by Beth Wiseman
For a few long moments, Theo just stared at him. Finally he spoke. “I know all that. I didn’t say we were born that way. But if people drill it into our heads enough over the years, I guess it just becomes true.” Theodore tossed the bloody handkerchief on the floor near his bed. “I hope my father rots in hell.”
Jonas was quiet for a few moments. It wasn’t his place to minister to this man, so he went back to his original question. “What did you do to get in here? Were you in a fight?”
Theodore chuckled, then flinched and reached for the bloody rag nearby on the floor, placing it to his eyebrow again. “I guess you could say that. My pop was beating the snot out of me, and it’s taken me seventeen years to fight back, but today I finally did.” He shrugged. “And here I am.”
Jonas ran his hand the length of what was becoming a beard. “That doesn’t seem fair, that you’re in jail for defending yourself against an abusive father.”
“Bingo, Jonas Miller! You’re the grand-prize winner today!” Theodore clapped his hands hard and loud. “You just hit the nail on the head. Life isn’t fair! But when your father is Theodore Von Minden the second, the wealthiest and most powerful man in the state of Pennsylvania . . . well, let’s just say you don’t punch him in the face, no matter the circumstances. It can get you an assault-and-battery charge.”
Wonderful memories flooded Jonas’s mind, recollections of his father. He never would have struck Jonas in anger, and Jonas credited his father—and God—for helping to mold him into the man he was, or at least the man he hoped to be when he stopped doing dumb stuff. “I’m sorry for your troubles,” he finally said.
“It’s the hand I’ve been dealt.” Theodore pulled back the rag, looked at it, then put it back against his head. “And this time, it was the hand with his college ring that met with my head.”
Jonas was quiet.
“Your pop ever hit you?” Theodore locked eyes with Jonas.
“Nee. I mean no. Not like that. We got spankings, but . . .”
“Yeah, yeah. I know all about the perfect life of an Amish person.”
Jonas thought for a moment. “I’m not so perfect since I’m in here.”
Theodore laughed. “True. I guess even the Amish love a good race and having a few beers.”
Jonas had never had a sip of alcohol in his life, but he let it go.
“So, how long you in for?” Theodore kicked off his loafers and tucked his legs underneath him on the small cot.
“Two weeks. I’ve already been here a week. What about you?”
He stretched his legs out and rested his socked feet on his shoes, grinning. “I’m here as long as my father thinks I need to be here. He’ll convince the district attorney to drop the charges when he’s good and ready. But I’ll tell you this . . . the moment I’m out of here, I’m getting my hands on whatever money I can, and I’m leaving this godforsaken place. I hope my disappearance at least embarrasses him. He won’t care if I’m gone, but he’ll want to keep up appearances.”
“Where will you go?” Jonas could understand Theodore wanting to run away from his father, but he suspected the guy was running from more than just that. “What about your mother?”
“I have no idea where I’ll go. My mother’s dead. Anything good left in me, I got from her.”
“My father died three years ago. But my Father in heaven is always with me.”
“See, that’s the thing about you religious types. At the end of the day, it’s always about God. He’s responsible for everything.” He pointed to his head. “Which means He is responsible for my father hitting me hard enough for me to see stars.”
“Theodore, that’s not how it works. Our Lord wants us to be healthy and happy, and He gives us free will to—”
“Stop.” Theodore held up a palm again. “First of all, only my father calls me Theodore. My friends call me Theo. That’s what my mother called me, too, and even though I highly doubt you and I will be friends, for the sake of our time stuck in here together, I’d appreciate you just calling me Theo.” He paused, took a deep breath, and blew it out slowly. “And as for your rubbish about God and free will, do you really think that it was by choice that I was born into the life that was forced on me? No, sir. Not my choice. And if your God wanted me to be happy and healthy, He should have stepped up to the plate long before now.”
Jonas sat quietly. Not my job to minister to this man.
