It was six thirty in the morning, and though the sun hadn’t yet crossed the horizon, the sky was beginning to lighten.
Her mother turned to smile at her. “Did you remember your MDS forms?”
“Ya. They’re right here.” Becca patted the backpack.
“Did you remember the kitchen sink?” Her father asked.
“Dat. I didn’t pack that much.”
“I saw you sitting on the suitcase to close it, though.” The laughter in her father’s voice eased the feeling of anxiety that threatened to overwhelm her.
Her stomach had been in an upheaval since Sunday when her grandfather had asked the congregation to pray for their mission trip. That was when it had struck her as real. She was going to Texas! She would help to rebuild houses. What did she know about that? How would she be any use at all? And what if she got terribly homesick? She was thinking this was a bad idea, but her aenti would be waiting at the bus stop. She couldn’t change her mind now.
“Nancy knows how to get in touch with your grossdaddi if you need anything.”
What did her mother think she would need? Courage? Did someone have an extra spoonful of that they would be willing to give her?
Becca’s pulse raced. She looked out the window of the buggy at house after house from their community that she knew well and had visited often. She took deep breaths and willed herself to calm down. She’d been away from home before. Certainly this was no different. It was only that she’d pushed it from her mind for weeks and now the day was here. It had all happened incredibly fast. How was it that winter had passed since her grandfather had first mentioned a mission to her?
And yet much of the winter had been depressing for Becca. There was her mother’s injury, which reminded Becca that her parents were only human. What if something happened to them while she was gone? She’d hovered so close to her mother the last few months that her parents had taken to calling her “Mammi.”
Some days she felt like a grandmother. Two more of her friends had married in March, making a total of four girls her age who were already married and now were expecting babies. It seemed to her that life had passed her by, and she wasn’t sure what to do about it. So she did her chores, found extra work, volunteered whenever possible, and when she couldn’t sleep she pulled out one of the books from their public library and read it by the glow of her flashlight.
In those books girls were always excited about adventures, even the ugly ducklings, but life wasn’t always like a storybook. Maybe she should write a tale about a girl whose feet became cemented to her parents’ land. Whenever she tried to step away, her feet refused to cooperate. In fact, the community had to hold church at her family’s home every week, because this girl could not walk past the gate at the end of the lane.
“Becca, are you listening to me?” Her mother turned around so that they were nearly face-to-face.
“Sure, Mamm. Yes.”
“What did I say?”
Becca’s mind froze. She had been listening. Hadn’t she?
“I said that we love you and we’re proud of you. This is a gut thing to do.”
“Are you sure I should be going though? Your foot—”
“My foot is completely healed. You were there when the doctor said so.”
“But—”
“I promise you that I am fine. Today is about you, dear. You’re about to make memories that will stay with you for a lifetime, times you will remember even when you’re old and gray like your father and me.”
Becca nodded, and then she turned to again stare out the window. They were pulling up to the bus loading area. Her grandmother and grandfather were there, as was Aenti Nancy. Standing beside Nancy was Sarah Yoder, who had agreed to go on the mission trip in order to escape the watchful eye of her parents. She’d told Becca at the last church service that if one more person reminded her to eat everything on her plate, she might run from the room screaming. Although she was supposedly over the eating disorder that she’d battled so desperately in school, she still seemed quite thin to Becca.
Several other people were also waiting to board the bus, which was just pulling into the parking area.
She craned her head to see better, and then her heart dropped—fell clean into her toes. She feared it would stop beating, but then her pulse began to race.
“Why are the Klines here?” she asked, her voice a mere squeak.
“I’m not sure,” her father said. “They must be going on a trip.”
Joshua and Alton stood beside Becca’s grandfather, and she saw that both had a single suitcase, the same as hers. Joshua glanced up, caught her eye, and nodded.
Surely he wasn’t going on the same bus. Surely he wasn’t going to Texas!
Becca had been avoiding Joshua for several weeks. At first she had dared to hope that he liked her, that he might be interested in her. She often thought back to the day she’d given him the ride into town, but that memory held no new information for her. She’d played it over and over in her mind too many times.
Some part of her mind, or heart, had thought that Joshua would return from McAlester, with his younger brother in tow, and begin to court her. This is what came of reading too many books. Joshua had done absolutely nothing to give her that impression—other than be polite and charming and friendly.
In the following weeks, it became clear that he was not interested in pursuing a relationship. In fact, he’d acted quite distracted around her.
“Best not to dawdle, Becca.” Her father wrapped the reins of their horse around the hitching post and reached for her suitcase as she tumbled out of the buggy.
She smoothed down the gray apron she was wearing over her blue dress. Both fit a little snugly.
Soon she was being embraced by her grandmother and grandfather, as well as her mother and dad. Her grandmother reminded her to eat right, say her prayers, and get plenty of rest. “Mission trips are exciting, but they can be exhausting too. Take care of yourself, Becca.”
Nancy Troyer stood to the side, allowing them their goodbyes. Next to her, Sarah Yoder chewed on a thumbnail and glanced around furtively. Meeting Becca’s eyes, she attempted a smile, but she didn’t look exactly thrilled about the trip.
