by Beth Shriver
“I guess it’s as they say, it will be a new normal for Katie.”
Elsie’s face became hard. “All because some don’t believe the rules apply to them.”
“You mean Jake. Nee, he didn’t believe in what the Ordnung stands for. But it’s good he admitted that before he took a vow he didn’t accept as truth.”
They finished eating and moved to the porch swing. Will came to pick up Ruby and stayed for a short time, then everyone left. Silence slowly covered the house as darkness filled the sky. The click of Meredith’s shoes traveled to each room as she closed up the house.
When all the lights were off but the porch lamp, Gideon moved forward. “I guess I should go.”
Elsie pushed him back into the swing and took his hand in hers. “The sun hasn’t set yet.”
He chuckled. “All but a sliver.”
“Daed said we could be alone out front as long as the sun was up.”
“I think the rules will change once the minister announces our marriage, at least a little.”
“That sounds nice, our marriage.” She stared up at him with her milk-chocolate brown eyes that held such a look of contentment he couldn’t help but stare. He had been long in waiting for her to finally come to him, and even now he had to remind him-self that she felt the same way he did.
He kissed her palm then held her close. It was at that moment he questioned if she ever truly would, really could, care for him the way he loved her. For the Amish love was not always the main reason a couple would wed. Theirs was more of a practical union. You were fortunate if you also had a great affection for your mate and them for you.
When the last streak of sunlight fell behind the horizon he stood, taking her hand as she reluctantly followed one step behind him.
“Good night, Elsie Lapp.” He grinned and started down the stairs one slow step after another.
She giggled. “I’m not a Lapp yet.”
“Just wanted to see what it sounded like.” And as it rang again in his ears, he liked what he heard.
Chapter Thirty-One
AS THEY TROTTED down the road into town, Gideon kept an eye out for the young men who nearly drove him off the road the day of the storm. It was one thing for him to take the chance of meeting up with them, but he didn’t want Elsie in harm’s way. He noticed she hadn’t been in town for a while, but he wanted her to see the new arrival of buggies with him.
As they pulled into town, Gideon noticed Elsie scanning the area. It had been long enough since she’d seen the English boys he hoped she wouldn’t worry.
“It’s early to eat lunch. Do you want to look around?”
“Jah, one place in particular.” His grin gave him away. She stared at him with suspicion.
“And where might that be?”
Gideon tethered the horses to a coin meter. “We’re standing in front of it.” He took Elsie’s hand and guided her into the shop. They went outside to the side of the building where the buggies were lined up to show. Multiple colors of white, yellow, black, and gray were only a few that were displayed; tops were optional.
“Look, Gideon, sliding doors.” Which was unlike the side curtains they both had on their family buggies.
“Turn signals. I wonder how these are powered.”
“Car battery.” Jonas walked up and pumped Gideon’s hand. He was short with a thin frame and lived in their community.
“I was hoping you’d be here.”
“You should have told me. I don’t usually work Saturdays. Elsie, how’s your family?”
“Very well, danke.” Elsie smiled then listened to them banter.
Gideon was enthralled with all of the options. There were Plexiglas windshields with wipers, hydraulic brakes, rubber wheels, and many other decisions to make. When he’d narrowed it down, he turned to Elsie. “So, which one do you like?” He watched her eyes widen.
“It’s not for me to decide.” Her eyebrows drew together in question, so he explained.
“The buggy is for us.” He smiled.
She put a hand on her chest. “But Gideon, that’s a lot of money.”
He nodded. “I’ve been planning for this for quite a while.” He and his daed had saved for a long time, even before Elsie ever came into the picture. Money wasn’t an option, but he knew her well enough to know that she’d be frugal.
She took her time studying the various buggies lined in a row. “I don’t know if I’m bold enough to get a bright color, maybe gray instead of black.”
He chuckled to himself. “That’s probably wise. We wouldn’t want to upset the bishop.”
