The Farmers' Market Mishap Read online

  Elma knew all about her twin’s eagerness to visit. Even when they were children, Thelma had been the outgoing one. While Elma was talkative with people she knew, her sister easily carried on conversations with complete strangers. She remembered how once, when they were ten years old, their mother had taken them shopping. As they were getting ready to leave the store, Thelma walked right up to a young English girl and asked where she’d gotten her red balloon. The next thing Elma knew, her sister and the English girl were exchanging addresses so they could write to each other. Elma had never understood why she and Thelma were different on many levels. Yet they were as close as any identical twins could possibly be.

  “I have a suggestion.” Elma moved to one side of the stool where her sister sat. “Why don’t you sit on this stool here by the counter and wait on people? I’ll take care of cutting material and restocking shelves as needed.”

  “Are you sure? I can help stock shelves if you need me to.”

  Elma shook her head determinedly. “Absolutely not! In your delicate condition, you should not be doing anything strenuous. At least here by the counter, you can stay off your feet.”

  “You and Joseph worry about me too much.” Thelma folded her arms across her stomach. “I’m not an invalid, you know.”

  “Of course not, but you’re thirty-four years old and expecting your first boppli. You need to be careful and not overwork.” Elma glanced down at her sister’s ankles then quickly looked away. She wasn’t about to mention the slight swelling she’d noticed. Thelma would think she was fussing too much. But if it got any worse, she wouldn’t hesitate to speak up.

  Thelma sighed. “All right, I’ll do as you say.”

  “Good to hear.” Elma put the OPEN sign in the large front window and had barely gotten the door unlocked when a horse and buggy pulled up. Four Amish ladies got out, and, as soon as the horse was secured, they hurried into the store. One of them, whom Elma had not met before, held a baby in her arms. For a split second Elma felt a pang of jealousy, but she quickly got it under control.

  “Guder mariye.” Elma greeted them with a smile.

  “Good morning. How are you today, Thelma?” Clara Lehman gave Elma a hug.

  Elma shook her head. “Oh, no, I’m not Thelma. I’m Elma.”

  Clara’s cheeks reddened. “Sorry about that. You two look so much alike. Even after two years of knowing you both, it’s hard to tell you apart.” She looked over at Doris Miller, who stood beside her. “Don’t you agree?”

  “Jah, but then Thelma is the one expecting a boppli, so we should be able to tell them apart.” Doris motioned to Elma’s stomach and snickered. “Does she look like she’s in a family way?”

  “Of course not.” Clara’s face colored further, and Elma’s cheeks heated as well. She pushed up the left sleeve of her dress, revealing a small scar on her elbow. “One way you can always tell us apart is by this scar. I got it when I was a child and fell off my bike.”

  “And don’t forget the small mole I have behind my right ear,” Thelma called from her place behind the counter. “It’s one sure way to know who is who.”

  Clara chuckled as she moved toward the counter. “Now, now, Thelma, most people would not be likely to look behind your ear.”

  “Or see the scar on Elma’s arm,” Doris interjected.

  This discussion was getting nowhere, and Elma was about to ask if either of the ladies needed help with anything, when the door opened again and two more women entered the store. From the looks of things, today would be busy. That was good; Elma liked being busy. She moved across the room to introduce herself to the young woman with the baby, while Doris, Clara, and the other women stood at the counter talking with Thelma.

  By noon, Thelma felt more than ready to take a break. She’d been waiting on customers all morning, and her back was beginning to hurt from sitting so long. She noticed her ankles appeared to be a bit swollen today. It was hard to believe, but twenty customers had come into the store in the last hour, all looking for material and sewing notions. Thelma wondered if every woman in their community had gone shopping today.

  She stepped off the stool, and was about to seek Elma out to say she wanted to go to the back room to eat lunch, when Lizzie Yoder entered the store. Ambling over to the counter, the older woman asked breathlessly, “Does the sale you’re having include everything in the store?” Her blue eyes seemed to grow larger. “I hope so, because I need a few things and don’t have much money to spend.”

