“I’d like to break open a loaf of bread. What did you bring for our dinner?”
“I tell you a beautiful story, and you’re thinking of dinner.”
“I tried to pay attention, but my stomach is grumbling.”
“Now you sound like a child.” But she pulled her backpack closer and unzipped it. “Let’s see, I don’t have a loaf of bread, but I do have two bananas.”
“Monkey food.”
“One jar of peanut butter.”
Joshua grunted.
“And four pieces of bread.” She pulled out the items and set them on the blanket between them. “What did you bring?”
“I found you a divine seashell. What more do you want from me?” He laughed when she pushed him over. “All right. Don’t get violent.”
He had brought four oatmeal raisin cookies from one of the clients, two Thermoses of cold milk, and a bag of chips.
“Ack. Junk food.”
“Chips replace necessary salt I lost while hammering shingles.”
“Uh-huh. Well, we can make peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches, have some of your chips, milk—”
“And cookies. Sounds like a feast.”
It felt like a feast to Becca. As she watched children run in the surf and the sun set over the gulf waters, she was almost able to stop worrying about Alton and Sarah.
For the last two nights, Alton had come home very late. One day he fell asleep during lunch. He and Joshua got into a big row about that as well as the fact that he was once again smoking. Most days Alton missed breakfast and stumbled out of the trailer as they were finishing their devotional time. But once he was awake, he was a good worker. She wasn’t sure Joshua could see that.
Sarah was another matter entirely. Something was bothering her, and Becca wished she knew what it was. She’d tried asking Nancy, but her aenti had been no help at all. If she knew, she wasn’t sharing.
Once Joshua had finished his dinner, he proceeded to bury her feet in the sand. It was a warm, cozy feeling. Becca could almost close her eyes and forget the troubles that worried her mind and stole her sleep.
When they were finished playing in the sand, Joshua helped her store their trash and then pulled her to her feet. They made their way down the beach toward the fishing pier. Once there, Joshua walked out to ask if they were catching anything and what bait they were using.
Becca hadn’t realized Joshua was such a fisherman, or at least he seemed interested in it. If his excitement the night he’d caught the trout was any indication, she suspected he was itching to give it another try. Nancy had promised to cook the fish for dinner the next evening.
If they were to marry, would he catch fish from the pond and bring it home for her to fry? The thought popped into her head and she giggled. A few evening walks on the beach had her mind turning to marriage. Perhaps the afternoon sun had made her a bit loopy.
Joshua walked back to where she was waiting, and they turned toward the bus stop.
Becca sensed the moment his posture changed—as if an instant tenseness had swept through his body. Looking up, she saw his jaw clench, and then she glanced in the direction he was staring. At first she saw four Englischers pulling surfboards from the back of a truck, but then she looked again and realized that one of them was Alton.
CHAPTER 39
Joshua would recognize his brother anywhere under any circumstances, yet he could hardly believe that the person standing before him was Alton.
The clothing was part of it—the long swim trunks he’d worn the night of their beach cookout, a white sleeveless T-shirt, and flip-flops. Where had he purchased them? And why? He’d never get away with wearing such clothes in Oklahoma, even if he was still indulging his rumspringa. Then there was the seven-foot surfboard he was holding. It gleamed in the lights of the parking area—a sleek, off-white board sporting a yellow-and-blue design.
He’d known his brother was surfing, but seeing him that way—seeing him standing there like an Englischer about to trot off into the ocean—caused Joshua to gape in amazement.
He wasn’t surprised when the situation grew worse. It was bad enough seeing his brother with this gang of thugs. Did he have to talk to them too?
But Alton didn’t pick up on his brother’s attitude. He offered a small wave, and then he and his three friends walked toward them.
“Hey, bro. Surprised to see you here.”
Bro? Had Alton just called him bro?
Joshua gave a short nod, trying to figure out what to say. What he was seeing made no sense to him. What Alton was doing made no sense at all.
Not a big deal was what Jim had said.
Give him space was Charlie’s advice.
I’m a peacemaker? Maybe I need to be. Becca’s earlier words pulled Joshua to his senses.
“We were out for a walk.” He nodded toward the surfboard. “That’s what you’re spending your money on? A fancy board?”
“This is it. Isn’t she beautiful? I’ve been keeping it in the bed of Spider’s truck. Seemed easier.”
Spider was everything Joshua had imagined, only worse. He was probably six feet two, with muscular arms and legs and skin bronzed from the coastal sun. His hair was fashioned in dreadlocks, or so Joshua had heard them called. The long, matted coils of hair snaked down his back. He wore no shirt, which revealed that his chest was completely tattooed—and yes, there was a spider in the center and intricate webs radiating out from it. Several earrings adorned one ear, and a scruffy beard completed the picture. So this was his brother’s new best friend.
“Nice to meet you, Joshua. Alton’s told me a lot about you.”
The man held out his hand and Joshua shook, though he had to resist the urge to wipe his palm on his pants afterward.
“Are you Sarah or Becca?”
