Priscilla's Escape

by Diane Craver

  Chapter Fourteen

  Fields Corner, Ohio

  Molly tried to work on a quilt while she waited for Jonathan to get home. However, she had great difficulty concentrating on her stitching. In their house, she had a room on the first floor for her quilting business. She got up several times to stare outside at the driveway. Finally, she saw a black car turning into the driveway. Jonathan had left in a van, but it could still be him. Another firefighter might have offered to bring him home, she realized. She walked to the front door and opened it. As she peered out to see who could be in the automobile, Molly realized it was too dark outside to tell. And she didn’t recognize the car. Although there were battery lights on each side of the front door, they were only bright enough for a visitor to safely walk onto the porch at night.

  When Stephen opened the door on the driver’s side, the light illuminated the inside of the car. Jonathan isn’t with Stephen, Molly thought, but he wouldn’t be. Stephen hasn’t joined the fire department. Why is Stephen driving a car instead of his buggy, and what brings him here? Although he’s in his rumspringa, I don’t remember hearing anything about him having a car. I wonder if Priscilla knows he has a car. Oh no, maybe something has happened to Priscilla.

  She stepped onto the porch as Stephen walked on the sidewalk toward her.

  He said in a firm voice, “Molly, Jonathan is fine, but he wanted me to tell you what happened.”

  Her heart plummeted. If Jonathan was okay, why was Stephen here? “Where is he?” It’d been a few hours since Jonathan left, so the fire should be out.

  Stephen waited until he was on the porch next to her before he answered. “There was severe damage to the store’s roof. When it caved in, Jonathan fell through the roof. He was taken to the hospital. He’s in stable condition, but his lower back and legs were injured from the fall.”

  “Is anything broken?” she asked.

  “Nothing is broken, but he has a light concussion and has several bruises and bumps. The doctor wants him to spend the night in the hospital.” Stephen shuffled his feet. “I doubt he’d want me to tell you this, but he’s in a lot of pain.”

  “I can believe that. Falling through a roof sounds terrible, so it’s good they are keeping him overnight.”

  Stephen cleared his throat. “Jonathan thought you might want to see him for yourself. He doesn’t want you to worry. I can take you to the hospital if you want to go. Jonathan mentioned that Anna was here, so you could leave the kinner with her.”

  “Ya, I want to go. Are you sure he’s going to be okay? Is it only because of the pain they want him to spend the night at the hospital?” Maybe they were running tests to see if his organs were injured from the fall. His head should’ve been protected from injury because of the fire helmet he would’ve worn. Why did Jonathan have to be a firefighter? It was too dangerous, and maybe this accident might be a blessing in disguise and force him to quit. That would be fine with her.

  Stephen nodded. “He’s in stable condition. They just want to observe him and keep him overnight for the pain. The fire chief plans on picking Jonathan up tomorrow when he’s discharged.”

  “Okay. I feel better hearing that. I’ll tell Anna that I’m leaving.” Molly turned to look back at Stephen. “You can wait inside.”

  “I’ll go back to my car and call Priscilla. I didn’t get to call her earlier because of the fire. I was visiting the fire department when the call came in about the store. The fire chief told me to ride along.”

  Within minutes, they were on the road, headed for the hospital. Molly glanced at Stephen behind the steering wheel and realized she hadn’t asked about the other firefighters. “I guess you were at the fire since you rode in the truck to it. Do you know if anyone else was hurt?”

  “No one else was injured.” Stephen frowned. “I know you’re surprised to see me driving a car. I have a driver’s license. I’m in my rumspringa. I was hoping your daed wouldn’t learn about it, but I guess there’s no chance of that happening now.”

  Should she tell Stephen how much she hated secrets? After Caleb had kept many things from her, she felt it was always best to be honest. Sneaking around wasn’t a gut thing to do. “Does my sister know you have a car?”

  “I told Priscilla the first time I took her home after a volleyball game.”

