The Christmas Singing Read online

  Mattie once had that kind of relationship with Gideon, and Dorothy knew it. What she didn’t understand was that Mattie and Sol’s relationship was much better, at least for her. “Dorothy, I know you want the best thing for me, but you have to trust me. Sol and I are very happy.”

  Dorothy nodded, not looking convinced, but Mattie wasn’t bothered by what she or the rest of the family thought. She knew what being with Sol meant.

  The bell jingled, and more cold air rushed inside along with Willa Carter and her son. Excitement danced inside Mattie. The whole time she’d worked on Ryan’s birthday cake, she looked forward to seeing his eyes light up when he saw it.

  “Happy birthday, Ryan.” She closed her notebook and set it aside.

  “Mattie!” Dorothy lifted it off the wood stove. “Think … please.”

  “Oh, yes. Thanks.” She thought in English and used it easily these days, a result of having regular contact with her non-Amish customers and friends. She turned to the little boy. He was so cute in his blue jeans and cowboy hat. “How old are you today?”

  Ryan held up four fingers. “I’m this many!”

  Mattie stepped out from behind the counter. “You are so big!” She turned to Mrs. Carter, who was jamming her car keys into her bright red purse. “How are you today?”

  “Frazzled.” She unbuttoned her plaid coat. “I forgot this place sat so far back from the other stores, and I parked halfway down the block.”

  Dorothy shifted her stroller out of the center of the floor. “We’d better go.”

  Mattie grabbed a small dessert box and moved to the case of cupcakes, where her niece stood. “Did you decide which one you want?”

  Esther pointed one out, and Mattie boxed it up. “Here you go.”

  “You eat the lunch we brought,” Dorothy whispered.

  “Okay.” Mattie mocked a loud whisper in return.

  Esther shook her little forefinger at Mattie. “I’m comin’ back to check after I have my cupcake and milk.”

  “You do that.” Mattie held the door for them before returning her attention to Ryan. “Come.” She went to the refrigerator, and as she removed the plastic cover from the cake, the smell of chocolate wafted out. She carried the cake over to Ryan.

  Ryan gasped. “Mommy, look!”

  A smiling teddy bear stared up at them. The three-dimensional bear had come out just as she’d hoped, and the look in Ryan’s eyes made every hour of effort worth it. This wasn’t her first time to create a bear cake, but she’d used the new specialty tips that had arrived earlier in the week, and the results looked even better than she’d imagined. The bear’s claws, paws, and facial features nearly jumped out of the box.

  “It’s perfect, Mattie.” Mrs. Carter’s smile reflected appreciation. “When my girlfriend told me about your shop, I never expected such excellent work.”

  The pleasure of this moment would linger with Mattie for a long time. “Thank you.”

  “I have a daughter turning thirteen next month. She ice-skates, does ballet, and plays basketball. Think you could design a cake around one of her activities?”

  “Sure.” Mattie grabbed her scrapbook and flipped it open. “Or I could do one that showcases all three.” She showed her several pages.

  Mrs. Carter pointed at a triple-tier cake. “That one.”

  “I can put a different sport on each tier.”

  “She’ll love that!” Mrs. Carter turned away quickly, scooping up Ryan, who had begun to race around the small store.

  Mattie jotted down a few notes, feeling exuberant, then set the book aside. “I’ll call you next week, and we’ll make specific plans. Let me help you with this cake.” Since Mrs. Carter was parked so far away, Mattie moved Ryan’s cake to a stainless steel utility cart and grabbed her coat.

  Mrs. Carter secured the squirming boy in one arm and pulled out a check she’d already written.

  Without glancing at it, Mattie slid it into her coat pocket and wheeled the cart toward the front of the store.

  “I hate asking you to leave the store unattended, but he is so wound up.”

  “I don’t have anything baking in the oven, so it’ll be fine.”

  Sol sat in the front passenger seat, half listening to the conversation between Amish Henry, his brother Daniel, and the driver, Eric. All were a little younger than he and eager to be on this trip.

  Eric turned down the radio. “So my neighbor, the one with two hundred acres who hasn’t let anyone hunt on it for more than thirty years …”

  That caught Sol’s attention. “Thirty years?”

