The Miting: An Old Order Amish Novel, page 19
In the stillness that followed, Leah heard the clock ticking and the jam roiling, but it was her turn to stand frozen to the spot. She couldn’t believe how far her family was prepared to go to let her know of their disapproval. Slowly she gathered her wits and the sack of belongings and turned to leave.
Just before Leah shut the front door, she whispered a prayer into the room. “Lord, keep my family safe, and work in their hearts to want to know You. Help them forgive me and help them to know how much I still love them.”
Hannah didn’t press her when Leah returned to the car minutes later. Leah kept her eyes on the floor of the car as they pulled away from the home place. She couldn’t say good-bye a second time.
More days passed, and Leah tried hard to fit in and keep busy. She attended church with the Schrocks, but in spite of the newfound freedom she was enjoying, she grew increasingly depressed. She struggled to sleep, lying awake in the early hours thinking of home and family.
Though she was growing in her knowledge of God and His grace, Leah still felt overwhelmed with adult responsibility and being completely alone. She teetered between feeling gratitude to the Schrocks and her roommate, Hannah, and all they were doing for her, and feeling that she had no one. Panic rose every time she stopped to think about navigating her future without the structure she had always known.
At night she thought of the letters that she’d heard in the Amish church services, read as warnings to those who were tempted to leave the Amish faith. She wondered if the contents in those letters lingered in other former Amish minds the way they lingered in hers. Was she being punished? Should she go back?
Eventually, the endless questions and homesickness began to take their toll. She lost weight and even more sleep. She read the little blue Bible every day, but still, the peace she started with began to fade slowly away. What should she do?
Leah was washing dishes one Sunday afternoon in mid-December when she heard the doorbell ring upstairs. Naomi and Matthew were in New York for a presentation of the MAP ministry at a church there, so she dried her hands and climbed the steps to answer the door.
A young girl, younger even than Leah, stood on the porch, a ragged suitcase in one hand, and a plastic grocery bag in the other. She wore an old winter coat that hung unevenly to the top of her ankles. “Can I help you?”
“Is this the Schrock house?”
Leah took in the faded jeans and scrubbed face and knew this was a runaway Amish girl.
“Yes, it’s the Schrocks’ home,” she answered softly in Pennsylvania Dutch. The girl’s eyes widened.
“You speak PA-Dutch?”
“Ja, I’m from the Old Order Amish around here. Where are you from?”
The girl shifted her belongings uncomfortably and shrugged. “I’m from down around Mt. Vernon.”
Leah held the door open for the girl and invited her in.
“My cousin gave me this address. She said this is a safe place to go … is that true?” The girl’s chin trembled slightly.
“First, my name’s Leah.” She motioned for the girl to have a seat in the living room.
“I’m Rebekah.”
“Rebekah? Good to know you. Second, this is a safe place, but the Schrocks aren’t here this weekend. They’ve gone to a ministry meeting in New York. Is this something you’ve discussed with them?”
Rebekah tossed her head and laughed nervously. “I left without discussing it with anyone. So, no, they don’t know me at all.”
“Oh. I don’t exactly know what to tell you. I have a phone number for them if you’d like me to call.”
Rebekah thought for a second. “Okay. I need a place to stay until I can get a job. I can’t go back home.” She stared at her feet, shifting the dirty toes of her shoes under the couch.
“I’ll be right back, then. Do you want something to drink?”
Rebekah shook her head.
Leah called Naomi, and explained the situation.
“I’d better let you speak to Matthew,” Naomi said, and Leah heard her talking to Matthew before his friendly voice came on the phone. She explained a second time, and then Matthew asked her to find out how old the girl was.
“Rebekah, Matthew wants to know how old you are.”
She looked away and kept her head turned as she mumbled, “Fifteen.”
“She’s fifteen, Matthew.”
“Ah. That’s a problem. Could I speak with her, please?”
