ATOP Chapter Twenty-Five

Anne Tyler arrived so silently and nervously that no one even noticed her until she had been there a full twenty minutes. She simply observed the flurry of work happening in and around the kitchen, and joined in without a word to anyone. She was one of those comfortable, capable people that knew exactly what to do, and how to do it... but at the same time, she was rather timid. Being here, with Jafe so close by, terrified her. And so she had decided that the best course of action was to attract as little attention as absolutely possible. 

She had seen him the moment she got there... perhaps it was chance, perhaps she was looking for him... she hoped it was the first option. She liked to believe that she was over him. And she had stuck firmly to that belief for the past fifteen years. But there was no denying the strange flutter in her heart when she looked up and saw him balanced on the rafters of the barn, shouting down orders to those below him, and grinning wildly all the while, like he was having the time of his life. 

She had turned away quickly, wishing that she hadn't come, and was greatly relieved to see such familiar things as a kitchen, and women and children crowding everywhere, enough to lose herself in. But a little boy chanced to see her, called out enthusiastically that Miss Tyler was there, and Katie heard it. Glancing up, she poked Emma and nodded subtily in Anne's direction. She didn't need to explain, Emma understood already, and she smiled conspiratorially.

"Just the type I expected," Emma murmured. "She's perfect."

"I can't wait till he sees her," Katie whispered back and Emma forced a stern look on her little sister. 

"You be careful now, Mrs. Scott. Don't let your heart go running away with your head. You've set the scene, now let them play it out." 

"Oh, you sound so wise," Katie grinned teasingly. "What made you such an expert on matchmaking?" But at the raising of Emma's eyebrows, she sighed and acquiesced. "You're right. I won't interfere, I promise. But I can't help being excited about it, can I?" and she danced off with the water pitcher she had been holding in the direction of the half-built barn. For October, it was a very warm day, thus she had been toting water for the men more than she had been in the kitchen, it seemed. 

♡♡♡

Katie bit her lip, craning her neck as she watched the men line up for the noon meal, and then quickly ducked her head, afraid to appear obvious. She was in an agony of impatience to see what would happen when Jafe came through the line. Anne was standing beside her, in order to dish up the potato salad she had brought, and Katie was rather pleased with herself for having acquired a "front-row seat" to whatever was about to take place. 

She caught sight of Jafe, in line behind Ronnie, and the two of them seemed to be in discussion. For a moment she forgot Jafe, as she looked long and hard at her big brother. He and Rachel had arrived so late the night before that they had all gone straight to bed and she hadn't even gotten a chance to really talk to him yet. Not having seen him in a few months, she was startled all over again by what she saw in his face. It had shocked her last year, when he had come into the hospital in England, and again when he got home from overseas, and here she felt it again. Whatever was troubling him seemed to be increasingly getting worse. It worried her... it frightened her... and if she knew Ronnie, he'd keep it all stored up inside of himself until it practically killed him. 

Anne's voice beside her snapped her back to the present, and she realized with a sudden panic that the older girl was proposing to go inside and see about making more sandwiches. Katie wondered vaguely if this had to do with the fact that Jafe was standing only three away in the line and was even then getting a sandwich from Emma. Two sandwiches, to be precise. 

"Oh, but no, I can't dish up both potato salad and baked beans at the same time," she said hurriedly, dumping three ladlefuls of beans onto Josh's plate as she spoke. He seemed pleased by this mistake. "And there are already people making more sandwiches. Please stay and help."

Anne didn't answer, but neither did she leave. And that was the moment that Jafe saw her. Katie knew it by the look on his face... first he seemed stunned, and then thrilled, and wound up looking terribly lost and lonely and sad all at the same time. Her heart went out to him, but still she was ridiculously excited. 

She sneaked a glance back at Anne and saw her perfectly composed, cheerful as she exchanged a few friendly words with everyone who came through the line. But being a woman, Katie noticed the tell-tale signs. Anne was gripping the ladle so tightly her knuckles were white. Nearly as white as her face, which she kept studiously turned away from the oncoming line where Jafe stood. 

Her heart pounding with anticipation, Katie counted down the line until Jafe reached her and she dished up his baked beans, her eyes glued to him as he moved on to Anne. As he stood before her, the schoolteacher promptly turned whiter, and she stared at the potato salad as if it was about to jump out of the bowl and attack her.

"Annie..." Jafe grinned easily, but Katie heard the strain in his voice. "Glad you could come... this your potato salad?"

"Same ole' recipe," Anne forced a smile, but she did not look at him. "How are you... Jafe?" the familiar old nickname escaped her lips unwillingly, tacked on to the end, as if she had tried to keep it in and failed.

"Now that I've got me some o' your potato salad, I'm doing better 'n I have in a long time. Been dreaming of this..." he grinned wider and Anne's head ducked lower over the salad. Her answer was so quiet that both Jafe and Katie could barely hear it.

"Don't, Jafe..." 

He pressed his lips tight together and moved on. Katie sighed, almost imperceptibly, and put all her focus into dishing out beans, so as to give Anne time to recover. Mac came through the line then and in giving him her best smile, with sparkles in her eyes, Katie forgot again, albeit momentarily, her matchmaking woes.  

♡♡♡

A sack race had been gotten up in the far corner and kids of all ages took time out of lunch to participate. "Of all ages" being a phrase of utmost importance, for Josh had somehow gotten himself mixed up in it and was now hopelessly entangled in a crowd of enthusiastic little boys. Emma pointed this out to Katie as further proof of Josh's perfect eligibility for fatherhood. 

Having reluctantly relinquished baby Ellie up to her mother, the aforementioned Emily had now discovered Benjie. She had marched straight up to Ronnie, who was holding his plate in one hand and his son in the other and looking as if he didn't quite know what to do with both at once, and she had introduced herself boldly. She now had possession of Benjie and was feeding him alternate bites of baked beans and apple turnover (which Rachel called apfeltasche, and Benjie called appa-tash), which pleased the little boy greatly. 

As the long line of hungry people came to an end, Rachel excused herself from kitchen duty to go after her husband. Without a word, she slipped her arm through his and led him gently away from the noisy chaos of the crowd. They found a little corner in the shade of a sugar maple and sat there until Jafe signaled the end of lunch by bellowing at everyone... not really talking... just being alone together. And it suited them just perfectly.