The Miting (11 page)

“Not good, Martha. What do you think he’ll do once the ban is lifted?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure he thinks he got away with it. I hope he doesn’t start on my younger sisters. I just couldn’t handle that.”

She lifted her gaze to meet Leah’s. She sniffed and wiped her angry tears. “But I can’t do anything else, and at least the bishop knows now what to look for. The bad thing is they acted like I was lying. It took me several minutes to convince them.” She sighed, her gaze resting on the surrounding fields. “They don’t like me, Leah. I’m too rebellious—not Amish enough anymore.”

She shrugged, but her eyes revealed her pain.

A buzzing sound interrupted their talk, and Martha reached into her apron pocket to flip the cell phone open, fully confirming what the church leaders suspected of her.

“Hi, Abe. Yep, it’s over. I’m here at Leah’s. We’re talking about what the bishop decided. Uh-huh—he’s banned for six weeks from church. That’s all—yep. I plan to stay away as much as I can.” Martha glanced at Leah, then looked away. “She said she’d meet us at the general store in Raysburg, okay?” She turned back and whispered, “Six thirty?”

Leah hesitated, then nodded. The decision was made. She tried not to think about lying to
Maem
and
Daet.
The memory of
Daet
’s joke and
Maem
’s laughter from Sunday flashed through her mind, but she shoved the happy moment away. She’d never go through with it if she thought of things like that.

Martha flipped her phone shut and shoved it back in her apron pocket. “I gotta get going.
Maem
’s already hopping mad at me about Abner. She told me I had no business airing the family’s dirty laundry. She said all girls have to put up with a little bit of uncomfortable attention at one point in their lives—better it comes from a brother than a stranger. Can you believe it?” Martha’s face showed her disgust.

“How awful! Why would she say that?”

“I think she had it happen to her, too. She just doesn’t know any better, I guess.” Martha clutched the handlebars of the bike tighter. “It doesn’t make sense. How can people be Christians and
do
stuff like this? Y’know?”

“I don’t know.”

Martha got back on her bike. “I’d better get going. Anyway, I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“Yeah. Six thirty. I’ll be there.”

She pushed off toward home but turned back once and waved. Leah waved to her and shuffled wearily back to the house. She was nervous and hoped anxiety didn’t show on her face. As she entered the kitchen, Ada hurried over and repeated, “I’m going with you, Leah.”

“Ada—”

“No, I mean it. I don’t want you to get into trouble by yourself. If it happens, then it happens.”

“It will be worse for me if you’re along.”

“I’ll tell
Maem
and
Daet
it was my idea.”

“For the last time, Ada, no! I mean it. Leave me alone, please. This isn’t easy, and I’m not doing this just to disobey like you seem to want to do.” She gave her sister an annoyed frown and walked away. Ada backed off, but Leah knew it wouldn’t be the last time Ada would try to go along.

After supper, Leah sat on the porch swing for a while with
Maem
. The chill in the air made her think of Daniel’s coming wedding, which led to the first lie of the evening.

“
Maem
, Sara might want me to come over and help her with some of the wedding things tonight. Is it all right?”

Maem
stretched her tight muscles, nodding absently. “Sure. Just be careful coming home—it’s dark earlier now. Are you taking Sparky out?”

“Naw, it’s just a mile or two down the road. I’ll walk.”

“Be sure you stay well off the road. The drivers won’t be able to see you. Maybe you should walk in the ditch. It will be dry.”

“Okay,
Maem
.”

“What time do you think you’ll be back?”

“Oh, about nine, I guess. I don’t know for sure.”

Maem
nodded, rising from the swing with a yawn. “I’m mighty tired, and I still need to nudge Benny to work on his school project and get ready for bed. Have a good time, Leah.”

“Thanks,
Maem
.”

After
Maem
went inside, Leah sat in the growing darkness thinking about what she was about to do. Her stomach rolled as she tried to justify her deception. She didn’t know if she could keep this up. Lying and sneaking around were not part of who she was. If she lied, though, and died tonight, she’d go straight to hell; that much she knew.

She shoved the swing back and forth, back and forth with the toe of her shoe. The squeak of the hinges and the accompanying clang of chain against chain set a steady rhythm. She stopped suddenly, ready to get on her way. Just as she stood up to go inside, Daniel came out on the porch.

“What’re you up to, Leah?”

She sat back on the swing, resumed swinging, and tried to sound nonchalant. “Oh, getting ready to take a walk.”

“In the dark? Hope you’re careful.” He dug into his bowl of ice cream.

To change the subject, she asked Daniel about his plans for the evening.

“I’m going to go visit Sara, and then we’re heading to her grandparents’. They asked us to come over so Sara can choose a quilt from the ones her grandma’s already finished.”

Leah stopped swinging, a solid lump of fear filling her stomach. If
Maem
found out Sara wouldn’t be home tonight, she would know Leah had lied. She couldn’t go in and give
Maem
a different story now. She’d have to hope her parents never found out about Sara.

“Well, have a good night, Leah,” Daniel said as he placed his empty bowl in her hands. “Mind taking this in for me? I’m late already.”

“Sure.”

“
Danke
, Sis.” Daniel jumped from the top porch step and disappeared toward the barn.

She sighed and stood up. As she carried Daniel’s bowl back into the house, her hands felt clammy at the notion of disobeying her parents.

The
Ordnung
stressed children should always obey their parents, not only while they were young, but for the rest of their lives—even when they were grown and married. To disobey them now would be a bad path for Leah to head down. But somehow, she couldn’t ignore the urge to discover what the Bible study was like.

She’d burst from curiosity until she knew what went on. Maybe after tonight, her mind would be settled and that would be the end of the deceptions. She hoped so anyway.