Leah handed the phone to Rebekah and left the room while Rebekah talked to Matthew. She straightened the kitchen and waited for the phone call to end. Soon, Rebekah handed the phone back to Leah. “He wants to talk with you.”
“Hello?”
“Leah, I told Rebekah she could stay just for a few days, but I’m worried that with both of you underage, this could be a problem for MAP. We try to not interfere with parental rights, but she says she’ll sleep on the streets if we turn her away, and she refuses to let me send her home. I agreed to let her stay for a few days. If it’s okay with you and Hannah, Rebekah can sleep on the couch in your living room. I hate to ask you to take her in while we’re gone, but it’s too cold to let her leave. We should be home in a few hours. Can you help her settle in?”
“Yes. I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you, Leah. I appreciate that. We’re leaving now and should be home by eight or nine.”
“Okay. Drive safely.”
“Thanks, Leah.”
Leah led Rebekah down to the apartment and settled her in while she made some hot cocoa in the microwave. As she placed the cup of steaming chocolate in front of her on the table, Leah asked, “Are you hungry? I have leftovers from lunch.”
She nodded and sipped her cocoa. “If it’s no trouble. I didn’t have breakfast before I left home.”
“How far away from home are you?” Leah asked as she took chicken and noodles from the refrigerator. Leah put a large helping of the casserole on a plate, added green beans, and popped the plate in the microwave. Rebekah seemed to be watching her every move, her eyes showing her hunger.
“I think about fifty miles or so. I’m not sure. But I hitched a ride with my Englisher neighbors. They were coming to Richland, and I rode with them that far; then I walked until I got a couple of rides here and there. It’s been a long day.” She sighed.
Leah took out a couple slices of bread and smeared one with thick, sweet Amish peanut butter spread. “Would you like some?”
Rebekah nodded. “Mmmm.” She ate quickly.
The microwave dinged and Leah got the plate out and placed it in front of Rebekah, with a glass of cold water, then sat down across from her. Leah sat quietly as the girl ate.
Finally, Rebekah put down her fork and looked across at Leah. “So, why did you leave home?”
Leah thought about the question. “I accepted Christ—became a born-again believer.” Leah glanced at her. “My church and bishop were going to shun me, even though they couldn’t do it officially since I hadn’t yet joined the church. They wanted me to repent of my new belief. I didn’t want them to do that, and I couldn’t give up my new faith.” She shrugged. “So I left … How about you? Why did you leave?”
Rebekah laughed. “It wasn’t something as good as why you left.” She looked up, the smile still on her lips. “I got tired of being Amish, is all.” She tossed her head. “You know how it is—those rules. Do this—don’t do that—act like this—don’t act like that. I just couldn’t stand it anymore.”
Leah nodded. Many young people left for the same reasons. But they usually went back—some of them, anyway.
The two girls spent the rest of the afternoon chatting, and when Rebekah decided she needed a nap, Leah went to her room and read her Bible so she wouldn’t disturb her.
After Hannah came home, they ordered a pizza and watched a movie. By the time Matthew and Naomi got back from New York, the girls were sleepy. Naomi came down and asked Rebekah to join her upstairs.
Leah took the opportunity to say good night to everyone. Her eyes were heavy, and exhaustion pulled her to bed. Chatting with Rebekah and playing host all day had worn her out. Just before she went to sleep, Hannah tapped at her door and asked if she could talk a minute.
Leah sat up. “Sure.”
Hannah settled on the side of the bed. “I think there might be an opening for a full-time cleaner with this lady I used to work for when I first came out of the Amish. I was wondering if you might be interested in talking to her about the job.”
“Oh, yes. That would be great!”
Hannah handed her a piece of paper. “This has her number on it. Her name is Sally and she’s really nice. She likes to hire the former Amish girls whenever she can.”
“I’ll call her tomorrow. Thanks for telling me about it.”
She stood. “You’re welcome. Get a good night’s sleep.”
“Good night, Hannah.”