Theo made a noise similar to a growl. “I’d do just about anything for a smoke.”
“Me too.”
Theo laughed. “Oh, stop the presses. Since when did the Amish start smoking?”
Jonas grinned. “I don’t smoke. I just like to puff on a cigar every once in a while. I don’t inhale. I like the way it smells and tastes though.”
“Well, my good man, I must inform you. That is still a form of smoking.”
They both turned their attention to the bars of the cell when they heard someone approaching.
“Well, I’m glad to see you two haven’t killed each other,” Peter said as he pulled keys from his pocket. “Jonas, your girlfriend is here again today.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Jonas smiled. “Yet.”
“Well, if she keeps bringing food every day, I’ll be rooting for her to win the role. She always offers us some. Which, by the way, sorry we finished off your whoopie pies, but you left them in the interrogation room. Today she brought a shoofly pie. Not very original, but I’ve always been a fan of that Amish staple.” He motioned with his hand for Jonas to step out of the cell, then he locked it behind him and led Jonas in the same direction as the day before. As much as Jonas wanted to see Irma Rose, he hated that it was under these circumstances, and he felt his stomach churn, hoping she wasn’t bringing him bad news about his mother. Maybe Mamm was home from the hospital by now.
As he walked quietly alongside Peter, he fought the shame that was threatening to engulf him, promising God that he was going to work harder at being a better man.
Chapter Seven
IRMA ROSE SLICED THE PIE WITH THE POCKETKNIFE THE nice guard named Peter had given her. They are very trusting in the jailhouse, she thought as she handed the guard a slice, the same man as yesterday. In her mind, if she were extra sweet to the people who worked here, they would be nicer to Jonas. She owed that to Jonas’s mother. Sarah Jane was still in the hospital, and she would want someone tending to her son. But when Jonas walked into the room, she admitted to herself that coming here wasn’t just about doing the right thing for Sarah Jane Miller.
“I don’t know if you should be coming here, Irma Rose,” Jonas said after Peter left with his slice of pie. “Is my mother all right?”
“Ya. Elizabeth went to see her this morning, and I stayed with Missy and did a few things around the house while Mae and Annie went to Bible school.”
Jonas put his hands flat on the table and hung his head. “I should have found a way to pay the fine. I thought Mamm would be home way before now.” He looked up at Irma Rose. “I don’t like you coming here,” he repeated. “I love you for doing all this, but this is not a gut place for you.”
Love? It should have rattled her, but instead, she was pretty sure she heard angels singing somewhere in the heavens. Whatever this infatuation was for Jonas, she needed to move past it. She’d thought that if she forced herself to be around him, maybe the clammy hands and pounding heart would go away. Now she was hearing choirs of angels.
“These are all things you should have thought about.” She smirked as she handed him a plate with pie on it. He set it back down on the table.
“I told you, I will make it up to you somehow.”
“I won’t be by tomorrow unless there is news about your mother. Even though it’s Sunday, I’ll visit Elizabeth tomorrow morning to make sure everything is okay. There’s no church service so I’ll offer to stay with Missy so Elizabeth can take Mae and Annie to visit your mother. But I have a lunch date after that.”
“Date?” He folded his arms across his chest.
“Ya. With Jake. It’s our second date. We went to the singing, remember? The one you were supposed to take Mary to.” No need to tell Jonas how the first date with Jake had gone.
“How was the date?” He looked her in the eye. “Please tell me Jake didn’t kiss you.”
You had to ask, didn’t you? “That’s none of your business.”
“Ugh.” Jonas lowered his head and gently hit his palm on the table. “That means he did.”
Irma Rose avoided his eyes as she re-covered the shoofly pie with plastic wrap. “This is mostly for the guards. So they’ll be nice to you.”
“You’re bribing the jailers, kissing Jake Ebersol, and . . . what else are you up to, Irma Rose?” The hint of a smile played across his face, but the mischievous sparkle in his eyes made Irma Rose go weak in the knees for a moment, and all she could focus on was Jonas’s mouth as she wondered if kissing him would be more enjoyable than Jake’s kiss had been.
