Plain and Fancy (11 page)

Once Laura made her decision to become Amish, the purchase of a second quilt was completely forgotten. The first order of business was to find Darla and tell her what she planned to do. Then she would need to go back to the interior design school and withdraw. After that, she would call her parents. That was going to be the hardest part, because she was sure they wouldn’t understand. Eli’s job was to tell Pauline the news, and also his parents, and she was sure that wouldn’t be easy, either.

Eli stood from the bench where they had been sitting. “As soon as I leave the farmers’ market, I’ll head over to my sister’s place and see if she would be willing to let you live with her.”

Laura stood, too. “Do you think she would do that?”

“Jah. Martha Rose and I are close.” He chuckled. “It’s always been hard for her to tell me no, and I’m sure she would be a big help in teaching you everything you’ll need to know about our way of life.”

Laura gripped his arm. “I’m a ball of nerves, Eli. What if Martha Rose says I can’t stay there? What if your folks don’t accept me? What if—”

Eli held up his hand, halting her words. “Tomorrow I’ll hire a driver to pick you up at the school in Lancaster, and we’ll drive over to Amon and Martha Rose’s place so you can meet them.”

“That’s okay,” she said. “I’ll need to turn in the car I’m leasing, so I’ll have someone from the rental company drop me off in front of the variety store in Paradise. You can pick me up there, if that’s all right.”

“Jah, sure.” He smiled, and it gave her a sense of reassurance. “I’m sure everything will work out okay.”

“I still can’t believe what you’re planning to do,” Darla said, as she and Laura drove back to their school. “Don’t you realize what you’ll be giving up? Don’t you know how hard the transition from English to Amish will be?”

Laura nodded. “I know it won’t be easy, but I can do it. I can do anything if I want it badly enough, and this is something I really want.”

“You want to live the Plain life, without all the modern conveniences you’ve become used to?”

“Well, I—”

“Think about it, Laura. You won’t be able to use your computer to send e-mails anymore. You won’t be allowed to wear makeup, jeans, or any fancy clothes. You’ll have to trade in your leased car for a horse and buggy.”

Laura shrugged. “I’m sure it won’t be easy, but I can do it for Eli—because I love him and hope to be his wife someday.”

“Can’t you talk him into leaving the Amish faith? You told me once that he’s not joined the church yet, so he wouldn’t be shunned if he were to become English.”

“I did ask him about leaving once, and it wasn’t long after that he said we should go our separate ways.” Laura clenched her fingers tightly together in her lap. “I was miserable those months we were apart, and I won’t let Eli walk out of my life again, no matter how many sacrifices I might need to make.”

Darla gave the steering wheel a couple of taps. “Suit yourself, but don’t come crying to me when things don’t work out.”

“I won’t. You can be sure of that.”

As Pauline waited near the root-beer stand for Eli to return, she became increasingly anxious. What had that English woman wanted to speak with Eli about, and why had he agreed to talk to her? She hoped he hadn’t given up his plans to take membership classes this summer and join the church in the fall. Surely he wasn’t thinking about leaving the Amish faith and going English.

“Oh, good, I’m glad you’re still here. I need to speak with you.”

Pauline whirled around at the sound of Eli’s voice. She felt relief to see that the English woman wasn’t with him. “Is everything all right, Eli? You look kind of flushed.”

He drew her away from the table and over to one corner of the room. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

Eli stared at the concrete floor as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I—I’ve tried to tell you this before, but there’s really no way it could work for us to be together.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “Why not? We’ve been courting for a couple of months now, and I thought we’ve been getting along fairly well.”

He lifted his gaze to hers. “There’s no easy way for me to say this, but I’m in love with Laura.”

“The Englisher?”

“Jah.”

“You’re going to leave the Amish faith to be with her?”

He shook his head. “Laura wants to become Plain.”

Pauline tried to let Eli’s words register in her brain while fighting the tears pushing against her eyelids. This couldn’t be true. It had to be some kind of horrible joke. No one just up and decided to join the church—to her knowledge very few ever had.

