12
Sharing supper with Evie and Fern in the cozy kitchen at Windmill Farm had quickly become a routine for Charlie. Even the basement remodel didn’t keep him away, though after supper he’d scooter back to Dok’s to work on it a few more hours. Nearly done, he would say when Fern asked about it. Fern’s eyebrows would lift high, as if to say,That seems hard to believe. Evie wondered, too, if he was being overly optimistic. The month of June wasn’t even over yet.
Fern always invited Wren to supper, but she begged off, saying that she needed to stay focused on studying for the boards, and everything was spread out in the buggy shop. She said she had stocked Charlie’s small refrigerator with food. Evie had never been invited inside, but she sometimes wondered if Wren ate much at all; her slender figure suggested she didn’t.
Nevertheless, Fern would always set a place at the table to include Wren, and always send Charlie over to the buggy shop to invite her to supper. That was just Fern’s way.
Today, Evie could see Charlie from the kitchen window of the farmhouse. He was tinkering with something out in front of the buggy shop. As Fern took a savory-smelling meatloaf out of the oven, she nodded in the direction of the shop. “Whydon’t you go on over and tell those two that supper is about ready? I’ll finish setting the table.”
Evie set down the forks and walked outside, passing by Fern’s garden and the horse pasture, to reach the buggy shop. As she drew near, about fifteen feet away, she could see what Charlie was fiddling with—adding an electric motor to a scooter. She stopped for a moment to watch him, his hands covered in grease, his intense focus, and she couldn’t hold back a smile. She knew the backstory to this scene.
Yesterday morning, Wren had asked Dok if she’d given any more thought to providing a car for them. Dok had been vague in her response—kind of a “we’ll see if you stick around” kind of answer. Evie knew Dok well enough by now to know that was her way of saying no, that she’d never given it a moment’s consideration. But Wren didn’t seem to catch Dok’s meaning, so she persisted: “It seems like a reasonable expectation to have a car, don’t you think? After all, in a rural area like this, a country mile can feel more like two or three city miles.”
Half-focused on the conversation, Dok skimmed through the day’s patient list. “Why don’t you just buy a used car if you need one so badly?”
Right then, Charlie came up from the basement, catching enough of the exchange to laugh. “Because she’s broker than broke,” he said, grinning. Wren shot him a frown, but he didn’t notice. He was already moving on to something else. “Dok, how do the Amish feel about motors?”
“How do you mean?” Dok had said.
“I’ve seen Amish farms with gas lawn mowers,” Charlie said. “Weed eaters. Lots of diesel generators. Batteries for electric fences. But I haven’t seen any bicycles, so I’m guessing those aren’t kosher. I thought I might try to add a small motor to one of Fern’s spare scooters.”
Dok gave that some thought. “That could probably work. It’s the dependence on the public utility grid that the Amishwant to avoid. As for bicycles, the Lancaster Amish just prefer scooters to bikes. Lots of other Plain communities permit bicycles.” She lifted a finger in the air. “Say, Wren, I’ve got an old ten-speed bicycle at home. I can bring it in for you to use.”
A look of alarm came over Wren. “Thank you, no.”
A snort-laugh burst out of Charlie. “She doesn’t know how to ride a bike! I’ve tried to teach her and it’s hopeless.” He started laughing again, and it only got worse when Wren jabbed him with her elbow. He tried to pull it together, tried to swallow his smile, but he just couldn’t. Still chuckling, he turned and went down the basement steps.
Grinning at the memory of Wren’s embarrassment—so rare! so delicious!—Evie took another step but froze when the door to the buggy shop flew open and Wren charged out. She headed straight for Charlie, who was hunched over the scooter, a small motor in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. They had their backs to Evie and didn’t notice her. For reasons she couldn’t explain, Evie tiptoed to the side of the buggy shop to eavesdrop. She pressed against the wall, holding her breath, standing there like a silly middle school girl who should know better. She did know better! But she couldn’t help herself.
“I’ve finally found them!” Wren said. “It took all this time to figure out his system. It’s a terrible system.”
“Oh yeah?” Charlie didn’t even look up from his work. He seemed only mildly interested in what Wren had to say.
“I’m pretty sure,” she said, her voice filled with excitement, “that it won’t be long until we’re ready for the next step.”
At this, Charlie gave her his full attention. “Slow down, Wren. There’s a lot to consider.”
“But this is what we’ve been planning for. This is why we’re here.”
“There’s no need to rush into anything. I’m nearly done with the basement. Just waiting on a few things to get delivered.That’s why I had time to make you a motorized scooter this afternoon.”
“I don’t need a scooter. I need a car. I need a residency that’s actually letting me practice medicine. Look, Charlie, things going faster than we expected might be a blessing in disguise.”
“Yeah, but we want to do things right. I don’t want to leave here—”
“Why not?” Wren interrupted.
Leave here? Evie wondered.Why? Why would you leave?
“Charlie,” Wren said, “this was always just a stepping stone to somewhere else.”
He scoffed. “Maybe for you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll always make sure you’ve got a good opportunity. Always. I promised you that years ago, and I’ve never let you down, have I?”
“No, of course not. You’ve been incredible, Wren. But I’ve got a good opportunity here. I think I can really learn from Dok.”
Now it was Wren’s turn to scoff. “We hardly see her to learn anything, Charlie.”
