Plain Return (The Plain Fame Series Book 4)

by Price, Sarah

  The two women enjoyed the moment, teasing their father as they had so long ago, when their younger brother, Aaron, was still alive. For the first time since his death, Amanda felt an aura of happiness about the house. Had it been almost four years since Aaron’s untimely death? Had it truly taken that long for life to regain some semblance of normalcy?

  The squeaking of the mudroom door, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, caused Amanda to look up. Jonas walked through the doorway on the other side of the room near the kitchen area, his brown work pants dirty after a day spent in the dairy barn. Behind him came Alejandro, a sharp contrast to the Amish man. When she saw the two together, Amanda fought the urge to catch her breath. Her husband was much taller than her brother-in-law, and his presence emanated a sophistication that she couldn’t help but notice. Would the others see it, too? she wondered.

  In typical Amish fashion, Jonas greeted her with a simple wave of his hand and an impish smile. Shyness around newcomers was not a behavior that was limited to the children.

  Alejandro, however, wasted no time in approaching Amanda’s mother; he greeted her with a warm embrace that was not necessarily returned. He either didn’t mind or didn’t notice for as soon as he had greeted her, he crossed the floor to do the same to Anna. Finally, he stood respectfully before Elias and extended his hand. To Amanda’s surprise, her father slowly lifted his arm. Alejandro waited patiently while Elias struggled to find the strength to shake his hand.

  When he sat beside her at last, he took a moment to pinch the crease of his slacks so that they wouldn’t wrinkle. Amanda turned to him. “Is everything all right?”

  “Sí, sí. Just fine, Princesa.”

  She suspected the call had been from his new manager, Geoffrey. Unlike Alejandro’s previous manager, Mike, Geoffrey was of Hispanic descent and, given his extensive background in music and marketing, was able to connect better with Alejandro. The few times that Amanda had met Geoffrey, she’d found him to be much more respectful and well mannered toward her than Mike had been. Not to mention his reverence for God and his Catholic faith. She had liked him immediately.

  “You have some big travels ahead of you, ja?” Anna asked. “Sounds exciting.”

  Alejandro winked at Amanda. “You must ask Amanda afterward if she found it exciting,” he said. “So many countries in such a short period of time is tiring. I look forward to having a few days to relax in Argentina, to reenergize our batteries.”

  Anna caught her breath when he mentioned Argentina. “Oh my! That’s clear on the bottom of the world!”

  “That it is,” Alejandro agreed. “When it is winter here, it is summer there. So to spend a few days at the beach will be a perfect respite, no?”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t know about those things,” Anna responded lightly. She looked over her shoulder at Jonas. “Have you been to the beach, Jonas?”

  He shook his head. “Nee, can’t say that I have.” Then, after a short pause, he added, “Now hold on there. That’s not quite true.”

  Amanda loved his accent: a different type of singsong manner of speaking than that practiced by the Amish in Lititz. She had forgotten that the Ohio Amish emphasized their words differently and elongated their vowels.

  “I did go to a lake beach one time,” he continued, crossing his feet at the ankles, his once-white socks now gray from too many wearings and washings, as he leaned against the counter. “Was for a youth gathering one year.” His eyes found Anna’s. “Summer before last, I recall. Water sure was cold. I remember that much.”

  Alejandro laughed.

  “Jonas,” Anna said as she turned around. “You still going to that horse auction with Edwards tomorrow?”

  “Ja, I sure am.”

  Amanda frowned. “Edwards?”

  “Jake Edwards,” Anna said. She looked at Alejandro. “You met him last summer, ain’t so? His fraa, Sylvia, talked about meeting you.”

  To Amanda’s surprise, Alejandro responded with an eager “¡Sí, sí! I remember Jake. He has a good sense of humor, as I recall. Elias took me there to see his horses. Magnificent creatures.”

  Considering all of the people who Alejandro met on a daily basis—the fans and the media representatives, as well as the other celebrities and management people—Amanda could hardly believe that he remembered not only meeting Jake Edwards but also the circumstances surrounding their encounter. Since the Edwards family lived in another church district, they were not people with whom Amanda had frequently interacted, especially since Jake had joined the Amish church only after marrying his wife.