  “Yeah, he’s always been real picky about who he lets on his property, but he said we could hunt it. Says the deer have really been ripping up his cornfields the last few years.”

  “Let’s do it!” Amish Henry said.

  “There’s a catch,” Eric said. “His mother is elderly and doesn’t want to hear gunshots or have hunters stomping around on the land, so we’d be limited to Christmas Eve and Day, because they’ll be away visiting relatives then.”

  Reality overtook Sol’s moment of excitement. “I’m out. I can’t go on Christmas Eve. That’s Mattie’s birthday, and she’s got a thing about us attending the Christmas singing.”

  “Must be nice to have a girl,” Daniel said. “I might give up hunting altogether if I had one.”

  “Not hunt at all?” Sol laughed. “If that’s what she wants, you’ve got the wrong girl.”

  Eric clicked on the turn signal. “Why don’t you hunt just in the morning on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? You could probably tag your quota and still be back before noon. Come on, man. It’ll be great.”

  “Ya, maybe.” Sol tapped the dessert box that held the cupcakes. “I want to talk to Mattie before I agree to anything.”

  Eric pulled into the parking lot of a fish-and-wildlife store. “I need to get a few things.”

  They all piled out with him. Sol didn’t need anything, but it never hurt to look around. He went to the knife case to see if they had anything new.

  “Can I show you a particular knife?” the man behind the counter asked.

  “Nah, I’m just looking. Thanks.”

  A girl stopped beside him, and his peripheral vision told him she was Amish. She pointed at various knives. “He’d like one of every kind he doesn’t already have.” He recognized the voice. Katie King.

  Sol’s insides knotted, and he stepped away from her. Their eyes met, and she smiled. She had dark hair and even darker eyes. He’d always thought she was pretty. But looks weren’t what mattered to him. It was the way two people fit into each other’s lives that really meant something.

  His gut twisted with nerves, and he wished she’d leave. Mattie had never once made him uncomfortable, even when they first talked after the singings. She was the one who had approached him each time, but she did it in a reserved way—not staring or saying anything that he didn’t know how to respond to. He’d never asked to take a girl home from a singing. Mattie, in her quiet, self-assured way, had asked him.

  Katie put one hand on her hip. “I sure see you out with your friends a lot. I guess you shy guys have to stick together. It’s a shame though, ya?”

  Sol shrugged, not at all sure what answer she was fishing for. He never knew how to carry on a conversation with someone like Katie—all bubbly and blabbering about nothing at all. Mattie said what needed to be said and talked about things that made sense.

  Amish Henry stepped out from an aisle, looking as if he wanted to rescue Sol but wasn’t sure how. “You about ready?”

  “Ya.” Sol nodded. “Bye.” He started to leave.

  Katie stepped in front of him. “I think it’d be neat to climb a tree stand in the early morning hours and wait for dawn.”

  Sol wished Mattie would suddenly appear. He didn’t understand women at all. Was Katie just being silly? He took another step back, studying her shoes, which were half covered in mud.

  Katie angled her head, catching Sol’s eye. “I
hope you have a good trip.” She turned and walked off.

  Sol drew a deep breath, wondering if he’d ever get over some people making him feel as if he had a ten-pound block of ice in his gut.

  Amish Henry adjusted his black felt hat. “I think she was hoping you’d ask her for a date.”

  The words jolted Sol. Her small talk and mannerisms made no sense to him, but maybe Amish Henry was right. He watched her leave. “Nah. She just wants to sit in somebody’s tree stand.”

  “If that’s what she wants from you, she’ll never get it. Climbing into your tree stand? No way.”

  Sol laughed. “Kumm on. Let’s find Daniel and Eric. We’ve got a long way to go before we can set up camp.”

  After getting the cake into Mrs. Carter’s vehicle and bidding her and her son good-bye, Mattie saw someone coming out of Today and Forever Books, where Mackenzie worked. They hadn’t had a girl chat in weeks, and Mattie had been wanting time with her. She scurried toward the store, pushing the service cart along.

