The Englisher (12 page)
How is it I have to give up my drawing and painting, and
my brother can own a car and drive it to court his worldly girlfriend?
Something’s awful wrong with this
.
She felt like blowing her stack and might have if Mamm hadn’t called her to come and set the table for supper.
‘‘You seen Yonie’s hair?’’ she whispered to her mother after Yonie left the outer porch.
Mamm glanced at her. ‘‘Be careful not to judge, Annie.’’
‘‘Judge? Well, look at him!’’
‘‘Oh, I’ve looked, believe me.’’
‘‘And did you say anything to him? Did Daed?’’
Her mother shook her head and raised her finger to her lips, intending to shush her. ‘‘Don’t make a big stink out of this.’’
Well, I’ll see about that
.
‘‘It’s not one bit fair.’’ She pushed the utensils onto the table.
‘‘Sure, it ain’t . . . but this is the way your father wants to handle it. So best be keepin’ your nose out.’’
‘‘So I’m guessin’ being born a boy has more advantages,’’ she muttered, hoping Mamm hadn’t heard her once she’d let the careless words slip. Right this minute it was awful easy to ponder dear Esther’s plight . . . her constantly being under the thumb of a hardhearted husband.
Jah, the difference
between a man and a woman round here is altogether maddening!
When she had finished helping in the kitchen, Annie rushed next door to the Dawdi Haus and upstairs to the bedroom she shared with Lou for the time being. She opened the door, cautious as always, since Lou’s arrival had brought with it darling Muffin, the ever-smiling Russian Blue cat. ‘‘Kitty, kitty,’’ she called, and he leaped off Lou’s bed and came running to her.
She reached down to pick him up and carried him to the chair where she sat and petted him, talking softly the way she liked to do. ‘‘You sweet little thing. If all the barn kitties could see the special treatment you get just ’cause your fur is such a perty blue-gray, I’m sure they’d all be clawin’ their way in here.’’
Muffin’s elfin eyes alternated between half mast and squinted shut as he lay in her lap, his paws tucked under his plump little chest. His purring brought her a welcome sense of calm, even though she was not going to let the sun go down before talking things out with Daed. ‘‘Judgin’ or not, I have to know what’s what!’’
Louisa found Courtney at the Gap outlet—one of Courtney’s favorite stores—trying on a pair of jeans. Louisa recognized her black spiky-heeled boots visible beneath the dressing room door. ‘‘When you’re finished, we need to talk,’’ she said.
‘‘Maybe you need to, but I’m done,’’ Courtney answered through the door. ‘‘I’m leaving tomorrow night.’’
‘‘Well, your mission wasn’t accomplished, and you can tell Michael I said so.’’
‘‘Actually,’’ Courtney said, poking her face out, ‘‘to put it to you straight, I’m glad for Michael you didn’t go through with the wedding.’’
‘‘Well, that makes two of us,’’ Louisa shot back. ‘‘Have a good trip home. And keep my name out of your conversations with your new boyfriend.’’
‘‘What?’’
‘‘You heard me.’’
‘‘No . . . that’s where you’re messed up, Louisa. He loves you. I promise you.’’
Promise all you want
.
‘‘I’ve gotta get going,’’ said Louisa. ‘‘If I don’t see you before you leave, have a smooth flight. I know how bumpy things can get near Denver.’’
‘‘Hey, that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me the whole visit.’’
Yeah, maybe so
. Louisa hesitated, realizing she was probably right. ‘‘Well, then, good-bye.’’
With that Louisa hurried through the store toward the exit.
Now, to call a cab and catch up with my real friend
.
But before Louisa reached the door, a chenille sweater caught her eye. Christmas red.
Do I dare try it on?
Still upset over Courtney, she pulled it off the rack, removed it from the hanger, and went to find a mirror. Before coming to visit Annie, shopping often had a way of numbing life’s disappointments for her. Maybe she needed a good dose of splurging right now.
