A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters) (7 page)

“It was such a shock because
Mamm
was only forty-four years old.”

Her aunt nodded. “I never thought my younger sister would die first. She wrote to me a few days before she died and told me she was tired. I told her to see a doctor. She thought it was because she wasn’t sleeping well at night and told me she must be experiencing menopause.”

“When I noticed how tired she looked, I helped more so she didn’t have quite as much to do in the house.” Rachel hesitated asking another question, because she didn’t want to offend her
aenti
about English women having easier lives. But she needed to know if Aunt Carrie thought having electricity made a big difference in having a longer life. Did Amish women die younger because of the constant heavy workload? Glancing at her
aenti
, she noticed how smooth Carrie’s skin was. With the sun hitting the driver’s side of the car, she could see that no gray hairs were interspersed in her aunt’s long hairdo. She doubted that Aunt Carrie dyed her hair. Her
mamm’s
hair was turning gray before she died. Samuel’s mother had a mixture of salt and pepper hair. She seemed to have a worn-out appearance most of the time. Mrs. Weaver had celebrated her forty-fifth birthday last month, but looked more like she was fifty-five years old. Wearing makeup to cover up a few wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes might shave a couple of years off Mrs. Weaver’s face. Amish women never wore makeup. Well, sometimes Katie wore light makeup, but she wasn’t a church member yet. Her
mamm
had said to her that it was important not to draw attention to the individual, which can lead to pride. She heard frequently that Amish value the inner beauty which comes from leading a Christian life. It was also practical not to wear makeup, she thought. A woman could spend a lot of money on buying cosmetics.

“I’ve wondered if losing our parents was too big of a shock for Irene.” Aunt Carrie’s voice wavered as she continued, “I had a hard time and I wasn’t as much part of their lives as my dear sister was. They were such
gut
and sweet parents. The buggy accident never should’ve happened.”

“And it didn’t even happen at night but during the day.”

At the sound of a phone ringing, Aunt Carrie glanced at her before pointing to the cell phone by the drink holder. “Could you answer it for me? It might be Violet.”

She nodded when she picked up the Blackberry and saw Violet’s face on the screen. She remembered how to use the cell phone because fortunately she’d talked to Violet earlier in the morning. “It’s Violet.” She pushed the button and said, “Hi, cuz.”

“I can’t wait to see you, Rachel. We’re going to have a blast together at the beach. Tell Mom my flight should be on time. Have you left Fields Corner?”

“We left about forty minutes ago. I’m excited to see you too. How were your finals?”

“I think I did fine. My grades will be posted in a couple of days so I’ll be able to check online. I have some plans for us that I hope you like.” Violet paused for a moment. “They’re calling for the passengers to load now. I have to get on the plane. See you soon.”

She closed the cell phone, wondering what kind of plans Violet had in mind for them to do. It didn’t matter what they did together, Violet always made everything fun.
Just so none of Violet’s ideas will include wild times. I might want to experiment new things, but nothing that will be too earth-shaking. I definitely don’t want to smoke a cigarette or drink alcohol.
“Violet said her flight will be on schedule.”

“That’s good.” Aunt Carrie glanced at the clock on the dash. “We should get there before her plane lands. I hope you like our house. I do have electrical appliances but compared to my friends’ houses, I keep our home uncluttered and as simple as possible. But by Amish standards, it will seem a bit overwhelming.”

“I’m excited to see where you live.
Mamm
talked about us all going as a family to visit you, but that was one of the things we never got around to doing. Do you think my
mamm
would still be alive if she had left the Plain life?”

“It’s hard to know if she’d left her faith, what might have occurred. But I believe it was her time to die. I wish it hadn’t been, but I trust God’s wisdom. Maybe if she’d gone to the doctor, it might have made a difference but we have no way of knowing that.” Aunt Carrie sighed. “I do have it easier when it comes to housework and cooking. I also have a cleaning lady who comes once a month, but I have a lot of mental stress being married to a United States Senator. Each time I give a campaign speech, my heart races. In the beginning I was sure I’d have a heart attack in front of a roomful of people plus the TV cameras and reporters. I hate crowds but yet that’s part of my life. Scott has even talked about running for president sometime in the future. That worries me to no end.”

