Chapter 1.
“My niece Stephanie is coming to stay with us for a few months.”
That was the first time Megan had heard of Mamm Gretchen’s Englisch niece in over two years and that was most likely because Stephanie's father was an outcast. Her father was Gretchen's brother, who had left the Amish when he was a teenager and had never returned.
“Why is she coming?” It was a perfectly simple question and Megan expected the answer to be just as simple.
“Just because,” was the answer her foster mother, Gretchen Graber, gave her.
Simple, Megan thought, but entirely uninformative.
Megan was one of the two remaining foster children at the Grabers, since the third, Elizabeth, had recently gotten married.
“Well, when’s she coming?” Surely Mamm Gretchen would tell her that much.
“Today.”
“So soon?”
Her foster mother nodded and her lips remained closed.
“Aren’t you going to tell me why she’s coming here?”
Momentarily ignoring Megan’s question, Gretchen looked around the corner of the kitchen into the living room. When Megan peeped around too, she saw that Gretchen was looking at her husband who was reading The Bulletin, an Amish newspaper.
Gretchen ushered Megan to the back of the kitchen and whispered in her ear, “She’s gotten into a lot of trouble and Tom thinks she needs time with the community to sort her life out.”
Megan searched Gretchen’s face. “What kind of trouble?”
Gretchen shook her head so hard that her bottom lip wobbled. “Never mind about that.”
“I won’t tell anyone.” Megan knew, with just a little encouragement Gretchen would reveal all.
“Well, you’ll have to pretend you don’t know.” Gretchen eyed her skeptically.
“Of course. I won’t tell anyone anything. I’ll pretend I don’t know a thing—not one thing.”
“She was involved in stealing a large sum of money. The court let her go since it was her first offense, and it helped that Tom told the officials he would have her come here for a time.”
Megan tapped a finger on her chin. She figured Gretchen’s brother, Tom, did not think that the stay in the Amish community would do her good, but rather, the court might have enforced her stay. As always, Megan’s thoughts wandered to Brandon. Megan wondered what Stephanie might steal of hers. It didn’t really matter as long as she did not take Brandon. Megan smiled knowing no one would be able to steal him. Anyway, he wasn’t even hers—not yet.
“Why are you smiling? Are you looking forward to having another girl in the haus since Elizabeth’s gone?”
“Jah, that’s it. It’ll be nice having another girl around especially with Tara at work most days and spending the rest of her time with Caleb.”
“You must be on your best behavior while she’s here. Understood?”
Megan nodded, a little offended at Mamm Gretchen thinking that she was ever on anything less than her best behavior.
That afternoon a car pulled up outside the house and then Tom and Stephanie stepped out. Megan watched them out the kitchen window. Stephanie was still beautiful; it didn’t take Megan long to notice that. She was fancy and wore fancy clothes and makeup. Megan had to wonder if she’d still look that good with the makeup scrubbed off and dressed in plain Amish clothing.
Mamm Gretchen walked into the house carrying Stephanie’s small suitcase while Dat William and Tom spoke to each other at Tom’s car.
“Stephanie.” Megan walked over to Stephanie and gave her a hug, as soon as she walked into the house.
“Hi, Megan.”
Stephanie seemed much quieter than Megan remembered. Maybe she was embarrassed at being shuffled away somewhere, hidden amongst their Amish community. Or, maybe she was ashamed over her wrongdoing and humiliated that she’d been arrested.
William came inside after Tom had driven away. “Nice to have you here, Stephanie. You can stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you, Uncle William.”
Stephanie sounded so sweet that Megan wondered if she was innocent of the crime she’d been accused of. She couldn’t wait to get Stephanie alone to find out exactly what had gone on.
William said to Gretchen, “I’ve just got a few errands to run and then I’ve got work waiting down the end of the farm.”
Gretchen nodded, not saying a word to her husband, and as William walked out the door, her attention turned to Stephanie’s clothes. “We’ll have to find you something suitable to wear.”
By ‘we’ Megan knew that Gretchen meant that she’d have to do it. “Come with me, Stephanie,” Megan said before Gretchen had the time to ask. “We’ve plenty of dresses upstairs.” Megan picked up Stephanie’s suitcase and Stephanie followed her up the stairs.
Megan walked into Elizabeth’s old room. “You'll be staying in this room.”
“I stayed in this room with Elizabeth last time I was here. I heard she got married just recently.”
“She did.” Megan pointed to some dresses hanging on the clothes pegs. “They’re freshly washed and they should fit you.”
Stephanie pulled a face. “Do I really have to wear one of them?”
