Pastor Bill laughed as well, shaking Carson’s hand. “God’s Word does put things in perspective, doesn’t it?”
“It sure does.” Carson smiled as he headed out the door. He prayed silently as he walked back to his car. Lord, help me to trust You with my life.
He had a couple of hours before his meeting with Caroline and Ashley, so he decided to swing by Elisabeth’s apartment to discuss the meeting he had with Pastor Bill. Would she ever be happy!
Carson knocked on the door and Elisabeth’s roommate answered.
“Oh, hello Carson. Elisabeth isn’t here, she went to Pennsylvania,” Samantha informed him.
“Pennsylvania? She went back home?” Carson suddenly got a bad feeling in his gut. What if she decides to stay? What if that Luke guy takes her back and she decides to marry him? I’ve got to go to Pennsylvania and bring her back home.
“Do you have the address where she’s staying?” Carson asked.
“Yes, let me write it down for you.” She walked over to a desk in the living room and returned a few minutes later with a piece of paper in her hand.
He took the paper and glanced down at the information. “Thank you.”
Carson hopped back in his car and determined what he should do. I’ll meet with Brianna’s mother, and then I’ll swing by the house and pick up a few things before I head out to Pennsylvania.
<><><>
The gentle breeze and warm sunshine this week had been a blessing after the cold spell they’d experienced during the Thanksgiving holiday. Most of the snow had evaporated and the ground had begun drying out again.
Luke lifted his eyes as he headed back to the barn and saw his beloved walking up the road toward him. He smiled. He never tired of seeing Elisabeth, but he was surprised to see her back home already. She usually stayed out at their roadside stand longer, but perhaps the brisk air compelled her homeward for an extra layer of clothing or more coffee. Since she was still a ways off, he figured he’d put the horse in the barn and give the mare some fresh hay, and water to drink.
A few moments later, the barn door opened and Elisabeth slowly walked in. Luke closed the horse’s stall door and turned to greet his wife. He walked up to her and took her in his arms, bending down to press his lips against her neck.
Elisabeth gasped and stepped back. “Luke.”
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to see me?” He looked into her eyes to identify the problem.
“Well, yes but—” Elisabeth was interrupted by a voice coming from the barn door.
“Luke! What are you doing?” Another woman whom he thought was Elisabeth called out, her face ablaze with shock and hurt.
What on earth? Luke stepped back and scratched his head. He looked at the two women, whom he thought were Elisabeth. “What’s going on?”
“That’s what I’d like to know, Luke Beiler!” The second Elisabeth huffed.
“Elisabeth?” He looked at both of them.
“Yes?” Both women said at once.
“Huh?” Luke scratched his head, thoroughly confused. “Which of you is my fraa?”
The second woman gasped. “I am.”
The first woman now spoke, “I don’t know who she is, but I’m Elisabeth Schrock.”
“But I’m Elisabeth Schrock—Elisabeth Beiler,” the second woman asserted. “Your fraa.”
“You can’t both be Elisabeth, that’s impossible,” Luke insisted.
“Okay, I think I know what’s going on,” the first Elisabeth stated. “Luke, this woman is an imposter.”
Luke rubbed his forehead, still trying to get over the shock of not being able to tell who his wife was. “What are you talking about?”
“Yes, what are you talking about? I’m Luke’s wife,” the second Elisabeth declared proudly.
“I can prove to you that I’m Elisabeth Schrock. Luke, do you remember when I was in second grade and one of the Fisher brothers made me fall off the swing? You threatened to beat him up if he ever did it again. Or the time we ate so much popcorn and hot cocoa that we got so sick we both threw up?” Luke nodded and the first Elisabeth went on. “How about the time when you, me, and Jacob went sledding down that steep hill? Remember, we ended up hitting a tree? I still have the scar on my leg to prove it.” She pulled up her dress and moved her sock down to show a two inch scar where the scrape had been.
