The Englischer softened and cracked a smile. “Good friends are the greatest treasure, I suppose.”
Hannah’s head bobbed up and down. “Jah, jah. Nothing better than friends. Have a wonderful-gute day.” She came out from behind the counter and gave each of the sisters a hug. “Ach, du lieva, it’s been ages, ages since I’ve seen any of you.”
Poppy smiled. Maybe not ages. They brought some cherries here just last week.
Hannah furrowed her brow. “Poppy, what happened to your face?”
If only she could hide her cheek like she could her hand. “It’s nothing.”
Hannah was always a little flighty. She turned and called to her sister, who was sprinkling sugar on some donuts just out of the deep fryer. “Mary, look who’s here.”
Mary beamed like a lantern as a giggle tripped from her mouth. She came out from behind the counter and hugged Poppy and her sisters just as Hannah had done. Poppy never felt unloved around the Yutzy sisters. “Ach, Lily and the Honeybees. We sold all your cherries in about two days. People love them. I think the bees make them extra sweet.”
Lily held up one of her bags. “We brought some tomatoes if you want them.”
No one ever had a hard time hearing Hannah. “Do we want them? Poppy Christner tomatoes are famous. I mean, famous.” She turned around again and called to her brother James, who stood behind the counter staring at Poppy and her sisters. James had a crush on Lily, and unlike Hannah and Mary, he fell silent whenever the Honeybee Sisters were around. “James, come and get these tomatoes and put them on the table.”
Red in the face, James came out of the enclosure, took Lily’s and Rose’s bags, and laid them on the table with the other tomatoes.
Hannah leaned in and lowered her voice. She was still significantly louder than a whisper. “James used to have a crush on Lily, but now that Dan has come home, James has taken a shine to Poppy.”
“Me?” Poppy said.
Hannah giggled. “Of course you. The Honeybee Sisters are all so pretty, James had no problem switching.”
Lily smiled. “I don’t wonder that he did. Poppy and Rose are a hundred times prettier than me.”
Rose’s cheeks glowed red. “That isn’t true, Lily. No one is prettier than anyone else. Gotte looks on our hearts.”
Hannah gasped. “Poppy, what happened to your arm? Did you break it?” She quickly took the bags hanging from Poppy’s elbow. “James, come over here and get the rest of these. Can’t you see Poppy is hurt?”
Silently and obediently, James took the bags from his sister, then went to the table and started arranging the tomatoes so they looked nice and neat. The Yutzys knew how to sell produce.
“Ach,” Poppy said, fingering a thread sticking out from the cast that went halfway up her forearm. “I’m afraid I hit somebody.”
Both Mary and Hannah widened their eyes.
“You hit somebody?” Mary said. “Not something?”
Bless their hearts, Lily and Rose stood ready to defend her from anyone who dared suggest that Poppy shouldn’t have punched Griff Simons.
“Dorothy and Joann Bontrager and I were walking home from the bus stop,” Rose said.
Lily leaned in. The rest of them did the same. “Griff Simons moved back in with his dat.”
Mary shook her head. “That’s too bad.”
“He tried to kiss Rose,” Lily added.
Mary’s gasp sounded like her dying breath. “Nae! Rose, what did you do? Did you cry? I would have cried.”
“I would have screamed my lungs out,” Hannah said.
Hannah was noisy and outgoing. Poppy would have been very interested to hear how loud Hannah could scream.
Rose’s expression darkened with a painful memory. “I screamed.”
“Poppy was in our yard,” Lily said. “She heard the screaming and punched Griff so he would let Rose go.”
The Yutzy schwesters gazed at Poppy as if she could control the weather. “Oy anyhow, Poppy. You’re so brave,” Mary said.
Hannah slapped her hand over her mouth. “Look at her cheek, Mary. Did he hit you back?”
Poppy nodded. The thought still made her a little jumpy.
“She broke her vow of nonviolence. She should be shunned.” Paul Glick, Lily’s ex-boyfriend, stood on the sidewalk in front of the vegetable stand with his arms folded across his chest and a smug scowl on his lips. His puffy face held the petulant expression that Poppy had come to know and dislike. No doubt he was on his way to his family’s market.
