An Amish Proposal for Christmas, page 7
Chapter Six
Gideon couldn’t believe that he’d agreed to accompany Becca to the buggy races. Buggy races? Who had time for such silliness? In Texas, you worked six days a week and rested on Sunday. It was the only way to make a living as a farmer.
But he wasn’t a farmer anymore.
He was an assistant manager, and there was nothing to manage because the market was closed on weekends.
Even Nathan had liked the idea. “I’m going to play horseshoes at the fairgrounds. You can drop me off.”
Which was how he found himself driving the buggy, Becca by his side, Becca’s youngest schweschder and Nathan in the back seat. The two of them were getting along as if they’d known each other all their lives. When he muttered as much to Becca, she said, “They have. Well, all of Ada’s life, obviously. Not all of Nathan’s life.”
Gideon had never met anyone like Ada. She was always in a good mood—bouncy, even—and very chatty. She threw her arms around in a dramatic fashion when she talked, and she seemed to get along with everyone. Girls like that were a mystery to him, and not in a good way. They made him feel a bit dour and old. At least with Becca, he could hold a serious conversation without her changing direction several times.
He shared as much with Becca, in a low voice, and to his surprise she nodded in agreement. “Ada has the energy of three of us. We keep thinking that she’ll outgrow it.”
“I guess I haven’t really known that many girls. My family is mostly guys.”
“No girls at all?” Becca stared at him curiously.
“My mamm, of course. And I have one schweschder. Deborah’s the youngest—only twenty-four. She married a year ago and is already expecting her first boppli. I guess girls marry pretty young in our community.”
“Around here, girls marry much younger than that. I have several friends who married as soon as they turned eighteen. Makes me feel like an old maid some days. I’m twenty-four—”
“Same age as Deborah.”
“Right, and I have no intention of marrying this year or next. I’m going to—”
“Travel. I know. You’ve mentioned it.”
Laughter spilled from the back seat.
“What’s so funny back there?” Becca turned in her seat. “If you’re telling jokes, I want to hear one.”
“No jokes.” Nathan raised his hand and smiled. “Just life.”
Ada laughed again. “Life indeed. I was telling Nathan about the Schwartz twins and what a mess that job was from the get-go. Two sets of twins? No thank you! And Dat wanted me to start working at Yoder’s today, but I told him that all work and no play makes Jack a bull boy.”
Gideon glanced at Becca, then over his shoulder at Ada. A bull boy? He had no idea what that was. Ada must have noticed his look of confusion because she draped her arms over the seat and stuck her head in between him and Becca. “Haven’t you ever heard that one?”
Becca was covering her face with her hands, laughing at something.
“It means Jack needs time off. Or he’ll get angry like a bull. A bull boy. Get it?”
“I don’t think that’s how it goes.”
“Oh, I’m sure it is.” Ada flopped back against her seat. “I don’t want to be a bull boy or bull girl. It’s important to have fun sometimes.”
Becca finally managed to get her laughter under control. “It’s an Ada-ism.”
“A what?”
“An Ada-ism. Ada loves to quote sayings, but she usually gets them wrong.”
“Don’t start with me, Becca, because this time I’m pretty sure I’m right, and I don’t want to embarrass you by having to prove it. Maybe I should prove it. Nathan, what do you think?”
Fortunately for Gideon, who felt as if he had no idea what anyone was talking about, they arrived at the fairgrounds. Gideon helped Nathan out of the buggy, and he ambled off, calling out over his shoulder, “Someone here will take me home.” Several of the old guys greeted Nathan as he walked toward lawn chairs that had been placed in a circle of shade. The distinct clank of horseshoes hitting a pole rang out.
Gideon had a fleeting thought to stay there, to hang out with the old guys rather than spend his free day in a crowd. One look at Becca told him that wouldn’t work. She was standing up on the running board and impatiently tapping her foot. He sighed and walked around to the driver’s side.
Becca directed him out of the fairgrounds, down the road and to the parking area behind the Blue Gate. The sheer number of buggies and Englisch cars made him nervous. Twice he jerked on the reins, certain that Samson would swerve into the path of the automobiles. Becca rolled her eyes and assured him that he was the only one nervous driving next to cars. Then she commenced humming “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”
Finally, they reached the parking area for buggies. Ada hopped out before he’d even set the brake, waving and saying she’d also find her own way home.
“Gosh. She was in a hurry to get away.”
“You know how youngies are.” Becca slipped her hand through the crook of his arm and smiled up at him.
It was a very strange thing for her to do. His face, neck and ears suddenly felt hot. Why was she looking at him that way? He’d seen farmers looking at turkeys in the same manner, usually when they were sizing up which one to have for dinner. “Why are you acting this way?”
“Acting what way?”
“What’s up with you?”
“Nothing’s up. Can’t I take a coworker to see the buggy races without being interrogated?”
“I wasn’t interrogating.”
“Oh, look. There’s some of our friends from church.”
