A Forbidden Rumspringa (Gay Amish Romance Book 1) (5 page)

“For Joseph was a humble man, just as we in Zebulon are humble. We trust in God and follow the Ordnung, caring not what outsiders might think. For we live holy lives in a true community of fellowship with our brothers and sisters. We reject worldly temptations.”

A tall, thin man, Bishop Yoder’s hair was almost white. His face was as narrow and pinched as his body, but his voice boomed. On and on he droned about the Bible and the rules of the Ordnung. Isaac thought it would never end. Although the small windows in the house were open to the September breeze, precious little air found its way to where Isaac sat in the crush of men.

“And when we came to this prosperous land and called it Zebulon, we dedicated ourselves to the true faith.”

Isaac perked up. Bishop Yoder always ended his sermons with a message about how smart and God-fearing they were to have left Red Hills, so at least it was almost over.

“We must never forget the sin and worldliness that drove us here. Remember how narrow the escape was for our children, who here are firmly on the path of righteousness. In Zebulon, holiness holds sway over the wild and ruinous excesses of the past
.
Our young people recognize the path to salvation and do not need to taste the evils of the unclean English world. They are wise beyond their years, and fill our hearts with thankfulness.”

Excesses.
In Zebulon—as was the Swartzentruber way—they never uttered the word
rumspringa
, and the younger children had no concept of it. Thoughts of Aaron flickered through Isaac’s mind, unbidden.

He’d come home from hunting with the other boys in Red Hills smelling of cigarettes, with moonshine on his breath. How Mother and Father would scold him, shaking their heads and muttering about Aaron’s soul.
“At least he’
s
dating Ma
rvin’s
Rebecca
the proper way. He will come to the church soon and leave this foolish time behind.”

Isaac tried to imagine their reaction if he dared be caught now with a worldly cigarette or worse. While none of the parents in Red Hills had ever encouraged the running around, they had grimly tolerated it, punishing the youngies when they went too far, and doing everything they could to convince them to join the church. But in Zebulon? He shuddered to think of the consequences for running wild.

In the silence that followed the Bishop’s sermon, Isaac held his breath. Blessedly, they all said a final prayer and escaped.

Outside, the women served lunch, and they ate in shifts at the long tables. When Isaac and Mervin said their silent grace and took their seats next to each other, someone else sat on Isaac’s other side. When Isaac looked, he froze. It was David. Isaac stuffed a forkful of cabbage salad into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to say anything.

He was painfully aware of how their shoulders and arms brushed, and he kept his knees pinned together under the table to avoid touching David’s thigh. He wished he knew what it was about David that put him so off-kilter.

As he shoveled in a spoonful of chicken corn soup, Isaac’s attention was drawn to the older man on David’s other side, Noah Lapp.

“Your hair is too trimmed, but look at the length of your sideburns. Too worldly.”

David swallowed his soup. “Thank you for your guidance.” His tone was even.

“Why aren’t you letting your beard grow? Your baptism is approaching. Do you not want to be a good Amish man?”

“Of course,” David answered. He offered no reason for why he was still shaving.

“Why do you not drive any of the girls home from the singing? You are joining the church. You must find a wife.” Noah slurped his soup.

David opened his mouth, but after a moment closed it again, and blew out a long breath. “Yes, you’re right. Thank you for your guidance. I promise to do better.”

“Good, good.” Noah eyed David critically. “You will be at the singing tonight?”

“Of course.”

“Your buggy seems a little tall.”

“I’ve had it for four years and no one’s complained.” David took another sip of soup, his spoon clenched in his hand. “The buckboard’s seventeen and a half inches, just as it’s prescribed in the Ordnung.”

“Hmm. Is it? Perhaps we should measure after lunch.”

David smiled, his lips pressed together. “Of course. Thank you for your guidance.”

Isaac and Mervin shared a pained glance. This haranguing was routine for anyone joining the church, and they all knew they had to smile mildly and bear it. Any signs of rebellion or resentment could mean a delay in joining—and more scrutiny. The preachers were bad enough, but most in the community joined in, criticizing the smallest things with what Isaac thought was secret glee.

“When are you boys joining the church? It should be soon, shouldn’t it?” Noah asked.

Isaac’s stomach dropped as he realized Noah was speaking to him and Mervin. He cleared his throat. “Soon.”

“Yes. Very soon,” Mervin added.

Noah nodded before speaking to David again. “You took so long to join that other youngies might get ideas. We must all help each other find the true path and honor God.”

He could sense the tension in David as old Noah Lapp went on and on, with others at the table soon joining in. Through it all, David smiled and nodded, keeping his gaze on his lunch. When Isaac finished eating and stood, David turned to look at him.

“See you tomorrow.”

Isaac smiled tentatively, and David smiled back, the dimple in his cheek appearing.

Although he’d just had three cups of water, Isaac’s throat was dry, and he refilled his cup from the jug, gulping the cool liquid down before hurrying to catch up with Mervin.

Pulse racing, Isaac stared at the metal and plastic contraption in Mervin’s hand, his plan to find a good whittling stick forgotten. “Is that a
phone
?”

“It’s a Touch.” Mervin was busting with obvious pride.

Isaac peered at it closely. “What does that mean?”

Mervin shrugged. “Dunno. But that’s what it said in Leroy’s note. It’s a Touch, and if I put it in the sun in this case, it charges the battery.”

Isaac glanced around. They were still alone in the woods near the Hooleys’. They had to be back soon for supper and the singing, but he wished there was some way they could stay hidden away in the long shadows of the trees with the gift from Mervin’s cousin in Red Hills.

“What does it do?”

