by R. H. Hull
When Rebecca called Sarah, Sarah’s mother answered and then handed Sarah the telephone receiver. Before Sarah could even say hello, Rebecca began talking. Her first words were, “If this is you, Sarah, say ‘yes’!”
As Sarah said, “Yes” in response, Rebecca began in an excited manner, “Sarah, guess what?”
The excitement in Rebecca’s voice was so evident that all Sarah could think of to say was, “Okay. What is it?” Sarah expected the usual discussion of current events in the Yoder household, or school, but was somewhat taken aback when Rebecca said with excitement,
“I met someone yesterday who seems to be a special young man! He is so cute you would never believe it! And, he seems very nice!”
There was a pause, and Sarah replied breathlessly, “Where in the name of all that matters did you meet him?! Is he from our church?”
On the other hand, Sarah hurriedly continued, “He can’t be from our church! We don’t have anyone in our church who is that cute!”
Rebecca paused in response to Sarah’s final question, and then replied by saying, “He came to father’s store yesterday morning. I helped him select some soda for their hired farm hands for the summer, and some other supplies for their farm. And, no, he is not from our church. He lives on his family’s farm in our community north of Eden about six miles. According to my father who knows Jacob’s father and mother and his grandparents, his family has farmed here for several generations, and have been very successful. According to my father, they have very large farms. But they are not of our Mennonite Order. They are what our church calls ‘of the world’!”
Sarah paused again, and all she could think of to say was, “Oh my! I hope that you are not interested in seeing him again!”
Rebecca thought for a moment, and then replied, “We only met this one time, so I don’t know for sure. Anyway, he hasn’t asked if he could see me. Maybe I’ll never see him again.”
Sarah, seeming a little more interested rather than concerned, remarked, “Isn’t their farm north of your parent’s farm, the one with the beautiful white house with columns, and the big barns and two silos? They seem very prosperous, at least that’s what my parents say. They say that the Swenson family has been farming successfully in this county for almost six generations. But they don’t belong to our Mennonite church, and that can be a definite problem if you decide to see him again!”
Rebecca joined in, “My brother knows him since they both go to our high school. They are in some of the same classes. I know that my brother Tom said that they are in the same agriculture class, and choir. Tom said that Jacob is very nice, has a good singing voice, and is an actor in many school plays. So, he must be very talented as well as being good-looking,” Rebecca said with a smile that was evident through her voice.
“Then you do want to see him again!” Sarah said breathlessly.
“I can tell!” she said with a knowing tone of voice.
“You do—you do—you do! I can tell, Rebecca Yoder! You are a wicked, wicked young lady, do you know that? Jacob Swenson is what our church calls, ‘of the world,’ and is not of our people or our heritage! Your parents, and in particular your father would just completely explode if they knew that you were even thinking about seeing Jacob Swenson again! You know that, don’t you, you-you wicked girl?”
Sarah couldn’t think of another descriptor for Rebecca than “wicked,” although she felt a little twinge of envy that her very best friend had evidently met a very nice and good-looking young man. She, too, secretly wanted to meet someone she could feel a little ‘wicked’ about, but did not dare think that it would ever happen! In fact, she felt wicked even thinking about it!
“Yes, I know all of those things, Sarah. I know,” replied Rebecca. “And, I know that deep down inside of me I must be a wicked person. It’s just that when I saw Jacob today, and we talked ever so briefly, and when I saw how strong he looked, and how handsome, and how he spoke with my father with great respect, I knew that I had feelings for him that I don’t yet understand! But, as I said, I may never see him again. He may never come to my father’s store again. And, I know that I will never see him at our church. All I see there are the boys my parents want me to get to know, only because they are one of ‘us,’ those of the Eden River Mennonite Order. But who wants to be with one of them! Most of them are my cousins, at least first or second cousin! That’s a real problem in our church and our community—we’re mostly related to each other in some way!”
