the subject. Their mother loved new things, new gadgets, new anything.
“Oh, I know. I’m just saying . . . if we did need a new barn—”
“Which we do not—”
“I would want one just like the Yoders’.”
Calvin looked at his mother fondly. Of his two parents, she’d always been the more adventurous one. Unlike his father, who had enjoyed a peaceful and steady way of life, his mother yearned for all things new. She found excitement in almost everything. Even now he was amazed at how well she did as a widow. Though she missed his father terribly, he never witnessed her looking at the world through a disappointed haze. Instead, she seemed determined to make each day count.
As he should, too, he realized with some dismay. For the weeks before his trip, he’d hardly been aware of anything besides his own heartbreak.
But the trip home had changed his perspective. “I’ll go to the Yoders’ soon and give it a look.”
“I hope you will. They will be happy to see you, I am sure. Why, Corrine and Thomas both asked about you during lunch.”
“That was kind of them.”
“Oh, they were just worried, on account of your moping. Thomas, especially, was worried you were taking Gwen’s rejection of you awfully hard.”
Leave it to his mother to put things as plainly as possible. “I’m thankful for their concern.”
As they approached a traffic light, Calvin reined in Beauty and watched for oncoming traffic. When the light turned green, he pulled out and turned left. Just a few hundred yards up ahead, the bright blue-and-white sign for the Wal-Mart loomed. “We’re almost at the store,” he murmured. “Here’s the Arby’s and the KFC.”
“One day we should try out those places.” Craning forward, she pointed to the area off to the left of the store, where all the buggies were hitched, some in the tan enclosure built specifically for the horses and buggies. “Look, Calvin. There’s a fair amount of folks already here.”
“It will be a crowded shopping day, to be sure.”
“Oh, jah! It will be a mighty good time to visit with friends.”
Calvin grinned. Yet again, his mother had taken his comment and turned it upside down. “Do you have a list today, or are you just going to explore?” he teased. It had become something of a family joke to tease their mother about her behavior when the store had held the opening celebration.
While their father had wanted nothing to do with the opening of the gargantuan place, their mother had counted the days. Calvin and Graham had ended up taking her to the store on Grand Opening Day. They’d dealt with the crowds and the noise for more than two hours while their mother carefully inspected every aisle . . . and tried all the free food samples.
Time and again, they’d lost sight of her as she’d darted off to inspect new gadgets and cleaning products, and smiled at the blocks of ice in the freezer section—all while pushing her metal cart up and down the aisles with the resolve of an explorer of old.
Now, though quite some time had passed, she still blushed. “Oh, Calvin. Will you ever let me forget that day?”
“I’m sure I will . . . one day.” After they shared a smile, he asked, “Do you have a lot to shop for?”
“I do have a list,” she said primly. “But . . . I will probably look around for a little while, too.”
Calvin wisely said nothing about that. After guiding Beauty to one of the many hitching posts, he set the brake and helped his mother hop down. Then, after a few minutes of taking care of the horse, they walked toward one of the main entrances.
“I’ll meet you here in a bit,” his mother said as she selected a grocery cart, her eyes already jumping from one brightly organized display to the next.
“Take your time, Mamm,” he murmured as he tried to get acclimated to the fresh burst of air-conditioning, the bright lights, and the amazing amount of colors and noises surrounding them.
Over to the side, near the fabric section, Calvin recognized some of his mother’s dear friends. One of them was waving her over, and she was scurrying toward them like it had been weeks since they’d seen each other instead of just days.
Calvin hid a smile as one of them held up a flyer advertising all the store’s specials.
Yes, today was going to be another lengthy trip.
He waved to her friends, then darted off in