A Plain Man (16 page)

“A watched pot never boils.” Her
mamm
spoke from over her shoulder.

“I want to leave the moment he arrives. It's a long ride to Wooster. If it had been anyone else,
Daed
would have permitted a hired van.” Josie didn't turn to face her mother.

“But it's not anybody else; it's Caleb Beachy.”

Did those three little words sum up the entire district's opinion? “There he is,” she said, hurrying toward the door. “See you later.”

“Enjoy your movie,
dochder.
”

Josie heard
Mamm'
s final comment while halfway down the steps. She jumped into Caleb's buggy before he could brake to a stop.

“You seem eager for some hot buttered popcorn.” His smile lit up his whole face.

“I'm anxious to get there before the matinee starts. If my father had allowed a hired car, we wouldn't have to leave so early.”

“I'm glad he didn't. I get to spend that much more time with you.” With a flick of the wrist, Caleb guided the horse in a circular arc. “Besides, I've had the week off since we finished the Millersburg warehouse. What a lovely way to spend my day.”

“Will we find enough to talk about for the next two and a half hours?” Josie braced her feet against the wooden buggy slats.

“Are you joking? The last time we really talked you were barely sixteen. I want to hear everything that happened since then.” Caleb slicked a hand through his hair before replacing his straw hat.

“Okay, I'll touch on the high points—all six or seven of them. Then you can tell me where you found this gorgeous horse and buggy. Your father must pay well.”

Caleb laughed in a companionable way. “He does, but this rig took most of my pay from the last four weeks. Good thing this movie will have an early-bird special price.”

“In that case let me pay for the popcorn.” When he started to object, Josie held up her hand. “Stop. This is the twenty-first century, even in our community. You can save your money for the pizza tonight. I have a taste for every topping plus extra cheese.”

“You've got a deal, Miss Yoder. But I warn you, I've been known to steal pepperoni when folks aren't looking.”

“Good thing I have eyes in the side of my head, according to my sister Anna. You don't stand a chance getting mine.”

One would think people would run out of things to say during that long a drive to Wooster. But not her and Caleb. When one mouth grew tired, the other picked up the thread of conversation. At no point was she bored or uncomfortable. Caleb was attentive, entertaining, and utterly charming. Yet during the entire drive, he didn't mention God or his faith once. And for an Amish man on the verge of baptism and joining the church, that was rare.

Few mountains can be scaled during a single afternoon, so Josie sat back to enjoy his company, the animated movie, and the largest tub of popcorn she'd seen in her life. Caleb never tried to hold her hand or drape his arm around her shoulders like many men would have done. Just the same, when their fingers touched in the barrel of popcorn, she felt a jolt of electricity that had nothing to do with pity.

“How did you like the movie?” he asked on their way out of the theater.

“It was wonderful! I can't believe they created such perfect expressions and mannerisms for the animals.”

“Are you acquainted with lions and wooly mastodons?” His smirk deepened the lines around his eyes.

“No, but I own both a dog and a cat and can imagine what they would say if they could.”

“I noticed some of Shep's body language on the big screen as well.” Caleb took her arm as they crossed the stony, unused portion of the
parking lot. They had left the buggy off the pavement so the horse wouldn't create a mess.

Josie peered at the sun. “We've still got plenty of daylight, which is
gut.
Shreve isn't exactly around the corner.” Pulling away from him, she ran the rest of the way.

“Starting a date early has its advantages.” Caleb helped her up and loaded the water bucket into the back.

Josie thought about the pizza shop in Shreve. She couldn't eat another bite if her life depended on it. The popcorn, followed by a sixteen ounce soda, had expanded her belly to capacity. If she were a horse, she would founder. But if she said, “Let's skip the pizza,” their evening would be cut short. And this was one date she wanted to last until noon tomorrow.

Caleb entertained her during the drive as he had earlier. He described a beach close to his Cleveland apartment so beautifully, she longed to see Lake Erie for the first time in her life. Hundreds of seagulls diving for fish, sailboats bobbing on blue waves, and children soaring kites in the air currents—Caleb had a gift with words as well as with wood. Yet most of his time spent as an
Englischer
remained a mystery. And for now, that was how Josie preferred it to stay.

The buggy rolled in to Shreve. When they entered the town's sole pizza parlor, barely a head turned in their direction. Amish people were so common that the proprietor installed a hitching post out back with a water trough refilled from his garden hose.

“What'll it be, Miss Yoder?” Caleb perused the menu as the waitress set down two glasses of water. “An extra-large deluxe pie with double cheese?”

With a groan she pressed both palms against her belly. “How 'bout a medium with mushroom and onions?”

“Mushrooms sound fine, but why don't we skip the onions? I don't want breath like that dragon if you get the urge to kiss me goodnight.” He fastened his dark brown eyes on her.

“If I get the urge?” Josie nearly choked on an ice cube. “You are absolutely horrible, Caleb Beachy.” She felt her face and earlobes grow warm.

He leaned back in the red vinyl booth. “Do you mean horrible in a good way?”

After glancing around the shop, Josie relaxed in their private enclosure. “In absolutely the best way.”

They talked for hours in the restaurant until finally able to eat a slice of pizza. With the remainder boxed up for their siblings, Caleb clamped the battery lights on his buggy for the drive back to Fredericksburg. It was two o'clock in the morning when they arrived home. As expected, her house was dark and silent when Caleb walked her to the door. As
unexpected
, his presumption proved correct. Without waiting for him to utter the standard post-date niceties, Josie stretched up on tiptoes and kissed him fully on the mouth.