  “I’m sorry,” Thelma responded, “but only the bolts of material are on sale today.”

  Lizzie’s double chin tilted downward as she heaved a sigh. “I figured as much but had to ask. Guess I’ll head on down the notions aisle.”

  Thelma watched Lizzie walk away. For a sixty-two-year-old who was a bit on the pudgy side, Lizzie moved pretty fast. I hope I’m that full of energy when I’m her age.

  Once again, Thelma was on the verge of calling her sister to mind the counter when Mary Lambright entered the store. “It’s good to see you. How are your boys doing these days?” Thelma asked.

  Mary’s eyes brightened. “Philip and Richard are doing well. They both enjoy being in school.”

  “I’ll bet they do. Seems like just yesterday when they were sitting here in the store listening to me read them a story.”

  Mary bobbed her head. “My kinner have grown so quickly.” She motioned to Thelma. “Bet you’re looking forward to becoming a mudder.”

  “Oh, jah. Joseph and I are both excited about becoming parents.” Thelma looked down at her growing stomach and patted it gently.

  Mary smiled. “Guess I’d better get what I came in here for. If you’re still at the counter when I’m ready to pay for my purchases, we can chat a bit longer.”

  When Mary hurried off, Thelma stepped down from the stool. She was getting ready to head to the back of the store when Lizzie showed up again. “I’m ready to check out now.”

  Thelma glanced around, hoping Elma was nearby and would come to her rescue, but no such luck. She must be at the back of the store.

  “Umm…sure, I can check you out, Lizzie.” Thelma stepped behind the counter again, and Lizzie placed her purchases down—a notebook, two spools of black thread, four skeins of green yarn, and a bag of jelly beans. Seeing the candy caused Thelma to think of Joseph’s friend Delbert. He seemed to always have candy in his pocket. Delbert had a sweet tooth, for sure. But then from what Thelma had seen, so did Lizzie. Good thing Elma’s not waiting on her. She’d probably give Lizzie a lecture on the danger of eating too much sugar.

  “What’s new with you, Lizzie?” Thelma questioned as she put the woman’s purchase in a plastic bag.

  Lizzie squinted over the top of her glasses. “Nothing good, that’s for sure.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “My brother, Abe, will be moving to Kentucky soon, and he’s taking his whole family with him.” Lizzie touched her chest. “Everyone but me.”

  “I didn’t realize they were leaving the area. Why don’t you go with them?”

  “I was invited to move, but I said no, I’m staying put.” Lizzie shook her head so hard her head-covering ties swished across her face. “Topeka’s my home, and there’s nothing in Kentucky for me.”

  Thelma pursed her lips. “So you’ll stay here all alone?” Lizzie had never married, and it didn’t seem right that she wouldn’t live near her family anymore.

  Lizzie shrugged her shoulders. “My friend Peggy will be moving in with me soon, and we’ll share expenses. We clean houses together, so things should work out okay for both of us.” She grabbed the package of jelly beans, ripped it open, and took out a few of the black ones. “These licorice jelly beans are my favorite.” She offered Thelma a sheepish grin and popped a handful into her mouth.

  Thelma resisted the urge to say something about eating so much candy. She’d be acting like her sister. “Will there be anything else?”

  “Nope, that’s all for now. I’
ll see you again soon, though, I expect.” Lizzie leaned against the counter and lowered her voice. “So how are you feeling these days? Still having morning sickness?”

  “Not anymore, but I do get awful tired at times.” Thelma almost snickered. Funny how some people feel compelled to drop their voice when talking about certain topics.

  “I can’t speak from experience, mind you, but I’ve seen plenty of women who were in a family way. Some have the morning sickness and some don’t. Everyone is different.” Lizzie ate several more jelly beans of various flavors. “Well, I’d better get going.” She paid for her items, picked up the sack, and headed for the door. “Have a nice day, Thelma.”

  As Lizzie was putting the bag of candy into her satchel, a few jelly beans fell out of the opening. “Don’t worry, I’ll get them.” Lizzie scurried to pick them up. “It’s okay. I think I got them all. You take care now.”

