The Miting (5 page)

Leah considered. It would take another thirty minutes to return home, but the day was still young.

After untying Sparky, they made their way slowly through the downtown traffic, the horse’s shoes clopping against the hot roadway.

The grocery parking lot was full of cars, but at the back under the shade of several gnarled maples, hitching posts waited for the horses and buggies of Amish customers.

She hopped down and secured Sparky’s reins to the post as Sara headed into the store. The sun shimmered over black asphalt and reflected off metal hoods and trunks, and Leah wiped beads of perspiration from her neck and forehead. Sparky shook his mane free of flies, his haunches quivering from gnat attacks. Leah smoothed his neck, whispering into his ear as he rolled brown eyes toward her voice. “We won’t be long, friend.” He stamped a time or two, signaling his impatience, as she walked into the building.

The cool air of the store immediately brought relief. Not for the first time, Leah longed for respite such as this at home. Wondered how it would feel driving along on a steamy summer day, passing farm and field, with sweet cool air keeping the journey pleasant. Wondered how it would feel to sleep without her sweat-drenched gown and sheet. Her upstairs bedroom, situated at the back of the house above the woodstove-heated kitchen, was sultry and stagnant by the end of a summer’s day.

She glanced at a group of girls who looked to be her age. They wore shorts and sleeveless T-shirts, their hair pulled off their necks and secured with bright ponytail bands, their feet protected only by flimsy sandals that slapped the floor as they strolled. They looked refreshingly comfortable.

She pondered why the Amish insisted on stifling dark fabrics and long cumbersome dresses weighted down by aprons and thick-soled black shoes. They dressed not for season but for modesty, and often, at the end of a blistering summer day, her skin was chafed raw from sweating. She swished her skirt back and forth to cool her legs and blew a puff of air up over her forehead as she pushed damp strands of hair back under the
kapp.

Lost in thought and eyeing the store aisles for signs of Sara, she was startled when a man spoke to her.

“Hello, Leah.
Wie gehts?
”

She glanced around and met the kind eyes of Matthew Schrock.

“Oh! Hello, I’m sorry I didn’t see you. I’m fine, thanks.”

Matthew pointed to a petite, attractive woman walking toward him. “I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Naomi.”

Naomi Schrock reached out her hand to greet Leah, smiling shyly. “Nice to meet you, Leah.”

“You, also.”

“I’ve heard from Matthew about the wonderful work your
daet
’s doing on our bedroom suite. I can’t wait to see it.”

Leah noticed Naomi’s Amish accent. Were the rumors true? Were they both former Amish?

“Thank you. He’s skilled at his job.”

After chatting about the weather for a couple of minutes, Leah decided that talking too long with them could be construed as a bad thing, if they were the kind of people the bishop insisted they were. As she nodded good-bye to the Schrocks, Matthew stopped her.

“Before you go, would you mind if I give you a brochure of our life story?”

Leah hesitated, not sure how to respond. “Uh … I suppose it would be okay.”

“It’s not a very long brochure, but it will let you know, if you’re curious, about our ministry.”

Matthew offered a steady gaze. “I’m aware there are many rumors about us, and I thought it might help to explain what we do.”

She realized he must know about the bishop’s opinion.

“Thank you. I appreciate the information.” She took the brochure and hurried to find Sara. Accepting the pamphlet from Matthew felt dangerous. But she was anxious to read about this man and his wife, and perhaps solve the mystery of who they were and what they did with wayward Amish. They seemed so kind and so sure of their decision to leave.

The girls finished their shopping and were soon on their way home. The weight of the brochure filled her apron pocket, but Leah stifled her curiosity long enough to drop off Sara before pulling the buggy to the side of the road to read the material.

The Schrocks had been born and raised Old Order Amish. They had married and joined the church, but a former Amish friend had introduced Matthew to the “life-giving grace of Jesus Christ,” and after reading the Bible and learning more about Christ, Matthew had explained what he had learned to his wife.

The pamphlet was sprinkled with Bible verses. Leah was surprised to find them all in English. The Bible used in her Amish church was written in German, and only a few of the words made sense to her when it was read in service.

But this—these words struck her heart. The message in the brochure was of hope and freedom. Incredibly, it did not include anything about obeying the
Ordnung.
No long list of rules to adhere to—nothing about the length of her skirt or the size of the hat band her
daet
and
bruders
wore. She found no instructions about the kind of fabric her dresses had to be made from, or the color, or the amount of undergarments she needed to wear. No directions about securing her skirt and aprons with straight pins. Nothing at all about
verboten
buttons or zippers. There was nothing mentioned about being a certain kind of person in order to deserve or earn her salvation.

Leah furrowed her brows. Could it be so simple? The verses spoke of the futility of living only to do good—of trying to be the best for the sake of showing good works to God, family, and community. She flipped the pamphlet back to the front and read through the verses again. What would it be like to own a Bible she could understand?

She remembered a group of
Englishers
who had stopped by her school one year when she was in the elementary grades. They had handed out small New Testament Bibles written in English. What had she done with the book the Gideons had given them? It had to be among her childhood things somewhere.

She reread the verse on the front: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

What could that mean? Leah wasn’t sure but knew it had something to do with her desire to be free from the
Ordnung.
Could that ever be a good thing? Maybe this was the answer she’d been looking for.

Or maybe Matthew Schrock really was a sinful and treacherous man trying to lead innocent Amish into hell.

Leah carefully carried a frosty glass of mint tea and a neatly made sandwich on a tray to the shop.
Maem
had asked her to take
Daet
his lunch. The gnawing in her stomach reflected her worry that
Daet
had something to say to her.