Sarah remained quiet and listened intently as Rebecca continued, “But, what is the difference between Jacob Swenson and the boys from our Mennonite Order other than the fact that he is”of the world?" My father said that Jacob’s father is the Head of the Board of Deacons at the Methodist church his family attends, and Jacob and his mother and sister are all members of their fine church choir. They are respected members of our community, even though they’re not members of our Mennonite Order!"
Sarah did not wait to remind Rebecca, “But, I am sure in your father’s eyes, the difference between a Methodist and a member of our Mennonite Order is huge! In the Eden River Mennonite church, we are pacifists, we do not go to war. We help people instead!”
But Rebecca replied in her most defensive manner, “We are not at war, and that, to me seems to be the only difference between Jacob’s family and ours.”
Sarah continued, “But those ‘of the world’ drive fancy cars, have televisions, and go to movies and dances! We are not permitted to participate in any of those activities!”
“I know. But to me,” Rebecca replied in return, “Those are small differences!”
Sarah retorted by saying, “But, they are differences that are difficult to abide by in our faith. Remember, those ‘of the world’ are different, and that’s all there is to it!”
Rebecca paused, and then said something she knew she would later regret, “It seems, Sarah, as though your family and our church have brainwashed you!” And, as she thought about what she just said, she continued, “Oh Sarah, I am so sorry I said that! It’s just that although some people are what we of our faith call ‘of the world’ does not necessarily mean that they are bad! Does it?”
Sarah paused, and then replied with some hesitation, “I guess I don’t know. I have never had an opportunity to really get to know any of them. Perhaps they are as good as us. And, sometimes I am not sure whether we are what I would call ‘good,’ particularly when we tend to be judgmental of others who are not of our faith… I am simply not sure,” she admitted.
Sarah and Rebecca moved onto other topics. Rebecca was afraid that her parents might have overheard what she and Sarah were talking about, but the door was shut, so she assumed that no one heard, or at least she hoped so. The most important topic at that point was what they were going to wear to church the next day. On the other hand, there were not very many choices in regard to what they would wear since their clothing was comprised of the same plain print dresses of their Order of the Mennonite church, heavy stockings, plain black or brown wide toed shoes, and the traditional white cap with long ties that always seemed to hang over and around their shoulders and get in their way. At least the girls of their Mennonite Order were permitted one bit of stylish freedom—they were permitted to let the long ties of their cap hang around their shoulders if they wanted to feel a little more casual rather than tying them under their chin like the old ladies of their church did!
Deep down inside, both Rebecca and Sarah, being of a new generation of their Mennonite faith, wished that they could wear the stylish clothes that they saw when they went to school each day. Then, perhaps they would have some variety in their life, and not the plain clothes and hair styles that their church and their Eden River Mennonite Order required!
Rebecca went to bed that night, crawling in between the soft fresh-smelling covers. In her mind, she was going over her conversation with Sarah, and also with thoughts of Jacob Swenson. The differences in their upbringing, life style, religions, and the
ir families were so evident, but still deep down she hoped to see him again. She needed to have the opportunity to see him again to determine what he really looks like, and to observe his mannerisms. They met so briefly that morning, that she was not sure if she would recognize him if she saw him in a different setting. Sarah was correct, of course, that there were probably irreconcilable differences between Jacob’s life family, and religion, and hers. But then a nagging thought persisted that she could not extinguish. That was, were the differences truly irreconcilable? The next thing she knew, it was morning, and time to rise, shine, help her mother prepare breakfast, and then dress for church.
Chapter 6
After his hasty introduction to Rebecca at the General Store, Jacob had called his best friend Charles at nearly the same hour as Rebecca’s call to Sarah to tell him about the pretty young woman he had met so unexpectedly the morning before. Although it was Sunday evening, neither he or Charles had any special plans, neither had a date, nor any reason to go out for the evening.
