by Beth Wiseman
Daniel went to the kitchen and pulled open the cabinet doors beneath the sink. It was dry, so he walked to the bathroom and went through the same process. “The pipe isn’t broken under here, but some fittings have come loose and it’s separated,” he said when he heard footsteps slow behind where he was squatting on the floor.
“Please tell me this is an easy fix, something I can do.” Charlotte knelt on the floor beside him and peered over his shoulder.
“Ya, it is.” He briefly explained the process to her. “It shouldn’t take Isaac too long to make the repairs.”
“No, I’m not asking him. Isaac is a good man, and he has gone way above the call of duty to help me with this house. I’ll do it. Surely I can find some instructions online or something. Do you think the parts are expensive?”
Daniel appreciated her willingness to make the repairs on her own, but if she was going to have to go onto a computer for directions about a simple plumbing repair, she might just make things worse if she didn’t do it correctly. He stood up, but she was still studying the problem.
“I will repair your plumbing after we get Annie home.”
Charlotte got to her feet and gazed up at him with such admiration, it almost made him feel sorry for her. She blinked her eyes a few times. “You would do that?”
“Ya. The least I can do since you are risking your life to drive that truck all the way to Harrisburg.” He grinned, hoping she would too. Daniel wasn’t sure he could deal with any more crying women. There would probably be enough of that when they got to Aunt Faye’s house.
Charlotte smiled as they made their way across the damp floors, but she paused at the entrance to the bedroom. “Someone left this dingy mattress. Isaac said he’d haul it off.” She sighed. “He’s such a good man.”
Daniel agreed. As he glanced around, he knew the wood floors were at risk of buckling if they didn’t get them dry soon, but he’d work on drying the floors when he tackled the broken pipe later. It sounded like Isaac had spent a lot of time helping Charlotte, but he could lend a hand as payment for the ride. Right now, he was feeling anxious about getting Annie, and equally as nervous about the ride there.
Charlotte breathed deeply and took one last walk around, then she bowed her head and prayed for the person who would end up living in this house, that it would be a place of great happiness and peace for them.
Daniel followed her to the front door, she locked up, and they headed down the porch steps. She tried to avoid looking at the tree she hated, but her eyes inevitably drifted in that direction. She quickened her steps to the truck. The antique started on the first try, and she muscled it into gear. When she searched for the rearview mirror to have another look at Ethan’s house, she saw that there actually wasn’t one. Luckily the truck had side mirrors. They bounced all over the place until they eventually made their way to Lincoln Highway. As they picked up speed, she turned to Daniel. “Can you hold the steering wheel?”
“Uh, ya . . . okay.” He reached across the seat and took hold of it while Charlotte wrangled her hair into a ponytail with a twisty she kept on her wrist for such a purpose.
“Thanks.” She took possession of the wheel again. “This trip is going to be challenging enough without my hair blocking my view.”
Daniel stayed quiet. Surely he was worried about Annie. Even Charlotte’s heart hurt for Annie. To be seventeen and pregnant in Charlotte’s world would be scary, so she knew Annie must be terrified.
“Charlotte, the more I think about it, I’m worried that if we let your floors stay wet like that, they might buckle. Maybe we need to pick up some towels and go back, at least mop up the extra water that flowed from the bathroom across the living room.”
She briefly looked at him but switched her eyes back to the road. “They’ve probably been wet for a while. It’s just a house. This is Annie’s life, her future. The house can wait.”
Daniel allowed himself a long look at Charlotte since she was focused on the cars in front of them. He wanted to dislike her. If he didn’t like her, then he wouldn’t be attracted to her. And for Daniel, attraction ran deep, but that desire needed to be matched internally as well. Charlotte might turn heads for her outer beauty, but if she wasn’t pretty on the inside, then it wasn’t real. But every time he was sure they wouldn’t ever be friends, she surprised him by doing or saying something nice. Again, he wondered if he had prejudged her unfairly.
