By the Creek (4 page)

He heard a soft knock on his door after a few minutes, and then it opened. “I was just concerned,” his mother said as she stepped into the room. David kept his head buried in his pillow. He spent hours and hours alone, and she’d made a big deal out of things when he thought he might have found a friend. “And don’t think I’m not worried and scared every morning when I leave for work, because I am. I worry all the time because you’re here alone and I can’t be here to take care of you.” David felt her sit on the edge of the bed. “I know this is hard and you’re spending a lot of time alone. I thought that next weekend we could drive back to the old neighborhood so you can see some of your friends again.”

David rolled over and nodded. “That would be nice.” He tried not to sound too cocky. He knew he’d manipulated her, but if he pushed too far, she’d catch on.

“So who were you talking with?” his mother asked. David should have known she wasn’t going to let it go.

“His name’s Benjamin, and I met him a few times when I was walking down by the creek. His family lives across the street,” David said, for some reason downplaying that Benjamin was Amish, but he knew his mother caught it just the same. He was rarely able to put one over on her, so he didn’t know why he kept trying when it was usually an exercise in futility.

“So he’s from the Amish community,” she stated.

“Yeah. He was walking one of their horses to his uncle’s, and I talked with him along the way.” He left out the part about how he’d been excited and stirred up the entire time he’d been with Ben. There was something about him that twisted up his insides and wouldn’t let go. Even now, while his mother was going on about something, David was thinking of Ben and his innocently adorable smile and the way he pursed his lips slightly when David asked him questions he wasn’t quite sure how to answer.

“Are you listening to me?” his mother asked, and the image of Benjamin in his mind popped like a bubble. “I was saying that his family might not be too happy about him hanging around with you. The Amish aren’t known for being accepting of outsiders, and you spending time with him might get your friend into trouble.”

David sat up. “Then what am I supposed to do? He’s my friend and I like talking to him. Should I just ignore him and not speak to him when I see him? That would be rude.” His mother had often pointed out whenever she thought he was rude, and he’d waited sixteen years to give a bit back.

“Don’t sass,” she said sharply.

“I’m just being honest and behaving the way you told me to behave,” David told her innocently.

“Fine. I’m not going to forbid you from talking to him if you want, but you may end up disappointed if his family finds out he’s talking to you and they put an end to it.” She got up and moved toward the door. “Come into the kitchen and have some cereal if you’re hungry.” She closed the door behind her, and David’s stomach instantly growled. He’d been fine until she mentioned food, and now he was starving. He got up, wandered out of his room, and sat at the table, pouring generic frosted flakes from the box into his bowl and then adding milk. His mother sat down, but he wasn’t in the mood for talking.

Wouldn’t you know it, he’d found someone he thought he might be able to be friends with, which was no easy feat out here in the middle of nowhere; it figured he’d be Amish and his family might not be happy about it if they found out. Life definitely sucked sometimes. David stared into his bowl and ate without looking at his mother.

“It’s supposed to cloud over and rain later today, so I thought I’d go to town to do the shopping. I also need to stop at the drugstore. Do you want to come?”

David lifted his gaze and peered out the window, looking out over the field as the grasses swayed in the wind. He didn’t see Benjamin walking back home. “Sure, that would be cool.” It would give him a chance to get out of the house. “Can I drive?”

“Yes, you can drive,” she said with a smile and got up from the table, carrying her coffee mug with her. “I’m going to get dressed and then we can leave.” She left the room, and David looked back over the field, wondering how being friends with someone could get Benjamin into trouble. It seemed too stupid, but could it really be true?

Chapter 4

H
IS
mother had been right—the rain had started that afternoon, and for the next week, it was cold, cloudy, and wet. More than once, David had bundled up when it wasn’t raining and gone out, walking along the side of the road because he needed to get out of the house for a while. He couldn’t help looking across the almost manicured fields across the street toward the cluster of buildings. No matter the weather, he saw people outside bustling between buildings, working regardless of the rain. Sometimes he saw people in the fields behind horse-pulled wagons, tending crops. He always looked to see if he could recognize Benjamin, but he never did.

Finally, after almost a week of wet and damp, the clouds parted and the sun came out. Within a few days, everything went from gray to green, and the air went from cold to hot and heavy. The one thing the house didn’t have that David quickly wished for was air-conditioning. Whoever built this house had definitely been cheap. Their house had been built on the corner of the farmer’s field that surrounded them and there were no real trees on the property, at least none of any size, so the house got no shade and became hotter and hotter as the days went by. But as much as he wanted to complain, he was glad that the rain was gone. While his mother worked, he didn’t have much to do, and as the temperature began to climb one afternoon, David packed a cooler and a blanket, and put his bathing suit on under a pair of shorts before grabbing a towel and heading across the field to the creek.

The shade greeted him with only slightly cooler air, and David continued down the path toward the deeper hole where he could swim, or at least get his entire body wet. The rain had swelled the creek, leaving high water marks on the bank. The water was already receding, but still flowed vigorously over the rocks in the streambed. The water slowed where the creek widened and then nearly stilled where the creek deepened. David had sort of hoped Benjamin would be there, but it was doubtful. When he’d come the day before, David had dangled his feet in the water, but had left after a while. Today it was even hotter, so he thought he’d try swimming. After taking off his shorts, shirt, and shoes, he slowly walked into the water.

The creek was colder than he expected, and silty mud squished between his toes. He probably wouldn’t stay in very long, but cold or not, the water felt good on his sticky, sweaty skin. In the center of the swimming hole, the water was quite deep, and David couldn’t touch the bottom, but that didn’t matter—he was swimming and it felt dang good. After a while, the water began to feel cold, and he swam toward the edge to get out.

