Plain Peace (A Daughters of the Promise Novel) (11 page)

She both anticipated and dreaded the visit. As much as she sympathized with Cora, their chat was bound to open up old wounds. There was nothing she could say to Cora that would ease her pain. But she was going to try, just the same.

And if she could get her cell phone working, that would be a bonus.

Cora was enjoying some quiet time—a rarity in her busy household. Anna Mae and Mary Jane had taken Abe with them to town. Eli was working at Widow Kauffman’s farm. John was in the fields, and Jacob was at work.

She eased her feet up on the coffee table and picked up a gardening magazine she’d gotten in town, hoping it would inspire her to get to work on her flowerbeds. She’d only flipped through a few pages when she heard a buggy coming up the driveway. She should have known the quiet time wouldn’t last, but who could be visiting? She hadn’t really reached out to anyone in the community. Peering out the window in the living room, she saw a tiny gray-haired woman easing herself out of the buggy. Cora walked to the door and waited on the other side of the screen as the woman tethered the horse, then walked up the porch steps.

“
Wie bischt?
I’m Marianne Byler. I wanted to come welcome you to Paradise.”

Cora had seen the woman at worship service. Marianne had a warm, kind smile. But she was the bishop’s wife. And Cora had heard about Bishop Byler’s strict ways just through casual conversations
following worship service. He wasn’t very well liked, and Cora instantly wondered if Marianne was here to spy on her. Cora wished they had taken the time to research the bishop here before they’d moved. The last thing they needed was trouble of any kind. But she pushed the door open and stepped aside so Marianne could enter.

“I’m Cora Hostetler.
Danki
for coming.” She motioned Marianne into the living room and watched as Marianne’s eyes scanned the room. Cora was sure it was much too fancy for her—or her husband’s—taste. Cora had two landscape pictures on the wall along with a decorative calendar. The mantel held several ballerina figurines, gifts from a
Yankee
friend who knew Cora had read a book about the dancers as a child and been fascinated by them. And if Marianne wanted a tour of the rest of the house, Cora was in trouble. With three children in their
rumschpringe
, there was no telling what they all had in their rooms. She’d spotted earplugs and all kinds of electrical devices while cleaning.

“These are for you, dear.” Marianne handed her a container. “Snickerdoodles. We’re famous for them around here. We sell them to all the bakeries.” She grinned. “Secret family recipe.”

“
Danki
. Please sit down. Can I get you some
kaffi
or tea?” Cora sat down on the couch after Marianne chose one of their blue recliners.

“Nee.”
Marianne waved a hand in the air. “I’m fine.” She took a long look around the living room. “You have a lovely home.”

Cora smiled tentatively as she waited for Marianne to tell her that it was too decorative, but instead Marianne started to tell her about the local Sisters’ Day.

“Our next one is July tenth, and it will be held at Mary Ellen Huyard’s
haus
. I hope you’ll be able to come so you can get to know the other ladies. It’s hard to do so at worship service. So much
preparation and cleanup.” Marianne fumbled in her apron pocket, and Cora waited for her to pull something out, but she didn’t.

“I hope to attend.” Cora knew she wouldn’t go. The thought of putting on a happy face for several hours when she didn’t have to sounded awful. This conversation with Marianne was hard enough.

Marianne frowned and folded her hands in her lap. “Our Anna tells us that you lost a child recently.”

Cora blinked, surprised at how Marianne just blurted it out. “Uh,
ya
. We did. Our
dochder
, Leah. She was twenty.” She swallowed hard. “We miss her very much.”

“I know. We are raising our granddaughter because her
daed
and
mamm
—our
sohn
and his
fraa—
were killed in a car accident.”

Cora brought a hand to her chest. “I’m so sorry.” She’d never thought to ask where Anna’s parents were. “How long ago?”

