“Here you are,” Violet said as she placed the coffee tray down on the low table between the two couches that faced each other. After she poured the coffee into two of the cups, she let each man help himself to the sugar and the milk.
“You're not having one, Violet?” Benjamin asked.
“Nee, I've got to get up early tomorrow and kaffe keeps me awake. I only drink it in the mornings.”
“You're not working all day tomorrow, are you?” Elijah asked.
“Same as usual. A few hours in the morning and then there's nothing to do until the evening.”
“Gut! You’d have time in between to show Benjamin around.”
Violet was embarrassed and couldn’t even look at Benjamin. “Oh, I think Benjamin has been here long enough to know where everything is.”
Benjamin chuckled. “I’m working tomorrow, too, Elijah.”
Elijah said to Benjamin, “I happen to know you’ve got time off in the middle of the day.”
Violet glanced over at Benjamin and he gave a weak smile. “What do you say, Violet? Would you like to show me around?”
Frowning, Violet looked back at Elijah, annoyed with him. She no more wanted to show Benjamin around than he appeared to want to be shown around. “Um, sure, if Lily doesn’t mind me borrowing the buggy again.”
Lily walked into the room. “Yeah, you can borrow the buggy. I said you can use it anytime.”
“Denke. I’m showing Benjamin around tomorrow.”
Lily sat down next to Elijah. “That’s a gut idea. Where are you going?”
“I don’t know.” Violet looked over at Benjamin. “What kind of things are you interested in?”
He pulled his mouth to one side. “I guess I’d just like to see what’s around the area.”
Violet smiled and was grateful he was so polite.
“Good. That’s settled,” Elijah said, looking pleased with himself.
When it got later into the evening, Elijah and Lily went into the kitchen and left Benjamin and Violet alone.
Violet leaned over and whispered, “It’s okay if you don’t want to look around tomorrow.”
“I’d like to. Why? Don’t you want to?”
“Oh, I don’t mind. I thought you might have only said so to be polite. It’s not necessary.”
He studied her with wide eyes. “You’re a mystery to me, Violet.”
She stifled the laughter that she felt bubbling up from within. “Me?”
“Jah. I’d like to spend some time with you tomorrow. It’s not so much that I want to see the sights.”
Violet was taken aback. He actually liked her. This big, strong, handsome man actually liked her. She felt her cheeks warm and had to look away from him.
“Are we still on for tomorrow? We can take my buggy and I can collect you from wherever you’ll be.”
Nodding, Violet said, “Okay. I’ll be back here by about eleven o’clock. Would that suit?”
“I can be here by twelve.”
“Good.” As soon as she agreed, with perfect timing, Elijah and Lily came out of the kitchen.
Benjamin sprang to his feet, thanked Lily for the dinner, and said goodbye to everyone.
After Benjamin had gone, Elijah went up to bed, which left Lily and Violet alone. Lily pulled Violet down onto the couch beside her.
“Well, what do you think of him?”
“He’s lovely. He’s really nice.”
“I think he’s perfect for you and he’s someone you don’t have to worry about.”
Violet didn’t ask but she guessed she was referring to Nathan as being someone she did have to worry about. Nathan seemed a little lost, and that made Benjamin a far better-looking choice for her. And besides, she was still flattered that someone as handsome as he would find her appealing.
Violet had lost so much confidence in herself since she started wearing glasses even though Willow had told her they made her look more interesting. It didn’t matter what her younger sister thought; Violet was far more concerned about what people outside her family thought of her appearance. She wasn’t vain by any means, but she didn’t want to look so unappealing that people recoiled away in horror, and that’s how bad she felt she looked.
Chapter 10
Violet waited on the porch for Benjamin to collect her since it was just coming up on midday. While she waited, her thoughts turned to Nathan. Many scenarios ran through her head of what he was doing and where he was. Surely if Nathan liked her as a girlfriend or his future wife, he would’ve stayed around a bit longer. Besides, was it really a good idea to walk out and leave his house vacant, not knowing what he was going to do with it?
She thought about the future and what kind of life she might have if she married Nathan. He was troubled, and that would make for an unstable relationship. Benjamin, on the other hand, was the opposite—he knew what he wanted in life. And what’s more, Benjamin didn’t have a girlfriend. He couldn't have had one or he wouldn’t have agreed for her to show him around.
She looked up when she heard hoofbeats, and saw Benjamin’s buggy heading toward the house. Pushing her glasses further up her nose, she stepped down from the porch. Seeing that he was staring at her, she got nervous and tugged her black shawl tighter around her shoulders and then stood fiddling with the ends of the shawl while the buggy drew up beside her.
Once they’d exchanged greetings, she stepped into the buggy.
“Nice day,” he said, looking up at the sky for an instant.
“Jah, it is. There’s just enough of a cool breeze to stop it from being too hot.”
“You look like you’re cold with your shawl wrapped around you.” He turned the buggy to take it back down the driveway.
“I think it’ll get colder. Someone at the markets said rain’s expected this afternoon.”
“There’s no sign of it yet. I’ll get you back home before the rain hits. We’ve both got to get back to work.”
