Gary was the first guest to arrive. Martha showed him into the living room where she and Moses had been sitting, chatting. “Gary, this is Moses, Moses Hostetler.”
Gary walked over and held out his hand. “Mr. Hostetler.”
Martha had no idea that Gary was speaking formally as his idea of a little joke, so she decided to follow suit and introduce Gary in the same way. “And Moses, I’d like you to meet Mr. Wright.”
Moses looked horrified. “What? Oh, I mean congratulations. Isn’t this very sudden though?” His face flushed beet red.
Martha had no idea what he was talking about, but Gary burst out laughing. “No, my name is Gary Wright, Wright with a W. Martha doesn’t mean Mr. Right with an R.” Gary fell onto the sofa and collapsed into helpless peals of laughter, while both Moses and Martha stood by, embarrassed.
Martha was mortified, but was saved by another knock at the door. This time it was Laura, and she had brought with her a box of chocolates. “Hi Martha, here’s a box of chocolates. I feel silly bringing you chocolates with you being a chocolate expert and all, but I know you don’t drink wine.”
Martha was overcome by Laura’s thoughtfulness. “Come in. I don’t have any chocolates left, apart from the samples I need this week, so this is perfect, denki, um, thank you.”
This time she introduced the two men as Moses and Gary, and Gary caught her eye and chuckled. Martha didn’t find it at all amusing, so looked away. Gary’s face lighted up at the sight of Laura, and so did Moses’ face, Martha thought. She wondered if this dinner party was such a good idea after all. Besides, how would Moses, an Amish man, relate to the Englischers? Well, she herself was Amish, although she had one foot firmly in the Englisch world now. Martha hoped that the night would not prove to be a disaster.
Martha was in the kitchen checking the six layer dinner when she heard Sheryl arrive and introduce herself. Martha was pleased. She’d had enough of introductions for one day. Her face felt hot as she remembered that Moses had thought that she was introducing Gary as Mr. Right. Anyway, whatever was she thinking having both men to dinner? She had feelings for Moses, and she had kind of been dating Gary. She hoped Gary wouldn’t mention their dinner date to Moses.
Sheryl popped her head into the kitchen. “Need any help?”
“No thanks. It’s under control. Oh Sheryl, you don’t mind me serving food in this dress, do you? I couldn’t find an apron.”
Sheryl waved her concerns away. “That’s just a cheap dress. Don’t worry about spilling anything on it. There are more dresses where that came from. It looks good on you. You should’ve worn some make-up, though.”
I am wearing make-up, Martha thought with dismay. Perhaps I didn’t put enough on.
When Martha brought out the food, the four were talking happily. She was relieved that Moses didn’t seem to feel out of place with three Englischers. In fact, he was talking quit a lot and Laura was hanging on his every word. That fact caused Martha a pang of anxiety. She knew she had feelings for Moses, and knew that he would not leave the Amish, and somehow she had reconciled herself to that, or at least she thought so. However, it had not occurred to her until now that if she didn’t marry Moses, he would one day marry another. She caught her breath at the thought, but then had to turn her attention to serving the food.
“Is this Amish food?” Gary asked.
“Jah, yes, it is.”
Gary beamed at Martha and she noticed that Moses was watching closely. I wonder if Moses is jealous? she thought. I’m a little jealous that Moses is speaking to Laura.
Laura was seated next to Moses and he was telling her all about Amish food. “It’s amazing you can cook so much without electricity,” she said, touching his arm and smiling at him.
“We have gas or wood stoves,” Moses said, but Martha interrupted with a laugh.
“The women do all the cooking. Moses has never baked anything in his life. Isn’t that right, Moses?”
Moses chuckled. “That’s true, but I do know that we have a gas stove as well as a wood stove.”
“Laura, Martha said you work with her?” Gary appeared to be trying to take Laura’s attention away from Moses, and Martha didn’t know whether to be pleased or irritated. Laura was turning out to be quite the flirt. Still, Martha had to admit that Laura had no idea that she herself had been to dinner with Gary, nor that she harbored feelings for Moses.
“Wow, this dinner is so good, Martha.” Gary winked at her.
It was obvious to Martha that Moses saw Gary wink and didn’t like it. Surely Moses knows there’s no hope of anything between us, Martha thought. I told him I wouldn’t go back to the Amish. Perhaps I shouldn’t have invited him for dinner. It might’ve made things more complicated. Then Martha realized that she would have to stop calling on Moses every time she needed help, and she wasn’t quite prepared to do that, not yet. How could she reconcile her feelings for Moses with the fact that she wanted to remain in the Englisch world? She had never heard of a married couple where one person was Amish and the other an Englischer, with both of them living in their own worlds. Was that even possible?
After the six layer dinner, Martha cleared the plates with Laura’s help. When the two of them were alone in the kitchen, Martha exclaimed how Sheryl had the salt in the sugar container, much to Laura’s amusement.
“Hey Martha, if you don’t mind me saying so, how can you afford such an expensive dress?” Laura asked. “I’m sure you don’t get paid more than I do, and I certainly couldn’t afford it. Are the Amish very wealthy?”
