The Photograph (8 page)

J
ED
AWAKENED
IN
THE
WEE
HOURS
the following Monday, anxious to catch the early train to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He'd jumped at the chance to please Uncle Ervin by going on this trip but was also concerned the shop might fall behind on orders, even though Perry would continue working in Jed's absence. Uncle Ervin had reassured him all would be well. He'd even suggested Jed make sure he took time for socializing while there.
The better
for matchmaking?

As he put on his Sunday best—black broadfall trousers and vest, and a crisp white shirt—his thoughts drifted easily to Lydiann. Bits and pieces of conversation when they were out riding or walking came to his remembrance, and images of her smiling knowingly, reading him the way she did so well. And oh, her wonderful sense of humor!

“Once we're married, I'll have to know how you like your eggs,” she'd said once.

“Over easy.” He'd played along.

“No omelets, then?”

“I'll eat whatever slides off your skillet.”

“Careful now, Jed. You might live to regret that.”

They'd shared the heartiest laugh.

Jed pushed the memory from his mind, wondering if his youngest sister would remember to wake up early enough to make breakfast. He hadn't wanted to trouble his mother to do so.

Opening his bedroom door, he immediately smelled the familiar aroma of eggs and sausage and walked to the kitchen, where seventeen-year-old Bettina was already dressed for the day. She looked wide-awake as she carried his plate over from the stove and set it down in front of him before taking a seat herself.

It was still dark outside, and Jed could hear the ticking of insects from the slightly open window behind him. The wide plank floors showed the marks of the years in the soft yellow light of the gas lamp over the oak table.

“How long will ya be gone,
Bruder
?” Bettina asked, thoughtful as always. It was no wonder this tenderhearted, soft-spoken sister already had a serious beau at such a young age. She sat across from him, eyes alert and hair parted straight down the middle. Her face was already sprinkled with freckles from hours spent in the sun planting the family garden with Mamm.

“Only a week.” He explained why Uncle Ervin was sending him, leaving off the possibility of meeting Jonas Byler's granddaughters. Bettina would have had too much fun with that little tidbit.

“Might be
gut
to get away for a while.” She looked kindly at him.

He nodded. “It's been a while, ain't?”

“Maybe ya won't be so
ferhoodled
when ya come back.”

“Somebody's gotta keep you on your toes,” he said.

“With brothers like you, I'm gonna need more toes.” She left the table and brought back a cup of coffee, setting it down near
his plate. “Seriously, I'll be prayin' for ya, Jed. You could use some happiness.”

“
Denki.
”

She laughed a little, her spirits high this morning. “I might have something to confide in ya when you're back,” she whispered, leaning forward.

“Surely it's not—”

Bettina put her finger to her lips. “Shh, 'tis a secret.”

He had a sinking feeling but ignored it. There was plenty of time to deal with whatever it was. Besides, he knew her well enough not to probe further. “Ain't goin' New Order on me, are ya?”

She chuckled and shook her head. “Can you imagine
me
drivin' a car?”

“Well, I've seen ya drive a buggy. . . .”

She frowned with mock annoyance. “Are you pickin' on the sister who woke up early to make breakfast?”

“And it was mighty tasty, let me say.”

Sighing, she regarded him with a wistful look, and a long moment passed between them. “
Ach
, Jed. It's so
gut
to see ya smile again. I've missed that.”

He took a hesitant sip of coffee and glanced over the top at her. “I know ya wouldn't have gotten up before dawn for just any brother.”

“
Jah
, you're the fortunate one.”

When he finished, she removed his plate and took it to the sink, and he headed upstairs to close his suitcase.
Go before me today, Lord God
, I pray. And make Thy will known to me.

When Seth Keim, the hired van driver, arrived, Jed was surprised to see other passengers in the second and third seats. He
slipped into the passenger side up front with Seth, a slight man in his early forties who had been driving the Amish for at least a decade. They exchanged brief greetings and Jed settled in for the ride, not wanting to add to the talk.

One woman was chattering excitedly about her “little loom room,” where she wove different yarns into “the pertiest rugs you ever did see!” Jed didn't glance back, but by the sound of it, she was trying to encourage, even recruit, another woman to do the same. “A room like that's the best place in the house to retreat from
die Kinnerzucht
. A separate place to call your own, for sewing or weaving and whatnot, is a must sometimes.”