  “You, too.” Thelma chuckled. Lizzie Yoder was quite the character. Too bad Lizzie’s family would be moving to Kentucky. Thelma couldn’t imagine what it would be like if Elma moved away. Of course, that wasn’t likely to happen since Elma wasn’t married. Even if she was, no way would Thelma’s twin sister leave her—especially when she would become an aunt in five months.

  When they had a small break between customers, Elma joined Thelma at the counter. “You’ve been up here a long while, Sister. You’d best take a break while I keep an eye on things.”

  “Danki. I’m more than ready for it.” Thelma rose from the stool and headed for the back of the store.

  Elma followed her into the back room and grabbed her lunch basket to take up front. “I’ll eat this while I’m at the counter, in case any customers come in.” She gave her sister’s arm a gentle pat. “You relax, put your feet up, and take it easy. If I need you, I’ll give a holler.”

  Thelma’s appreciation was evident as she took a seat and smiled at Elma. “I was beginning to wonder if things would ever slow down.”

  Elma chuckled. “You know how it goes. We’re either bored and looking for something to do, or the store is literally crawling with customers.”

  “Jah.” Thelma pointed to the door. “You’d better get busy and eat before more people show up.”

  “Okay, see you soon.” Elma hurried to the counter and placed her bologna and cheddar cheese sandwich, along with some carrot and celery sticks, on a napkin. As soon as she removed the thermos lid, the tangy smell of apple juice wafted up to her nose, making her mouth water.

  Elma managed to eat most of her lunch before Hazel Zimmerman, one of the Mennonite women who lived close by, stopped by.

  “Good day, Elma.” Hazel offered a genuine smile. At least she hadn’t gotten Elma mixed up with Thelma.

  “How are things with you today?” Elma put her lunch basket behind the counter.

  “My back has been acting up, but other than that, everything is going pretty well.” Hazel reached around and rubbed her lower back.

  “Sorry to hear it. I hope your back gets better soon.” Elma picked up the spray cleaner and a napkin to tidy the area, while Hazel headed to the fabric section.

  A short time later, Hazel returned with a bolt of pale blue, lightly printed material. “Do you happen to have more of this color in the back?”

  “I’ll go take a look; just give me a second.” Elma stepped out from behind the counter and headed for the back room. When she entered, she spotted Thelma dozing in her chair.

  Elma smiled. I’ll let her rest awhile longer. My twin needs to take care of herself and not overdo. She found the material she’d come for and stepped quietly out of the room.

  Once outside the door, Elma scurried to find the scissors to cut through the packaging tape. “This isn’t going as smoothly as I had hoped,” she mumbled quietly. After she had the box opened and began pulling the material out, she could see it wasn’t the right material. Elma looked over at the next box sitting nearby and grabbed the scissors again. This time she had the right color, but now she’d created a mess in the back of the store.

  Sighing, she heard the door out front open and close, then more voices. She hurried up front where she found Hazel leaning against the fabric table. “I believe this is what you wanted.”

  Hazel grinned. “Thanks, it’s perfect.”

  Elma pushed her glasses back in place and looked toward the door, where two English women stood. “Hello, ladies.”

  “Hello,” they said in unison.

  “We saw your ad in the paper,” the older of the two women said, “and we’re here to check out your sale.”

  “Please feel free to look around.” Elma gestured to the fabric section of the store.

  As the women looked through the material, Elma cut Hazel’s fabric and rang up the notions and thread she’d picked out.

  “Are you working alone today?” Hazel picked up her bagged purchases.

  “No, my sister is here, but she’s taking a break.” Elma glanced toward the back room, wondering if Thelma was still asleep.

  “Well, tell her I said hello, and you have a good day.”

  “Thanks. You, too.”

  While the two English women shopped for fabric, Elma knelt to organize the work space behind the counter. Then she heard someone step up behind her.

  “Sister, how long were you going to let me sleep?” Thelma tilted her head. “Why are you looking at me so strangely?”

  “Your head covering’s on crooked.” Elma reached out and put it back in place. “And the reason I didn’t wake you is because I figured you could use some rest.”

