The Amish Baker

She mulled over his offer for a minute. “Danki, Caleb.”

Jacob flashed her a smile, grabbed his hat and followed his daed out the door.

Her heart thrived on the small bu and already ached for him. Saturday, she’d get to see them both again.

* * *

Caleb turned Snowball into the driveway and headed toward the barn. He couldn’t understand the change in the bu. Jacob had whistled almost the whole way home.

“Daed, I liked working at the bakery. Sarah said I did a gut job.” When the buggy stopped, Jacob hopped out. “I’ll start chores.”

He stared after his sohn. What had gotten into him? Perhaps he had eaten too many cookies today and the sugar was giving him a burst of energy.

While he led Snowball to a stall, an image of Sarah fought its way back into his mind. He tried to forget about her smile, about how her small frame had felt in his arms, about how her hair had smelled of peach blossoms. But he couldn’t do it.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her.

She was a widow. Did she mention that so he’d know? Nein. He was sure that was not possible. She only mentioned it because her ehemann had made her the bears. Yet a small part of him wanted to think that she wanted him to know.

All week long, Jacob stayed in a gut mood. He did all his chores on time and without one complaint. He cleaned his room without Caleb having to ask. In fact, he never saw the bu sitting once, only at mealtime and in the evenings. Amazing!

At 5:00 a.m. on Saturday morning, Caleb knocked on Jacob’s bedroom door to wake him for chores, and he was surprised to find him dressed and ready to help with the milking. Usually he had to pry the bu out of bed. Evidently Jacob was smitten with something at the bakery. Caleb ran a hand through his hair. But what?

The work? Hard to believe.

Sarah? He wouldn’t be interested in girls at his age. Yet he did believe Jacob still missed his mamm. Sarah had praised the bu for doing a gut job, as Martha often had. Maybe he needed to do that more, as well.

Jacob helped hitch Snowball to the buggy, then was the first one to hop in the buggy. The closer Snowball got to town, the faster he trotted and the faster he got his treat of oats.

Caleb’s heart rate also increased the closer they got to Kalona. He rubbed his sweaty palms across his thighs. It was too soon for him to think about a frau.

* * *

Sarah couldn’t resist a smile when the bakery door opened. “Gut mornin’, Jacob. Ready to work again?”

He nodded. “Daed had errands to do and will stop back later.”

“Gut.” Sarah swiped her hands together to dust the flour off and gave him a pat on the shoulder. “This is Hannah Ropp. She works with me in the bakery.”

“Nice to meet you, Jacob.” Hannah smiled. “So, you’re going to spend your Saturday with us? Datt is wunderbaar. We can certainly use the help around here.”

“Nice to meet you, Hannah.” He hung his hat, rolled up his sleeves and dug in to the dirty pans stacked in the sink.

“A man of few words—I like datt,” Hannah teased.

Sarah finished making the apple pie, sprinkled the top with cinnamon and sugar and then set it in the oven beside the other three pies. She glanced at Jacob, who was busy scrubbing the jelly roll pan. “Jacob, what would you like to do when you grow up? Farm like your daed?”

“Be a baker like you.”

Sarah paused. She hadn’t expected that. “Jah?” She turned toward Jacob. “You could come and work with Hannah and me. We’d like that, wouldn’t we, Hannah?”

“Of course we would.” She laughed.

“My daed was a baker, Jacob. This was his bakery. I worked here every day after school, helping him.” Sarah finished kneading the dough, set the mound of wheat bread into a pan, covered it and set it off to the side to rise.

“After Mamm died, the bakery was the place Daed, my brother Turner and I worked together as a family. After Daed and my husband, Samuel, died, the bakery, Hannah and our customers became my family. Turner took over Daed’s woodworking shop. Now he’s too busy to stop by much.”

“I didn’t think I’d seen Turner in here lately.” Hannah tossed her a curious look.

“Jah. He usually stopped in for a roll and coffee a couple of times a week, but not lately. Maybe he had extra woodworking orders with summer and the Englischers’ wedding season close.”

Jacob finished washing pans, swept the floors and then trotted to the front and wiped off tables. He laughed with Sarah and Hannah when a lull in customers permitted it.

Sarah snatched little glances of Jacob as he worked. He was a wunderbaar little bu, and she enjoyed his company. “Jacob, did your mamm bake you cookies?”

