by Sarah Price
She nodded her head and lifted her eyes to meet his. “Ja,” she said. “That’s a yes.”
He hesitated to approach her but, after a brief second, decided to take the chance. He walked up the steps so that he stood before her. Reaching for her hands, he stared at her. “I’ll not be a fool no more, Mary Ruth. But you might have to be patient with me.”
She laughed. “Haven’t I always?”
“Ja, true.” He smiled but remained serious. “But I can’t lose you to anyone else. You are Samuel’s Mary Ruth and it’s time that I start doing my part.”
“I’m awful glad that you realized that,” she said softly. “Mayhaps that Philadelphia trip wasn’t such a bad idea after all.”
Reluctantly, he nodded. He certainly didn’t want to tell her about his friends and their behavior that had so upset him. He didn’t want her to learn that he had seen the dark side of the non-Amish world. It was a place he hoped to never see again. No, he thought, there was no good that would come out of exposing his Mary Ruth to such worldliness. “Mayhaps.”
Mary Ruth laughed again, the noise gentle and joyous to his ears. She let him keep holding her hand as she said, “Samuel’s Mary Ruth. I do like the sound of that.”
“I’m right glad you do, Mary Ruth.” He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, his warm breath caressing her skin. “And we have a lot of time ahead of us for you to get used to the sound of it.”
There was a moment of silence between them. Samuel could hardly believe what had transpired. Had it really only been two days ago that he had been excited for the adventurous weekend in Philadelphia, still convinced that he would never settle down with any woman? Now, here he was talking about a future with Mary Ruth. It felt right, he realized. Perhaps fighting it had been a bad idea all along. No one was trying to control him, except himself. It was time, he realized, to stop fighting everything and everyone. It was a new dawn for him, one that included Mary Ruth beside him.
Chapter Thirteen
The walk home from the Smuckers’ farm seemed to fly by. He didn’t care that it was dark and late. He cut through the pastures, knowing the way by heart, despite the darkness. It was faster than the road anyway. Plus, he liked listening to the cows grazing in the night. It just added to his joy. Indeed, Samuel was just plain happy, happier than he could ever remember feeling. He felt as if a weight was off his shoulders. He would not fight the community or his family anymore.
Perhaps everyone had been right, he told himself. Rumschpringe was a gut time to explore, a gut time to answer questions, but it was not a time to think that the pasture was greener on the other side of town. No, Samuel told himself. Going to Philadelphia had shown him that life outside of his community was not any better and, in most ways, was worse than what he had thought. He could never live among those people who drank and chased women. If that was expected of him, he’d never survive.
With his family and community, he knew where he belonged. He knew his place and his support. God had shown him the light, shown him that life in the fast world of the Englische was not for him. Of course, he knew that not all Englische lived like that. But he also knew that none of the Amish did. Any church member who took a misstep in that direction was quickly guided back to the right path or asked to leave the community. Samuel was willing to take that step, the step onto the right path at last.
And now that he had taken that step with Mary Ruth…
He smiled to himself. Yes, she was now his Mary Ruth and they were courting. Unlike some of the other youth, he wouldn’t rush into marriage but, when two people were courting, formally courting, that was the end goal. Having known her for all of his life, he knew that she would be his wife. His life partner. His best friend.
All of these glorious thoughts were floating through his mind as he walked home along the hill. He felt warm inside, despite the cool night air. He was so thankful that he had come back from Philadelphia early and had waited for Mary Ruth in the darkness. Elias would be disappointed, that was for sure and certain. But he would accept it like a true Amish man. God’s will was never questioned among the Amish.
Of course, Samuel had been disappointed to hear that Mary Ruth would not be helping Lillian for the next week. Her daed needed her help with hay cutting in the mornings before the sun got too hot overhead. But, just the thought that she’d be his girl, leaving the singings with him and saving her smiles just for him was enough to help him get through that next week. Soon enough, when he was ready to make that final commitment, he knew that they wouldn’t ever be apart again.
So when he cut down the field off of Musser School Lane to get to his parents’ farm, he had to do a double-take at the flashing lights from the police cars in the driveway. He stopped in the field, trying to comprehend what he was seeing. Police cars? Flashing lights? At his home? It took him a moment to register what he was seeing. It just didn’t make sense.
But they were there. The lights kept flashing and he could see people standing in front of the cars’ headlights. He jogged down the hills, his heart suddenly pounding inside of his chest. Could something have happened to his daed? His mamm? One of the kinner? His mind immediately thought of little Jacob and he said a quick prayer to God that no one was harmed, that the police were there by mistake.
The closer he got to the house, the brighter the lights were. He saw that there were two police cars in the driveway. His daed, Junior, and Daniel were talking with the police officers. The women were inside the house and Samuel easily imagined that they were huddled around the window in the kitchen, trying to see what was going on but knowing better than to interfere. He wondered where David was.