Nancy stepped forward. “Are you ready, dear?”
“Of course. I think so.”
Joshua and Alton had already climbed up the bus steps. She could see Alton looking out the window next to where she stood. He waved hello, and she waved back.
“Mamm… ” She pulled her mother away from the others. “Are Joshua and Alton going on the mission trip?”
“They are, but I didn’t know until now. Your grandfather just told me. It seems it was a last-minute decision.”
“But—”
Suzie pressed a finger to her daughter’s lips, and then she pulled her a bit farther from the group. “I suspect I know how you feel about Joshua. Don’t look so surprised. You blush or leave the room if his name is ever brought up.”
“I do?”
“Ya. Now, Becca, I know you are startled by the fact that they will be on this trip with you.”
Becca nodded dumbly. Startled didn’t begin to describe the emotions tumbling through her heart.
“But this is Gotte’s doing, not ours. Perhaps you will return with three closer friends—four if we count Aenti Nancy. Perhaps one of those friendships will blossom into something more. Don’t worry about whether it does or not. Focus on the mission.”
“All right. I can do that.”
“Gut girl. Now kiss me goodbye.”
Becca again hugged her mother, father, grandmother, and grandfather one more time. Nancy was waiting for her, and Sarah had already climbed aboard the bus. Becca slung her backpack over her shoulder and hurried up the steps.
CHAPTER 23
The bus wasn’t nearly full. Alton and Joshua had settled into seats halfway down the aisle, and Sarah had moved into the seats in front of them. Becca would have been more comfortable hiding in the bac
k of the bus, but she remembered her mother’s words: “Focus on the mission.”
“You take the window, Becca. I get carsick.”
“Um… okay.”
Nancy settled into the seat across the aisle from them, no doubt so she could keep a better eye on the girls and the boys—actually, women and men. They weren’t children any longer.
“I believe you’ll enjoy the window seat, Becca.” Nancy settled a shawl around her shoulders. “You’ll be able to watch the wunderbaar Oklahoma countryside as it slips by.”
Becca busied herself with pushing her backpack under the seat in front of her as the bus pulled out onto the two-lane road. She glanced out the window and saw her family waving. The sight caused tears to prick her eyes. She ducked back down, pretending to look for something else in her bag as she swiped her cheeks dry. Crying over a three-week trip! Her emotions were beyond ridiculous. When she sat up again, she found that Alton had poked his head in between their seats.
“It’s our first time on a mission trip. How about you, Becca?”
“Ya.”
“Sarah?”
“Ya, mine too.”
“I have been doing this once a year for the last five years,” Nancy said, although Alton hadn’t specifically asked her. “Since Walter died, and once the children were all married, it seemed like a gut way for me to give back. Even when we have limited resources to contribute, we can donate our time and our talents.”
Nancy pulled some knitting out of her bag, as if she’d said enough on the subject.
Becca’s aunt had recently turned fifty. She had a matronly figure, and much of her brown hair was gray, a good inch of it showing in front of her kapp. Many of the older women pulled their kapps forward until it looked as if they had no hair at all. Nancy didn’t. There were other ways about her that lent a younger air to the woman—like the shawl or the paisley-patterned handbag she carried. She’d substituted in the classroom when the teacher was out ill, not often but a few times when Becca was growing up. Although she could be serious to the point of severe, she also was fair and even pleasant to be with most of the time.
In fact, she reminded Becca of a schoolteacher she’d had in the fourth grade. The woman had been quite strict, and it wasn’t until the end of the year when Becca had fallen and scraped a knee rather badly that she’d learned the teacher had a compassionate side. After that, she’d been teacher’s helper extraordinaire.
Nancy also had a very no-nonsense way about her, but she hadn’t grown negative or grumpy as she’d aged. Even after the death of her husband, she’d managed to maintain a positive outlook on life.
“I’ve never considered a mission trip,” Alton admitted. “But my family—especially my bruder—thinks it may be a gut idea.”
“My family wasn’t sure if I should go or not,” Sarah said. “But Bishop Levi thought it was a gut idea. He convinced them.”
Sarah didn’t appear to be at all tongue-tied around boys. Becca envied her that.
“It seems the bishop has been looking out for all of us,” Alton said, laughing as he sat back.
Becca glanced from him to Joshua, who still hadn’t said a word.
“Gudemariye, Joshua.”
“And to you, Becca.”
Sarah turned around in her seat and faced the two brothers. “Are you here because you wanted to help MDS or are you a chaperone for Alton?”
“It’s possible to be both,” Nancy assured them.
Becca turned back around in her seat and pulled a book from her backpack. It had been a gift from Joseph and Rebecca Byler. “You’ll be gone three weeks, and your library books would be past due by the time you got back. This way you’ll have something to read on the bus.”
The front of the novel showed a mountain pass covered in snow, and across the spine were the words Christian Fiction. Becca wanted to lose herself in the story and forget all of her doubts and fears about the trip. But she also wanted the book to last, and this was only the first hour of their journey, so she placed the book in her lap, resting her hands on it but not yet opening it.
