The Gift (15 page)

Leah nodded. “I understand. And don’t worry about things here. Dad and I will get along just fine while you’re gone.” Grace was Mom’s youngest sibling, and this was her fifth child. The other children, all boys, were all less than ten years old and had been born every two years. The boys were quite active, and none would be that much help to their mother, so Leah knew Mom’s assistance would be greatly appreciated.

“There’s just one thing.” Frowning, Mom rubbed the bridge of her nose. “If I go to help Grace, Adam won’t have a sitter for his nieces. Would you consider taking over that responsibility, Leah?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Mom—”

“The girls will be starting school in a few weeks, and you wouldn’t need to be at Adam’s house all day.”

“Adam doesn’t get home until close to suppertime,” Leah reminded. “That would mean the girls would be alone after they get out of school until Adam gets home. Besides, Carrie’s not in school yet, so she’ll need someone with her during the day.”

“You’re right about that.”

“But it won’t work for my schedule, Mom, because I need to be available for people who need a reflexology treatment.”

“Maybe you could schedule appointments during the evening hours,” Dad suggested.

“Or perhaps Adam could bring the girls over here every day,” Mom interjected.

Leah shook her head. “They’d be by themselves while I was in the basement working on people’s feet. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate, knowing they were upstairs, unattended.” Leah grabbed the throw pillow and pushed it behind her back. “Besides, I’m sure Adam would never go for that.”

“If you’re willing to watch them, at least we could ask,” Mom said with a hopeful expression.

Leah sucked her bottom lip as she mulled things over. “I suppose I could do that, but Adam may want to ask someone else to watch the girls.”

“You won’t know that till you talk to him about it.” Mom rose from her seat. “I’m going out to the phone shack and leave a message for James, letting him know that I’ll be coming to help out.”

Leah leaned her head against the back of the sofa and closed her eyes. Adam needed someone to care for his nieces during the day, and for some strange reason, she hoped it would be her. Not to see Adam, of course, but to spend time with those precious girls.

Chicago

Cora sat at her desk in the kitchen, searching for nursing jobs on the Internet. For Jared’s sake, she’d been keeping her search to the more rural areas in Illinois, not wanting to move too far from Chicago. She wanted him out of the big city but figured she’d have to deal with Evan if she and Jared moved too far away. Besides, it was only fair to her son to live close enough so that he could spend some time with his father—what precious little time Evan gave.

So far, Cora hadn’t found any jobs that met her criteria, but she would keep looking. Yesterday, she’d made contact with a Realtor, who’d be coming by tomorrow morning to take a look at the house. Cora was anxious to find out how much he thought she could get for it. Hopefully, it would sell quickly and bring in enough that she’d be able to put a good share of the money into Jared’s college fund. Of course, she had to convince him that he needed more schooling once he graduated from high school. The last time the subject of his education came up, Jared had insisted that he didn’t need college and wanted to find a job doing something with his hands. Cora couldn’t imagine what that would be. Jared didn’t seem to have much interest in anything other than running around with his friends and playing video games on their large-screen TV.

Maybe things will change once we’re out of the city and away from his friends,
Cora told herself, turning off the computer. Tomorrow was another day, and hopefully things would go well with the Realtor. Her one big concern, however, was what she would do if the house sold before she found a job someplace else. She sure couldn’t move without suitable employment.

“
You worry too much
,” Cora’s mother had often said during Cora’s childhood. “
Just take each day as it comes, and trust God for the rest.
”

“That was easy enough for you to say, Mom,” Cora muttered under her breath. Cora hadn’t trusted God for anything in a long time; not since she was a young girl.

“Who you talking to, Mom?” Jared asked, stepping into the room.

Cora jumped. “Oh, you startled me. I thought you’d gone to bed.”

“Nope. I ain’t sleepy. Thought I’d fix myself something to eat.” Jared marched across the room and flung the refrigerator door open. “Is there any of that pepperoni pizza left from yesterday?”

“There probably is, but do you really want to stuff yourself at this hour of the night?”

He lifted his shoulders in a brief shrug. “Don’t really matter to me what time it is. When I’m hungry, I eat. So there!”

Cora cringed. When had her son gotten so mouthy? As far as Cora was concerned, she and Jared really needed to move, and the sooner the better. She might have to take the first job that came along, regardless of how much it paid.

Arthur

T
he next morning before leaving for work, Adam peeled an apple then wrapped the peelings in a paper towel and wrote a note to the girls. He hoped they’d be happy that he’d left a little something for their chipmunk friend.

As Adam began fixing a sandwich to take to work, he heard Coal barking outside. Glancing out the kitchen window, he was surprised to see Leah riding up on her bicycle. It was a beautiful morning, so he could understand why she’d be on her bike. What he couldn’t figure out was why she had come here.

Going to the door, he met her on the porch, with Coal wagging his tail and nudging her hand to pet him.

