“How’d it go?” asked Rachel on the walk home.
“About what I expected. He told me a little of what I need to do, notably learn Deitsch and abide by the Ordnung. But if I do stay and convert, he wasn’t overly optimistic about the likelihood of my remaining Amish.”
Rachel chuckled. “I’ll tell you one thing—I wouldn’t be surprised if you became baptized after all.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
“What are you going to tell Isaac?”
“Just what I’ve told you. I already let him know the truth about why I landed here to begin with. Now I’ll let him know about my discussion with Bishop Stoltzfus.” She paused, then added, “He deserves to know.”
Rachel nodded. “That’s wise. In fact, why don’t you go talk with him now? I’ll just head home. It’s late enough you’ll probably stay for supper. I’ll let Mamm know.”
“I’ll do that. And Rachel...” Leah stopped in the road and bent down to hug her. “Thank you. For everything. You’ve helped me more than you’ll ever know.”
She thought she saw a sparkle of moisture in the young woman’s eyes as she returned the hug. Then she turned and walked away.
Leah headed for the Sommers’ home. It was close to dinner, and as she suspected, both Eleanor and Isaac were in the kitchen.
“Leah!” exclaimed Eleanor as she answered the door. “You’re a mite late, child, but won’t you stay for dinner?”
“I will, if you don’t mind.” Leah toyed with the idea of asking to speak to Isaac alone, then changed her mind. If she and Isaac were to have a future together, it would involve his mother, as well. She needed the older woman’s blessing.
With the meal on the table, she bowed her head and asked God not just for a blessing on the food but also for a blessing on her future.
“What have you been doing today?” began Isaac, reaching for a platter and scooping some food onto his plate.
“I had an appointment I wanted to tell you both about.” Leah toyed with her fork. “It was with Bishop Stoltzfus.”
Isaac froze. Eleanor paused.
“I went to ask him a very important question—namely, what it would take for me to convert and become Amish.”
“And...” The word came out as a croak. Isaac cleared his throat and tried again. “And what did he say?”
“He gave me every warning under the sun but summed it up by saying I was welcome to try. He said I’d need to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and become familiar with and abide by the Ordnung. We had quite a lengthy discussion. He suggested it might take as long as a couple of years, all told.” She looked at her plate.
“Child, that was a brave thing to do,” said Eleanor, her eyes sparkling with moisture.
“I was scared,” she admitted. “The bishop is an intimidating fellow. But he was fair and honest—both about my chances, and about the likelihood of a conversion being a lasting state of affairs.”
“Will Ivan and Edith let you continue to stay with them?” asked Eleanor.
“I don’t know. I’ll ask them tonight. I’ll confess I asked about the possibility of rooming here, but Bishop Stoltzfus said it would not reflect well on me.”
“Of course not.” Eleanor seemed to grasp the implications at once.
Isaac was silent through this exchange. Not wanting to make any assumptions and look like a fool, she only said to him, “So it looks like I’ll be able to work on the magazine for the foreseeable future.”
Isaac abruptly shoved his chair back and stood up. “Excuse me, please.” He strode out of the kitchen door toward the back of the house.
Stricken, Leah stared after him. “What did I say?” she whispered.
Eleanor smiled, and her lips trembled. “I think he’s overwhelmed at the thought you might stay. He hasn’t said much to me, but it’s plain as day he has feelings for you.”
Leah bit her lip. “The feeling’s mutual.”
“Go after him, child. You need to talk.”
She nodded, snatched the napkin off her lap and went outside.
Isaac was standing in the shade of a tree, resting his hand on the trunk and breathing as if he’d been running.
“Isaac? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s a lie and you know it.” She picked her way over some gravel toward the tree. “Tell me...”
The words ended on a gasp, because he turned and grabbed her, enveloping her in a hard embrace and burying his face in her neck. She felt him shaking.
“I can’t believe you did that,” he whispered against her kapp. “I can’t believe there’s a chance you could stay here among us, always. I can’t believe it.”
Except for when she’d wept against his chest, it was the first time he’d held her. The Amish reserve against physical affection was so ingrained that to be hugged this hard illustrated how powerful was the emotion behind it.
She felt tears prickle her eyes. “It hasn’t happened yet. There’s a lot ahead of me. Possibly years. The bishop said the decision would have to be unanimous among the church members. And I’ll have to be baptized.”
He drew a shuddering breath and released her, shoving his hands into his pockets. He turned to look at the western sky. “But there’s hope.”
“Yes, there’s hope. It’s not just you, Isaac. It’s not you alone that’s luring me here. I think I’ve been pushed by God. I have no other way to explain it. But Bishop Stoltzfus agreed the conversion must be spiritual, not just some ascetic desire to leave the world behind me.”
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You have no idea how I’ve struggled since you came. I’ve been feeling torn between two worlds since meeting you. I’m Amish, I will stay Amish...but I also want a wife, a family.” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Now it seems Gott is answering my prayers. It seems my heart’s desire for both is possible.”
She blinked back tears. “We have a long road ahead, and it won’t necessarily be a smooth one.”
“Maybe not, but nothing worth having is easy. Not my magazine, not my mother’s health, not your journey toward Gott.” He took both her hands in his. “When I was younger, I thought my life would be a simple matter to plan out. But stuff happened. As much as I wanted to—or thought I could—plan my life, it has a way of surprising me with unexpected things. And those things have made me happier than I originally planned. I call that Gott’s will.”
“To the best of my knowledge, the Bible never says ‘Figure it out.’” Leah laughed shakily. “It says, ‘Trust in God.’ I assume God already has things figured out. If it’s God’s will for me to stay and be baptized, I will leave it in His hands.”
“That’s all I can ask for.” He drew her around to face the western sky. “The long road ahead looks promising, with Gott at my back and you at my side. We will both leave our future in His hands.”