A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters) (2 page)

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “You did your running around with me when you were eighteen. We experienced the English world together then.”

She sighed. “I went to one baseball game with you to see the Cincinnati Reds. That was all I did for my
rumschpringe
.”

“Did you forget Kings Island when I kissed you for the first time?”

“I guess I did.” She’d been shocked when he’d kissed her at the amusement park. The Amish stressed to their young people that the courting couple shouldn’t have any physical contact. Not even kissing or holding hands. Although it wasn’t proper, she’d liked his kiss. She decided to tease him a bit. “Your kiss at the baseball game must have been better. I remember it the best.”

He took a big drink of pop. “I bet my kisses would be sweeter on the beach.”

“I have to tell you the truth. I’ve taken care of my siblings for a year since my
mamm
died. I love them but need to take a break and experience different things before I commit to our way of life. I want to feel the sand between my toes and see the blue ocean. And I can’t wait to see the dolphins play in the water.” She lifted her arm and waved her hand across the rolling fields. “I love our country scenery but at the same time, I’m tired of the green grass and hills. I want to see something different.”

He shrugged. “If you look carefully, you see that each blade of grass is a different shade of green.”

“But still it’s all green.”

“I like green. Especially your pretty green eyes.”

She gave him a playful nudge. “I’m partial to blue because of your blue eyes. And I already mentioned the ocean and how much I want to see it.”

His jaw tightened.
He’s going to give me more arguments about leaving.
In a way, she was glad he cared so much about what she did. It was good to know he’d miss her.

He put his can on the ground. After removing his hat, he ran his fingers through wavy brown hair. “It’s warm here in the sun. It feels good to have warmer temperatures finally after the cold winter we had. Outer Banks won’t be that warm in March.”

“We aren’t going to their beach house. Aunt Carrie’s taking us to a friends’ cottage at Cocoa Beach. It’ll be warmer in the southern part of the state.”

“That’s so far. You can’t fly. Remember Amish don’t use planes.”

“Did you forget that Aunt Carrie was Amish before she married…”Her voice broke with irritation. “She knows I won’t get on a plane. She’s going to drive us to Cocoa Beach.”

“What else do you plan on doing on your
rumschpringe
?”

“Not much. Use a computer. Maybe watch movies.”
Should I tell Samuel my other reason for visiting? I don’t want to hurt him.

“One reason I bought this particular piece of land was because it’s close enough to your
daed’s
house. I know how close you’re to your family.”

“You’re a
wunderbaar
man.” She squeezed his hand, quickly deciding to share with him her deepest feelings. “I was so close to my
mamm
. Her death is another reason I’m going to visit Aunt Carrie. She’s five years older than my mother was, and she has no heart problems. My
mamm
shouldn’t have died from a heart attack. She was too young. I wanted her around for many more years. An English doctor would’ve caught her heart disease. My children will never know their grandmother.”

“What are you saying? That your aunt’s alive because she’s English.”

She nodded. “That’s what I want to find out. If we had a phone for emergencies, we could’ve gotten help quicker to my
mamm
and maybe she’d still be alive. And English don’t work as hard as we do.
Mamm
worked too hard.”

“It was a shock to your
mamm
when your grandparents were killed. That could’ve had something to do with her death. She died only two months after they did. ”

“Why did that teenager have to use his cell phone while driving? He said he didn’t see my grandparents’ buggy but it was broad daylight.” Even though it was the Amish way to forgive people, she couldn’t forget the wrong caused by the young driver. He had a responsibility to watch the road and shouldn’t have been using his phone.

“It was a terrible tragedy. Your grandparents were an important part of our community.” He was quiet for a moment. “Your
mamm
was nineteen when she married your
daed
. You’re past that age now. I’ve been courting you for close to three years.”

“That’s what worries me. I don’t want to follow my
mamm’s
path and die when I’m forty-four.”

