Plain Change

by Sarah Price

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next few days seemed to fall into a similar routine. Amanda would awaken early, spending the cooler morning hours in the garden, where she weeded and tended to the flowers. By the time that the sun rose high in the sky, she retreated back inside and spent time in the kitchen with Señora Perez.

  They seemed to have developed a mutual friendship. Señora Perez gave up trying to chase Amanda out of the kitchen, and Amanda won her over by baking fresh bread or cookies. By the time Alejandro would strut downstairs, always freshly showered and dressed impeccably, the kitchen would greet him with warm smells reminiscent of Lancaster County.

  Amanda would sit with him while he ate his breakfast, despite the fact that it was usually eleven when he emerged from upstairs. She brought him fresh coffee when he finished his first cup and always cleared away his dishes. In the afternoons, he usually disappeared into town, visiting friends and business associates.

  At night, people would show up and there was always a party. One night, he had told her he was going into town to his favorite nightclub, Bongos. He hadn’t asked her to join him, and she wondered why. But she knew better than to ask. Nightlife and nightclubs were part of his job. She was better off staying home.

  It had been a week when she noticed that he was up earlier than usual. He wore simple white cotton pants and a white undershirt when he emerged from his office instead of the stairs. He carried a coffee mug in his hand and greeted her with a warm kiss on the cheek.

  “You’re up already, then?” she asked, surprised.

  “Sí,” he said, reaching for the coffeepot. “I have a new song that I’m working on. I’ll be staying home today.”

  She hadn’t heard him come in the previous evening. She had gotten used to their routine and slept through the nights. Miami was his home. It was where his friends were, and he had to socialize. She knew that, and it didn’t bother her. In fact, she was glad that he was comfortable leaving her home alone. She crocheted in her room before going to bed at nine o’clock.

  Having Alejandro home during the day would be a new experience for her.

  He started walking back to his office but paused and glanced over his shoulder at her. “And I’d like to take you to dinner tonight.”

  That was another surprise. “Just us?” she asked.

  He tried not to smile at her enthusiasm. “Sí,” he said. “Just us. Somewhere fancy and nice, so I can pamper you. You’ve been in this condo all week. Need to get you out, Cinderella.”

  Amanda looked over at Señora Perez, who simply smiled and turned around as Alejandro left the room. But not before Amanda caught that look on the older woman’s face. It was the look of amusement and knowing, a look that could come only with years of wisdom.

  “What does that mean?” Amanda asked, hurrying over to Señora Perez’s side. “What should I wear?”

  Señora Perez shrugged her shoulders, still smiling. “You have many clothes, no? Find something beautiful and fancy for him.”

  Amanda pouted. “That’s not much help, Señora. I don’t know what fancy means!”

  “Ay, Dios mío,” Señora Perez said, but her eyes were glowing. “That sleeveless black dress is beautiful, no? But go outside and get some color here!” She reached her hand out and touched Amanda’s collarbone. “Too white!” She glanced at Amanda’s legs and pointed. “There, too!”

  Twenty minutes later, Amanda padded outside in a one-piece bathing suit. She refused to put on the two-piece suits, finding them insanely immodest. Making certain to cover her body with the sunblock lotion, she was determined to avoid a sunburn this time.

  She sat on the edge of the pool for a while, dipping her legs into the water. Her mind wandered back to the farm in Pennsylvania, and she wondered what her parents were doing. She knew that she had to write to them. It was something she had put off doing. Still, two weeks had flown by quickly, and she felt guilty for not having contacted them.

  Two weeks, she thought. That’s it? It felt like a lifetime. So much had changed. She had changed. And she found that she didn’t too often think about Lancaster County or the Amish way of life. It wasn’t that she discredited it. No, that wasn’t it. It was just so easy to adapt to Alejandro’s way of life, at least most of it. He had made it easy to adapt and to change. One gleam from his eye could make her knees melt. One word of praise made her entire day brighter. Even when he was gone, he would text her, to check on her and to let her know that he was thinking of her. And, always, she responded the only way she knew how: <3.

  It was hot, so she decided to go into the pool. She knew she’d be fine in the shallow end. It was no different from the pond she went swimming in as a child. Glancing around, she made certain that no one was watching before she pushed off from the edge of the pool and slipped into the water. It felt cool against her hot skin, and she ducked down to get her hair wet. Her bun felt heavy, and she wanted to take the pins out to let her hair down. But she knew better than to do that.

  For the next twenty minutes, she waded around the pool, enjoying the tranquility and the peace in the backyard. Then, knowing that she needed to get out, she climbed up the three steps and reached for her towel. That was when she saw him. Holding the towel in front of her, she dabbed at her face to dry the droplets that fell. But she kept staring at him.

  He was inside the door of his office, one arm stretched above his head as he leaned against the door frame. With his sleeveless T-shirt that clung to his chest, she could see every muscle. He looked relaxed as he watched her and deep in thought. She wondered how long he had been standing there, staring at her as she was in the pool. She wondered if he had seen her in the bathing suit, which hid nothing of her body from his eyes. Realizing that he must have, a deep blush covered her cheeks, and she buried her face in the towel.

