Sewn with Joy (25 page)

Joy poked the needle into the fabric. It was Saturday, her day off, and it felt good just to sit and not think about a script, a wardrobe, or the million little details the Amish tended to and paid attention to. Things that the outside world never noticed or cared about.

Yesterday she was surprised when Alicia had sought her out, asking if Joy was open to spending any time together. Alicia commented that she'd love to spend a day as an Amish woman, sewing and cooking. Inwardly, Joy had laughed. In a typical Amish woman's life, very few days were set aside just for sewing and cooking, but Joy didn't tell the actress that. She liked the idea of relaxing in this way and spending time with Alicia.

Alicia had shown up right after lunch, wearing a long skirt and T-shirt and with her hair up. The rest of the family was out of the house for the afternoon, and the two women sat at the kitchen table, looking through
Mem
's cookbooks and deciding what they were going to make.

“I learned how to cook and sew when I was younger—well, just a little.” Alicia flipped through the pages. “I took home economics in eighth grade, and I know enough to impress my Hollywood friends when I host dinner parties.” She sighed. “At least when I used to host them. Did you have home ec in your Amish school? You did go to one, didn't you?”

Joy paused at the recipe for Healthy Chocolate Chip Granola and put down a sticky note.

“
Ja
…I mean, yes. I did go to an Amish school, but we didn't have home economics.
Mem
taught me. I can remember sitting next to her during sewing frolics even as a toddler. Three of my sisters would be outside playing with the other kids, and my sister Lovina would be in the kitchen with the other girls her age. But I was always at
Mem
's side, and I started sewing as soon as I could.”

“Lovina…is she the one who owns the pie shop? Oh my word, I've never tasted such wonderful pie. Do you think she'd bring me a pie sometime?”

“I bet she would. Do you have a favorite?”

“A favorite? I'm not sure. I usually don't eat sweets. Wardrobe would have a fit if I gained too much weight, you know, but pie like that is worth an extra hour in the gym!” Alicia laughed, but the laughter didn't meet her eyes. There was something wrong, something sad inside this beautiful woman. Something Alicia especially tried to hide when she was on the set. Would Alicia ever trust Joy enough to open up?

They were quiet for a while, each in their own thoughts, as they looked through the recipes. Then Joy turned to her friend. “So what movies or shows have you been in before?”

“Have you heard of
The Lockup
?”

“Can't say I have.”

“Oh, yeah. You Amish people don't watch television, do you?
Whoa. That's so crazy. I mean, I never thought of that before. You've never watched
Little House on the Prairie
or
Gilmore Girls
. Seriously, that's weird that people in the United States have no idea who Kim Kardashian is.”

“Oh, I know who she is. I do shop at the grocery store and see the headlines. I just have no idea what she does.”

Laughter spilled from Alicia's lips. “Uh, and the rest of the world asks the same question. No one really knows what she does.”

“So did you play a prisoner in that television show?”

“Yeah, an undercover prisoner. I'd pretend to get arrested and get locked up. It was my job to solve the crimes from the inside.”

“Was that hard—pretending to be a criminal?”

“Not really.” Alicia flipped another page of the cookbook and then shrugged. “I visited some real prisons…you know, to get into character. And I discovered that those on the inside aren't much different from those on the outside. We all want to be loved. We all seek to find value and worth. And we all want money and power. We just go about getting it in different ways.”

Joy smiled and nodded, not knowing what to say. Things weren't like that in the Amish community—or at least with the Amish she knew—but she didn't want to bring that up. She didn't want to sound prideful. Sound like her community was better.

Alicia licked her lips at a photo of chocolate cake, and then she laughed again. “Wait. Listen to who I'm talking to. I forgot about your
kapp
for a moment. I suppose people don't sin like that in your group.”

“Oh, people sin all right. I have sinned more times than I'd like to admit, but from a young age we are taught to put others before ourselves. To work together. To be humble.”

“I can't even imagine. My old man was long gone even before I can remember, and my mom…well, she was often more
interested in her newest boyfriend than in caring for me and my sister.” Alicia reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone, checking her messages. “You don't mind, do you?”

Joy forced a smile. “I'm fine. I know you have important things to keep track of.”

After reading through some messages and clicking on some photos, Alicia put her phone back into her purse and turned to Joy, picking up where they'd left off. “I really can't imagine it. Having a family dinner with a mom and dad, sisters and brothers around the table. I used to think the movies just lied about stuff like that, because no one I know in Hollywood lives like that. Well, until I came here.”

“You know what I'm thinking? You need to do some research, to get into character. How about you stay for dinner tonight at our place?”

“Really?”

“Ja.”

“And your folks won't mind?”