  “Well, I got some. Have I missed much?” Yawning, Thelma smoothed the front of her dress.

  “Hazel Zimmerman came in for material and notions, and a couple of English ladies are looking at material.” Elma glanced in their direction.

  “I’ll pop back there and see if they have any questions.”

  Elma shook her head. “You should stay off your feet. I’ll go see how they are doing.” Elma motioned to the wooden stool.

  Thelma opened her mouth as if about to argue the point, but with a slight shrug, she took a seat.

  As the day wore on, so did Elma’s exhaustion. She could see clearly from the distant look in her sister’s eyes, and the way she sagged on the stool, that she was still quite weary.

  “It’s time to close up,” Elma said. “Why don’t you go on home now? I’ll take care of everything.”

  Thelma didn’t argue. She gathered up her things, gave Elma a hug, and with hands hanging limply, headed out the door. “See you tomorrow, Sister.”

  “You’re not working tomorrow,” Elma called to Thelma’s retreating form. “Anna will be here to help me.”

  Thelma lifted a hand in a backward wave and shut the door behind her.

  Elma slouched against the counter, supporting her head with a hand. Her muscles felt heavy, and her senses dulled. For the last hour she’d had difficulty focusing, and now all she wanted to do was go home, take a hot bath, and sit with her feet propped up. But of course, it was wishful thinking. Even though she’d collected eggs this morning and had given the chickens food and water, other animals needed tending to this evening. Somehow she would push herself to feed the barn cats and check on the horses. After those chores were done, she would grab something from the refrigerator for a quick supper, and if she had enough energy left, she’d take a bath and then put her feet up.

  Pulling from deep within, Elma proceeded to turn off the gas lamps and lock up the store for the night. She missed the days when she and Thelma closed the store together then went home and shared a meal, enjoying each other’s companionship and the quietness of their house. So much had changed in the last two years. Sometimes it still didn’t seem possible that she now lived alone.

  Heading down to the house, Elma heard Pearl whinny in the barn. “I’ll be back soon to feed you, girl,” Elma called.

  Like clockwork, Tiger was waiting on the porch to be let in for dinner. “I know you’re hungry, Tiger. So
am I.” Elma reached into her sweater pocket for her key chain but came up empty. She held her hands behind her back, gripping her wrists. Oh, no. Where did I put the keys? I must have dropped it on the way down to the house.

  She looked down at the cat, who was meowing and rubbing her legs. “Sorry, Tiger, but we aren’t going in yet. I have to find my keys.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Tiger’s plaintive Meow! was almost Elma’s undoing. She was hungry, too, and wanted to get in the house as much as he did.

  “My keys have to be somewhere between the store and home.” Elma’s teeth clamped together when she turned and the cat darted between her legs. “Tiger, you’re gonna trip me again.” She clapped her hands. “Now scat!”

  Elma stepped off the porch and headed back to the store, searching the ground as she went. “Ach, my back is throbbing.” She gripped the area above her hip as she stooped over, scanning more of the area. It was like looking for a sewing needle in a field of hay. Grass, weeds, gravel, and dirt covered the path leading back to the store, and although it may have helped, she wasn’t about to crawl on her hands and knees to get a closer look. Besides, the sunlight was slowly fading, making it more difficult to see anything that might be lying on the ground. Maybe the keys were inside the store. If that was the case, she was out of luck. Her key to the store was on the same chain as the one for the house, and she’d flipped the lock on the store before shutting the door. Aside from breaking a window to get inside, it could be all for nothing if the keys weren’t there. Elma didn’t need to add purchasing a new window to her growing project list.

  “So, great!” Elma looked up at the sky in exasperation. “Now both keys are missing.”

  While she continued her search, Tiger meowed and pawed at the hem of her skirt.

  “I’m sorry, Tiger.” She bent to pet him. “But I can’t feed either of us till I locate those keys. Wish you could help me find them.” Elma’s eyes teared up. This was a time when she missed having her twin sister at her side. Thelma would probably remain upbeat, saying something like, “Don’t worry, Sister, we’ll find them.”