Plain Paradise (25 page)

“Have fun.”

Josie watched out the window as Stephen pulled away with Linda beside him in the buggy. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, and the cool water in the creek would be a welcome relief from the heat. Josie remembered those days from her own youth. But twenty years ago, Amish girls wouldn’t have been caught dead in a swimsuit like Linda was wearing, no matter how conservative. Times were changing. Even for the Amish.

Though she didn’t have a headache this afternoon, Josie lay down on the couch anyway. She hadn’t slept much last night. She couldn’t shake that voice she’d heard. Her religious background had certainly taught her everything she needed to know about God, about Jesus. She’d studied the Bible. She’d gone to Bible study. And for a time, it seemed to make sense, even though she never felt any real connection to God, even back then.

Robert had so many valid arguments against the concept of God. “Josie, some humans need something to believe in, or there would be even more chaos than there already is,” he’d said. “I’m not one of those people. My mind just can’t grasp the concept of this higher power.” He’d talk about evolution, how an all-powerful God wouldn’t let people suffer this way, and on more than one occasion, he’d mentioned the possibility of otherworldly entities being in control. “There are too many pieces of the puzzle missing, parts of the Bible missing, cover-ups by religious rulers. It’s just not an idea I can buy into.”

But what if Robert is wrong? He was the most giving, loving, generous, and sincere person she’d ever known. Robert wasn’t capable of telling a lie, and he lived each day to serve others. If what she’d been taught in Sunday school was correct, Robert was going straight to hell for not believing in God and His son, Jesus. And if there is a God, how could such an entity send such a good man to the depths of hell for all eternity?

What about me
?
What do I really believe? Am I changing my tune at the
eleventh hour on the off chance that there might be a God, so that I’m not damned
to hell? Is it too late for me?
Again, she recalled the feeling she’d had the night before, the voice she thought she’d heard, and the calm that had spread over her. She’d felt like a child, wrapped in the comforting arms of a parent, unconditional love that could be felt to the core of her being.

She closed her eyes and tried to reconcile her thoughts, her feelings. But nothing made sense anymore.

Linda dipped her toe into the cool water at Pequea Creek and wondered when Stephen was going to shed his trousers, shirt, and shoes. She knew this was uncomfortable for him, but if they were going to be married someday, he was going to need to get past this.
If I can wear this bathing suit
. . .

Reflections of everything around them bounced off the clear blue water as sunshine streamed down through the trees, leaving patches of glassy stillness on the creek’s surface. Linda poked the water with her foot until it made ripples across the reflection of her face.

“It’s chilly.” She turned to Stephen. “You coming in?” Linda eased down the creek bed until she was knee-deep in water.

“
Ya
.” Stephen sat down on the ground and fumbled with his shoes. Linda made it a point not to watch. She heard him toss his boots to the side and then the sound of him pulling off his trousers. She was sure Stephen had a bathing suit on underneath his brown pants, but the sound of him pulling them off, then tossing them on the ground, sent a ripple of anticipation through her. She turned around in time to see him toss his blue shirt and suspenders onto the pile and shivered at the sight of his beautifully proportioned body in nothing but a pair of gray and white swim trunks. He held his head high above a confident set of shoulders and broad chest, even though his square jaw tensed visibly. A gentle breeze blew his tawny-gold, bobbed hair as he stepped toward the water’s edge with precise footing—as if he’d practiced it a thousand times.

Linda eased backward in the water until she was chest deep, and it only took Stephen a few moments before he was facing her. Their eyes met in a new and unexplored way, and Linda wondered what was going through Stephen’s mind. He leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on the lips, and the feel of his naked chest against her invoked both excitement and fear. She backed away, bit her bottom lip, and eased herself into deeper water.

Then without warning, she cupped her hands in the water and splashed Stephen in the face. Things were getting too intense, too serious.

“Hey!” He splashed her back, and in no time, they were carrying on like playful kids, instead of the young adults they were. And this felt better. There’d been enough serious moments in her life lately, and today she just wanted to play and have fun, put her worries aside.

And that’s exactly what they did for the next two hours.