“Fifteen years. They were traveling to Lancaster, and their driver apparently fell asleep. They veered into traffic coming the other way. It killed all three of them.” Marianne’s bottom lip trembled for a moment, but she blinked a few times, then smiled again. “It does get better, my dear. I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but time lessens the hurt.”

“Danki.”
Cora forced a smile as she thought about Leah, the problems with Eli, and the way her husband had abandoned them all emotionally. She’d love to have a friend to confide in, but she reminded herself that this woman, however kind, was the bishop’s wife. “We are all healing as best we can.”

“That’s not what I hear.” Marianne crossed one leg over the other and raised her chin. “Anna said there was a problem a few days ago—something with one of your boys. Is everything all right now?”

“Ach, ya.”
Cora should have known that Jacob’s date would say something. Couldn’t her oldest son have chosen someone to go out with who wasn’t the bishop’s granddaughter? “Everything is fine.” Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She’d have to ask the Lord’s forgiveness for lying, but it wasn’t safe to confide in this woman. “We had an incident with one of our younger
sohns
, but all is
gut
now.” Her muscles strained from forcing herself to look happy.

Marianne stared at her long and hard, tapping a finger to her chin. Cora assumed she would go back to her husband and tell him about their fancy house and what a mess their family was. They’d left Middlefield to escape the memories and the pitying looks everyone gave them, but she supposed they’d just brought their problems with them. Her own husband was proof of that. Marianne started fumbling with something in her apron pocket again, and Cora was shocked when the older woman pulled out a slim cell phone.

“Do you know how to work one of these?” Marianne frowned. “It’s an iPhone. I had a friend show me how to use it, but now I can’t remember what she showed me.”

Cora felt her brows lifting high above wide eyes. She blinked a few times and tried to mask her shock.

“I don’t know.” It was a much fancier phone than anyone in her family had. “I’ll, uh, have a look if you’d like.”

“Ach, ya, ya.”
Marianne was quickly on her feet and sat down beside Cora. In a whisper, she said, “I’m not supposed to have this.”

Cora pressed her lips together and tried not to smile—a genuine smile this time—then said, “I won’t tell.”

Marianne patted her on the leg but didn’t say anything. Her
eyes were fixed on the phone. “Can you make the Internet work? I managed to get it to turn on.” She shook her head, frowning. “But I can’t remember what to do from there. I should have taken some notes.”

Cora took the phone and looked at its sleek face. Her mobile phone didn’t look anything like this fancy one. She studied the phone for a while and touched a few of the little squares on the screen. “This is it, I think,” she finally said. “The one that says ‘Safari.’ You push that button to get to the Internet.”

Marianne leaned much closer and squinted. “I forgot my reading glasses. But I see.” She looked up and smiled. “Guess I didn’t try that.
Danki
.”

Cora nodded and took a deep breath. “So why do you have a phone if it’s not allowed? I mean, your husband . . .” Cora shrugged, unsure how to say it.

“Do you tell your husband every little thing?” Marianne didn’t look up. She was busy fiddling with the phone.

“I suppose not,” Cora finally said.
I haven’t had much conversation with him at all since we moved here
.

“Do you know much about this Internet place?” Marianne put the phone down, and her eyes twinkled with excitement.

“I’ve heard of it. We have three
kinner
in their
rumschpringe
.” Cora wasn’t about to tell Marianne that she’d even used the library computers back in Middlefield. Several times. The first time had been to research a rash Abe had on his arm. But then she’d learned from the librarian that she could e-mail her cousin in Iowa by using the Internet. She hadn’t been guilty of using a computer since she’d moved to Paradise, but . . .

Marianne frowned, then handed the phone to Cora. “I’ve lost
my place again. One wrong move with this silly device and it gets a mind of its own.”

Cora shrugged, keeping her eyes on the phone. “I don’t know about this kind of phone.” She touched the phone in several places. “But if you slide along this arrow, it seems to take you back to all the buttons. Then we just have to find the one that says ‘Safari’ again.”

Marianne let out a heavy sigh. “I knew this would be too
gut
to be true. It’s gonna take me a month of Sundays to figure this out.”

