One morning after breakfast, as Laura was in her room getting ready for a date with Eli, she glanced at herself in the hand mirror she’d found in the drawer and dug underneath her underwear for the satchel of makeup she had stashed away. She knew Amish women didn’t wear makeup, but she wasn’t ready to part with those things, so she hadn’t mailed them home with all her clothes.
Today was Saturday, and Eli would be coming soon to take her for a buggy ride. They planned to go into Paradise and do some shopping, then stop for a picnic on the way home.
Laura stared longingly at the tube of lipstick she held in her hand. What would it hurt to apply a little color to my pale lips so Eli will find me attractive? I wouldn’t want him to lose interest in me and go back to Pauline.
Laura blended the coral lipstick with the tips of her fingers, then reached inside the makeup case for some blush. A little dab blended on each cheek made her look less pale. She added a coat of mascara to her eyelashes and filled in her brows with a soft cinnamon pencil.
“There now,” she whispered to her reflection. “I almost look like my old self—not nearly so plain.” She glanced down at her plain green dress and scowled. “What I wouldn’t give to put on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt.” She slipped her head covering on and sighed. “Guess I’d better get used to this if I’m ever going to fit in here.”
Downstairs in the kitchen, Laura found Eli’s sister and his mother sitting at the table, drinking a cup of tea and eating shoofly pie. Just the smell of the molasses-filled pastry made Laura’s stomach churn. She didn’t think she would ever acquire a taste for this particular dessert.
“ Guder mariye,” Martha Rose said cheerfully when Laura joined them.
“Good morning,” she responded with a slight nod. Learning Pennsylvania Dutch was another challenge for Laura, along with studying the Bible and learning the church rules, which the Amish called the Ordnung. She glanced over at Eli’s mother. “I didn’t realize you were here, Mary Ellen.”
“Came to help Martha Rose do some baking.” Mary Ellen studied Laura intently, making her feel like a bug under a microscope. “What’s that you’ve got on your face?”
Laura shrugged and reached for an apple from the ceramic bowl sitting in the center of the table. “Just a little color to make me look less pale,” she mumbled as she bit into the succulent fruit.
“Makeup’s not allowed. Surely you must know that.”
Laura blinked a couple of times as she stared at Mary Ellen. “What harm is there in trying to make myself a bit more attractive?”
“‘Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised,’” Mary Ellen quoted.
Laura squinted her eyes. “Where’d you hear that?”
“It’s in the book of Proverbs,” Martha Rose answered, before her mother had a chance to respond.
Mary Ellen looked right at Laura. “Face powder may catch some men, but it takes baking powder to hold them.”
Martha Rose giggled, and her mother chuckled behind her hand, but Laura sat stony-faced. She didn’t see what was so funny. Besides, she had the distinct impression these two Plain women were laughing at her, not at the joke Eli’s mother had just shared .
Laura felt foolish for doing something she knew was wrong, but it irritated her that Mary Ellen had made a joke at her expense. She was sure the woman didn’t like her. With a sigh of frustration, she pushed her chair away from the table and stood. “Sorry about the mistake. I’ll go wash the makeup off my face now.”
***
Eli whistled as he hitched his horse to the open buggy. He was looking forward to his date with Laura, but he still couldn’t believe she had actually agreed to become Plain. She was beautiful, talented, and smart. He was sure she could have any man she wanted, yet it was him and his way of life she had chosen. It almost seemed too good to be true.
“I’ll make her happy,” he said aloud. The horse whinnied and nuzzled the back of Eli’s arm.
“At least you aren’t givin’ me a hard time. If Mom and Pop had their way, I’d be married to Pauline by now, not courting Laura.”
Eli knew his parents had his best interests at heart, but they didn’t understand how much he loved Laura. Even though his folks had agreed to try and make her feel welcome, he was sure it was only to please him. Deep in his heart, Eli felt they were just waiting for Laura to give up and leave so they could say, “I told you so.”
He was glad Martha Rose seemed to be on his side and had agreed to let Laura stay there. It was a comfort to know his sister was willing to mentor his fancy English woman who wanted to become Plain. Mom and Pop were another matter. They were no more thrilled about the idea of Laura joining the Amish faith than they had been about Eli seeing her when she was still English. It was hard to understand how Mom, who normally was so pleasant and easygoing, had seemed almost rude to Laura when she’d first visited their home. Even now, as Laura prepared to become Amish, there was a coolness in the way his mother spoke to Laura. He hoped things would change once Laura took her training and was baptized into the faith.
