Double Take

by Melody Carlson

  “I met Malachi,” Madison told Rachel as she balanced Elizabeth on one hip so they could both watch Rachel cracking brown eggs into a white ceramic bowl.

  Rachel smiled and nodded. “Malachi is a good boy. Hard worker.”

  Madison decided not to mention the working on Sunday bit. “Malachi is Uncle Daniel’s nephew?”

  “Ja. He is Daniel’s sister’s boy.” Rachel poured the eggs into a cast-iron pan, stepped back as they sizzled in the grease, then quickly stirred them with a wooden spoon until they started to get fluffy.

  Madison was about to ask how old Malachi was and where he lived, when Daniel and the boys spilled into the kitchen. Before long, all were seated at the table, where Daniel again bowed his head and prayed silently for a long time, and then everyone concentrated on eating oatmeal, muffins, scrambled eggs, and ham.

  After breakfast, as they were cleaning up in the kitchen, Rachel told Madison it would be time to get ready for meeting soon.

  “What kind of meeting?” Madison asked.

  Rachel gave her a funny look, then chuckled. “Ja, ja, I remember now.” She lowered her voice. “Meeting is a long sittin’ for young’uns.”

  Madison nodded as if she understood, but she still wondered what the meeting was about. As she helped the boys to get cleaned up, and as she combed and pinned up her own hair and fastened her white cap into place, she began to suspect that meeting was church. She had been to church only a few times in her life, and that had always been with Grandmother Van Buren, and only on Easter or Christmas when they’d been visiting her in Boston.

  She hadn’t disliked the religious experience. In fact, as a child, she’d been somewhat enchanted by the old stone church and the beautiful stained-glass windows. She remembered sitting there and feeling very small as she looked up at the high cathedral ceilings, and she had wondered about God . . . wished she could know more about him . . . perhaps even pray to him. But then her parents divorced, Grandmother Van Buren passed on, and Madison had not been inside a church since.

  As it turned out, she didn’t end up in a church today either. Meeting, as they called it, was held in a neighboring farmhouse. About two hundred people (men, women, and children) sat shoulder to shoulder on wooden benches in a large living room and sang hymns in an old-fashioned German dialect, some of which she understood. Then a couple of men took turns speaking, praying, and reading from the Bible. Everything was done exceedingly slow.

  Madison had been surprised that Rachel hadn’t come with them. She and Elizabeth stayed home, and Daniel never even batted an eyelash. Now that she was here, Madison suspected that Rachel didn’t like this torture by boredom any more than Madison did. She totally did not get how the boys were able to sit there so quietly, although Jeremiah eventually succumbed to the monotony and warmth of the room by falling asleep on his father’s lap.

  The only thing that kept Madison from standing up and screaming to be let out of here was the fact that she and Malachi, on opposite sides of the room since males and females were separated, were able to gaze fondly at each other. She spent most of the meeting locking eyes with him and wondering what kind of a kisser he might be. Thankful that no one could read her mind (her fantasies were probably verboten), Madison wondered how much she’d be willing to sacrifice if love actually tapped her on the shoulder in a place like this.

  Not that she thought she was seriously falling in love with this stunning creature, but it was interesting to consider, and they would certainly have beautiful children. Still, since there was little else to think on, she wondered, would she surrender a luxurious lifestyle, college, career, freedom . . . for true love?

  9

  Except for the time when she’d had chicken pox, Anna couldn’t remember ever sleeping in this late. According to the silver clock by the bed, it was 8:17. Anna was wide awake and ready to start her day. As she started to remake the wonderful bed—of such proportions she could hardly believe—she paused and decided to try something first. Still wearing Madison’s silky pink pajamas, or what she assumed were pajamas since she’d worn only cotton nightgowns before, Anna stood on the unmade bed and began to bounce up and down.

  Anna giggled. It was just as she imagined it would be, almost as springy as the trampoline the Riehls used to have in their barn. Anna didn’t recall how they had acquired such a treasure, but it wasn’t long before their barn became the favorite gathering place of young people. But one day the deacon questioned the idea of adolescent boys and girls jumping up and down like that together. After that the trampoline disappeared.