Abe wished he could do something to ease the worry in Mary Ellen’s heart. His wife wasn’t sleeping well, tossing and turning all night long, and during the day, she worked so hard he thought she might keel over.

“Mary Ellen, if everything isn’t perfect while Linda is away, the boys and I will survive. You don’t need to work so hard.” He watched her scrubbing the floor after they’d finished supper Thursday evening.

“I reckon I can’t have the
haus
a mess, Abe.” She scrubbed the wood floor even harder with the sponge in her hand, although Abe hadn’t a clue what she was scrubbing. It looked clean to him.

He squatted down beside her and eyed the floor. “What ya scrubbing, Mary Ellen? It ain’t dirty.”

She stopped abruptly and fired him a look. “Luke spilled orange juice here earlier, if you must know.” Mary Ellen resumed the scrubbing as if she was mad at that floor.

He grabbed both her shoulders and pulled her to her feet even as she resisted. “Abe, what are you doing?”

Then he wrapped his arms around her. “I’m giving you a hug and hoping to pull some of the worry from your heart.” He eased away and cupped her cheek. “I know you are working so hard to keep your mind off of Linda, but I worry
mei fraa
is going to just fall over with exhaustion.” He kissed her on the cheek. “
Mei lieb
, everything is going to be all right.”

Mary Ellen shrugged. “I know that, Abe. There’s just lots to be done, that’s all. I am still expected to have a clean home, and that is just what I plan to do.” She dropped to her knees and began to scrub again.

Abe blew out a breath of exasperation. “All right, Mary Ellen. I’m going to go secure things outside. Paper says we’re in for a nasty storm later. Luke and Matt are already out there tending to the animals.”

“Fine.”

Abe shook his head as he headed out the kitchen door. Poor woman was going to be exhausted if she kept on like this. But, truth be told, he was missing his Linda more than he cared to let on, and it had only been two days.P

Mary Ellen rubbed the sponge across the floor with a vengeance God wouldn’t approve of, anger and bitterness with every swipe. Sending Linda for two weeks was her idea, and Mary Ellen didn’t think she’d regretted anything more in her life. She’d never been away from her daughter, for starters, but every time she envisioned Linda with Josie and all her fancy things, she went into some sort of jealous tailspin that was not in her normal character. Jealousy is a sin, and she’d prayed that God take away these feelings ever since she’d dropped Linda off on Tuesday.

The woman is dying. How can I be harboring such nasty thoughts toward her
? She’d been praying constantly to rid herself of such notions. Mary Ellen knew she’d been selfish and mean-spirited, but Josephine Dronberger hadn’t thought things through either. Linda would be devastated when Josephine passed. Didn’t Josephine ever stop to think that maybe it would have been best for Linda if she’d never shown up here?

Linda was terrified of pain, and saw pain as the gateway to death. Mary Ellen reckoned all that started when Linda was a young girl and witnessed their cow having a troubled birth, which killed both the momma and the calf. Mary Ellen had reprimanded Abe repeatedly for allowing Linda to see that. Mary Ellen had been at market when it happened, and six-year-old Linda cried for days afterward. Once Luke sliced his finger on a saw blade in the barn, not even enough for a stitch, and Linda passed smooth out and busted her chin. Linda couldn’t stand to see someone in pain.

Mary Ellen stopped scouring the spot, took a deep breath, and bowed her head.

Dear Lord, release me of the bitterness I feel for Josephine, this woman who
so graciously gave us Linda to raise. Now, in her time of need, please guide me
to do right by her, to shed all jealousy where she is concerned, and to help her any
way I can as her time to join You draws near. In Jesus’ name I pray, God. Give
me strength
.

Mary Ellen stood up, dropped the sponge in the sink, and headed out to see if she could help Abe and the boys get things ready for the storm.

Stephen hobbled out of the water, anxious to get his shoes back on. He towel dried as best he could before pulling on his pants and shirt over his swim shorts, then quickly pulled his work boots back on. He’d felt confident in the water where Linda couldn’t see his awkwardness, but back on land, he needed his shoes on to feel normal.