Hometown Promise (14 page)

Lukas pulled into the driveway at his grandfather’s house. As he got out of the car, big white snowflakes started falling. Unlike the storm a couple of weeks ago, these flakes fell in a lazy pattern against the darkened sky.

After taking the front steps in one bound, he let himself into the house. A delicious smell coming from the kitchen greeted him. “Grandpa, I’m here. What do you need?”

His grandfather came out of the kitchen, a pot holder in one hand. “Oh, good. You got here very quickly.”

“I know. I was worried.” Clearly, there was no reason to worry. His grandfather seemed fine. So why had he called? “Tell me what you need. I can’t stay long because we’re having the dress rehearsal for the Winter Festival tonight.”

“You need to slow down and enjoy life a little. You are pushing yourself too hard.”

Before Lukas could make an argument against the statement, the doorbell rang. His grandfather rushed to the front door. “My company is here.”

“Grandpa, I don’t have time to visit. Who—” The word stuck in Lukas’s mouth as Juliane and Dot walked into the house.

“Ladies, thank you so much for coming.” Ferd closed the door and ushered Dot and Juliane farther into the living room.

“Thank you for inviting us.” Juliane took off her coat and helped Dot out of her coat, then handed them to Ferd.

Ferd trotted off to put the coats in the bedroom while
Lukas stood there wondering what was going on. “So Grandpa invited you over?”

Juliane nodded. “We’re here for supper. Didn’t he tell you?”

His heart tripping, Lukas fought back a smile. So Grandpa was matchmaking again. This time Lukas didn’t even mind. “No, he didn’t. Just told me that he needed my help.”

“Help eating the food maybe.” Dot chuckled and held up a bag. “I brought cookies. I hope you like them.”

“I’m sure I will.” Lukas wasn’t sure whether he wanted to wring his grandfather’s neck or hug it.

Ferd returned to the living room. “Ladies, please have a seat.”

“Can’t we do something to help?” Juliane asked.

Ferd shook his head. “You relax. Lukas will help me in the kitchen.”

Lukas strode after his grandfather, then glared at him as he removed a large baking dish from the oven. “Why did you ask me over and not tell me this was an invitation for supper?”

Ferd set the dish on top of the stove. “I thought you might say you did not have time, but I knew if I said I needed your help, you would come. You are such a good grandson, and I know I can count on your help.”

If Lukas didn’t know better, he’d believe his grandfather was engaging in flattery. But Lukas had to acknowledge that his grandfather’s response was genuine. “Okay, thanks for inviting me. How can I help?”

“You can put the red cabbage in a bowl, find a serving spoon for it and put it on the table.”

Eyeing the casserole dish on the stove, Lukas did as his grandfather instructed. “Is that your baked spaetzle with ham and cheese?”

“Yes, I promised Dot and Juliane last week at the senior center that I would cook them some good German food.”

“This is great, Grandpa. You haven’t cooked in a long time.” The delicious aromas wafting through the kitchen made Lukas regret that he’d ever been ashamed of his German heritage. “You aren’t wearing yourself out with all this work, are you?”

Ferd waved the pot holder at Lukas. “No need to worry yourself. I am very fit now that the doctors have fixed me up. I am feeling wonderful.”

“Well, don’t start doing too much.”

“I am fine. That doctor said so.” Nodding, Ferd placed napkins at each place setting. “I am glad I did as you said and listened to the doctors.”

“That’s good to know.”

Wagging a finger at Lukas, Ferd placed a trivet on the table and the casserole on top of it. “I listened to you, so I want you to listen to me. I have asked Dot to go to the Valentine’s banquet at church, and she said yes.”

“That’s nice. When did you do that?”

“During the homecoming party for Juliane’s sister.” Ferd looked up at Lukas and stabbed a finger into his chest. “Listen. I’m not finished talking yet. You ask Juliane to go.”

“I’ll think about it.” Lukas didn’t want to argue with his grandfather, especially with Juliane in the next room.

“No, just thinking about it is not enough. You must do it.”

“Grandpa, save this for another time. You have guests.”

Ferd frowned. “All right, but I will expect you to ask her.”