Megan smiled. “I would if I were you. You know how strict Gretchen and William are. If they ask you to do something, it’s a lot easier to do it the first time ‘round. They’ll always win in the end.” Megan passed a yellow dress to Stephanie.
Stephanie took it and held it out at arm’s length. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Megan giggled. “You’ll have to get used to it. Don’t worry; everyone wears the same, so it doesn’t really matter.” Megan studied Stephanie’s heavily made up face. “And, sooner or later, Gretchen will ask you to wash your face.”
“Oh yeah, the makeup?”
Megan nodded.
“It just gets worse.” Stephanie rubbed her head.
Megan sat on the bed. “So what did you do that was so bad?”
With dress in hand, Stephanie sat next to her. “I guess I just got mixed up with some bad people. I thought they were my friends, but when they got questioned it seemed they all blamed me, or one of them did at least.”
Megan wondered if anyone was really ‘bad.’ Now it appeared that Stephanie carried that label just because of one mistake. “Is Gretchen supposed to straighten you out?”
“I guess so.” Stephanie threw herself back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. “What’s there to do around here?”
“Chores. Nothing’s changed since you were here last.”
“I thought so.”
Megan was glad that Stephanie was easy to speak with. She’d have a friend while she was staying there.
“Megan, why are you here? How did you come to be here?”
“Well…”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind talking about it. My father died when I was a baby and my mother got very sick and had to give me up. There was no one to look after either of us. No family at all. I don’t know what became of my mother after that, but she never came looking for me. My best guess is that she died.”
“I’m sorry, Megan. Where did you go when you were a baby? I know you’ve only been with Gretchen and William for a few years.”
“I went from foster home to foster home. I was a sickly child. I don't remember that part, but that's what I’ve been told. Some of the places I lived in weren’t the best. I love it here. This is the only home I’ve ever truly had.”
“I guess I should be grateful for my parents. Mostly I’m just annoyed with them. Now down to the important things. Are there any men around?”
“There are a few who have started visiting recently, but none that I really like. They mostly end up talking to Gretchen. I find it hard to know what to say to them.”
“I was talking about for myself.” Stephanie giggled. “Anyway, why do you let them talk to Gretchen when they come here?”
"I just don't know what to say."
“I get like that too sometimes. Where can we go to find some men?”
“You want to see Amish men?”
Stephanie nodded.
“Amish men wouldn’t be allowed to date Englisch girls.”
Stephanie smiled widely and tossed the dress in the air. “Well, they won’t know because I’ll be wearing this.” She caught the dress and held it toward Megan who ignored her comments.
On the one hand, she did not want Stephanie to lead any Amish boys astray. On the other, it might be good for her to have an Amish boyfriend to steer her in the right direction. “I’ll find you some boots that should fit you.”
When Megan came back into Stephanie’s room, she had two pairs of boots in her hands. “Here, I’ve found these. They’re slightly different sizes, so one pair should fit. I’ll go down and see if Mamm needs any help with dinner. Come to the kitchen when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, Megan.”
Here I am, stuck in this place as if I’m in a time warp, Stephanie thought. I don’t even have my cell or my computer.
Looking around at the bleak room, she pulled a face. Apart from the blue and green quilt on the bed, the room was entirely a bland shade of gray. Nothing was in the room that didn’t have a purpose. There were no ornaments, no paintings or posters on the walls—nothing, not so much as a mirror. A bed, a dresser, and a nightstand were all the furniture in the room. She flung herself back and looked up at the ceiling again.
Okay. The bed’s comfortable. I suppose that’s something.
Stephanie got off the bed and when she pulled the plain gray curtains apart to look out the window, she saw nothing but farmland for miles. The snow had melted away and the low afternoon sun shining through the leafless branches of the trees created shafts of light beyond the barn. It was a pretty sight, but Stephanie would’ve preferred to be closer to the action. And that meant near a coffee shop.
Looking out to nothingness in the faraway fields, she thought, Where am I going to get my double caramel lattes from? She was a city girl at heart.
There wasn’t a coffee shop within miles. At home where she lived with her parents, the local coffee shop was a short walk. There she’d meet up with her friends every day. When she’d been living away from home recently, she’d been living above a store in the middle of town and had her choice of cafés.
“Now I’m here in the middle of nowhere!” she mumbled to herself.
She wondered what kind of coffee they served in jail. Most likely instant coffee. Yuck! Her mood worsened when she suddenly realized tomorrow was Sunday.
With my luck, it’ll be the second Sunday, the Sunday that their church gathering falls.
Stephanie had attended a Sunday meeting when she had stayed with them last time. What stood out in her mind was that the wooden bench seats were hard, and that the men and women sat on different sides of the room. Perhaps she might see Jared Weaver again, unless he’d moved away, or worse, she might learn that he had gotten married.