“I’m going to lunch with Jake,” she said in a snappy tone, as if to convince herself it was the right thing to do. Just because their first kiss hadn’t been everything she’d expected, maybe the second one would be better. But as she wound around the table, Jonas stepped in front of her and leaned down.
“I almost kissed you once in the buggy.”
“If you try to kiss me in here, they’re going to keep you locked up and throw away the key.” She hurried toward the door and knocked hard until the guard came and let her out. She didn’t look back as she hurried to where her driver was parked, with a quivering lower lip, clammy hands, and a swirling in her stomach that she loved and hated.
Despite his circumstances, Jonas had a bounce in his step as he walked with Peter back to his cell. He wasn’t happy that Irma Rose would be having lunch with Jake, but he’d seen a playful fire in her eyes today, and he knew she wasn’t just coming here to bring sweets and give him updates about things at home. At least he hoped he’d read her expression correctly. He needed that hopefulness to get through the next few days. Especially now that he had such a cranky cell mate. This time, he’d remembered to grab what was left of his pie.
“She seems like a sweet girl,” Peter said as he unlocked the cell and let Jonas back in. Jonas nodded, then tiptoed to his side of the small room and sat on the cot, thankful that Theo was curled up on his cot, facing the wall. Surely the noise from the gate would have prevented Theo from sleeping, but Jonas was just glad that he was quiet. He felt badly for Theo, for the life he’d lived, and he made a mental note to pray for his cell mate.
“How was your conjugal visit?” Theo rolled over and faced Jonas.
“My what?”
“Never mind. How was your visit with your girlfriend?” Theo sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“I already said, she’s not my girlfriend. But I hope she will be one day. I hope she’s my wife someday.”
“Wow. You’ve got everything all planned out.”
Jonas shrugged. “Nee, not everything. But I know I want Irma Rose in my life.” He paused, nodding at the covered pie dish he’d set on the bed beside him. “There’s three slices of shoofly pie left if you want a piece.”
“Not a fan of molasses, but thanks.” Theo scratched his cheek. “Is Irma Rose a common name among your people?”
“Nee. Not really. There are a few women named Irma, and even more named Rose or Rosie, but there’s only one Irma Rose that I know of.” He smiled. My Irma Rose.
“Hmm . . .” Theo continued to stare at Jonas. “I once knew a girl named Irma Rose. It was before we moved to Lancaster. I met her when we lived in Hershey, around three years ago. Maybe a little longer. She was a year or two younger than me, but wise beyond her years.” He paused as he leaned against the cement wall that his cot was pushed against. “I was fourteen at the time, but I’ll never forget her.”
Theo seemed to drift away for a few minutes, just staring into space. Jonas was glad they were having a normal conversation without yelling and cursing.
“The first time I ever saw Irma Rose was when she was sitting under a tree at her house,” Jonas said, recalling his own memories. “She was reading a book, and I was running an errand for my mother, returning a casserole dish. I knew Irma Rose was too young for me at the time, but I waited three years for her. I never dated anyone else. I watched her grow from a pretty girl into a beautiful young woman. And not just on the outside.”
“She must be pretty special to come visit you in a place like this. Especially since she’s Amish. Most Amish girls I’ve known wouldn’t be caught dead here.” Theo chuckled. “Maybe she just comes for the air conditioning since you backward people don’t have that luxury.”
“How is it that you are so familiar with the Amish?”
“I told you. I’ve lived in Pennsylvania my whole life. You people are everywhere.” Theo grinned. “Before my father reached the level of success he has now, he and my mother ran several small inns in Hershey. We had a few Amish gals who came and cleaned the rooms. After my mother died, Pop sold his businesses and we moved to the city of Lancaster. He built hotels, ultimately making him worth more than most people could spend in a lifetime.” He paused, slapping his hands to his knees. “But I’m here to tell you, money isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on if it can’t buy you happiness, and I assure you . . . happiness costs more than I’ve got. But it’ll be enough to get me out of Lancaster County.”