Jed couldn't imagine his own mother admitting that her children were too noisy or underfoot. In all truth, he doubted his mother would have even wanted a hideaway workroom like the woman behind him. None of Jed's aunts or grandmothers had ever clamored for a separate sewing room, either, that he knew of.
Somehow, they managed
.
And I think we're better off for the time
they took with us.

He recalled his youngest sister's sweet-spirited temperament. Bettina, being the baby of the family, had been somewhat doted upon—much as his Lydiann had been. Yet neither of them had turned out the least bit spoiled.

Another woman in the van spoke up behind him now. “S'pose I
could
use a quiet place set apart
 . . .
but for my ailin' mother,” she said, her voice lowering as she continued. “Mamm's been planning her funeral here lately—every detail, right down to the kind of food she wants served.”

“She needs privacy for that?” The first woman sounded shocked.

“Well, she's jittery a lot and needs her rest. Plus, she doesn't want anyone to see what she's writing in her journal. There are days she talks of setting fire to it
 . . .
must be she
doesn't want us to see who she's blowing off steam about.”

Jed smiled to himself, and if he wasn't mistaken, Seth was over there chuckling behind the wheel. Jed had never heard of someone planning a funeral in advance, but then, it took all types of personalities.

He decided to ignore the frivolous conversation. Alliance was just one hour away. There, he would catch his train to Lancaster.

It was still too dark to read the old classic
The Pilgrim's Progress.
He'd read the book once before but liked to carry reading material wherever he went, even in the buggy.
“You
never know when a good book might come in handy,”
his father liked to say, particularly when Mamm or Bettina needed a ride somewhere to shop.
Daed
was of a mind that a book was his “insurance” against waiting idly for his womenfolk in town.

Something else his father had urged Jed and his seven siblings to do was trust in God's provision for the direction of their lives.
“This means believing the Lord will stand strong when you
cannot
 . . .
that He will hold you up,”
Daed had said.

This wisdom had been essential for Jed this past year—each time he was tempted to doubt, thinking he couldn't continue on without Lydiann.

“Real
gut
to see ya headin' to Pennsylvania,” Seth said, glancing his way. “A change of place is sometimes helpful.”

“Just doin' my boss's bidding.”

“Well, have yourself a nice time.”

“
Denki,
” Jed said. And for the first time since Lydiann's death, he realized he was looking forward to something new, if only for a few days.

While waiting in the crowd of passengers to board the eastbound train, Jed overheard an older man telling a young boy about the various train cars they could explore on their trip. “There
are dining cars, lounge cars, sleeping cars, and even a dome car where you can look at the sky and all around. You'll see.”

“Is there ice cream in the dining car?” the boy asked, his face hopeful.

“We'll find out, won't we?” the older man replied as he ruffled the boy's hair.

Everywhere Jed turned, people were paired up—young couples holding hands, elderly couples assisting each other, families with children.
People in love.

Once he was on board the train, Jed chose a window seat on the right side of the aisle. As of the first jerk forward, the seat next to him was still vacant.
Like usual
. He turned to gaze out the window and embraced the new day with another silent prayer.

Unknowingly, Jed had drifted off to sleep and was awakened, startled, when someone sneezed. In his groggy state, he bumped something hard wedged between the seat and the coach wall. A brief investigation revealed it was a hardback copy of
Little
Women.
He'd seen Bettina reading the classic novel last summer.

Opening the book, Jed saw no name or identification on the front pages. With his own treasured library—accumulated over more than a decade—he'd always printed his full name and address in plain view on the front page.

Thumbing through, he discovered a wrinkled photograph tucked between pages forty-four and forty-five—a pretty Amish girl, possibly in her late teens. He studied the picture more closely, finding it curious that the young woman looked so boldly into the camera while wearing a white prayer
Kapp
shaped like a heart—the characteristic head covering for the Lancaster County Old Order Amish. Though the picture was black and white, it was clear she wore a cape dress and matching apron, as well. The
photo looked as though it had been torn from a strip of others, with the bottom of the next picture showing a young woman's folded hands.