MENDING FENCES (6 page)

            Maria glanced nervously around the restaurant.  If anyone was watching them, they might get the wrong idea.  She quickly drew her hand back without any bread and folded the napkin in her lap.          

            “I’m sorry,” Eldon said, leaving his hand where it was.  “Didn’t mean to bump into you again.”

            Maria remembered their initial encounter on the street and chuckled, trying to cut through the tension in the air and return to the easy conversation they had been having.  She wasn’t sure what it was about Eldon.  He made her feel comfortable and unnerved at the same time.  He was like someone from home and yet somehow, he was so different as well.

            She looked into his soft brown eyes and saw sincerity beneath them.  He didn’t mean her any harm.  But she still needed to know more about his background before they spent much more time together.

            As the meal ended, Maria realized she still hadn’t tried the bread.  She watched as Eldon wrapped it in a spare paper napkin.  “Here,” he said, handing her the small bundle from the other side of the table.  “You might get hungry later and you never did try it.”

            She was starting to realize that Eldon had a knack for reading her mind.  First, he knew that she was curious about his history with the community and now, he knew she wanted to try the bread though she hadn’t during their time together.

            “Thank you,” she said softly, feeling as if his stare was telling her more than an average look.  Something about the way Eldon looked at her made her feel like what he told her she was earlier…beautiful.  Since she had never really thought about her appearance before, it was preposterous to be feeling that way now, and yet she couldn’t stop herself as she looked back at him over the table and gently took the bread from his hands. 

This time, she was careful not to let their fingers meet.  Not because she didn’t want to feel the touch of his hand against hers again, but because she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to pull away again.

Eldon paid for their meals and they began another walk down the sidewalk together as Maria clasped the bread in her hands in front of her.

“I can’t thank you enough for spending time with me,” Eldon said gratefully.  “It means so much that you would give me this taste of home.”

Eldon’s comments reminded Maria of several things.  One, that she was not home herself any longer.  And two, Eldon had once been a part of the community, but had abruptly left its sheltered lifestyle five years prior.

Maria didn’t know what to say so she stayed silent, keeping up with Eldon step for step as they walked down the street.  When they got to her hotel, Eldon turned to look at her again.  “I assume this is where you’re staying?” he asked.

Maria hadn’t even really noticed that they had gotten that far down the block.  She had simply enjoyed the silent camaraderie between them as they had walked and breathed in the fresh air.  The air wasn’t the same as it was on the community.  At home, Maria always smelled freshly cut grass, garden dirt, baking bread, and laundry soap.  Here, the smells were much different, but the breeze gave her a clean breath and that comforted her.

“Yes, this is where I’m staying,” she finally agreed.

Eldon shook his head.  “Some things never change,” he said.  “Were you frightened by the mirror?”

Maria’s eyes widened.  “How did you…”  Eldon was able to dive into her mind and relay her thoughts without her saying a word.  She was beginning to wonder how.

Eldon shoved his hands in his pants pockets.  “The same thing happened to me,” he said as Maria sighed and realized that he had gone through his own Rumspringa.  “I came into town all the time, but I never ran across one until I was in this very hotel on my own.”

Maria smiled sympathetically.  She could completely relate.  “Why do people feel the need to have them?”

“Being in the outside world,” Eldon began as Maria leaned a bit closer to him so she didn’t miss anything, “it’s very different.  Priorities…well, they aren’t the same.  How one looks is very important.  Speaking of which,” he paused as if considering whether or not he should go on, “you’ll probably get some looks for the way you dress.”

“What’s wrong with my dress?” Maria asked, looking down at her long blue patterned dress.  It was her favorite, after all.

“Oh,” Eldon said, “nothing at all.  You look beautiful, like I said.”  He smiled.  “It’s just that people out here are different and they will think YOU are the one who is different.  But don’t pay any attention to that.  God made you the way you are.”

Maria felt relief flood through her body.  Perhaps Eldon was someone she could enjoy.  He was obviously still a man of God.  Just because he wasn’t part of the community didn’t mean he wasn’t a good and faithful man.  She wanted to know more about him, his past, his present and perhaps even his future plans.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Eldon,” she said as she turned away and started to head in to the hotel for the night.

“Tomorrow,” he said, taking a hand from his pocket to give her a wave.

            By the next morning, Maria was going a bit crazy from the silence that squeezed her from all sides.  She wasn’t used to being alone and she was in a strange place on top of that.  She did something she thought she would never do, even when on Rumspringa…she turned on the TV.

            She flipped through a few channels and saw several disturbing sights.  First, a news channel showcasing a horrible fire at a factory in another part of the state.  Second, an infomercial for a diet pill.  And third, some type of cop drama with lots of shooting.  Why people in the outside world spent so much time with their TVs blaring in front of them, she didn’t know.  She was glad she had given it a chance.  Now she knew she wasn’t missing anything.