“I don’t understand. If you are Elisabeth, then who are you?” Luke looked at the second woman who claimed to be his fraa.
“I’m Beth, your wife,” she asserted.
“No, you are not! I am Elisabeth. You are an imposter,” Elisabeth’s voice raised a notch as she glared at the other woman. She turned to Luke. “She’s a fraud, Luke. I saw a report about this kind of thing on a television news show one time. She’s one of those people who steals other women’s identities. They study people that look like them, and then they pretend to be them and assume their identity. Sometimes they even get married so they can steal houses and real estate. They end up divorcing the poor spouse and leave them with nothing before they even know what’s going on.”
Divorce? Luke’s heart sank. I didn’t really marry Elisabeth?
Luke looked at the real Elisabeth, who stood glaring at the open-mouthed other woman. Luke turned to the other woman and studied her. Who is this woman who claims to be my wife? Is she just a pretender?
Luke thought about how she’d claimed she couldn’t remember anything. What a likely story. I’m such a dummkopp. It all started making sense.
“Who are you?” Suspicion overtook Luke as he looked into her eyes, firmly crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m Beth, your wife,” she maintained.
Luke’s voice rose as his anger flared, “No, she is Elisabeth!” He pointed to the real Elisabeth. “She’s who I thought I’d married. What is your real name?” Luke demanded in a tone he had never used with her before.
The woman’s eyes filled with tears. “I…I’m your wife.” Her voice trembled at the words.
Luke shook his head. She’s a really good actress.
He glared at her, disappointment ravaged his heart. “You are not who I thought I married. You’re not Elisabeth.”
The woman turned and fled from the barn, tears streaming from her eyes.
A good actress indeed. She could win one of those fancy awards the Englisch make for themselves.
Luke sank down onto a bale of hay, his head in his hands. I’ve been betrayed. That’s all Luke could think of as he sat in stunned silence.
<><><>
Chapter 20
Carson stepped into the small coffee shop and quickly spotted Brianna’s mother and sister. He walked over to their table with purpose and sat down across from the two ladies.
“Hello, Carson. Thank you for coming,” Caroline said.
Carson nodded politely, but noticed Ashley pinning him with a strange look. “There was something you wanted to discuss?”
“Yes. You see, we don’t think that Brianna was on Flight 245. We found her purse in her room and it still had her passport and identification in it. It appears she forgot it at home,” Caroline stated.
Carson’s mouth hung open. “You mean…” He shook his head to try to gather his thoughts and process what he’d just been told. “Oh, my… But if she didn’t get on the plane, then where did she go?”
“We were hoping you would know.” Ashley’s beady eyes stared him down.
“I have no idea. The last I saw her was when she left in the taxi.” He shrugged, still not knowing what to think.
“That’s it! The taxi!” Ashley proclaimed. “Maybe the cab driver abducted her.”
Carson sat speechless, but Caroline spoke up, “Do you know which taxi service she took to the airport? Maybe we can trace it and find out if it ever arrived.”
Carson racked his brain for a name. “It was green and white. Hmm…”
“Budget Taxi Service!” Ashley declared. “Yes, that’s it. I’ll call and see if anything su
spicious happened on that day. They’ll know whether one of their drivers disappeared or not.”
“Ashley, I don’t think she’s been kidnapped.” Her mother shook her head.
“Perhaps there was an accident,” Carson suggested. “If Brianna didn’t have any I.D. on her then they wouldn’t have known who she was.”
“She could be in a coma somewhere!” Ashley hollered.
“Ashley, calm down. You’re drawing attention to our table,” her mother admonished.
“I suppose she could be,” Carson agreed.
“Why don’t we call all of the hospitals and see if they have any patients that were admitted on the day Brianna disappeared. Hopefully, they’ll be able to at least give us that information. And then we can go from there,” Caroline suggested.
