The Crossroad (2 page)

Prologue: Rachel Yoder

All my life I’ve been drawn to wooded landscapes—thick green groves of maple and sycamore. And weeping willows, ’specially those growing alongside the creek bed. As a young girl, I often crept out of the house just as the sun’s glorious first rays peeped over distant hills, running lickety-split through dawn-tinted shadows of lofty tree umbrellas. Those early-morning ramblings, and the carefree way I felt in the midst of the woodland, gave me cause for living.

Now, as a young widow and mother, I’m reasonably content to help my parents run the Orchard Guest House, instruct my six-year-old daughter, Annie, in the ways of the Lord—and the Beachy Amish church—and help out wherever I can amongst the People, doing my best to keep up with sewing, quilting, gardening, canning, cooking, and cleaning house with
Mam
, in spite of things being the way they are with my eyes.

Here lately, I’ve begun to miss my morning run more than ever, but I daresn’t mention it to Mam or
Dat
, or they might start pressing me to pay a visit to Blue Johnny or one of the other powwow doctors in the area. Far as I’m concerned, that subject’s settled, ’cause at long last I know the whole story behind my great-uncle Gabe

Esh—on account of an innocent little postcard, of all things. So I know in my heart of hearts, sympathy healing and Blue Johnny’s ‘‘black box’’ just ain’t for me. Not for any of us, really.

Ach
, such a time we’ve had here lately. On Thanks-giving Day my young nephew Joshua Beiler nearly drowned in the frigid pond back behind Bishop Glick’s house, where a wedding of one of the bishop’s granddaughters had just taken place. I ’spect Josh was just itchin’ to crack through the ice, knowin’ how Lizzie’s boy carries on sometimes.

My Annie said Cousin Josh was ‘‘a-flailin’ and a-squealin’,’’ carrying on to beat the band about getting himself soaked and freezin’ cold. Well, it was nothing short of divine intervention that our Mennonite neighbor was out driving past the pond ’bout the time Josh skidded out of control and slammed through the surface into the frosty water below.
Jah,
the boy’s life was spared, and it’s a right
gut
thing, too, this side of Christmas and all.

Back last week, we had us a time while some of the women were over at Lavina Troyer’s—my father’s distant cousin—butchering chickens. Honest to goodness, if one of the teenage boys—who was helping chop heads off, defeather, and char the birds—didn’t cut off one of his own fingers in the process. ’Course, someone had the presence of mind to wrap the finger, along with the missing piece, and hasten him off to the Community Hospital.

Then yesterday our cocker spaniel puppy, Copper, knocked over the birdbath in the backyard, breaking several terra-cotta pots along the walkway. Mam scolded the poor thing up one side and down the other; really, ’twas a shame the way she laid into him. But that’s her way of handling most any conflicting situation—take the bull by the horns and show ’um who’s boss.

Other than those mishaps, we’ve had a real pleasant autumn, I’d say. But just the other day, Mam remarked that she hated to see the ‘‘chillin’ winds come and benumb the posies.’’

’Course, I agreed with her, though I can’t actually see the nipped blossoms any more than I can make out my own little girl’s features, but I
do
remember how the early frost used to make bedding flowers turn dark and shrivel up.

Mam and I, with some help from Annie, who pushed up a kitchen chair to stand on, baked a batch of molasses cookies to serve to our B&B guests at our afternoon tea. We topped the morning off with a steamy mug of hot cocoa, and all the while Mam bemoaned the fact that snowy months were just around the corner.

My
heart feels more like the onset of springtime, though I don’t exactly know what’s come over me. Even little Annie seems to notice the bounce in my step. Mam, on the other hand, acts as though she’s downright put out with me, and if what I ’spect is true, she has it in her head that the fruit basket got upset back in September when a New York City journalist paid a visit here at the Orchard Guest House. I’ll have to admit, Philip Bradley
did
raise quite a ruckus, findin’ Gabe Esh’s love note the way he did. But I believe God put that old postcard in Philip’s hands, and, honestly, I don’t care what the People say or think, or anybody else for that matter. Out-and-out timely was his discovery of Great-Uncle Gabe’s story—hushed up under a covering of mystery far too long.

“Rachel,” my father said to me last night at supper, “you have no idea what that New York fella did, comin’ and diggin’ up the past, finding Gabe’s note thataway. No idea a’tall.”

Oh, but I
did
know. For sure and for certain, Philip was the best thing that had happened here in Bird-in-Hand in recent years, and whether or not the journalist ever returned to do research or write more Plain articles was beside the point. Fact was, he’d changed the entire landscape of a gut many lives. ’Specially mine.

Part One

’Tis the gift to be simple,

’Tis the gift to be free,

’Tis the gift to come down

Where we ought to be.

And when we find ourselves

In the place just right,

’Twill be in the valley

Of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain’d

To bow and to bend

We shan’t be asham’d,

To turn, turn will be our delight

’Til by turning, turning we come round right.