Joy paused for a minute, and she tried to picture
Mem
's reaction.
Mem
would be surprised, but she'd be welcoming. Neither
Mem
nor
Dat
would ever turn a stranger away from their table.

“They wouldn't mind at all, especially if we're cooking.”

“Oh, can we make this Shepherd's Pie? I've never had it, but it sounds very Amish to me.”

Joy laughed. “
Ja
, that's easy to make.”

Alicia looked to Joy and her smiled faded just slightly. “I wish Rowan could see this—you and me sitting here, enjoying each other's company like old friends. I'm not sure he'd believe it.”

“Oh really? Why?”

Pink touched Alicia's cheeks. “Well, this is not how I usually spent my Saturday afternoons back in LA.”

Joy rose and moved to the pantry, checking to see if they had
enough potatoes. If not they'd have to walk down to Yoder's Produce. “If you'd like you could call and invite Rowan.”

“No.” The word shot from Alicia's mouth.

Joy turned in surprise. “I see. You don't like that idea?”

“That sounded bad, didn't it? The truth is that Rowan and I… well, we had some issues in the past. It's best to just keep things work-related.”

Joy nodded. “
Ja
, I understand. Men…they do cause all types of issues, don't they?”

Joy put the bag of potatoes on the counter and then took two knives from a drawer. “Ready to start making some Shepherd's Pie? I'm going to get you started on that while I work on this granola. It sounds like the perfect thing to take to the set on Monday.”

Alicia's eyes widened. “You're going to turn dinner over to me?”

“
Ja
, of course. You want to impress my parents, right?”

“If I don't poison your parents, it'll be a good day.”

“Well, you don't have to worry about that. I promise.” Joy couldn't help but laugh, and even as she pulled the other ingredients from a cupboard, a smile filled her face. For most of her life she'd been aware of the differences between her and the
Englisch
. It was quite refreshing to now focus on the similarities. Alicia was an
Englisch
movie and television star, and she was a simple Amish woman. They couldn't be more different on the outside, but on the inside they couldn't be more alike. They each wanted to be loved and appreciated.

As Joy expected, both
Mem
and
Dat
were welcoming when it came to having Alicia for dinner. And they were especially pleased to discover that Alicia had done most of the cooking.

Before the food was served,
Dat
bowed his head, and everyone followed. Silent prayers were familiar and comforting to Joy. When she lifted her face, she noticed a smile on Alicia's face.

“So what happens with this television picture? Is there a certain
time when it shows?”
Mem
asked after they'd finished serving up the plates. “I'm sorry, I don't understand how it works.”

Joy attempted to hide her smile. She had to give it to her
mem.
She was trying. It wasn't easy to talk about something you've never seen before.

“It's a television series. It'll play every Monday night, starting in the spring.” Alicia took a big bite of her casserole and smiled. Her eyes widened as she looked to Joy. She nodded, excited about her accomplishment.

“But it's November now. Can you really make a show by the spring?”

“I can't, but Rowan—the director—he's pulled together a great team.”

“So you'll be around a while?”
Mem
asked. “When I asked Joy that question, she said she didn't really know how long you'd be here.”

“We'll be there through Christmas…at least that's the plan. Then we'll go home, and when the show airs, we'll see how the ratings are. Only then will we know whether the network will renew.”

Heads bobbed around the table, but Joy knew her family didn't understand words like
network
and
ratings
.

“So have you been in other television shows?”
Dat
asked.

“Oh, yeah. Quite a few. The last two have been a cop show and a prison drama. They were pretty intense roles. I was ready to break out of the mold they were putting me in. And…” She let out a low sigh.

“And?”
Dat
asked, urging her on.

“And I'm tired of the darkness of it all, you know? Thinking about crimes and prisons all the time. I was ready for something lighter, happier. So when my agent pitched me a sweet family show, I was hooked.”

Mem
reached over and patted Alicia's hand. “We're glad to have you here.”

“Thank you…” Alicia's voice broke, and she looked away. “I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to cry. It's just that I've never been so welcomed by a family like yours before.”

“I'm glad you're here at our table.”
Dat
appeared to have more color in his cheeks tonight. “The Bible says the
gut
Lord knows every person on this earth, and for some great reason He's connecting you with us here. It's not just a coincidence. It's part of a great plan.”

Tears filled the corners of Alicia's eyes, and she nodded. Joy couldn't help but think back to the sewing circle and everyone who had so many worries about the television show coming to town. But now she knew they had a limited perspective. They had spoken from their fears, but thankfully God had seen beyond that. God spoke from His promises, and in the weeks to come Joy would need to remember that.

 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Granola

12 cups quick oats

2 cups wheat germ

2 cups sunflower seeds

2 cups flaked coconut

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup honey

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 to 1½ cups raisins (optional)

1 to 1½ cups chocolate morsels