They were quiet for a while, and Daniel tried not to cringe every time they jerked and swayed when Charlotte shifted gears or sped up or slowed down. He glanced at the seat between them. He’d already noticed springs protruding from the seat where her huge black purse now sat. He noticed a book sticking out the top, one side of the binding poking out. The silence was becoming awkward. “What are you reading?” he asked her.
She blushed. “Uh . . . it’s . . . I guess what you’d call a self-help book.”
“What do you need help with?” It was none of his business, but he figured conversation would make the trip go quicker.
“I broke up with my boyfriend.” She cleared her throat. “Actually, he broke up with me.”
Daniel knew this, but he nodded. “Did you lie to him?” It was an awful thing to say, and he wished he could take it back when he saw her lip tremble slightly. “I’m sorry,” he said before she could respond. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m sure most of the people in your district think I’m a liar.” She glared at him, tears in her eyes. “But Lena, Jacob, and Hannah have forgiven me, so you can think whatever you want.”
Daniel noticed she didn’t include Amos, but it was probably an oversight.
“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I know you were trying to find out what happened to your bruder.”
Daniel couldn’t imagine how a book could help heal a broken heart. Only time and God took care of such things.
Charlotte was tempted to tell Daniel that he was a jerk, but he’d offered to make repairs at Ethan’s house, so she bit her tongue and decided to offer up information that Daniel may or may not know. “Ethan suffered from depression. It’s as much a disease as cancer or anything else that can be terminal. I guess no one in your community recognized it as such.” She glanced his way. “I’m not blaming anyone. It’s just that if Ethan had gotten some counseling, maybe things would have turned out differently.” She shrugged. “I don’t know.” She signaled to change lanes, although there was no indication on the dash that the signal lights even worked. She was going to be sore after manhandling this steering wheel for the hour drive there, then back again. She couldn’t imagine driving this every day. “Ethan and I had a rough childhood,” she added.
She’d grown weary of Dr. Levin’s insistence that Charlotte needed to face the demons in her life, her parents. Charlotte didn’t even remember the last time she’d seen either of her parents. Maybe ten years ago. Hopefully, one day it would all become so fuzzy that she wouldn’t remember her parents at all—or her time in foster care.
She stared ahead and counted backward from one hundred, something she’d always done to push certain memories to the back of her mind, to make room for something more pleasant. Her money woes weren’t exactly pleasant, but they were certainly better than thoughts about her childhood. And with each day, she thought less and less about Ryan.
“Do you have those thoughts?” Daniel spoke the words softly, like he was afraid to ask. “I mean, about taking your life?”
Charlotte cut her eyes at him. “Never. I’ve been through things that I imagine would curl your toes. But I’m a survivor.” And proud of it. “I’m just at a low point right now. I let my finances get out of control, and then after Ryan broke up with me, I knew I needed to make some changes. But never, ever would I consider taking my own life.”
“That’s gut to know.” He stared straight ahead for a few moments. “I reckon you could say I was depressed after Edna and I broke up, but I never felt like I couldn’t go on.”
/> Charlotte scowled. “Uh . . . are you referring to Edna Glick?” Charlotte cringed as she recalled the woman who’d played a role in Ethan’s death. At least in Charlotte’s mind, she did.
“Do you know her?”
“Yeah. I know her all right.” Charlotte snarled in his direction.
“What did Edna ever do to you?”
Charlotte wondered if she should tread lightly since Daniel’s tone was a little defensive. She decided against it.
“Edna had a relationship with my brother and ultimately broke his heart.” Right away, she thought about Hannah. As far as most people knew, Hannah was the one Ethan had loved.
“And you blame her for your brother’s death?”
Ethan’s depression had taken him at the end, but it was so much easier for Charlotte to blame the woman he’d been in love with. She glanced at Daniel. It looked like he might be gritting his teeth.
“I know it’s not logical to blame Edna for my brother’s death. Ethan’s choices were his own, but . . .” Charlotte shrugged.