—Shaker Hymn, 1848

One

Manhattan’s skyscrapers jeered down at him as he flung open the door of the cab and crossed the narrow, congested street. Behind him, yellow cabs zigzagged in and out of indefinable traffic lanes, blaring their horns. Side by side, late-model cars, shiny limousines, mud-splashed delivery trucks, and pristine tour buses waited for the light to change, exuding puffs of exhaust. Each contributing to the chaos typical of New York City’s business district.

The glassed entrance to the Lafayette Building, where the editorial offices of
Family Life Magazine
were located on the thirty-fourth floor, revolved with an endless tide of humanity, ebbing and flowing.

Pulling his overcoat against his tall lean frame, Philip Bradley pushed through the crush of the crowd, leaning into the bitter December wind. At the portico, he nodded to the Salvation Army volunteer ringing a small but mighty brass bell, the
plinking
of which added to the hubbub.

“Merry Christmas,” he called to Philip, and the young journalist stuffed a five-dollar bill—his first contribution of the season—into the donation box.

“Bless you,” the volunteer sang out.

May the Lord bless you always… .

The words had echoed in Philip’s brain these past months, and immediately his thoughts sped back to the unassuming and beautiful Plain woman he had met while staying at an Amish B&B in Lancaster County. A young widow with a delightful little daughter named Annie, Rachel Yoder lived in the quiet farming community of Bird-in-Hand. While on assignment for the magazine, he had gone to research Amish Christmas customs, staying—by mere chance, he’d thought at the time—at Rachel’s parents’ Orchard Guest House on Olde Mill Road.

“May the Lord bless you always,”
had been Rachel’s parting words, and the impact of her blessing and gracious Christian witness had resonated unceasingly in his mind. So much so that Philip had begun to read his Bible again, after years of indifference; even attended church services with his married sister and family, the very church he had once privately sneered.

Inside the atrium-style lobby, businessmen and women bustled to and fro, their well-polished shoes clattering and scuffing against gleaming tiled corridors.

The security guard addressed Philip with a nod and “Morning, Mr. Bradley.” He returned the smile and greeting, making his way toward the elevators, where a large cluster of people extended out to the atrium itself.

Though not an impatient man, Philip glanced at his watch, wondering where he
might’ve
been in the earlymorning scheme of things if he hadn’t left his apartment twenty minutes earlier than usual. He made a mental note to give himself an extra ten tomorrow. It might help alleviate his increased feelings of stress, what with traffic surging in ever-increasing swells—weekly, it seemed.

Philip shifted his briefcase, waiting for his turn in the elevator, recalling a recent predawn stroll—a ramble, he’d called it—while in Amish country. There had been something exceptional about that particular day; the memory lingered fondly in his mind. Something about the quietude, the beauty of witnessing the sun’s lustrous, silent rise over the horizon, breaking upon distant hills, spilling a rose-stained glow across the earth.

Something ever so special
, he thought, recalling an Amish expression. He couldn’t seem to shake the images and emotions of that singular short week, and he did not know why. Was it the tranquil, slower pace of things he longed for? The farm-fresh aroma of cows and soil?

Philip found himself thinking of Rachel, missing her—though in a non-romantic sort of way, he was absolutely certain. They were worlds apart, and both he
and
Susanna Zook—Rachel’s determined mother—had recognized the all-important fact at precisely the same moment. Nevertheless, the enticing thoughts prevailed to the point that he had to shove them aside lest he not focus sufficiently on his journalistic assignments.

“Bradley!” a man called through the crowd, standing a few feet from the elevator doors.

“Hey, Henning,” Philip replied with a grin. Richard Henning was a lead photographer for the magazine. Red-haired and sporting a goatee, he was a brilliant artist, if not a little overzealous at times. But most New York photojournalists were known to be pushy and demanding. They had to be.

“Just caught your Amish piece. Keep it up, and I’ll be working for
you
someday,” Henning said.

“You could do worse,” Philip joked.

The elevator door opened and they followed the crowd inside.

Philip turned to Henning and whispered, “So … you liked my Christmas feature?”

“Yeah, yeah, but the photos were weak. You didn’t give ’em much to work with. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Uh-oh. Here we go.” Philip chuckled.

“No, this is good. Hear me out. I’m thinking about a photo essay … featuring the Amish.”

At the mention of the Plain People, a number of heads turned. Henning dropped his voice. “I think we could get Farrar, Straus, and Giroux interested if you’re on board.”

Philip cringed. Most likely, the young photographer had no knowledge of Plain folk and their ways, probably didn’t know they would shy away from being the subject of a photograph.

The elevator doors opened at the thirty-fourth floor, and the mass of humanity poured out. He followed Henning past the law offices of Abrahms and Hampshire to the double doors of
Family Life Magazine
. They opened to an enormous room of congested cubicles housing busy writers and copy editors. The entire floor was abuzz with the low but steady hum of computers, ringing phones—cell and otherwise—and human voices, people scrambling here and there. Philip waved at several co-workers in his section, then turned to Henning and motioned to his cubicle.