            Maria turned the TV off and unwrapped the bread Eldon had given her the evening before.  She could have gone to the hotel café for breakfast and she might have even found someone to eat with, but she wanted to taste it before seeing Eldon again.  And all she really wanted to do was see Eldon.

            She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him since they parted.  She thought about what he was like as a boy and how he had grown up over the years.  She thought about the way he looked at her across the table at the restaurant.  She wondered why he had been shunned and why he eventually left the community.  And she even thought about the way his hand had caught hers in the breadbasket.  Just the mere thought of the brief incident sent chills up her spine.  She wasn’t sure why he had the impact he did on her, but she knew she needed to tread lightly.

            Maria pulled a piece of the bread off and stuck it in her mouth, chewing it slowly.  Eldon had been right again.  The bread was very similar to what she might make back at home.  It was light and fluffy and likely used many of the same ingredients.  Something about the texture was a bit off, though, and she wasn’t sure what.  It was similar, but different enough to remind her that she wasn’t at home at all.

            By the time Maria finished the bread and reorganized her few belongings yet again, she felt as if the walls were closing in on her.  She didn’t want the phone to ring and startle her again, but the lack of any sound at all was more than she could handle.  She decided to explore the rest of the town before heading to Eldon’s workshop.  She didn’t want to get there too early and seem overeager to see him, though all she really wanted to do was head straight there.

            As Maria left the hotel, she decided to go the opposite direction from which she had come the day before.  There were a few other stores she wanted to see and she might even cross to the other side of the street and check out the rest of what it had to offer as well.

            Maria walked slowly, delaying her arrival at Elson’s workshop.  Appearing too soon would make it seem as if she had nothing better to do.  She didn’t want him to know how much he had been on her mind since they parted the evening before.

            Maria got halfway down the block before she felt eyes on her back.  She had seen a few people here and there and while many of them stared at her, they would often simply nod politely and keep moving.  What she was feeling now was a sense of foreboding that she could not shake.  She glanced over her shoulder and saw a group of teenage boys who appeared younger than her.

            One of them snickered and pointed at her hat, mimicking what she might look like putting it on.  Another one began to taunt.  “Look at the bonnet lady,” he said.  “Must be a bad hair day.”

            Another one commented on her dress.  “Where’d you get that nightie?” he said.  “Amish R Us?”

            Maria tried to ignore them, but they just kept following her down the street, taunting her and calling her names.  She had never been teased in such a way back home.  Everyone was always cognoscente of other people’s feelings and polite and respectful.  It was against their ways to say such nasty things about strangers, much less people they knew and loved.

            “Good luck getting a husband in that thing,” one of the boys shouted. 

            “You’re going to have to show some leg,” another one added.

            From then on the taunting went from bad to worse.  They boys began chanting for Maria to show them her legs and she could no longer stand to walk in a controlled manner.  She was frightened, appalled, and furious.

            Maria turned to face them, tears streaking down her face.  She reminded herself that if God was with her, she was never alone, even in the face of enemies.  It was obvious to her that the enemy was controlling these boys.  No one would be so cruel otherwise.

            “God forgive you,” she said as she rushed past them, running in the direction from which she had come.

            She heard their laughter fade behind her as she put as much distance between them and herself as possible.  She was probably even showing them a tiny bit of her leg as she raised her skirt slightly so she could run faster, but she didn’t care.  She just wanted to get away.

            Maria considered going back to her hotel room as she ran, but she didn’t want to be alone.  There would be no one to console her and tell her everything was going to be okay.  She also considered going to Cooper, but she didn’t want to burden the man twice in two days.  She needed to save his help for a time when she might really need it.

            Before Maria could figure out exactly what she wanted to do, she found herself outside the small shed Eldon had described the day before.  She was shaking from head to toe, partly from the unexpected run and partly from the mean words that had been flung in her direction.

            She stopped herself before entering and considered leaving to gather herself and coming back later.  Before she could turn away, the shed door opened and Eldon appeared, a smile on his face.

            “I was hoping that was you I heard,” he said, his dimple revealing his pure joy at the sight of her.  “What’s wrong?” he said as the smile slid from his face and turned to a look of concern instead.

            “I…I…” Maria gasped for a breath as her chest heaved.  She knew there were tear stains on her face and she wasn’t able to hide the fact that she was upset.  It was against her Amish ways to lie, but she didn’t want him to know the truth either…that some teenage boys had gotten to her.

            “It’s okay.  Come in,” he said, waving her toward the shed.

            Maria gratefully accepted the brief reprieve and entered the shed in front of Eldon.  Once inside, Eldon grabbed a stool from behind the counter just inside and placed it nearby.  “Have a seat,” he said.

            Maria sat down and Eldon knelt before her.  He didn’t touch her, but the look on his face told her that all he wanted to do was take her in his arms and shield her from the cruelty the world had just shown her.