The Restoration (46 page)

“It’s nice of you to offer, but I don’t want to trouble you. I’m sure you have plenty of work to do in your shop.”

“My daed and Timothy are there. They can manage without me for a bit.” Jonah let go of Elaine’s hand and picked up her bicycle. “I’ll take this up to the yard and make sure everything’s working okay. Wouldn’t want you to try and ride it if something else is amiss.”

“Danki for offering.” She smiled. “I’m not quite ready to get back on it yet anyway.”

They headed up the driveway, with Jonah’s new dog barking and frolicking all the way. When they got to the house Jonah parked the bike and told Elaine to make herself comfortable on the porch. After he went inside, she took a seat on the wooden glider, with Champ lying near her feet.

Several minutes passed, until Jonah returned with two glasses of lemonade. He handed one to Elaine and took a seat beside her.

“Is… is your mamm going to j–join us?” With Jonah sitting so close, Elaine struggled to breathe and could barely speak without stuttering.

“No, she just put Mark down for a nap and needs to diaper and feed Martha Jean.” Jonah sighed. “Don’t know what I’d have done after Sara died without my parents’ help.”

“How are the children?”

“Doing well.” Jonah took a drink, and Elaine did the same. They sat quietly until Jonah spoke again. “I heard you and Ben broke up.”

Elaine nodded.

“Mind if I ask why?”

Her heart began to pound. Should she make light of this or tell Jonah the truth? “Well,” she began, “Ben asked me to marry him, but I couldn’t say yes, because I’m not in love with him.”

“It seems like I’ve heard that before—only it was my marriage proposal you turned down.” Jonah’s brows furrowed as he stared into the yard. “Some folks might get the idea that you enjoy breaking men’s hearts.”

Elaine’s spine stiffened. “Is that what you think, Jonah? Do you believe I intentionally wanted to hurt you when I said no to your proposal?”

“I guess not, but it hurt nonetheless.” He turned to face her again. “As much as I thought I loved Meredith, it didn’t compare to the way I felt about you.”

Elaine’s breath caught in her throat. “But you loved Sara—enough to marry her.”

Jonah nodded. “Sara needed me, and I needed her. We did love each other, but I don’t think Sara ever loved me as much as she did her first husband. And I…” Jonah’s voice trailed off, and he quickly drank more lemonade.

“Did you love her as much as you used to love me?” Elaine dared to ask. She couldn’t believe her boldness. It wasn’t like her at all. But this was something she simply had to know.

He shook his head. “I loved her, but in a different way.”

“I could tell. When I saw the two of you together your love and devotion to Sara and Mark was obvious.” Elaine paused.
Should I say more? Should I tell Jonah the real reason I broke up with him?

Throwing caution to the wind, Elaine looked at Jonah and said, “Remember that day when I said I didn’t love you?”

“Course I remember. A man who loves a woman as much as I loved you isn’t likely to forget something as painful as that.”

She winced, reliving the agony of telling him good-bye and knowing how much it had hurt him, too. “I didn’t mean it, Jonah. I only said I didn’t love you because I had the responsibility of taking care of Grandma and didn’t want to burden you with it.” Elaine swallowed hard, hoping she wouldn’t break down. Her tears were right on the surface.

“It wouldn’t have been a burden, Elaine. I told you back then I would help with the care of Edna.”

“I know, but Grandma was my responsibility, not yours. Being her caregiver was a full-time job. If we had gotten married I couldn’t have been the wife you deserved.”

“So you did love me then?”

She nodded, unable to keep the tears from falling.

“How do you feel about me now?”

“I love you with my whole heart, Jonah, but I realize you still love Sara, so I don’t have any expectations of…”

He put his finger gently against her lips. “Sara will always have a place in my heart, but she’s gone, and I believe she would want me to move on with my life.”

Elaine sat quietly, unable to speak around the lump in her throat. Was Jonah saying what she thought he was saying? Could she even hope he was?

Jonah wiped Elaine’s tears, and lifted her chin so she was looking directly at him. “I love you, Elaine, and if you don’t think it’s too late for us, I’d be honored if you would become my fraa. I don’t want any more time to slip away between us.”

“My answer is yes, Jonah.” Elaine’s voice trembled. “I’d very much like to be your wife.”

He leaned forward and tenderly kissed her lips. “How long would it take you to plan a wedding? I’d like to get married as soon as possible.”

Now tears of joy coursed down her cheeks. “Can you wait four months?”

He shook his head vigorously. “No, but if you need that long to prepare for the wedding, I’ll try to be patient.”

She smiled. “I might be able to make all the arrangements in three months. How about the first week of November? Would that be soon enough?”

Jonah pulled her gently into his arms. “It’s not soon enough, but I’ll wait until then. In the meantime, we have a lot of courting to do.”

Chicago

Elam’s heart pounded as he knocked on the Morgans’ front door. He’d taken a chance coming here without phoning ahead, but he’d lost David’s cell number. Fortunately, he’d found the Morgans’ address on an old Christmas card David had sent him a few years ago.

Several minutes passed before the door opened. Elam recognized the woman standing at the entrance—she was David’s mother.

“You’re Elam, one of David’s Amish friends, aren’t you?” She tipped her head and looked at him curiously.

Elam nodded.

“If you’ve come to try and talk him into going back to Arthur and joining the Amish faith, you can turn around now and go home.” She put both hands against her hips. “Because it’s not going to happen. David’s here to stay, and he’ll be going back to college in the fall.”