Lukas hurried into the living room to get away from his grandfather and his insistence about asking Juliane to the Valentine’s banquet. “Okay, ladies, supper is served.”

After everyone was seated, Lukas gave thanks for the food. As they started to eat, he said a silent prayer that his grandfather wouldn’t embarrass him by mentioning the banquet. Lukas was thrilled that Dot and his grandfather
were enjoying each other’s company, but why did he have to demand that Lukas have a date, too? Especially Juliane, who had shown so little interest in his company?

“Are you and Lukas ready for the Valentine’s banquet?” Ferd took Juliane’s plate and served her some of the casserole.

“Yes. Everything is set. My cousin Nathan finally agreed to be the master of ceremonies.”

Holding his breath, Lukas prayed that his grandfather wouldn’t continue to talk about the banquet. Lukas decided to change the subject. “We have to get through the Winter Festival first. This new snowfall will be great for the festival.”

“And the forecast calls for more snow on Friday night. I hope it’s not another blizzard.” Juliane took a bite of her food. “Ferd, this is delicious. What is it called?”

“Baked spaetzle with ham and cheese. It is a dish that my mother made when I was a boy in Germany.”

“I had no idea you were such a wonderful chef.”

“Thank you.”

Lukas didn’t miss the fact that Juliane’s compliment made his grandfather blush. But then, she’d endeared herself to him from the beginning. Lukas was beginning to feel the same way. He’d been smitten with her even when she’d been trying to ignore him because she thought he was still a drunk.

Could he get up enough nerve to ask her to the banquet? Even if he did, would she say yes? Why was he torturing himself with these questions?

Following his grandfather’s example and fulfilling his request was something Lukas knew he should do. He wanted to ask Juliane for a date, but he’d satisfied himself with seeing her at church and choir practice and things like Elise’s party.

Now was the time for him to step up and quit being a coward. Taking a big bite of the spaetzle, he told himself that he would ask Juliane to the banquet, not just to please his
grandfather but also to please himself. He had the courage. Tonight he would accept his grandfather’s challenge. Then it would be up to Juliane.

Throughout the rest of the meal while the others talked, Lukas tried to figure out how he would ask her. He went over a dozen different scenarios in his mind. He rehearsed and rehashed them until he nearly talked himself out of going through with it. Every plan seemed inadequate.

“Dot and I will do the cleanup, then we are going to watch a video that I rented.” Ferd’s comment shook Lukas from his troubled thoughts. “You young folks can run along to your practice.”

Lukas looked up from his plate and found Juliane staring at him. His heart beat in double time as he smiled at her. “Are you ready to go? I can drive. No sense in taking two cars since you have to come back here to take Dot home.”

“Excellent plan.” Ferd stood and stacked the plates. “We will see you later.”

Lukas could tell by his grandfather’s look that he was reminding Lukas of their earlier discussion. Hoping to get out of the kitchen before Grandpa said anything about it, Lukas hurried Juliane into the living room and got their coats.

When Lukas returned, he helped Juliane with her coat, then shrugged into his own. Seeing Grandpa and Dot step into the living room, Lukas opened the front door. He waved, and Juliane called goodbye as he rushed her outside.

As Lukas backed out of the driveway, Juliane glanced over at him. “Are you afraid we’re going to be late or something? You barely gave me a chance to say thanks.”

Lukas pointed at the clock on the dash. “We don’t have much time. Besides, I thought we should get an early start. I might have to drive slower since the streets will probably be slick from the snow.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

“Anyway, you can tell him thanks when we come back.”

Nodding, Juliane looked straight ahead as if she were lost in thought. He should ask her now, but he didn’t know how to bring it up. Maybe he should just blurt it out. Get it over with. Otherwise, he’d be thinking about it all night rather than concentrating on the choir program. He might even lose his nerve it he waited.

He took a deep breath. “Juliane, would you go to the Valentine’s banquet with me?”

T
hat familiar jittery feeling filled Juliane’s chest. This invitation was the last thing she had expected to hear from him tonight. Hoping he wouldn’t see the indecision in her eyes, she concentrated on the snowflakes instead of looking at him.