  Just as Anna was going up, she noticed the bedroom door opening, and Nadya entered the room with a silver tray in her hands. Anna ended her jump by landing on her backside, but she tried to act normal as she slid off the bed and smiled. “Good morning, Nadya.”

  Nadya’s brow furrowed as she set the tray on the dresser. “Your breakfast,” she said stiffly.

  “Thank you.” Anna tried to sound natural, as if someone brought her breakfast like this every morning, but she was stunned. Maybe Madison really was a princess.

  “I forgot it’s not school day.” Nadya looked slightly apologetic now. “I hope is all right I bring this.”

  Anna nodded enthusiastically. “I’m hungry.”

  Nadya backed away now, almost as if she were afraid of Anna, or perhaps she was questioning Anna’s true identity. Madison probably didn’t jump on beds.

  “Thank you,” Anna said again.

  “You are welcome.” Nadya hurried out the door.

  Anna looked at the breakfast tray, and although it was nice being served like this—the little flower in a crystal vase was a nice touch—it sure didn’t seem to be much of a breakfast. A small pot of coffee, grapefruit juice, and dry-looking toast. No butter? Who ate like that? Especially at the start of the day, when your body needed fuel to do chores. Although Madison probably didn’t have many chores. Still, to eat like this? It was odd.

  Perhaps not everything about Madison’s life was so luxurious after all. Just the same, Anna ate every bite. Then she went back to remaking the bed, still marveling at the height of the mattress—it was equal to four or five mattresses in Anna’s house. What would her mother think?

  After finishing the bed, which did not look like it had before she slept in it, Anna went to the closet to get dressed. Another dilemma. What to wear? Why did it have to be so complicated?

  Finally, she decided on an outfit similar in its colorful combination to what she’d worn last night. She wasn’t sure what Madison would think if she could see it, but thankfully, she could not. Anna was determined not to be concerned by things like clothes today. Today was about finding Jacob. If only she knew where to begin.

  Before she left the bedroom, Anna carefully put away the clothes she’d worn yesterday and made sure everything was in its proper place. She checked Madison’s floor plan drawing, and when she felt sure of where the kitchen was, she carried the breakfast tray there. For a moment she just stood in the doorway, staring in wonder at the beautiful kitchen. The dark wood cupboards looked like fine furniture, and everything was shiny and new looking.

  Nadya came in through a back door. Anna knew from the floor plan drawing that Nadya’s room was back there behind a laundry area. Anna smiled as she set the tray on the counter by the sink.

  “What are you doing in here?” Nadya demanded.

  Anna wasn’t sure what to say, so she simply thanked Nadya for breakfast again. Unfortunately, this only seemed to further aggravate the housekeeper, but instead of saying so, she turned away and began scrubbing the already clean countertop. Anna suspected Nadya did not like sharing her kitchen, so she left.

  Anna took her time in the living room. First she looked at all the elegant furnishings. So many things—layers and layers of things. Upholstered couches and chairs with pretty pillows and blankets. Tables with lamps and vases of flowers and all sorts of things to stare at. She went over to feel the luxurious curtains that hung alongside the
incredibly huge windows. There were layers of different fabrics and trims. So much sewing for something as simple as curtains.

  She looked out the window but was shocked to see how high up the penthouse was from the ground. The cars and people and trees, all far down below her, looked small and unreal. The scene made her dizzy, and she grabbed the edge of a table to steady herself. Anna had never been up this high, and for a moment she imagined that the whole tall building was swaying. What if it fell? She slowly backed away from the window, stood in the center of the room, and just tried to calm down.

  Worried that Nadya might come out and discover her acting like a country bumpkin, Anna hurried back to the bedroom. Just as she closed the door, she heard a ringing sound. Not like Madison’s purse phone, but more like the telephone in her father’s barn. Before she could figure out its source, the ringing stopped. Anna sat down on a chair and wondered what to do next. Should she go down to the streets of New York City and begin looking for Jacob? Or, as Garret had suggested, was that totally ridiculous?