“Guder mariye,” Leah said, looking up at Adam.

“Good morning,” he replied. “Out for a morning ride?”

“No, actually, I came to let you know that my mamm can’t watch the kinner today,” Leah said. “Her sister’s expecting a baby and the doctor ordered bed rest for her, so Mom is going there to help out with her four children and will probably stay till the boppli’s born.”

Adam groaned. This was not the kind of news he needed this morning. “I can understand why she’d want to help her sister, but it kind of puts me in a bind right now. I can’t very well take the girls to work with me today. There’s nothing for them to do at the store, and they’d either be bored or get into things I don’t want them to touch.”

Leah held up her hand. “I have the answer to that—at least for today.”

“What do you mean?”

“I also came here to say that since my mamm will not be available to watch the girls, I can take over that responsibility today and even until Mom returns home. Unless, of course, you have someone else in mind to be here with the girls.”

Adam shook his head. “I don’t know of anyone right now, but didn’t you say before that you wouldn’t be available to watch my nieces?”

“Jah, I did say that, but I’ve decided that I can give reflexology treatments during the evening hours, which will leave me free to watch the girls until you get home from work each day.” She paused. “That is, if you think the arrangement will work for you.”

“Sounds good to me, and I’ll pay you the same as I was giving your mamm,” he said, feeling both grateful and relieved. He figured Leah would do as well with the girls as her mother had and certainly better than he could.

“Are you feeling all right this morning?” Jonah asked, coming up behind Sara and placing his hands against her growing stomach. “I heard you get up several times during the night.”

“I’m fine,” Sara said. “My back hurts a bit, and I had a hard time finding a comfortable position.”

“Sorry to hear that. Would you like me to make you an appointment with our chiropractor?”

Turning to face Jonah, Sara shook her head. “I thought I’d see Leah first and see if she can help me.”

“Are you sure about that?”

Sara nodded. “When Leah works on my feet, it always helps me relax. I think stress plays a role in causing my back to flare up.”

“Why are you feeling stressed?” Jonah’s face was a mask of concern. “Is it your MS? Have you been having more symptoms?”

Sara leaned into him. “Now don’t look so concerned. My MS symptoms have actually been better since I got pregnant. I’m feeling stressed because Mark is demanding more of my attention lately. He clings to me a lot when he should be happily playing.”

“I think that’s partially my fault because I haven’t been giving him enough attention.”

“You’ve been busy in the buggy shop, Jonah.”

“That’s true, but it’s no excuse. When I’m done working for the day, I’ll try to spend more time with him.”

Sara smiled. “I know Mark would like that. He thinks the world of you.”

“Maybe I’ll close the shop early one day this week, and the three of us can go on a picnic,” Jonah said.

“That’d be nice.” Sara reached around and massaged her back. “I think I’ll go out to the phone shack and call Leah. Hopefully she can see me sometime today.”

“What about Mark? Will you need me to come up to the house and watch him while you’re gone?”

She shook her head. “I can take him with me. Leah’s mamm will probably be there, and I’m sure she’d be glad to keep Mark occupied while I’m getting my feet massaged.”

Jonah kissed her cheek. “Okay, but if you need me for anything, just let me know.”

“I will.” Sara was grateful to be married to such a thoughtful man. Her first husband, Harley, had been that way, too, and she felt doubly blessed to have found such a caring man the second time around. After Harley’s death, Sara had struggled trying to raise Mark on her own. Then when she’d been diagnosed with MS, everything had become a challenge. How grateful she was for Jonah’s friendship during that time and even more so once they had fallen in love.

Turning from the refrigerator, Leah was holding a chocolate-chip cheeseball when Amy entered the kitchen, rubbing her forehead, followed by the other two girls.

“What’s wrong, Amy?” Leah asked, feeling concern.

Amy frowned. “When my sisters and I were playing tag, Carrie kept yelling real loud, and now I have a
koppweh
.”

“Carrie didn’t give you a headache on purpose,” Linda said in her younger sister’s defense. “She always hollers when we play that game.”

Leah figured it did the children good to run and play. Even Carrie’s shouting wasn’t a bad thing. It meant they were beginning to relax and have a little fun, despite missing their parents. “The chocolate-chip cheeseball I made this morning is ready to eat,” she said, placing it on the table. “Why don’t you three go wash up while I get out some graham crackers and milk to go with our snack?” Leah gave Amy’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Maybe after you’ve had something to eat you’ll feel better.”

“Okay.” Amy followed her sisters down the hall. When they returned to the kitchen, Leah had everything set on the table.

“Is gut,”
Carrie announced, after she’d eaten a graham cracker Leah had spread with some of the cheeseball.

Leah smiled. “I’m glad you like it. I’ve made lots of different cheeseballs, but chocolate-chip’s my favorite.”

“Bet Uncle Adam would like it,” Linda said. “We should save him some.”