The Photograph (29 page)

A
T
THE
BREAKFAST
TABLE
the next morning, Jed's father opened his big Bible to the book of Proverbs. Mamm and Bettina were scrambling eggs and making waffles when Daed slid the Good Book under Jed's nose. “Here's another helpful verse to consider, son, concerning our conversation last night.”

Jed read it silently.
Where no counsel is, the people
fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.

He thanked Daed, and during the silent table grace, Jed asked God for direction in his search.
Please let me
find some answers, O Lord.

Following family worship after the meal, Bettina caught up with Jed as he was hitching up for work extra early so he could take off for Kidron at three o'clock that afternoon. “You must've talked to Daed 'bout what you told me,” she said as she held the horse steady for him.

“It's always a
gut
thing to get our father's perspective.”

Bettina agreed, smiling. “You said you'd let me know, remember?”

He assured her he wouldn't forget, if he even had anything to relay once all was said and done. The more he thought about Lily Esch, the more saddened he was that she'd allowed herself to become disconnected from her church
 . . .
and, obviously, from her family. It just didn't make sense—how could a wayward girl have such profound thoughts and ideas about life
 . . .
and love?

After a noon meal in which Menno, Emmanuel, and three farmhands had enjoyed Frona and Eva's cooking, Eva slipped her homemade card for Naomi into an envelope she'd found in Mamma's old writing desk. Eva and Frona then headed down Eden Road to Ida Mae's house for Naomi's birthday gathering. “Do ya think she'll be surprised?” she asked.

“Don't know why not,” Frona replied. Like Eva, she wore her best blue dress and matching long apron.

“I'd thought of giving Naomi something from Mamma's dresser drawer—a pretty embroidered hankie or something like that, as a keepsake.”

“Ain't a normal sort of birthday gift, is it?”

Eva glanced at Frona, who was apparently in a blue mood. “Would it be all right with you
 . . .
when the time is right?”

“Don't we have more important things to think about today, Eva?”

Without saying more, she matched her pace with Frona's and kept quiet for the duration.

When they turned into Ida Mae's lane, several neighbors had already arrived, including Sylvia and Josie, as well as Naomi's daughters-in-law, Marian and Laura.

“
Ach
, I never thought my birthday was somethin' to celebrate much,” Naomi said, cheeks pink as she sat in the kitchen. “Not at my age, anyway.”

“You ain't that old, Mamma,” Ida Mae said, taking a dish of nuts to the table.

Eva noticed the beautiful two-layer chocolate cake with two dishes of mints on either side. There was also a large glass pitcher of fruit punch.
She deserves a nice
celebration,
Eva thought, glad Sylvia and Ida Mae had put their heads together and managed to get Naomi here without suspecting anything.

The party commenced with a fast game of Dutch Blitz, which got as loud and lively as Eva had ever experienced. When things calmed down a bit, Ida Mae wanted Naomi to open her cards and small gifts—a stationery set and a large-print leather New Testament several of the women had gone together to purchase.

Later, while they were enjoying birthday cake and ice cream, Naomi's older daughter-in-law, Marian, began to share about a young Amish couple from New Holland who'd purchased the farm next to them. “I'm not sure if they're kidding or not,” Marian said, “but they said they'd removed the fire alarms, sayin' alls they need is a big bag of popcorn taped outside their bedroom door.”

Marian had everyone's attention round the table. “According to her, if the house catches fire while they're asleep, the poppin' corn will wake them up.”

Eva was amused and looked over at Frona, who muttered under her breath and shook her head.

“'Tis a joke, right?” Sylvia asked, her face reddening as soon as she'd spoken. “Surely that wouldn't work.”

Eva kept waiting to see if Marian's expression changed, making it clear it was just a funny tale. But Marian took a bite of her cake and denied the other women's comments that this must have been something she'd read in
The Budget
.

“I wouldn't lie,” Marian insisted. “You know well enough there are conservative Plain groups that prohibit fire alarms.”

Naomi acknowledged this with a nod. “It's comforting to know
you can wholly trust our heavenly Father no matter what you do—install a fire alarm or not, or put slow-movin' vehicle signs on your buggy. The Lord's will is highest and best.”

We can depend on God
's sovereign will,
Eva agreed silently.

———

Afterward, while Frona and Ida Mae cleaned up the kitchen, Eva and Naomi went to sit in the front room, the sunlight pouring in around them. “Are ya sayin' that Alfred's declared himself to you?” Naomi asked.

Eva decided to tell her about the letters, the phone call, and the surprising invitation to move to Wisconsin. “The thing is, I'm not ready to take the serious step of relocating to allow him to court me.”

“Did you let him know this?”

“I've been praying 'bout it, just as I told him I would. Honestly, though, I'm not leaning in that direction a'tall.”

“If your heart's clearly against it, then you must say so.” Naomi crossed her legs at the ankles, her feet bare. She studied Eva. “But can ya live with that decision?”

Eva sighed. “Maybe someday I might have feelings for him. Shouldn't I just be patient? Give things more time?” She looked toward the window, still feeling Naomi's gaze.