  Three little knocks on the door told her it was Nadya again. “Come in,” Anna called as she stood.

  “Telephone for Miss Madison,” Nadya announced as she handed her what seemed a larger version of Madison’s purse phone. Nadya frowned at the bed, causing Anna to worry that she’d done a less than satisfactory job. As Nadya left the room, she murmured something in a different language.

  Anna said hello into the phone.

  “Madison?”

  “Yes.” She knew it was Garret.

  He chuckled. “You still sound different.”

  She tried to think of a response but couldn’t.

  “Do you still want to proceed with your manhunt?”

  Manhunt? Oh, he meant Jacob. “I do,” she said eagerly.

  “Okay then. I’m in.”

  Anna was about to ask him what he was in, but he continued.

  “I tried your cell phone, but it went to voice mail. Is it really broken?”

  “I, uh, I don’t know.” So much she did not know.

  “It won’t charge?”

  Anna pressed her lips together as she tried to understand what he meant.

  “Why don’t you just use the other one? I mean you’ll need it if we’re going to start calling around, right?”

  Anna wasn’t sure what he meant. Wasn’t she using the other one now? Again she felt in over her head. This game seemed to get harder and harder. “Yes,” she told him. “I will do that.”

  “Want to meet at Viva?”

  Viva—that word rang a bell. She felt sure it was in her notes. “Yes,” she told him. “I will meet you at Viva.” Who, what, where was Viva?

  “In, say, twenty minutes?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said again. “That sounds good.”

  She had no idea what Viva was, but Garret must have assumed she could get there. As soon as she hung up, she dug out her notes, scanning the pages until she saw that Viva was a coffee shop located right across the street. Well, that was handy.

  Now about this phone business. He had mentioned another phone—was it the phone that Nadya had just given her? Twice Garret had said something about a charge in regard to the purse phone, but what did that mean? Was it possible that something as small as a phone might have a battery that needed to be recharged? Her father was always recharging batteries on the generator at home.

  Anna knew she would need a phone to search for Jacob. Why not use this one? She was just putting the phone in her purse when Nadya walked into the bedroom.

  “What are you doing?” Nadya asked with a perplexed expression.

  Anna gave her a blank look.

  Nadya came over and put her hand on Anna’s forehead, the same way Anna’s mother might do if she thought she was ill. “Are you all right, Miss Madison?”

  “I need a phone,” Anna confessed.

  Nadya reached over Anna’s shoulder and removed the phone from her purse. “Not this phone.”

  Anna held up Madison’s purse phone. “I . . . uh . . . I need a charge—”

  “You lost the charger cord again?” Nadya shook her head.

  “Yes,” Anna said. “I lost the charger cord again.”

  “I will find it.” Nadya let out a sigh as she went directly to what Anna thought was a desk. She opened a small drawer and extracted a black cord with a box shape on one end. “Right where it always is.” She handed it to Anna with a questioning look.

  “Right where it always is,” Anna echoed, hoping she didn’t look too foolish. Of course, it wasn’t much different than some of the cords her father used. Only smaller.

  After Nadya left, Anna returned to the desk drawer to find not only another purse phone but also a small paperback book that seemed to have purse phone instructions. Thankfully, this book had simple diagrams that seemed to indicate that the charge cord must be attached to both the phone and an electrical outlet in the wall. Apparently the purse phone did have a battery inside that could be reenergized with electricity. She should have known this. Feeling like an Englisher, she plugged one end of the cord into the wall and the other into the phone.

  With this accomplished, Anna dropped the other phone into her purse. Thankful to avoid Nadya, who probably knew Anna was an imposter, she hurried out the door and with no problems rode the elevator down to the lobby. Feeling as if she were risking her life, she crossed the busy street and went into the coffee shop called Viva. Realizing she was still hungry, she bought what was called a breakfast bagel as well as a small carton of milk. She sat down and began eating the bagel with eggs and ham and cream cheese. Strangely arranged perhaps, but at least it was real food.