Daniel turned and stared out the window, the wind blowing his cropped bangs to one side. He’d removed his hat not far into their trip.
“Good grief. How many people was that woman dating?”
Daniel turned toward her, his eyebrows furrowed, his jaw clenched. “I’m sorry for the loss of your bruder, but it’s not like you think. I dated Edna long before Ethan ever showed up in our community. I didn’t know about her involvement with your bruder. I’d heard talk of it, even suspected it, but I didn’t know for sure until now.”
Charlotte wanted to let it go, to change the subject, but she was having trouble picturing Daniel with Edna in a romantic way, which was silly since she didn’t know either of them very well. “You can tell me it’s none of my business, but what happened with you and Edna?” She scratched her nose, which tickled from the earlier blast of dust they’d taken in on the dirt and gravel roads.
Daniel turned toward her. “It’s none of your business.” He grinned, then chuckled when Charlotte scowled. “I don’t really know. I thought we were happy, but she started to get distant, and the next thing I knew, she was spending time with John.”
“And later with my brother,” Charlotte added since that cat had already jumped out of the bag. Daniel winced.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything about Edna and Ethan.”
Daniel shrugged. “It’s okay. I thought the rumors might be true. I don’t think Edna is a happy person.” He got a faraway look in his eyes as compassion seemed to replace either anger or hurt. Charlotte wasn’t sure what he was feeling, but Edna’s happiness wasn’t her concern.
“I have a picture of Edna and me together, and even in the photo, she isn’t smiling.”
Charlotte stared at him and shook her head. “I don’t get it. I thought pictures weren’t allowed. I thought cell phones weren’t allowed either, but all of you seem to have one, even Hannah.” She held up a hand when Daniel opened his mouth to interrupt. “Don’t get me wrong. I love Hannah and her family, and Lancaster County is my favorite place. But I just worry that you’ll . . .” She paused. “I worry you’ll end up like us, your Englisch friends, as you call us.”
Daniel didn’t crack a smile. “We worry about that, too, and I promise you, none of us want that to happen.” He winked at her.
She grinned. He was witty. Under different circumstances, Charlotte might have been taken in by his tall stance, his muscular shoulders, and the way his gray eyes took on a bluish hue in the sunlight. But she was done with men for a while. Not to mention, he’s Amish.
“I hope Annie is okay.” Daniel stared straight ahead. He pulled out a small hand-sketched map from his pocket. “And I hope she agrees to come home.” He marked a spot on the map with his finger.
“At least she is with a relative.”
Daniel laughed. “Ya, she’s with a relative. A wacky relative.”
Annie looked on while her aunt danced around the living room, humming and using a feather duster on her furniture. Plumes of dust swirled in the air, only to settle in a new place. Aunt Faye had been good to Annie since she’d arrived, trying to tend to her every need. She’d told Annie that she hadn’t had any paying tenants in a while. But when their first meal together consisted of a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich with a side of raw cabbage, Annie could see why. She wasn’t sure if it was due to her condition or the food, but she worried she would hurl at any moment. But for dessert they’d had apple pie. And somehow her aunt had turned apple pie into the tastiest dessert Annie had ever put in her mouth.
But this morning’s breakfast had been an odd one. Two fried eggs, sunny side up—which might have been tasty without the glob of sour cream on top—and a side of fried okra. Annie loved fried okra, but she could tell it was the frozen kind from a bag. And she’d never had it mixed together with warm grape jelly, and that hadn’t sat well with her tummy either. But Aunt Faye seemed happy to have Annie here, so she forced herself to eat at least some of the food offerings so as not to hurt her aunt’s feelings.
“Is there anything I can do to help you, Aunt Faye?” Annie spoke above the loud piano music playing in the background. Her aunt wore clothes similar to Annie’s, but Mennonites were allowed to wear colorful designs on their dresses. Aunt Faye’s light blue dress had a pastel flower print. She wore a prayer covering, although it wasn’t in the traditional heart shape like in Lancaster County. It was flatter in the front, more like Ohio Amish wore.
