by R. H. Hull
Rebecca thought momentarily, and then replied, “I don’t know. I didn’t ask them, nor do they know why you are here…that is, to see me.”
Then Jacob replied, “Nor do mine. I didn’t know for sure if I was going to be able to figure out a reason for driving over here since I am usually in the fields working on Saturdays. I had finally almost given up trying to figure out a convincing reason to come over here. I knew that if I told my father that I wanted to drive over here to see you, he would tell me that it was silly to drive all that way, particularly since your father would not want me to see you. And, just when I was about to give up trying to think of a reason to drive here, my father came to me and asked me to drive another pickup truck of grain again to the Eden Feed Mill to have another load of grain ground and mixed into feed for our dairy cows! I tried not to act too overjoyed, since he would have asked me why I was so happy to come here!”
Rebecca was silent for a few short moments, and then replied, “Then, it appears that our seeing each other today was meant to be.” Jacob and Rebecca stood quietly, looking into each other’s eyes. Jacob’s heart was beating so hard that he was sure Rebecca could hear it! He finally managed to say what he thought was appropriate at the moment—nothing profound, but for him was a logical question, although he was afraid of what Rebecca’s response might be. He asked his question this way, trying to avoid looking embarrassed,
“So, if we want to see each other again, what do we do?”
Rebecca was thoughtfully silent. Jacob was asking himself why he had asked such a question, since he had really not intended to rush or push the issue. He didn’t even know if Rebecca wanted to see him again!
Rebecca finally broke the silence with a response that Jacob was not expecting—a response that revealed within her a maturity that was beyond her age of nearly 18 years. She said, “The answer to your question, Jacob, is within us—to do what you and I decide. If we want to see each other again, somehow, we will. If we decide not to see each other again because it is too much of a bother as a result of our differences in culture and heritage, we will do that. However, I would prefer the former rather than the latter.” Rebecca paused thoughtfully, and then asked, “Is that the way that you feel, Jacob?” She looked silently into Jacob’s eyes—perhaps, at that moment, even into his very soul.
Jacob looked down at the floor in embarrassment. Rebecca appeared much wiser and much more mature then he felt he could ever be. He wanted desperately to be with Rebecca again, so how he responded now to Rebecca’s question had to be done in such a way that she would know without a doubt that he was sincere. He looked into Rebecca’s beautiful blue eyes and held them there for a moment as he said with calmness, and with greater sincerity than he thought that he could ever possess. He responded quietly, “Yes… I want more than anything else to see you again. But I can’t keep coming to your father’s store for no other reason than to see you, particularly when I am not sure that your father and mother would approve of our seeing each other.”
Rebecca thought for a moment and then replied, “I will ask them if they will permit us to see each other, and I will let you know somehow.”
Jacob responded quickly, “But, what if they say no, you cannot. What will we do then?”
Rebecca paused again, apparently in deep thought, considering the alternatives, which Jacob thought were probably very few. She broke the silence, and in her uncommon wisdom that was apparently brought about by her heritage and upbringing, she said softly, “We will find a way,” and looked once again into Jacob’s eyes.
Just then, Rebecca’s father returned from the backroom of the store where his office is located and found that Jacob was still there. He walked over to Rebecca and said quickly, “Is there a problem? Could you not find what Jacob needs?”
“Oh,” Rebecca replied with assurance, smiling at her father, “Yes, we found what he was looking for, and we were just talking for a bit before Jacob leaves.” Abraham Yoder looked sternly at Jacob, and then looked at Rebecca with an equally stern look into his beloved daughter’s smiling eyes. Then, without an additional word, he turned his back to Jacob and Rebecca and walked to the back of the store where his office was located.
Jacob looked at Rebecca who still held her gentle smile. “Aren’t you afraid, Rebecca? Your father looked unhappy that we were talking together!”