Eli climbed into the driver’s seat and gathered up the reins. He knew Mom had gone over to Martha Rose’s this morning so she would see Laura before he did.
He clucked to the horse, and it moved forward. “Let’s hope things went well between Laura and Mom, for if they didn’t, I’m likely to have a cross woman on my hands for the rest of the day.”
***
When Laura greeted Eli at the back door, he thought she looked like she’d lost her best friend. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you happy to see me this morning? Do you still want to go to Paradise and then on a picnic?”
“Of course I want to go.”
“Would you like to come in and have a piece of shoofly pie?” Mom asked.
Eli glanced at his mother, who sat at the kitchen table with Martha Rose. “Jah, sure.”
“I think we should be on our way,” Laura said, stepping between Eli and the table.
He frowned. “What’s your hurry?”
“I’ve got quite a bit of shopping to do, and we don’t want to get to the lake too late.” She rushed past him, pulled a dark blue sweater from the wall peg by the back door, and grabbed the wicker picnic basket sitting on the cupboard.
Eli looked at Laura standing by the door, tapping her foot. He glanced back at the table, and his mouth watered just thinking about how good a hunk of that pie would taste.
As though sensing his dilemma, Martha Rose said, “Why don’t you take a few pieces along? You and Laura can have it with the picnic lunch she made.”
Eli shrugged. “I guess I can wait that long to sample some of your good cooking, sister.”
He reached for the pie, but Martha Rose was too quick for him. She had already begun slicing it by the time he got to the table. “If you really want to help, get some waxed paper from the pantry,” she instructed.
He did as he was told, not caring in the least that his big sister was bossing him around. He’d grown used to it over the years. Besides, she really didn’t mean to sound so pushy. Martha Rose had always been a take-charge kind of person. She was pleasant and kind, so he could tolerate a little ordering about now and then.
“You two have a good day,” Martha Rose said as Eli and Laura started out the back door.
“Jah, and be sure to be home in time for chores and supper,” Mom called.
“I will,” Eli said, closing the door behind them.
Laura stopped at the bottom of the stairs, and Eli nearly ran into her. “What’d you stop for? I could have knocked you to the ground.”
She scowled at him. “You’re henpecked. Do you know that?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “You don’t know what you’re saying, Laura.”
Her nose twitched as she blinked rapidly. “Those two women have you eating out of the palms of their hands.”
Eli started walking toward his open buggy. “They do not. I just happen to like pleas
ing them, that’s all. I love Mom and Martha Rose, and they’re both mighty good to me.”
“Well, they’re not so good to me.”
Eli whirled around to face Laura. She looked madder than one of his father’s mules when a big old horsefly had taken a bite out of its ear. “How can you say they’re not good to you? Martha Rose took you in, didn’t she?”
Laura opened her mouth, but before she could respond, Eli rushed on. “She gave you some of her dresses to wear, took you shopping for shoes and the like, and both she and Mom have taken time out of their busy days to teach you about housekeeping, cooking, Bible reading, and so many other things you’ll need to know before joining the church.”
Laura’s lip protruded as she handed Eli the picnic basket. “I should have known you wouldn’t understand. You’re one of them.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eli asked, as he climbed into his rig and took up the reins.
Laura stood on the other side of the buggy with her arms folded. “It means you’re Amish and I’m not. I’m still considered an outsider, and I don’t think anyone in your family will ever accept me as anything else.”
“Of course they will.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Are you getting in or not?”
“Aren’t you going to help me?”
He groaned. “I might have, if you hadn’t been naggin’ at me. Besides, if you’re going to be Amish, then you’ll need to learn how to get in and out of our buggies without any help when you’re going someplace on your own.”
***
Laura was so angry she was visibly shaking. If she hadn’t been sure she would be expected to help with the baking, she would have turned around and marched right back to the house. It would serve Eli right if she broke this date!
“Time’s a-wasting,” Eli announced.
She sighed deeply, lifted her skirt, and practically fell into the buggy.
Eli chuckled, then snapped the reins. The horse jerked forward, and Laura was thrown against her seat. “Be careful! Are you trying to throw my back out?”
Eli’s only response was another deep guffaw, which only angered her further.
Laura smoothed her skirt, reached up to be sure her head covering was still in place, then folded her arms across her chest. “I’m glad you think everything’s so funny. You can’t imagine what I’ve been through these past few weeks.”