Holding the sweater beneath her chin, she saw how perfect it was with her coloring.
Mother always said I looked
splendid in red,
she thought, wondering why that memory had surfaced now.
Oh, why not. I’ll try it on
. But she wouldn’t wear a red sweater here. Not after having dressed Plain for this long. She didn’t want to offend Annie and her family.
Even so, she was mesmerized by the soft feel, the alluring color.
What would it be like to wear normal, modern clothing
again?
she thought while heading to the dressing area.
Would I begin to crave more fancy attire? The finest clothes
money can buy?
She sighed, feeling the old pull.
Returning to the back of the store, she saw Courtney standing in front of the three-way mirror, checking out her reflection in a pair of flared jeans and a plum leather jacket, price tags dangling. Courtney looked up and was obviously surprised to see her still there, let alone carrying the red sweater.
‘‘Well, look at you,’’ she scoffed. ‘‘Change your mind about being Amish?’’
Louisa’s cheeks suddenly felt warm.
‘‘I thought you were heading out.’’
Louisa nodded. ‘‘I was.’’
‘‘Hey, that would look chic over the cape part of your dress,’’ Courtney taunted.
‘‘Wouldn’t it?’’ Louisa held it up for effect, feeling a bit catty herself.
A clerk appeared, looked her over—up and down—and frowned. ‘‘May I help you, miss?’’
‘‘Jah,’’ Louisa said, then groaned.
Courtney rolled her eyes and wiggled her fingers in a mocking wave. ‘‘See you in the next life.’’
‘‘Whatever that means.’’
Over her shoulder, Courtney called, ‘‘It means, plain Jane, that you’re coming back as a full-fledged Englisher next time. I
hope
.’’
Louisa felt lousy.
This visit was a bomb from the get-go
.
‘‘Bye,’’ she whispered, watching Courtney hurry back to 109 her dressing booth.
Turning, Louisa spotted a mannequin with a lovely tan moleskin skirt and cream-colored blouse. ‘‘Nice,’’ she said, hurrying to inspect it.
My suede boots would look so great with
this!
The same dumbfounded clerk asked if she needed assistance, and Louisa thought again of Courtney, still fuming. ‘‘I’ll try on this outfit,’’ she said. ‘‘Size two, please.’’
The clerk found the items and led Louisa back to the dressing rooms. Stopping outside the booth where Courtney’s bare feet and hot pink toenails were now visible, Louisa paused, gathered her resolve, and said, ‘‘Hey, Court, I really want to apologize.’’ She felt weird talking to the door.
The door opened and her friend grimaced.
‘‘Look, I’m sorry,’’ Louisa said. ‘‘Okay?’’
‘‘What for?’’ Courtney shrugged coolly. ‘‘You’re following your heart, right?’’
‘‘But I hate this tension between us.’’
‘‘So return to Denver with me. Make
everyone
happy.’’
‘‘I can’t do that.’’
Courtney scratched her head dramatically, then looked up. ‘‘Michael didn’t want me to say anything . . . but since you’re so stubborn, I guess I will anyway.’’
Louisa wasn’t sure she wanted to hear about Michael.
Dressed now in her own clothing, Courtney led her to two waiting chairs in the common area and sat down. She patted the other for Louisa, who sat, too, her defenses rising again.
Courtney leaned close, pinning her with an intense gaze. ‘‘What if I told you Michael has decided not to partner at your father’s law firm?’’
Louisa swallowed. ‘‘He what?’’
‘‘He must love you a lot to give all that up. Don’t you think?’’
‘‘No way he’s walking from the firm.’’
‘‘Don’t be so sure. I think he wants to prove something to you in a big way.’’
‘‘Then why didn’t he want you to tell me?’’
Courtney shook her head. ‘‘Maybe he wanted to say it himself. Remember, he wanted to fly out here? But you shut him down?’’