Carson rubbed his forehead wondering what he should do. “I wouldn’t mind helping you search, but I planned on going out of town and it’s urgent. I’ll have my cell phone with me if you need to get ahold of me.”
Ashley eyed him suspiciously. “What are you going out of town for, and where are you going?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Ashley!” Caroline shook her head. “I told you that Carson doesn’t have anything to do with Brianna’s disappearance.”
“Then why is he running off instead of helping us search for Brianna?” She squinted her eyes at him again. “She was his girlfriend.”
“No, that’s understandable,” he said to Caroline, then turned to Brianna’s sister. “Ashley, I’m going to Pennsylvania. Elisabeth and I had a disagreement and she called off our wedding. She went to her former home in Pennsylvania and I need to bring her back before I lose her.”
Caroline patted Carson’s hand. “I understand. Go ahead and go. Chances are, we’ll find nothing anyway. We’ll let you know if we do find something.”
“Thank you. I’d appreciate that. Brianna meant a lot to me,” Carson said as he rose from the table. “I wish you God’s blessing on your search. It would be wonderful if your daughter is still alive.”
<><><>
Brianna didn’t know what else to do, so she ran as fast and hard as her legs would carry her. Where she was going, she had no idea. She just knew that she couldn’t stay here.
Maybe she would go talk to Rachel. She had been a good friend to her since they met at the hospital, and now they were—well she thought they were—sisters-in-law. But Rachel had gone into Ronks with Mamm Schrock and the kinner today, so she wouldn’t be home yet. Or perhaps she could go talk to Ruthie Spencer, another friend she had made while in Paradise. But would they only see her as a fake too? No more than a liar, like her husband now assumed she was?
Luke had turned his back on her at the accusation of one person—he completely rejected her. How could he? How could this wonderful man that she had married choose someone else over his own wife? Because, apparently, I’m not Elisabeth Schrock. Luke thought he’d married Elisabeth, and now he realized she was not her. Hadn’t Luke loved her at all? Hadn’t he loved her for who she was? Had he only married her because of his past relationship with Elisabeth? Of course, he had.
How could I have been so blind? I was desperate for love, for acceptance. She been so desperate for a place to belong that she didn’t even think of the possibility that she might not be Elisabeth Schrock. Rachel was the one who’d found her, who’d told her who she was. No, who I thought I was. After all, if Elisabeth’s own community hadn’t even realized they were two different people then how could she have known?
So Luke believed she’d been faking her amnesia this whole time?
How did Luke not know that she wasn’t the real Elisabeth? It seemed to her that she and Elisabeth were as different as the sun and the moon. Had he been desperate too? After all, he’d waited years for Elisabeth’s return.
It was clear now that Luke had wanted Elisabeth—and Elisabeth only—for his wife. And now that she was back, his dreams could finally come true. The real Elisabeth could give him all the kinner he wanted. He had waited to marry her and now she was his for the taking. It was obvious by the embrace that she’d seen them in that Luke still held a special place in Elisabeth’s heart.
But if I’m not Elisabeth Schrock, then who am I?
She was back to square one. How would she ever be able to find out who she really was? Did anybody know her true identity?
Life was so unfair, so cruel. She had gone from someone who had nothing, who knew no one, to finding out that she was an Amish woman who had everything that really mattered. A loving family that wanted and cared for her, and a man that she had grown to love and that she thought loved her as well. Now she was back where she started—all alone. But this time the pain was far worse. For she wasn’t just alone now, she’d been rejected, unwanted by the man she loved more than life itself. And that was simply too much to bear.
Her decision was made. She had to get away. She could only handle so much rejection. She needed to escape the agony, and there was only one way she could think to do it. When she’d been in the hospital, they’d given her something to help her sleep. If she could just get ahold of more of those pills, the aching would go away. She knew the pain would never completely disappear, but it would help her to cope. And right now, that was all that she could ask for.
