by R. H. Hull
Chapter 22
The next day, Rebecca looked up and down the long main hallway of their high school trying to find Jacob. She waited by his locker, but when the hallway began to empty as students entered their classrooms, she realized that for some reason he was either not in school that day or had been at his locker earlier. His mother said nothing about him being ill, so she assumed that he would be there.
Reluctantly, Rebecca walked down the hallway toward her classroom. Just as she entered her classroom, Jacob was hurrying down the hallway to her locker to see her, unaware that Rebecca had been waiting for him, and was now in her classroom. He had arrived late that morning after delivering milk from their farm to the dairy in town as he did many mornings. But he had been delayed there while unloading the cans of milk.
After taking her seat in her classroom, Rebecca suddenly realized that she should have left Jacob a note on his locker to tell him where to meet her so she could talk to him after school. Since class role had not yet been taken, she quickly scribbled a note that told Jacob to meet her at his locker right after school. Since his locker was only three away from hers, and since they were so close to her classroom, she walked quickly to the front of the classroom and asked her teacher to be excused for a moment. Her teacher agreed that she could, so she quickly left the classroom, only to see Jacob hurrying down the hallway in the opposite direction! She called quietly to him, and as he turned to see her, she hurried toward him and handed him her note. He quickly read it, turned, smiled and nodded that he would see her after school at the designated location—his locker. Then, he hurried off down the hallway before the final bell rang.
The school day passed slowly for both of them. Finally, the 3:30 p.m. bell rang that signaled the end of classes for the day. Rebecca and Jacob went immediately to their lockers. As soon as Rebecca deposited her books that she didn’t need for the evening, she went three lockers down to where Jacob stood waiting for her. He had wondered all that day what she wanted to tell him that seemed so important.
When Rebecca saw Jacob, all that she had rehearsed to say to him vanished. She had a feeling that anything she would say at this moment would sound like she was desperate to see him. She simply wanted him to know that it was important that they be together, somehow. As Rebecca walked toward Jacob’s locker, she found herself looking down at her feet, not really knowing what to say. Jacob paused, looking at Rebecca with the usual apparent understanding and tenderness that Rebecca loved in him. He was also quiet, as quiet as she was, not quite knowing what to say since he was not aware of the purpose of their meeting.
Jacob looked at Rebecca, trying to understand her silence, and without thinking about the consequences, he placed his hand on her face and gently lifted it so he could look into her eyes. She did not resist, but moved her face upward and looked into his. He noticed as he had so frequently before that she did not need rouge or other makeup that the other girls wore. She was strikingly beautiful without it. When he lifted her face upward toward his, he noticed several tears that were sparkling on her cheeks.
“Is something wrong?” was all that Jacob could think of to ask.
“I am afraid,” is all she quietly said in reply.
“Afraid?” Jacob asked, wondering what a young gentle woman such as Rebecca would have to be afraid of. “What are you afraid of?” trying to suppress any indication of the concern that his voice may have carried.
Rebecca finally looked into Jacob’s eyes. She held him spellbound for a moment as he again looked into her beautiful eyes. “I’m very much afraid, Jacob.”
“Afraid? Has something happened to you?”
“No,” Rebecca replied hesitantly, “It’s because…I have…decided that you and I should be together…in whatever way we can.”
“No matter how your father feels?” Jacob said nearly choking on his words!
“Yes—no matter how my father feels! I love my father, but I do not respect his bias against good people who he shuns because they are ‘of the world’. I also respect the feelings of my brother Tom who feels just as strongly that there are good people in ‘the world,’ and that includes you and your family. He also has told me that I should do what I feel is best for me.”
Without reservation or hesitation, the words came pouring from Rebecca as though they had been stored for such a long time that there was no holding them back! “I don’t know if you still feel about me in such a way that you want to be with me, Jacob. I do know that I want very much to be with you. But I am not sure how you feel about me. I want to be with you…anywhere…anyplace where we can be together to talk—just to be alone without fear of being caught!”