  She was almost done when Garret came to her table. “You’re eating one of those?” He pointed to the last bit of her breakfast bagel with a questioning look.

  She nodded and continued chewing.

  “And drinking milk?” He looked slightly horrified as he sat down. “Whole milk?”

  She wiped her mouth with the paper napkin. Obviously her food choices were not the same as Madison’s. Oh well. “Change is good.” She smiled.

  “Unless it changes your weight.” He frowned as he set what looked like a briefcase on the table, snapping it open. “Then you’ll be singing a different tune.”

  She just shrugged as he removed what she suspected was a computer, setting it on top of the briefcase. She watched with wide eyes as he opened it up, pushed a button, then scooted his chair closer to hers. “I’ve been doing some searching,” he said as he pushed more buttons. “I’ve got some leads on this Jacob Glick.”

  Almost afraid to breathe, Anna waited as he pushed buttons, clicked things, and then produced a list of what looked like phone numbers, all with the name Jacob Glick next to them. “Did you bring your phone?” he asked.

  She held up the phone she’d found in the drawer.

  “So your Blackberry really is broken?”

  “No. It’s charging.” She felt somewhat sophisticated to think she’d figured all the phone business out. However, Garret seemed unimpressed.

  “Ready to start calling?” he asked as he pulled out his phone.

  Now she was worried. What if she called a number and her Jacob actually answered? Would she be able to keep pretending she was Madison? Or would she be so excited she would turn back into Anna Fisher? Then the cat would be out of the bag.

  “I will write the numbers down,” Anna said.

  “Write them down?”

  “So I can call from the penthouse.”

  “Why not just call down here?”

  Anna had no answer for that. They both began calling the phone numbers, and Anna imitated Garret by saying she was calling on behalf of Anna Fisher. She decided that, if by chance her Jacob answered, she would simply remember the phone number and call him back later—in private. But her plan seemed unnecessary because none of the Jacob Glicks who answered the phone were her Jacob.

  “We need to get into the mind of Jacob Glick,” Garret said
after they finished calling. “If I were Jacob and I had just come to New York, where would I stay?”

  “Jacob had little money.” Anna rethought that. “Anyway, that’s what Anna told me.”

  “The Y!” Garret exclaimed.

  “Why?” Anna looked at him.

  “You know, the YMCA.”

  She nodded, wondering what a YMCA was.

  Garret was already punching keys on his computer again, and then he dialed a number on his phone and asked if Jacob Glick lived there. He listened for a moment, then frowned as he set his phone down. “The guy said he’s not allowed to give out personal information about residents over the phone,” he told her.

  “Oh.” She nodded. Residents—that seemed to suggest the YMCA was a place to reside. A house, perhaps?

  “So it’s pointless to try to call these places.” He nodded at the computer, and she leaned over to see a fairly long list of addresses and phone numbers.

  “What does YMCA stand for?” she asked, knowing she was at risk of sounding really stupid.

  To her relief, Garret looked stumped too. “I’m not sure. I mean obviously it’s a place where down-and-out guys stay.”

  “Right.” She wondered what “down-and-out” meant. Perhaps an English term for rumspringa?

  Garret punched some more keys on his computer, then pointed to the screen. “YMCA is an acronym for Young Men’s Christian Association,” he declared.

  “Oh yes, that’s right.” She wanted to appear as if she knew that already but had forgotten. Still, it reassured her to imagine that Jacob might be involved in a young men’s Christian group. “All those addresses,” she said, “the ones listed by YMCA—they are places for young men to stay at?”

  “Yeah. There’s a bunch in New York.”

  “I can’t call these places to find Jacob?”

  “It doesn’t sound like it.” He closed his computer with a thoughtful expression. “I have an idea.”

  “Yes?” She looked hopefully at him.

  “Why don’t we head on over to Nantucket now? We can keep working on our Jacob search over there. It’ll be more comfortable than sitting here. I got the house all stocked with food and everything.” He ran his finger alongside her cheek and smiled. “Don’t forget that you promised if I helped you with this, you would—”