MENDING FENCES (10 page)

            As Maria checked out of the hotel, her heart heavy in her chest.  It was already later than she usually made it to the shed.  Eldon was likely working on his latest table creation, wondering where she was.  The last thing she wanted to do was break his heart, but she knew she couldn’t see him again until she had a more distinct answer about how their future might take shape.  When she didn’t show up by afternoon, he would assume she returned home and he would be happy for her, even if he was sad for himself.

            Though Maria hated the idea of leaving him waiting, she felt that she was doing the right thing.  She would go home, talk with her parents, straighten things out, and then return to him with the good news.  He could come back and they could be together.  It was the only path that made sense.

            Maria waited patiently at Cooper’s store, watching the street until she saw a horse and buggy make its way down the highway and stop in front of the store.  She could tell from a long way off that the man in the buggy was not her father.  It was not his turn to make a supply run and he would not have traded in time from the field for very many occasions.  He had dropped her off and that had been enough.

            Maria raised a hand to wave to her uncle.  Since he was along in his years, he was often sent to get supplies because he could no longer handle the backbreaking fieldwork.

            “Ah, Maria,” he said with a pleasant smile on his face.  “I have a few items to get and then we can head back home.”

            Maria liked the way the word “home” sounded coming from her uncle’s mouth.  He embraced her tightly on his way into the store and Maria placed her small suitcase in the buggy and climbed in after it.  She looked down the street, almost hoping to catch a glimpse of Eldon near the furniture store.  By now, he surely would know that she wasn’t coming.  She prayed that he didn’t think he had scared her off.  It was too late to change her mind, Maria realized, as her uncle returned to the buggy with a large box and directed the horse to begin its walk.

            Silence permeated the buggy as Maria and her uncle hit the highway.  She knew that her uncle would listen if she wanted to talk about her Rumspringa, but the tradition was to talk to one’s parents and siblings about the experience first and Maria did not want any details to slip out to anyone but them.  They deserved to hear about her journey and her love directly from her and they deserved to be the first to know.

            Maria listened to the buzz of the cars as they raced past and she remembered what she had felt on her way into town for the very first time.  Every little detail had overwhelmed her.  The TV…the mirror…the boys on the sidewalk.  But all of those things seemed so long ago and so insignificant compared to what she found with Eldon.  Maria spent the rest of the trip in prayer, her head bowed and her hands folded in her lap.  She prayed for their future and she prayed for a quick resolution.  She also prayed that God give her the words to correctly explain everything so that things could be set in order.

            When Maria arrived home, she was graced with the sights and smells that were so familiar to her.  The air felt different around her as she smelled freshly baked bread and the dirt that was being turned over in the fields.  She saw familiar, friendly faces and issued excited waves to many of the people she missed so much.  As she passed each person on the way to her house, she only wished that she could add one more face to the community.  Eldon needed to be where he belonged.

            Maria walked through the front door of her house with a smile on her face.  She enjoyed the greetings from her fellow community members as she rode past, but there was nothing like running into her mother’s arms once again.

            “Maria!” her mother exclaimed, rushing to her just as fast as Maria ran.  “I’m so glad you’re back.  I could hardly sleep last night after hearing that you sent for a ride back in today.”

            Maria clung to her mother like a needy child.  “I have so much to tell you,” she whispered, trying to hold back her tears of joy.

            “There will be plenty of time for that once your father gets home,” her mother answered, loosening her grip and holding Maria at arm’s length.  “You look like you’ve aged years,” she said, shaking her head.

            Maria felt older too.  She left the community at the slight age of 18, but she returned a full adult…one who knew the meaning of human love.

            “When will father be home?” she asked, wanting nothing more than to tell her story and see what she could do for Eldon.

            “After the evening meal,” her mother answered, linking her arm with Maria and pulling her farther into the house.

            Maria knew having her father home that early was a treat.  He usually worked the fields until dark at this time of year.  She then spent the afternoon with her mother fashioning special little cakes for an evening family celebration.  They didn’t often have time with just their small little family, but tonight was a special occasion.  Tonight, Maria was to tell her parents about her decision.

            Of course, everyone expected since Maria was home in only one week that she was going to ask to be baptized and then commit herself to the simple life within the community.  It was what she always said she wanted, after all.  Maria knew that part of her still wanted it, but the other part of her was being tugged in Eldon’s direction.  She only hoped that she could reconcile the two forces by somehow getting him back into the community.

            The evening meal was a blur to Maria.  Everyone wanted to greet her and welcome her home, but she was not allowed to talk about her experiences or her decision until she first spoke with her parents.  It was a custom that was much easier for those who were able to talk with their parents right away.  Since Maria could only listen to chatter about the things going on within the community and not delve into the things she saw and learned on the outside, she found herself tuning others out and wondering what life was like for Eldon when he was completely ignored.