He felt as if he was being dragged through a crowd of Englischers and Amish alike. They were lined up along both sides of the road. At one end, and stretched across the street, were three lines of buggies, conspicuously missing their horses. At both ends stood two men with clipboards—one Amish, one Englisch.
Becca introduced Gideon to a rather large group of girls. He caught the names—Janet, Hannah, Emily, Claire and Eunice—but there was little hope that he would keep straight in his mind which name belonged to which girl. Why were they looking at him like he was a Christmas present with a bow on it? Ugh. Becca’s Christmas fascination was wearing off on him. And why did Eunice look so familiar?
Wait, wasn’t Eunice Becca’s schweschder? It had to be Eunice because there was a bit of grease on her face, which Becca leaned forward and wiped off after licking her thumb. Eunice pulled away and swatted at Becca’s hand; then both started laughing.
Why hadn’t Eunice ridden with her schweschder if she was coming? All of a sudden, the crowd started cheering and clapping and jostling, and it didn’t seem like a good idea to try and ask a question.
Becca moved closer, and Gideon leaned down to hear what she was saying. “The teams include four people. Two ride and two pull. When they reach the end, the buggies are turned around. At that point, riders and drivers switch places, then race back.”
Which made no sense at all to him, but then the man holding the clipboard and standing at the far end raised his hand. The crowd quieted, and the other man blew a whistle. The buggies at the front of the rows took off. Spectators cheered and clapped and laughed when one of the teenage boys pulling the far-left buggy lost his hat, and someone in the crowd snatched it up, screaming, “Got it. Keep going!”
The buggies reached the end. Drivers jumped out, pullers hopped in and then they were off again. The team with the teenager who had lost his hat won, and everyone congratulated them, even the people competing against them. There was a short pause as a new group of contestants lined up, and then the race started all over again.
Gideon was surprised to hear himself laugh and find himself cheering on people he didn’t know. It actually looked kind of fun. Becca leaned close and said, “If you’re still here next year, you can sign up. You might even win!”
“Oh, I would win if I signed up.” He didn’t know why he’d said that. It sounded funny in his head, but he was afraid it sounded arrogant coming out of his mouth. Becca only smiled, then motioned to one of her friends—was it Janet or Hannah or...what were the other names?
The next thing he knew, Becca was walking away, and he was surrounded by the girls she’d introduced him to. He craned his neck, trying to see where she’d gone, but then Emily or maybe Claire asked if they had buggy races in Texas. He tried to answer, but the next race started, and his words were carried away on the light afternoon breeze.
It seemed as if one minute, he was standing there with Becca, watching buggy races, and the next, he was seated outside the local coffee shop with a table full of girls. Eunice had begged off, claiming she needed to meet someone about a solar panel. The other four girls seemed content to sit and gab. He tried to nod and laugh at the appropriate places, but he kept glancing around, looking for Becca. Where had she gone?
He was beginning to understand the why of her leaving, but what he didn’t know was how he was supposed to find her to take her home again. He might be irritated with her—he was absolutely irritated with her—but he still needed to give her a ride home. Just when he thought he might have to ask one of the girls surrounding him about Becca’s whereabouts, she popped out of the crowd across the street and walked toward them.
She said, “There you are,” as if she had been searching for him. The grin on her face only served to provoke him more, but he wasn’t about to let on...not when they had an audience. Just maybe it was time he started playing offense with little Miss Becca Yoder. He thought he knew a pretty good way to turn the tables.
Jumping out of his seat, he pulled it out and held it for her. “We were wondering about you. I bet you’re exhausted. Sit here.”
She looked at him as if he’d suggested she join one of the buggy-race teams.
“I’ll just pop in and get you a coffee—no sugar, topped with whipped cream, right?”
“Um, sure.”
He purchased a muffin, too, though it cost him another three bucks. He needed his devotion for Becca to look convincing. He needed to sell this romantic tale if he wanted the other girls to believe it. Returning to the outdoor table, he placed the coffee and muffin in front of Becca. “They had chocolate chip muffins—your favorite.”
Now the other girls were throwing covert glances at one another. He was nearly there. He fetched a chair from another table and pulled it up close to Becca’s. “Did you have a gut time looking for your schweschder’s gift?”
“What—”
“Ada’s. You know, the one we talked about in the buggy.”
“We—”
“I’m just getting to know all of Becca’s schweschdern, since there are so many of them.” He smiled and made eye contact with each of the girls sitting around the table. “But I know how important it is to have a gut relationship with your girl’s family.”
Becca choked on the bite of muffin she’d swallowed, and he had to pat her on the back. After she had recovered her composure, he let his arm rest on the back of her chair. Two of the girls stood, claiming they just remembered somewhere they needed to be and apologizing for hurrying off. Two more lasted through his recounting their morning coffee date at JoJo’s before they saw friends and dashed away, as well.
By that time, Becca was glowering at him, and Gideon was feeling pretty good about how he’d turned her little game around. He’d teach Becca to stay out of his personal life, even if he did have to create a fake relationship between them to do it.