Mary’s face looked as if she’d just sucked on a lemon. “Shunned? Paul Glick, you don’t know anything.”
James came from behind and tapped both sisters on the shoulder. “Mary, Hannah, there’s customers.”
Hannah gave Poppy a swift kiss on the cheek. “Griff Simons is the meanest boy in the world.”
The Yutzy sisters went back behind the counter. Paul didn’t seem to have anywhere he had to be. “You Christners have caused trouble in this community long enough.”
“Paul,” Lily said, with a fake and cheerful lilt to her voice, “how have you been?” Lily had broken things off with Paul. Maybe she felt a slight tinge of guilt about it. Poppy felt no guilt at all.
Paul didn’t even look at Lily, didn’t even acknowledge that she existed. Poppy shouldn’t have expected anything better from him, but she still thought steam might come out of her ears. “We are a peaceful people, Priscilla,” Paul said. “You hurt more than yourself when you use violence on our Englisch friends.”
Eyes flashing with anger, Lily opened her mouth to say something. Poppy beat her to it. Lily shouldn’t have to speak to Paul ever again, and Poppy was eager to defend herself. “What would you have done, Paul, if Griff had attacked your sister?”
“I would have let him kiss her.”
“And hit her?”
“It would have been Gotte’s will to test my faithfulness. I would have let Gotte exact His vengeance.”
Rose hooked her elbow through Poppy’s. “Maybe Poppy was Gotte’s vengeance.”
“God is able to do His own work,” Paul said. “Ours is not to question His commandments.”
“I didn’t want Griff to hurt my sister,” Poppy said.
Paul narrowed his eyes and glared at Poppy as if she were preaching evil doctrine. “It was Gotte’s will.”
“You pledged to follow the Confession of Faith.” Poppy turned to see Dinah Eicher lurking just outside their little gathering. When had she sneaked into the conversation? “Do your baptism vows mean nothing to you?”
Paul glared at them the way Aunt Bitsy had looked at Kyle Simons yesterday. “Time and again I have cautioned the bishop and the ministers about your family’s behavior. Your Aunt Elizabeth dyes her hair and wears earrings and tattoos. Someone has seen her with lipstick. Lily breaks her promises and deceives people. All of you wear pants and flirt with boys.”
Flirt with boys? What he really meant was that Lily had chosen Dan Kanagy over him. Poppy clenched her teeth. Paul liked nothing better than to twist facts to justify himself. If she hadn’t sworn off hitting any more boys, she would have seriously considered clobbering him over the head with her cast. How dare he talk about Lily and their family that way?
Dinah nodded so hard, Poppy thought her kapp might fly off her head. “You flirt with lots of boys.”
A look of understanding passed between Dinah Eicher and Paul Glick. They must have realized they were allies in the imaginary battle against the Honeybee Sisters. But what did Dinah have against Poppy except that she thought Poppy had stolen her recipe for Nestlé Toll House cookies?
Since she had called things off with Paul, Lily had become almost as bold as Poppy. “Paul,” Lily said, “don’t insult my family as if you know them. You know nothing.”
“You are the worst offender, Poppy,” Paul said, still ignoring Lily as if he’d cut her completely out of his heart and therefore she didn’t exist anymore. “You have never been able to fully accept the Confession of F
aith. You use violence to solve your problems. It will only bring damnation to you and trouble to our community.”
Dinah was so eager to share her opinion with someone who would agree with her. She stepped forward and stood next to Paul. “She wants to be a boy. She is not content in the place Gotte has placed her.”
Rose tugged at Poppy’s sleeve. “Let’s go. Paul is too angry to speak any sense.”
Poppy nodded at Lily. Lily nodded back. Paul would not be allowed to bully either of them today.
“I’d like to hear what else Paul has to say,” Poppy said, lifting her chin and daring Paul with her eyes. She took one of Rose’s hands and Lily took the other. They stood together, a wall Paul would not be able to breach no matter how many cruel words he threw at them.
Paul pasted a look of fake concern on his face. “You can make this right, Poppy. The man is the head of the woman. Find someone to marry you and prove that you are willing to submit to him. You might just keep from getting shunned.”
“It’s why she’s been throwing herself at Luke Bontrager. She needs a husband to make her respectable.”