“Are ya concerned you'll end up a
Maidel
? Is that it, my dear?”

“Maybe so.” Eva sighed. “I do want a loving husband and a family of my own someday.”

Naomi rose and walked the length of the room, her hands clutched behind her back. Then, turning, she went to the tall, ornate grandfather clock and pulled the chain, watching first one weight rise, then the other. “You know what I believe?” She ambled back to sit again. “If the Good Lord wanted you married to Alfred, you'd find that kind of love in your heart right here and now, not hope it would blossom someday.”

The wise, gentle words sounded like something Mamma might have said—Naomi cared so deeply about Eva's future.

“I daresay you can trust that your feelings aren't there for this young man. Nor your commitment.”

Eva's mind was racing. “
Denki
for takin' time to chat, 'specially on your birthday.”

Naomi laughed a little and folded her hands in her ample lap. “I'm doin' what I enjoy
 . . .
spending time with one of Dottie's dear girls.”

Eva began to feel better as she clung to Naomi's words on the way back to the house, where she and Frona set to shining their black church shoes for tomorrow's visiting Sunday.

“Did Naomi get you all straightened out?” Frona said, not looking up from where they were working out on the back porch. She dabbed more polish on one shoe at a time.

“
Jah
 . . . guess
I have a letter to write,” Eva said.

“Poor Alfred.”

Eva ignored her. “Naomi was so pleased over the party. Makes me think we oughta do this more often.”

“Well, not on
my
birthday.”

Eva disregarded that comment, as well. When she'd buffed her shoes to a shine and left them to dry, Eva excused herself and went upstairs, feeling all in.

Sitting on her bed with a sigh, she began to pray in earnest. When she was spent, Eva gave in to her mental exhaustion and leaned back on a pillow, promptly falling asleep.

———

The sound of a horse neighing woke her, and Eva discovered she'd rolled over onto her side during her nap. She stretched and yawned. The small clock on the bedside table showed that a half hour had already passed, and so deep her sleep had been, she must have dreamed, although she didn't recall the details.
Even so, she was all the more certain that she could
not
marry Alfred. She'd had a taste of how it felt to really connect with someone, and even if she never heard from Jed again, it would not change the truth.

I won't settle
for less than what God's put in my heart
. A lasting
and meaningful love.

Getting up, Eva walked to the writing desk and sat down with renewed resolve. She opened the narrow middle drawer and removed a single piece of stationery, then began to write.

Saturday, June 21

Dear Alfred,

I hope you are doing well.

I've given your invitation some thought, and after praying about it, I know I cannot accept.

From what you've told me, it sounds like you're enjoying your work in Wisconsin, and the church district there, too. I don't doubt you'll make many new friends and sooner or later meet someone who loves you the way you deserve to be loved.

Thank you for being so kind to me. You're a very fine man.

Your friend,
Eva Esch

O
NCE
NOONTIME
CAME
AND
WENT
, Jed had caught himself glancing at the black wall clock every half hour at work. He had paced himself so that at three o'clock, he would be ready to meet his driver out front. Since Kidron was only twenty miles or so away, Jed knew he'd have ample time to look around there, pick up the items on his mother's shopping list, and nose around for information about the young woman named Lillian. Even so, he really had no game plan.
I'm looking to the Lord for that,
he thought as he hung up his work apron and called good-bye to Perry and his uncle, then hurried out the door.

“If you've never been to Lehman's Hardware, you'll be astonished at all there is to look at,” the driver, George Garver, told him. George had been driving the Amish for decades, according to Uncle Ervin, and came highly recommended.

“I've been there a good number of times,” Jed said, opening his mother's list. “I have a few things to locate while I'm there.”

“Well, you'll have no trouble, believe me. They've got just about everything.”

“High on my mother's priorities is an antique brass shopkeeper's bell.”

“Oh? Is she setting up shop out back?”

“Hard to say.” Jed chuckled. “But she's real eager for some of Troyer's trail bologna. Daed'll like that, too.”

“Ah, smoked over hickory wood—nothin' like it,” George said, smacking his lips. “It really pays to buy in bulk, ya know. I'll bet she wants some canning dome lids, too, and sugar. My wife gets all of her canning supplies at Lehman's.”

Nodding, Jed tuned out the driver, becoming lost in his own thoughts. Was it even conceivable to think he could find Eva's younger sister? And if so, could he talk Lily, a girl he'd never met, into returning home to Eden Valley?

Just as Jed remembered, Lehman's Hardware was flawlessly organized into sections—hardware, kitchen wares, canning supplies, handcrafted items, wicker baskets of all shapes and sizes, and large appliances, such as wood-burning cookstoves and gas-powered ranges, too. There were clocks, radios, and batteries of all manner of type and voltage, and books such as
Baer
's Almanac
,
The Foxfire Books,
and a book demonstrating how to build your own root cellar. He was drawn to the home and farming tools and spent several minutes perusing the shelves.

Then he wandered over to the maple-sugaring supplies, vegetable and herb seed packets, and old-timey poplar fruit baskets, fruit harvesters, and food grinders.

