Plain Proposal (14 page)

By Saturday afternoon Miriam couldn’t stop thinking about her date with Saul.

“You never did tell me why you and your mother were grinning last night when that woman said
wunderbaar gut
.” Shelby ran the sweeper across the wooden floors in their bedroom.

“Because Amish folks don’t really say that.” She laughed. “Unless we’re being funny, or making fun of the
Englisch
for saying it. The
Englisch
seem to think we say that all the time, but we don’t.”

Shelby just nodded, then she leaned the sweeper up against the wall. “Are you excited about your date?”

Miriam’s insides warmed. “
Ya
. I am.”

“What date?”

Miriam spun around at the sound of her mother’s voice. “Uh. . . I meant to tell you. . . I have a date with Saul tonight. We’re going to eat after I run my weekly errands in town.” She held her breath when she saw the pained look on her mother’s face, a squinting of her eyes as she pressed her lips together.

“Miriam, Shelby has just been here a week, and I don’t think you should be off on a date when your cousin is—”

“It’s okay, Rebecca.” Shelby plopped down on her bed. “I’m fine. Really.”

Miriam smiled at Shelby, then turned back to her mother. “See?” She raised her brows and waited.

Mamm
shook her head. “Not tonight, Miriam. I need to wait another week or so before you make the weekly run to town, until I have—have more money.” She held up a finger the way she was known to do when Miriam opened her mouth to argue. “And there might be a storm coming later. It’s best you stay home tonight.”

Miriam felt her heart sink to the pit of her stomach. “But,
Mamm
. . . I already told Saul that I would meet him in town. I don’t have any way to tell him I can’t be there.”

“I’m sure the Fishers have a phone in their barn like everyone else.”
Mamm
slapped her hands to her sides. “Please,
mei maedel
, don’t argue with me. This is just not a
gut
night for you to be going out.”

Miriam took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. She didn’t say anything but nodded.

When she heard her mother’s footsteps going down the stairs, she turned to Shelby. “That is not fair.”

“Maybe your mom just can’t accept that you are plenty old enough to date.” Shelby leaned back on her elbows. “I remember when I went on my first date when I was sixteen. I thought my dad was going to have a heart attack about it.”

Miriam sat down on her own bed and faced Shelby. “She doesn’t think Saul is right for me. I’m sure that’s it.” She leaned back on her palms. “She just doesn’t know him very well. He’s quiet around most people, and. . . he’s been in a little trouble before. Nothing serious. But I think
Mamm
thinks he just isn’t the right person for me.” She sat up again. “But that is not her choice.”

“Maybe your parents are worried that Saul will leave and that you will get your heart broken, or worse yet. . . that you’ll leave with him.”

Miriam shook her head. “Saul isn’t leaving. Those are just gossipy rumors.”

“I hope so, for your sake.” Shelby rolled onto her side, then propped herself up on one elbow. “So are you going to go call Saul?”

Miriam thought for a few moments before she answered.
“Ya.”

“It’s a shame you have to cancel, but maybe you can reschedule for another time.”

“
Ach
, I’m not canceling.” She grinned at Shelby. “I’m just going to tell him that I will meet him at nine thirty. After my parents are asleep.” She tucked a loose strand of hair beneath her
kapp
. “This is
Saul Fisher
. I have been waiting for this night my entire life. I am not going to miss it.”

7

S
AUL LISTENED TO
M
IRIAM’S MESSAGE TWICE, JUST TO
make sure he’d heard her correctly. He didn’t understand why she wanted to meet so late at night, but that might be better anyway. He could make sure
Daed
was sound asleep by the time he left, and he wouldn’t have to worry about there being trouble while he was gone. After his father’s outburst a few days before, the rest of the week had gone fine. No drinking. And as Saul had suspected, his father never brought that night up. He merely went to the fields earlier on that day, and he stayed out working later. . . well past the supper hour. Saul wondered what time his father would come in tonight.

Saul had prayed extra hard every night that his father would stop drinking, and every night he would read his employment offer and ask God if he was doing the right thing by leaving his family and friends, particularly about leaving his brothers. He thought about the speedy response he’d sent to the owner of the bistro, and the way his hand had shook as he wrote the letter.

He pulled the lever on the water pump until the cool water splashed at his feet, then he ran his hands underneath. He caught a glimpse of his brothers as they walked toward the barn. James would collect eggs from the hens while Ruben brushed down the horses. Saul knew they were both going to be fine. They were strong and levelheaded.
They have to be fine.

He strolled into the house, tired from a hard day’s work in the fields but excited about his date with Miriam. Just the thought of holding her hand or putting his arm around her at the movies gave him a burst of energy he wouldn’t normally have this time of day. When Saul walked into the den, his father was pulling off his work boots.

“It was a hot one today, no?”
Daed
dropped into his chair by the window, then fumbled for his glasses on the table next to him. Once he had the gold-rimmed glasses situated on his nose, he reached for
The Budget
.