“Some Amish are getting the colored models.” Jonas pointed to a yellow one next to them. “But they’re from the new community east of here.”
“If things keep changing, maybe we’ll end up with a bright blue one someday,” Gideon teased, and Elsie gasped.
Jonas and Gideon went over the paperwork as Elsie looked out the large picture window. She looked up and down the street at the tourists and families who walked down the sidewalks shopping or buying produce, mainly Amish made. Some of the shop owners were disgruntled with the Amish moving in on their sales, but most appreciated them bringing in the business.
As Gideon waited for Jonas to get their affairs taken care of, he watched Elsie look up into the hot summer sky and then in front of her. An English boy walked her way. He noticed her put a hand to her chest and draw in a breath as he approached. He slowed his gait when he noticed her staring at him, but he didn’t stop walking. Gideon tried to discern if it was one of the English boys as he passed her, but before he could get a good look, the young man was gone. Elsie seemed to be doing the same. She took a deep breath and found a place in the shade, waiting for Gideon.
When he finished with Jonas, he joined her outside. “Are you all right?”
“I keep thinking I’ll see one of them.”
“Fear is guiding you, and there is nothing gut that will come of that.”
She seemed to shake it off. “Jah, it does no gut, only brings more worry.”
Gideon beamed as he moved closer to her. “We are now proud owners of our own gray buggy.”
She clapped her hands. “When can we take it home with us?”
“Today! That’s why I brought two horses. Jonas will have it ready for us when we’ve finished eating.”
“I know you’re not supposed to be proud, but I appreciate your diligence in saving for this.”
“I am a little proud, but don’t tell anyone.” Gideon grinned then clasped her hand and led her to the Essenhaus Style Inn. The front windows were adorned with flower boxes filled with multicolored tulips. The house was a light shade of yellow with white trim.
Elsie read the sign. “The eating house?”
“Most of the customers will never know what that sign says, but by the looks of it, they like the food.” Patrons came in and out one right after the other. People stood waiting for tables with fussy children in hand.
When they entered, Gideon was greeted by one of the daed’s fair-haired girls. “Gideon, I’m glad you came.” Her blue eyes twinkled then set on Elsie. “Hallo.”
Elsie nodded. “Were you expecting us?”
“We were hoping Gideon and Yonnie would come visit our restaurant. Come this way.” She led them to a booth and got them both water.
She handed them a menu. “Hasenpfeffer is the special. Take your time, and I’ll be right back.”
“I haven’t eaten rabbit in some time.”
Elsie scanned the selections with interest. “I think I’ll stick with pot roast.”
She read the menu and read the descriptions. “They are very authentic.”
“The tourists probably like it. I hope they know what they’re getting.” The waitress came over, and they told her what they wanted, adding a side of corn fritters.
“Save room for some Schnitz pie.” She wrote down their order and rushed off. They were busy, but as their daed said, they had a lot of waitresses.
They watched the commotion as they ate. The tourists were interesting to observe as far as what they wore and their behavior; some were peculiar, while others seemed like regular folks.
A young man ambled in and studied the room. When his eyes met Gideon’s, they locked for a split second.
“Who was that?” Elsie watched the boy walk away. “Was that one of them?”
“Jah, the boy I talked to at the bazaar. He looked right at me. I’m sure he doesn’t want anything to do with us.”
“Well, that’s what we’ve hoped for.” As soon as she said it, Elsie seemed to know it wasn’t what he wanted for this one. There was something that young man had that the others didn’t, a sense of regret. He was being bullied yet knew right from wrong.
“You tried to talk to him, Gideon.” Elsie put a hand on his as he glanced back to where the boy had been.
“Let’s go get that buggy.” He smiled and stood to go, taking glances at the door. The boy obviously came in to eat but left because he and Elsie were there. If the boy came back, he wanted to be prepared with what to say to him.
The owner came by as they were leaving. “Gideon, I wanted to catch you before you left.” He turned to Elsie. “And you might be?”