Her pulse pounded in time to the wipers that pushed away the snow that stuck to the windshield. She wanted to say yes, but her tongue felt frozen.

Glancing over at her, he slowed the car as the traffic light turned red. A half laugh, half sigh came out of his mouth. “Guess I should’ve known you wouldn’t go with me.”

“No. No, I do want to go with you.” Juliane put a hand on Lukas’s arm.

“Are you sure? You certainly took long enough to reply.”

“I think I was in shock.” Had she just admitted that? Her brain was definitely on overload. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “I’d be honored to be your date.”

A slow smile curved his lips as the light changed and he cautiously went through the intersection. “Great. We can make some definite plans. Did you know that Grandpa is taking Dot?”

Juliane nodded. “I think they’re such a cute couple. How do you feel about it?”

“Whatever makes Grandpa happy makes me happy. At least most of the time.”

“Are we going to double-date?” Juliane wondered whether having the older couple with them would be the perfect thing on this first date.

“That’s possible. I’ll check with Grandpa.”

“It’s up to you.” Juliane thought she detected a little disappointment in Lukas’s response, or was she imagining that he wasn’t thrilled about having his grandfather and his date along?

“Do your parents usually go to this?”

“It all depends.” Juliane couldn’t help thinking about the year that her father got drunk and her mother had to go alone because she’d volunteered to be part of the program. Juliane later heard her mother crying. The sound had broken Juliane’s heart and made her wary of ever giving her heart away. But something about Lukas made her question that resolve. Was he truly the man she could trust with her heart?

“I was thinking if they’re going, we should have your dad sing one number. He sings great. What do you think?”

Juliane shook her head. “We’ve already got the whole thing planned, and I don’t want to change it now.”

“That wouldn’t take much. Put him in place of one of my songs.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. You never know when he’ll have store business that interferes,” Juliane said, fearing that not only store business could be a problem, but his sudden falling off the wagon. She couldn’t take the chance.

“Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be glad to relinquish one of my songs.”

“Why are you so eager to get my dad involved in this?”

“I just think he’s got a gift.”

Yeah, a gift for making his family miserable from time to time with his drinking.
Juliane wanted so badly to tell Lukas about her father’s problem. Lukas would certainly understand, but she couldn’t bring herself to divulge the family secret. She’d kept it for so long, she wasn’t sure she could ever talk about it with anyone, even Lukas. Her father’s problem remained an embarrassment that she couldn’t share. Instead of dwelling on that, she focused on her happiness at being Lukas’s date.

When Lukas stopped the car in the church parking lot, Juliane forced herself not to jump out of the car and run into the church. She wanted to find Elise and let her know that Lukas had asked her to the banquet.

Juliane walked beside Lukas as they made their way toward the side door of the church. “The snow’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Not so much when I have to shovel it.”

Juliane laughed and turned her face up to the sky and let the snowflakes kiss her cheeks. “I suppose after that incident at my house, you aren’t too fond of the snow, but it is beautiful. It makes everything seem so clean and pure.”

“Like a couple of verses in the Bible that talk about being whiter than snow.”

“Yeah.”

“My friend Bill used to remind me of those verses when I had trouble believing that God would forgive me for all the rotten things I’ve done.” Lukas opened the door, and they went inside.

“We’re all sinners, saved by grace.”

“Thanks for reminding me of that, too.”

After hanging their coats on the rack in the hallway, they entered the sanctuary. Juliane looked around, hoping to see Elise, but only Pastor Tom and a couple of other choir members were there. Lukas immediately started talking with Pastor
Tom, and Juliane headed to the restroom since they’d arrived early. The snowy streets hadn’t slowed them down after all.

In the restroom, Juliane brushed her hair as she checked her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed. Was it from the cold or the excitement of having Lukas ask her for a date? She had to get a grip. She was acting like a schoolgirl who’d been asked out for the first time and could hardly wait to tell her friends. Chuckling, she had to admit that was the way she felt—like she was sixteen again.

