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  They stood around at one end of the kitchen talking before the meal was served, and Adeline seemed to take a liking to them. She asked what type of farm they had, which appeared to impress Dawdi Riehl.

  “We used to run a large dairy farm when Rhoda was growin’ up,” Dawdi told her, “but we’re down to just eighty acres, mainly for growin’ crops.”

  Sylvia could see that Adeline wasn’t the only one enjoying the conversation as Dawdi asked her how she liked Amish country so far.

  When the food was steaming hot and placed on the table, they all sat down for the silent blessing. Afterward, Mamma passed the large platter of baked ham with a sugar and mustard glaze first to Dat, following with scalloped potatoes in a cheesy sauce. Chow chow, a carrot salad in an orange gelatin with crushed pineapples and raisins, and buttered lima beans rounded out the spread.

  Ernie mentioned how hectic it had been at Dat’s showroom today, and while he didn’t actually brag, he came close to it when he said they’d sold four clocks and taken two custom orders. “It was a real gut day.” He grinned at Dat, who shrugged it off as if embarrassed.

  “Now, son,” he said as Dawdi Riehl nodded and smiled his congratulations.

  “Earnest does build the nicest-looking clocks,” Mammi Riehl commented as she looked over at Adeline.

  “I second that,” Adeline agreed as she passed the platter of ham to Tommy and held it while he forked up a large helping, smacking his lips as he eyed the meat.

  “And I can speak from experience that they keep perfect time, too,” Dawdi Riehl added.

  Sylvia wasn’t surprised at how gracious her grandparents were to Adeline, but she couldn’t help wondering what they privately thought about Dat and Mamma hosting a newfound relative who was the furthest thing from Plain.

  Sylvia spent Saturday morning cooking while Dat, Ernie, and Adam headed to market to sell more clocks. It was their practice to talk there with everyone, even folk who were just roaming up and down the aisles. The whole family was thankful Dat’s clock sales were starting to pick up again after the marked lull during the shunning. Sylvia honestly wondered if folk might be coming over to Dat’s shop not just to look at clocks but to catch a glimpse of his fancy daughter. She couldn’t know for sure, though.

  With some help from Adeline, Sylvia and Mamma made a large tuna macaroni casserole for the weekend, as well as a hamburger, potato, and green bean dish that would be easy to simply warm up on tomorrow’s Lord’s Day.

  Then, to help Ruthann and her daughters with the fellowship meal, they rolled out dough for twenty-five snitz pies, using the applesauce and apple butter they’d canned last fall to make the delicious filling. Hannah and another neighbor had offered to make the remaining twenty-five pies needed to feed everyone, so Aendi Ruthann had plenty of help making food for tomorrow.

  Midafternoon, Sylvia showered and washed her hair to prepare for her after-supper date with Titus. She didn’t know how to think about this first real date in weeks, except that they absolutely had to have a frank discussion about their relationship. With November not so far away, it was essential.

  She wrapped her waist-length hair in a thick bath towel, knowing it would dry in plenty of time once she sat out in the sun. I’ll let Dat and Mamma know I’m seeing Titus tonight, she decided, hoping her parents and brothers might teach Adeline how to play Dutch Blitz or another game while she was gone.

  After supper, when it was time to step out the door, Sylvia could hear her brothers in the stable, undoubtedly busy with their usual chore of cleaning and oiling the horses’ hooves for tomorrow’s ride to church. They would also oil the harnesses to make them shine.

  All the familiar sounds of a Saturday date night, she thought, taking a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

  At the appointed time of seven o’clock, Sylvia didn’t have to wait for Titus at their specified location. She could see his black courting carriage gleaming in the sunshine as he halted the horse just down from Dat’s property. One more hour till sunset, she thought, glad they would be riding while it was still light.

  Titus waved to her and jumped down to come around and greet her. “Hullo, Sylvie,” he said, offering his hand to help her into the buggy.

  “How’ve ya been?” she asked as he stepped into the right side and reached for the driving lines. She wondered if Titus might bring up her father’s visit with his father.