Jacob and his friend Charles Johnson had known each other and had been best friends since childhood, although Jacob, of course, lived on a farm outside of town and Charles was what the farm boys referred to as a ‘town kid’ who lived in their town of Wheatland, Kansas. Jacob and Charles’s families attended the same church, and they attended the same Sunday school. They had sung in the children’s choir at their church when they were in elementary school, and when they reached their teenage years, they both sang in the adult choir. They also attended the same high school, and both sang in the school choir. Both were seniors that year, and knew that they would in all probability part ways when they left to enter college
Jacob confided in Charles on almost all matters that occurred in his life—the sad ones, the happy ones and those about which he simply needed someone to confide in and talk. Charles depended on Jacob for the same—an ear to listen, to understand, and to offer good counsel. They were best of friends.
When Charles picked up the telephone receiver on the first ring, he heard Jacob’s voice and the words, “Is it okay if I drive by to pick you up so we can go to the J & R Drive-In for a root beer and hamburger?”
The J & R Drive-In was their favorite place to go to talk and share events in their lives while enjoying a good cold root beer and one of the J & R Drive-In’s famous hamburgers. Charles knew by the tone of Jacob’s voice that he wanted to talk, and apparently wanted to talk about something important. And, the J & R Drive-In was their ‘talking place.’
“Sure, I’ll be ready in about 10 minutes. Just drive by and pick me up. I’ll be waiting.” Jacob was thankful that Charles always seemed ready to talk. He was truly a good friend.
Promptly at 8:00 p.m., Jacob stopped in front of Charles’ parent’s house. Charles, obviously waiting for Jacob, opened the front door, ran down the steps to the sidewalk, and jumped into the front seat of Jacob’s car.
“What’s up? You sounded like you wanted to talk.”
“Wait ’til we get to the J & R,” Jacob said.
Charles didn’t say anything for the remainder of the short drive to the drive-in on the west side of that small town.
After they pulled in, Jacob pushed the button on the ordering station he parked next to, and when the voice from the small speaker asked them what they would like to order, they both ordered a medium root beer and the special hamburger that came with barbeque sauce, mustard, pickle and onion—their favorite.
When the young lady wearing her cute J & R Drive-In sweatshirt, snug fitting slacks and white sneakers brought the order to their car, she placed the tray on the car window sill.
After their order had arrived, both Jacob and Charles remained silent for a few moments as they unwrapped the hamburgers from the standard white tissue paper that was placed around them to keep them warm. The tissue paper always had a little of the grease from the grill showing through, and the smell of the onions that were fried on the grill with the hamburger, along with the crispy grilled bun had a heavenly aroma that they savored momentarily before they took their first bite, chewed it slowly, and washed it down with a swallow of good cold root beer.
“Ah,” Charles sighed, “That is so good! I can’t think of anything better. It really hits the spot!” Jacob agreed, and then both continued in silence as they enjoyed what they considered to be just a snack.
Charles was wondering when Jacob was going to talk, and about what? ’This must be serious,’ he thought. In the absence of conversation, Charles began to talk idly, “I called Shirley Swenson yesterday to see if she wanted to go to the movies with me sometime. But she said she couldn’t. She didn’t seem like she really wanted to,” Charles said rather sadly, wanting to break the long silence.
“Or, maybe something important was going on at her house,” Jacob inserted, hoping to make Charles feel a little less rejected.
“I don’t think so,” Charles replied. “I asked her if she would like to go ‘sometime,’ with no definite date in mind. No—she obviously doesn’t want to go out with me. I can tell.”
After another bit of silence as Charles slowly finished his hamburger, he replied, “Maybe—sometime,” seemingly not very convinced that Jacob was correct.
Jacob’s thoughts were miles away with a young lady named Rebecca who was probably at home on their farm with her family. He was wishing he could see her again soon, and wondering if her parents would allow it.
Jacob finally broke his silence, and Charles, as always was listening. “I met a girl,” Jacob said. “Her name is Rebecca.”