Surprised at such an outpouring of feeling from the young woman for whom he had silently cared deeply about for nearly two years, ever since he first saw her in the Eden General Store—the young woman he has dreamed of being with, but afraid it would never happen in light of her father’s feelings against people who were not of their Mennonite faith. Now, that young woman was expressing her desire to be with him! He had never met anyone with the courage that Rebecca was demonstrating at this time.
Rebecca now stood before Jacob, eyes focused upon him, waiting for his response—a look that appeared to search his soul—waiting.
Finally, Jacob spoke—quietly at first since other students were putting books into their lockers nearby. “Oh Rebecca,” Jacob quietly said with greater feeling than he had ever expressed before, "I have cared deeply for you ever since the morning I first saw you in your father’s general store. I have wanted to be with you, Rebecca, but have been hesitant to suggest it openly since I know of your father’s feelings about your being with a young man who is not of your faith and heritage. I have hoped that there would be a time when we could be together. When we went to the truck stop in Cambridge, Kansas, we were both so concerned about being seen together, we couldn’t really talk. I know you felt a strong need to get home where you would be safe from being seen with me, from disobeying your parents.
“But, since my family and I live and farm in your community, many people including your family would have recognized my car. That is why I painted it black, removed the fancy hubcaps and painted the bumpers black. My whiskers on my chin are growing.” He raised his chin, “See?” as he smiled at Rebecca.
“Yes,” Jacob continued, “I’ve been waiting and hoping. I have loved you from afar and have hoped and prayed that something would happen to bring us together so we do not have to be afraid of being seen together.”
“In my mind,” Rebecca replied quietly, “The time is now! My only concern is how it can be done! As we have discussed, you cannot come to our house to pick me up to go somewhere.”
At that moment, Sarah walked down the hallway and stopped beside Rebecca and Jacob. Sarah’s eyes widened and she smiled broadly as she looked from Jacob to Rebecca, and then back to Jacob. “So, you are finally talking!” And, with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, “And, so what is going on? Are you finally going to go out together—somehow? Are you planning something?” She couldn’t wait to hear, although she also realized that it was probably none of her business! She waited to hear the news, if any, standing with her hands on her hips and looking again first at Rebecca and then Jacob, still smiling broadly.
Rebecca looked down, wondering what to say. She had already poured her heart out to Jacob and was waiting for a response from him. Jacob was looking down at his feet, wondering what to say. Then, ignoring Sarah who was still standing next to them, he began by saying to Rebecca, “When is probably not the question. I guess we should be saying how can we be together?”
Rebecca remained quiet, and as she began to respond, Sarah broke the silence. Brightly, almost joyously, so brightly that it did not really seem appropriate during that serious moment of communication between Rebecca and Jacob, “I have an idea! A great idea about how you two can get together!” With her hands and arms spread wide, she exclaimed, “Let me do it!”
“What in t
he world do you mean?” Rebecca asked. “I can help!” Sarah exclaimed with enthusiasm. Rebecca, looking at her rather skeptically, responded by saying simply, “How in the world could you? What can you do?”
“Well,” Sarah began slowly, “Remember when I helped you and Jacob to be together before?”
“Yes,” Rebecca quickly replied, “That is when I started feeling extremely guilty because I was deceiving my parents, sneaking around just so Jacob and I could be together for a little while. We both felt extremely miserable that evening when we drove to Cambridge, Kansas to the truck stop for a soda! And, that is the problem,” Rebecca continued, “We have to sneak around! That bothers me, and I think it bothers Jacob, also.”
Jacob entered the conversation, “Did you forget about me? I want to be with Rebecca, but…” he looked at Rebecca, “You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” replied Rebecca, “However,” as she smiled at Jacob, “It seems as though I have been doing most of the pursuing so far!”
“Okay!” Sarah broke in impatiently, “You both want to be together. That’s obvious. Now, what are we going to do about it?”
“What does ‘we’ mean?” exclaimed Rebecca. “This is supposed to be between Jacob and me.”