To her relief, Jacob was working alongside
Daet.
She didn’t think her father would air the family’s dirty laundry in front of others. She hurried to the counter and placed the food within
Daet
’s reach. He looked up, surprised she was there.

“
Maem
asked me to bring your lunch today.”

“Yes. I see. Jacob and I have more work to do, Leah, but I’d like you to come back later—in about an hour.” He turned his back, dismissing her.

The curt reply in front of Jacob embarrassed her.
Daet
was angry or he wouldn’t have spoken like he did, but his censure fanned a spark of her own anger. Impulsively she stopped, hand on the doorknob.

“Jacob, I heard Martha and Abe went to Richland yesterday. They watched every movie at the theater. They spent the whole day there, and then they went to the mall and both of them bought new blue jeans. Martha said they had a great time.”

She knew her observation would bait
Daet.
Knew it, and for the moment didn’t care. Her only thought was to shock him, to defy him and the rules he represented. “I wonder what a movie is like.”

Jacob turned a piece of wood over several times before he met her gaze. Leah hoped he would side with her like any Amish teen would. But he dropped his gaze when
Daet
swung around and tossed a two-by-four onto the pile with a heavy hand.

Daet
’s eyes scorched Leah like hot coals. He pursed his lips and sighed as he strode across the shop.

“You’re forbidden to talk with that … that …
Martha
again until she comes to her senses and stops this nonsense.” He pointed a finger in her face. “
You
want go to a movie, too, eh?
You
want to wear jeans and dress ungodly, too? No more of this! No more Martha, and no more talk of acting like an
Englisher. Verstehen mir?
”

Leah chewed her lip and dipped her chin. Her eyes filled with tears as she fled the shop.

She instantly regretted the humiliation she’d inflicted on herself and
Daet. What have I done?

In the kitchen, Ada and
Maem
were canning the last of the freezer cherries as preserves. The moist heat from the kettles and woodstove made the kitchen nearly unbearable, but the women worked on.

“Just in time.”
Maem
wiped her brow, smiling now that the hard task was nearly over. “Can you stir this while I work with Ada on the rings? We have another few hours to go, and then we’ll be finished for another year.”

Leah picked up a long metal spoon, its end coated with cherry juice, and slowly stirred the bottom of the pot where the cherries tended to stick. She’d have to say something to
Maem
about going back to the shop.

“
Daet
wants me to come out in an hour.”

“Why?”

She cleared her throat. “He … wants to talk with me.”

Maem
squinted. “And?”

“I … said something I shouldn’t.”

Maem
groaned. She turned back to her work. “Will you
never
learn? I’m going with you.”

Leah spent the next hour helping
Maem
and Ada, but she knew there would be a price to pay for her sassy comments. Ada cut her eyes back and forth from the pot to Leah, trying to get her sister’s attention.
What happened?
she mouthed when
Maem
’s back was turned, but Leah shook her head.

At last, they heard Jacob’s buggy pull out of the barnyard. They worked a few minutes more, and then
Maem
put down the kitchen towel and motioned for Leah to follow her.

“Ada, please wipe down those jars before you add them to the cooling table, and if you don’t hear one ping as they seal, put it aside so I can check it.”

When they approached the shop, Leah could hear
Daet
working the lathe; the sharp whir of the spinning machine filled the air inside the wood shop. Leah watched the curls of wood fall to the floor in a pile of rejected shavings.
Like me.

He glanced up as they entered, finished trimming the piece of cherry with the sharp blades, and then shut off the switch to the gas-powered machine that sat outside. He walked slowly to stand beside
Maem
, but frustration lined his face.

Her parents looked at her steadily for a second before
Maem
sat on the high stool behind the counter.
Daet
motioned Leah to the chair usually reserved for customers as he leaned above her at the edge of the desk. Instead of meeting his eyes, Leah studied the wood shavings that clung to the bottom of his dark pants.

“What you said today in front of Jacob Yoder tells me Martha Mast is no true friend to you.”

She cocked her head and drew her eyebrows together. “But
Daet—
”

He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “Otherwise, she wouldn’t tell you such things. She wouldn’t try to entice you into the sinful world she’s playing around with. Satan has gotten a grip on her and Abe Troyer, that’s for sure. A true friend wouldn’t try to seduce you to the ways of the world. And you’re listening to her.
Maem
and I mean to put a stop to this.”

He shifted uncomfortably as he fixed his gaze on her. “I’ve tried to tell you Martha is close to being disciplined, but you haven’t listened. Now I insist you don’t see her anymore. Not one more time. Do you hear me? If you keep on this way, I will beat the rebellion out of you, if I have to.”

Leah’s eyes widened, startled.
Daet
had never promised that kind of punishment before. Would he really beat her? He had used his belt on occasion when his kids were younger, but he hadn’t swatted even Benny in the last couple of years. Leah rubbed her sweaty hands on her dress. She could feel her whole body shaking.

Daet
glanced at
Maem
, and she nodded agreement. He pulled at his beard, his voice softening. “You have to see, Leah, Martha’s
rumspringen
is much more serious than the others’. They drink and smoke and maybe party a little, but Martha and Abe …” He left the sentence unfinished as he frowned.

“She and Abe are driving their parents to tears and causing them trouble with Bishop Miller,” added
Maem
. “The elders and Bishop Miller will be meeting with both families soon to discuss how to discipline them. You can’t be seen with her, Leah. You can’t,” she implored.