“This is Elsie.” Gideon watched his eyebrows lift.
“Your sister?”
“Nee, we’re courting.”
The daed’s mouth shut, and he stood straight. “Oh, I see.
Congratulations.”
Maybe Yonnie was right about finding suitors for his daughters. “The food was gut.”
Elsie looked at the daed. “You have quite a business going.”
“I hope it lasts.” He smiled.
When they went outside, people were hovering on the sidewalk gawking farther down the street.
Elsie stood behind Gideon. “What is it?”
Gideon watched a trail of black smoke lifting to the sky. He followed it to where it started down the block. His mind snapped into gear and he ran, realizing it was coming from the buggy store. He prayed he was jumping to conclusions. But when he got closer, he didn’t think he was.
He stopped and looked behind him for Elsie. He didn’t see her but heard Jonas yelp. Gideon kicked at the gate of the six-foot fence that enclosed the outdoor show area. He felt the heat blast him with each kick. Smoke filled his nostrils. The heat hit him in the face as the gate fell with a slap! Flames flew out on every side as it burned.
“Jonas!” Gideon yelled at the top of his lungs.
“Here!” His gravelly voice could barely be heard with the growing flames and crackle of burning lumber.
Gideon followed the sound. “Jonas!” No answer. He followed where he’d heard his voice and called again.
“Over here.” Jonas held a hose, blasting a buggy with water.
Gideon stopped quickly and reached for the hose. “We have to get out of here.”
“I got this.” Jonas choked but wouldn’t stop dousing the buggies with water.
“If you don’t go, I won’t either.”
“There’s nothing for you to do.” He barked out a cough but continued to spray the area as he walked down the row of buggies lined up by the side of the building.
Jonas was being a stubborn fool, so Gideon decided he had to take drastic measures. Gideon went over to him, picked him up, and draped him over his shoulder.
He heard loud male voices coming by the entrance, so he headed that way. Jonas was a small man, but he felt like a load, slung over Gideon’s shoulder.
When they got to where the gate had been, Gideon used all of his power to get through that threshold and to the street. He reached out to move the gate that was still fuming so he could fit through with Jonas on his back. He yelped with pain as the heat seared his fingers; then he dropped his hand. “Stupid!”
Gideon pulled his shirt over his head and used it to push the burned gate to the side. Once outside of the buggy area he was engulfed by smoke that flew downwind of him. The smolder tasted like burnt rubber that made him gag. He held the shirt up to his nose.
Just when he thought he didn’t have another ounce of strength to hold onto Jonas, he pushed him up and drug himself forward.
“Put me down,” Jonas begged. Gideon looked outside the show area where a group of people stopped to observe. Gideon decided Jonas had probably had enough and tried to set him down easy, but he was too weak and Jonas landed on his behind. “Promise you won’t go back in there?”
Jonas nodded and gasped.
Gideon led the way from the heat as chunks of canvas material burned off the buggy and fell to the ground. Fires poked up and spread throughout the rest of the buggy’s frame.
“Danke, friend.” Jonas’ voice was a whisper, but Gideon watched his lips.
“Wilkom.” Gideon moved closer and squeezed Jonas’s hand.
The heat scorched his skin as the wind shifted their way. Gideon had just taken a breath to calm down when one of the glass wind-shields blew. They all ducked, even though they were yards away, as shards of glass flew behind them. Close behind explosions popped off throughout the area by the buggy that was on fire.
An English doctor came over and offered his help. Jonas was placed on a cot and examined as Gideon sat and watched.
“He’ll be fine,” the doctor informed them. “Just keep an eye on him.”
Someone gave Jonas and Gideon some water. It burned as it went down but took away some of the pain. He spit brown saliva onto the ground as beads of sweat dripped on the cement.
Then he felt a soft touch on his shoulder. “Elsie.” His scratchy voice failed him. He turned to her and held her in his arms. Emotion built up and spilled over into tears of relief. Elsie tried to pull away, but he held on tight.