When he glanced over at her, she nodded and gave him a small smile. “How much time do you have? I don’t have to be back at the markets until four, so I have to be back at the haus around three.”
“I’ve got a whole two hours,” he said. “Where do you suggest we go?”
“I’ll direct you. I’ll show you around the back roads and around the farms. Unless you’d like to see the covered bridges? They’re very pretty.”
“Nee, I’ve seen enough bridges. I know the ones you mean, and they’re beautiful, but I’ve seen them before.”
“Okay, take a left up here.” She took him along the roads where the best views of the county were.
“That’s Valerie’s haus over there and then that big patch of green behind it is the Pattersons’ land.”
After they’d been driving for several minutes, Benjamin said, “Shall we stop and take a walk?”
“Okay.”
He pulled the buggy off the road and secured his horse. The road they were on wasn’t sealed; it was a dirt road that created too much dust when cars went past. Thankfully, very few cars traveled on these lonely back roads that only led to properties of Amish folk, and the roads didn’t link to any major roads.
“Where would you like to walk? We could go back that way, or up here.” Violet stood at the edge of the road with her hands clutching the ends of her shawl like some kind of a security blanket. She was more than a little flattered that Benjamin might be interested in her.
“There seems to be a track along the fence line here.” He set off walking with long strides, and Violet hurried to catch up.
“What’s it like where you’ve come from?” Violet asked.
“The community is much smaller. There are only four families.”
“That is really small!”
“The countryside is pretty similar to here. We have a lot of visitors from your community, or we have had over the past years.”
“Jah, I think I read something in one of the newspapers.” The Amish newspapers always gave information on who was traveli
ng to where and whom they’d stayed with. “You must like it here if you’re staying on.”
He slowed down a little, allowing her to walk alongside. “There are more opportunities here.”
“For work?”
“Jah, and for meeting people.”
He glanced over at her and she looked away, embarrassed once more. It was obvious that he’d moved here to find a wife as well as for employment.
“Tell me some more about yourself, Violet. Is it only you and Willow in your familye or do you have other siblings?”
“It's just me and Willow. I'm the oldest.” As soon as she said that, she had to wonder why she had stated the obvious. It seemed a silly thing to say. “And what about you?”
“I have two older schweschdere and five older brieder, and I'm the youngest.”
“And have they all stayed on in the community?”
“My two older schweschdere have, but my brieder moved away to different communities.” After a pause, he asked, “What kind of things do you like to do?”
There was something about answering all these questions that didn’t feel natural to her. It felt like he was questioning her to see if she measured up to his expectations in a girlfriend, and a future wife. “I like to sew and I like to cook.” Those were the things that she thought he wanted to hear, but also things that all the women she knew could do.
“That's it? No weird hobbies? You don’t own any strange pets, or have a habit of collecting things?”
Violet giggled. “No to the pets, and no, I don’t collect anything. What would I collect, anyway?”
“I don't know.” He stooped down, picked something up off the ground and handed it to her. “Triangular rocks maybe?”
She looked at the rock in her hand and laughed when she saw it was triangular. “I don't remember that I've ever seen a stone this shape before. This can be the first one in my collection. I wonder how it was formed.”
He chuckled. “We’ll find a creek and see if we can skip that rock along the water.”
“Not with this rock. It's special and I’m keeping it. You’ll have to get another rock to do that.”
“Flat rocks are better anyway.”
“You won't find a creek around here unless we walk about another hour in that direction,” she said, pointing to the north of them. “And we don't have the time today.”
He stopped and glanced back at the buggy. “We will if we take the buggy.”
Violet raised her eyebrows. “Do you want to go to the creek?”
“Jah, come on.” He turned around and headed back to the buggy, and Violet had to hurry again to keep up with his long strides.
Chapter 11
Once Violet and Benjamin were back in the buggy, Violet showed him the shortcut to take. The road became more narrow and rougher the closer they got to the water.
Benjamin was nice; Violet admitted that much to herself. Elijah seemed like he was the one keen for them to spend time together, but Violet suspected her Aunt Nancy was somehow involved.
Minutes later, they arrived. Once they were on foot, Violet pointed to the water and then followed Benjamin as he went first along the trail. The only choice was to walk single file. When they came closer to the river, the path widened and he slowed until she was beside him.
“Ah, here we are.” He stared at the water and then looked down around his feet. “But there aren't many stones. No good ones.”
“Nee, and you can't have my triangle stone because I left it in the buggy.”
“Okay. How about we walk up this way?”
As they walked on, the conversation flowed more freely. He talked a little about what he wanted to achieve by coming to her community and how he wanted to build a house. He’d been offered land by a member of the community and he wanted to save enough money to start his building project.
What he was talking about was interesting and Violet wished she had something just as remarkable to tell him about herself and her plans for the future.
“You're very brave for leaving your family and coming all this way to start a new life here.”
“Nee, I’m not that brave. I knew a lot of people from here. I knew Elijah before I moved here, and of course, I know Bruno.”
“I’d never move away from here—away from my family.”
