Black Eyed Susans In Glass

Ava stared at the giant man. She was stunned, her mind racing to form some words with which to respond. But she couldn’t. As far as she was concerned, he was speaking a foreign language. “I “I- I -I’m sorry?” she stammered.

“Your noggin,” said Big Jim tapping his own head with his index finger. “Hows the head this morning?” Big Jim cackled again causing a flare up of pain in Ava’s head. “How did this stranger know about her accident?” wondered Ava.

Anne Pine saw Ava flinch in pain and jumped in. “She’s doing fine Jim. Just fine. Right now its important not to do anything jarring and to stay away from loud noises,” said Anne hoping Big Jim would take the hint and lower his voice. He had a habit of shouting out his words even in normal conversation.

“Well-l-l-l,” said Jim, “Ain’t you gonna tell her name?”

“Sorry. Jim, this is Ava Land,” she said. “And Ava this is Jim Aftergood our local handyman. If you have a job that needs taking care of - Big Jim’s your man.”

“Howdy!” barked Jim holding out his hand. Ava gave him her own only to have it disappear into his oversized mitt.

“I’m very pleased to meet you,” said Ava mustering up a firm shake.

“Heard them Amish kids run you off the road. They didn’t mean nothin by it though. Nice kids everyone of them but awfully wild during Rumschpringa,” shouted Jim.

“Rums..what?” asked Ava.

“Rumschpringa,” said Anne Pine, “it’s the Amish teenagers time to run around. Test the waters before settling down.”

Like most people Ava knew a little about the Amish. Most of what she did know she gleaned from watching the movie “Witness”. Ava went to see it in the movie theater when if first came out and even watched it a second time one night with Chris. “Are there a lot of Amish living around here?” asked Ava.

“A lot!” roared Big Jim, “Why there’s a new baby bein born most every day, right Anne?”

“Nearly! It’s one of the reasons I answered Doc Forrester’s ad in that vet magazine,” she said looking over at Ava who still had her sunglasses on, “Remember my saying I knew I wanted to be a midwife on top of being a vet?” Ava nodded. “Well I’d done research and found Eden had a big Amish population.. The Amish are open to using midwives to deliver their babies so this place was a perfect fit for me!”

“Ya- ya,” said Jim, “The Amish wish Annie would become one of ‘em.”

“I think you have that backwards Jim. They’re waiting for you!” said Anne Pine.

“Ha-ha-ha!” roared Jim his laughter coming deep from the bottom of his ample belly. Jim liked it folks talked that way about him. He’d entertained the idea off and on ever since the first few Amish families moved into the area nigh on twenty years ago. But Big Jim wasn’t one for making snap decisions. Iris Pye appeared at the table with a cup and her pot of steaming hot coffee.

“Coffee?” Iris asked looking at Ava.

“Please.”

As Iris poured the coffee she scrutinized Ava. She didn’t look like she’d gotten herself knocked out cold on a back country road last night. In fact she looked like she’d just now stepped off a magazine cover. “You gals ready to order?” The two women nodded in unison. Big Jim swiveled back around on his stool and resumed shoveling food into his mouth.

“We’re having the blueberry-buttermilk pancakes, right?” said Ava looking over at Anne Pine.

Anne nodded her head as she took another long draft of the hot coffee. Her cup no sooner touched the table top then Iris was pouring more into it. “Your usual stack?” asked Iris. Anne Pine nodded again.

“How many is that?” asked Ava. Anne Pine held up three fingers. “How big are your pancakes?” asked Ava. She’d eaten breakfast out at enough restaurants and cafes to know sizes varied. Greatly! Iris Pye held her hands up to demonstrate that one of her famous pancakes came close to being the size of a dinner plate. Ava was astonished. She sheepishly held up one finger to Iris Pye hoping not to offend her or Anne Pine.

“I told you I’m a big eater,” crowed Anne Pine laughing. Anne’s phone rang. Her hands shot down hard into the pockets of her oversized sweater. Finding it with her left hand she pulled it out and read the Caller I.D. She said, “Excuse me. I don’t like talking on these things in public. Be right back!” With that Anne lugged her big frame out of the booth and made a beeline for the front door.

Ava sat alone gazing out through the large multi paned window. She’d raced to the café so fast that she hadn’t really looked at Eden closely. Like the surrounding landscape with it’s hills seeming to harbor you from a bigger, fiercer world, downtown Eden, too, felt intimate. Maybe it was the tall Victorian storefronts that gave the impression of security - of time having slowed down - way down. The lines and proportions of the buildings appealed to her. She’d seen them before in many of the buildings Chris had designed.

Ava’s gaze traveled around the restaraunt . She loved the hum of a café in the morning. It’s the reason she ate breakfast out every day. There were the people, happy and hungry, chatting good naturedly with each other. And the smell of coffee and bacon and fried eggs. All this mixed with the din of silverware clinking against dishes creating a certain all encompassing camaraderie. It felt like the family Ava never had.

Ava absentmindedly reached up to touch the flowers arranged in a drinking glass on the table. When was the last time she’d seen real flowers, wild flowers no less, at any restaurant table back in the city?