The Miting (25 page)

Naomi stood and led her down the basement stairs to a door on the right. She unlocked the door and handed Leah the key.

“We like the girls to have privacy and a place they feel is theirs.” Naomi reached around the wall to the right and flipped on the light switch.

Entering the apartment, Leah saw they were standing in a kitchen area with full appliances against the left wall. To the right was a large open living room with two open bedroom doors toward the back of the room. Naomi led her across the living space to the room on the left and flipped on the light.

“Leah, this is your room. Here’s the closet,” Naomi explained as she opened a sliding door to the right. “The bathroom is in here.”

She went to the door next to the closet and showed Leah a small bathroom.

Naomi led her back into the common room. “Your new roommate will be home around five thirty, so you’ll have an hour or two to rest and adjust. I’ll bring down a gown and clean underwear and things like a toothbrush, comb, and soap. Okay?”

Leah nodded, a little embarrassed she needed to accept charity from her hosts and had not thought to get those things from home—hadn’t thought through anything, really. She promised herself she’d find a job soon and repay the Schrocks for their generosity.

Naomi started toward the door. “If you want, you’re more than welcome to come up and have dinner with the family tonight. We leave it completely up to you. Some girls want to meet the rest of us, and some need a little time to settle in. I’m fixing spaghetti tonight.”

“I’d like to come up for dinner, thanks. And, if you need my help, I’d be more than happy to help prepare the meal,” Leah added eagerly.

“If you’re sure—I never turn down a helping hand! Thanks, Leah. We eat around six.”

After a minute or two, Leah could hear Naomi treading lightly in the kitchen above. She looked around and decided to explore her bedroom and bath first.

The room was small, but cheerful, with a mossy green and soft yellow decor. The bath was also small, but it had a sparkling clean sink and shower. Soft, moss-green rugs warmed the tile floor. She felt welcome and safe in this space. She wandered out to the living room to explore.

A television sat in the corner. Fascinated with the electronic gadgets, she tentatively turned on the television. It took her some time to figure out how to use the buttons on the remote control, and then she flipped through the channels. Many of the scenes appeared to be dark and unhappy, but Leah couldn’t turn it off until she’d explored each and every channel. The realization hit that she was
watching
television, and on a Sunday, too. She looked around guiltily, expecting
Maem
or
Daet
to be right beside her, frowning in dismay. It was interesting to her that remotes were needed when the television was mere steps away. But when she looked the TV over carefully, she realized there were no control buttons on it.

She shut off the television and went to get a drink of water. A small table, cheerily covered by a light blue cloth, sat just inside the entrance door. A Bible, along with two pens and a yellow marker, lay neatly atop the table.

She opened and shut cupboards until she found a set of clear glasses. Turning on the faucet, Leah marveled at the clean, cool water she didn’t have to pump into the sink. She filled the glass and drank thirstily.

Leah went back to her new bedroom and lay down on the bed. A glance at a clock on the bedside table told her she still had some time before meeting her new roommate. The stress of the day overwhelmed her, and her eyes slipped shut.

A soft rustling woke Leah. She was disoriented for several seconds as she tried to figure out where she was. The unfamiliar walls and bed felt strange and somehow lonely, and Leah sat up quickly. She listened to sounds coming from the sitting room as her eyes turned to the clock beside the bed.

“What? It’s past six thirty!” She’d slept right through dinner. She rose and opened her bedroom door slowly. A thin, dark-eyed girl with long brown hair turned from the sink and smiled at her.

“Hi. I’m Hannah.”

Her thick Amish accent made Leah relax. “I’m Leah.”

“Yes, Naomi told me about you when I stopped in upstairs.”

“I’m embarrassed to say I’ve overslept and missed dinner.”

“It’s okay. Naomi sent a dish down for you to reheat when you woke up. I slept for hours my first day here, too. It’s the stress of leaving.”

“How long have you been here?”

Hannah walked to the couch and sat down. Leah took a seat on a nearby chair and propped her chin in her hand as she listened to her new roommate. Her brain still was a bit fuzzy from the long nap.

“About eight months, I guess.”

“Naomi said you have a job. Was it hard to find? I really want to work as soon as I can.”

“I worked for the last seven months cleaning houses because I didn’t have my GED—”

“What’s that?” Leah interrupted.

“It’s a General Education Degree, a way to get your diploma from the state of Ohio. Many places want you to have one before they hire you. I studied a lot but failed my first test. I had to wait to take it again, and I passed it the second time last month. I started my new job in a factory the next week.”

Leah hadn’t thought about the lack of education she had. She was nervous to think of starting over in the
Englishers’
world with little or no experience or education. Hannah sensed her apprehension.

“Don’t worry. You can get a job cleaning, too, and one lady will even pick you up to take you into town to work. One thing about us former Amish girls: we know how to clean and work hard, so people are usually happy to hire us.” Hannah laughed, and Leah smiled, but sudden worry overcame the humor in the remark.

“You’d better get your dinner heated up. You must be hungry.” Her new friend went to the fridge and took out a dish.

Leah took the food and turned to the stove. She looked at it helplessly for a minute: all those knobs and buttons, she didn’t know which one to turn.

Hannah giggled. She pointed to a small microwave oven above the stove. “Use this. It will heat it quicker and better than in the oven.”

Hannah showed her how to place the food inside and set the microwave to heat. In just over a minute, the spaghetti was hot and ready.

“That’s fast!” Leah took the dish to the table and used the glass she’d had earlier to get a drink of water.

“There’s milk in the fridge, or soda if you want it.”