Cora fumbled with the phone for a few more minutes while Marianne continued to sigh. Finally, Cora touched a place on the phone that pulled up a familiar-looking screen. She handed the phone to Marianne. “Here’s the Internet.”

Marianne leaned close to the phone, clapped her hands together like a small child, then latched onto the device.
“Ach. Gut.”
She smiled at Cora.
“Danki.”

Cora spent the next hour with Marianne. Together they learned how to maneuver around the Internet on the phone. Then they discovered Amazon.com. “I think you can buy cows on the Internet,” Marianne marveled.

Cora chuckled, something she hadn’t done in ages. “I don’t know about that, Marianne.” Cora glanced up at her ballerina figurines on the mantel. How she’d love to have another one. There was also a new piece of Tupperware she’d been eyeing since before they’d moved from Middlefield. A neighbor had purchased it at a bridal Tupperware party—a hand-cranked device that was said to be faster than an electric or battery-operated mixer.

Cora suddenly realized she hadn’t thought about Leah or the problems with John the whole time that she and Marianne were playing with the phone. What a wonderful distraction this lovely
woman was. Her warm smile, gentle ways, and childlike enthusiasm brought a welcome breath of fresh air to Cora’s household. And apparently she wasn’t above keeping a few things from her husband.

Cora ran a finger down her cheek, a tinge of mischief building inside her. She’d spent months trying to be everything for everyone in her family, trying desperately to inject some sort of happiness into their lives, even though her own heart was far from mended. A wild thought seized her. “Do you think the Internet has books about ballerinas?”

Marianne smiled as she handed Cora the phone. “I think it has just about anything.”

Cora still wasn’t sure about purchasing cows. But as she took the phone from Marianne and began searching for “ballerinas,” she felt lighter than she’d been in ages.

It was a guilty pleasure, true. But it was still pleasure.

F
RIDAY AFTERNOON
A
NNA TOOK A DETOUR FROM HER
bakery deliveries and tethered her buggy in front of the lumberyard where Jacob worked. Anna knew her grandfather had made purchases from the local establishment, but Anna had never been inside. A bell chimed when she walked in, and she breathed in the aroma of freshly cut wood. A young
Englisch
woman sat behind a counter to her left.

“Can I help you?”

Anna smoothed the wrinkles from her black apron, pushed back a strand of wayward hair that had come loose from her
kapp
, and moved closer to the counter. “I’m looking for Jacob Hostetler.” She dreaded having to tell Jacob that she couldn’t go out with him Saturday night.
Mammi
had talked to
Daadi
but couldn’t persuade him to relent. And as angry as she’d felt in the beginning, Anna couldn’t bring herself to completely defy her grandfather.

The woman, dressed in a fitted white shirt, had long blond hair almost to her waist. She was very pretty, and Anna avoided her gaze, feeling suddenly self-conscious.

“He’s on the clock. Can I help you with something?”

Anna bit her bottom lip, then turned to face the woman. The name
Glenda
was on her nametag, and the frown on her face
suggested that dropping by wasn’t appropriate. Anna didn’t want to bother Jacob, but she wouldn’t have another opportunity to talk to him. “I just need to talk to him for a few moments if he is able.”

Glenda slowly stood up. “I’ll go see if I can find him.” Her voice was curt as she rounded the counter and gave Anna a thin-lipped smile.

Anna was wishing she hadn’t come, but how else could she get a message to Jacob? A few moments later Glenda returned. “He’s coming.” She returned to the counter and sat down again. “Are you his girlfriend?”

Anna swallowed hard. “
Nee
. . . I mean no. I’m just a friend.”

“Well, if I were Amish, I’d snap him right up.” Glenda flung her hair over her shoulders and batted long dark eyelashes. “He’s the hottest Amish guy I’ve ever seen.”

No doubt about that
. Anna was relieved to hear that Glenda had said, “If I were Amish.”