  “Oh, all right. I’ve been busy diggin’ potatoes and getting ready for a big watermelon harvest,” he said. “How ’bout you?”

  She mentioned having stocked up on canned goods at BB’s, as well as tending to the usual chores in the house and garden. She didn’t mention helping Adeline lay out her quilted wall hanging, thinking it best not to bring her into the conversation.

  Sylvia couldn’t help but notice the mare’s leisurely pace and wondered if Titus had taken the horse out somewhere earlier. But, too nervous to ask, she sat back and tried to enjoy the relaxed pace, the pink evening sky, and the warm air, thick with the fragrance of honeysuckle.

  Adeline was pleased the Millers wanted to spend time playing a game with her. “I’m sure you have other things to do,” she told them.

  “Once you’re back at college, we’ll be glad we took every opportunity to be with ya,” Rhoda said, and Earnest nodded.

  Rhoda’s remark was sweet, and Adeline smiled as Ernie got the Dutch Blitz cards. “You’ve all made this visit incredibly special for me,” Adeline said. “I don’t know how I’ll ever thank you.”

  “Well, I can think of something,” Rhoda said, pressing her lips together now. “Kumme see us again, maybe?”

  Tommy was quick to nod his head in agreement, and the other boys brightened, too.

  “You’re very kind,” Adeline said.

  “All of us would enjoy seein’ you again . . . and meeting Brendon someday, too,” Earnest said.

  “I’d like that.” Adeline remembered that Sylvia planned to send her a wedding invitation.

  “Never forget that our door is always open to ya,” Rhoda said.

  “Thank you,” Adeline said, feeling genuinely accepted.

  Not far from the bishop’s farm, Sylvia spotted an Amishwoman sitting in the back of a spring wagon, selling sweet corn. “Where could her horse be?” she murmured.

  “I noticed that, too.” Titus wondered aloud if the woman might need a ride home. “Let’s stop a minute.”

  Agreeing, Sylvia sat there waiting while Titus hopped down and went to talk to the middle-aged woman, whom she did not recognize. But in a jiffy, Titus came running back and climbed into the carriage. “Her son’s comin’ for her soon,” he said.

  “I’ve never seen her before. Have you?”

  Titus shook his head. “Sometimes Amish from other areas with fewer tourists bring their produce here so they can sell it more quickly.”

  “Who can blame them?”

  Titus added, “I’m not sure why she’s still out at this hour, though.”

  “Jah, seems strange.”

  Titus turned onto Hershey Church Road and slowed the horse even more as they came upon a sheltered patch on the right-hand side. He stopped the horse and got out to tie the mare to a tree. Then, coming around for Sylvia, Titus said, “Let’s walk for a while. It’s such a nice evening.”

  “Okay,” she said, ready for some exercise.

  He reached for her hand as the sun sank, a large red ball on the pink horizon. They walked for a good quarter mile before he spoke. “Sylvie, I hope you’ve never doubted how much I love ya, despite all that’s happened this summer.”

  She listened, feeling uncomfortable holding hands.

  “That’s what makes this next thing hard,” he said, pausing to look away. “I’d like to postpone getting married till things calm down with your family . . . as hopefully they will.”

  Sylvia’s temper rose at the suggestion.

  “Also, I’ve recently heard from others that you’ve been drivin’ around with Adeline in her car, a
t the mall and even down to Quarryville.”

  Sylvia took a quick breath. “Regardless of her background, she’s family, Titus. I’ve just been getting to know her.”

  “But after everything that’s happened with your father, don’t ya realize how that comes across? And with baptism so near, you oughta be extra careful to make a gut impression as a devout young woman.” Titus gave her a serious look. “After all, as you know, my family has a reputation to protect.”

  She released her hand from his, and everything that had been building in her mind, including her recent talks with Dat and with Ella Mae, seemed to come together. “Well, I’m planning to keep in touch with Adeline after she leaves, so if you can’t understand that or my spending time with her during her visit, then I think it’s best we call off our engagement.”