  She parked the cart out front and stepped inside. Mackenzie stood behind the coffee shop counter, serving someone. She had on just enough makeup to give her color and wore a yellowish-gold sweater with a turkey on it.

  Mackenzie glanced up, almost as if sensing she were there. “Hey!” Her friend’s long, straight brown hair swayed as she came out from behind the counter and toward her. The store belonged to Mackenzie’s grandfather, and as the current manager, she could take a break without asking anyone’s permission. “Tell me you have time to visit over a whole pot of coffee.”

  Mattie hugged her. “I have time to visit over a pot of coffee.”

  “It’s about time. I was going to come to Mattie Cakes when I caught a minute. We need to talk about the cake to celebrate our shop’s thirtieth anniversary.”

  “Love the idea.” Mattie slid out of her coat and tossed it over the back of a chair.

  Mackenzie took a seat at the small round table. “Anyone scheduled to pick up an order today?”

  “Not until almost closing time, and I’ve already finished preparing everything. But if you want to talk about my making something for the store’s anniversary, I don’t have my brain with me.”

  Mackenzie laughed. “I thought you never went anywhere without your notebook.”

  “Oh, I do … because I forget everything all the time. The day will come when I’ll be working in the shop, a customer will walk in and give me a funny look, and I’ll realize that I’m in my nightgown because I forgot to get dressed.” Mattie laughed. “That’s a real fear I have.”

  “Now I know what to get you for Christmas. I’ll buy you a flannel nightgown. That way, if you do forget to get dressed, you’ll look cute anyway.”

  “That’s your best solution? That’s just sad.” Mattie tried to keep the grin off her face. “The answer is to come by my shop early, before any customers can arrive, and make sure I’m dressed.”

  “Before the sun’s up? Sorry, but we’re not that good of friends.” Mackenzie’s eyes lit up. “Okay … I’ll loan you paper so we can talk about that cake I want.”

  Mackenzie stood and went into a back room.

  The aroma of fresh-brewed coffee in the old wooden bookstore reminded Mattie of her shop, and the smell of books, both old and new, mixed together in a delightful scent.

  Mattie looked at the coffee shop’s display case, noticing how few muffins and cupcakes were left. Mackenzie’s grandfather came by Mattie Cakes at nine thirty each morning and bought several dozen freshly made muffins and cupcakes. She made muffins only for herself and this store. Otherwise she was all about cakes.

  Mackenzie sat down with paper, pen, two cups of coffee, and a basket holding cream, sugar, and stirrers. Mattie glanced at the clock.

  “You need to get back?” Mackenzie asked.

  “Not for a bit yet. When I called Mamm this morning, I left a message saying I’d call back at two thirty.”

  Mackenzie flipped her silky hair over her shoulder. “You say you forget everything, but I’ve never known you to forget to call your mom when you said you would.”

  Mattie poured a tiny cup of cream into her coffee before stirring it. “Mamm means a lot to me, and with her health problems … I feel a need to stay connected. I always have. Plus, I appreciate her wisdom. When the time comes that she’s not here, I can still rely on what she has taught me.”

  “I’ve never even thought about losing my mom. That seems morbid to me.”

  “My mom’s seventy now, and her health’s been delicate my whole life, so I’ve had to face the possibility of losing her.”

  “Isn’t it emotionally exhausting to live as if she’s going to die?”

  “It’s been a challenge to find a balance between caring and being burdened. But I think we’ve found it. The trick is not to let the power of what might happen tomorrow ruin today. She was diagnosed with lupus when I was sixteen, and she taught me how not to let her illness pull me under. But those lessons didn’t come easily.”

  Mattie and Mackenzie talked for a long time, eventually discussing the type and size of cake Mattie needed to make as she took notes on loose-leaf paper. Mackenzie refilled their coffee mugs time and again. Mattie took another quick look at the clock and stood. “I need to go call Mamm now.”

  “You can use our phone.”

  Mattie went behind the counter and dialed her Mamm. Her mother picked up before the first ring finished.

  “Mattie, sweetheart, is that you?”

  “Ya, Mamm, it’s me.”