            Maria felt a bit set apart from the group because of the different life she had been leading over the past week so she almost felt like she got a small glimpse of what Eldon experienced.  The difference was that she was still accepted and people were still talking to her.

            When Maria and her parents and siblings finally arrived home, Maria was exhausted.  She had plastered a smile on her face all evening and listened to the stories from those she knew and loved.  It was comfortable being home, but part of her was still on the outside…the heart portion that she had given to Eldon.  She knew she couldn’t settle in until she had her say.

            Maria’s mother served the little cakes they labored over that afternoon while her father washed up a bit more and then plopped down at the kitchen table.  Maria’s siblings made themselves scarce so that Maria would have a little privacy with her parents, though everyone thought that it was more a formality than anything.

            “So, let’s hear it,” Maria’s father said as her mother sat down at the table and folded her hands expectantly.

            Maria poked the little cake on the plate in front of her.  “I didn’t see as much as I planned,” she began, wondering how to segue into the real issue at hand.  “But what I learned was a lesson more important than nearly anything I have ever learned in my life.”

            Maria’s father raised his eyebrows as he took another bite of cake.  “Do you remember Eldon Schrock?” Maria asked carefully as her mother’s fork froze in mid-air.

            “You mean Hank’s boy?” her mother asked.

            “Eldon,” Maria confirmed.  She didn’t want to admit to his relationship with Hank since the man had put Eldon through so much.

            “Worked in the furniture shop a lot,” her father said through his third bite of cake.

            Maria nodded.  “I ran into him in town.  Actually quite literally.  He was on his way to make a delivery to Cooper’s store.  He built some shelves.  He builds a lot of things…beautiful things.”

            “Maria,” her mother interrupted as Maria realized she was rambling.  “What are you trying to tell us about this boy?  He left the community many years back.”

            Maria took a deep breath and set her fork down, her cake remaining untouched.

            “When I left here, I was a nervous wreck,” she said, deciding that full disclosure was the best way to go.  “I didn’t know what I was going to do or how I was going to get by on my own.  I went to the hotel and I was scared by one single phone call.”  Maria remembered the shrill ring of the phone and the way she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard it.  “The mirror shocked me and some boys on the street made fun of my clothes.”

            Maria saw her mother shift in her seat.  She didn’t like that her daughter had been given a hard time and Maria loved her for her concern.

            “I even visited Cooper on the very first day because I was so overwhelmed,” she paused, moving in a slightly different direction for a moment.  “And you were right about him, by the way, he gave me the best advice and I was able to persevere.”

            Maria stood from her chair, unable to sit still any longer.  “After visiting Cooper I ran into Eldon Schrock and, I don’t know, it was sort of like finding a piece of home.  I know he’s been gone a while but he knows our ways and he understood me and what I was going through.  The two of us…we started spending time together.”

            Maria’s father cleared his throat and put his own fork, leaving the remainder of his cake on the plate before him.  Maria pressed on.  “I watched him work on the furniture he was making and it is the most beautiful furniture I have ever seen.  He told me how awful it was to be shunned and why he left the community.”

            “Maria,” her father said in a rushed voice.  “What are you saying?”

            Maria took a deep breath.  “I’m in love with him, father.  Eldon and I fell in love.”

            Maria allowed the silence in the room to permeate her bones as she waited for some kind of response.  She knew that had she fallen in love with a boy within the community, her parents would have been thrilled.  She was 18, after all.  It was nearing time for her to marry and start a family of her own.  The fact that she was in love with someone on the outside who was only a former member was something that left her unsure of their attitude.

            “You,” her mother began, “you love this boy?”

            “He’s a man now,” Maria corrected.  “And he’s a wonderful man at that.  He’s kind and compassionate and considerate…”

            “And he disrespected his parents and would not forgive,” her father interjected.

            Maria felt her face fall.  She was all wrapped up in her love for Eldon and didn’t even think about what the situation might look like from the other side of the table.  Of course her parents were going to be skeptical.  They didn’t know Eldon’s story.  The problem was, she couldn’t tell them.

            “What is the end result, Maria?” her father asked, folding his napkin and placing it beside his plate on the table.  “Are you leaving the community to be with this boy?”

            Maria’s eyes widened in fear.  The idea that she would leave for Eldon never crossed her mind.  “That’s not what I’m saying at all, father.  I was hoping there would be a way that he could come back…so that the two of us could be together and so that he could be with his family again.  It’s where he belongs.”

            “He should have thought of that years ago,” her father muttered gruffly.