Rebecca responded, again quietly, but with assurance, “I know my father well. He simply did not know what to think. No one else has ever stayed to talk with me before, and I might add that I haven’t wanted anyone else to talk with me before today. You are the first, Jacob Swenson. My father knows your father and grandfather, and would feel that your talking with me is okay. But, perhaps nothing else beyond talking.”
Jacob felt somewhat better with those words, but more than anything else, he wanted to see Rebecca again. Rebecca continued by saying, “Jacob, you must go now. My father has permitted us thus far, but we do not want to anger him.”
Jacob replied quickly, “But, when can we see each other again? How can we see each other? We must decide quickly. We must have a way of communicating.”
Rebecca responded by saying, “Do you have a telephone in your home?”
Jacob nodded, “But, it is in our kitchen. I don’t have one in my room, so it’s rather public since it is seldom that someone is not in that room.”
“It is the same in our house,” Rebecca replied. “There are times, however, when the kitchen is empty.”
“And,” Jacob said as though the thought had just come to him, and which might be a logical solution as opposed to sneaking to use the telephone. “We can see each other at our school! We are there every day, and at lunch and other times during the day, we can talk! We can even have lunch together on the sunny side of our school building. We can sit on the steps back there!”
“Yes,” Rebecca replied, “That could be a grand solution, as long as my brother does not see us!”
“But, if he does, we are high school students together. Why should we not talk?” Jacob said with assurance. “It is a natural thing to do! Then, I can say that I will see you on Monday at school!” Since Rebecca’s family was the only family in their Mennonite community who allowed their children to attend high school rather than concluding their education at the eighth grade as all others did, this could be a wonderful solution to their problem!
Chapter 9
The next day was Sunday. After church services, Rebecca found Sarah standing with her parents. Rebecca grabbed Sarah by the arm, pulled her away to a safe distance, and said quickly and in a loud whisper, “I must share something with you!” They walked quickly away from their parents who were engaged in their usual after-church conversations. When Rebecca felt that they were at a safe distance, Sarah’s eyes were wide with anticipation, “This must be something that is either very bad, or very good!!! What is it?!”
Even though they were what Rebecca felt was a safe distance from their parents and other members of their church, she still maintained a soft, but intensely whispered voice. “I must tell you,” she whispered rather loudly! “Jacob, the young man I have told you about came to father’s General Store yesterday morning just like we had planned! I thought perhaps he wouldn’t come, but he did! And, guess what! Saul Koehn came in the told me rather loudly and firmly in front of Jacob that he was taking me to the church supper that was last night! He had the gall to do that!”
“Oh my,” Sarah exclaimed, “What did you say? What did you do?”
“I told him off, that’s what I did!” Rebecca replied. "I told him that he had no right to expect me to go wherever he wanted me to—that I would NOT go anywhere with him! Then, I told him to leave the store! Saul then saw Jacob standing there and wanted to know why he was there, and if he was there to court me. I told him once again to leave the store! And, after blustering and grousing for a while, he did leave. I was so angry, I could have just spit!
"My father came into the main part of the store wher
e Jacob and I were still standing, and asked about the loud voices he had heard from his office in the back room. I told him, and also told him that I do not want to see Saul Koehn or ever be with him! My father said that he and Saul’s parents felt that Saul and I might want to be together once in a while to go places together. Again, I told father in a firmer manner than I had ever used in talking with him that I would never go anywhere with Saul Koehn—ever! Father seemed to accept what I said, and then simply told me to help Jacob find what he was intending to buy from the store, and went quietly back to his office.
“Jacob and I were finally alone, and we talked. He is such a sweet young man. We let each other know that we wanted to see each other again. We talked about how we could somehow be together at school, since there doesn’t seem to be any other way, we can see each other. We are planning to have lunch together on the steps at the back of our high school when the weather is nice. I will enjoy that. I truly enjoy talking with Jacob. I know that he is not of our Old Order Mennonite heritage, but somehow it just doesn’t seem to make any difference to me. I simply find myself feeling comfortable when I am with him.”