  “You should go with Jonas,” Anna said to Alejandro and then, as if an afterthought, she quickly looked at her husband for approval. “What say you, Jonas?”

  Before Alejandro could respond, Jonas nodded. “Oh ja, sure! Why that would be right gut! Jake’s to sell three of his horses, and I told him I’d help. An extra pair of hands would be appreciated, I’m sure.”

  Amanda waited, wondering what Alejandro would say. She knew how busy he was. The fact that he’d arranged for this short visit had truly taken her by surprise. She suspected he would need to spend the majority of his time making phone calls, answering e-mails, and resting before they left for South America.

  Once again, he surprised her.

  “Unless Amanda has other plans for me,” he said, “I’d find that most interesting, Jonas.”

  “Vell all right, then!” Jonas seemed genuinely pleased that he would have Alejandro’s company. “The driver’s picking me up after morning chores. Won’t be too early for you?”

  Alejandro laughed. “I’ll manage,” he said, taking the bait. “I’ve been known to awaken before dawn. Right, Princesa?”

  Amanda was stunned by the instant camaraderie between the two men, who seemed the most unlikely of brothers-in-law. She knew that Alejandro was a master at making other people feel ten feet tall. But he seemed genuinely comfortable as he sat on the sofa and talked with Jonas, Anna, and Elias—for he was always considerate enough to include Elias in the conversation. Lizzie’s lack of contributions to the conversation did not surprise Amanda, but Alejandro seemed unfazed by his mother-in-law’s obvious disapproval regarding Amanda’s choice of a husband. He continued conversing with the others and occasionally asked Lizzie a question. Whenever she gave a one- or two-word answer, he accepted that and moved on to another topic.

  At four o’clock, Jonas excused himself to start on evening chores. Alejandro stood up and, without even changing his clothes, followed Jonas outside. Amanda could hardly believe her eyes. She felt impressed by his ability to adapt to whatever situation presented itself. Whether in this case that came out of his love for her or his true love for people, she did not know. She only knew that he was a special man and that God had blessed her when he put her in the path of Alejandro’s limo that day in New York City, a day that seemed to have happened a lifetime ago.

  After the sound of the two men’s footsteps on the porch faded, Anna looked at Amanda. “Seems like things are going right gut with you and Alejandro.”

  Amanda nodded her head and gave a soft smile. “Life with Alejandro is different, I must admit.”

  Anna clicked her tongue. “Such travel!”

  “Ja, the travel is different,” Amanda admitted. “He works so hard with so many demands from every which way!” There was no way that Amanda could explain all of the different people who pulled at Alejandro: singers, producers, sponsors, endorsers, promoters . . . the list was endless. And she knew better than to mention how the paparazzi and fans followed her. Her mother, especially, would not approve. “But we are together and I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”

  Lizzie sighed, her mouth downturned at the corners. Even without Amanda telling the whole story, her mother still disapproved. “There’s just no questioning God’s plan, even when it’s something that on the surface doesn’t seem to make sen
se.”

  Amanda glanced at her sister, and Anna gave her a reassuring look.

  While Amanda knew that her decisions to leave the Amish way of life and forgo joining the church were unpopular with her parents and the community, her decision to leave with and then marry Alejandro was equally as upsetting. The holiday scandal had not helped, either. Even the bishop had learned of Alejandro’s public “indiscretion” through the ever-present media and their love of spreading bad news. Even though his former manager, Mike, had admitted that the leaked photographs of Alejandro in another woman’s arms were invented, Amanda suspected that ultimately Lizzie’s willingness to forgive was stronger than her ability to forget.

  “And Harvey?” Amanda asked, changing the subject so that they headed down a less arduous and more conversational path.

  Anna inhaled sharply. “Oh, Amanda,” she said. “What would we do without Harvey? Why, Jonas and Harvey are such a gut team. God sure was blessing us when Alejandro hired him. No matter the weather, he is here each day. If it gets too awful outside for him to go home, he just stays in one of the spare rooms.”

