“You should be married by now too, young man.” Beatrice sank back into her chair.
Mark’s cheeks blushed. “Sometimes Gott puts people together…”
It seemed to me Beatrice was doing all the putting, but maybe she had a good idea after all. It was about time I got realistic.
When Mark and I bid Beatrice good night, Mark switched on his small flashlight and escorted me past the herb garden to my cabin.
“See you tomorrow.” I certainly wasn’t going to invite him inside for a multitude of reasons, so I dallied at the bottom of my steps.
The evening sky had turned from aquamarine to sapphire blue. I adored Lancaster County’s sky at dusk. The air was laced with a myriad of farmland scents. Amid a fusion of distant sounds—horses clopping and wagon wheels churning on the road, an owl hooting in the forested area out back—an automobile’s engine groaned, but it didn’t turn into the nursery’s parking lot. Not that I was expecting to see Stephen again tonight. Ach, what made me think of him?
I climbed my stairs and turned the doorknob to make sure I hadn’t locked myself out. I pivoted to Mark. “Good night.”
“Good night, Eva.” He must have known I wouldn’t open my door until he was gone. “I enjoyed getting to know you better.” He made no move to approach me. “If you’d rather not go to the singing with me, I won’t hold it against ya.”
“I hope you understand my reluctance. I do love to sing—”
“But you’re holding out for a better offer? Like for Jake to show up and sweep you off your feet?”
“So you know the whole story?”
“Yah, I have relatives in your parents’ district. I know Jake’s back, living with his parents again. And his dat came out of the coma and came home from the hospital this morning. His doctors preferred he remain in the trauma unit longer, but without insurance, even one day in the hospital was too expensive. Plus, Jake’s mamm said she could look after him.”
“Then he must be doing better than a lot of coma patients do when they first wake up.”
Mark massaged the back of his neck. “Well, Amos can’t speak or walk, but he’s able to drink from a straw and eat if someone holds a spoonful of strained food for him. Poor man.”
“I’ve heard it takes weeks or even months to recover once the person wakes up. Each experience is unique, like a snowflake, and some need to relearn everything.” I recalled Olivia’s description, which had coincided with a magazine article I’d once read.
“Are you hoping to see Jake?”
“What?” I sputtered. I hadn’t expected his abrupt, personal question. “Nee. And I heard he might have gotten married.”
“Not that I know of. But I haven’t seen Jake for years, and my relatives don’t talk about him much anymore.” He removed his hat and raked his fingers through his thick hair. “I do know one thing. If you fell in love with me, I’d never leave you.”
“Hold on, there. You don’t even know me.”
“I know enough, Eva. May I call you Evie, the way your friends do?”
“Yah, if you like.”
“Bishop Harvey told me friendship can lead to love.”
“I suppose.” Mamm had said the same thing, although she added that she and Dat became enamored at first sight and could hardly wait for their wedding day.
Mark surveyed the star-studded heavens. “It’s a beautiful evening. Perhaps you’d like a buggy ride right now.”
His persistence was beginning to vex me. “Nee, denki. After working all day and eating a huge meal, I’m ready for bed.”
“I figured you’d say that, but I thought I’d give it a try.”
Moments later, I entered the cabin and realized my feet didn’t hurt. A small victory. And not one person had commented on my footwear other than Beatrice and Mark.
As I envisioned myself flopping into bed, I recalled I’d forgotten to ask Beatrice to borrow reading material. I glanced out the window and saw the main house was still illuminated.
I dove into a sweater and dashed over there. When I knocked, the dogs barked ferociously, but fear didn’t invade me as it had before.
“Coming,” I heard Beatrice calling above the commotion. She gave me a double look through the glass-paned door and then pulled the door open. “Back for more pie already?”
I patted my tummy. “No. I’m so stuffed I couldn’t eat another morsel. But I do have a request if you still think it’s okay. You seemed to when I asked before. May I borrow a book?”
“Depends on what kind you want.”
“Something to help me fall asleep. Or a magazine like the Connection.”
“You should have borrowed one from the café.”
“I didn’t know if that would be okay. I could run over there and get one right now.”
“No, Glenn and Rose have plenty of reading material. Come in.”
With the three dogs dancing at my feet, I stepped across the threshold. “Outside, all of you.” Beatrice swooshed the dogs out. “Come back when you can behave.” She turned to me and asked, “So did you really enjoy your meal?”
“Yes, absolutely. It was delicious. Couldn’t have been better.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed the food. And what about Mark? Isn’t he a fine man?”
“Yes, he seems to be.”
“And handsome, don’t you agree?”
I lowered my eyes and fixed them on the pepper grinder. “I can’t deny he’s good looking.” But I knew from experience that appearance wasn’t everything.
“Why are you hesitating, Eva? At your age you should be thrilled to have the attention of an eligible bachelor. Many Amish women in this county would do anything to catch his eye.”
I needed to stop this roller-coaster conversation about my personal life with an Englisch woman I hardly knew. I peeked toward the living room, where I’d noticed bookshelves earlier. I asked again. “May I borrow a book?”
“Go in and have a look.”
She led me to the grand living room with a shoulder-high hearth, a leather couch, and a corduroy-covered recliner pulled