“Oh, with all my heart and soul!” exclaimed Sarah in a nearly breathless voice, “This does sound serious, more so than I ever thought would happen!” Both Sarah and Rebecca heard their parents calling them. It was time to go home. “We’ll talk later,” Sarah whispered loudly. Then she smiled at Rebecca, giving her a wink and a nod that meant that everything was good!
Later that afternoon, Sarah called Rebecca on the phone, “I want to hear more about this Jacob person with whom you seem so enthralled. Can you talk? Is there anyone else nearby?”
“Oh Sarah…” Rebecca replied, and then paused. “But, first let me check to see if my parents are near before we talk.” She laid the telephone receiver aside and went to the kitchen door. She saw her parents in the living room carrying on a conversation. So, she quickly walked back to the telephone, picked up the receiver, and quietly said, “My parents are in the living room, so we may have a few minutes to talk.”
“So, tell me more,” Sarah said. “When can you see him again?”
“Like I said,” Rebecca began quietly. “Jacob and I decided that we can have lunch together once in a while at school. But, that way, we won’t ever really be alone. I would like to be alone with him sometime so we can really talk and know that others won’t hear us. But I can’t think of how to do that. I want to get to know him better. I just don’t know how.”
Sarah was silent for a moment, then began talking with enthusiasm, “Well, I know that this may sound like a crazy idea, and maybe I shouldn’t even suggest it.”
“OK what? Tell me your crazy idea,” Rebecca replied. “Coming from you, it may actually not be so crazy!”
“Well…” Sarah began slowly. “Here goes—Why can’t we meet Jacob somewhere, like the parking lot at our church? We could drive over there in my parent’s car, and he could meet us in his car. Then, you could get into his car for a little while I wait for you. That way you could talk privately! How’s that for an idea?”
“That sounds extremely risky, Sarah,” Rebecca replied. Rebecca was quiet momentarily, and then she said with conviction and enthusiasm, “Let’s do it! This Friday! Pick me up a little before 7:30 p.m. and I’ll tell Jacob to meet us in our church parking lot at about 7:45 p.m. Fifteen minutes is all I can risk. But, fifteen minutes alone is better than longer when others are listening to our conversations. Okay Sarah? Can we do it?”
“Okay,” Sarah replied. “I’ll be there at your house at 7:30 p.m. sharp!”
As Rebecca hung up the receiver, her mother walked into the kitchen. “Who was that, Rebecca?”
“Oh, it was just Sarah. We were talking about things—nothing serious. Just talking girl talk.”
Chapter 10
The weekend passed slowly. When Monday morning finally arrived, Jacob completed his morning chores with greater speed than usual, ate a good breakfast, washed his face, changed his clothes, and jumped into the pickup truck that was already loaded with twelve 10 gallon cans of milk to be taken to the Select Dairy before he could finish his trip to Wheatland High School, the high school where both he and Rebecca attended. He hoped to see Rebecca before classes began for the day. But, after he delivered the milk to the dairy and loaded twelve empty milk cans back onto the truck, he arrived just as the warning bell for first hour rang, and it was all that he could do but rush to his locker, grab his books and run to his classroom before the last and final bell rang!
At noon, Jacob searched the hallways looking for Rebecca, but could not find her. He finally found her near the school cafeteria. He quickly walked over to her, and they stopped for a fleeting moment to talk.
“Have you discovered a place where we can meet to be together alone for a brief time?” Jacob quietly asked Rebecca. “Is it warm enough to sit on the steps at the back of the school, so we can eat lunch together like we talked about before?”
After determining that it was, they walked to the back steps on the south side of their high school, sat down in the warm sun, and ate their lunch. While they sat enjoying the warmth and eating their sandwiches, Rebecca spoke quietly, but without whispering, “I want you to know that Sarah and I have talked, and I have decided that we should get to know each other better. And, the only way I can think of to do that is for us to be alone so we can talk without being heard by others. Sarah, my friend, and I have decided that if it’s okay with you, we would like to meet you in the parking lot of our Eden River Mennonite church so you and I can be together alone for a little while. Sarah will wait for me, and I will walk to your car. Around fifteen minutes is all that I can risk. If you can be there, we will be there on Friday evening at 7:45 p.m.”