Jonas scratched his scruffy chin again as his pulse picked up. “This might sound far-fetched, but . . .” Jonas waited for Theo to look at him before he went on. “Irma Rose lived in Hershey before she moved to Paradise, which is where I live. She was twelve or thirteen when they came to Lancaster County.”
Theo sat taller as his jaw dropped. “Your Irma Rose is my Irma Rose?”
Your Irma Rose? Jonas frowned. “I don’t know about that. Maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
“Wow.” Theo spoke so softly that Jonas barely heard him. “Wouldn’t that be something. I didn’t think I’d ever see that girl again, but even at fourteen, I knew I’d never forget her.” He smiled, and Jonas thought Theo’s eyes looked a little misty. “I never knew her last name.”
Jonas shook his head. “I doubt it’s the same girl, but Irma Rose’s last name is Kauffman.”
“Only one way to find out.”
Jonas raised an eyebrow and waited.
“Ask her if she remembers Theo from Hershey. If she does . . . that’s her.”
Jonas was having a hard time picturing Irma Rose with the likes of Theo, even as friends, but he nodded. “I will.”
The next day, Irma Rose stayed with Missy while Elizabeth took Annie and Mae with her to the hospital. A couple of hours later, Irma Rose was sweeping the living room floor when she heard a car coming up the driveway. She stowed the broom and looked out the window, glad Elizabeth was returning in plenty of time for Irma Rose to meet Jake for lunch. But she was surprised when Sarah Jane stepped out of the backseat of the car at the same time all three girls did.
“Your mamm is home!” Irma Rose scooped up Missy from the couch. “Let’s go greet her.”
Irma Rose pushed the screen door open with her foot, and once on the porch, she set Missy down. The little girl took off barefoot toward her mother, only to be stopped by Elizabeth.
“Easy does it, Missy
,” Elizabeth said as she kept her hand in between Missy and their mother. “Mamm is sore.”
Irma Rose listened and watched from the porch, waving to all of them. Elizabeth paid the driver as Sarah Jane spoke softly to Missy while rubbing her head.
“What a wonderful surprise,” Irma Rose said as Elizabeth and Annie helped Sarah Jane up the porch steps while Mae lagged behind carrying a small red suitcase. Missy clung to her mother’s dress. “How are you feeling?”
“Wie bischt, Irma Rose?” Sarah Jane took each step slowly. “I’m doing gut.”
Irma Rose held the screen door as they all crossed over the threshold. Elizabeth hung behind, whispering to Irma Rose before she went inside. “I told her Jonas was away on business, but she wanted to know where he was, and eventually I had to tell her where he was. But I whispered it so Annie and Mae wouldn’t hear.”
Elizabeth walked inside and Irma Rose followed her. Sarah Jane sat down on the couch, Missy beside her. “Annie and Mae, take Missy upstairs with you. I need to talk to Elizabeth and Irma Rose alone. In a little while, I want to hear all about your Bible learning and anything I’ve missed while I was away, ya?”
Sarah Jane waited until the girls were upstairs before she spoke. “Irma Rose, Elizabeth tells me how much you have helped her and the girls the past couple of days, and I’m so appreciative.” She paused, frowning. “She also told me that Jonas is in jail.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a wad of money. “I can’t stand to think of him in such a place, and I stopped at the bank on the way home.” She looked up at Irma Rose. “I’m so sorry to ask this, but can you go get my sohn out of jail? I’m just not up to the task, and I’d rather as few people as possible know his circumstances. It’s an awful thing to ask you to do, but Elizabeth said you’ve been to see him a couple of times.” She raised her shoulders and dropped them slowly. “I can ask someone else if you’d like.”