“Jah, Mamm was a gut baker. She made all kinds of cookies and pies. On my birthday, she’d make me a cake. She made a quilt for my bed. It had squares on it and each one had a different-shaped leaf made out of autumn-colored fabric. When I was sick one time, she sat up all night beside my bed.” His voice cracked and he wiped a tear from his cheek.

Sarah’s heart wept as she sensed Jacob missed his mamm and craved the attention of a mother figure. She had experienced that before when other kinner in her church had lost a parent. Perhaps she could fill the void for Jacob in some way.

Maybe his daed didn’t see Jacob’s need to confide in a woman. On the other hand, maybe he did and that was the reason why he agreed to bring Jacob to work with her in the bakery.

Late morning, Caleb pushed open the bakery door, and Sarah met him at the counter. “Would you like a cookie and a cup of coffee before you head home?”

“Datt would be nice. Would you sit with me at a table for a few minutes?”

“Jah. I have a little time. Especially now since I have two good workers in the bakery.” She said it in a voice a bit louder than normal and glanced over her shoulder at Jacob to see if he had heard.

She caught the little smile pulling at the corners of Jacob’s mouth as he tried to hold it back.

Her heart stuttered at Caleb’s nearness. She handed him a cookie on a plate, poured two cups of coffee and then followed him to a table. When she sat, her gaze met his. His sage-green eyes held hers as tightly as his two strong arms had last Saturday. A rush of warmth flooded her cheeks as she remembered that moment.

“I hope Jacob helped some. He’s a small bu and has his limitations.”

“Jacob is a fabulous worker. He washed pans, mopped the floor, cleaned tables, loaded trays on the cart and pushed it out front. He’s a great help and strong, too. Does he do a lot of work at home?”

“His sister, Mary, who’s thirteen, does the housework. Jacob works outside, mostly in the garden. When he gets older, he’ll farm with me.”

“I see. Is that what he wants to do?”

“What boy doesn’t want to work alongside his daed?” Caleb’s smile reflected a fatherly elation.

“Jah, indeed, but sometimes kinner want to go their own way and try something new.”

Brushing off the temptation to enlighten him that Jacob preferred the bakery to farming, she sipped her coffee and held her tongue. It wasn’t her place to do so, and besides Jacob could change his mind. It might just be a novelty for him to work in a bakery. Something different than cleaning a dirty barn.

Jacob and Hannah both let out a laugh.

“I haven’t heard him laugh since his mamm died. It’s doing him gut to come and work here.”

“Hannah and I enjoyed having him.” She turned and faced the kitchen. “Jacob, your daed is here for you.”

Jacob strolled to the front of the bakery and stopped at the end of the table.

“I heard you worked hard for Sarah. Are you ready to go home?” Caleb stood and picked up his hat.

Jacob’s eyes sparkled. “Nein. I’d like to stay and live with Sarah at the bakery and work for her. She asked me to.”

Shocked, Sarah looked at Caleb’s face. His eyes widened and his mouth gaped. She turned her gaze back to Jacob. Had she heard him correctly?

She stood and faced Caleb to explain. But his complexion had turned ashen and his hat slipped from his hands and dropped to the floor.

Chapter Four

Still reeling from Jacob’s announcement that he wanted to live with her, Sarah pressed a hand to her chest. Without saying a word, Caleb retrieved his hat from the floor. He straightened and glanced at her, his eyes dewy like the forest during a heavy mist.

The bell jingled as the bakery door pushed open and an elderly couple entered. Hannah rushed to greet the customers, nodding to Sarah and indicating she had this. Sarah blew out a breath. She didn’t want to delay this conversation.

Caleb’s skin above his whiskered cheeks had turned cherry-red. His six-foot stature seemed shorter as his shoulders slumped with the weight of his sohn’s brutal words. The man’s eyes reflected his world crumbling like a day-old cookie.

Sarah drew a sharp breath and prepared to deal with what she had started. “Let’s sit a minute.”

Since the tables were empty, she motioned toward the corner table so customers wouldn’t overhear their conversation. It also gave her a second longer to decide how to explain this misunderstanding to Caleb. He probably believed she had meddled in his life.