  “I’m glad she knows.” Molly considered asking Stephen if he planned on eventually getting rid of his automobile. She should keep quiet. Stephen seemed anxious while driving her to the hospital, and she didn’t want to add to his discomfort. It was kind of him to make a trip for her. It would’ve been too far to travel to the hospital by buggy.

  Stephen darted a look at her before he turned his head back to the road. “I didn’t get to talk to Priscilla. I was surprised she didn’t answer. I’m going to call her back when we arrive at the hospital.”

  “I hope you get to talk to her.” Molly wondered if her daed would call Priscilla or write to her soon. He needed to tell her about his artistic ability. It might help Priscilla to understand why he’d decided to tell her to quit painting. He thought it was a good choice for him to stop painting, but it was wrong of him to put this burden on Priscilla. Molly needed to talk to her sister and tell her to have a good summer. “When you talk to Priscilla, ask her if tomorrow afternoon would be a gut time to call her. I miss her and would love to talk to her.”

  Stephen nodded. “I’ll ask her. I know Madison likes to write in the mornings, so that is when Priscilla is with Olivia. I miss her a lot, but maybe it’s good Priscilla is getting this out of her system now. She loves seeing the ocean and started painting a picture of it.”

  “That’s great she is able to paint.”

  “I’m planning on driving to Siesta Key beach for Priscilla’s birthday. Hannah called me and wants to have a surprise birthday party for her. Hannah thought it’d be nice, since Priscilla won’t be home for her birthday to do something special.”

  Molly blinked rapidly at Stephen. “But none of us will be there, and she hasn’t been there that long. I doubt she has had enough time to make friends. Is it going to be only you, Hannah, Madison, and Olivia at the party? I wonder if I should see if some of our family could go with you. It’s a long trip by yourself.”

  Stephen raised his eyebrows at her suggestion. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it would be nice to have some family members there. I’d like to have company on the drive down there. Having family would definitely be a nice surprise for Priscilla. Hannah might invite some of the Amish and Mennonite young adults from the church in Pinecraft. She isn’t sure because there hasn’t been time to go to a youth get-together yet. Hannah’s been busy working at her cousins’ bed and breakfast.”

  Molly thought how Priscilla would be twenty on her birthday. She was definitely old enough to join the church and to get married. “I wish Priscilla had told you about her job in Florida. Since you two had started courting, maybe you could’ve convinced her to stay here this summer.”

  “I can understand why she didn’t tell me. She was afraid your father would be upset if I knew and didn’t tell him about her plans. I’m sorry she left, but I can understand her wanting to paint the beach.” Stephen grinned at Molly. “Of course, I’m hoping Madison will finish her book early. Then Priscilla won’t need to stay there as long.”

  Molly wondered if Stephen worried a little about Priscilla meeting someone in Florida. They hadn’t dated long enough for him to be sure of Priscilla’s feelings for him.

  “I hope Madison isn’t using Priscilla because she’s Amish,” Molly said. “I don’t think she ever writes about Amish in her books, though, so hopefully she isn’t this time. My parents don’t understand why Madison asked Priscilla, and thought maybe it is because she decided to have Amish characters in her book.”

  Stephen’s jaw tightened as he looked at her. “It’s probably not why she asked Priscilla. I guess it’s okay if I tell you that Madison wants Priscilla to paint a family picture of them on the beach. I th
ink that might be one of the reasons she hired her. And she knows Priscilla has watched younger children, so she already has experience as a babysitter.”

  It was unbelievable that Molly’s sister could be talented enough to paint a picture of a bestselling author and her family. Sure, Priscilla had a wunderbaar gift, but she painted mostly beautiful country scenes. No wonder Priscilla hadn’t told them about the family portrait. Her daed had ordered her to stop painting for the summer. “It’s too bad Priscilla hadn’t just gone to the beach with Hannah for a couple of weeks, but I doubt Daed would have allowed that even. I think he forgets she is almost twenty now. She’s a grown woman and should be able to make her own decisions. I hated that our parents told Sarah that Priscilla had to quit her job at the store.”

  “Priscilla couldn’t believe they did that. Now it doesn’t matter, because no one will be working in the store until they can see what they can do to fix the damage.”

