“Of course.” With Edna’s help she’d committed it all to memory when everyone went their separate ways after breakfast. But she couldn’t tell him that, not yet anyway. She wanted to make sure Seth, all the Beilers really, got to know her without any cloud of her embarrassing challenges coloring their perception of her—not to mention proving to herself once and for all that she was indeed capable of standing on her own—before she confessed. If she ever said anything at all.
So she meekly accepted the list from him, folded it in half and slipped it into her tote.
“Do you need a pen or pencil so you can cross items off as you purchase them?”
“I have a pen.”
“Then I think we’re ready to go.”
When Phoebe stepped outside, she saw he already had the horse hitched to the buggy. Checkers ran up and danced around their feet. She and the dog had become fast friends. He’d actually kept her company as she’d gathered the eggs earlier.
They traveled down the lane in companionable silence for a while. It was an open buggy, but she had her coat on and they shared a buggy blanket so she was really quite comfortable.
Finally, she spoke up. “I met Margaret Chupp and teacher Constance on Sunday.”
“I’m glad you’re making friends here.”
“Constance seems to have a gut opinion of Kish and Jesse.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“She told me about the parts they’ll have in the Christmas program. I’m for sure and for certain sorry I’ll have to miss it.”
He frowned. “That’s right. You’ll be going home for a few days to be with your familye at Christmas.” His expression cleared quickly. “But you’ll get to see your own school’s Christmas program.”
“Jah. And I have three nieces who’ll be in it so it will be wonderful gut to see them perform.” Though if she had to choose between the two, for some reason she’d be tempted to choose the one here.
Phoebe glanced around. “I’m looking forward to seeing more of Sweetbrier Creek.”
He smiled at that. “I apologize for keeping you so close to home since you’ve been here. If you want to take a day off to see more of the area or visit with your new friends, just let me know.”
“Danke. But I’ve been quite happy to spend my time at your home. It’s why I came after all.” Her answer seemed to please him.
Then she changed the subject. “Have you figured out how you’re going to involve your brieder in your work?”
“Since Mark is apprenticing for Calvin Detweiler, I think he would be the one who could be the most help the fastest.”
“But surely you’re going to involve more than just him?”
“I’m planning to start with Mark and make sure getting him to do some of the work doesn’t affect the quality of the sets or prove too distracting. If that works out, then I may get one or more of my brieder to help out.”
“May get? I seem to remember all of them volunteering to help in any way they could.”
“And I appreciate it, but I have to make sure I can still get the chess sets out on time.”
She could understand that. She just wished he would have more faith in their ability to make this work.
The discussion turned to small talk as he pointed out areas of interest along their route—the orchard where Daniel worked, the schoolhouse, Edna’s shveshtah Trudy’s familye home and the like.
When the countryside changed and the first signs of the town itself began to appear, Phoebe studied the buildings they passed with interest. She noted one with a large sign proclaiming it to be Detweiler’s Cabinet and Furniture Store. “Isn’t that where Mark works?” she asked as she pointed.
He nodded. “Jah. Calvin Detweiler is who Mark apprentices with, and across the street is Rosie’s Diner where Margaret Chupp works.”
Seth finally turned the buggy into the parking lot of a business whose sign proclaimed it to be Spellman’s Grocery Mart. Then he handed her an envelope. “This contains what should be enough cash to cover the cost of the items on your list.”
She slid the envelope carefully into her tote and stepped down from the buggy.
He gathered the reins, then hesitated. “I know this place is unfamiliar to you. I could go inside with you if you like.”
“Danke, but I’m sure it’s very similar to the grocery store we use at home. And I’m perfectly capable of doing the shopping myself.” At least she hoped she was.
He nodded but still didn’t set the buggy in motion. “Make sure you follow the list and double-check it before you finish your purchases. We don’t want to forget anything and have to make a return trip.”
She rolled her eyes. “I won’t forget anything.”
“I just have a few errands to run so you shouldn’t have to wait on me.”
“Don’t rush through anything on my account. It’ll probably take me a little while to figure out the layout of this store. And I don’t mind waiting.”
He waved to an area that had obviously been set aside for buggies rather than cars. “When I return, I’ll park the buggy on that side of the store. That way I can get out and transfer your purchases to the back of the buggy.”
This time she just nodded, and he finally headed the buggy back toward the road.
Phoebe took a deep breath and entered the store. Truth to tell, she’d asked Edna to accompany her this morning. It would have been gut to have someone read labels, especially if there was a favorite brand they wanted. But Edna had claimed that getting in and out of buggies was too difficult for her with her arm in a sling. Not that it had seemed to give her much trouble Sunday.
So Phoebe did her best. The layout was somewhat different from the market at home, and it was a bigger store with a wider selection. Since the order she’d memorized the list in was not the same order as the items were stocked on the shelves it took a bit of mental reorganizing, but by the time she’d finished she was confident she’d gotten everything from the list. However, she wasn’t sure she’d gotten the requested size or brand in each case.
There were also a few things she’d deliberately added to her cart that weren’t on the list. She’d found she liked to be a little adventurous with her cooking so she’d sought out produce and herbs that looked like they would be interesting to try. But those she paid for out of her own pocket.
