Page 6

Anthony leaned close to Rosa and said quietly, “Maybe we should go find us a hotel for the night.”

“Absolutely not!” Apparently Mom had heard what he’d said, because she gave a vigorous shake of her head. “I want you both to stay right here and make yourselves comfortable in Rosa’s old room, like I said earlier. And you’re welcome to stay just as long as you like. Is that understood?”

Anthony looked at Rosa, and when she nodded, he said, “Okay then, I’ll get our luggage from my car and bring it inside.”

After he went out the front door, Rosa stood and picked up her plate with the unfinished slice of pie, as well as the one Anthony had yet to finish. “I’ll take these out to the kitchen.”

“Don’t take my plate,” Alvin quickly announced, “ ’cause I ain’t done.”

“You are not done,” Tena corrected.

He bobbed his head. “Jah, that’s what I said.”

“And I’m not finished either.” Dad grabbed the trim stainless steel spatula and dished himself another piece of chocolate pie.

“What about you, Daughter?” Mom questioned, looking at Tena, who seemed to be staring at her now-empty plate.

“One piece was enough for me. I’ll help you and Rosa in the kitchen, and then I’m going up to bed. Although I’m not lookin’ forward to sharing a room with Susan tonight,” she muttered.

Rosa bit the inside of her cheek as she fled to the kitchen. Maybe I made a mistake coming back here to seek the help and support I want from my folks. I’m wondering if they weren’t better off without me.

“Where are you going?” Anthony asked after Rosa hung her clothes in the closet and moved toward the bedroom door with a canvas bag in one hand.

“To the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. Then I’m going downstairs for a glass of water. Would you like one too?”

“No thanks. I’ll be okay.”

Rosa gestured to the thin piece of foam she’d taken from the attic when no one was looking, along with two blankets and a pillow she had placed on the floor for him to sleep on. “Are you sure you’re gonna be comfortable there?”

“Probably not, but I’ll make do. It’ll only be for a couple of weeks, after all.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” She grabbed a flashlight, put her hand on the doorknob, and paused.

What a mess she’d gotten herself into—first by running away from home, then getting involved with a married man, and now dragging Anthony into her web of deceit.

He was a decent guy and deserved better, and yet here he was, about to make his bed on the floor for the night, in order to keep up appearances with Rosa’s family and protect her honor.

Tomorrow morning, they would need to hide the evidence of his makeshift bed underneath her bed frame.

Rosa glanced briefly over her shoulder, then went out the door.

When Rosa approached the upstairs bathroom and found the door closed, she descended the stairs, in the hope that the downstairs bathroom was not occupied. As she moved slowly down the hall, guided by her flashlight, and approached her parents’ bedroom, Rosa heard voices. She paused and listened.

“What do you mean I haven’t been cordial enough to Rosa and her curly-haired English husband?

” Dad’s booming voice rang out. “Do I need to remind you, Elsie, that I had previously stated when our wayward daughter went missing that unless she came home with a good excuse, Rosa would not be welcomed?”

“I know what you said, Mahlon, but her main reason for leaving was because you pressed her too hard to join the church,” Mom responded.

“That’s not true. I only tried to make her see the folly of her ways, and—”

“Our daughter is home now, with a husband and baby on the way, and I will not allow you to chase her off again!”

As she stood listening to her parents discussing this, as though they were playing on opposite teams in a game of competitive volleyball, Rosa’s guilt increased.

What can I do to make things better? she asked herself while moving up the hall to continue her trek to the bathroom.

If I leave home again, it will break my mother’s heart.

If I stay, Dad may never welcome me into the family, and I’m sure that Susan won’t either.

Anthony reclined on the floor in Rosa’s bedroom, trying to find a comfortable position and wondering if he’d made the wrong decision regarding her. If I had known what I was getting myself into, would I have thought it through a bit more before I suggested that I play the role of her husband?

He lifted his head from the pillow and reached around in an attempt to fluff it up a bit, thereby giving himself more support.

Rosa had been gone awhile, and he wondered if she’d gotten lost in this big drafty house with no electricity.

How was he supposed to charge his cell phone or plug in his electric shaver?

Guess I’ll just have to take it out to the car when necessary and use my power cord for charging as needed.

Anthony could not understand why the Amish would intentionally choose to live this way, with all the conveniences of the modern world available to them.

Was it their need to hold on to old-world traditions, or did the meaning of their lifestyle go deeper than that?

The house seemed deathly quiet, and the only source of light in the room was a glimmer of the moon shining through a small tear in one corner of the window shade.

The bedroom door squeaked open, and Anthony turned his head in the direction of the sound. Then he heard footsteps padding across the bare floor.

“Rosa, is that you?”

“Of course it’s me. Who else would it be?”

When she leaned close to Anthony and spoke, he felt her breath blow against his face, leaving him feeling a bit rattled. “Oh, umm … I thought it might be your sister—the one who used to occupy this room.”

“Yeah, well, it was my room way before it was Susan’s, and she is clearly having trouble accepting the fact that I have returned home.”

Anthony heard the bed creak and figured Rosa had reclined on the mattress. “You’re probably right,” he agreed. “But hopefully it won’t take her long to move past those feelings.”

“I wish that were true, but you don’t know my sister. She’s always been jealous of me.”

“You shouldn’t give up hope, at least not yet. Maybe things will change in your favor.”

“Yeah right. Now that is wishful thinking.”