Miriam and the Stranger (13 page)

The bus pulled out of Coalgate, and Mose watched the landscape pass by the window. He liked this part of the country, but he wouldn’t want to live here. Thankfully Miriam had voiced her willingness to return to Wayne County with him. He had gotten that far with his proposal of marriage. More could be said in the letters they would exchange, though probably not the proposal itself. A woman wouldn’t want a proposal on paper. When she came for her sister’s wedding, perhaps he could ask her then.

The Lord was blessing him greatly, Mose told himself. Women of excellent character sometimes lacked in outer beauty, but Miriam did not fit that description. Neither had his former
frau
, Rachel, who had been both lovely to look on and possessed of a most gracious character. He had been ready to accept Miriam if
she lacked outward blessings of the Lord, but in this he had been pleasantly surprised.
Yah
, he had been more than pleasantly surprised. He still couldn’t fully grasp how the Lord had chosen to bless him twice with beautiful women who would honor, obey, and love him like the Scriptures instructed.

He hoped the Lord would give Miriam and him
kinner
. They were both young, and he wanted children with the
frau
he married this time. But that would depend on the Lord’s will, he supposed. One could not dictate such things, but it would be a shame if the bishop’s lot landed on him and he could never have
kinner
of his own. The community would try to understand, but they would wonder why their bishop wasn’t blessed of the Lord—even with his second
frau
.

Mose stared out of the bus window, but he saw only Miriam’s face in front of his eyes.
Yah
, he would have to trust the Lord. He could be cautious and careful, but sometimes a man couldn’t control everything, and
kinner
was one of those things. Miriam had passed all the scrutiny he had placed on her, and she seemed to still respect him. That wasn’t an easy accomplishment, even if a woman was blessed with a submissive spirit. Mose felt love stir in his heart for Miriam. He had meant to keep this strictly on an evaluation basis, but more had happened in the past week than he had planned. There had come a moment last night when he had leaned over to touch her hand, and Miriam had looked up at him. He had almost taken her in his arms and kissed her right then and there. Miriam would have returned the affection, he was sure. She seemed so willing to accept this sudden change in her life. Maybe he had made a mistake to wait until the next wedding season to say the wedding vows with Miriam. But impatience had never been in him, and here he was, impatient. That was an unexpected outcome of this trip.

The bus slowed for the next town, but Mose was lost in his
thoughts and didn’t notice. New voices filled the bus, and a few people departed. Mose saw only vague forms out of his side vision as his mind whirled with thoughts of Miriam.

“Is this seat taken?” A cheerful woman’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

“No, it’s open.” Mose didn’t look up but scooted further to his side of the bus.

“Are you Amish?”

Mose finally looked up. The young woman was well dressed. A faint whiff of perfume hung in the air. Her beauty was obvious to him. “
Yah
,” Mose managed.

“I thought so,” the woman chirped. “You look quite Amish. My name is Cindy.”

When he was silent, she continued, “Are you sure you don’t mind. I mean… I can sit somewhere else.”

“No, that’s okay.” Mose forced a smile. “The seat is empty. My name is Mose.”

The woman stood to toss her large handbag into the overhead compartment. The smell of her perfume became stronger as the bus lurched forward again and Mose hung on.

“So what brings you to Oklahoma? Or is Oklahoma your home and are you visiting another community?” Cindy was obviously in a talkative mood.

Mose thought for a moment before he answered. “I was visiting a community in Clarita.”

“Is your wife along, or are you single?” Cindy glanced over her shoulder to take in the rest of the bus.

Mose shook his head. “My wife died a while ago.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Cindy cooed. She reached over to squeeze Mose’s arm. “Was it sudden?”

“We had some warning,” Mose muttered. “Cancer. Breast cancer.”

“Oh, that must have been hard.” Cindy’s hand was still on his arm. “You haven’t married again?”

This was none of the woman’s business, Mose thought, but a man of God must not be rude. And he didn’t want to offend her, but he pulled his arm out from under her fingers before he answered, “I’m waiting on the Lord to provide… in His time.”

“Oh, that’s so dear.” Cindy didn’t seem offended by him removing his arm. “So how will you know when the Lord has provided? Does the woman make the first move? Is this how second marriages happen among the Amish?”

Mose almost laughed but managed to keep a straight face. “No, the man still seeks out a suitable mate, which the Lord provides.”

“And you’re looking then?” Lights seemed to go on in Cindy’s face. “How fascinating. How’s the search going?”

Mose looked away. This conversation had gone into deep waters, but he didn’t know how to extricate himself. “Well… I’m…” He tried, but nothing presented itself that he wished to say out loud.

“That’s okay.” Cindy patted him on the arm. “You don’t have to tell me, although that would be a most fascinating story—an Amish man’s hunt for a mate.”

That was a most gruesome way to describe things, Mose told himself. But the
Englisha
had different ways about them.

“Are you some kind of newspaper reporter?” he asked.

Cindy laughed. “Oh, no. Just curious.”

Mose wasn’t convinced.
Englisha
reporters were trained to deny who they were. What if this made its way into a local newspaper? No one from his community would read the story since it was published out here on the prairie, but this Cindy knew his name now, and such things could get spread far and wide on the Internet. Cindy might even snap his picture secretly on her phone and print that with the story.

“You don’t believe me?” Cindy watched Mose with her eyebrows raised.