“I’m not here for that, but I do need to speak to David. Is he here? It’s really important.” Elam hoped David’s mother wouldn’t slam the door in his face. He’d come too far to be turned away now. Besides, he needed to say what was on his mind.

She hesitated but finally nodded. “David started working part-time for his father, but he won’t go into the clinic until later this afternoon. Right now, he’s in the living room, watching TV.”

Elam followed her down the hall. When he entered the living room, he saw David lying on the couch. At first Elam thought he was sleeping, but as soon as he approached, David’s eyes snapped open and he sat up. “Elam, what are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you.” Elam glanced at David’s mother and was relieved when she left the room.

“How’s Priscilla?” David gestured for Elam to take a seat in one of the chairs.

“She’s doing better. Her burns are healing well, and I don’t think she’ll have any lasting scars.” Elam lowered himself into the rocking chair, figuring if he got the chair moving it might help him relax.

“I’m glad to hear it. I’ve been praying for her.”

“Same here.”

“So, how are things with you? You look like you have something serious on your mind.”

“Actually, I’m not doing so well,” Elam said truthfully.

“Oh? What’s wrong?”

“Priscilla and I broke up.”

David’s eyes widened. “Really? How come?”

“You need to know something important.”

“What’s that?”

Elam’s voice lowered. He hoped David’s mother couldn’t overhear their conversation. “You’re not the one responsible for Priscilla getting burned.”

David leaned forward. “What was that?”

“You’re not responsible for Priscilla’s burns.” Elam spoke a little louder.

David grabbed the throw pillow, hugging it to his chest. “What do you mean? I left the stove on. If I hadn’t…”

Elam shook his head determinedly. “I’m the one responsible.” Before David had a chance to say more, Elam blurted out everything that had happened that night.

David sat for several seconds, shaking his head, as though in disbelief. “Why did you let me believe I was the one responsible, Elam?”

“I was jealous of the attention you showed Priscilla. You hung around her a lot, and it seemed like you were trying to take her from me.” Elam swallowed hard. He wanted to run and hide, but he’d come here to set things right with David, and he wouldn’t take the coward’s way out. “I thought if you believed you were the guilty one, you’d leave Arthur for good.”

David rocked slowly back and forth, as though trying to take things in. “Well, you got your wish, so why’d you come here now and confess?”

“I had to, David. I’ve been struggling with guilt ever since Priscilla’s accident. I couldn’t live with the lie any longer.” Elam paused to take a breath. “I’ve asked God’s forgiveness. Now I’m asking yours. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”

“Yes, I can.” David lifted his chin with an air of confidence. “I appreciate you coming all this way to tell me the truth. It’s been really hard dealing with the thought that I was the cause of Priscilla getting hurt. You’ve taken a burden of guilt off my shoulders.”

“Priscilla was upset when you left.”

“I’m sorry for that, but it was better that way.”

Elam drew in another quick breath. He’d have to say quickly what was on his mind, before he lost his nerve. “I believe Priscilla’s in love with you, and I realize now you’re the best person for her, not me. I destroyed any chance of Priscilla and me being together when I let you take the blame for what I had done. I’d understand if neither of you ever spoke to me again.”

David opened his mouth like he was going to say more when his mother stepped into the room. “You have another visitor, David.”

“Can it wait, Mom? Elam and I are having a discussion here.”

His mother pursed her lips. “I suppose, but she says it’s important.”

“Okay.” David turned to Elam. “Sit tight. I’ll be right back.”

Priscilla shifted nervously as she waited in the hall for David’s mother to return. The woman hadn’t greeted Priscilla any too cordially, but at least she hadn’t slammed the door in her face. When Priscilla asked if David was there, his mother had said he was and that Priscilla should wait in the hall.
Lord, please give me the right words when I speak to David.

A short time later David stepped into the hallway. “Oh, Priscilla, it’s you? Did you come with Elam?”

She tipped her head. “Huh?”

“Elam’s here, too. I figured you must have come together.”

Priscilla’s knees nearly buckled, and she grasped the door frame for support. So that must have been Elam she’d seen on the interstate. But what was he doing here?

“Elam and I did not come here together. I left a message last night, telling you I was coming,” she said firmly. “We broke up yesterday when I found out he was the one who hadn’t turned the burner off on the stove.”

David nodded. “Elam told me about that. He came here to apologize for letting me take the blame.”

“What did you say?”

“I’ll admit, I was upset at first, but what’s done is done. There’s no reason for me to hold a grudge, so I’ve accepted his apology. I could barely live with myself, being the cause of what happened to you. Now Elam has lifted the burden from me, too.”

“Did you get my letter or phone messages, David?”

He nodded. “But most of the words in the letter were smudged. Maybe it got wet. Oh, and I didn’t get your phone message, either. My cell phone battery died soon after I returned home, and I haven’t bothered to replace it.” David thrust his hands into his jean pockets. “Guess I kinda got used to doing without it when I was trying to prepare for joining the Amish church. Course, I’ll admit, I did use the cell phone a few times when it was necessary—like the night you got burned.”

“The reason I wrote and tried to call is I wanted you to know I didn’t blame you for my accident,” Priscilla said. “Also, I had hoped to persuade you to come back to Arthur.”

David shook his head. “I’ll come back to visit Gram and Gramps from time to time, but I’ve decided not to join the Amish faith after all.”