The late-afternoon sun and heat streamed through the window, intensifying her discomfort. She blotted the moisture clinging to her neck with her hand as the guys slid behind the table.

Sarah leaned behind Jacob and pulled the cord on the blind, her mind racing about how to approach the subject. She scooted out the chair directly opposite from Caleb and sat.

How was she going to explain that his sohn would rather work in the bakery than on the farm? Not something an Amish man wanted to hear, or probably any man, if he had his heart set on it. She swiped her palms on her apron as she directed her attention across the table.

Caleb glanced down and raised his forearms to the table with his calloused, weathered-roughened hands outstretched in front of him. He sucked in a loud breath and cut his eyes to his bu.

Jacob sat next to Caleb, acting as if he were unaware of the impact his words had had on his daed. The bu’s small body scooted up next to the table, with only the tops of his shoulders and head visible above the table.

“Sweetie.” Sarah looked at Jacob and whispered. “When we talked about you working in the bakery, I meant when you had grown and finished school.”

“But you said you worked in your daed’s bakery every day after school and liked it because you were in a family. I want to be part of a family, too.” His tiny voice started to tremble.

“I’m sorry that you misunderstood.”

Sarah raised her eyes to Caleb, imploring his help. She realized Jacob was desperately seeking what he’d lost, and her heart was breaking for him.

Caleb remained silent. By the pitiful look on his face, it was as if his sohn had asked for a divorce from his family.

* * *

Jacob’s words sliced through Caleb’s heart like a steel blade, then plunged to the very depth of his soul.

A shiver coursed through his body. After Martha’s death, he’d stayed late in the fields and lingered cleaning tools so exhaustion would consume him at bedtime. That helped Caleb deal with the grief. But without giving it a thought, he’d let his kinner struggle with their mamm’s death on their own. What had he been thinking? Then he’d scolded Jacob when he relaxed by the pond. Instead, he should have taken a few minutes to lie with the bu in the grass.

He reached over, enfolded Jacob’s hand into his and squeezed gently. “Jacob, we can’t ask Sarah to let you live with her. She is busy with her bakery and probably doesn’t have an extra bedroom in her apartment.”

“But, Daed, I could help her and sleep in her bakery.”

“Nein, that won’t work, Jacob. You can’t sleep in the bakery. When she needs help, I will drive you into town to help her. I know Sarah is your friend and you would like to spend more time with her. What would you say if we invited her out to our farm for dinner next Sunday?”

His face glowed. “Jah, okay.”

“Sarah. If you are available for dinner, Jacob and I would be honored to drive into Kalona and escort you to our home.”

“Jah, I would like datt.” She turned toward Jacob. “When I come to your house, I’ll scrub your sink full of pans.”

Jacob laughed. “Okay, but I’ll help you.”

“Datt sounds gut. Go tell Hannah I said for her to bag some cookies for you to take home.” Jacob ran to the back of the bakery.

“Caleb, I’m so sorry. Jacob and I were having a casual conversation as we worked. I told him about working with my family in the bakery after school. I didn’t realize he took it a different way. What I didn’t tell Jacob was my daed was very strict and my bruder and I worked hard from a very early age. But I liked helping in the bakery and didn’t mind.”

“I understand. Jacob’s mamm died a year ago, and he still misses her. Martha’s death had a devastating impact on the bu, and I failed to notice it. I stay in the fields too late and don’t spend enough time with the kinner. That’ll change.” He stood, retrieved his hat from the peg and nodded to Sarah as he headed for the door.

Jacob dragged his feet as he made his way to the front of the bakery, a smile touching the corners of the bu’s mouth as he said goodbye to Sarah, but it disappeared and was replaced by a sadness that Caleb worried wouldn’t go away.

* * *

Caleb followed Jacob into the house, hurrying to catch up. For a six-year-old, he could surely outrun his daed.

Jacob held the sack up. “Mary, I have some cookies from the bakery. We can share.”

Mary shrugged at her brother, rolled her eyes, then finished making a pie and placed it in the oven.

“Guess what, Mary? Sarah is coming to dinner next Sunday, and we get to cook for her!”

Mary stopped and glared at Jacob. “Is that so? Am I the one who will be cooking dinner?”

Caleb cleared his throat. “We will all make dinner together for our guest. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.”