As Juliane went back down the hall toward the sanctuary, Elise was coming in through the side door from the parking lot. Juliane rushed forward and grabbed one of Elise’s arms and pulled her to one side. “I’ve got to tell you something.”

Elise drew back and looked at her with concern. “What?”

Leaning close to Elise, Juliane cupped her hand near Elise’s ear. “Tonight on the way to church, Lukas asked me to the Valentine’s banquet.”

Elise stepped back, raised her hands and gave a silence scream. “I’m assuming you said yes.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Juliane nodded. “I could hardly wait to tell you.”

Elise hugged Juliane. “I’m so thrilled for you.”

“Now we have to get you a date.”

“Oh, no. That’s why I volunteered to work in the kitchen.”

“Come on, Elise. We could all go together.”

Elise put her hands on her hips. “Now think about it. Where would I find a date?”

“Okay, you’ve got me there. There aren’t too many eligible men in this town that we aren’t related to in some way. Or they’re too old or too young.”

“That’s one of the big pluses of moving back here. It’s the perfect place to live and have no temptation to get involved with a man.”

“You’re going to eat those words one of these days.”

“Just like you?” Elise raised her eyebrows. “For someone who only days ago didn’t intend to do anything about your interest in Lukas, you’re certainly excited.”

“I know, I can’t believe it either.”

“We’d better get to practice.”

Juliane followed Elise into the sanctuary and hoped the event would be able to live up to her excitement.

Friday morning Juliane rolled out of bed, threw on her robe and wandered into the kitchen. After she put some water on to boil for tea, she went out to the front porch to retrieve the newspaper. Gazing at the newly fallen snow glittering in the sunshine, she knew it was a perfect day for the start of the Winter Festival. The first events would begin late this afternoon and go through Sunday night. The choir was scheduled to make their first performance at six o’clock in front of the courthouse in the town square.

As Juliane went back inside, she met Elise, who was coming down the stairs. “Good morning, Jules. Looks like a great day.”

“It is.” Juliane’s words came out in a harsh whisper.

“Juliane, what’s wrong with your voice?”

“I don’t know.” The raspy sound made her stomach sink. How was she going to sing in the festival when her voice sounded like a croaking frog?

“Do you feel okay?”

“Yeah. What am I going to do?” She touched her throat as the whispery words sounded in her ears. “I can’t sing with a voice like this.”

“Is your throat sore?”

Shaking her head, Juliane felt like crying. She didn’t want to talk for fear her voice would get worse. Why was this happening? There had been no signs of this the evening
before when Lukas and she had gone over their solos and duet one more time.

“Maybe your voice is hoarse from the dry air in the house.” Elise headed for the kitchen. “Let’s have some tea. That might help.”

Juliane walked into the kitchen, her big fuzzy slippers shuffling against the hardwood floor. She sat at the kitchen table while she sipped the cinnamon tea and ate the cream of wheat that Elise served her. The warm liquid and hot cereal went down easily, but when she tried to speak, nothing changed. Her voice still croaked.

“I’ll call Dad and tell him you won’t be in this morning.”

Juliane nodded in agreement and continued to drink the tea.

After Elise finished talking on the kitchen phone, she turned. “Dad wants me to come in for a little while to help this morning since you can’t come in. Will you be okay?”

“Yeah,” Juliane whispered.

“I’m going to call Lukas, too, and tell him what’s happening. Do you have his number?”

Feeling hopeless, Juliane nodded again and squeaked, “On my BlackBerry.”

Juliane listened to the one-sided conversation but couldn’t figure out what contingency plans they were discussing.

Covering the receiver with a hand, Elise turned. “Do you have the CD of the numbers you’re doing?”

Juliane nodded.

Elise took her hand away from the mouthpiece. “I can practice with Juliane’s CD. You can come over to the house during your lunch hour, and we can run through it then. Hopefully, that’ll be good enough to get us through this evening’s performance.”

“What’s happening?” Juliane managed to whisper, then finished her cereal and drank the last of her tea.

“I guess I’m going to sing your part. I’ve listened to it enough times that I think I should be able to do it without much trouble.”

