Lancaster Crossroads - 0.50 - A Simple Crossroads: A Lancaster Crossroads Novella by Rosalind Lauer

Author:Rosalind Lauer [Lauer, Rosalind]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780345542434
Goodreads: 18142530
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2013-07-30T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

It did not go well with Juanita’s parents. Lizzy couldn’t hear much from her place at the cheese shop, but from the looks on the older folks’ faces as they marched off, she could tell that they were not pleased.

Lizzy longed for a word with Juanita, but now the marketplace was busy—bustling with customers—and there was an important errand to run.

“We’re almost out of waxed paper,” Joe reminded her. “We’re not going to make it till the end of the day. You want me to run and get it?”

“I’ll go,” Lizzy offered, glancing over to the quilt table where Leah King, their helper for the day, was talking quilts with a potential customer. Lizzy took a twenty from the till. “I’ll be right back.”

All business, she walked briskly through the building, heading to the grocery store, two blocks from Reading Terminal Market. As she pushed her way through the door and into the sunshine, the glare of angry voices hit her. A man and woman sat on a bench near the door, arguing. She was about to steer clear of them when she recognized Anton and Sofia Greco, Nita’s parents.

“Why do you always yell at them?” Sofia asked her husband. “You’re like an attack dog. You bark and bite right away without a thought about who you’re attacking. Nita is our daughter, our youngest. Listening to you talk, you sound like a tyrant. A big, bad wolf!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I wouldn’t have to be so hard on her if the girl listened. Such disrespect and disobedience. She wasn’t like that when she was young.”

“She’s a good girl. All of our girls were. You’re just disappointed that they didn’t take up the dance.”

He grumbled, waving her off.

“The world has changed all around us, Anton. You have to get used to it, or the young people will leave you behind.”

Lizzy was tempted to turn away and go on her errand. But something kept her feet in place, like glue. She stood behind the wall, out of sight, as Sofia begged her husband to “make nice” with their daughter. “She’s a good girl. She’s my baby, and what you’re doing is wrong.”

Sofia kept calling Juanita her baby, which made Lizzy grin. A baby at twenty-four? But Anton did not argue with that. He was angry because his daughter wouldn’t follow his orders. No, he was not happy with his daughter.

The argument escalated until Sofia rose from the bench and waved her husband off. “If you insist, you can sit there and be a stubborn old man. I’m going to talk to my baby.” And she walked off, heading back into the market.

Good for you, Lizzy thought. She knew Nita would be happy to make peace with her mother. But Juanita’s father was not giving in.

Anton Greco set his jaw and hunkered down on the bench, his eyes dark coals, glistening with anger.

What was it Lizzy’s mother always said?

Be kind to unkind people. They probably need kindness the most.

Lizzy approached the bench where Anton Greco sat stewing.

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