“You mean your guest.” She shoved the laundry basket of clothes she’d been folding to the corner. Then grabbed the pot holders and pulled the cornbread out of the oven.

The assault of ammonia and floor cleaner tipped Caleb off to how hard Mary had been working since they took off for town. The house was clean, the table set for dinner, and the steamy whiff of ham and candied sweet potatoes smelled gut.

He hadn’t noticed before, but Mary’s feelings were sensitive, too. She’d had a deep attachment to her mamm, and bringing another woman into her home was going to meet with resistance, no doubt.

Mary was a thirteen-year-old going on thirty. She never complained; she just did what had to be done. Caleb moved out of her way as she dished up dinner in silence. He hung his hat on a peg by the door and dragged his hand through his hair to smooth it down. Apparently neither Jacob nor Mary was happy. Their lives had fallen apart since Martha’s death, and it was all his fault.

He had to give his kinner a loving home. Martha would have been disappointed in his behavior. He treated Mary and Jacob like adults. He needed to let them be kinner. Maybe he could hire someone occasionally to help with the household chores.

The next morning Caleb tried to help Mary whenever he could. He made Jacob pick up more responsibility around the house, as well. The week passed with little complaining or talking of any kind from Mary. She said what was necessary and not a word more.

On Saturday Caleb watched as Jacob helped make sugar cookies. He dusted the table with flour, as Mary did. Rolled out his dough and used a round cookie cutter to stamp out shapes. Caleb walked over to survey the work, his shoes crunching over the sugarcoated wood flooring.

“When I grow up, Mary, I’m going to work with Sarah in her bakery.” Jacob slid a spatula under the dough and set each cookie on a baking sheet.

Mary glanced at Jacob and rolled her eyes.

Caleb prayed Sunday dinner would go off without any problems.

* * *

On Sunday Caleb peeled and cut potatoes and carrots while Mary prepared the roast. When everything was almost ready, he and Jacob hitched Snowball and rode to Kalona to fetch Sarah. The whole way there, Jacob made plans for Sarah’s visit.

Yet a slight uneasiness bubbled in Caleb’s belly. Mary had offered no conversation while they worked in the kitchen this morning. Was she still brooding about cooking for their guest?

When they pulled up, Sarah was ready in front of the bakery. Caleb walked her to the buggy. Just as she stepped up to the carriage, she jerked her head at the sound of wheels and horses’ hooves pounding the paved road as a buggy approached.

“Ach. Melinda Miller.” She gave her a wave, then accepted Caleb’s help to step up. “She’ll be sure to tell everyone she saw me getting into your buggy.”

Caleb waved his hand in a dismissive manner. “It’s Visiting Sunday, and you’re going visiting.”

“Jah, that’s true,” she reasoned.

When he pulled into his driveway, Sarah’s gaze bounced from the gardens to the fields. “It’s a lovely farm, Caleb.”

“Danki.” He helped her out of the buggy and escorted her up the porch steps.

Jacob grabbed her hand. “I’ll show you my room.”

Sarah turned and gave Caleb a shrug. “Guess I have a tour guide with an itinerary for the day.”

“Slow down, Jacob. Show Sarah your room while I unhitch Snowball. Then we must eat before anything else. Mary will have dinner ready.” Caleb’s stomach had been rumbling for the past hour, and he didn’t want Mary’s hard work on dinner to go to waste. He hurried to unhook Snowball, walked the horse to his stall and then hurried back to the haus.

Caleb hung his hat on the hook, washed his hands and, while Mary poured the cold milk, he carried the food to the table. “Jacob and Sarah. Time to eat.”

Jacob led his guest to the table and pulled out a chair. “This is where you sit.”

“Danki.” Sarah made herself comfortable.

Caleb motioned to Mary. “This is my tochter, Mary.” Then he turned to Sarah. “This is Sarah Gingerich from the Amish Sweet Delights bakery.”

Mary gave Sarah a slight nod.

Sarah reached out to shake Mary’s hand, but Mary stepped back. “Sorry, my hand may have grease on it from the roast. I wouldn’t want you to get any on your hands or your dress.”

“Mary. Please wash your hands.” Caleb tossed her a warning look. He knew Mary’s stubborn nature. She wouldn’t warm up to Sarah until she was ready, but he wouldn’t stand for her offensive behavior.

