enjoying his wonderful Harley machine, going against the family and his district’s ruling concerning his chosen profession, not to mention the education he’d gained.
If he forsook it all, came home, and was baptized, all would be right again.
According to them, maybe.
But he couldn’t sleep at night, forced into a cookie cutter lifestyle making him like everyone else. The same hair, the same clothes, the same—Plainness.
If it was anything Thad couldn’t abide, it was being like everyone else.
“You weren’t made to blend in, Thad Zook,” an old girlfriend had told him. “You were made to stand out.”
He grinned at the memory, not of the old girlfriend, but at her words, and hit the accelerator. He needed some sun, sand, and a place to start again. Or at least some breathing space to figure out what to do next.
Chapter 2
2
B etsy sat beside her youngest sister Emma at the long kitchen table, built by their grandfather decades ago. The gas lamp flickered on the center of the wooden surface. The supper dishes had been cleared away. They’d consumed a light meal to follow the heavier one at the wedding earlier in the day.
After the day’s unseasonable heat departed, the outside air held the bite of an early fall chill. Inside the snug home where she’d grown up, Betsy shivered. Darkness fell earlier here than in Florida and she found herself longing to see the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.
She waited, not patiently, for her father’s answer. A positive outcome held the possibility of changing Betsy’s life forever. A no meant yet another disappointment. Either way, Betsy was set to depart on the next bus headed for Sarasota. Emma had tagged along tonight to the table, promising Betsy her support, although Betsy wanted to hear her father’s news privately.
As usual, Betsy suspected an ulterior motive on Emma’s part. As usual, Betsy was right.
Emma’s skin glowed as she spoke first. “Eli asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
Betsy gripped her mug, then relaxed her hold slightly. Her fingers might leave imprints on the ceramic handle if she held on much harder.
She knew Emma and Eli Troyer had been courting. This news shouldn’t surprise her. Another wedding, and another one not hers.
Daed nodded from his place at the head of the table. “I knew this was coming. He and I have been talking about house plans. Eli is set to buy some acreage with the help of his family.”
“We must set a date and begin making plans.” Mamm ’s face bore a similar shade to Emma’s. “This is happy, happy news.”
Betsy tried not to let her expression show the dismay bubbling up inside her. The effort was more challenging than keeping the lid on a pot of boiling water.
Truly, she had no inclination to think about marriage. Not after all the hoping and praying she’d done about Jacob. Her heart stung and she wondered when the sting would disappear. And now, her youngest sister, ready to wed.
Emma and Eli courted last summer, with their district abuzz at times about the young couple. No wonder Vera Byler had remarked earlier about Betsy being on her way to old maidhood.
Silly. She knew plenty of unmarried women, her Aenti Chelle her most favorite of all of them. Aenti Chelle had just turned thirty-nine and still had never married. There was some sad story behind it all, but Betsy had been too young to remember and she never dared ask her mother, let alone Aenti Chelle, whose parents had left the Amish and joined the Mennonite church when she was a young girl.
“You’re quiet, and solemn, Elizabetts.” Her daed used his own pronunciation of Elizabeth , never calling her Betsy.
“I’m just thinking.” She smiled at her sister. “Emma, I’m happy for you. However I can help you, I will, even though I’ll be in Florida.” She glanced at Daed .
He nodded. “I know you want to find out the family’s decision about helping you in your, ah, venture.”
“Did everyone see the paperwork from
If he forsook it all, came home, and was baptized, all would be right again.
According to them, maybe.
But he couldn’t sleep at night, forced into a cookie cutter lifestyle making him like everyone else. The same hair, the same clothes, the same—Plainness.
If it was anything Thad couldn’t abide, it was being like everyone else.
“You weren’t made to blend in, Thad Zook,” an old girlfriend had told him. “You were made to stand out.”
He grinned at the memory, not of the old girlfriend, but at her words, and hit the accelerator. He needed some sun, sand, and a place to start again. Or at least some breathing space to figure out what to do next.
Chapter 2
2
B etsy sat beside her youngest sister Emma at the long kitchen table, built by their grandfather decades ago. The gas lamp flickered on the center of the wooden surface. The supper dishes had been cleared away. They’d consumed a light meal to follow the heavier one at the wedding earlier in the day.
After the day’s unseasonable heat departed, the outside air held the bite of an early fall chill. Inside the snug home where she’d grown up, Betsy shivered. Darkness fell earlier here than in Florida and she found herself longing to see the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico.
She waited, not patiently, for her father’s answer. A positive outcome held the possibility of changing Betsy’s life forever. A no meant yet another disappointment. Either way, Betsy was set to depart on the next bus headed for Sarasota. Emma had tagged along tonight to the table, promising Betsy her support, although Betsy wanted to hear her father’s news privately.
As usual, Betsy suspected an ulterior motive on Emma’s part. As usual, Betsy was right.
Emma’s skin glowed as she spoke first. “Eli asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”
Betsy gripped her mug, then relaxed her hold slightly. Her fingers might leave imprints on the ceramic handle if she held on much harder.
She knew Emma and Eli Troyer had been courting. This news shouldn’t surprise her. Another wedding, and another one not hers.
Daed nodded from his place at the head of the table. “I knew this was coming. He and I have been talking about house plans. Eli is set to buy some acreage with the help of his family.”
“We must set a date and begin making plans.” Mamm ’s face bore a similar shade to Emma’s. “This is happy, happy news.”
Betsy tried not to let her expression show the dismay bubbling up inside her. The effort was more challenging than keeping the lid on a pot of boiling water.
Truly, she had no inclination to think about marriage. Not after all the hoping and praying she’d done about Jacob. Her heart stung and she wondered when the sting would disappear. And now, her youngest sister, ready to wed.
Emma and Eli courted last summer, with their district abuzz at times about the young couple. No wonder Vera Byler had remarked earlier about Betsy being on her way to old maidhood.
Silly. She knew plenty of unmarried women, her Aenti Chelle her most favorite of all of them. Aenti Chelle had just turned thirty-nine and still had never married. There was some sad story behind it all, but Betsy had been too young to remember and she never dared ask her mother, let alone Aenti Chelle, whose parents had left the Amish and joined the Mennonite church when she was a young girl.
“You’re quiet, and solemn, Elizabetts.” Her daed used his own pronunciation of Elizabeth , never calling her Betsy.
“I’m just thinking.” She smiled at her sister. “Emma, I’m happy for you. However I can help you, I will, even though I’ll be in Florida.” She glanced at Daed .
He nodded. “I know you want to find out the family’s decision about helping you in your, ah, venture.”
“Did everyone see the paperwork from
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