“I don’t want you to die in your forties either.” He cleared his throat. “How long are you planning on being gone? I can finish my furniture orders before we leave. I only have a dining room table for an English couple that needs to be done soon. Other stuff can wait. That is if it’s okay with your Aunt Carrie that I go too.”

Her
daed
thought the world of Samuel, but he would never approve of them both going away together when they were not married. Amazing that Samuel would even suggest it. Not a good sign he wanted to go with her. “That’s not a good idea. We aren’t married. Besides, I might stay with Aunt Carrie for three or four weeks.”

He gave her a worried glance. “It sounds like you want a break from me.”

“No, not a break from you. Just a break from everything Amish. The time will go fast. You won’t have a chance to miss me.”

“You’ve been too isolated and at home all the time with cooking and doing all the housework for your family. Judith should’ve been more help. Then you could’ve kept your job at the bakery. My
mamm
misses you and all the customers still ask about you. They want to know when you’ll be back.
Mamm
says no one’s desserts are as good as yours. Not even hers or Katie’s.”

Before her mother died, she’d worked in the bakery owned by Mrs. Weaver, Samuel’s
mamm
. She loved the Weaver’s Bakery filled with wonderful smells from all the delicious goods sold to Amish customers as well as to the English tourists. And baking was her passion in the kitchen.

“I do miss talking to the customers. I enjoyed the women talk with your
mamm
and your sister. We laughed and had good times together while working.” She sighed. “Judith’s talent doesn’t seem to be in cooking but I’m hoping it’ll improve when I’m away. She’s going to grade papers at home and only work at school half a day.” Her younger sister, Judith, started teaching the younger Amish students when Miss Miller left the district to get married.

“I hope you get the answers you need and come back here ready to join the church. Once you see Bishop Amos about getting baptized, we can officially become engaged.” He drew her into his arms and gave a tender kiss on her mouth. He ran his finger down the side of her cheek. “I’ll miss my fair-haired beauty. I don’t want you falling in love with some English guy. I don’t want to lose you, Rachel. I love you.”

“I know. I love you too.”
Is my love for Samuel strong enough to marry him,
she wondered. She wanted a marriage like her
mamm
and
daed
had. They were so in love.
But I can’t marry Samuel right now with the way I feel about everything.

* * *

Samuel entered the kitchen, surprised to see his mother still up at nine o’clock. His parents went to bed usually at eight-thirty because they got up at four-thirty each morning. He removed his black felt hat and put it on a wall hook. “Why are you still up?”

She folded a gray dress in front of her. “I finished sewing this for Katie. And I didn’t want to wait until morning to hear the good news about my firstborn’s wedding details. I know Rachel’s
daed
needs to be asked first but I don’t see him saying no. Did you and Rachel decide on October or November?”

His
mamm’s
face looked so hopeful that he wished his news would be what she wanted to hear. “I’m afraid not. Rachel’s not ready to join the church. She’s leaving next week to spend time with her Aunt Carrie.”

“How much time?”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe a few weeks.”

She stood and picked up a coffee cup from the table. “I’m surprised she’s leaving but it’ll be good for Rachel to visit with her aunt. As long as she doesn’t stay away too long and can still get baptized this year.”

While she spoke to him, he saw his father enter the room.

“What’s the rush?” Weaver grabbed his wife around the waist and gave her a kiss. “You were twenty-one when we married. Rachel’s not that age yet.”

His
mamm
rolled her eyes. “Rachel will be twenty-one next month.”

He grinned at his
daed
. “It’s a good thing I didn’t stay out all night. I didn’t realize I’d have both parents waiting on me to get home.”

“Samuel, I can make you a sandwich. I have sloppy joes left over.”

“Your
mamm
makes the best sloppy joes.”

He patted his stomach. “
Danki
, I’d eat a sandwich if I had any room but I’m full. Rachel outdid herself and served meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole. I ate more than my share of her cheese bread.”

“I’m sure she had a pie for dessert too. That girl sure can bake.” His mother walked to the sink and turned the handle, rinsing her cup.

