A Heart Once Broken (8 page)

Lydia paused to listen before she walked over to the bedroom window. A car had pulled in the lane and was stopping near the front sidewalk. The back doors opened, and Emma and Rhoda spilled out. They stood with their arms aflutter, motioning in all directions at once. Several
Englisha
youth were still inside the car and seemed hesitant to come out. As she looked on, Lydia steadied herself with one hand. What were her sisters up to now? She already knew they hung out with
Englisha
boys, but why bring them here?

Lydia turned away from the window to hurry downstairs.
Mamm
was already on her feet, and her face was pale. “Get
Daett
, he's in the barn,”
Mamm
ordered.

“I'm not going past those people, whoever they are,” Lydia protested.

Mamm
clasped and unclasped her hands. “Then what are we to do?”

“We have to act normal.” Lydia gathered her emotions. She would be strong even if
Mamm
wasn't.

“Why would Emma and Rhoda do such a thing?”
Mamm
's voice trembled. “Bringing their
Englisha
friends to our house.”

Lydia ignored the question. “We have to speak with them at least, don't you think?”

Mamm
must have agreed because she followed Lydia to the front door and the two stepped outside together. Beside the car Emma and Rhoda were still chattering away. Their
Englisha
friends had climbed out by now, but they hadn't moved any farther. Clearly
Emma and Rhoda had initiated this event—whatever it was supposed to be.

Perhaps they're offering a tour of a backward Amish farm?
Lydia suppressed the bitter thought. She called across the lawn, “Hello!”

At least Emma and Rhoda had the decency to appear a little embarrassed as they ushered their friends forward.

Emma made the introductions. “This is
Mamm
and my sister Lydia. And this is Benny Coon and his sister Avery. And Jimmy Emerson and his sister Julie. They wanted to see where we live.”

So this
was
the Amish farm tour.

Mamm
found her voice. “Well, come inside. We don't have much to eat on a Saturday evening, but I can mix up some orange juice.”

“
Mamm
, you shouldn't,” Rhoda said, but the effort was halfhearted. Clearly her sister wanted these people to feel right at home.

Mamm
was in charge, Lydia told herself, and she couldn't ask these people to leave. She would have to pretend all was well until she could give her sisters a
goot
chewing out for this stunt. The nerve of the two. They weren't content to cause a scandal in the community, so now they had to bring disgrace right onto her parents' impoverished farm. How would she live this down?

Mamm
led the way to the house and held open the front door while her sisters ushered their friends inside. Lydia stayed where she was, as if rooted to the ground. Emma and Rhoda wouldn't be content until they had given these
Englisha
people the tour of the whole house. That would include her bedroom, which was a mess at the moment. She couldn't stop them without a scene, but
Daett
could. Lydia unfastened herself and hurried toward the barn to find
Daett
seated on a hay bale with his head in his hands.

“
Daett!
” Lydia called out. “What's wrong? Are you okay?”

Daett
groaned. “I saw them come in.”

At least his voice sounded normal, so he must not be ill, Lydia told herself.

“Can't you stop them?” she asked. “Please?”

Daett
looked up with a great weariness on his face. “I'm a ruined man, Lydia. I'm sorry you have to see me in this state, but I agree with your
mamm
. If we get strict with Emma and Rhoda, we may only drive them away from the faith. And you know I've already given them plenty of cause for offense with my horrible financial mess.”

“But
Daett
…” Lydia began to protest but stopped.
Daett
wasn't going to back down and neither would
Mamm
. They were paralyzed with fear.

Lydia tried another angle. “What about the community? Deacon Schrock will have something to say about this.”

Daett
sighed. “I know this is a difficult time for you, Lydia, but we have to think of what's best for Emma and Rhoda. You and the rest of the children have turned out okay, but we still have the two younger girls to get through their
rumspringa
time.”

I'm not doing so well myself,
Lydia almost said, but
Daett
wasn't worried about her. He feared the fancy
Englisha
world her sisters had brought into the house, even as he tried to keep it out.

Lydia retreated and closed the barn door behind her. She expected
Daett
would call after her with some last-minute advice, but he didn't. She knew he must be very low-spirited to say nothing more to her. He also must be quite worried about Emma and Rhoda. She shared that concern, even as she had different ideas on what should be done. But she was not the head of this household, and that was that.

Lydia tried to sneak in through the washroom door, but
Mamm
called to her from the living room. “Lydia, come here. These people have some questions for you.”

Mamm
didn't sound too downcast. Had her sisters'
Englisha
friends already charmed
Mamm
?

“What questions?” Lydia asked before she entered the living room. It seemed easier that way. Smiling faces greeted her when she appeared.
Mamm
had everyone seated with glasses of orange juice in their hands.

“We'd like to show them the upstairs,” Emma gushed. “Can we show your room? Or better yet, why don't you come with us?”

Lydia tried to smile. Since when did Emma ask permission? Her younger sisters went freely in and out of her room whenever they wished. There was more to this request than met the eye.

“Please,” Emma begged. “It would mean so much to me.”

Lydia gave in. “Okay, if you give me just a moment to straighten things up. But I'm afraid there's not much to see.”