‘‘Courtney . . .’’ Louisa frowned. ‘‘Michael and I closed the door on our relationship . . . months ago.’’
Courtney stared at her. ‘‘He’s a great guy, and putting it bluntly, you’re nuts to ignore him.’’
‘‘Sounds like you’ve gotten to know him pretty well since I’ve been here.’’
‘‘All I’m saying is count your lucky stars that Michael’s willing to give the whole thing another chance . . . after you left him, basically, standing at the altar.’’
‘‘Hey, you know that’s not true.’’
‘‘I don’t see you throwing away that kind of love, Louisa.’’
‘‘Honestly, I doubt Michael and I ever really had the devoted kind of love two people should marry for. The ‘in sickness, in health’ kind,’’ Louisa said. The image of Sam’s gentle eyes crossed her mind before she could blink it away.
‘‘This is the real world, not some fairy-tale romance. No love is perfect, right? But Michael loves you and you love him. Or at least you used to.’’
‘‘Yeah, I used to do a lot of things, Court.’’
Now it was Courtney’s turn to sigh loudly.
‘‘Listen, I don’t want you to leave like this.’’ Louisa reached over and squeezed Courtney’s arm. ‘‘You have one day left here. Let’s make the most of it—do something fun together, just the two of us. I’ll take you to this art gallery I know, then out for lunch at a Dutch smorgasbord. Okay with you?’’
Courtney’s eyes were sad, even defeated, but she smiled gamely. ‘‘Sounds good, Ms. Stratford . . . but you’re buying.’’
B
en drove back to the harness shop where he found Irvin and another man negotiating a price on a new harness. Resuming his work, Ben checked the measurements for a custom miniature horse harness before cutting the leather.
He had never been awestruck by a girl before, and a Plain one at that. But Annie’s personality was unlike any young woman he had dated. She was a peculiar yet appealing mix of beauty, naivete
, and spunk. She knew her mind and was rarely hesitant about speaking it, but only if she felt she was in a comfortable environment. Ben smiled to himself.
She’s definitely become more at ease with me
.
Thinking ahead to the best choice of a restaurant for their first real date, he wondered how it would go . . . the two of them out together, and Annie vulnerable to the public eye. Inwardly he cringed at putting her at risk in any way and was contemplating rethinking where he might take her for supper when in walked Zeke Hochstetler.
‘‘Ben, hullo again!’’
Ben motioned him over to the large table where he worked. ‘‘What can I do for you?’’
‘‘Well, I came to ask Irvin if he could spare an hour or so,’’ Zeke said, glancing over at Irvin and the farmer still haggling over cost. ‘‘Need some help mendin’ a fence, and I mean that literally.’’
Ben smiled at his quip, though he found it curious that Zeke should drop by twice in one day. ‘‘I’d be happy to help with your fence,’’ Ben volunteered. They both looked Irvin’s way. ‘‘Looks like he might be tied up for a while, but I could get away once I’m done with this piece.’’ Ben patted the dark leather.
‘‘All right, then, I’ll wait and take you over . . . then bring ya back.’’
Ben nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Zeke looked over at the wooden horses’ heads of all different sizes along the shelf near the wall. He began to pace.
‘‘Make yourself at home,’’ said Ben.
‘‘Don’t mind if I do.’’ Zeke wandered over to a chair and sat down. He pulled out a folded paper from inside his black work coat and began to read.
Nearly a half hour later, when Ben had completed his work, he went to speak to Zeke, who was dozing. Ben felt uncomfortable observing the man’s chin and bushy beard leaning heavily on his chest. The tired-out farmer probably needed his forty winks more than Ben needed to wake him.
He thought of kind Esther . . . and how her husband was fending for himself these days, and he felt genuinely sorry for Zeke.
Ben and Zeke worked together to right the broken fence. The air was nippier than it had been earlier, even though the sun tried to peek through snow-laden clouds. Still, the exertion of sawing, toting lumber, and hammering kept Ben plenty warm.