“But,” Sarah interrupted, “It doesn’t seem as though you two have done very well so far—more talk than action!” Sarah smiled mischievously, “And, I am involved. I mean, I want to see you two kids together. I feel like I’m a part of this relationship. I want to help you!”
“And, I’m happy that you want to,” Rebecca said in reply, “But, what I want to do most of all is to introduce Jacob to my father and my mother. I think that if father had an opportunity to actually formally meet and visit with Jacob—something beyond helping him load bottles of soda into his father’s truck, he would feel differently about him!”
“You two need to get together to decide how you are going to carry this out, or even decide if you are going to actually take this leap of faith—I mean to determine whether you really—really want to!” Sarah remarked seriously.
Rebecca looked intently at Jacob. He looked down into her eyes, and they both said without hesitation and nearly at the same time, “Yes, we do!”
“Okay!” Sarah exclaimed excitedly, “Let’s do it! Now, tell me. Where do you want to meet so you two can plan this meeting between Jacob and your father? You could come to my house. My parents wouldn’t notify your parents, at least not immediately.”
“I hesitate to ask you this, Jacob, but how about meeting again in your car?” Rebecca suggested. “Can we go somewhere in your car so we can talk and plan? If that is what we are to do, then we simply have to determine where Sarah can bring me to meet you so I can get into your car without being noticed. We have done this before, but it was at night and it would have been difficult to see us. But you have worked so hard to make your car look like those of our community, at least we won’t stand out when seen by others.”
“Here we go again!” Sarah exclaimed with an air of deja’vu.
“The last time we were together when we went to Cambridge, Kansas to be together for a little while, I was so nervous that I was thinking that really didn’t want to be in your car ever again. But this time we would be planning something positive so that maybe we won’t have to deceive anyone in order to be together in the future! So, in that regard, I am willing to take a chance. What time and where should Jacob be waiting for us?”
Sarah thought for a moment, and then suggested 10:00 a.m. at their church parking lot—what appeared lately as their “usual spot.” Jacob was concerned that he might not be able to get away since Saturdays were generally full of work around their farm. He, then, suggested 1:00 p.m. since he would be there for the work during the morning, and it would be easier to get away after lunch. It was settled then. One o’clock pm would be the best time for their meeting.
Rebecca’s brother Tom was parked in his pickup truck waiting for her in front of the high school as she ran out and jumped into the passenger seat. It was later than usual, but when Tom looked over at his sister to ask why, she had already begun to tell him about school, and her meeting with Jacob and Sarah after school.
“We have decided that Jacob and I must meet with our father and mother to tell them about our desire to be together openly, so we do not have to ‘sneak’ around. Jacob and I will be meeting tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 pm to decide exactly how to do this, or rather how to approach our meeting, particularly with father.”
Tom looked rather concerned, and asked, “And, where will you two be meeting? It sounds rather risky, to say the least!”
“We will meet in his car after Sarah takes me to our church parking lot where Jacob will be waiting.”
“You must be very careful, Rebecca, that you are not seen! I would speak on your behalf if you were caught together, but my arguments do not seem to hold a great deal of weight when it comes to you and Jacob.”
“I will be fine, Tom. I am worried, of course, but it must be done.” That ended the conversation. Rebecca then became unusually quiet while they drove on to their farm.
Chapter 23
When they arrived home, Rebecca walked into the kitchen, took off her jacket and immediately went to her room. She was quietly thinking and attempting to plan the meeting between her parents, particularly her father and Jacob. She was also frightened at what may be the result of even suggesting such a meeting. Or, should it even be suggested? Perhaps it would be best if she secretly invited Jacob to their house at a time when she knew her parents would both be at home. If he simply ‘showed up,’ perhaps that would be best. That way, her father would not be able to refuse to let her invite him in to meet him. But she was afraid of her father’s reaction if Jacob came to their door, and Rebecca invited him in!