“You’d have no reason to move away.”
Violet shook her head. “I'd never want to.”
He glanced up at the sky. “Still no sign of that rain you were talking about. But still, maybe we should start heading back. I’d hate to be late getting back to work.”
“Okay.”
He walked ahead of her, and then he turned around. “I've enjoyed this. I never would've thought to do something in the middle of the day like this. Normally I would’ve waited for a day off. I was reluctant to do this when Elijah suggested it. I hope you didn’t think my reluctance had anything to do with you and not wanting to spend time with you.”
“Nee,” she said to be polite, but knew it was about her glasses and her being a plain girl. He could’ve been spending time with a much prettier girl if he’d wanted to. “Jah. It’s amazing how much you can do in a short space of time like this. I've gotten used to it with my workday always being divided.”
When they got back into the buggy, Violet picked up her stone from the floor of the buggy and held it in her hand.
Benjamin saw what she’d done and smiled. “You’re serious about that collection?”
“I might be. It’s such an unusual stone.”
“One of a kind, I’d reckon.” When they were halfway back to the haus, Benjamin asked, “Can I see you again, Violet?”
“Jah, there’s Onkel Hezekiah’s birthday on Thursday. Are you going to that?”
“I am, but I mean besides that? Maybe on Saturday afternoon we could do something together if you’re not busy?”
Violet was flattered, but she still didn't feel the same way about him that she felt about Nathan. She had to remind herself that Nathan wasn't there and was probably never coming back. If God was presenting her with a good man, should she turn her back and pin all her hopes on Nathan?
“Okay, that would be nice,” she said, feeling too embarrassed and awkward to say no even if she’d wanted to.
When Benjamin dropped her back at Lily’s house, she hurried inside to look at the clock in the kitchen. She saw she had a few minutes to spare before she had to leave to head back to the markets.
* * *
Violet secured her buggy and hurried into the markets. It was then that she saw Aunt Nancy talking to Lily.
When she got closer, Lily glanced up at her and Nancy spun around to face her. “There you are, Violet. Hello. I hear you spent a good part of the day with Benjamin.”
Violet grimaced and looked over at Lily. “News travels fast.” Couldn’t Lily have kept that to herself?
“Jah, news like that certainly does; your mudder will be pleased.”
It wasn’t a good idea for her mother to find out as well. She’d be planning the wedding in no time. She frowned at her aunt. “What does Mamm have to do with this?”
Nancy shook her head and patted Violet on her shoulder in a comforting manner. “Forget I said anything.”
“How was your time with Benjamin? Did you enjoy yourself?” Lily asked.
Violet nodded. “Jah, it was okay.”
“Well, I'll leave you girls to it. I just stopped by the markets to pick up a few things.” Nancy lifted her bag of groceries higher.
When she'd gone, Violet continued to load the trolley with the flowers that needed to go back to the Walkers’ place. It was a job that one of the Walkers’ sons used to do, but now they were doing more important things with expanding their business into other regions.
“Don't be mad with me. I’ve got no control over my mudder,” Lily said.
“I'm not mad at you, but I just sometimes wish people would just let things be.”
“And by ‘things’ you mean you?”
Violet nodded. “Exactly. Why does everyone take such an interest in everything I do? I just wish I was invisible sometimes.”
“Just tell me—what did you like about him?”
“He’s very nice.” Violet said in a small voice, not being able to verbalize what she liked about him. She wasn’t about to tell Lily she didn’t like him as much as Nathan, because she was trying her best to forget him. Maybe Benjamin would grow on her if she spent more time with him. She was prepared to give him a chance.
“I knew you’d like him; he’s lovely.”
“Denke for inviting him to dinner last night.”
“It wasn't me. It was Elijah who invited him. I thought I said that. Anyway, I’m glad things worked out. It would’ve been awkward if you hadn’t gotten along with him.”
“He's asked me out again.”
Lily’s eyebrows flew up so high they nearly touched her prayer kapp. “Oh, that's good! I'm glad.”
“Don’t look so surprised.”
“Well, I am.”
“Wasn’t that your plan?”
Lily giggled. “I’m not saying a word. My lips are sealed.” Lily put her fingertips to her mouth and made the motion of zipping her lips.
* * *
Nathan had thought long and hard about his life. Being with some of the people in the community, like Valerie and Violet and even old Mrs. Gingerich, had touched his heart. Deep down, he knew where he belonged. The world was a harsh place. He’d found his way in it, but it might be time to return to the community. That’s what his mother would’ve wanted and he had to think where he was going to spend eternity. He wanted to be with his mother again one day. As the bishop had told him, this life was so temporary—like a vapor. Eternity was forever.
If he came back, he’d hope to marry Violet if she’d have him. He guessed she liked him a little and he would be free to express his feelings for her. The first step in the process was to go to Violet’s Uncle Hezekiah’s birthday. It touched him deeply that he’d been invited. It was like a sign that people would wholeheartedly accept him back into the community and then it would be as though he’d never left. He’d get baptized and be a proper member, and then he’d get married and have a family.
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