“What’s wrong?” Samuel asked as he emerged from around the side of the barn, pausing only to catch his breath from having run so fast in the dark.
“Samuel!” His father said and started to approach him, a look of relief on his face.
“Samuel Lapp?” one of the older officers said, putting his arm out to stop Jonas from getting closer to his son. “Are you Samuel Lapp?”
A confused look crossed his face as he looked at the officer as if trying to understand the question. “Ja, I am.” He looked at his daed. “What’s going on here?”
The officer nodded to one of the other men who proceeded to step forward, grabbing Samuel’s arm. “You need to come with us,” the first officer said. As the officer repeated strange words, Samuel felt something cold and hard on his wrists. Handcuffs?
“Daed?” Samuel stared at his father then looked at Daniel and Junior. “What’s happening?” They averted their eyes, their faces pale and drawn. Clearly, they knew that there was nothing they could do and they felt ashamed by that knowledge.
He could hear the familiar clip-clop of horse hooves approaching but the noise was faster than normal. A horse was cantering down their lane and, as the buggy stopped just behind the police cars, Jake jumped out, having tossed the reins to David who was seated inside beside him. It was apparent that his family had sent David to Sylvia and Jake’s to get him for help. But Samuel couldn’t figure out why.
“Now hold on there,” Jake said, stepping up to the older officer who seemed to be in charge. “What’s all this about?”
“Please stand back, sir,” the older officer said.
“I will not until someone tells me what is going on,” Jake snapped back. “What has this boy supposedly done that you are not only taking him away but are arresting him?”
The older officer ignored Jake and motioned with his head toward the car. Two of the other officers led Samuel to the police car and shoved him, none too gently, into the back seat. “He’ll be at the Philadelphia Police Station. I would recommend contacting a lawyer for your son,” the older officer said to Jonas and turned to leave.
“Philadelphia?” Jonas gasped and reached out for Junior to support him.
Junior held his father and looked up at Jake. “Jake, please help Samuel!”
Taking a deep breath, Jake sta
red at his father and brother-in-laws then glanced at the officer who was starting to walk by. Blocking his path, Jake stood up to his full height and made certain that he could not pass. “Not so fast,” he said, careful to keep his voice calm and low. “I’m aware of your laws. You have to tell him, if not us, why you taking Samuel away.”
The officer frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the other officers. Seeing that they were focusing on putting Samuel in the back of the police car, he lowered his voice. “Vehicular manslaughter,” the officer said. “Leaving the scene of a crime. Drinking and driving.”
Jake shook his head in disbelief and frowned. “What are you saying?” But the officer merely turned on his heel and retreated to the police car.
Jonas clung to his oldest son and seemed to collapse against his side. “What did he say?”
Junior steadied his father. “Jake? What does this mean?” He stared at Jake who had his back to them. Jake was staring at the police car, his mouth hanging open and his hand rubbing his forehead.
Daniel stared at Jake. “Vehicular? As in a car?”
Jonas grabbed at Daniel’s arm. “What is this about a car? What did Samuel do?”
The police cars were pulling out of the driveway, their tires making a strange crackling noise against the loose macadam and gravel. Samuel was straining his neck in the back of the car, trying to look out of the window at his family. Jake thought that he saw tears in his eyes but, as the car moved further away, Samuel quickly disappeared from sight.
Dropping his eyes, Jake stared at the ground. Vehicular manslaughter? An Amish youth? He couldn’t seem to comprehend that what had just happened was real. Had police truly just come to the farm and taken away his brother-in-law? Surely this was not happening, he thought. Just a bad nightmare. But, as he saw the lights of the police car pull up the hill and disappear from view, he knew otherwise.
Junior steadied his father. “Let’s go inside. We will need to talk. Jake will need to advise us what to do and what this means.” He met his brother-in-law’s eyes. “You can help him, can’t you?”
Without the police cars, there was no light in the driveway. Jake was thankful for that because he certainly didn’t want Samuel’s family to see his face. “I don’t know, Junior,” he said. “I just don’t know on this one.”
Chapter Fourteen
Samuel sat in the cold, empty room, shivering from both the cold and fear. He had no idea what was happening. No one was telling him anything. There was a metal table before him that was bolted to the ground. A mirror was on the far wall and he could stare at his own reflection. He had lost his hat, probably when running through the fields and his hair was matted with sweat.
The walls were cinderblock and had been painted a pale yellow. He noticed that it was chipped in places and there was writing on it in others. “For a good time call…” read one handwritten scrawl. Samuel shook his head, closing his eyes and trying to figure out what had happened and how he had arrived at this police station.