Leah thanked her but decided water was fine for now. She sat at the table and said a silent prayer. She was nervous but also excited about the new life she was beginning. She ate dinner while Hannah kept her company with happy chatter.

After her dinner, they watched television until nine o’clock. At first, the sound disturbed Leah’s ears. The volume of the commercials and the music in every scene she watched assaulted her. She blinked a few times at the quickly changing scenes. But soon, she grew accustomed to the imagery and became engrossed in the stories.

At last, Hannah got up to get ready for bed since she had to be at work early in the morning. Leah’s eyes had grown heavy long before that, but she didn’t want to be rude and leave her roommate sitting alone the first night. After Hannah got up and went to change into her pajamas, Leah must have dozed off because she was awakened by a soft knock on the apartment door. She struggled up and hurried over to open it. Naomi was there.

“Hope I’m not interrupting you two, but I wanted to check in on you before I go to bed. And here is a gown, change of underwear, and toothbrush and toothpaste for you to use.”

“Thanks, Naomi. Hannah and I have been getting acquainted.”

“Good. I won’t keep you up. I also wanted to let you know I’ll be driving to town tomorrow. There’s a lady who has some clothing to donate. I thought you might be able to wear some of it. Would you like to go along?”

“Yes, please, that would be nice. Thanks. I’m sorry I missed dinner. I slept right through the time. Please tell Matthew I’m grateful to you both.”

“He was glad to hear you got some rest. It’s very traumatic, leaving for the first time, and you needed to recharge after all the stress. I’ll see you in the morning. You can come up for breakfast about eight thirty.”

“I will. Thanks again, Naomi.”

Leah closed the door and headed for her bedroom. She couldn’t stay awake any longer. It had been a very long, hard day. After a quick shower, she changed into the gown Naomi loaned her and went out to say good night to Hannah. She was sitting at the table reading her Bible, but she glanced up as Leah came over. “I hope you sleep well, Leah.”

“Thanks. I’m so tired, I can barely hold my eyes open, even after that long nap.” A yawn escaped to prove it.

“I was like that, too, the first night. Try not to think too much about everything. I’ll pray you get a good night’s sleep so you can be refreshed in the morning. There’s time to start changing your world soon enough.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to sleep—I really think I will sleep
gut
, for tonight, at least.”

Leah padded to her bedroom and climbed in the soft bed. As she drew the fresh smelling sheets to her chin, she lay blinking in the dark and remembered she’d left home without her little Gideon Bible.

Lord, maybe I can go back to get some of my things. Let it work out so
Maem
and
Daet
will allow me to.
She sighed as a tear slipped down her cheek.
And don’t let them worry about me too much. I hope they guess where I am. Lord, I think I should let them know, somehow, that I’m all right. Help them, please, to accept what I want to do. And help me to somehow show them who You really are. Give me strength and courage to change my life, Lord. I’m scared and homesick already, but I want to serve You, Lord. And Jacob … What about Jacob?

She drifted off and didn’t remember anything waking her until morning. Leah opened sleepy eyes, rubbed them to see more clearly, and glanced at the clock, surprised to note it was seven thirty already. At home, she was always up by five.

She scurried into the bathroom. Cleaning up was so much easier than on the farm, with hot running water that needed no woodstove to heat it. The warmth felt heavenly as she rubbed the washcloth across her face.

As Leah started to pull her hair back to ready it for the
kapp
, it dawned on her she didn’t have to do that anymore. She let her long hair fall loose. Looking in the mirror still made her uncomfortable, but she turned this way and that to get a better view of the long brown hair resting on her neck and shoulders. Then she brushed it until it shone. As she felt the waist-length strands swing from side to side, a huge weight lifted off her heart. She was free.

Leah smiled to her new self in the mirror. It was considered prideful to look in mirrors, and they were forbidden at home, but today, she wanted to study her features.

The overhead lights above the sink showed her skin plainly. It was as if everything around her was brighter and more vibrant than what she’d been used to in the dull and dim oil lighting at home. Her skin looked brown from the sun, and her cheeks were cherry red. Her deep amber eyes looked back solemnly.

Do I really look so serious all the time?
She stuck out her tongue, then giggled, tilting her previously serious lips upward. She’d never noticed a tiny scar on her eyebrow before. She leaned in closer to examine it.

It came to her that she’d gotten it years ago when the handle of the wagon she was pulling flew back as she’d bent to arrange baby Benny in the blankets. It had been a cold morning, and they were on their way to church at the neighbor’s farm. Instead of hitching up the horse, they’d decided to walk. The air had been crisp and fresh, and Benny was a sweet little
bobli.
They had all laughed at his little baby noises, and the sisters had teased each other about the day when they’d have their own little ones. A perfect morning spoiled only by the rush back to the house for bandages. Leah was surprised by the size of the scar—her little-girl memory of the event held it much smaller in size.

The mirror pulled her deeper into those long-ago years—memories of happier times with
Daet, Maem
, Daniel, Ada, and baby Benny. But it was the memory of
Daet
’s smile that broke the spell. A smile that was rare, but something Leah would have cherished seeing more often.

Leah shook her head and looked away from the past. She wiped tears, squaring her shoulders and drawing her chin up.

After today, I will put away the dress and the apron. After today, I will try not to look back but will look forward. After today, I will dress in jeans and T-shirts, or whatever else I can find that fits me.
Leah paused at the thought of that.
Jeans! What will it be like to wear jeans all the time?

Again, the image of the last time she had worn jeans—the day Abner had attacked her friend—flooded in. Shudders rippled through her. “Too many memories, Lord,” she whispered. “Help me to trust You.”

When she left her bedroom, she noticed her roommate had already gone to work. A note was propped on the table against the Bible.