Her mother called her down to dinner. After washing her hands, she entered the kitchen with only a quiet “good evening” to her parents and Tom. Tom said nothing since he knew what was about to occur the next day. Rebecca felt guilty at what she was planning, but was trying very hard not to avoid eye contact with her parents. She didn’t want to look guilty. She quietly ate supper, requesting only a small amount of food. And, when she finished eating what little was on her plate, she excused herself and went back upstairs to her room.
When Rebecca left the table, her mother and father looked at each other, both concerned about her and her apparent continuing preoccupation with something that was bothering her. They both asked Tom if he knew of any reason why Rebecca was acting as she was, and he denied any reason that anything was wrong, except that he noticed that she was unusually quiet. Her mother climbed the stairs to Rebecca’s bedroom and knocked on the door. However, Rebecca had already gone to bed. Her mother asked if she could come in, but Rebecca said that she was tired.
Her mother left her alone and went back down the stairs to the kitchen. Her husband Abraham asked if she had talked with Rebecca. But she explained that she was already in bed, and had told her that she was tired and did not want to talk. Both her mother and father were concerned. Rebecca’s father Abraham told Elizabeth that he intended to find out what was wrong. It was obvious to him that something had happened or was about to happen to Rebecca! And, it was something so significant that she was withdrawing into herself! She had even stopped talking to them!
The next morning, Rebecca was up early, dressed for the day, ate a scant breakfast and told her mother that Sarah was going to drive by to pick her up after lunch, and that they were going to ride around and talk for a while. Her mother consented to the get together with Sarah. But Rebecca also knew that she was to work at the Eden, Kansas General Store for her father for a while that morning. So Rebecca went out and sat on the back step waiting for her father to drive up in his pickup truck, so she could ride with him. After a few minutes, he drove up and Rebecca climbed into the passenger side. They drove down the long driveway onto the main road, and then on to Eden which was about four miles south of their farm.
Rebecca was silent, wanting to get the work done that her father would assign her to complete that morning so she could return home to eat a quick lunch and then wait for Sarah to pick her up to drive to their church parking lot to wait for Jacob to arrive at the appointed time of 1:00 p.m.
As Rebecca and her father drove to Eden, Kansas to the store where he was the assigned manager, he asked her if there was any reason why she had been so silent during the previous evening and that morning. It wasn’t like her to be so quiet. He wondered if something was wrong. She indicated that nothing was wrong, that she was just thinking about things. Her excuse did not satisfy her father. He was convinced that it was something else—either she was feeling guilty about something, or something was wrong in her life, or something was bothering her. He was convinced that he must find out what it was that was causing the change in her demeanor! He loved his daughter and didn’t want things that were bad or dramatic in some way to enter her life.
After their work was completed that morning, they drove back to the farm at noon and ate a quick lunch. Rebecca was still not eating as she usually did and continued to be unusually quiet. She announced again that Sarah was coming by at a little before 1:00 p.m. to pick her up, that they were going to ride around together and just talk ‘girl talk’. Then, she went out onto the back steps of their house and waited.
Her mother and father sat silently at the kitchen table. Finally, Abraham inhaled deeply and audibly, and then stood by the table, leaning on his large rough hands that were hardened by the years of hard work on their farm. He stood looking at his wife. “There is something wrong, Elizabeth. I just know it! Rebecca is not acting like her old self. She is hiding something; I just know it! It is something that we need to know about, but she continues to say that it is nothing. I feel a strong need to find out what it is! I know that I should trust her, but I feel that we should follow her and Sarah, and perhaps we can talk with her, or both of them. I do not feel comfortable with her driving around with Sarah when we don’t know what is wrong, or if something hurtful has happened in her life, or if she is hiding something that we should know about. I’m sure that she is telling Sarah about what is happening to cause the changes that we are seeing in her. I feel strongly that we must drive to Sarah’s house now to find her so we can talk—alone, since she doesn’t seem to want to talk at home. After all, we are her parents, and we deserve to know if something is wrong, or if she has been harmed in some way!”