It must be a mistake, he told himself. Clearly they had brought in the wrong person for questioning about some crime that Samuel had nothing to do with. That much was certain. But he didn’t understand why they had left him alone in the room for so long. Time went by until he realized that an hour had passed and no one had entered to check in on him. If he hadn’t been so scared, he might have paced the floor, but he was too frightened to get up from where he sat.
God will not desert me, he told himself and shut his eyes in a silent prayer. Please heavenly Father, he said. Let me clear up this matter and return home. I have already promised to turn over a new leaf and return to Your fold. Please do not let me be torn away from this new life that I have chosen to join.
It was at least another hour later when the door finally opened. Samuel’s head was on the table and he had fallen into a very restless sleep. When the door creaked, he jumped in his seat and stared at the opening, waiting to see who would walk through it. Please Lord, he prayed. Let it be Jake or Daed and let them be taking me away from this horrible place.
Instead, two uniformed officers walked in. One sat down at the table while the other lingered behind him. Samuel stared at them, bewildered by their silence. They watched him carefully but said nothing. Seconds passed. Minutes passed. And finally, the one cleared his throat.
“Samuel, you know why you are here?”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know where I am, never mind why I’m here. I just want to go home.”
The officer smiled but it was not a genuine smile. “My name’s Officer Reilly. I just want you to answer some questions and then you can be on your way, Samuel.”
Samuel nodded his head enthusiastically. Anything, he thought, to get out of here.
“Where were you at 5pm on Sunday evening?”
The question startled Samuel. Sunday evening? That was just yesterday. “I was on a train to Lancaster.”
“Were you with anyone?”
Samuel shook his head. “No. I was alone.”
The two officers exchanged a glance before Officer Reilly turned his attention back to Samuel. “You familiar with these boys?” He opened a cream colored file folder that was on the table, a folder Samuel hadn’t noticed before now. Inside were three black and white photos. The officer slid two of them across the table so that they were lined up before Samuel.
And he gasped.
“That’s Peter Barlett! And Jacob Miller!”
Indeed, it was Peter and Jacob but they did not look like Peter and Jacob. Samuel looked away, closing his eyes. He hoped that he could erase from his memory the horrid photos that he had just seen. But he knew that those images would haunt him forever. Clearly, those photos were recent and clearly both boys were no longer living.
“They’re dead, Samuel.”
Samuel kept his eyes closed and hung his head so that the officers could not see his face. Tears stung at his eyes and he said a quiet prayer to God for their souls. Whatever had happened had been unexpected and violent.
“Do you know why you are here?”
Samuel glanced up. “To identify them?”
The other unnamed officer laughed but Officer Reilly glared at him before turning his attention back to Samuel. “You were identified as the driver of the car.”
Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle began to come together and Samuel understood everything, despite understanding nothing. “I don’t know how to drive,” he said.
“You were identified as the driver of the car,” Officer Reilly repeated. “Tell us what happened.”
“Nothing happened!” Samuel demanded. “I left in the morning. Paul was gsoffe the night before.” He realized that the two officers didn’t understand what he meant. “Gsoffe. Drunk. Really drunk like nothing I’ve seen before and I didn’t like that.” He paused, trying to remember. “They had gone to a bar while I was wandering along the riverfront. I liked the ships, especially that old pirate looking one.” When he looked up, he saw that the officers looked bored. Clearly, they didn’t care about the details, just the facts. Samuel frowned. “When I got back to the room, the other fellows were still out. I didn’t join them. I don’t like drinking. When they came back, Paul could hardly walk, that’s how gsoffe he was.”
“What happened next?” the officer prodded.
Samuel shrugged. “I barely slept that night. I wanted to leave at the first light.” He stared at the officer. “When the sun rose, I left and walked to the train station. Bought a ticket to come home. Didn’t want to be around drunkards and I wanted to see my girl home from the singing!”
The two officers glanced at each other. “You mentioned Paul,” Officer Reilly said. He opened the manila folder again and slid the last photo toward Samuel. “You mean this guy?”
Samuel glanced at the photo then quickly looked away. He nodded his head. “Ja, that’s Paul.” He hesitated, wanting to know the truth, to understand but afraid to ask the next question. “What happened to him?”
He looked up. “I told you that I wasn’t there. When I last saw him, he was drunk. Peter and Jacob were carrying him into the room.”
Reilly shook his head and smiled. “The motel owner said four men checked into his place on Friday and four left on Sunday. Your name is on the registry and another guest said an Amish man was driving. Any other Amish men on your adventure with Paul, Jacob, and Peter?”
Samuel shook his head vehemently. “No,” he said.
“And you were the only Amish man, correct?”
Samuel quickly understood what they were saying. “But I was not driving. I don’t know how to drive. Amish don’t drive cars!”
Reilly took a deep breath and pushed his chair back from the table. “You are making this very hard for us, Samuel. I want to know what happened.”