  When she looked up, he had retreated back inside, and once again, she was alone.

  Aaron and his cousin were playing in the stream in the back paddock. Their pants were rolled up, and they were barefooted as they stomped through the flowing water. A little farther downstream was a small pond where the water collected. The boys liked to build dams in the stream, watching the water back up until it cascaded down the rocks, making a small waterfall.

  Amanda stood on the lawn and watched them for a few minutes. She could hear them laughing as they splashed each other. Her father walked over and stood beside her, quietly taking in the scene. When she glanced at her father, she was surprised to see a tear in his eye.

  “Daed?” she asked.

  He smiled and wiped at it. “Such a beautiful boy, ja?”

  Without another word, her father turned and walked back to the barn to finish his afternoon chores.

  It was seven o’clock when she walked down the stairs, careful to hold on to the railing so that she didn’t fall in those high-heeled shoes that Lucinda had sent to her. He was standing at the front door, talking with Rodriego, but when Rodriego glanced over his shoulder, Alejandro turned to see what he was looking at.

  Both men stood there and stared.

  Amanda paused and pursed her lips, feeling uncomfortable under their steady gaze. She averted her eyes and continued down the stairs, counting as she went so that she didn’t trip along the way. At the bottom of the stairs, she stopped and looked up, once again, at Alejandro.

  “Ay, mi madre,” he whispered and crossed the floor toward her. “Amanda,” he breathed, reaching out to take her hands in his. He held her hands out to her sides and let his eyes travel down her dress. “You are gorgeous!”

  No one had ever said that to her. No one had ever looked at her that way. She felt her heart beat, wondering if it was sinful to feel pleased that he was so appreciative. She had taken almost an hour to get ready, wanting to look especially nice for Alejandro. He had worked all day. She had only seen him those two times: once in the kitchen and then again when he had been watching
her by the pool.

  He laid his arm across her shoulders and gently guided her toward the front door. “The car is ready, sí?” He didn’t wait for Rodriego to answer as he reached for her hand and helped her down the front steps toward the car that was waiting in the driveway.

  She paused. There was no limo or large SUV tonight. Instead, it was a small black car, low to the ground, which looked like only two people could sit in it. “What is that?” she asked.

  “You like?” He seemed pleased with her reaction as he walked her to the passenger door. Opening it, he helped her get inside.

  Once he was next to her, she turned to him, her eyes glowing. “It’s so small!”

  “It’s a Porsche!”

  She laughed. “A what?”

  “A Porsche! It’s my fun car!” He laughed with her.

  “I didn’t even know you could drive!” she exclaimed.

  At this comment, he tilted his head back and laughed even louder. “Ay, Dios,” he said, shaking his head as he reached for the key and turned it on. The car started, the engine sounding like a soft hum. “You are too much, Princesa.”

  He moved the stick shift into first gear, and the car lunged forward as he took his foot off the clutch and sped out of the driveway. Amanda squealed and put her hands out, pushing against the dashboard, which only made him laugh again, only louder this time. He shifted the car into second gear, speeding down the road even faster.

  Once he approached the main road, he slowed down and glanced over at Amanda. “You like, no?”

  “No!” she said, but her eyes said otherwise. She was excited by the speed and his daring maneuvers on the road. “You are a crazy driver!”

  “You are the one seated next to me,” he teased. “I think you might be the crazy one!”

  “Mayhaps!” But she laughed at him, enjoying his attention and his games.

  The restaurant was on Ocean Drive in the heart of Miami. Amanda was amazed at the brightly lit buildings and the long streets lined with palm trees. She stared out the window as he drove through the streets until he pulled up in front of a dimly lit building with a waterfall by the front entrance.

  A man opened the door for Amanda, and she carefully stepped out of the car. Alejandro walked around the back of the Porsche and gently took her elbow, ignoring the people who stopped and stared at the iconic couple. Several people took photos, which caused Alejandro to stop and smile, even shaking their hands and chatting with them.

  Amanda stood by his side, amazed at how he simply moved through people, so comfortable and casual, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to talk to strangers. She admired that characteristic of him and longed to be able to do the same. But she knew that she was too shy to ever be able to converse with strangers in such a manner.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She was waiting at the studio, sitting on a stool, while the crew was buzzing around Alejandro. They were filming pieces of a video for one of his songs, other footage having been taken from his recent concerts in California.

  The activity was mesmerizing, and she watched everything as if it wasn’t real. Women in skimpy dresses were clinging to Alejandro, music blasting in the background while Alejandro put his arms around them, laughing and nuzzling at their necks. Amanda knew it was for show, but it stung, nonetheless. At one point, he pulled a leggy brunette into a hug and trailed his finger over her lips before leaning down to kiss her.

  Amanda looked away.

  “Cut!”

  Alejandro looked up and, with a smile, released the woman, saying something in Spanish to her that made the girl laugh.