“She fixed my favorite…butterscotch pie.”

“Her family’s going to miss her cooking while she’s gone.” She gave him a concerned glance. “I know you’ll miss her too.”

He didn’t want his parents to think badly of Rachel, but needed to share with them his fear. “She’s also leaving Fields Corner to experience a different way of life. I hope she won’t be like her Aunt Carrie and decide to become English.”

“Carrie would’ve joined the church if she hadn’t met Scott Robinson. She was one of us and was close to her family. But her love for him was stronger than her love for the Plain life.” His mother patted his arm. “Rachel will be back. I’ve seen the way she looks at you.”

“
Ya
,” his father nodded. “No English man will compare to you, son. Pray and take this time to draw closer to God. And we’ll pray for Rachel.”

He exhaled a deep breath.
I might as well tell them everything.
“She’s upset about her mother’s death. She wonders if her mother had been English if she’d still be alive. And she also wants to use this time to experience a few things in the English world.”

A worried look passed between his parents which he understood. They realized there was a chance of Rachel not returning to them. She might adopt the English way of life like her Aunt Carrie did. He broke the silence and said, “I wish this Sunday wasn’t church day so I could pack a picnic lunch and we could eat by the creek on my property. Rachel’s leaving on Monday morning.” He’d been working on a picnic table. Maybe he could finish it by Saturday and take it to his new land. They could skip the Sunday supper and singing to have their picnic. Just so the weather stayed warm and didn’t suddenly change like it did sometimes in March. In Adams County, weather could drop forty degrees in one day during the spring, changing from sunshine to snowfall in just hours.

“It’s good Rachel will attend church before she leaves. I doubt she’ll have any Amish church service to attend when she’s visiting her Aunt Carrie.” His
daed
yawned. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.” Smiling at Samuel, he continued, “Your
mamm’s
the expert on packing picnic lunches.”

“I’ll be up soon.” His mother turned to him. “You should take Rachel on Saturday. Close your store early. Or Katie could take care of the customers for you so you can leave early.”

After his mom left the kitchen to join his father, from the window he stared at the sky with all the twinkling stars. He hated to think how this time next week, Rachel would be living in the English world. He should contact Adam and ask him to look out for Rachel. He’d use his business phone in the furniture store. His district allowed phones in businesses for necessary outgoing phone calls, but they were not for socializing. Using a phone to insure Rachel’s safety was definitely a necessity with her living away from their Amish community. Although she was almost twenty-one years old, she’d led a sheltered life. Another upsetting thought occurred to him.
I never asked her if her Uncle Scott would be at the beach with them.
If the Senate wasn’t in session for spring break, he might join his family in Florida. As a popular senator, the media might try to photograph them while vacationing. That would not be good if the media found out Rachel was with them. For some reason, the English world seemed too fascinated by his Amish faith.

I hope Rachel doesn’t become mesmerized by the English. I can’t imagine life without her. Am I being punished for being too forward with Rachel?
It was unacceptable to kiss, especially before being officially engaged. He’d kissed her already when she was eighteen years old. As members of their community, he was aware of the teaching of Scripture, which said, “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.” He wasn’t alone in having close physical contact because Peter had shared with him about his dating relationship with Ella. Peter said to him, “After Ella and I knew we were going to get married, we started kissing and petting. I know we shouldn’t have, but we never allowed ourselves to go any further. We avoided having premarital sex. That must be saved for the marriage bed.”

Before he left the kitchen, he remembered the words from the Bible. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34). Trust in the Lord was what he needed to do but he’d also do his God given best to make Rachel happy. He could not imagine life without his precious Rachel. Her physical beauty had attracted him in the beginning, but he’d fallen in love with her deeply after he started escorting her home from the Sunday night singing and having conversations at her home. Further dates, when they started going steady meant he got to see her more often. He knew, without a doubt, that he wanted to marry Rachel.