“I suppose.” Juliane couldn’t believe after all of the time she’d spent practicing that Elise was going to waltz in and take her part. It wasn’t Elise’s fault that this had happened, but somehow it didn’t seem fair. Juliane fought against the jealousy that pricked her heart.

“Maybe you should go back to bed and rest now that you’ve eaten. What do you think?”

“I guess.” Juliane shrugged. What would be the point in that? Her only problem was not having a voice. Otherwise, she didn’t feel bad at all, but then she’d never had laryngitis before, so what did she know? Besides, Elise and Lukas had already decided that they were doing the singing today, so why did it matter whether she got better or not?

Elise cleared the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. “I’ll get dressed and spend a couple hours at the store helping Dad before I come back home to practice with Lukas. Dad’s expecting to be extra busy because of the festival.”

“Okay.” Juliane felt about as energetic as a rag doll. Maybe she wasn’t feeling so good, after all.

Elise stopped on her way out the door and pointed at Juliane. “You. Off to bed.”

Smiling halfheartedly, Juliane got up and did as her sister instructed—probably for the first time in her life. She climbed back into bed, not even bothering to take off her robe.

A couple of hours later, Juliane awakened. Sunlight shone through the curtains on her window and brightened the room. She glanced at the clock radio. The bright red digital numbers read ten o’clock. She sat up in a panic. What was she still doing in bed?

Putting a hand to her head, she remembered. Her voice.
She tried to speak. Not only did her voice come out in the hideous raspy tones, but her throat hurt when she swallowed and she felt hot. She should call the doctor. She was thankful for living in a small town where getting in to see her doctor was still relatively easy even without an appointment.

After making a quick trip to the doctor and the pharmacy for the antibiotic that he prescribed, Juliane drove back home feeling more miserable than ever. Strep throat. She hadn’t had strep throat since she was a kid. There went the whole Winter Festival down the drain, at least for her.

When she got back home, she took the medicine and went back to bed. She was feeling worse by the minute. Chills and fever made her cold one minute and hot the next. Awful couldn’t even describe how she felt.

A half hour later, Elise came rushing into Juliane’s bedroom. “How do you feel?”

Raising her head off the pillow, Juliane waved Elise out of the room. “Don’t come in. Strep throat.”

“Oh, no. Wouldn’t want to get that.” Elise backed up to the door. “You went to the doctor?”

Juliane nodded. “Just got back.”

“You should’ve called me. I could’ve taken you.”

“No. You don’t want this.” Closing her eyes, Juliane swallowed even though it hurt. “Go.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t thinking. Do you need anything?”

Motioning for Elise to leave, Juliane shook her head.

“Well, Lukas can’t get away from work, so we’re going to try to run through this together at church about a half an hour before the performance. Pastor Tom said he’d go through the music with me late this afternoon.” Elise sighed. “I’m going back to the store because Dad still needs help. Mom said to call her if you need anything. I’m just going to grab a bite to eat before I go.”

Listening to Elise’s agenda made Juliane tired. Closing her eyes, she snuggled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

Laughter accompanied the slamming of a door. Voices sounded in the hall. Slowly opening her eyes, Juliane rolled over and glanced at the clock, the only light in the darkened room. This time it read seven-thirty. Had she slept that long? She swallowed. Her throat still killed. Her head pounded. When was she going to start getting better?

A knock sounded on the door. A second later Elise poked her head into the room. “Hi, feeling any better?”

Juliane frowned and shook her head.

“Someone’s here to see you.”

When Lukas appeared from behind Elise in the hallway, Juliane wanted to die. Running a hand through her hair, she knew she must look terrible. Why did he have to see her this way?

“Do you feel like eating? I brought you some soup.”

As miserable as she felt, Lukas’s kindness touched her. She managed to croak, “Don’t come in.”

“Well, I have to get the soup to you somehow.” Lukas chuckled. “I’ll be back.”

Juliane lay in the bed and wished she had the energy to at least comb her hair, but she didn’t. In a few minutes, Lukas and Elise returned, each wearing face masks that Juliane recognized as being left over from the house renovations. Elise carried a tray while Lukas carried a large steaming bowl and a large glass of orange juice.