The first phone shanty she came to, she picked up the telephone and dialed the number of a driver. After agreeing to meet the driver in ten minutes, Brianna hurried out to the road that would take her to Lancaster. She patted her jacket pocket, thankful she’d sold a few items out at the roadside stand this morning. It would be enough for a couple of rides and something to eat.
After that, she’d hire a taxi and go back to the hospital in New York. Perhaps they had some answers now, but if they didn’t, she knew they’d at least have something to help lessen the pain.
<><><>
“Why are you here, Elisabeth? Did you just come back to ruin my life again?” Luke frowned.
“No. I wanted to come back and visit my family. I was kind of missing everyone, and because Carson and I were having some trouble… I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” Elisabeth rolled her eyes.
“Who’s Carson?” Luke crossed his arms.
“Carson is, or was, my fiancé,” she explained.
“I should have known. Here, I waited for you and you were planning to marry someone else!” He stomped his foot.
“Well, you got married to someone else,” she defended herself.
“I thought I married you!” Luke paced back and forth. “You know what? You’re right, you really are Elisabeth. And now that I think about it, I’m happy I didn’t marry you. I’m glad I married Beth—uh, my wife. I can see now that you and she are quite different. For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve always been selfish. It’s always been about you, what you wanted.”
Elisabeth stood with her mouth agape, hurt etched in her pretty features. “That was a little harsh.”
“Maybe. But I’m sorry. It’s the truth.” He shook his head. “I was so blind.”
“So, you expected me to come back and marry you?”
“No.” He shrugged. “But I’d hoped. You didn’t say you were never coming back in your letter.”
“I didn’t know for sure. I thought that I would stay Englisch, but I’m a little confused now,” Elisabeth admitted.
“So, you’re coming back?”
She shrugged.
“Why did you leave in the first place?” Luke genuinely wondered.
“I told you in the letter that I felt like I didn’t fit in here. I wanted to try out the Englisch world before I made a commitment to remain Amish my entire life,” she said. “I know I hurt you, Luke. I’m sorry about that.”
“Jacob told me I shouldn’t wait for you, but I’m glad I did. If I hadn’t, I would have missed out on my wife.” He realized.
“I can’t believe there’s yet another person that looks just like me. First, everyone thinks I look just like Brianna, who was Carson’s girl
friend. But she died in a plane crash several months ago. Now, you marry this other woman—this fraud, this con artist—thinking she’s me.”
“Con artist? My fraa can’t be a fraud or con artist. She’d never do anything like that. She’s not a liar. As a matter of fact, she’s genuine and loving and…” Awareness dawned on Luke and his heart sank. “Oh no, what have I done?”
He left Elisabeth in the barn and ran to the house. “Beth! Beth! Fraa!” He searched the house frantically for his wife. “Lieb, where are you?”
Elisabeth came to the door, out of breath. “What are you doing?”
“Looking for my wife!” He took his hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. Luke hung his head, shaking it in disbelief. I’ve hurt her deeply. “No, she can’t be gone! I have to find her.”
“Where would she be? Would she have gone to your mother’s house?” Elisabeth asked.
“I don’t know. I guess she could have gone to see Rachel.” Luke appraised the farm once more before deciding to hitch his buggy. “Or back to the roadside stand.”
“I’ll walk and cut through the field. You check the stand. I’ll meet you at Rachel’s house in a little while. Maybe one of us will see her if we go different ways,” she suggested.
“You know that Rachel lives at your folks’ place now, right?” Luke raised his eyebrows in question.
“Why would she live there?” she asked in surprise.
“Because she and your brother Jacob are married,” he said, and then added with a smile, “and expecting a boppli.”
“Really? Oh, that’s wonderful!”
“Yes, well, you miss a lot when you’re gone,” Luke said, attempting to keep the edge of bitterness out of his voice.
“Apparently, I did.” Elisabeth lifted an eyebrow. “By the way, Luke. Congratulations on your marriage. I hope you and your wife can work everything out. I guess I sort of ruined things for you.”
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