David nearly slipped getting out, but he made it, dripping on the mossy ground. He spread out the old blanket and dried himself with the towel before lying down. Grateful to be out of the sun, he watched the leaves quake and dance in the canopy of the trees above him, not in any particular hurry to go anywhere.

“You are here.”

David jumped and sat up when he heard the other voice. Benjamin stood on the opposite bank, staring at him from across the sparkling pool.

“It was so hot, and I was hoping I’d see you,” David said and watched as Benjamin continued staring across the water. “I’ll go if you want some privacy.” He remembered how shy Benjamin had been the last time they’d been here and his friend had wanted to swim. Then an interesting thought occurred to him, and David blushed. Maybe Benjamin didn’t swim in a bathing suit, and….

“It’s okay,” Benjamin said, and he removed his shirt, revealing a pale chest with pink nipples that David knew he shouldn’t be noticing. Then he took off his pants. He was going to swim in his underwear, David supposed, and he watched as Benjamin stepped into the water and then jumped. The splash almost reached David, and he stood up, walking to the water’s edge before jumping in as well. He made sure to splash Benjamin, who retaliated by throwing a wall of water in David’s direction. David splashed back, and soon the entire area was filled with the sound of laughter. Then the splashing turned to roughhousing, with Benjamin jumping on David’s back. David threw him off and tried retaliating, but Benjamin was too quick and slipped away. David lunged again, but Benjamin had already shifted, and David found himself in Benjamin’s grip, the other boy’s chest pressed to his back.

David tried not to think about how good Benjamin felt against him, and for a second he didn’t fight so he could feel Benjamin’s skin on his just a little longer, but then self-consciousness took over and he bucked. Benjamin fell away, and David pounced, catching Benjamin in his arms this time. They both laughed, and Benjamin squirmed away. They were both breathing hard, and by unspoken mutual consent, they stopped and just swam for a while. He hadn’t noticed being cold, but after a while David started to shiver, so he got out of the water and dried off again, then offered his towel to Benjamin. David wasn’t sure he’d take it at first, but then he did and began drying himself. David sat on the blanket, his skin drying and warming pretty fast. The bathing suit was still cold, but he wasn’t about to change now, so he did his best to ignore it. “I have something to eat if you’re hungry,” David offered and opened the cooler. Benjamin hesitated, but David handed him a granola bar and a can of soda. He’d been hoping to see him, so he’d packed extra. “I don’t have more, but I hope this is okay,” David added and then watched Benjamin stare at the granola bar. “It’s good and really crunchy—try it.”

Benjamin opened the package, took a bite of the apple-cinnamon granola bar, and smiled before taking a second bite. He seemed to like it even if he couldn’t figure out quite what it was. Then he opened the can of Coke and took a sip, smiling brightly at David. “When we went into town I saw this in the store but didn’t dare ask Papa if I could have one. I knew he’d never let me try it.” Benjamin took another drink and then burped loudly. He looked scandalized until David laughed.

“It always makes you burp,” David said, and he proceeded to take a huge gulp and then demonstrated his best burping skills. The sound echoed off the water, and Benjamin looked shocked for a second before he began laughing hard. He tried to emulate the sound, but failed. David laughed anyway, and soon they were drinking soda and trying to out-burp one another.

After a while, the temperature, even in the shade, climbed higher and higher. They swam again for a while before climbing out and lying on David’s blanket to dry off. “What’s it like to live without a phone or electricity?” David asked, rolling onto his side to face Benjamin. “At night I see flickering lights coming from where you live.”

Benjamin nodded. “We heat and cook with woodstoves and use oil lamps for light after dark.”

“Do you miss things like phones and cars?” David asked.

Benjamin shook his head. “It probably sounds funny to you, but I don’t know what it’s like to live with telephones and a motorcar. I’ve never had one, so I guess I don’t miss what I’ve never had. That’s part of what the minister talked about at church a few weeks ago. We lead our lives free from modern contrivances and closer to God. Without them, we’re free to grow closer to him.”

David didn’t know quite what to say. “You sound like a preacher,” he said. “What do you think?”

“You always ask that,” Benjamin said without answering the question, looking confused. “It doesn’t matter what I think,” he added looking away.

“It does to me. You’re allowed to think and have your own opinion. I won’t repeat it to anyone or tell on you. We’re here alone, and I’ll let you in on a secret—I’ve wondered what it would be like to live the way you do.” David sat up. “When I look at where you live, I wonder if you’re all happy.”

Benjamin looked at David very strangely, like he’d asked the weirdest question ever. “I don’t know.” Benjamin remained quiet, just looking at David. “Are you happy?”

David shrugged. He wished he knew his own answer. After all, he’d asked the question first, feeling cocky, like the way he lived and what he knew was right. And yet he didn’t have an answer for Benjamin either. “Me either. I mean, my mom is good and I know she cares for me. But I had a lot of friends at my old school and now we’ve moved here and I don’t know anyone, except you. You’re my only friend here. So I guess I am happy part of the time and not some of the time.”

“I know everyone in the community and I have lots of friends,” Benjamin said before looking away again. “They’re people I’ve known since I was born. I played with them growing up and we did chores together. I attended lessons with those who were in the same level as me, and next year Papa says I’ll be apprenticed to learn a trade. But sometimes….” Benjamin looked out over the now calm pool of water, the dirt and silt they’d kicked up having settled, making the water clear again. “Sometimes I wonder if any of them really know me, know what’s in my heart. Sometimes I don’t know if I know what’s in my own heart.”