Rebecca then was silent for a moment, and hesitantly said, “Do you think that I am being too forward, Jacob? I mean, do you think that I am pushing you into seeing me? Am I being pushy? I don’t want to do that. But it would just be nice to be with you alone for a little bit of time to talk, not having to worry about being seen together.”
Jacob acknowledged and affirmed that first of all, he did not feel that she was being “pushy” at all since he, too, wanted to be able to be alone with her so they could get to know each other better. He also affirmed that he would be there in their church parking lot at 7:45 p.m. sharp.
After they finished their lunch, they both said that they would see each other later, and then left to go to their next class. Both Rebecca and Jacob were happy and excited at the prospect of being alone, even for a small amount of time.
Their conversation took place on Monday, so Jacob anxiously waited for the days to pass hoping that Friday would arrive soon. He was mostly concerned that his car that had chrome decorations and shiny hubcaps would stand out in the parking lot of the Eden River Mennonite Church since members of that church who own cars must remove the chrome trim, hubcaps, and paint the chrome bumpers, so they are very plain. Shiny chrome on cars was considered ‘of the world’ and not suitable for members of Old Order Mennonite. Several of the members were even still driving horses and buggies rather than cars. Shiny cars were signs of ‘the world’ and for some, simply having a car per se was a sign of an extravagance. He was afraid that if a car with those decorations was parked in their church parking lot, it would draw attention to itself. But he decided that he would take that chance, just this once. But, just to make sure, he would remove the hubcaps from his car before driving over.
Friday evening finally arrived. Jacob had told his parents that he was meeting Charles his good friend for a root beer in town. They did not question his reasoning for meeting his best friend since they got together fairly often to talk. However, Jacob felt the guilt of his lie. At ten minutes before the time that he was to arrive, Jacob drove down the country rode to the Eden River Mennonite Church, and was there promptly at 7:45 p.m. There was another car in the parking lot, one that was obviously owned by a member of that church. It was plain
black, with no ornaments or chrome that could be seen. The tires were black, with no hubcaps. He hesitated momentarily before driving into the parking lot, but soon recognized a vague outline of Rebecca who was sitting in the front seat with another girl who he assumed was Sarah, her friend.
As Jacob pulled into the parking lot and drove next to the car, Rebecca quickly left Sarah’s family car and jumped into Jacob’s car. “I want you to know,” Rebecca said breathlessly as soon as she had seated herself next to Jacob, “that I feel very guilty—so guilty that I do not know if I can do this again! I have never deceived my parents before. If we were discovered, the deceit would simply be too much!” Then, in a natural gesture of caring, she took Jacob’s hand and looked deeply into his eyes, waiting for his response.
Jacob had never felt such a soft hand. His heart raced at her touch. He did not know what to say, but at that moment he wanted more than anything else to take Rebecca into his arms and hold her close to him.
“Do you understand, Jacob Swenson?” Rebecca said in her firmest, but still gentle voice.
“Yes, I do understand what you mean. I feel equally guilty of deceit since I told my parents that I was meeting my friend Charles in town to get a root beer at the J and W Drive In. So, what do we do now?” Jacob asked.
Rebecca responded, “I have thought a great deal about this, Jacob, and what I am going to do is tell my mother and father that you and I desire to see each other, and that I feel deeply that it is good that we do.” And, then she added, still looking into Jacob’s eyes, “What will you do, Jacob?” He hesitated momentarily as he usually did in order to make sure that he said what he hoped would be the correct thing.
He finally said in reply to Rebecca’s question, “I will do the same. I will tell my parents. But, unlike you, Rebecca, because your parents will not want you to see me since I am not of your Mennonite heritage, my parents will simply be concerned for you and me—concerned that your parents will not want us to see each other. I am afraid that your parents will simply refuse to allow you to see me again!”