“Becca. Nice to meet you.” She seemed to have recovered more quickly than Joshua. She actually smiled at the three men standing in front of them, and she didn’t look a bit embarrassed that they were practically naked.
“Cool dress.” This from the boy standing on Alton’s other side. He couldn’t have been seventeen and was trying to grow a goatee, but the result was only a few sprigs of hair. His head was shaved, and his eyes had a glassy look to them.
“Don’t be rude, Dax.” Spider’s voice was a soft, gentle reprimand. “Joshua and Becca, this is my friend Dax, and behind him we have Zach.”
The third man looked the most reputable—maybe twenty-five with clean-cut hair and no visible tattoos. He was focused on wiping down his board, though, and barely nodded a hello.
Joshua felt as if he’d stepped into his worst nightmare.
Becca tugged on Joshua’s hand. “The bus is coming.”
“We have to go.”
“Sure. That’s cool. Peace, bro.” This from Dax.
“Y’all have a nice evening.” Spider hefted his board and started toward the beach, Dax and Zach in his wake, leaving Alton standing between his new friends and his family.
“We’re off to catch some waves. I guess I’ll see you back at the trailer.”
Joshua’s anger returned in a flash. For a moment his emotions actually blurred his vision. He stepped toward his brother and hissed, “These are the people you’re going out with every night? A druggie, a loser, and his sidekick?”
“You don’t even know them—”
“I know enough.”
“Because of what, Joshua? Because of their tattoos or their hairstyles? Have you ever stopped to think that people can look different and still be gut people?” Alton stepped back. “You embarrass me. You know that?”
Before Joshua could respond, Alton turned and walked off after his friends.
Becca tugged on his hand again, and he turned to see a line of people climbing onto the bus. He and Becca ran and trundled up the steps just as it was about to pull out. Nearly every seat was filled—teens, families, and even a few older people. Though they were all talking to one another, Becca seemed content to stare out the w
indow.
Joshua was grateful she didn’t try to talk to him about what had just happened. He realized that now was probably an important time to keep his mouth shut. He needed to calm his temper before he spoke. He cared about Becca, and it infuriated him that she’d been subjected to the stare of a stoned-out surfer.
How to tell her that? Or did she even want to hear?
Now that she’d finally seen Alton in his glory, seen him as he spit on their Plain life, maybe now she would understand Joshua’s anger without him having to explain.
The bus stopped at the end of their street. They got off, Joshua carrying the blanket and his backpack. Soft voices spilled through the night, and he could just make out Sarah sitting on the patio with Nancy. As they drew closer, he could see that they were playing a hand of Dutch Blitz.
Becca still hadn’t said a word. Joshua tugged on her hand and pulled her across the street to some lawn chairs that had been placed on Alice’s front porch for workers to rest in.
“I’m sorry, Becca.”
“For?”
“For the fact that you had to see Alton like that. Also that those Englischers… that they embarrassed you.”
“But they didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean they didn’t embarrass me. I’m Amish, Joshua. It’s not the first time someone has commented on my dress.”
He could only stare at her, unsure of what she was getting at.
“If you want to apologize to someone, I think you should save it and apologize to Alton.”
“What?” His voice rose in disbelief. This could not be happening. Becca could not be taking Alton’s side. Had the whole world gone mad?
“Oh, Joshua.” Becca sank into one of the lawn chairs and then popped back up. “Weren’t you even listening to Charlie’s story earlier today?”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“It has everything to do with this.” She crossed her arms and stared across the street. When she finally turned to look at him, her voice had gone soft but the furrows between her eyes had deepened. “Life moves on, remember? But Gotte still has a plan for each of us. Alton is no longer a child that you need to follow behind and correct. He’s a man, and he needs only your steady influence in his life and the certainty of your love as part of his family. He doesn’t need your approval or disapproval.”
“But I don’t approve.” The words fairly exploded out of him. “How can I? Mamm and Dat would be horrified to see him as we did tonight.”
“Because he was holding a surfboard?” Becca shook her head and started to walk away. She’d made it a few feet when she spun back toward him. “Did you even notice that his shorts were longer than the others? He must have picked the most conservative pair he could find, and it’s not as if one can surf in Amish clothing.”
“He shouldn’t be surfing at all.”
“He had no tattoos, no earrings, and he spoke to us kindly. You were the one whose tone was bitter and accusatory. Alton’s only fault is that he has friends you don’t approve of—people you have judged even though you know nothing about them.”
“You don’t understand.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps you are stuck in the past. Like a child, you shut your eyes and refuse to see that your bruder has grown up. Maybe he is making different choices than you or I would, but they are his choices to make. You think by pouting you can change the way things are.”
“There is no need for you to talk to me this way.”
“But there is.”
When she stepped closer, he saw the compassion in her eyes. It made one part of him want to reach out and pull her into his arms. It made another part of him want to storm away.
“I’m your friend,” she said. “And that is why I dare to speak to you this way.”
Joshua watched her turn and walk across the street and into her trailer. He sat in the lawn chair, confused, dazed, and unsure of what had just happened.
As the lights across the street winked out, he wondered if he’d just broken off the relationship with the woman he was beginning to love. But how could he love her if she couldn’t even stand by his side during serious family matters?
