The Betrayed Fiancée (2 page)

They had no more than gotten comfortable on the couch when Joel's cell phone rang. Pulling it from his pocket and looking at the caller ID, he realized it was his sister Elsie. Joel had no desire to be interrupted, and he certainly didn't want Kristi knowing who the call was from, so he let it go to voice mail.

Later, when Kristi went to the kitchen to get their dessert, Joel hurriedly accessed his voice mail, to listen to his sister's message.

“Joel, it's Elsie.” Her voice sounded shaky. “There's no easy way to tell you this, but…” Elsie's silence made the hairs on the back of Joel's neck rise. “Dad is dead.”

He's dead. No, that can't be. I must've misheard her message
.

Joel shuddered when he heard a sharp intake of breath before his sister continued. “Dad was up in his tree house, and he…” Elsie's voice broke. “He got hit by lightning. Please call as soon as you can. We need to talk about the funeral.”

Joel's arms went limp as he lowered the phone to the couch. Seconds seemed like hours while he slowly shook his head, trying to grasp his sister's words and let them sink in. He felt as if he'd been the one hit by a bolt of lightning. It didn't seem possible. Dad couldn't be dead. Joel's body felt numb.
What was Dad doing in a tree house
?

Kristi returned to the living room with two pieces of apple pie but stopped suddenly when she saw Joel sitting still, a vacant look in his eyes. Her stomach quivered as she rushed over to him. “What's wrong, Joel?” She set the serving tray on the coffee table and took a seat beside him. “You look upset.”

He gave no response.

“Joel, you're scaring me.” She touched his arm. “What is it?”

“Huh?” Joel blinked, as though coming out of a daze.

“Are you upset about something?”

Joel squeezed his eyes shut then opened them again. “My dad's gone,” he mumbled. “He—he passed away after being struck by lightning.” He picked up his cell phone. “My sister left a message.”

Kristi covered her mouth to stifle a gasp. “Oh, Joel, I am so sorry.”

“I'll have to go to the funeral.”

“Of course. I'll go with you.”

Joel shook his head. “No, you don't need to go. You didn't even know my dad, and—”

“It's because you never wanted me to. I've asked many times to meet your family, but you've always said no.”

Joel shrugged his shoulders. “I didn't see any reason for you to meet them. Like I told you before, they're different. I don't think you'd be comfortable around them.”

Before Kristi could respond, Joel stood. “I have to go now. I'm tired, and I need to call my sister back and let her know I'll be there for Dad's funeral. In fact, I should go the day before, for the viewing.”

“Okay, but I'm going with you to the funeral, Joel.”

He shook his head more vigorously. “I told you, it's not necessary.”

She stood, looking up at him with determination. “It is to me. If I'm going to become your wife someday, then it's time for me to meet your family and pay my respects.”

He continued to shake his head.

“I don't understand why you're pushing me away and why you would object to me going to your father's funeral. Are you ashamed of me?” She crossed her arms.

“No, of course not.”

“Maybe we shouldn't get married, if you don't want your family to meet me.”

Joel pulled her into his arms. “I'm sorry, Kristi. If it means that much, you can go.” He stroked the top of her head.

Joel's hugs were always so affectionate. Although they'd had their share of disagreements, every time he held her in his arms, Kristi knew he cared.

Millersburg, Ohio

When Elsie left the phone shack after making several calls, her legs trembled so badly she could hardly walk. While she hadn't spoken with anyone in their district directly, she'd left messages about Dad's untimely death. That had been difficult enough. She could hardly believe he was gone.

After walking through puddles she barely noticed, then trudging slowly up the stairs to her porch, Elsie entered the house and closed the door. Leaning against it for support, she heard the rain continuing to fall, even though the worst of the storm had finally passed.

“Did you call everyone on the list?” her husband asked when she joined him in the living room.

Elsie nodded slowly as she took a seat beside him on the couch.

“How about Joel? Did you get a hold of him?”

“He didn't answer his phone, but I left a message.” Elsie leaned her head on John's shoulder for support. She felt drained and woeful as she slouched on the sofa. “Oh John, I can't believe Dad is gone. I can only imagine how horrible it was when Arlene and Larry stopped by his place earlier this evening and found Dad's body.” She choked on the sob rising in her throat.

John pulled Elsie into his arms, gently rubbing her back. “I can't understand what he was doing up in his tree house during such a storm.”

“Maybe it wasn't storming when he climbed up. It rained awhile before the
dunner
and
wedderleech
came upon us.”

“Could be. I don't think your
daed
would have taken any chances if he'd known he was in danger of being struck by lightning.”

Elsie sniffed. “I need to go upstairs and tell the
kinner
, but it won't be easy. All of our children loved their
grossdaadi
so much.”

“I know,” John agreed. “It won't be easy, but we can take comfort with the assurance of knowing he's at peace and in heaven with your
mamm
.” He stood and held out his hand. “If you'd like, I'll go up with you.”