Poppy did her best to school her expression even though Dinah’s words had hit their mark. Sweet, pretty, helpless Dinah Eicher had a nasty streak. Did Luke know about that particular quality?
Rose looked as deeply troubled as Poppy felt. Her skin turned pale, and her eyes pooled with tears. She practically yanked Poppy’s shoulder out of its socket. “Let’s go, Poppy. Please, let’s just go.”
Poppy wasn’t about to be wounded or chased away by two people who would take great satisfaction in seeing her put down. “I don’t need a husband,” she said. Luke or Owen Zimmerman or Wallace Sensenig could just leave her alone. Why did she even think of Luke? He wouldn’t ever consider marrying her, not when a lovely girl like Dinah Eicher was available. “I don’t want a husband. I am enough of myself.”
“Not in Gotte’s eyes,” Paul said.
She’d never felt such a surge of outrage before. Not when Luke had yelled at her, not when vandals had painted her barn, not even when Griff Simons attacked Rose. “Nae, Paul. I am unworthy only in your eyes, and you are so small, your voice is like the buzzing of a mosquito in my ear.”
Hannah Yutzy practically burst from around the counter with a box of donuts in her hand. “Here you go!” she said, her smile so painful, Poppy could tell she forced it as wide as it would go. “Donuts hot out of the fryer.” Starting with Poppy, she went around the circle and handed a fresh, hot donut to everyone, including Paul and Dinah.
She shoved one in Paul’s hand before he could refuse it. He made a point never to buy anything from Yutzys’ produce stand. His family’s market stood just down the street. “I don’t want this,” he said. He tried to hand it back to Hannah, but she seemed awful busy handing out napkins.
“What do you mean, you don’t want it?” Hannah said, giving him a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Didn’t you order a glazed donut with sprinkles on top?”
Paul scowled. “Nae. I did not.”
Dinah had already taken a bite out of hers. “I didn’t order one either.”
Hannah sighed a very deep, to-the-tips-of-her-toes sigh. “Well, I can’t take it back now. You’ve put your fingers all over it. We’d have to throw it away and lose all that money.”
Paul probably could have breathed fire out of his flaring nostrils. “Fine. I will pay you for it, but I’m not going to eat it. I’m saving room for my mamm’s rolls. How much?”
“Three dollars.”
“Three dollars? For a donut?” Paul said.
Dinah frowned and handed Hannah two one-dollar bills and four quarters. She glared at Poppy, lifted her nose in the air, and flounced away with her mouth full of donut and powdered sugar clinging to her bottom lip.
Paul shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out some bills. “Three dollars? We charge a dollar a roll at the restaurant.”
Hannah’s cheeks had to be aching from all that fake smiling. “Prices are going up.”
Paul handed her the money and turned his attention back to Poppy and her sisters. Shaking his donut in their direction, he said, “Let this be a warning. Don’t be surprised if the deacon pays you a visit.” He turned on his heels and marched away without another word.
Lily handed her donut to Rose and dug into the canvas bag where they kept their tomato money. “Have you got change for a twenty, Hannah?”
Hannah reached out and tapped Lily on the arm. “The Honeybee Sisters never pay at Yutzys. You are like family to us.”
“I insist,” Lily said, holding out the twenty-dollar bill. “We feel guilty taking your donuts for free.”
“Don’t feel guilty,” Hannah said, glancing behind her and making an attempt to stifle a loud giggle. “Paul Glick paid for yours.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Poppy was so unhappy, Luke could have cut it with a knife. Two days ago she had gifted him with that irresistible smile. She had laughed at his jokes and seemed devastated when Kyle Simons had socked him. She had invited him to come over and make bread any time he wanted. Luke thought he was making real progress. Tonight she could barely stand to look at him.
The Honeybee Sisters had invited him to dinner, probably because he’d made a point to show up at their house right before dinnertime with Dan Kanagy. They couldn’t very well invite Dan without inviting Luke. Mamm was starting to wonder if she should be offended that Luke seldom ate at home anymore. In truth, Lily had invited him to dinner while Poppy had stood in the background trying to slice tomatoes with her left hand. She didn’t even say hello, didn’t even acknowledge when Luke walked into their house. It was as if she didn’t want him there.