  “Sleeps on the sofa, most oft as naught,” Lizzie said. “Not much of a bother, that one.”

  “And Daed!” Anna’s face lit up. “Vell, let me tell you that Harvey sure does take wunderbar care of Daed. Ain’t so, Daed?” She waited for her father to respond. When he didn’t, she leaned over and peered at him. “Is he napping, then?” Without waiting for an answer, Anna hurried over to Elias. Seeing that his head was tucked down, his chin resting on his chest and his long beard covering the front of his shirt, she put her finger to her lips. “I’ll put him in the bedroom,” she whispered.

  Lizzie dried her hands on a dish towel and tossed it on the counter. “Let me help.”

  Left alone in the kitchen, Amanda stood up and walked around, listening to the sounds of Lizzie and Anna pushing the wheelchair over the threshold of the bedroom and getting Elias out of it and into bed so that he could nap properly. It amazed Amanda to see how in control Anna was of the situation. She had truly blossomed since returning home with Jonas to tend to her parents’ farm. Or rather, Amanda thought, her and Jonas’s farm. Certainly it would be passed down to them, and rightfully so. How fortunate, Amanda thought. She gazed out the window at the dark fields, where a light cover of melting snow contrasted white against the plowed rows. If nothing else, certainly Elias took comfort in knowing that, after all of his years of hard labor and love, the family farm would be passed down to the next generation, even if it went from father to daughter instead of from father to son.

  “Oh, how he likes his afternoon nap,” Anna said cheerfully, shutting the door to the bedroom behind her. “Ain’t so, Mamm?”

  Lizzie didn’t return to the sink but instead sat down in the sitting area that was off to the side of the kitchen. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “That he does, Dochder.”

  Amanda left her spot at the window and sat down next to her mother. “How is Daed, then? Really, though. Is he improving any?”

  Her mother’s response startled her. “Nee, not much, Amanda.” When she saw Amanda’s expression, she quickly added, “Not in the area of will, I reckon. His spirit is broken, and he doesn’t try like he might. That’s what the physical therapist says, anyway.”

  That was not good news. Without the will to try or the spirit to believe, recovery would not improve, that was for sure and certain. “I’m sorry to hear that,” Amanda said softly. “I had thought things were looking up, Mamm.”

  Lizzie patted her knee. “Nothing for you to worry about, Amanda.”

  “But I do worry.”

  Lizzie shook her head. “I rather think that you are enjoying your life as a newly married woman,” she said. “Even if you are married to an Englischer.”

  “He’s Cuban. Not quite the same thing.”

  “Not quite the same thing in a better or worse way?” Lizzie asked this in a light tone, as if teasing, but Amanda suspected that her mother’s question wasn’t an idle one.

  “Aw, Mamm!” She shook her head. “In a much better way!”

  Anna laughed and even Lizzie chuckled.

  “Oh, Amanda.” Anna joined them, sitting down in the rocking chair for a few more minutes of respite before it was time for her to help their mother prepare the meal. “Spoken like a true woman in love, ja?”

  The color flooded to Amanda’s cheeks, and she couldn’t help wishing that, for once, she could manage to mask her emotions. Yes: she was a woman in love. She just wasn’t certain she wanted her sister to know just how much she loved Alejandro. And how she fed off his emotions for her. Anyone who saw Alejandro or listened to him talk would be able to understand that he filled up the empty places in her with a love so strong that it almost hurt. A painfully good love, she thought, for she often realized that her heart ached for him in a way that she knew—simply, irrevocably knew!—no one else had ever experienced. No other woman had a love like the love she shared with Alejandro.

  Lifting her eyes, she looked at her sister and smiled a soft and knowing smile. “Aren’t we both lucky, Anna?” she said. “And isn’t love just a wunderbar gut thing?”

  Chapter Nine

  Anna and Amanda sat at the kitchen table in the grossdaadihaus, drinking coffee and nibbling on sugar cookies, a favorite of theirs. Lizzie had baked a few batches earlier that morning. Since Alejandro was more than willing to help Jonas with the farm chores, something that secretly pleased Amanda, the two sisters found themselves with an opportunity to visit privately.

