Well, once she demonstrated that she could manage the task of getting the house ready for the upcoming service he wouldn’t have any reason to doubt her abilities.
Surely that would be enough to prove herself.
Wouldn’t it?
That evening, Phoebe lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. Overall, it had been a gut day. She’d survived the community gathering without making a fool of herself. And she thought she might have made friends in Margaret and Constance.
Seth had been looking at her more kindly too.
So long as no one knew about her reading and writing challenges she could stand on her own with them.
One of the nicest things about today was that she’d managed to shine a spotlight on Jesse without causing him any undue discomfort. She’d come up with the paper airplane idea last night when she’d glanced at the bag that held her origami and paper-cutting supplies on the dresser across the room.
She’d suspected Jesse would be gut if placed in the role of teacher. Not that she believed this would cure him of his shyness overnight, but perhaps it was a step in the right direction.
Phoebe adjusted her pillow and rolled over on her side. Time to get some sleep. There would be a lot to do tomorrow.
Including talking to Seth about an idea she had to make his life easier. Assuming he’d be open to change.
The next morning Seth leaned against the kitchen counter, drinking down the last swallow of his third cup of coffee. His brieder had all headed out to their various destinations and Edna was in the living room. Phoebe was across the room, her back to him as she wiped down the stove.
He found himself strangely reluctant to leave the warm coziness of the kitchen for the kalt winter morning that awaited him outside. But he had deadlines to meet so there was no time for those sorts of indulgences. Just as he set his cup in the sink, though, Phoebe turned to him. “If you have a few minutes I’d like to speak to you about something.”
“Of course.” He crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter. What was on her mind now?
She stood there chewing her lip for a moment, as if trying to make up her mind. Whatever she wanted to discuss with him must be serious.
Then she straightened and met his gaze. “You said on Saturday that you were behind on your orders.”
“Jah.” That was certainly an unexpected topic.
“I’ve been thinking about your situation and I have an idea about how you might be able to work a little faster to get caught up.”
Her statement got his back up a little. What made her think she could help with the way he worked? “I won’t compromise on quality,” he warned. “Word of mouth is the only advertising I do.”
“My idea wouldn’t require you to compromise on quality.”
She sounded mighty sure of herself. But he figured she meant well. “I appreciate you wanting to help, but there’s no need for you to worry yourself about it. I’ll catch up on the orders I’ve already accepted. I just need to put in a few more hours each day.” He shrugged. “After all, it’s only eleven days until the last day I can ship them out for Christmas.”
She gave him a direct, unblinking look. “You’re putting in too many hours already. You almost fell asleep over supper yesterday.” She put a fist on her hip. “What you need to do is change the way you’re working.”
Her stern demeanor almost made him smile. “What do you mean?”
“There are certain parts of the process you use in creating these chess sets that take more skill and craftsmanship than others, ain’t so?”
“Of course.”
“In fact, some can be easily taught to someone who has no carving skill whatsoever.”
He rubbed his jaw. “I don’t know—”
She waved a hand. “I’ve already offered to help with the lining, which is one of those tasks that requires a different kind of skill than creating the board and pieces.”
She’d get no argument from him on that score. “True, but—”
“So what other steps in the process can you think of that fall into the same category?”
He wasn’t used to having someone interrupt him the way she did. But he thought about her question a moment then shook his head. “There aren’t any.”
Her frown deepened. “Are you telling me that there’s not one thing that can be done by someone else without affecting the quality of your product? What about the staining? Or the packaging? Or cutting the wood you build the board and drawer with?”
Seth rubbed the back of his neck. “I suppose those do require different skills.” Was she actually thinking about volunteering to do those tasks as well? The packaging, maybe, but he couldn’t see her working any of the cutting and pressing equipment. “Those tasks really don’t take a lot of my time, it would probably take longer to train someone else than to go ahead and do it all myself. And I’d just as soon make sure it’s all done properly.” Realizing how that sounded, he quickly added, “Not that I think you wouldn’t do your best.”
“As would any of your brieder you recruited to help you.”
“My brieder?” She kept surprising him with her jumps from idea to idea.
“Of course, who else? The whole familye benefits from the sales of these chess sets, ain’t so? Why shouldn’t they help produce them if you need them to?”
“Levi, Daniel and Mark already have other jobs that contribute to our familye income.”
“As do you with the operation of the farm. You wouldn’t be asking any more of them than you ask of yourself. Besides, your two youngest brieder can certainly take on some of these tasks.”
She seemed to have an answer for everything. What she didn’t understand, though, was that he did ask more of himself—it was what you did if you were the head of the household.
Phoebe waved a hand. “But back to what you said about it taking longer to teach than to do. I think you aren’t giving your brieder enough credit. And how difficult would it be to learn how to package a chess set for shipping, or to line the tray or cut the lengths of wood?”