Leah’s eyes closed before Hannah even shut the door, and she smiled to herself when she thought of getting a job. It was just what she needed. “Thank You, Lord.”
The next morning, Hannah and Leah were eating breakfast as quietly as they could so they wouldn’t wake Rebekah. She was out like a light on the sofa, and Leah wondered how long she’d stayed upstairs to talk with the Schrocks last night.
They heard the doorbell upstairs ring. Leah and Hannah exchanged glances. “Someone is out early,” Hannah commented.
They went on with breakfast, but soon they heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and shortly after, a knock sounded on their door. Leah got up to answer it. Naomi and a police officer were standing in the doorway.
“Leah, I’m sorry to disturb you two, but the sheriff is here to take Rebekah back to her parents.”
Leah glanced at the sheriff as he shuffled his feet, looking apologetic but resigned to doing his job. He cleared his throat. “Her mother called and asked us to bring her home since she’s underage.”
Leah pointed to the couch. “She’s still sleeping. I’ll wake her.”
Leah moved to the couch and gently shook Rebekah awake. She sat up, her eyes bleary and unfocused. “Rebekah, you need to get up. Your maem called the sheriff to bring you back home.”
Rebekah stared wide-eyed at the officer. “Am I—in trouble?”
“No, no. I just have to drive you back to your house.”
Rebekah stood and tried to straighten her clothes. Evidently, she’d fallen asleep in them. Leah felt sorry for her. She looked scared and sad.
“I’ll pray for you,” Leah told her.
Rebekah nodded as she gathered her things in the beat-up suitcase and plastic bag. Naomi came to help her, patting her tenderly on the back. “It’ll be all right, Rebekah. We’ll all be praying for you.”
The sheriff turned just before he led Rebekah out the door and up the stairs. “We don’t always know what these kids are going back to, but we have to adhere to the law. The Amish used to never get the law involved, but lately”—he shrugged—“the bishops are starting to tell the parents to call the authorities when the kids are underage. I can’t blame them, you know? The world is filled with terrible things, and I would worry, too, if it were my kid.”
Leah, Hannah, and Naomi followed them to the front door and said good-bye to Rebekah. After they left, Naomi sighed. “I wish that hadn’t happened, though I know she has no right to run away at her age. She told us last night there’s trouble in her home.” She leveled a worried look at Leah. “If it was like Martha’s trouble, we might have been able to stop her from going back home, but she wouldn’t agree to talk to anyone about it.” She sighed again. “We can’t do anything for her if she doesn’t want to tell us what’s happening.”
Leah stared out into the semidarkness. “I sure hope she’ll be okay when she gets home.” She went back to the apartment, and Hannah went to work. What happened with Rebekah put a damper on the day, but after praying for Rebekah as she said she would, she got the phone number and called Sally.
Leah was disappointed to learn Sally had already filled the full-time spot, but she thanked her, asking if she’d keep her in mind if another full-time job opened.
Christmas came. It was a quiet day because she just didn’t feel like celebrating. Leah thought of her family and all the fun Benny would be having—and the food—and her parents and sister. She wondered, too, whether Jacob ever thought of her anymore, or if he’d moved his attentions to another Amish girl.
She ate dinner with the Schrocks and then went back to the apartment. Since Hannah had spent the day with her boyfriend’s family, Leah had the place to herself. She watched a couple of Christmas movies and went to bed early.
Leah couldn’t wait for warmer weather with its longer daylight. She sighed as she closed her eyes. She’d read the Christmas story from Luke with the Schrock family earlier in the day. What must Jesus’ mother have thought? Did she know what would happen to her little baby?
Just before Leah went to sleep, she whispered to Jesus, “Thank You for coming to earth. Thank You for saving me from my sins.”
