A Wedding for Julia by Vannetta Chapman

Author:Vannetta Chapman [Chapman, Vannetta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736946179
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Sharon thought she was used to hard work. After all, she was the oldest girl in a family of seven children. Once she graduated from the eighth grade, she didn’t look for a job because there was so much work to do at home. And her parents probably figured she would marry soon. While seventeen wasn’t old maid status by any means, she had seen the occasional worried look pass between them. Those looks had increased when she’d begun seeing James.

Carrying yet one more armful of dirty lunch dishes into Julia’s kitchen, Sharon realized she had learned several things since leaving the one-room schoolhouse in Monroe. She’d learned that sitting in a desk and learning was much easier than washing laundry for a family of nine. She’d learned that whoever came up with her favorite proverb, “Keeping a neat house is like threading beads on a string with no knot on it,” must have been a woman. And she’d learned that she adored small children, especially the preschool age.

There was an Englisch family of three sitting in the front dining room whom she’d checked on more often than others—the impish three-year-old boy could have been the reason why. Every time she slowed at their table, he held up three fingers and declared, “Colton free.”

Breakfast had been manageable, with a steady but small stream of customers.

The lunch rush was a “slam,” as her brother Jonas would say. They had been nearly full since eleven thirty. The clock in the kitchen now said one fifteen, and still cars were pulling up in front of the house.

“The special is ready for table eight,” Julia said, beaming even as she wiped the perspiration off of her forehead.

Opening day for Plain Café was a success by any standard, unless you counted the collapse of its two employees—three if you included Ada, who sat by the front door and welcomed customers as they entered.

Sharon hefted the plates and turned to march back into the main dining room, but her vision shifted, the room angled left and then right, and the plates teetered in her arms.

“Was iss letz?” Julia was beside her immediately, reaching for the plates with one hand and steadying her with the other. “Are you ill?”

“Nein. Only a little dizzy. I’m fine.”

“You should rest. You haven’t had a break all day.”

Sharon shook her head. They both knew Julia couldn’t wait on customers and cook.

At that moment a tap was heard on the back door and then a tall, sandy-haired boy stepped inside. He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt with cartoon characters on the front, and even from where she stood Sharon could see that he had green eyes.

“Wess, could you take this soup and sandwich to the man sitting alone in the main dining room? It’s table eight, the one nearest the window looking over the garden.”

“Gotcha covered.” He accepted the dishes as if he’d been carrying plates of food all his life and headed toward the elderly gentleman, who probably thought he’d been forgotten.

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