“Has something bad happened?” Eli looked over at her with obvious concern.
She moaned. “I’ll say.”
“What was it? Did you get hurt? How come I didn’t hear about it?”
She shook her head. “No, no, I wasn’t hurt. At least not in the physical sense.”
“What then?”
“I’ve nearly been worked to death every day since I moved to your sister’s house. It seems as though I just get to sleep and it’s time to get up again.” She frowned. “And that noisy rooster crowing at the top of his lungs every morning sure doesn’t help things, either.”
“Pop says the rooster is nature’s alarm clock,” Eli said with a grin.
How can he sit there looking so smug? Laura fumed. Doesn’t he care how hard I work? Doesn’t he realize I’m doing all this for him?
“In time, you’ll get used to the long days. I bet someday you’ll find pleasure in that old rooster’s crow.”
“I doubt that.” She held up her hands. “Do you realize that every single one of my nails is broken? Not to mention embedded with dirt I’ll probably never be able to scrub clean. Why, the other morning, Martha Rose had me out in the garden, pulling weeds and spading with an old hoe. I thought my back was going to break in two.”
“You will get used to it, Laura.”
She scrunched up her nose. “Maybe. If I live to tell about it.”
CHAPTER 16
Laura’s days at the Zook farm flew by despite her frustrations. As spring turned quickly into summer, each day became longer, hotter, and filled with more work. Instead of “becoming used to it,” Laura found herself disliking each new day. How did these people exist without air-conditioning, ceiling fans, and swimming pools? How did the women deal with wearing long dresses all summer instead of shorts?
Laura and Martha Rose had gone wading in the creek near their house a few times, while Amon taught little Ben how to swim. The chilly water helped Laura cool down some, but she missed her parents’ swimming pool and air-conditioned home.
Another area of Amish life Laura hadn’t become used to was the three-hour church service held every other Sunday in a different member’s home. She had gone to church only a few times in her adult life—mostly on Easter and Christmas—but she’d never had to sit on backless, wooden benches or been segregated from the men. The Amish culture still seemed strange to her and very confusing. She couldn’t visit with Eli until the service was over, lunch had been served, and everything had been cleaned up. If Laura had ever thought life as an Amish woman was going to be easy, she’d been sorely mistaken. She couldn’t even keep her cell phone charged because Amon’s farm had no electricity. On days like today when she was hot and tired, she wondered if she had made a mistake by asking to join the Amish church.
“It’s not too late to back out,” she muttered as she set a basket of freshly laundered clothes on the grass underneath the clothesline that extended from the porch into the yard. “I can go back to the school in Lancaster or home to Mom and Dad in Minneapolis. At least they don’t expect me to work so hard.”
A pathetic mooo drew Laura’s attention to the fence separating the Zooks’ yard from the pasture. Three black-and-white cows stood on the other side, swishing their tails and looking at her.
“Just what I need—a cheering section. Go away, cows! Get back to the field, grab a hunk of grass, start chewing your cuds, then go take a nice, long nap.” She bent down, grabbed one of Amon’s shirts, gave it a good shake, then clipped it to the clothesline. “At least you bovine critters are allowed the privilege of a nap now and then. That’s more than I can say for any of the humans who live on this farm.”
“Kuh,” a small voice said.
Laura looked down. There stood little Ben, gazing up at her with all the seriousness of a three-year-old. He’d said something in Pennsylvania Dutch, but she wasn’t sure what he was talking about. She’d been studying the Amish dialect for a few months, but she still encountered many unfamiliar words.
“Kuh,” the child repeated. This time he pointed toward the cows, still gawking at Laura like she was free entertainment.
“Ah, the cows. You’re talking about the cows, aren’t you?” She dropped to her knees beside the little boy and gave him a hug.
Ben looked up at her and grinned. He really was a cute little thing, with his blond, Dutch-bobbed hair, big blue eyes, and two deep dimples framing his smile. He studied the basket of clothes a few seconds as his smile turned to a frown.
“Loch,” he said, grabbing one of Amon’s shirts.
Laura smiled when she realized the child was telling her about his father’s shirt with a hole. She patted the top of Ben’s head. “No doubt that shirt will end up in my pile of mending.”
Ben made no comment, but then, she knew he didn’t understand what she’d said. He would be taught English when he started school. With an impish grin, the boy climbed into the basket of wet clothes.
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