“Thank goodness we didn't get the onions,” she whispered, and fled through the kitchen door.

On Saturday morning, Adam walked onto the porch with his second cup of coffee. His day off from the furniture factory stretched before him like a gift. He had a perfect spring day and all he could think about was seeing Sarah that evening. But after she put in her shift at the
Englisch
bed-and-breakfast, she would be too tired to take a walk or play a game of volleyball with his family. She would be too tired for much of anything other than a buggy ride to the old grist mill. And the last time they went there, Sarah had fallen asleep during the drive back. So much for romantic conversation or making plans for their future.

Adam gazed across the hayfield, where the first crop was already up and doing well. With three brothers, his
daed
didn't need his help to plant corn and soybeans on their farm. He could busy himself in the barn since there would always be another horse stall in need of cleaning.

“Son?” his
mamm
called through the open kitchen window. “Would you mind splitting another half-cord of firewood?”

“This time of year?” he asked. Everyone teased his mother about being the freeze-baby of the Troyers.

“The nights have still been chilly.” She offered a sweet smile.

“I would be happy to. It'll save me from mucking stalls until later.” Adam left his coffee mug on the porch rail and headed to the woodpile. Chopping firewood gave him an excellent way to burn away his impatience and frustration. He was now twenty-three years old and still single—the last unmarried Troyer except for his sixteen-year-old sister. At this rate, even she might beat him to marriage vows. He had been baptized and joined the church several years ago, hoping his beloved Sarah would soon follow in his footsteps. They couldn't get married until she joined their church. Then her decision last fall to track Caleb down in Cleveland delayed their plans by a full year.

What would he do if Sarah changed her mind? Not about accepting the Plain way of life. She'd never given him any reason not to believe she loved being Amish. With her father serving as bishop, that part of her future seemed assured. But what if she had changed her mind about him? Tall, willowy, and blond, Sarah was lovely to look at. He, on the other hand was short, stout, and as appealing as a goat. How many tall women married shorter men? He'd once torn an advertisement from a magazine for elevator wedges for his boots, making himself the laughing stock among his
bruders
for a week.

I 'spose you're about as tall as God reckons you should be.
His father's sage conclusion put an end to their teasing and any plans he had for plastic inserts. At least Sarah had sought him out at the Yoder barn raising. How he longed to make her his bride, to build a cabin near the road with a small barn for their horse and a fenced garden for her. With his job as a furniture craftsman, he didn't need to buy a farm. He only needed her…and a way to spend the next eight hours without obsessing about her.

“Working with wood is the last place I thought I would find you today.”

Adam glanced around to find his sister Amanda several feet away. With her heavy bonnet and wool shawl clutched tightly, she looked as cold as a January afternoon. “What are my favorite newlyweds doing here?” Adam split a section of log into two equal halves.

“Nathan wished to talk to
Daed
about buying his new Belgian foal, and I wanted to speak to you.” Amanda reached to touch his arm.
“Could you take a break for a few minutes? Looks like you've split quite a bit already.”

“
Mamm
wants another half-cord to last into May. You know how she loves to keep the stove going until it's in the seventies outdoors.” Adam buried the ax head in the chopping block so his nieces and nephews wouldn't get hurt. “What did you want to talk about?”

Amanda pushed off her outer bonnet, letting it hang down her back by the ribbon ties. “I wanted to make sure you're not pressuring Sarah before she's ready. I'm offering some free advice from one stubborn mule to another.”

He stared at her. Despite the fact that Amanda had married and moved several miles away, she still knew what went on in his mind…and in his heart. “Me, impatient? You must be confusing me with someone else.”

His attempt at humor didn't alter the uneasy expression on her face. “I saw you and Sarah at the Yoder barn raising. You seemed to be getting along well.”

“And why wouldn't we be?” Adam felt his defenses lift a notch.

“Because the next baptism and wedding season isn't until fall. It's still only April.”

Adam crossed his arms. “We should be married by now instead of her working every day at that fancy inn.”

Amanda's eyes grew very round. “Tell me you haven't ordered Sarah to quit her job.”

“I didn't, but I would like to.”

She shook her head. “Don't bully her. Let things fall into place according to God's plan. She will quit work when the time is right.”

“I don't think it's God's plan for an Amish woman to cook and clean up after
Englischers
,” he muttered half under his breath.

“Is that what this is about? You don't like the fact that Country Pleasures caters to
Englisch
tourists here on vacation?” Amanda didn't wait for his answer. “Because who do you imagine buys those handcrafted dining room tables, writing desks, and extravagant shelving units? I assure you no Plain folk can afford the kind of oak or walnut furniture you make, Adam Troyer.”

For a few minutes, he was speechless. “I suppose you've got a point. I never thought about it like that. But I want to be the breadwinner; Sarah doesn't need to work anywhere.”

“The two of you can work that out once you're wed. Just don't lay down ultimatums you'll live to regret.” Amanda glanced back at the house. “
Mamm'
s waving from the doorway so I need to go inside.” She pointed an index finger at him. “But don't forget where I live. You can always stop by for pep talks, like we did in the old days.”

“Don't worry, sis. I've got my bossy inclinations under control. But thanks.”

Funny
, he thought, as Amanda walked toward the house. The idea of laying down an ultimatum had just crossed his mind.

8

And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,