Her hands shook as she rinsed Daniel’s bowl. One thing was sure: she wasn’t cut out to be conniving.

C
HAPTER
S
EVEN

T
he yellow glow from the windows of Raysburg General Store fell across the ground in geometric patterns as Leah approached. She burrowed her hands beneath her cape to keep out the crisp autumn air, her shivering no doubt also brought on by nerves at her first outright rebellion.

A group of boisterous youth hung around the front door to the shop, but none appeared to be Amish. She walked to the building and carefully pulled open the heavy wooden door. The jangle of the bells over the door startled her. She entered and made her way to the candy aisle, glancing around to see if Martha was waiting.

She didn’t see Martha or Abe, so she wandered back out to the benches that squatted under the shelter of the old building’s eaves. She peered up and down the road, and just as she was beginning to think they weren’t coming, she spotted Abe’s old blue truck pull into the far end of the parking lot. Leah’s heart pounded as she hurried to meet them.

“Hey there!” Martha greeted her. “Get in. This old truck will get you where you want to go, even if it doesn’t look pretty.”

“Okay.” Her voice wobbled, uncertainty crowding her every thought. She climbed into the truck beside Martha. “Thanks, Abe, for taking me to the Bible study. I appreciate the ride.”

He glanced her way as he pulled out of the parking lot. “No problem, Leah. I hope you have a good time.” He snickered as if he’d made a joke.

It was clear Abe thought her rebellious trip was not worth the potential punishment, but Leah shrugged him off. She remained quiet the rest of the trip into town. It was only fifteen minutes later that they pulled into the Schrocks’ driveway.

Several cars were already parked in front of the house. Her eyes widened with apprehension. Before she could change her mind, the side door of the house opened, and Naomi Schrock came out to the driveway. She waved to Leah and leaned over to smile at Martha and Abe. “Come on in, Leah. Your friends are welcome to come in, too.”

Leah eyed Abe and Martha, but their disinterested faces gave the answer without having to ask them. Disappointed, she guessed Martha had already changed her mind about asking the Schrocks for help. “Martha, please, I’d love to have you come in with me.”

Martha avoided Leah’s eyes and shook her head quickly.

Abe leaned over, clearly pleased with Martha’s response. “So what time do you want us to pick you up?”

“I’m not really sure, but how about an hour or so?”

“Okay. See you then.”

“Thanks.” Leah gave her friend’s hand a gentle squeeze, then went to greet her host, a tentative smile on her face.

“Leah, don’t worry. We’re all friendly in this group.”

“Thanks. I was hoping my friends would come in, too. Especially Martha. She needs help, but I guess she’ll think of another way.” Leah glanced down at her Amish clothing. “I feel kind of funny wearing these clothes.”

“Remember, most of us once looked just like you. No one will judge you. It’ll be all right.”

She followed Naomi into the house, where Matthew Schrock greeted her. His broad smile put her at ease, and the other former Amish in the living room also greeted her warmly. Naomi led her to the kitchen, offering coffee and brownies. Leah poured coffee, adding lots of sugar and cream into the cup. As the milky concoction steamed, the scent of the coffee beans filled the room. The cloudy brew reminded her of
Maem. Better to not think of that now.

The rest of the visitors found their seats, and Leah sat between Naomi and another girl who looked to be younger. The girl introduced herself as Mary. Her enthusiasm as she gave a testimony about God’s grace to her during the week impressed Leah. Mary’s face glowed with joy as she recounted her experiences.

“I tell you, if it hadn’t been for the Lord, I just don’t know if I could have left my family the way I did. But I felt I had to go back once to try to set things right with
Maem
and
Daet.
They weren’t happy to see me at first. They told me I couldn’t read my Bible at the table in front of my brothers and sisters, but I let them know I always read Scripture first thing in the morning. It sets my day off right.”

“How did they take that news, Mary?” asked Matthew.

“They weren’t happy for about a week, but then they calmed down. Before I left,
Daet
actually took the German Bible out and read it to the family at night.”

“Do you think things were better when you left the second time?” asked Naomi.

“I like to say that when I left the first time, there were tears and nobody was happy, but the second time, everyone hugged and said good-bye. So I left with smiles the second time.”

“Sounds like you did the right thing when you went back to try to make things right,” said one of the young men sitting to Leah’s right.

“Yes. I definitely think so, and now I have a
gut
relationship with them again. The Lord can do miracles with our families if we just let Him.”

As she soaked in Mary’s experience, Leah wondered if she would ever have the chance to make her parents understand what she wanted from attending Bible study. Would she also have an enhanced relationship with her parents if she understood God’s Word better?

After the testimonies of a few of the other young people, Matthew led them in prayer, and then the Bibles were opened and the Scripture study began.

Matthew started off talking about the ABC plan of salvation. “The plan of salvation is really very simple. In the first step, the letter
A
stands for admit. Admitting that we are all sinners is the first key to salvation. Romans 3:23 says that ‘all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.’ Notice that the Scripture says
all.
And Romans 6:23 makes it clear that because of this sin, the wages, or the price we must pay, is death. But the verse goes on to say that the
gift
of God is eternal life.” He passed around a small sheet with the letters on them.

Oh, the gift. That was the verse I was trying to recall from my Gideon Bible.
Leah glanced at the paper. She’d have a reference to go to now if she was careful about not leaving it for
Maem
or
Daet
to find. They wouldn’t want her reading Scripture on her own.

“In the second step, the letter
B
stands for believe. We must next believe that Jesus is God’s Son and accept God’s gift of forgiveness from sin. John 3:16 says ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.’