She washed her hands at the sink, came back and offered a hand to Sarah. “Hullo, Sarah. Welkum.” Mary’s words hit their destination like icy pellets.

Caleb exhaled. It was going to be a long afternoon. “Shall we all join hands for prayer?” He said the blessing, then passed the serving platter around the table.

“Ach. New Order Amish pray aloud at the table. We do not.” Sarah gasped.

“Jah. On the off-Sundays when the church doesn’t have preaching, the New Order Amish have open Bible study and Sunday school to deepen our personal relationship with Gott and our assurance of salvation.”

“Ach. Old Order still clings to the adage that only the church interprets scripture, and beyond living a godly life and working hard, we can only have hope of our salvation.” Sarah took a bite of food and turned to Mary. “Mmm, this roast is delicious.”

“Danki.”

“Did your mamm teach you how to cook?”

“Of course.”

The heat from Mary’s rude words burned on Caleb’s cheeks. He’d hoped Mary would like Sarah. Apparently that’s not going to happen. “Sarah, Jacob and I have a little surprise for you after dinner.”

“I like surprises. That sounds like fun.”

When they were finished eating, Sarah jumped up, began clearing the table and carrying the dishes to the sink. Caleb helped Sarah while Mary put the condiments and leftover food away, then joined Sarah at the sink.

“Sit, Caleb, finish your coffee. You too, Mary. You cooked. I’ll wash the dishes.” Sarah motioned them toward the table.

“Danki, but you came to visit with Daed and Jacob. Go visit with them. I’ll take care of the dishes.”

“Nein. We’ll all pitch in to get them done faster. Jacob and I’ll help, too.” Caleb grabbed a dish towel. “I can’t believe you were going to pass up the help, Mary.”

Defiance glowed in Mary’s eyes as they darted at Caleb. But she remained silent.

* * *

Sarah took a step back after the last dish found its way to the cupboard. She understood Mary wasn’t going to let her, or probably any woman, into her kitchen. If Caleb made Mary step aside for a frau, she’d do it, but begrudgingly.

After Jacob finished sweeping the floor clean of crumbs and set the broom away, he ran to Caleb. “Now, Daed?”

“Jah. Now we take Sarah on the tour.” Caleb opened the door and swept his arm toward the outside. “Your tour is about to begin, Frau Gingerich.”

They walked her around the flower and vegetable gardens, then stopped by the barn for her to meet Tiger, the cat. When he rubbed against her leg, she picked him up. “You’re a real beauty.”

He purred in response.

Jacob tugged at her arm as excitement set his feet to prancing. “Come on, we have a surprise.” Jacob walked her to the pen where the newborn calf laid next to his mamm.

“Oh, he is gorgeous.” Sarah gave Caleb a glance when he stood next to her.

The cat jumped out of Sarah’s arms, squeezed through the board fence and rubbed up against the calf.

“Ah, even Tiger likes him.” The innocence of the animals warmed her heart.

“There’s one last place to see. I’ll give you a hint.” Jacob rubbed his chin with his hand like he was deep in thought. “It’s a great spot on a hot day.”

Sarah looked up toward the sky as if really pondering the question, then dropped her gaze back to Jacob. “I have no idea what it is. Lead the way.”

Jacob traipsed through the grass and weeds along the bank to the grove of maple trees by the pond on the edge of the pasture. Jacob pointed to the water, his face beaming.

“Oh! What a wonderful place to relax on the grass.” She looked around. “It’s a beautiful farm, Caleb and Jacob, and so well kept.”

Both their faces glowed with pride.

“I contract the fields of vegetables to canneries, and I grow extra to sell at the auction and market.” He turned around and pointed to the north pasture. “And we have a few milk cows.”

“Jah, I see but it looks like more than a few.”

“About forty.”

“The farm must keep you busy.”

Caleb nodded. “Jah, it does.”

She couldn’t keep her eyes off him. He was a handsome man, with a charming way about him. Even with a beard, she could see his strong jaw. She liked his beard. The New Order men kept theirs trimmed, while the Old Order didn’t allow such things. Her stomach fluttered whenever Caleb spoke to her, as though she were a young girl who was in a courtship with a bu. Only, now it was a man with kinner.

“Daed, is it time for cookies?” Jacob turned toward Sarah. “I helped make them.”