Henning started off in the opposite direction. “Give me a minute!” he shouted, and then he was gone.

Philip’s writing space was clogged with vital paraphernalia: newspaper clippings, snatches of notes for interviews, email addresses, and an occasional phone number. His computer stood ready, centered on his desk, a telephone off to the left, and his married sister’s family portrait—framed in oak—to the right of a wide red canister of pens and pencils. The picture included Janice, her light brown hair pulled back on one side, her tall blond husband, Kenneth, sporting a jovial smile, and their perky, flaxen-haired daughter, twelve-year-old Kari.

A bespeckled brunette in a navy blue pantsuit knocked on his partition just as Philip was logging on to the computer. “Great piece, Phil.”

Looking up, he smiled at Beth, a top-notch copy editor for the magazine. “Thanks … but
you
make me sound good.”

“So, any truth to the rumor?” she asked, ignoring the kudo.

Philip scratched his chin. “Okay, I’ll bite. What rumor?”

“That you’re joining the Amish.” She stood at attention in the doorway, as though waiting for an answer.

“My buggy permit hasn’t shown up in the mail yet. Until then, all plans are on hold.”

Beth laughed. “Don’t ask me to ride with you.” She wiggled her fingers at him, then headed across the room.

Philip turned back to his desk and thumbed through his Rolodex, locating the address for his late-afternoon interview. Congressman Thomason, New York state senator. A man who, at the age of fifty-eight, had become an adoptive father. The perfect feature for next June’s Father’s Day issue.

Meanwhile, Henning had returned looking like a hungry puppy. He sat in a chair in the corner of the cubicle, slurping a cup of coffee and staring intently at Philip.

“I know that look,” Philip said.

Henning’s smile turned dubious. “So … I come up with these incredible ideas, and all you want to do is shoot them down. That’s what our friendship’s come to?”

Philip sighed dramatically. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

Henning’s smile broadened, and he affected his best Ross Perot impression. “Here’s the deal.”

Philip groaned.

“In a nutshell—I set up the photo shoot; you write the copy. Subject matter: the Amish.”

“It’s been done.”

“Not like
I
can do it,” Henning replied. “We go more in depth, maybe find an Amish family that’ll take us in for a few days. Up close and personal. None of this superficial and pretentious stuff. We’ll bring more humanity to the subject.”

“With pictures,” Philip muttered.

“Lots,” Henning replied without skipping a beat. “The way I see it, this Amish thing’s a hot button. People are just plain nuts about the plain and simple.” He laughed at his own word play. “Everyone’s yearning for the earthy, the back-to-basics approach to things … to everything.”

What the man said rang true. Maybe the unending emphasis on technology
had
backfired on the entire human race. Were we, all of us, craving a simpler life, a slower pace?

Philip studied Henning. “Count me out this time.”

“That’s it? Just like that, you dismiss it?”

Shaking his head, Philip said, “I don’t feel comfortable about any of it.”

Henning rubbed his pointer finger back and forth under his nose. “I don’t follow, Phil. I thought you were smitten with the Plain culture. Bob says it’s all you talk about … Amish this, horse and buggy that.”

Bob Snell, their editor, had every reason to regurgitate Philip’s own enthusiasm to Rick Henning. “Most Amish disapprove of photographers,” Philip explained. “It wouldn’t be such a good idea to sneak around with your high-powered lens, taking shots of folk who’ve chosen to disconnect from the outside world, which just happens to include free-lance photographers.”

Henning’s jaw dropped. “Are you saying I can’t zoom in on the eighteenth century, standing halfway across a pasture?”

“There’s a difference between
can’t
and
shouldn’t
.” Philip inhaled, then expelled the air loudly.

“Hold on a minute. Couldn’t we try to get their permission—at least make some attempt?”

Philip wasn’t surprised at his friend’s persistence.

“Whose permission?” he asked.

“
You
met some Amish folk—some you interviewed, right? Just get their consent. How hard can that be?”

Philip thought of little Annie Yoder and her widowed mother, Rachel; the stiff-lipped Susanna Zook and her bearded husband, Benjamin. He shook his head, staring hard at the bridge of Henning’s long nose. “You really don’t get it, do you, Richard? We’re outsiders to the Amish world—two men they’d never be willing to trust, especially one with a camera poised and focused. Sorry, I’m not interested in exploiting their lifestyle to make some extra bucks.”

“But the Amish exploit themselves. You’ve seen the tourist ads out in Ohio—tourism is a big part of their livelihood.”

Philip stood his ground. “There are limits.”

“All right, have it your way.” Henning got up to leave. “But I’ll be back.”

Philip crumpled his coffee cup and threw it, but Henning ducked and scampered down the hallway.

Philip turned his attention to the project at hand—writing three pages of upbeat, family oriented questions for Senator Thomason. Something to engage and inspire the middle-aged politician, questions to set him at ease, make him feel altogether comfortable chatting about the toddler-aged Romanian twin girls he and his wife had recently adopted. Philip promptly set to work, putting Henning and the ridiculous proposal out of his mind.