Elsie nodded. Some folks who didn't know the Lord personally did not have such hope. She couldn't imagine how horrible it must be. If not for her faith and trust in God, she wouldn't be able to deal with any of life's tragedies.

L
isten, Kristi. There's something I need to tell you.” Joel hesitated as they headed south on I-77 early Friday morning.

“What is it?” Kristi wondered why Joel was being so evasive. He hadn't told her exactly what town his dad lived in, only that he lived south of Akron.

“Umm… It's about my family. Remember when I told you they were different?”

“I remember, but you never explained in what way they are different from me.”

“The thing is….” Joel glanced over at her and then quickly looked back to the road. “They're Amish.”

Kristi's eyes opened wide. “Your family is Amish?”

“Yes.”

“So what you're saying is all this time I've been dating an Amish man without being aware of it?” She blinked rapidly as a rush of adrenaline tingled through her body.

“I used to be Amish, but not anymore.” Joel gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. “I left the Amish faith seven years ago.”

“So you speak Pennsylvania Dutch and everything?”

“
Jah
. It means yes.”

Kristi's thoughts were all over the place, wondering why Joel had kept this from her and what made him leave the Amish faith. She glanced at him, then looked at the dashboard, unable to form a response.

“Kristi, did you hear me?” Joel's voice sounded strained.

“Yes, I heard.” Kristi swallowed hard, struggling not to cry. Apparently, this man she'd come to care for so deeply wasn't the person she knew. No wonder Joel hadn't wanted her to meet his family and kept saying they were different. Did he think she was so shallow she couldn't have accepted his heritage?

“Don't you have anything to say?” Joel placed his hand over Kristi's and tenderly held her fingers.

Feeling a painful tightness in her throat, Kristi pulled away from his grasp, bringing her arms close to her chest. “Joel, would you please pull over?”

Up ahead, he found a safe place to pull off the road and then turned off the ignition.

She rubbed her temples, trying to comprehend his startling confession. “Look at me, Joel.” Kristi waited until she had his full attention. “I can't believe you would lie about something so important.”

“I—I didn't lie. I just didn't volunteer the information.”

“Why was it necessary to keep this from me?” Her forehead wrinkled.

He shrugged, looking toward the highway. “I—I don't know. Guess I assumed you might be uncomfortable around my family and wouldn't understand why I gave up the Amish way of life.”

Kristi reached out and touched his chin, turning him to face her. “Why did you?”

Joel raked shaky fingers through the side of his hair and groaned. “I wanted something more than the Plain life could offer.”

“Like what?”

He tapped the steering wheel a couple of times. “A car, for one thing. I had one when I went through my
rumschpringe
, and it was hard to give it up.”

“Rumschpringe? What's that?”

“It means ‘running around.' It's a time when young people who have grown up in an Amish home have the chance to explore the world outside their faith.” Joel cleared his throat. “Then they have the right to choose between joining the Amish church or going English.”

“So you went English.”

He nodded. “But not till after I'd joined the Amish church, which, of course, made it worse when I left.”

Kristi massaged the bridge of her nose and sighed. After her shopping trip to Holmes County with her mother, she'd done a little reading about the Amish culture and remembered one article stating how hard it was on a family when one of them left the faith. No wonder Joel prayed silently and not out loud. This also explained why he was able to find Bible passages easily whenever they went to church and followed the pastor's message.
I should have questioned him more about it
.

“Did you ever plan to tell me your family is Amish, or did you only blurt it out now because we're on our way to your father's funeral?” Kristi tried not to let her irritation show, but this was unnerving.

Joel remained silent for several seconds. “I—I would have told you eventually, but I was worried about how you'd respond.”

“I would have dealt with it better if you'd told me right away.” Kristi's muscles tightened.

“I'm sorry, Kristi. I didn't think you'd understand, and I was wrong to assume how you'd react.”

“All I know is you weren't honest with me, and that bothers me a lot.”

His ears reddened. “Look, can we talk about this later? It's gonna take all my strength to get through the funeral today.”

Kristi felt bad about being pushy, but she wanted to know everything Joel kept hidden from her.
I have to be considerate of his feelings right now. If one of my parents passed away unexpectedly, I'd want him to do the same
.

She sighed, slipping down a bit in her seat.
But it's difficult to be supportive when he's kept his family hidden from me for so long—especially since I've told him everything about my family, and even shared some things from my childhood. I wish I'd have met Joel's father and known what kind of person he was
.

Kristi pushed herself back up with her elbows to get repositioned in her seat. In sympathy, she placed her hand on Joel's arm. “Today will be difficult, but God will help you endure the pain.”

Joel made no comment as he started the car and pulled back onto the road.

“Is your mother still alive?” Kristi spoke quietly, hoping Joel wouldn't be upset with all her questions.

He shook his head. “She had a heart attack and died two years ago.”

“I'm sorry, Joel.” Kristi couldn't imagine losing both of her parents, especially in such a short span of time. “You had said it was your sister who called with the news of your father's death. Do you have other siblings?”