  “I don’t suppose they know what caused it yet.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t think they do. They haven’t investigated it yet.”

  “I suppose they’ll call my friend Nicole. She’s an arson investigator.”

  Stephen stopped at a red traffic light and turned to look at Molly. “We’re only a few minutes from the hospital.”

  Molly pushed a strand of her hair back under her white head covering and smiled at Stephen. “Danki for driving me to the hospital. I’m anxious to see Jonathan. Do you think you’ll volunteer at the fire department?”

  “I was thinking about it, but I don’t know if I want to. Jonathan said this is the first time he has been hurt. I’ll pray about it before I decide whether to join or not.”

  * * *

  While Molly went to see Jonathan in his hospital room, Stephen got a cup of coffee. There was a machine in the waiting room. He needed the caffeine to stay awake. It’d been a long night, and he still needed to drive Molly home. Once he had his coffee, he went to a chair. After he blew on the hot drink, he sipped a little of it. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and touched Priscilla’s phone number. Relief went through his body when she immediately answered. It was so great to hear her voice. “I’m sorry I couldn’t call you earlier this evening,” he said. “I planned on calling you after I left the fire department, but a fire started at the fabric store. I rode along on the fire truck. Then Jonathan fell through the roof when it collapsed. He’s okay, but they want him to stay overnight at the hospital. I drove Molly to the hospital to see him. I’m in the waiting room now while Molly’s with Jonathan.”

  “Oh no, that’s terrible. Are you sure Jonathan’s going to be okay? I can’t imagine falling through a roof and not being seriously injured.”

  Stephen shifted his weight on the slightly padded chair, trying to get comfortable. “God was with Jonathan. He doesn’t have any broken bones but is in a lot of pain. The nurse put in an IV and gave him morphine through it.”

  “Poor Molly. Even though Jonathan will be okay, it has to be difficult for her. I wonder if he will quit volunteering now. Who’s watching Isaac and Grace?”

  “Anna was babysitting for them while Molly and Jonathan went to Angela’s to eat. They had just gotten home when Jonathan had to leave.”

  “I miss my nieces and nephews.”

  “Do you miss me?”

  “Ya, I do.”

  “Before I forget, Molly wants to call you tomorrow afternoon. Is that a good time for her to talk to you?”

  “Ya, that will be fine. It’ll be wonderful to talk to Molly. I’ll ask her to put Isaac on the phone, so I can talk to him too.”

  When Stephen heard a big sigh from her, he asked, “What is it? Are you regretting going to Siesta Key? I can come get you.”

  Priscilla gave a little laugh. “Nee, I’m happy to be here, but something happened tonight that bothers me. Remember I told you how the house next door is owned by Madison’s parents too, and they rent it?”

  “I remember you mentioned not using the pool when the renters go swimming.”

  “One of them is Mitch. He’s living in the house next door with two of his college buddies. He asked me to go for a walk with him on the beach. I went but wish I hadn’t.”

  When Priscilla paused, Stephen worried that maybe Mitch had tried to kiss her. Before he could question her, she resumed speaking.

  “Mitch is Jewish and vented to me how he wants to become a rabbi. That’s going to be a problem with his father, because he wants Mitch to go to law school and join him in his practice.”

  “That is weird he’d talk to you about becoming a rabbi.” Stephen wondered if Mitch was interested in Priscilla and had used the rabbi topic for an excuse to spend time with her. She was beautiful, and Mitch might take advantage of her. Maybe I shouldn’t wait until her birthday to drive to see her. Should I make the trip this weekend?

  “I wanted to be back in time for your call. I wished I hadn’t walked with Mitch. Finally, I told him that I needed to get back to talk to my boyfriend.” Priscilla cleared her throat. “Now I wonder if I should’ve talked to him about Jesus. Maybe God put Mitch in my path to witness to him. I keep thinking of the verse in Mark: ‘And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” Did I miss an opportunity to spread the joy we have in Christ to Mitch?”