Trying to make sense of Poppy’s dark mood left Luke with little appetite. He wracked his brain, trying to remember if he’d said something that had offended her. Stupid things flew out of his mouth all the time, but he usually didn’t realize they were stupid until hours or days afterward. It made it kind of hard to pinpoint just what he’d said that had made Poppy act as cold as a frosty night in January.
The bruises on her cheek looked worse than they had two days ago. Had they X-rayed her face when they X-rayed her hand? He should have suggested that. She could very well have a fractured cheekbone or something.
Her cast went almost to her elbow, and her fingers were swollen and a light purplish color. She had paid a steep price for hitting Griff so hard. Luke shuddered at the thought of what could have happened. Poppy really had no choice but to hit Griff with all her might. A softer blow might have saved her hand, but might not have stopped Griff in his tracks.
When the pork chops were ready, Bitsy called for everyone to sit. Poppy set a bowl of buttered corn on the table and sat next to Luke, but he might as well have been invisible. She didn’t look, didn’t smile, didn’t send so much as a glance in his direction.
His heart sank. What was wrong, and how could he fix it? He cleared his throat. “How does your cheek feel, Poppy?”
She instinctively touched her hand to her face. “Still a little swollen.”
Luke swallowed hard. “Did they X-ray your cheekbone at the hospital? There might be a fracture.”
She didn’t even bristle at the idea that he might be trying to boss her around. Her green eyes showed him nothing except defeat and sorrow, and his heart ached for her without even knowing what was wrong.
Billy Idol stationed himself at Luke’s feet and hissed to get Luke’s attention. “Not now, cat,” Luke said, more harshly than he meant. Billy Idol was a nuisance, for sure and certain, but in his own way, he had tried to protect Joann. Luke would be very ungrateful if he didn’t at least acknowledge Billy Idol’s kindness. He reached down and scratched behind Billy Idol’s half ear. “I’ll pick you up later,” he said. “But not while I’m eating.”
Billy Idol meowed and twitched his ears, which was probably as good a reply as Luke would get. He looked up to see Poppy staring at him. He smiled sheepishly. “He likes me
.”
“I’ve never been able to figure out why,” Poppy said, as if she truly meant it. Why didn’t she just go ahead and take a hammer to his face?
Dan was blissfully unaware of anything going on between Luke and Poppy. Usually Dan was blissfully unaware of anyone but Lily. “You don’t even have a black eye, Luke. I’m disappointed.”
Luke pretended to be cheerful. “Dat says my nose isn’t broken. I got off easy.”
“I can’t believe you let him hit you,” Rose said. “It was very brave.”
Luke bowed his head. “Nae. Poppy was the brave one.”
Rose choked on her words. “Jah. She saved us.”
“Let’s talk after the prayer,” Bitsy said. “The pork chops are getting cold.”
At least he would be able to have some sort of connection with Poppy during the prayer. He reached out his hand to her, and she hesitated only briefly before placing her hand in his. It was the hand without the cast. The hand with the black thumbnail. Ach, Poppy was beat up something wonderful. The thought made him feel even lower.
But he loved the feel of her skin.
“Dear Heavenly Father,” Bitsy said, without waiting to see if everyone was ready. “We are grateful that Rose got some new paints today and that Lily is engaged to Dan—not that I’m all that thrilled with Dan, but at least he’s not Paul Glick. We ask You to heal Poppy’s hand and face and Luke Bontrager’s nose, and give him the wisdom to see past it.”
Past what? His nose? Luke nearly opened his eyes. What was Bitsy talking about?
Bitsy pitched her voice a little louder. “Keep evil, Griff Simons, and Dinah Eicher from our door. Amen.”
Dinah Eicher? How had she made it into Bitsy’s prayer?
Bitsy looked up, scowled, and bowed her head again. “And, dear Lord, bless the food.”
Reluctantly, Luke let go of Poppy’s hand as he bowed his head for the silent prayer. Dear Father in heaven, will You show me the way with Poppy?
Was it selfish to pray for himself? If Gotte didn’t help him, no one would.
Luke opened his eyes. Dan’s smile could have illuminated the road all the way to Luke’s house. “Aunt Bitsy,” he said, “you’ve never thanked Gotte for me before.”