  The director of the video approached Alejandro, and for a moment, they discussed something privately. She watched, noticing that Alejandro took off his dark sunglasses and hung them from the front of his shirt, nodding as he started to follow the director. They disappeared behind a glass door, and she could see them staring at something on a screen. Alejandro pointed at the monitor, and the director nodded.

  The day had started out like the past few days, with Alejandro getting up early and disappearing into his private recording studio next to his office on the first floor. In the afternoon, he had taken her shopping in Miami or for walks on the beach, always with someone trailing them to make certain that crowds wouldn’t bother them. At night, he would take her to a nice restaurant, showing her off to the people of Miami. It had amazed her each morning to find out that the newspaper had photos of them with blurbs about where they had dined the night before. When they had returned to the condo, Alejandro would excuse himself and retreat, once again, to his recording studio.

  He worked hard, and she recognized that he had a passion for his music. Sometimes she could hear music coming from the studio, but that was usually when someone had opened the door to bring Alejandro a drink or someone stopped by to visit him.

  He spent countless hours on the phone, e-mailing, texting, and calling people. Most of the time, he spoke in Spanish, and Amanda would return her attention to whatever she was doing . . . crocheting or reading.

  On one of their outings, he had insisted on buying her a small handheld device that he called an e-reader. He told her that she could read books on it, countless numbers of books. She had never been much of a reader, not from lack of desire, but because she never had much reason to read. Within days, however, Alejandro had introduced her to a new world. She devoured as many books as she could, disappearing into the worlds of Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.

  She carried the device everywhere with her.

  “We need to reshoot that scene,” someone called out.

  Amanda snapped out of her thoughts and looked up. She wasn’t certain what that meant, but she didn’t think it sounded good. When she saw the women going back onto the set and taking their places, Amanda sighed. She didn’t fancy looking at Alejandro when he kissed that woman again.

  “This time, darling,” the director said to the woman, “he’s going to slide your strap down and kiss your shoulder. We need that intimacy.” The director didn’t wait for her response before he turned around and yelled, “Places, everyone!”

  The music played, and everyone repeated the dancing and laughing as they had before. Alejandro was singing, his body moving in a way that Amanda couldn’t imagine. He was like poetry, dancing and flowing with the music, his arms pumping in rhythm to the beat. He was beautiful to watch, and she found herself mesmerized, despite knowing what was going to come.

  When he reached for the woman and took her in his arms, she felt her stomach churn, but she couldn’t look away. Once again, he ran his finger over her lip before lowering his mouth onto hers, and then true to the director’s word, his hand moved to her shoulder, and in one fluid movement, he gently slid her strap off and moved his lips along her skin, the hint of a smile on his face. The woman leaned her head back, her eyes shut as if enjoying his touch.

  A tear fell from Amanda’s eyes.

  “Cut! Perfect, people!”

  And it was over.

  A neighbor boy had picked up Amanda and Anna to take them to the singing. He was a distant cousin, and since the sisters did not have an older brother to take them to the singing, he had volunteered. Amanda had sat in the back of the buggy, eager to arrive but scared nonetheless.

  Singings were a time for youths to socialize. At sixteen, Amanda was allowed to enjoy a more relaxed time in her life. Rumschpringe. The time when youths who were raised Amish could experience more of the world, free from the restrictions of the Ordnung and church. Simply put, rules didn’t apply to the youths during this period of time that ended when they took their kneeling vow and became baptized members of the Amish church, a lifelong commitment that could only end in one of two ways: death or shunning.

  The singing was being held in a large room over a barn at a farm two miles from their own. Earlier that day, the g’may had held church at t
he same location. Every two weeks, the church was held by a different family in the church district, giving each family in the g’may the opportunity to host a church gathering at least once a year.

  After the singing, each young man would often ask a young woman if he could take her home. This was the time for young people to socialize in private with someone who attracted their attention. By courting this way, they could get to know each other without the risk of inappropriate behavior so often found among the Englische.

  Amanda knew that a young man probably wouldn’t ask her home. She was, after all, only sixteen and far from a marriageable age. But she had hopes that, mayhaps, Joshua Esh might ask.

  She had known Joshua Esh since she was a young girl. His family owned a large farm on the other side of their g’may. He was older than her, true, but they had always gotten along when they had the opportunity to socialize after church or at gatherings. He was tall with curly brown hair and big blue eyes. As a younger son, he would eventually inherit the Esh farm, which was well established and, from what Amanda could see, very well maintained. The Esh family had a good reputation among the church members. More important, whenever she saw Joshua Esh, she felt a flutter in her stomach.

  It was at the end of the singing when her eyes began to rove around the room, seeking out Joshua Esh. He was standing with his friends, his supper gang, the boys he hung around with when his work was done. At one point, she thought she saw him look at her and smile, but she couldn’t be certain.

  “Amanda,” Anna hissed. “Stop that.”

  She looked at her older sister. “Stop what?”

  Her sister narrowed her eyes at her and lowered her voice. “I know what you are doing,” she whispered. “If he’s going to ask you, it’s up to him. Don’t make cow eyes at him.”

  Flushing, Amanda looked away. “I’m not making cow eyes,” she said defensively, but she suspected her sister was correct.