* * *
Becca was feeling perplexed, irritated and more than a little unsettled by the time they walked back to the buggy. Gideon, on the other hand, was actually in the best mood she’d seen to date. He was actually whistling. Whistling! It made her want to dump the rest of her coffee on him.
Without speaking, they climbed up into the buggy. He released the brake and called out to Samson. Finally, Gideon glanced her way and started laughing, and she had to fight the urge to stamp her foot. It was awkward to stamp her foot while riding in a buggy, so instead she crossed her arms and gave him her sternest stare.
“Won’t work, my love.”
“Your love?”
“You started this. Don’t be mad at me for turning it around on you.”
“Started what?”
“Luring me to town, supposedly to see buggy races—which were quite amusing, by the way. If you’d stopped with your little plan right there, it might have worked.”
“Worked?”
“Ya. You might have convinced me that there are advantages to such a big community. But you couldn’t stop there because you are Becca, and Becca wants to win. Becca’s motto should be go big or go home.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She did know what he was talking about. What she couldn’t figure out was how he’d caught on to her plan so quickly.
“Or rather, go big so the sucker with you won’t go home—back to Texas, where he belongs.” There wasn’t any of the normal longing in his voice. He was acting decidedly strange. The perpetual worry line on his brow was missing, and he looked relaxed driving the buggy. He didn’t even startle when an Englisch car passed them.
Glancing at her, he asked, “Do you know where you went wrong?”
“Went wrong?”
“If it had only been one friend or two that we bumped into—” he raised his right hand to put quote marks around the word bumped “—I might not have caught on. But five? Five Amish girls your age who aren’t married or even going steady?”
“How do you know they weren’t married?”
“Because they would have been with their husband. Same thing if they’d had a boyfriend. But nein, they were just standing in a little group, waiting for you to walk over, leading me like a lamb to slaughter.”
Becca’s eyes widened, and she didn’t know whether to vehemently deny his allegations or laugh. He was so pleased with himself for having figured out her plan.
Finally, she managed, “How is introducing you to friends like slaughtering a lamb?”
“And the worst part was you included your own schweschder.”
“I didn’t even know for certain Eunice was going to be there. Yes, I asked her to, but more often than not, she gets carried away with one of her mechanical projects and forgets what she had planned to do.”
“That’s when I knew something was up. Why didn’t she ride with us? Why didn’t she go off with Ada?”
“Oh, I could barely talk her into coming to town at all, let alone running around with Ada.” Becca slapped her hand over her mouth. He’d tricked her into telling more of the truth than she’d planned to share, and from the expression on his face, he knew it.
Gideon reached up and tipped his straw hat back. “So that’s why she didn’t stick around. I thought it was that I didn’t rise to your description...”
“Why would I describe you to my friends and my schweschder? Besides, Eunice had already met you. As for the other girls...” She actually had spent thirty minutes describing Gideon to her freinden on the phone the night before.
“Eunice must have owed you something. I’m guessing she’s happier at home and doesn’t really like crowds.”
“Then you two should have a lot in common!” Becca finally turned to face him—a little ashamed, but also feeling as if he had just proven her point. “You two are alike, and at this rate, you’ll never meet anyone. Do you want to be alone until you’re Nathan’s age?”
“I’m so touched that you’re worried about my future.” He was smiling, but somehow it didn’t reach his eyes.
His mood had turned again, which meant she had struck a nerve. She also knew that probably meant she should stop talking, but Becca wasn’t always good at staying silent when she should.
“My schweschder as well as those four friends of mine are gut people. You’d be lucky to have a date with any one of them.”
“So you admit today was a setup.”
“I didn’t admit anything.” She turned back toward the front of the buggy, crossed her arms tightly and pretended to be deeply absorbed in watching the homes they passed.
Silence settled around them—a heavy, uncomfortable silence.
If he’d kept talking, she might have been able to hold on to her anger, her self-righteous reasoning. Instead, Gideon had grown quiet, and she found herself questioning both what she’d done and her motivation for doing so.
He pulled down her lane, then stopped in front of her house, and still he didn’t speak. The problem was that there was no church meeting the next day. Becca was self-aware enough to know she’d spend every hour until Monday morning feeling bad about her little attempt to trick Gideon into dating. Best to apologize now and get it over with.
“I’m sorry.”
He turned toward her, his expression revealing nothing.
“Seriously. I am, sorry. Somehow...” She worried her thumbnail, then clasped her hands in her lap. “Somehow in my head, it was justified.”
“What was justified?” When she only looked at him, he added, “I need to hear you say it. If you can’t say it, you’re not really sorry, and then it might happen again.”
“Oh, good grief. Don’t flatter yourself. Okay? I don’t know that many girls looking for a beau. And yes, I admit it—I tried to set you up. Is that so wrong?”
“Well, it was a little sneaky.”
“Guilty. I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Guilty.”
“And you won’t repeat it?”
“I won’t.”
“You promise that you won’t try to throw any of your other schweschdern at me?”
She could sense that his anger was dissipating. She tapped a finger against her lips and looked at her home, then back at him. “Let’s see. There’s still Sarah, who is probably too old at twenty-eight.”