“Here.” From his pocket, Mervin pulled out a long white cord with two round knobs dangling down. “Put these in your ears.”

Isaac stuck one in, but it popped out.

“No, that’s for your other ear. See how it has an L for left and R for right?”

Once Isaac had the little things in his ears properly, he nodded. “Now what?”

“Listen.” Mervin tapped the glass front of the rectangle and it burst into life with color and picture.

A moment later, Isaac jumped as music filled his ears. This music was faster like the songs they’d sing tonight, but so much noisier, and of course there were instruments. The beat thumped through his body. A woman sang about applause, and Isaac peered at the screen, his jaw dropping.
Lady Gaga
, it said. She had blonde curls and dark makeup around her eyes, and wore a tight dress that barely covered her chest and was practically see-through.

He wasn’t sure what to make of the song, and when it was over, he took the knobs from his ears. “Wow.”

Mervin grinned. “Isn’t it great? Leroy put a bunch of songs on it, and there are movies too!”

Isaac stared at the device. “How did he get it to you?”

“He mailed it. Wrapped it in plastic bubbles and it fit right into an envelope!”

“What if your parents had opened it?”

“No way,” Mervin scoffed. “It’s my job to go all the way out to the road to check the mail.”

“Do they even know Leroy writes to you sometimes?”

“Of course not. Man, Leroy’s so lucky his parents stayed. He gets to do rumspringa, and have a car and everything. He says they nag him about it every day, but at least they don’t stop him from going out and seeing the world.”

Isaac could barely even imagine the freedom. “But you know why they don’t allow it here.”

Mervin huffed. “So a few kids went and did something stupid. Now we all have to suffer?”

“But…it’s better for us. We shouldn’t want to try all these worldly things. They’re unclean.” He pointed at the contraption. “That’s unclean. Leroy shouldn’t have sent it.”

“Oh, so you don’t want to watch a movie?” Mervin’s eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs.

“Well…”

Laughing, Mervin clapped Isaac’s shoulder. “Always trying to be such a good boy. Don’t worry, I won’t tell. Come on, I’ll show you—”

“Mervin!” A girl’s voice echoed through the trees.

“Damn it,” he muttered as he jammed the Touch back into his pocket with the white cord. He sprang to his feet.

Isaac followed suit, pulling out his knife and picking up the nearest fallen branch. He and Mervin leaned casually against a tree just in time for Mervin’s little sister to appear.

Esther put her hands on her hips. “What are you doing out here?”

“Whittling.” Isaac held up the branch.

“We’re leaving. It’s time for you all to have supper. So hurry up!” With that, she turned on her heel, her long dress flowing around her ankles as she raced off.

By “you all,” Isaac knew she meant the young people. He and Mervin hustled back to the Hooleys’, and took their seats at the long table inside the house. Mary sat across from him on the girls’ side, and Isaac resolutely kept his eyes on his plate. David was a few seats over from him.

The singing began at eight o’clock sharp. Isaac enjoyed these songs much more than the dour chants from church. While they still sang about God and worship, the tunes were lively and fun. Between songs, they chatted with each other, and Mary naturally spoke to him.

“Do you like chicken?”

Isaac nodded. At least it was an easy question. Who didn’t like chicken?

“I’m making chicken soup and biscuits for lunch tomorrow. And shoofly pie.” She smiled widely and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Isaac’s gut clenched. Somehow in his worrying about what it would be like to work with David, he’d overlooked the fact that he’d be seeing Mary every single day. He forced a smile. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious.”

“Your Katie said you love shoofly pie.”

“I do. Thank you. I…um…” It was only polite to make conversation and ask Mary something, but his mind was utterly blank.

Fortunately Mark began another song, and Isaac was spared.

By the time they filed outside a couple of hours later, Isaac was walking so quickly he almost didn’t hear David call him. He spun back around as David said something to Mary and trotted over. Although David was a couple of inches taller than him, it was no reason for the intimidation buzzing through Isaac’s body. He wished he knew why David made him so nervous.

“Hi, David.” Isaac laughed nervously—that unfortunate braying sound.

David regarded him seriously. “I think my sister’s expecting you to ask to drive her home.”

“Oh.” That was the first move in dating. Panic bubbled in his chest. “Uh…I don’t have my own buggy yet. We can’t afford it. I’ve only got the old spare, and it’s not nice enough for her. It’s so bumpy and uncomfortable. It’s falling apart.”

David stared for a long moment before nodding. “All right.”

“Tell Mary I’m sorry. It’s not that I don’t like her. She’s a very nice girl. She just deserves something better.”

David watched him again in his unnerving way. “I’ll tell her you said so. See you in the morning.”

“Uh-huh.” Isaac felt like he might jump right out of his skin.

David gave Isaac’s forearm a squeeze where Isaac had pushed up his sleeve. “Don’t worry. I won’t bite.” Then he was walking away.

After Isaac tightened Silver’s black harness and clambered up onto the rickety single-seat buggy, he put the reins to her. She was an old draft horse who couldn’t pull the plow anymore, but she could manage this.

The buggy was five feet long and painted black inside and out. There was no cushion on the seat, just as there were no cushions anywhere in their house. In a newer buggy it wasn’t so bad, but the springs in this one were long worn out. The black oilcloth roof leaked in any rain beyond a drizzle.

It really wasn’t a nice enough buggy to take a girl riding in, but Isaac had a feeling the excuse would only fly for so long. Maybe he should just ask Mary out and be done with it. It wasn’t as if there was another girl he liked better, so what was he waiting for?

The steel-rimmed wooden wheels clattered, and Isaac’s backside was already sore as he bumped down the drive at Silver’s top speed, the feeling of David’s hand still hot on his skin.