  He stopped walking, shock on his face. “Sylvie . . . you’re choosin’ Adeline over me?”

  “I don’t see it that way. Anyway, she’s just the last straw for you, ain’t so?”

  Strangely, he reached for her as the sun’s last rays shot sprays of light high into the sky.

  Shaking her head, she pulled away. “Titus, you don’t trust me to do what’s right, and you’re much too worried ’bout what others think.”

  “Let’s talk this through,” he protested. “We have nothin’ to lose by waiting a year, seein’ what happens.”

  Why put it off when this isn’t true love? she thought, tired of arguing. He can’t accept me or my family as we are.

  She stared at the fading sky. “I see no benefit in waiting.”

  “How can ya say that?” His tone was disbelieving.

  She looked up at him, her heart a mixture of sadness and relief. “Because we have no future together, Titus. Not anymore.”

  With that, she turned to walk back to the waiting horse and carriage.

  CHAPTER

  twenty

  Gaslight glimmered through her father’s shop windows, and instead of going to the house, Sylvia walked across the backyard to talk with him. Lately, their relationship had become better, stronger. Because of Adeline and his sharing so openly with her, I know much more about his life before he became Amish, she thought. She never could have foreseen that this would happen.

  Crickets chirped all around as she tapped on the screen door. She stood there looking in at the pretty new clock Dat was working on.

  “Kumme in,” he said absently, then turned to see her there. “Oh, I thought it was your Mamma.” He smiled and welcomed her in. “You’re home early, Sylvie.”

  “I went ahead an’ broke up with Titus,” she announced even before she sat down. She mentioned Titus’s suggestion they postpone the wedding for a year. “But there was no point in draggin’ it out any longer while he scrutinized our family further.”

  Dat looked at her, his eyes searching her face. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded. “To be honest, we’ve been fallin’ apart for some time.” She scrunched up her face. “When that all began to happen last month, I felt real sad and cried a lot, but not now.”

  “I know something about the kind of pain you’re experiencing.” Quietly, he told her how distraught he’d been when Adeline’s mother had broken up their marriage. His face displayed compassion. “I just want to see you happy again, Sylvie.”

  They sat there surrounded by the ticking of Dat’s clocks, the sounds of time hanging in the air.

  “I’ve decided something else,” she said, gathering herself. “I don’t think I’m ready for baptism next month. My heart’s not right . . . it hasn’t been all summer.”

  Dat reacted like he’d been hit. “Ach, Sylvie, are you sure?”

  “Jah. I plan to let Deacon Peachey know tomorrow before class begins.”

  “Shouldn’t you take your time and contemplate this, since you’re coming off this difficult evening with Titus?”

  A shake of her head was the only response she could give just now.

  Her father drew a long breath, then rose and walked to the back of his showroom, where he stood in front of one of the two tall floor clocks. He stared at the clock’s face, and then after what seemed like minutes, he turned and trudged back to his chair to sit down. “I’d be mighty lax if I didn’t caution you not to be hasty in this decision.”

  “Deacon Peachey and the other ministers will surely counsel me to put it off till I’m ready. They won’t pressure me to continue—I know that for certain.”

  Grimacing, Dat glanced at the ceiling, like he was letting that settle in. He had to know that what she said was true.

  “I haven’t forgiven Titus for reportin’ you to the ministers, Dat, and I’m still angry with him for actin’ like I’m somehow damaged goods because of my family. I know I shouldn’t be angry, but I am. Until that changes, I can’t go forward with baptism in gut conscience.” She stopped for a moment. “I’m just bein’ honest with ya.”

  He nodded, his expression solemn. “Honesty is the best path,” he said, sounding like Ella Mae. “If I’d walked that path twenty years ago, we wouldn’t be sitting here talking like this.” Dat went on to say that he understood it was important not to continue the classes when she was in such a state. “But why say anything to the deacon tomorrow? Why not think a little more about your decision over the next two weeks?” he suggested, his voice shaky. “Will you do that?”

  “I’m sorry to disappoint ya.” She shook her head. “But I don’t think two weeks will change anything.”