“You just rest, dear.” Faye carried the feather duster with her around the corner when the telephone rang. She returned a few moments later. “Jacob is on the phone for you.”
Annie considered not taking the call, but Faye had already informed her that Jacob had returned to Paradise. Lena had told her that when Faye called to let everyone know Annie was okay. She’d had some time to think on things, and while she wasn’t ready to face her family, she was interested to hear what Jacob had to say.
“Wie bischt, Annie. I miss you. Please come home.” Jacob had something crunchy in his mouth, like chips. Annie frowned.
“I’m very upset, Jacob.”
“I know. I heard what happened with your folks. But we just need to get married, and everything will be okay. Why didn’t you tell me about the baby?” Crunch, crunch, crunch.
“I don’t know, Jacob. I guess I didn’t want you to feel trapped.”
She waited for him to deny that he would ever feel that way, but just heard more crunching.
Annie huffed. “Can you at least talk to me without a mouthful of food?”
“I’m hungry. Sorry.”
They were quiet. Annie was trying to imagine a life with Jacob. Everything felt different now. He’d broken her trust when he left her, and now the little things were bothering her too. Like talking with his mouth full.
“I might have considered marrying you for the sake of our child.” She paused as she tried to briefly envision life as a single mother. “But I’m not sure you would be happy, Jacob.”
“You’re having our baby. We will make it work, ya?”
That wasn’t exactly what Annie wanted to hear. Maybe because you love me? “Well, I still don’t know.”
“Daniel and Charlotte are on their way there.”
“What?” Annie put a hand to her forehead. “Why can’t everyone just give me some time to myself? And why is Charlotte coming?”
“She can drive.”
If Annie married Jacob, her parents would be happy. She figured Jacob’s family would be happy too. But would she? Would Jacob?
Annie was still pondering that when someone knocked on the front door. “They’re here. I have to go.” She hung up the phone, rounded the corner into the living room, and folded her hands in front of her. She held her breath as Aunt Faye ushered Daniel and Charlotte into her living room. Then her aunt walked across the room and removed the needle from the record player, halting the background music. She rejoined the group, introdu
ced herself to Charlotte, then hugged Daniel.
“I’m going to let you all talk privately.” She pointed down the hallway. “I’ll be in the cemetery room if you need me.”
Annie waited until her aunt was out of earshot before she whispered, “That’s a room where she has all the mementos from people she’s lost—photographs, keepsakes, and such.” She shook her head and sighed. “I don’t know why she calls it her cemetery room, though.”
Daniel turned to Charlotte and grinned. “See what I mean? Wacky.” Then he walked to Annie and hugged her tightly. “Mei maedel, you scared us all. I know Daed was rough on you, but you belong at home.”
Annie eased out of her brother’s embrace and turned to Charlotte. “Sorry about your couch.” Annie knew Jacob had already told Charlotte what really happened. Part of her wished Jacob had protected her, but she guessed she deserved it for being nasty.
“It’s just a couch.” Charlotte pinched her lips together in a smile that didn’t look genuine. “Just glad you are safe and okay.”
“Go and thank Aunt Faye for letting you stay the night, then we can be on our way back home.” Daniel looked down the hallway, then back at Annie.
“I’m not going home.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“Ya, you are,” Daniel said. “Get your purse and let’s go. I’m sure Jacob will marry you now that he’s back.” He paused. “You did know that he’s home, ya?”
“I know. And he called me. But I don’t know if I want to marry him anymore.”
Daniel brought a hand to his forehead as he took a step toward her. “You have to.”
“She doesn’t have to, Daniel.” Charlotte locked eyes with Annie. “No one can force you to get married if you don’t want to.” She tucked her long dark hair behind her ears. Annie was still getting used to seeing it flowing freely and not covered by a kapp.
Daniel’s eyes blazed as he turned to Charlotte. “She must marry Jacob. It’s the right thing to do.”