Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [86]
When Lil brought up driving, it touched a chord with Katy. She did get nervous when she drove alone in the dark.
After they got back to the doddy house, Lil gave her a demonstration of how a cell phone worked, and Katy finally relented to the idea. After that, Lil circled two job ads that she meant to check out the following week.
“You think once you get married things get easier?” Katy asked.
“Nope. Then you get kids. That’s when your trouble really starts.” Lil moved to the floor to begin her regimented sit-ups, and Katy knew the conversation was over.
She opened the jar that contained her latest concoction and rubbed
the greasy cream on her hands. After that, she slipped into her night gloves and jotted notes in her journal. She had an entire section devoted to her hand-cream experiments.
Since her journal had become a handy tool for housekeeping, she decided to add a spiritual section. Nibbling on her pen, she came up with a practical heading: The Prayer Covering. Below it, she copied the scripture Brother Troyer had given them to study.
CHAPTER 24
The telephone store might not have been so intimidating if it hadn’t been located inside the indoor mall, which screamed to Katy lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life—all phrases from a Bible verse. Lil told her she was lucky it wasn’t the weekend for that’s when it became a breeding ground for weirdness. Katy didn’t even want to know what that meant.
Young moms in tight-belted jeans and high-heeled boots pushed strollers and shushed babies without dropping their gaze from the window displays that carried the latest fashions. Some hurried by as if they were participating in a shopping marathon in which they wouldn’t hesitate to run over stragglers. Others stared at her and Lil, their gazes sweeping over them from their oxfords to their coverings, but Katy kept her shoulders ramrod straight. She had as much right as anyone to spend her money. To own a cell phone without being frivolous or self-centered. Or so Lil maintained.
A sudden face darted in front of her. “Ma’am, try this ring cleaner?” Katy halted and stared at the teenager, who blushed when he discovered that she wasn’t wearing any jewelry.
“No thank you.” Katy sidestepped, bumping into Lil.
“Over there.” Lil pointed.
Katy glanced at the store’s sign. When they stepped inside the phone store, Katy felt more out of place than a guy at a quilting.
“I already looked the phones over and can point you to a couple of good deals,” Lil advised. She pointed out various features of the display phones that rested on tiny glass shelves throughout the store. Next a sales representative explained the terms and told Katy about rebates. After Katy chose a phone, she followed him—careful not to stare at his low-slung pants—to the cash register and got out her checkbook. She wrote the check out for the amount he had indicated and pushed it toward him.
“Um, if you write a check, I need to see a debit card.”
Katy glanced at Lil, then back at the young man behind the counter. “I don’t have any cards.” A card had come with her checking account, but she had filed it away, refusing to use it.
“Sorry.” He glanced up at her covering. “I can’t take this then.”
She returned the wasted check to her checkbook and dropped it inside her purse, pulling out her billfold instead. “I’ll pay cash then.”
The young man seemed surprised and patient as Katy worked to get him the correct amount. He programmed the phone and handed it back to her. Her pulse quickened unexpectedly as she stared at the shiny rectangle in her palm. Beside her, Lil snatched Katy’s shopping bag off the counter and nudged her toward the door.
“Thanks,” Katy tossed over her shoulder. The clerk smiled.
“Let’s celebrate. I’ll buy lunch,” Lil urged.
After everything happened so quickly, Katy did need to catch her breath,