadow. She had forgotten how tall he
was, especially as he stood before her, his hands behind his back. He looked so proper
in his black suit and hat. Unlike some of the younger men, he chose to wear a black
vest under his coat, which added to both the austerity and the attractiveness of
his person.

She could scarcely meet his gaze, and she wondered if he would reproach her for having
commented about the singing, a gathering intended for the youth, not someone of his
age.

“You are walking?”

His question, asking something that required no answer because of its obvious nature,
caused her a moment of pause.
That
was not like Freman.

“I am,” she admitted and glanced up at his face.

“But it's raining.”

Looking upward, she gave her head just a slight shake. “
Nee
, I think it has passed.
It's just a drizzle and I wanted the exercise.”

While the air felt damp, the clouds were not as dark as before the church service
had started. After realizing that she was correct, which made him not quite certain
how to respond, Freman hesitated and stumbled over his words. “
Ja
,
vell
. . . then
mayhaps
I shall walk with you?” He
brought forth his hand and lifted it, just slightly,
so that she could see what he held. “I've brought an umbrella,” he said. “I've come
prepared today.”

The sincerity with which he spoke those words caused Anna to smile as she remembered
Mary's fuss over not having an umbrella on a walk prior to their Lancaster adventure.

Silently, they fell into step, walking side by side down the road.

“I have just yesterday returned from Indiana,” he said, opening up the conversation
as they rounded a bend near a small farm. He seemed quick to add, “When we returned
from Lancaster, there was a letter waiting for me at Sara's
haus
. . . your
daed
's
haus
, I reckon . . . I needed to return to sort through a business issue.”

Uncertain how to respond, she settled with a simple “Oh?” Anna knew it would appear
too inquisitive if she questioned him further.

“
Ja
. . . and I received a phone call at my shop from Benjamin while I was there,”
he added. “He wanted to tell me the news.”

At this statement, she remained quiet.

“He inquired after everyone, you in particular.” Freman cleared his throat. “He wanted
to know if the news had reached you and if you would be altered by it.”

“Me?”

Freman quickly added, “I told him that I was not certain regarding your knowledge,
but I was convinced that nothing could alter you, at least not in my eyes.”

Anne hid a smile at his last statement, remembering how it contradicted his first
observation of her when he returned to Sugarcreek, when Mary reported that he had
found her greatly altered. She was, however, curious why anyone would have worried
about her. For the moment she chose not to think about it, enjoying this light side
of Freman, so reminiscent of the man she had known eight years prior.

“And . . . and what brings you back to Sugarcreek?” she dared to ask.

He lifted his head and stared straight ahead, a blank expression on his face. “Unfinished
business” was his simple reply.

“Anna!”

They both turned to look in the direction of her name being called. A buggy drove
up alongside them, and to Anna's mortification, she saw Willis slowing down on the
side of the road. He smiled at her, sparing only a quick but polite nod in Freman's
direction. “Your
schwester
asked me to find you. They're going to visit with the
Troyers, and the boys wanted to return home.”

Anna's eyes flickered to the back of the buggy, and to her surprise, little Cris
and Walter grinned at her. “Oh . . . ”

Willis gestured to the seat beside him. “Come now,” he said cheerfully. “
Mayhaps
we might take them for a walk down that lane behind your
haus
.”

Unable to speak, she felt Freman take a step away from her, his hands behind his
back and his chin jutting forward. She thought for a moment of arguing, of telling
Willis that she was not able to watch the two boys. Immediately she knew that she
couldn't do that. Not to the boys.

“Enjoy your afternoon,” Freman said as a parting remark, an edge of curtness the
only clue that he might be resentful or (dare she hope?) jealous of Willis's
attention.
Anna climbed into the buggy beside Willis, prepared to send Freman a look of regret,
but he had turned away, headed toward the Troyers' farm, and did not look back. To
her dismay, he had disappeared once again, and along with him any hopes that she
had of reconciliation or even reunion.

Chapter Nineteen

B
Y THE TIME
that Mary and Cris returned, Anna had fed the two boys an early supper.
After cleaning up the few dishes, she sat with them on the sofa, looking through
a book about Daniel in the lion's den, another favorite book that kept them entertained.
She took her time reading it, pausing on each page to ask them questions and awaiting
their response with the utmost of patience.

The afternoon hadn't progressed quickly, despite the energy level of both boys. After
sitting for three hours at the Troyers' house for the worship service, one that they
barely understood, for both the hymns and sermons were conducted in High German,
they wanted to run outside, even though the damp grass made the hems of their pants
wet.