  “You might pray about this, daughter. Please.”

  “I should prob’ly head over to the house now,” she said, getting up. Then, wanting him to know how much it meant for him to sit with her just now, in the depths of her discouragement, she added, “I’m grateful to ya, Dat.” She smiled through tears. “Denki . . .”

  “We’ve been through the fire and back again, haven’t we?” he said, walking her to the screen door.

  “Gut Nacht,” she said, nodding, then made her way across the porch to the back door.

  In her room, Sylvia turned on the gas lamp near her bed and sat there, still trying to get a grasp on all that had happened tonight—her breakup with Titus and her most openhearted talk ever with Dat. It had appeared that her father was fighting back tears of his own when she left to come back to the house.

  He understands me. . . .

  She read several psalms before getting ready for bed, merely going through the motions, doing what she always did. But the words of Psalm twenty-five, verse sixteen, seemed to stand out: Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted.

  Once she had washed up and changed, she outened the gas lamp and slipped into bed. She recited her rote prayers silently, with very little heart. Lying there, staring into the darkness, she did not understand why God was letting her life fall apart like this. The past months had been so chaotic.

  My heart’s out of tune, she realized again, struggling greatly with the knowledge.

  Earnest walked out to the stable to check on the livestock, thinking that Sylvia was behaving impulsively. One of my own worst flaws, he thought, recognizing that if he were as devout as Rhoda, he would have spent this time in prayer.

  After twenty minutes or so, he returned to the house and showered before heading upstairs, preparing how he should tell Rhoda about the end of Sylvia’s engagement—the very thing they had once been so concerned about that, for a time, they had made a pact to keep his secret. What we feared has come to pass, he thought, though not at all in the way we expected.

  Rhoda was reading the Good Book as he opened the door and stepped in. She glanced at him, looking exceptionally pretty tonight. He walked silently to his chair and sat down, thankful to this day that she hadn’t kicked him out when he was going through the Bann and all that led up to it. A remarkable woman, he thought, trying not to stare at her where she sat with her open Bible in her lap, the dearest expression on her face as she read to herself.

  Yawning, Earnest reached fo
r the Family Life magazine he often enjoyed before bedtime. Yet after reading only one short article, he closed it and sat quietly looking out the window, gazing now at the dark sky filled with many bright stars. He felt torn over poor Sylvia’s breakup, even though it was for the best.

  “You look troubled,” Rhoda said, setting the Bible on the table near her chair.

  Turning, he paused. “There’s no easy way to say this.”

  “Oh?”

  “Sylvie called off her engagement tonight.”

  Rhoda nodded, eyes suddenly moist. “I guess I’m not surprised,” she said. “Is she upset?”

  “She seems to be all right, but there’s something else.” He told her that Sylvia was not ready to join church next month. He shook his head. “I wish she’d rethink it, but who can blame her?”

  “Aw, poor girl . . . so ferhoodled. I feel for her.” Big tears rolled down Rhoda’s cheeks, and she got up and went to her dresser for a tissue.

  Pained to see her like this, Earnest rose and opened his arms to his dear wife, and she moved toward him, weeping softly. He stroked her long hair, saying not a word, his heart breaking with hers.

  Long after the gas lamps in the Millers’ house were out, Adeline made her way into the house, having sat in her idling car to charge up her phone. She had enjoyed several rousing games of Dutch Blitz, then talked for a while with Tommy and Calvin. Later, when she excused herself to go out to her car, she texted her best girlfriends, Callie and Piper, then talked with Brendon, who joked about her getting sucked into Amish life. She’d laughed but assured him that the longest she would stay in Hickory Hollow was a few more days. Then it would be time to start the fall semester at Georgia Tech. That seemed to satisfy him, but when she called her grandparents, they didn’t seem at all interested in hearing about the tranquility of Amish farmland or her quilted wall hanging, so Adeline talked around those topics. Later, Liam got on their landline, as well, showing a little curiosity in her cow-milking experience before going on to talk about body surfing and playing beach volleyball with his friends earlier that day.