“I'm sure it's perfect,” Emma said with an evil grin.

“That's what's so amazing,” one of the
Englisha
girls said. “Your homes are so simple and yet so refreshing to the eye. I never imagined it would be that way.”

Lydia forced a smile as she led the way upstairs. “Emma and Rhoda can show you theirs first,” she said at the top of the stairs.

“Contraband to hide,” one of the boys teased.

Lydia winced. “Just a little messy.” She might as well speak the truth. At least her sisters' room was clean on a Saturday night so they wouldn't be embarrassed. But her sisters already knew that. Surely they weren't trying to embarrass her on purpose? Her sisters wanted her up here for some other reason.

When the door opened into Emma and Rhoda's bedroom, Lydia dashed into her own and quickly tucked the quilt into its proper place. She fluffed the pillow and pushed the drapes back farther so that light flooded the room.

Moments later, Emma called from the hallway. “We're ready. Can we come in?”

Lydia pasted a smile on her face as the door opened. The two boys hung back, but Avery and Julie examined every nook and cranny, even the closet.

“Can I try on one of the dresses?” Julie cooed. “I think this is just my size. Oh, for a picture of me in that dark green one, Avery. Wouldn't I look just darling?”

“Can we?” Avery was a little more timid.

Emma and Rhoda answered together before Lydia could open her mouth. “Of course you can…so out, boys.”

“I'm getting out of here too,” Lydia told them. No one objected.

Lydia stepped out into the hallway with the two boys. Now what was she supposed to do? She was alone with two strange
Englisha
boys. She should have stayed with the girls. Already their giggles filled the bedroom behind her. Lydia steeled herself and didn't move.

The boy who had been introduced as Benny cleared his throat. “Sorry for the intrusion, Lydia.”

Jimmy added his own apology. “Julie has always been impulsive like this.”

“We just kind of tagged along for the evening,” Benny continued. “It's a brotherly thing.”

That wasn't quite true, Lydia figured, but she wasn't going to argue about it.

Jimmy appraised Lydia for a moment. “Can I take a picture?”

“No!” The denial burst out in a gasp. They both appeared puzzled, and Lydia rushed to explain. “I'm sorry. We never take pictures of ourselves. It's awful prideful, and…” She wasn't about to say the rest of the explanation. She knew any picture taken would get around
once it landed in
Englisha
hands, and it was hard to tell how many people would end up seeing the photo.

“Prideful?” Benny was still puzzled. “You're a beauty, if I must say so. There's nothing prideful about what God has given.”

Deep color rushed into Lydia's face at this plain talk, and she moved into the darker shadows of the hallway.

“I'm sorry if I've offended you,” Benny hastened to say. “But I wasn't teasing.”

“We don't take picture of ourselves,” Lydia said again, as if that settled the matter.

Silence in the hallway was broken by the giggles coming from Lydia's bedroom. She was ready to bolt down the stairs when the bedroom door burst open to reveal both
Englisha
girls attired in Amish dresses.

Benny and Jimmy lifted their phones and bright flashes filled the hallway. Emma and Rhoda placed their arms around Avery and Julie to be included in the picture without the least bit of shame. Lydia moved farther back and after a moment fled downstairs.

“What's wrong?”
Mamm
asked, when Lydia appeared in the doorway.

“They're taking pictures of the girls,” Lydia managed before collapsing on the couch. “Right in our house.”

Mamm
whispered a quiet prayer. “Lord, please help us through this difficult time.” She should do more than pray, Lydia told herself, but she was too upset. Her sisters had little sense left, it seemed. And yet she couldn't do anything about this, and
Mamm
and
Daett
chose not to. How had things come to this sad state of affairs?

Chapter Eight

T
he following Saturday evening Sandra placed the last platter of food on the table. She couldn't postpone the moment any longer. Tonight, Clyde and his
daett
, Amos, had come for supper. At least she had a few more seconds to compose herself before she called everyone into the kitchen.
Mamm
was in the living room with Amos, their voices rising and falling quietly. Clyde was out in the barn with Mark, where he had gone when the two had arrived an hour ago. Why
Mamm
had invited Clyde to come along when his
daett
visited tonight was understandable, but that didn't mean she could tolerate the situation any better.

“We must include Clyde as family if I plan to marry Amos,”
Mamm
had told her. But Sandra knew
Mamm
had a deeper reason to include Clyde.
Mamm
hoped to spark a romantic interest between them. From
Mamm
's point of view, such a match made sense. She also no longer expected that her daughter could win Ezra's hand in marriage.

“You'll never succeed now with Ezra,”
Mamm
had said this evening, just before Amos had arrived.

What
now
meant, they both knew. But
Mamm
was wrong. She had to be, just as
Mamm
was wrong about her relationship with
Amos. But Sandra couldn't do anything about that, either.
Mamm
hadn't enjoyed her first dates with Amos. That much was obvious from her pained expression afterward. Yet
Mamm
hadn't denied Amos further visits. And she wouldn't. That was just the way things were.
Mamm
was committed. The least Sandra could do was tolerate Clyde's presence for a few hours if that pleased
Mamm
. After all, if
Mamm
married Amos, they would have to live in the same house, so she might as well practice.