Saul pulled off his own shoes, hung his hat on the rack, then let his suspenders drop to his sides. He sat down on the couch across from his father, one of the best men he’d ever known in his life.
Daed
was strong in his faith, and he went out of his way to help others. He just had this one problem. Saul leaned back against the couch, wishing he had the courage to tell his father about his plans in Pittsburgh. Since Saul hadn’t been baptized yet and wouldn’t face a shunning, maybe
Daed
would bless Saul’s choices. He didn’t realize he was staring until his father looked over the top of the newspaper at him.

“Something on your mind?”
Daed
pushed his reading glasses down on his nose.

If you only knew.
Saul shook his head. “No, not really.” His father seemed to be waiting for more. “I’ll be going out later. I’m taking Miriam Raber for a late supper.”

His father nodded as he pushed his glasses up and returned his eyes to the paper. “
Gut
folks, the Rabers.” He lowered the newspaper. “Think she might be the one you’ll settle with?”

Guilt tugged at Saul’s heart as he shifted his weight. “I dunno.” He leaned his head back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. He should never have set this date with Miriam.

But being with her was all he could think about.

Miriam closed the bedroom door behind her, then whipped the towel from her head. She leaned down and began to dry her hair in front of the small fan on the nightstand.

“What’s that smell?” Shelby closed her pink book, locked it, then dropped the key in her purse like she always did, and Miriam wondered if she was writing about happier thoughts.

“It’s vanilla lotion.” Miriam held her arm up for Shelby to sniff. “I bought it at the market a few weeks ago.”

“You smell like a candle.” Shelby reached into her purse. “Here, try this. It’s perfume, and you’ll smell much better to Saul wearing this.”

Miriam reached for the glass bottle. “Thank you, Shelby.”

Shelby sat up and crossed her legs beneath her. “Miriam, sneaking out like this will only get you in trouble down the line, in one way or another.” She shook her head. “Trust me. I know. Plus. . . don’t you think your parents will hear you sneaking out? Those steps creak.. . . Then you’ll have to hitch up the horse. They’ll hear you leaving.” She tapped a finger to her chin. “Do the Amish ground their kids? Because if so, I can already see you getting grounded for a long time.”

“
Ya
, we get punished. But no worries. I have everything covered.” Miriam knew her hair would never be completely dry by the time she needed to leave, so she wound it atop her head, then secured her prayer covering. She turned to Shelby. “Have you seen that huge fan in
Mamm
and
Daed’s
room? It’s run by the generator, and that thing is so loud that
Mamm
and
Daed
don’t hear anything outside of their bedroom. They’ll never hear the steps creak, and they won’t hear me leaving.”

“This has trouble written all over it, Miriam. I don’t think you should go.”

Miriam folded her arms across her chest. “Why? I’m not going to get caught. And I’m not exactly lying either.”

Shelby twisted her mouth from side to side for a moment, then she sat up and dropped her legs over the side of the bed. She leaned closer. “Miriam, I kinda got in some trouble back home.”

Miriam knew this, but she’d never known what kind of trouble. She eased her hands into her lap and folded them together. “What kind of trouble?”

Shelby took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. “After my parents’ divorce, and after Tommy broke up with me, I was sneaking out. . . and doing some things I shouldn’t have done.”

Miriam waited a moment to see if Shelby was going to share any details, but she didn’t. “Saul is a wonderful person. My parents just don’t know him, and they’re judging him. . . My mother is, anyway. And
Mamm
knows that only God can judge.”

Shelby let out a heavy sigh. “Maybe, Miriam. But I was running around with some people that my parents didn’t like, and they ended up dragging me into a bunch of stuff that wasn’t good for me.”

“Have you heard from your parents?” Miriam wanted to change the subject.

Shelby frowned. “Your mom said my mom left a message on the phone in the barn day before yesterday, saying that she couldn’t get hold of me on my cell.” Shelby rolled her eyes. “Duh. My cell phone has been dead, and Mom should know that.” She raised one shoulder, then dropped it slowly as she spoke. “Whatever. Obviously, my mother wasn’t in that big of a hurry to check on me.”

Miriam didn’t understand much about divorce, but she could tell that Shelby was bitter, and she hoped that her cousin would reach out to God for comfort. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’m mad at my parents for getting a divorce, for ruining my life. But if they did anything right, it was pulling me away from the kids I was running around with before they shipped me here.” Shelby turned away from Miriam and looked at the wall. “I wasn’t exactly thrilled to come here.” She turned to Miriam. “I’m sorry. It’s just that everything is so different. I don’t really know anyone. And I figured it would be like this. But. . . I do have to say. . . I was running around with a pretty rough crowd, and I was sneaking out all the time. Looking back, I should have made smarter choices, even if things were really bad at home.”

“Saul is a
gut
man. The best. When
Mamm
and
Daed
get to know him, they’ll see that.”