  Stephen thought Priscilla made a good point, but it seemed doubtful to him that God wanted her to tell Mitch about being a Christian. Why would God use her to witness to Mitch? Their Old Order Amish were not like the New Order Amish. They printed their beliefs in pamphlets and sometimes traveled abroad for mission work, which was probably the reason the New Order Amish allowed air travel, he thought. In general, the New Order Amish were more outgoing in teaching the plan and assurance of salvation. Bishop Amos and his church members were Old Order Amish and talked about “living in hope” that they would go to heaven.

  “I don’t know if it would’ve made a difference to share your Christian beliefs,” Stephen said. “It sounds like he is serious about his Jewish faith, since he wants to become a rabbi.”

  “I was stunned to learn he was Jewish. Doesn’t it seem strange to you that he’d talk to me about what he wants to do when I’m a Christian?”

  “Ya, it is. Just be careful around him. Maybe he’s up to something else.”

  “He seemed genuine and is nice. I told him that my daed is a bishop and how our church members go to him for advice. I told Mitch he should talk to his rabbi.”

  “I hope he does. You did great sharing about your father and to suggest what Mitch could do.” Hearing Priscilla’s voice was not enough, and Stephen yearned to see her. “I wish we were next to each other because I’d hug you and kiss you.”

  “I’m glad you call me every day. I look forward to our calls. It helps to feel connected to you with us being so many miles apart.”

  “I’m glad we are both in our rumspringa, because I can drive to see you on your birthday.”

  “Ach, I can’t wait until my birthday, so I can see you.”

  He’d have to remind Molly not to say anything about the surprise party or that some of the King family might travel to see Priscilla. Hannah and he had discussed that telling her about his road trip to Siesta Key was fine, but the party needed to be kept a secret.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Siesta Key, Florida

  Several days later, apprehension filled Priscilla’s spirit as she sat across from Mitch. He’d invited her to eat pizza by the pool with him. His friends, Kevin and Ryan, had gone to a bar, while Madison and Olivia had gone to a movie. They’d invited her, but Priscilla decided to paint instead. Before Violet and Luke had started their baptism instructions, she’d gone to a movie theatre with them. She’d gone with Hannah too. Maybe she and Stephen could go to a movie when he visited her. It’d be fun to go with her boyfriend sometime. Her birthday was coming up quickly, so that would be a good time to see a movie. As Priscilla explained to Madison, she’d just finished her second o
cean painting, and was anxious to get started on a third one.

  Wanting to feel she wasn’t weighted down on the beach, she’d decided not to wear her prayer covering and Amish clothing. Hannah and she had gone to a hair salon to get haircuts. Because Priscilla’s thick and long hair was heavy when pinned under her kapp, she thought some of her headaches came from that. The Ordnung forbade women cutting their hair, so this was rebelling against one of the rules of their Amish faith.

  Hannah had asked her before the beautician snipped her hair, “Are you sure you want to do this? Your daed is already unhappy with you. You’ll have to make sure he doesn’t see your shorter hair.”

  “Ya, I know some women with thick hair might thin their hair instead of cutting it, but I’m in my rumspringa, so I can get several inches cut off now.” Hannah lived in an apartment so wasn’t as worried about anyone noticing her hair was no longer below her waist.

  After the hair stylist cut off both girls’ waist-length hair to just past their shoulders, Hannah and Priscilla donated the hair to a charity that made wigs for children going through cancer treatments. Although it felt great having less hair under her kapp, Priscilla was happiest that her chopped-off hair would be put to good use. If she joined the church, she would never cut her hair again. A wife only shared her hair with her husband in private.

  Now she felt uncomfortable with Mitch seeing her uncovered hair again, and her shorter dress. It seemed he always surprised her with his visits and she was unprepared. Yesterday morning, she’d gotten up early to paint. She had worn capris and a T-shirt because Madison had loaned her a few pieces of clothing since they wore the same size. Mitch had stopped by her during his morning jog. When she saw Mitch watching her, she asked, setting down her paintbrush, “How long have you been here?”