  “So tell me, when is the boppli due?” Amanda dunked her sugar cookie into her coffee.

  Anna made a face. “That’s so disgusting. How can you eat the cookie like that?”

  Amanda laughed. “You always said that to me. It just tastes gut to me. And makes the coffee sweeter.” As if to prove her point, she bit the damp edge of the cookie.

  Anna shuddered and made another face, which caused Amanda to laugh again. It felt like old times: the two sisters sitting at the table and sharing a snack while they talked. Over the years, many a secret had been shared between them over cookies and a hot drink. When they were younger, however, the drink had usually been tea or hot chocolate. They’d shared stories about what they really thought of the Sunday sermons or about how they heard that one of the older girls in their g’may had ridden home from a singing in a buggy with a neighbor boy.

  They’d also shared secrets about what they hoped for in life. And while they both had said the same thing—to live a godly life—they both had also aspired for more: home, husband, and children. While neither Amanda nor Anna would have suspected that their lives would change so dramatically after the tragic death of their baby brother, in the end, they seemed to have gotten everything that they’d wanted. Or, Amanda thought, at least one of them had.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Anna,” she prodded.

  “Oh ja, the boppli.” Anna’s voice was soft as her hand rested on her waist’s slight bulge.

  There was a look of pride in her eyes, a glow that conveyed how much she wanted this baby. Amanda remembered the moment not so long ago when Alejandro had suggested that she might be pregnant. While excitement about the unknown had been quickly followed by disappointment over the truth, Amanda harbored no resentment or envy toward her sister.

  “I reckon July or so,” Anna said. “Mayhaps late June; I’m not sure.”

  “You’re not sure?” Amanda stared at her sister. “You haven’t seen a doctor yet, then?”

  A nervous laugh escaped Anna’s lips and the color rose to her cheeks. “Oh, now you sound just like an Englische person, Amanda! Running off to the doctor right quick!”

  The way that Anna said Englische, as if she’d spoken of a disease, struck Amanda. Assimilation into the world is not contagious, Amanda wanted to tell her. It was a choice: one that she had made because
of her love for Alejandro. “You say that as if it’s such a bad thing, Anna,” Amanda said with caution in her voice. “I’m sure there are plenty of Amish women who rush to midwives or even doctors.”

  “Ja vell, Jonas and I talked, and we just feel like God will take care of us.” Anna averted her eyes. “No need for fretting over what may or may not happen. What is the purpose of going to a doctor, anyway? To tell me what I already know?”

  Stunned, Amanda worked hard to maintain her composure. “There’s nothing ungodly about having a doctor look after you,” Amanda said. “Or even a midwife so that you can plan better.” Then, to soften her words, she added, “Why, I’d be at the doctor right quick if I suspected I was pregnant.”

  Anna smiled. “See? You’ve turned into an Englischer.”

  Amanda didn’t respond. Instead, she took a long sip from her coffee cup. Had she really changed so much since she’d left the farm? Was the change so distasteful that it must create a divide between the two of them? The last thing she wanted was to exchange unkind words with her sister. It had been years since they had last quarreled, and after the past few years of hardship and sorrow, Amanda certainly didn’t want to engage in an argument with her now. Like most Amish did, she merely shut down in the face of conflict and did not speak further on the subject.

  Anna must have sensed that Amanda was finished with the previous topic, so she finally spoke, launching into a new conversation. “What about you, Amanda? It’s been five months, ja?”

  The reminder hurt. Five months of marriage to Alejandro, and she still wasn’t pregnant. She had made up her mind that if she hadn’t conceived by the time the concert tours were finished, she would see a doctor to make certain nothing was wrong. In her mind, obeying God’s plan did not mean that she couldn’t see a doctor. But she didn’t say this to Anna. “Five months, ja,” she affirmed. Five long months, she added to herself. While she loved Alejandro and felt happy with their marriage, even if she knew it was not conventional, she felt a wave of remorse over her lack of conception.