  While she talked, a strange aroma caught her attention—chimney smoke, she guessed. Most of the nearby Englischer homes had fireplaces or wood stoves, but they were used more often in the evenings. The scent seemed strong. “Ya, Mamm, I’m coming home for Thanksgiving next week, and James and Dorothy want you and Daed to come for Christmas again this year.”

  “Is Sol coming with you for Thanksgiving?”

  “I think he’ll come this time. I’ll know for sure in a few days.”

  Mackenzie slipped on her coat and went outside. Mattie continued talking with her Mamm, but she noticed a small group of shop owners standing outside without their coats. Some stared toward the sky. Others appeared to be talking intently.

  Mamm wanted to know all about the cakes she’d been making and how she and Sol were doing, and most of all she wanted to be reminded over and over when they’d see each other again. “Next week, Mamm. I’ll be there late Wednesday and stay until late Saturday.”

  Mackenzie tapped on the window, motioning for her.

  “Mamm, I need to go.” She’d barely gotten the words out of her mouth when her mother said good-bye and hung up. That was her Mamm. She loved to talk to Mattie, but she never wanted to hold her up if she needed to work.

  Mackenzie stepped inside. “Mattie, there’s smoke coming from somewhere down the block.”

  Concern charged through her. She put on her coat and gathered the scattered papers filled with diagrams and notes for the cake. When she stepped outside, she saw black smoke billowing from the direction of her shop.

  Mattie’s heart burned as if it were on fire. She ran down the sidewalk with Mackenzie right beside her. She turned the corner where her place sat off the main road. Flames licked the walls and roof.

  “No!” Tears sprang to her eyes.

  Mackenzie pushed numbers on her cell phone.

  Through one of the first-floor windows, Mattie saw movement inside. A flash of burgundy caught her eye, reminding her of the dress her niece had on that morning.

  “Esther!” Mattie threw down the papers she was carrying and took off running.

  “Wait.” Mackenzie grabbed her arm and stopped her. “You can’t go in there.”

  Mattie jerked free and ran inside. “Esther!” She couldn’t see anything but thick gray smoke. Turbulent flames lashed out but did nothing to light her way. “Esther!” Heat seared her dress, and her lungs burned. Wondering if Esther had tried to get away from the fire by go
ing upstairs, Mattie dodged flames and embers and hurried to the second floor.

  The empty, almost-finished home echoed as Gideon built the doorjambs. Nothing felt as good as having the strength to work. It was something he never took for granted. Not anymore. Today he could hold a hammer and make a nail disappear into wood with little effort. But what about tomorrow?

  He ignored the question and placed a level on one side of the closet doorframe, making sure the casing was aligned correctly. He struggled to keep the wood in place as he shifted from one tool to the next. Work on an oversized closet like this required two men, but the rest of the Beiler Construction team labored to get a new home dried in before winter. If snow or rain hit before the house was complete enough to keep the weather out, they’d have to replace damaged particle board, framing, and insulation, and all work might have to stop until spring.

  His brother had promised Beth and Jonah, the owners of this house, that Gideon would be the one to complete it, including the punch list. He still had a ways to go on the job.

  “Hello?” Jonah called.

  “Master bedroom,” Gideon answered.

  Jonah’s distinct tempo echoed through the unfinished place. He was only thirty, but as a teenager he had been injured in a sleigh ride accident that left him walking with a cane. “I came to lend a hand.” Jonah already had on his tool belt. “I’ve cleared my schedule with the boss, and I have the rest of today and most of tomorrow to be your assistant.”

  “Good. I could use it.”

  Jonah was an artist by trade. He carved beautiful scenery into wood, bringing it to life, but he’d been a lead carpenter while building his previous home. And then he met the woman he lovingly referred to as “the boss.” Now Jonah had little time to devote to working on the new home he and Beth would live in. After they were engaged, Jonah had spent another year living in Ohio, fulfilling contracts by carving doors, chairs, mantels, and cabinets for a cabin resort near him. As soon as he’d finished that job, he’d moved here to be near Beth. Since then he’d spent his days carving large items to sell and helping Beth and her aunt Lizzy expand and operate the dry goods store.