“Gideon, thank God you’re all right.” Her hands rubbed his bare back, soothing and comforting him.
“Jonas is a stubborn mule,” he huffed out the words.
“Jah, he is. It was good of you to help him.”
“He would have done the same for me.” Gideon’s throat stung with each word.
Gideon looked over at Elsie. “Will you sit with Jonas while I talk to the doctor?”
“Jah, sure.” She kissed Gideon on the cheek and followed Jonas.
When Elsie slipped away, a coldness gripped him and he went numb. He lifted his head and wiped his mouth. The sirens quieted as the firefighters parked by the shop, the smoke smoldering in surrender.
Gideon didn’t have the strength to move forward, but he forced himself, pushing ahead. People were starting to leave. Some were still inspecting the buggy area. He looked over to where his horses were along with another tethered to a post across the street.
One buggy had burned, one single buggy out of all of them. Then it hit him. He bent over and spit, but this time it wasn’t from the smoke or fire. This time it was because his money and his brand-new buggy had all gone up in smoke.
Chapter Thirty-Two
TWO BROWN HORSES pulling black buggies clopped down Main Street. As they entered the town, Elsie read the green sign with gold letters announcing the Beeville name and the population of 12,529. A few cars lined the curbs shaded by potted trees. When they passed the white columns of the court-house, she noticed the stone steps were worn and smooth by years of weather and footsteps. She wondered if this event would take them here one day.
It seemed like a dream, or rather a nightmare. Elsie couldn’t believe it happened to them. Jah, they’d been pursued by these young men for months, but for them to take it this far was unnerving. She could tell by the taut line of Gideon’s jaw that his patience was gone, tolerance nonexistent. Elsie didn’t know how he would find the forgiveness necessary to let go of this.
“Elsie.” Gideon’s warm hand covered hers. “You look angry.”
She pushed the air from her lungs. “I’m concerned.” She turned to him. “And angry, but not as much as you are.”
His jaw twitched. Normally he’d offer a Bible verse or calming words,
but this drove him to a place she hadn’t seen before. For a man to treat another in this manner with no provoking or reason had finally made him bitter. This was a side of him she didn’t know and was unsure how to approach. They’d spent most of the day in Beeville yesterday, and well into the evening, talking with the authorities and going over the sequence of events again and again.
Omar, Minister Miller, and Zeke stepped down from their buggy and walked over to Jonas, Ephraim, and Officer Mayer, who were having a conversation.
The policeman kept his voice low. “We’ve found enough evidence to press charges, but we’d like to keep investigating.”
“Sure, you do what you need to and we’ll do the same.” Jonas responded with an edge to his voice.
“We’d rather not have you or anyone else on the crime scene except the officers, Jonas.” The young man in blue was polite but insistent.
Jonas obviously didn’t want him in his store. His business would suffer the longer this went on. “I need to have access to the inside of the shop. As far as I’m concerned, what’s done is done.”
Officer Mayer tipped his head up a notch. “And what does that mean?”
“I won’t be pressing charges.”
“No?” The officer’s brows lifted.
Jonas smiled. “Can’t make me, can ya?”
The cop shook his head. “Yeah, I know your vow of no resistance and all, but don’t you people get tired of getting pushed around?”
“Of course, no one likes to be mistreated. Yet I wouldn’t feel any better filing a complaint.”
“I guess that doesn’t surprise me after working with enough of you Amish. We have a good idea of who the culprits are from the description of witnesses. The judge will want to punish these hooligans. They’ve done a lot more than this.”
“We’ll work something out,” the bishop confirmed.
“What will happen to them if they are found guilty?” Gideon stood behind the group listening with Elsie. His dark eyes were filled with a coldness she’d never seen.
“I don’t rightly know.” The officer shrugged. “Get ’em off the street and scare ’em straight, that kind of thing I suppose.”