Though she missed her family terribly, she couldn’t imagine giving up her newfound salvation to go back to the Amish. Her heart hurt, but Leah knew Christ would help in the coming year.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Leah heard the phone ringing in the living room as she woke one early spring morning. Hannah answered and the low murmur of her voice lulled Leah back toward sleep, but not before the ache for her family settled over her. The long winter was over, and she was now busier with a couple housecleaning jobs and schoolwork to get her GED, but the frozen loneliness in her heart when she thought of her family never thawed. They seemed so very far away.
In the beginning, some of the ways of the English confused Leah. She couldn’t understand why it was so important to call people before she dropped by to visit, but Naomi Schrock had given her a booklet about being polite, calling ahead to arrange visits, and especially about being clean. Leah had to admit some of the Amish boys weren’t that keen to wash up every day. She knew a few buves who went to bed with their feet still caked with manure from the barns. When spring came, the Amish children stopped wearing shoes, so in families where cleanliness was not stressed, washing off the day’s dust and grime wasn’t a priority. On the other hand, it seemed the English were obsessed with getting rid of any dirt or odor possible.
One product Leah bought for the first time a few months back was deodorant—something Maem had never purchased. It was stressed in her strict Amish church that primping by the females was a prideful and sinful thing to do. Feeding the human nature by beautifying the outer body instead of the inner spirit was frowned upon.
Leah thought back to the first time she shaved her legs. She had feared she would shave the skin right off. The stinging nicks and cuts happened less often as she practiced, but it was still a foreign custom. She had to fight the feeling of sinful pride when she smoothed a hand over her gleaming, clean-shaved legs.
She sat up in bed as her roommate knocked on the door.
“Leah?”
“Yes?”
“Are you awake?”
“Yes, but I’m still in bed.”
“I have a message for you.”
Jumping out of bed, Leah grabbed her robe and opened the door. “Who was the message from?”
“A girl who says she knows your friend, Martha. Martha asked her to call and let you know you’re invited to a party this weekend.”
“A party?” Leah was still puzzled.
Hannah paused. “Some of the kids go to different fields or apartments to party. I don’t go, and I’d suggest you don’t go, either. They can get pretty wild.”
Leah frowned. Why would Martha ask her to come to something like that and how did Martha even know where she was living? Since leaving home, Leah had heard nothing from her—until now. But she was so lonely, the thought of seeing her friend again, no matter what the circumstances, led Leah to consider going.
“How do I find out more?” she asked.
Hannah shook her head slightly but gave Leah a small slip of paper.
She glanced at an address downtown on Second Street. “I wonder whose place this is.”
“The girl said the party was either going to be at that address on the paper or another apartment. She said she’d tell you for sure when you call back.”
Leah thanked Hannah and quickly phoned the number on the paper. “Hello? This is Leah.”
“Hi, Leah. I’m a friend of Martha’s. She wants you to come to a party this weekend. She asked me to call ’cause her cell phone is dead right now. Can you come?”
Leah hesitated. “I’m wondering how you got this number for me.”
“She told me she ran into Jacob. He told her where you were.”
So Jacob did get her letter. The realization that he had chosen not to answer stung her. He had apparently moved forward with his life. She swallowed. Time for her to move forward, too.
“Is it going to be at her place—or where?”
“She lives on Second Street, but it might be at someone else’s place. If it changes, I’ll call you back.”
When she still hesitated, the friend of Martha wheedled. “Please say yes. Martha really misses you.”
Leah chewed her lip. Partying wasn’t something that appealed to her at all, but maybe this once would be okay. Just to see Martha and get a taste of home. “Okay. I’d like to see her, too.”
After she hung up, Hannah was quiet.
“Do you think I did the right thing, Hannah?”
Her roommate shrugged, but her eyes were worried.
“Where is Second Street? Do you know? Will I be able to get a ride? I’m not a partier, Hannah, but I am lonely for my friends—”
Hannah put her breakfast dishes in the sink and turned the water on. “Just be careful. I guess we can drop you off when my boyfriend picks me up for the movies on Saturday.”
“Okay. I promise I’ll be careful. Can you also pick me up from the party on your way back from the theater?”