“I’m sorry. I wouldn’t like having people listen to me while I gave political speeches either.”

“I love Scott but if I hadn’t met him, I probably would’ve joined the church and taught Amish children. I wanted to be a teacher, but before that happened Scott came into my life.” Aunt Carrie pointed to a McDonald’s billboard. “I’m thirsty. I’m going to get a sweet tea at the next exit. I thought we’d stop and eat after we pick up Violet. Is that okay with you?”

“Could we eat at an Applebee’s Restaurant? I always hear the English from Cincinnati talk about Applebee’s Restaurant when they come to buy our food and furniture.”

“Good choice. Violet and I love eating at Applebee’s. We can go to one on the way home from the airport.” Turning the right turn signal on, Aunt Carrie got off interstate and exited on the ramp.

“I’ll pay for our sweet teas.”

While waiting in the drive-thru line, Aunt Carrie said, “McDonald’s is always busy.”

“Did you know that Scott planned on going into politics when you dated him?”

Aunt Carrie shook her head. “He wanted to finish his degree in economics. He got interested in running for a government office after the kids were small. That was another hurdle for me to overcome. Even though, I’d given up my heritage, I couldn’t imagine being married to a man involved in government.”

“Did you explain that to Uncle Scott?”

“
Ya
. I told him how Amish never run for public office because it violates principles of humility. I explained how Jesus said, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’ He tried to understand but he felt an obligation to make the world a better place by being involved in government. The thing is he’s great at speaking to citizens. He has this incredible charisma and enjoys solving problems for the average person. He thrives in D.C. and is in his element. But for me, it’s another story. I detest it. If I’d known he was going to be a politician, I might not have left Fields Corner. But then I’d have missed out on having Adam and Violet.
Kinner
are such
wunderbaar
blessings. We wanted to have a large family, but it never happened. I envied Irene having five children. She loved all of you a lot.”

She laughed slightly. “
Mamm
especially loved babies. If a baby was in the room, she rushed to it, like a bee does to honey.”

Her
aenti
slightly pushed down on the accelerator, moving her SUV closer to the order screen. Only two cars were ahead of them now. While picking up her purse, she realized Aunt Carrie’s resembled hers. Both were simple black purses. She never thought about it before, but even though, her aunt dressed like the English, everything she wore was modest. She looked at her aunt’s fingers on the steering wheel. The only jewelry she wore was a plain narrow silver band with a small diamond in the wedding ring plus a simple watch. Was it because Amish women never wore jewelry so her
aenti
felt uncomfortable wearing too much? When Aunt Carrie left Fields Corner, she kept her long curly hair throughout the years instead of getting a short, stylish hairdo. Usually it was worn in a bun like today. Apparently the Bible verse which read that women should have long hair stuck with Aunt Carrie. The only thing missing was a
kapp
covering her head. No bright colors either in her clothes; her aunt looked pretty in a dark green skirt with a beige blouse.

Rachel opened her purse and took money out for their drinks, deep in thought.
It’s a surprise to hear how things aren’t a bed of roses for my aunt. Had Mamm realized how miserable her oldest sister was about making speeches and all the other things that went along with being in the limelight? Or had Mamm been fooled by the happy image Aunt Carrie projected around them?

Her
mamm
might have been overworked as a wife and mother, but she had loved her life. Aunt Carrie appeared to have it easier as a married woman in the English world, but was trapped in doing things she had no interest in. And more importantly, she was uncomfortable being the wife of a senator.

Rachel felt sad for her
aenti
because she might have left the Amish community, but her heart was still Amish.

Chapter Six

After glancing at her watch, Carrie said, “Violet should be here soon.”

“Aunt Carrie, this airport is wonderful.”

She smiled at her niece, happy to observe that Rachel’s green eyes sparkled with amazement.
I wonder if I looked that thrilled my first trip to an airport terminal.
Rachel’s excitement as she stared at the gigantic jets taxi across the runway was like watching a child in a toy store. Some people stared at Rachel’s Amish appearance, but that was to be expected. It wasn’t every day you saw a Plain person in a busy airport. But Rachel would get looks, regardless of her clothes.
She resembles Irene at that age. A true beauty with fine bone structure and clear skin. It’s just as well Scott isn’t going to join us in Florida. Scott seems to attract a crowd wherever he goes. Everything must be kept low-keyed and not attract the media’s attention. David will never allow Judith or the twins to visit me, if anything goes wrong while Rachel’s with me.