“You’re a nice person, and I’m sorry if I’ve led you on or hurt you in any way.” Eli touched her arm. “I thought I could forget about Laura and move on with my life, but after seeing her today, I realized that she’s the one I love and want to be with.”

Pauline shrugged his hand away. “It won’t work, Eli. That fancy woman will never become one of us. I doubt she could last one week as an Amish woman.” Pauline’s heart felt like it was breaking in two, but there was no way she would admit to Eli how much he had hurt her, or that she’d hoped to become his wife someday. She lifted her chin and stared right into his blue eyes. “You’re verhuddelt if you think things are going to work out for you and Laura, but if she’s what you want, then don’t expect any sympathy from me if things go sour.” Pauline turned on her heels and stalked off.

“Where are you going? Don’t you need a ride home?”

She shook her head and kept on walking. She would find her own way home, even if it meant phoning one of their English drivers for a ride.

As Eli left his sister’s place and headed down the road toward home with his horse and buggy, he reflected on the conversation he’d had with Martha Rose and felt relief that she’d agreed to let Laura stay with her and Amon while she took her training to become Amish. Martha Rose had also been willing to instruct Laura in cooking, sewing, and many other things she would need to know in order to become part of the Amish community.

Eli was sure that once his sister met Laura in person and saw how nice she was and realized that she wanted to become Amish, everything would work out fine and dandy. Now all he had to do was break the news to Mom and Pop.

Mary Ellen was just putting lunch on the table when she heard a horse and buggy come into the yard. She glanced out the kitchen window and saw that it was Eli. “I wonder what he’s doing home so soon,” she said to Johnny, who had just finished washing up at the sink. “I thought he and Pauline were going out to lunch after they left the market, and I figured he would be gone most of the day.”

Johnny shrugged. “Guess there must have been a change of plans.”

“I hope they didn’t have a disagreement. Eli can be kind of headstrong sometimes.”

Johnny chuckled and flicked a little water in her direction. “Wonder where he gets that trait from?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe you’d best look in the mirror.”

“Ha! I’d say we both tend to be a bit headstrong at times.” “I guess you’re right about that.” She glanced out the window again. “Eli’s putting his horse away, so he’ll probably be in shortly. Did Lewis and Jonas say when they were coming inside?”

Johnny dried his hands on a towel before answering. “They had a couple of things to do in the barn, but I’m sure they’ll be in soon, too.”

“I’ll go ahead and serve up the soup. By the time they come in, it will probably be cool enough to eat.”

“Makes sense to me.” Johnny kissed Mary Ellen’s cheek, then ambled across the room and took a seat at the table.

A few minutes later, Jonas and Lewis entered the kitchen, followed by Eli, whose face was all red and sweaty.

Mary Ellen felt immediate concern, and she placed the ladle back in the pot of soup and rushed to his side. “Is there anything wrong, son? You look kind of flushed.”

“That’s what Pauline said right before I told her the news.” Eli flopped into a chair and let his head fall forward into his hands.

Pop reached over and touched Eli’s shoulder. “What news is that? What’s got you so worked up?”

Eli looked up and blew out his breath. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

“Are you and Pauline gettin’ hitched?” The question came from Lewis, who had also pulled out a chair and sat down.

Eli shook his head. “I think it might be good if everyone took a seat. What I have to say will probably be quite a shock.”

Mary Ellen’s heart slammed into her chest. Was Eli going to announce that he’d decided not to join the church in the fall, after all? With a sense of dread, she took the chair closest to him.

“So, tell us what’s on your mind,” Johnny said, after Jonas took his seat.

“You all remember Laura Meade, right?”

“The pretty redheaded woman you brought by the house a few months back?” Lewis asked with a grin.

Eli nodded. “The thing is—I saw Laura today, and she wants to join the Amish church.”

“What?” Mary Ellen could hardly believe her ears. Eli hadn’t mentioned the English woman in some time, and this made no sense at all.

“I’ve just come from Martha Rose’s place, and she’s agreed to let Laura stay there.”

“She’ll be staying with Martha Rose and Amon?”

“Jah, Mom.”

“It just doesn’t seem right, her being so fancy and all,” Jonas said with a shake of his head.