They had been traveling less than thirty minutes when Sarah made a desperate dash to the bathroom facilities at the back of the bus.
“Would you like me to check on her?” Nancy asked.
“Nein. I can do it.” Becca hurried down the aisle.
Sarah opened the door after Becca knocked and asked how she was doing. They both crammed into the tiny bathroom where they could have a bit of privacy. Sarah insisted she was okay, though she was pale and a bit shaky.
“I have some crackers in my lunch sack.” Becca wet a paper towel, wrung out the water, and handed it to her. “Maybe that will settle your stomach.”
“Ya, okay. Danki.”
“I’m going to use the restroom while I’m back here, but you go ahead and find what you need in my bag.”
“Mamm sent a can of soda instead of tea. She knows I have trouble in Englisch cars sometimes.”
“And a bus is probably worse than a car.” Becca was suddenly glad that Sarah had come with them. She missed being with other girls. The farm could be a rather lonely place.
But when she walked back toward her group, she found that Alton had taken her seat, leaving his seat beside Joshua vacant.
Less than an hour into the trip with probably another ten to go, and already she was forced into close proximity with the man she’d begun having feelings for several months ago. The same man who cared nothing for her—at least nothing out of the ordinary. It was going to be a long trip.
CHAPTER 24
Joshua had barely slept the night before. He’d tossed and turned, worrying about Alton, about the trip in general, about the farm while he was gone, and about being in close proximity with Becca.
He fell asleep after they crossed the Texas border, and when he woke to find Becca still sitting next to him, he was disoriented and embarrassed.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “You didn’t drool.”
“I was out, though.”
“You were.”
“How long did I sleep?”
“Well, it’s almost lunchtime. Look. We’re in the Dallas area.”
Joshua leaned forward to see past her and out the window.
“It’s the big city, bruder. Not many tractors here.” The words were barely out of Alton’s mouth when a large cattle truck passed them, full of Hereford cows.
“Dallas may be a large city, but there are plenty of farmers and ranchers in the surrounding area.” Nancy had stuffed her knitting back into her bag and was eating from her lunch sack. “We’ll be stopping in the downtown area and changing buses. There will be a few street vendors as well as snack machines in the bus terminal, but we’ll only be there for twenty minutes, so don’t dawdle.”
Nancy had obviously received more detailed information than they had. All Joshua knew was that it was an eleven-hour drive, combined with eighty minutes of bus changes and fuel stops. He figured they would be pulling into Port Aransas just before sunset.
The bus chugged to a stop, and everyone spilled out, grateful for the chance to stretch their legs.
“Remember to take your things,” Nancy called after them. “I’ll confirm which bus we’re continuing on and stand outside it.”
Joshua wanted to put a little distance between himself and Becca—at least until he figured out what to say to her. But as he walked out from beneath the covered awning outside the bus station, he felt distinctly claustrophobic. Tall buildings consisting mostly of reflective glass towered above him on all sides. He craned his neck to see the sky, which was a robin’s egg blue. The road that passed in front of the bus station was a world unto itself—teeming with people hurrying down the sidewalk. The street was crowded with cars, trucks, bicycles, and cabs—a startling abundance of different types of vehicles.
“I’m trying one of those hot dogs.” Alton pushed past him and made a beeline for a street vendor as if he had done that a dozen times before. And maybe h
e had. What did Joshua actually know about his brother’s life? He seldom asked questions because he didn’t want to hear the answers.
Alton went up to the window and ordered “a dog, fully loaded.” Whatever that meant, the smells were wonderful. Joshua had already eaten a good portion of the lunch their mamm had packed long ago.
He was surprised to find that Sarah and Becca had followed them out of the terminal.
“Want a hot dog?” he asked.
Sarah shook her head. “I still have plenty of my lunch.”
Becca hesitated, and then she said, “Ya. I do. But no onions!”
Joshua smiled and hurried off to collect their order.
The girls turned and started back toward the terminal. Becca called over her shoulder, “We’ll meet you on the bus!”
“Where are they headed?” Alton asked.
“No telling.” Joshua ordered a hot dog same as Alton’s, and then he ordered Becca’s. Thinking she might be hungrier than she was admitting, he also ordered two bags of chips and two Cokes. Before paying, he grabbed a couple of candy bars.
“Hungry?” Alton asked skeptically.
“It’s not all for me.”
Alton grinned but didn’t offer any other comment, apparently realizing that Joshua wasn’t in the mood to be teased.
When they had all reboarded the bus, Alton again sat next to Sarah. “Since you have Becca’s lunch, this only seems logical,” he said to Joshua.
It was obvious that Alton was angling to sit next to Sarah—either because he was interested in her or possibly because he hoped to avoid his brother. Sarah rolled her eyes as Alton settled into the seat, but Nancy had no objection, and Becca didn’t seem to mind one way or the other.
She was somewhat alarmed at the amount of food Joshua was carrying.
“Are you starving?”
“Well, nein, but I wasn’t sure if you’d want chips, and it seemed a drink was necessary in order to wash down the hot dog—”
“And the candy bars?”
“Ah. Those are for later. I hear Texas is a big state, and we might not have a chance to buy more food.”
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