Family meant everything to her, especially since Irene and her parents had passed on. Having her nieces and nephews visit her was important. Like she’d mentioned to Rachel, she’d been disappointed that God hadn’t blessed her with more than two children. She had wanted a large family. Many Amish families had seven children or more, but her parents only had two.

She heard her mother say often that God’s ways are not ours and He always knows best.

As Violet rushed toward them, Rachel smoothed her blue dress. “Oh, Aunt Carrie.
Danki
, for picking me up to stay with you. It’s already been
wunderbaar
spending time with you.” Rachel patted her arm. “And now Violet’s here with us.”

“
Gem gschehre
.” It felt good to say you’re welcome in Pennsylvania Dutch. She seldom used any “Dutch” around her family. However, she enjoyed speaking in her Amish tongue when they irritated her.

At the ringing sound of her cell phone, she looked at the caller ID and saw it was Adam. “I better take Adam’s call,” she said to Rachel and Violet as the girls hugged each other.

Violet rolled her brown eyes at her. “You haven’t seen your only daughter for weeks. And already Adam is honing in on my big welcome home moment.”

She grinned at Violet. “I noticed who you hugged first, but I’m not complaining. It’s nice you two girls are close.” She opened her phone. “Hi, Adam.”

After Adam answered her questions about his finals, he asked, “Mom, is it okay if I bring Nick with me to the beach?”

“I thought he had plans to go with a group of guys to Florida over spring break.” She’d been relieved when Adam had decided to spend time with them at the beach instead. She hated it when he’d gone the previous year to the beach with college kids to party during break. She prayed the whole time he was there, and she’d felt relieved when nothing had happened.

“He wants to spend quiet time with us during break. He’s not doing well emotionally and to tell the truth, I’m worried about him.”

She hated to say no to Adam’s request because Nick’s mother had died recently in an automobile accident. It’d been such a shock to Nick and his dad. Glancing at Rachel and Violet busy chatting together, she wondered if David would be upset to know an English man would be at the beach house with his daughter. And Samuel. She hated to think about what he would say to Rachel if an eligible young man was sleeping under the same roof. “Honey, I don’t think it’s a good idea since Rachel’s going to be with us.” She heard her son sigh.

“I understand. Samuel called me before Nick asked. He wants me to watch out for Rachel. Samuel said how she’s led a sheltered life, but I know it’s because he’s afraid she’ll be like a certain aunt of hers and leave their world.”

She chuckled slightly. “Good thing for you and Violet I left, but that doesn’t mean I want it to happen to my niece. Let me think about it. I’ll call you later tonight. We’re at the airport and getting ready to leave.”

“Hey, that’s another thing. Nick’s a pilot and offered to fly me to Florida.”

“I didn’t know Nick had a plane.”

“It’s his dad’s plane and just a two-seater.”

Nick flying her son made her uneasy. “I don’t know, Adam. I’d rather you fly on a commercial plane.”

Violet touched her shoulder. “Mom, I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten since breakfast. Tell Adam you’ll call him back when we get to Applebee’s.”

She gave a nod to Violet while Adam said, “Nick’s been flying for years.”

In a firm voice, she told Adam, “I’m taking the girls to Applebee’s. I’ll call you soon.” As she led the way to the parking garage, she wondered what to do about Nick. She hated to tell Adam that his friend couldn’t stay with them, but it seemed like asking for trouble if she gave her approval. Her niece might be Amish but she was a very beautiful woman. She could see Nick becoming attracted to Rachel. He was a good-looking young man, so it could end being mutual on Rachel’s part. In the past, Violet had enjoyed tagging along with Nick and Adam. Nick had always treated Violet as Adam’s kid sister. Her daughter was disappointed with the lack of romantic interest from Nick.
How will Violet feel if Nick falls in love with Rachel?