Charles thought for a moment, and then exclaimed, “You’ve met a lot of girls! Boy, this one must have been really special to bring us both out this evening to talk about her! We drive all the way over here, and then I receive the silent treatment! Now, talk to me, tell me about her!”
Jacob paused, “I don’t know just how special she is, but I do know that I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since I first met her.”
“Did you get to talk with her?” Charles asked, becoming even more interested.
“Just a little,” Jacob replied. “I went to the Eden General Store in Eden, Kansas yesterday morning, to buy some cases of soda for my father, me and the hired hands for this summer and some dairy supplies for my father. He sent me to the Eden Grain Elevator to have grain ground and mixed into feed for our dairy cows, and then I drove over to the Eden General Store to buy those supplies.”
“Where, then, did you meet this girl Rebecca?” Charles asked inquisitively.
“Oh…” Jacob responded, looking off into the distance, “I walked into the Eden General Store to choose the soda and dairy supplies that I was to buy when I was there yesterday morning. It’s a general store that is managed by Abraham Yoder, Rebecca’s father. I didn’t see anyone around when I walked in. But, when I was walking around in the store trying to find someone to wait on me, I heard a very sweet voice say,”Hello, may I help you?" I looked around trying to find where the voice was coming from, and then I heard the voice say, “Up here!” I looked up at the wall across the big room, and there on a tall ladder stocking shelves was a beautiful girl looking down at me. I stood there probably looking like a dummy staring at her with my mouth open. I finally recovered my senses and said “Hello,” or something like that.
“She climbed down the ladder, jumped off the last few steps and walked toward me. She is about 5' 1 or 2" tall, blond hair, big blue eyes, and a beautiful smile that made that dreary old store seem much brighter. I think my heart skipped a few beats—I just couldn’t stop looking at her! She was wearing clothes that are usual for girls of the Eden River Mennonite Order since she was wearing a long plain flowered dress that covered her completely. The dress had the typical puffy sleeves, and she wore the white cap with long ties that hung around her shoulders that girls of the Eden River Mennonite Order wear. But, even though her long dress covered all of her, and even though she couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds, from what I could tell
, she has a pretty spectacular shape! Well, I just can’t get her out of my mind!”
Jacob continued, “We really didn’t have a chance to talk much since just about the time I was going to ask her name, or about the price of the cases of soda, her father walked into the room and stood by her. He didn’t seem to appreciate the fact that I was there with his daughter, at least that is what it seemed like. He has a long beard like all of the older Eden River Mennonite men, was wearing blue overalls, and appeared to be a very big, a very strong man—at least he seemed that way to me!”
“Rebecca’s father seemed stern and very formal when he talked to me. I couldn’t tell if he was being friendly or not. When he was helping me load the cases of soda into the back of the pickup truck, he inquired about my family. When I told him, he seemed to change a little bit when he realized that he knows my father and mother and grandparents since we have farmed near Eden, Kansas, for over five, going on six generations.”
“But, as I know very well, my family is, according to their Old Order Mennonite doctrine, ‘of the world’ and not members of their simple life. So, Mr. Yoder maintained his distance. And Rebecca, in turn, also maintained her distance while I was there, although I think we could have talked if we would have been there alone. At least, she looked at me as though she wanted to talk. Her look told me so, and I think she likes me, or at least it seemed so—even without words.”
“I’m sure that her father saw me looking at Rebecca. I couldn’t help myself. She is so pretty—her beautiful eyes, her blond hair that seems to shine, her pink complexion—a beautiful doll who talks and walks! I just can’t get her out of my mind! But her father’s look told me that he didn’t appreciate me looking at his daughter!”
“So,” Charles replied, meaning to be helpful, “What did you do?”
Jacob replied without hesitation, “What else could I do? I paid for the soda and dairy supplies and left!”
“Well, go see her again!” Charles interjected. “If she works for her father on Saturdays, then find a reason to drive over there!”