“Jah,” Lewis agreed. “It’s not gonna be easy for Laura to give up all the modern things she’s been used to and start livin’ as we do.”

“If Laura stays with Martha Rose, she can teach her all the things she’ll need to know about being Amish, and Laura and I can both take the membership classes this summer. Then by fall, we’ll both be baptized and join the church.”

“Whose idea was this?” Johnny asked, leaning his elbows on the table.

“The part about joining the church was Laura’s idea, but I’m the one who thought of asking Martha Rose to help her.” Eli scrubbed a hand down his clean-shaven face. “Laura wants it, and so do I. She knows what she’s giving up, and it’s her decision to do this. So won’t you please give her a chance?”

“It will take a lot of gumption for her to make all the sacrifices needed to join the church,” Johnny put in. “If she can do it, then I’m willing to give her a chance.”

“How about the rest of you?” Eli looked around the table.

Lewis and Jonas both nodded, but Mary Ellen couldn’t seem to find her voice. If Laura wanted to join the church, and Eli wanted them to take classes and be baptized together, then in all likelihood, he had plans of marrying the girl soon after that. Mary Ellen didn’t like the idea, but she knew if she voiced her concerns it might drive Eli away. They had waited a long time for him to reach a decision about joining the church, and she wouldn’t do anything to discourage him. She finally nodded and forced her lips into a smile. “I’ll give Laura a chance, too.”

As soon as Laura returned to the school, she went straight to the admissions office and told them she would be withdrawing and would try to move her things out in the morning. Then she went to her room to call her parents.

She felt relief when Dad answered the phone, because she was sure the news of her decision would be harder for Mom to handle. “Hi, Dad, it’s me,” she said, drawing in a quick breath for added courage.

“It’s good to hear from you, Laura. How are things going with your studies?”

She shifted the phone to her other ear. “I ... uh ... need to tell you something.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Starting tomorrow morning, I’ll be done with school.”

“Done? What do you mean? You haven’t even finished your first year there yet.”

“I’m ... uh ... not planning to finish, Dad.”

There was a pause, then, “Irene, you’d better pick up the phone in the kitchen. Laura’s on the line.”

Laura held her breath as she waited for her mother to come on. Maybe it was better this way. She could tell them both the news at the same time and be done with it.

“Hello, Laura. How are you, dear?”

“I—I’m okay.”

“Our daughter has some news she wants to share with us,” Dad said before Mom could add anything more.

“What news is that?”

“I’ve withdrawn from school, and tomorrow morning, I’ll be moving in with Eli’s sister so I can join the Amish church.”

“What?” Mom and Dad shouted in unison.

“I’m planning to join the Amish church.”

“This is not April Fool’s Day, Laura,” Dad said with a chuckle. “Now quit fooling around.”

“I’m not kidding. I’m in love with Eli Yoder, and the only way we can be together is if I join his faith.”

“Why can’t he leave the Amish faith and join our world?”

“Because, Mom, his roots are deep, and he’s committed to his family as well as to his religion.”

“Oh, and you’re not committed to your family?”

“I am, but you and Dad have your own busy lives, and you’ve raised me to be independent and make my own decisions.” Laura paused as she groped for the right words. “This is the decision I’ve chosen to make.”

“Laura, do you know what you’re saying?” Mom’s voice had risen at least an octave, and Laura had to hold the phone away from her ear. “I’m catching the next flight to Pennsylvania so I can talk some sense into you.”

“You may as well save your money, because nothing you can say will make me change my mind. Besides, by the time you get here, I’ll be moved out of my dorm room and into Martha Rose’s house, and you don’t know where that is.” Laura sucked in her bottom lip. The truth was, she had no idea where Eli’s sister lived, either. For that matter, she wasn’t even sure Martha Rose would agree to take her in. What if the woman had said no to Eli’s request? What if Laura had quit school for nothing and now had no place to go?

She shook her head, trying to clear away the troubling thoughts. It would all work out. It had to work out. Eli had said it would.

“What about Dean?” Mom asked. “I thought the two of you were—”

“It was over between me and Dean months ago. The last time we talked, I told him so, too.”