Mose managed to mumble, “One can’t be too careful these days, you know.”

“A skeptical Amish man.” Cindy appeared deflated. “I expected better things of such a holy people.”

Mose swallowed twice. “Okay, I’ll tell you this much. I was looking for a
frau
this past week, and I think I have found one by the Lord’s grace.” There, he had said the words. He certainly couldn’t leave an outsider with the impression that the Amish faith produced hypocrites. That was the worst kind of implication.

Cindy’s face lit up. “That’s wonderful. How did it all come about?”

He had said enough, Mose told himself. Marriage and courtship led to wedding vows, and that was sacred territory. On the subject, he would not speak words lightly even to his own people. Few in his Wayne County community would learn the details of his week in Oklahoma. Surely Cindy should be able to understand that.

“We treat marriage with great respect,” Mose said. Now he felt more comfortable with the subject, so he continued. “Perhaps we had best not speak too much about the things which the Lord’s hand has so clearly led me into.”

“You
are
a holy people,” Cindy allowed. “I can respect your private feelings on such matters. Well, the best to the two of you. Was she willing? At least tell me that.”

“I didn’t ask yet.” Mose held a smile back.

“But she will say yes?”

“We leave such things in the Lord’s hands.” Mose smiled this time.

Cindy chuckled. “Of course.”

Mose sent a silent prayer heavenward.
Thank You, dear Lord,
for sealing my lips
. He wished Cindy nothing but the Lord’s blessings, but she obviously lived in a world he wanted no part of.

“So where are you from?” Cindy asked when Mose remained silent.

“Ohio.”

“All that way to travel for a bride!” Cindy exclaimed. “And on a Greyhound bus.”

Mose shrugged. “It’s the best way for us.”

“I know you don’t have personal transportation,” Cindy said. “Oh, except for your buggies. You’ve never owned a car, have you?”

Mose looked away. How was he supposed to answer the questions of this woman? Cindy’s face had lit up again. “Likely you owned one in your
rumspringa
time. Isn’t that what you Amish call sowing your wild oats?”

Mose finally met her gaze. “The Lord has mercy and forgiveness for our mistakes, and,
yah
, even for those days when I did things I shouldn’t have.”

Cindy had a gleam in her eye. “Did you ever date a girl like me in your
rumspringa
?”

Mose felt the heat flame up his neck. The truth was he had, but the words stuck in his throat. This was why he took such care in his choice of a
frau
. He wanted nothing the world had to offer. He could never imagine Miriam asking questions like these. No decent Amish woman would.

Cindy chuckled beside him. “Must have seen something you didn’t like? Am I that bad?”

“The Lord bestows His grace on all of us.”

“I see.”

“We all have our faults,” Mose said, and wished he hadn’t. A hurt look filled Cindy’s face, but he didn’t know how to comfort her without further damage. He couldn’t touch her arm like she had touched his. That was what she likely wanted. He would have
to wait until this awkward moment passed. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings,” he finally said.

Cindy remained silent, and Mose didn’t try again.

What would the community back home say if they learned of this conversation? He couldn’t be fully blamed, but he had somehow allowed himself to speak familiar words with a very worldly woman. And she had felt at home enough to sit beside him on the bus. Those things were not easily explained. He would ask the same hard questions of any man who allowed himself to fall into such a trap. If this incident made its way back to the ears of his district in Wayne County, it would remove all his votes for bishop this fall, and he wouldn’t blame anyone but himself.

Thankfully he was far from home, and no one would ever find out. That was poor reasoning, but it was all he had. In the meantime he would think again of Miriam and what a holy woman she was. He would have Miriam soon to help him and stand beside him while they walked through the life the Lord had planned for them.

Cindy took a long breath beside him and exclaimed, “Apology accepted. I guess I’m a little touchy.”

“I’m not always what I should be myself,” Mose acknowledged, and a comfortable silence settled between them. Cindy debarked from the bus at the next town with a wave of her hand and a smile.

Mose smiled back, but he didn’t wave.

Chapter Thirteen

M
iriam hopped out of Mr. Whitehorse’s car when they arrived back from Coalgate and ran up the driveway to the mailbox.

“What’s the rush?” Aunt Fannie called after her with a laugh. “There’ll be no letters from Mose yet!”

Before Miriam could answer, Jonathon raced out of the greenhouse to welcome his
mamm
home, and Aunt Fannie bent down to wrap her arms around the little figure.

Miriam opened the mailbox to find the usual pile of magazines and bills. Most of them were addressed to Mr. William Byler. Miriam held them in one hand and searched deeper with the other. She shrieked in delight at the sight of
Mamm
’s handwriting on a white envelope. With the mail in both hands, Miriam hurried back toward Aunt Fannie.

Aunt Fannie had paid Mr. Whitehorse by the time Miriam arrived back at the car. Jonathon jumped up and down as she approached and leaped into her arms for a quick hug.

“I’m working for
Daett
today,” he announced and wiggled out of her arms to race back toward the greenhouse.

Mr. Whitehorse smiled and slowly backed his car out of the driveway.

Miriam held the envelope high in the air to show Aunt Fannie. “A letter from
Mamm
!”

“
Gut!
” Aunt Fannie declared. “That will cheer you up over Mose’s leaving. Now tell me what your
mamm
wrote.”