I sure could
lose track of time here,
he thought, going to get some help from a nearby clerk, a Mennonite woman around his mother's age who welcomed him, then proceeded to share that she'd worked at many different retail outlets, and Lehman's was
the best of all. With her assistance, in short order, he managed to gather up all of the items for his mother.

At the checkout, when Jed finally asked his question, the cheery woman said she'd never heard of a Lillian from Lancaster County or anywhere else. “Are ya sure that's the name?” the clerk asked as she searched for the price on the brass shopkeeper's bell.

“It's quite possible she goes by Lily.” It was a long shot, but it was all he had.

“If she's going English, maybe she's gone south, where there's a nondenominational ministry for runaway Plain youth
 . . .
helps them get acclimated to the outside.”

Jed drew a deep breath. “Are there other Amish folk I might talk to 'bout this?”

“Well, there's ol' Joseph over yonder.” She pointed behind Jed as she rang up the total. “If anyone has an ear for that sort of news, it's him or his wife.”

Jed hadn't seen the older gentleman whom he now spotted sitting near the cookstoves, arms crossed, a piece of straw between his teeth.

Cautiously hopeful, Jed took his purchases and went to dillydally by the barrels, kegs, and crocks, feeling a bit awkward as he moseyed over to the aforementioned Joseph.

“May I help ya?” the friendly Amishman asked, leaning forward as Jed approached.

Jed glanced down at his large bag. “I found what I came for, but I'm wonderin' if you might've heard tell of a young newly fancy gal by the name of Lillian.”

Joseph pinched up his round face and removed the piece of straw. “
Newly
fancy, ya say?”

“Within a month or so,” Jed added quickly, then recounted the snippet of information he'd overheard his uncle telling Perry. “Have you heard anything along those lines?”

The old man paused a moment, then nodded. “Honestly, I don't miss much of anything. And
jah
, I have seen a newly minted gal in here quite a bit, and it looks a little strange 'cause she's not the kind of young woman you see in a hardware store.” He paused again. “At least not dressed like she was. Lillian, you say?”

Jed nodded, hopes rising again.

“Hmm.” The older man gestured toward the door. “Can't place the name, but I've seen a fancy girl walkin' down the street, usually by herself, so I'm gonna say she lives no more than a few blocks or so from here.”

“Which direction?”

“East,” Joseph said, pointing. “Likely right off Emerson.” Then he cleared his throat. “Well, I can't rule out Jericho.” He shuffled a bit. “Well, no, prob'ly Emerson.”

Jed sighed.
A lot of homes along Emerson.
But it was a place to start, if only he had more time. He thanked Joseph, then was headed for the main entrance when he heard the old man bellowing across the store, “Why don't ya try the machine auction over yonder? Somebody there might help ya get closer.”

Jed thanked him again and headed out the door, making his way to the van parked in front of the store. There, he unloaded his purchases and told George he was going to wander about the auction. “Would ya mind waitin', say an hour or so?”

“Take your time.” George smiled and waved his hand. He'd gotten himself a Coke somewhere and had the radio going.

Jed walked across Kidron Road, where town workers were applying a patch of asphalt. A few black carriages were coming this way, and on his side of the street, a fatherly looking Amishman was pulling a small red wagon with two young boys inside. The bearded man nodded and said, “Hullo,” pulling off to the side of the road.
Probably headed to the
auction, too.

More Amish, two teen boys and a girl, came strolling along, the boys wearing black Preaching clothes and the girl in a pale violet dress and black apron. The girl ceased talking when she spotted Jed. Then, as they passed, she let out a hushed giggle.

Like Bettina might.

Jed decided to head to the auction, too, and started asking a few folks outside the building. Once inside, feeling nervous, he approached the first Amishwoman he saw and explained his mission, but she only shook her head, so Jed went on to the next woman. For the next forty minutes, and feeling increasingly foolish, Jed asked one person after another, but no one could recall an Amish teenager recently turned English living in the vicinity. “Could be anyone, really,” one woman said. “There's a bunch of former Amish living round here.”

And Jed began to wonder if Joseph was imagining things.

It wasn't long before the hour was up, and Jed had nothing to show for it. He headed across the street, ready to throw in the towel for today.

Deep in thought, he glanced up and saw a young couple, both
Englischers
, heading this way. The woman was especially pretty in navy walking shorts and a white sleeveless top, her short blond hair in soft waves as she talked to the man in jeans and a black T-shirt.

Jed nodded as they approached, then passed. He lifted his gaze toward the sky, taking in the warm air and wondering if he'd done the right thing, coming here.

He felt frustrated that he didn't know where to turn, or what to do next, so he prayed for God's help as the late afternoon sun played on the trees, dappling the leaves and casting shadows on the ground as he walked. Was the gate slamming shut on his hope of finding Eva's sister?

When he'd gone clear to the outskirts of town, Jed hurried back
to the van, not wanting to keep his driver any longer. “Thanks for your patience,” he said as he got back into the front passenger seat, realizing he'd met his dead end. On top of that, he'd missed supper back home.
I'll be eating warmed-
up leftovers tonight.