He shook his head. It was fine to listen to an old man, but Charlie wasn’t in the middle of a family crisis. As for Becca, in many ways she approached life simply—like a child. It was certainly entertaining to quote legends that spoke of breaking a shell and releasing God’s peace.
A child’s fairy tale.
In Joshua’s experience, things had never been quite that easy.
CHAPTER 40
The next few days passed in a haze of confusion for Joshua. He focused on the mission work—on hammering shingles and laying floor. At one point he was working in Alice’s kitchen with Alton on his left and Becca on his right. Sarah was in the next room, gently humming as she screwed on the plastic plates that covered the electrical outlets.
In the kitchen, they struggled not to speak to one another.
Alton had continued to work diligently each day and leave as soon as the hands of the clock struck five in the afternoon. His brown hair was beginning to take on a bleached look, and his skin looked more like that of a native Texan than that of an Amish farmer from Oklahoma. Alton had not mentioned the scene on the beach, and he’d stopped arguing with Joshua. Whenever Joshua brought up his activities or his new friends, he simply walked away.
Becca had been polite but distant.
Joshua’s anger fueled his attitude for the first twenty-four hours, and then he began to doubt himself. Give up Becca over an argument about his brother? That would be foolish. But he was clueless as to how to set things right. He had no idea how to fix either of the relationships that now seemed broken.
On Friday afternoon, before they were to knock off for the day, Charlie arrived with Quitz trailing faithfully at his side. The old guy was a regular at the job site, and Joshua found himself looking forward to seeing him and talking with him.
“Did you get the sod laid out back of Alice’s house?”
“We did. Let me show you.”
They walked around the little house. In Joshua’s opinion, the yard was pitifully small. He thought of their farm in Oklahoma, of the swings his father had hung from the limbs of the oak tree near the barn and the trampoline that he and his brother and his four sisters had jumped on, sure that they could somehow reach the sky.
“Looks good. You all have done excellent work. I have to say, I don’t think I’ve seen a more dedicated crew.”
“Even Alton?” The words slipped out, unbidden.
“Yes. Certainly.” If Charlie was surprised, he didn’t show it.
“I suppose he’s been somewhat useful.”
“Son, is there something you’d like to talk about?”
“Family problems. You wouldn’t—”
“Wouldn’t understand? Do you say that because I had no children or because I’m Englisch?”
“That was insensitive of me, Charlie. I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.”
“I only meant that I don’t think you can understand what it means to be Amish and why my bruder’s actions are hurtful and wrong.”
Charlie sighed and then walked Quitz around the perimeter of the yard. The dog sniffed in every corner, left her mark along the back property line, and barked once at a bird that landed in a nearby bush. The bird spent a moment squawking and scolding the dog before flying away, causing Joshua and Charlie to laugh.
“She never catches them?”
“No, and if she did my guess is she’d have no idea what to do with it.”
They walked into the house, Charlie complimenting the work on the kitchen floor, and then they made their way upstairs to the bedrooms.
“Alice is going to be so pleased. Their plan is to move in next weekend.”
“Should be doable, but you’ll want to check with Jim.”
They walked through each room before making their way back down
stairs and outside. As they exited the house, Alton emerged from their trailer—cleaned up and ready for his night of surfing. He crossed the street and called to Quitz. The dog looked up at Charlie, who nodded once. When Quitz reached Alton’s side, he pulled a dog biscuit from the pocket of his swim trunks and handed it to her.
Quitz trotted back to Charlie, waiting to eat the biscuit until she was again standing by her owner’s side. Alton waved once and then continued down the street.
“Your bruder is kind to remember such a thing—a biscuit for a dog. It sounds so small, but to this old girl… ” he laid a hand on the top of her head. “It makes her day a bit brighter.”
Joshua didn’t know how to answer that, so he remained silent.
“You know I worked with teenagers for many years. Sometimes the ones who did what I hoped—went off to college or took a promising job—ended up sliding into a lifestyle that would take them years to crawl out of.”
“I hope this story isn’t going to end by telling me surfing is a gut thing.”
Charlie shrugged. “Other students, they went the alternative route. They followed their dreams, indulged an unconventional skill… ” He broke off, and then he stuck his hand into his pants pocket, jingling his change. “One boy was a skateboarder. Alex had excellent scores on his SAT and could have picked his college, but that wasn’t his dream. He just wanted to skate. Last year, he received a sponsorship to the X Games.”
“So you’re saying I should let Alton follow his dreams even when they’re ridiculous and can only bring misery to his family.”
“I’m telling you that sometimes we think we know what’s best for someone else, but we don’t.” Charlie turned and looked at him directly. “As the oldest brother, I’m sure you often do know what’s best for Alton and even the sisters you’ve told me about. Sometimes. No one always knows what’s best though. Let me ask you a question, and I want an honest answer. Have you prayed about this?”
“I ask Gotte every night to bring my bruder back into the fold—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, Joshua. Have you prayed for yourself? That God will give you a clear perspective and heal your relationship with your brother?”
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