The only good thing about the Amish church meetings was all the food there was when the service was over. Now that she was watching her figure, she was trying to be less interested in food, but who would notice a few more pounds under the horrid dresses she’d be wearing for the next few months?
Stephanie let go of the curtains and they fell closed, causing the room to once again become gloomy and darkened. She slipped off her jeans and tee shirt and pulled on the purple Amish dress instead of the yellow one Megan had handed to her, and then the traditional black stockings. Lastly, she pushed her feet into one of the pairs of black lace-up boots that Megan had brought to her. She hoped that they would not make her wear a prayer kapp like all the other women did since she wasn’t really Amish. Stephanie went down to join her aunt and Megan in the kitchen.
* * *
As Stephanie helped Megan and Aunt Gretchen in the kitchen, Gretchen handed her cutlery to set the table. As she laid it out, she said, “I thought you said Tara wasn’t coming home for dinner?”
“She’s not,” Megan answered.
“So, I only set… Let me see. There’s us three and Uncle William, so that’s four of us for dinner and you’ve given me five of everything.”
“That’s right. We’ve got a farm hand who eats with us. He sleeps in a room off from the barn,” Megan said.
“He’s a nice young man. His name’s Jared Weaver,” Gretchen said as she got the dinner plates out of the cupboard.
Stephanie froze, clutching the cutlery in her hand. “Jared Weaver?”
Gretchen looked up. “Jah. Do you know him?”
“Um. I might remember him from last time I was here. Or maybe not, maybe the name just sounded familiar.” She carried on with setting the table, trying to stop herself from smiling too much. Maybe her stay here wouldn’t be so bad after all. He can’t be married, not if he’s staying in a room off from the barn. There was no mention of a wife.
Darkness fell and William and Jared came home. William walked in the door first and then Jared walked into the kitchen. He was every bit as nice-looking as Stephanie remembered him. His hair was thick and dark, with eyes an unusual shade of dark hazel.
“Hello, Stephanie.”
He remembered my name! “Hello, Jared.”
“You two know each other?” Uncle William asked looking directly at Stephanie.
“We met a couple of years ago,” Jared said, smiling at Stephanie.
After they’d taken their seats around the dining table, they closed their eyes to give their silent thanks for the food set before them.
Megan opened one eye and saw that Stephanie had her eyes closed too.
Once they were finished with their prayers, William said, “So we’ve got the gathering tomorrow, Stephanie.”
Stephanie nodded smiling all the while. Megan noticed Stephanie’s gaze kept veering toward Jared.
William continued, “You don’t have to go if you’d rather stay here.”
Megan could not believe what he’d just said, and she stared at him in disbelief. Why was he letting Stephanie off going to the meeting? Didn’t she have to live as one of them while she was there? Otherwise, what was the point? Last time she was there Stephanie had to go to all their Amish events including the meetings.
“No that’s all right. I’d like to go,” Stephanie said.
Megan then transferred her open-mouthed stare toward Stephanie until her foster mother tapped her foot under the table.
“You would really like to go?” Megan asked Stephanie, figuring it might have something to do with Jared.
Stephanie nodded while she spooned food onto her plate from one of the bowls in the center of the table.
The dinner was spent in awkward silence. No one could ask Stephanie what she’d been up to, or about school because she’d dropped out.
“We’ve got bees now, Stephanie.” Megan interrupted the silence with her statement.
Jared laughed. “You and your bees, Megan.”
“Don’t laugh, Jared. They’re very interesting.”
“As long as they keep away from me and don’t bite me, I suppose they’re okay,” Jared said.
“They’ve never stung you yet, have they?”
“Nee, they must be friendly bees.”
“You won’t mind so much when you’re putting their honey on your bread.”
“That’s true,” Jared said.
Stephanie turned to Megan. “So you keep bees, with a queen bee, a hive and everything?”
Megan nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve got a few hives, in fact, and in the summertime, the man who gave them to me said I’d get enough honey to sell. We’ll have more than we can eat. I can show you the hives tomorrow.”
William coughed loudly.
Glancing at William’s stern face, Megan corrected herself. “Well, tomorrow after the meeting we might have some time. That is if we don’t stay on for the young people’s singing.”
“I’d like that. I’ve never seen bees' hives before.” Stephanie shoveled mashed potato onto her fork.
That night, Megan sat up sewing and wondering what man in the community would be a suitable match for Stephanie. Surely if Stephanie became a part of their community, she’d keep out of trouble. And what better way of doing that than to find her a suitable man? She would keep close to Stephanie tomorrow, and then she would test her matchmaking skills.