“Oh no,” Martha hastened to explain. “It’s not my dress. It’s Sheryl’s. I don’t have many Englischer clothes and Sheryl always lets me borrow hers.”
Laura nodded, but still looked puzzled. “How does Sheryl afford it then? And that dress she’s wearing—it looks like a designer dress.”
Martha shrugged. “No idea. She doesn’t like to talk about herself much, but she says the dresses are cheap.”
“That explains it then! They must be knock-offs.”
Martha was about to ask what a knock-off was, when Laura leaned over and spoke to her in a conspiratorial whisper. “So which one do you want, Moses or Gary?”
Martha’s hand flew to her throat. “What do you mean?”
“Oh come on, Martha, don’t be coy. They’re both good looking guys and you’re single. I don’t want to step on your toes.”
Martha didn’t know what to say. “Err, which one do you like?”
Laura giggled. “Both of them, really, but I’ll have whichever one you don’t want.”
“Amish boys don’t date Englischer girls.”
Laura winked at her. “Well, you never know! It’s worth a try.” Before Martha could say another word, Laura took the Shoo-fly pie and headed back to the dining room.
To Martha’s dismay, Laura hung on Moses’ every word and touched his arm flirtatiously at intervals. Gary spent the evening speaking to Laura too, leaving Sheryl and Martha to talk to each other. It wasn’t quite how Martha had planned the evening.
“So how is the chocolate business going, Martha?” Moses asked her.
Martha noticed Laura was visibly put out that Moses was turning his attention to her. “I’m going to sell my chocolates at the market soon, but I have a meeting with a broker. He’s a broker for various store buyers.”
“That’s good.” Moses’s face lit up.
“It’s in New York at the end of the week,” Martha said. “They’re allowing me to take Thursday and Friday off work so I can go to New York.”
Moses gasped. “New York? How can you go to New York?”
Martha took his words literally. “Well, I catch the train of course,” she said with a frown.
Moses shook his head. “Nee, Martha! You can’t go to New York. You’ve never been to New York before. Are you going alone?”
Before Martha could respond, Laura spoke. “I wanted to go with her, but I have to cover for her at work.”
“So are you going alone?” Moses asked again.
Martha nodded, a small knot forming in the pit of her stomach. She had been deeply concerned about going to New York all by herself, and now Moses was showing such obvious concern, she felt quite foolish about considering the matter in the first place.
Finally, she said, “I have to go. He’s a big agent for all the buyers and he only takes five percent I’ve done a lot of research online, and I’m amazed he’s even agreed to speak with me.”
Moses rubbed one hand over his forehead. “I’ll have to go with you.”
Martha was shocked. “Come with me? What about the farm work? And Jacob has to keep checking on Esther so I’m sure he’s not working at his full capacity. What will your vadder say?”
“I’m sure my parents will think you shouldn’t go to New York alone,” he said. “Have you told your parents?”
Martha shook her head vigorously. “Nee, and please don’t tell them, Moses. They wouldn’t agree, I’m sure.”
Moses appeared to thinking things over. “I’ll have to go with you, Martha.”
Gary laughed raucously. “Two Amish people wandering around New York? I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’d go with Martha, but I have a gig on Thursday night that I can’t get out of.”
Moses screwed up his nose, and Martha could see he didn’t like the idea of Gary accompanying her at all. On the other hand, Martha was secretly pleased that Moses had offered to go with her. “Thank you, Moses. Are you sure it will be all right?”
He nodded. “I’ve never been to New York of course, and I’ve never been on a train, but I’m sure between the two of us we can figure things out. After all, how hard could it be?”
The Englischers at the table looked shocked. “You need to book motel rooms,” Sheryl said. “Martha, you haven’t booked a room yet, have you?”
Martha was discomforted. “I was going to get your help with doing that.”
“Well, it’s a bit too late to get discounted tickets, but at least you’ll be able to get train tickets. When you get to Penn Station in New York, get a taxi straight to the motel.”
Gary interrupted them. “And don’t leave the motel at all at night.”
Sheryl agreed. “And then the next morning, you should leave for your appointment early, right?” Martha nodded. Sheryl pushed on. “Get a taxi from your motel straight to the appointment. When it’s over, get a taxi straight back to your motel. Book a motel with a restaurant so you don’t have to leave the building. When it’s time for you to leave, get a taxi straight back to Penn Station. Make sure you’re early, early so you don’t miss the train. Once you’re on the train, it will all be fine.”
Martha noticed that Gary, Sheryl, and Laura were exchanging glances again. It was clear the three of them thought it was a crazy idea for two Amish people to wander around New York. Martha could see Moses was worried too.
“Thanks for your advice,” Moses said. “We will do as you say. Can you recommend a motel?”
“Wait right here.” Sheryl left the room and returned presently with a laptop. “What’s the broker’s address?” she asked Martha.
“I’ll just have to check.” Martha walked to her bedroom and returned with a piece of paper. She put in front of Sheryl.
Sheryl tapped away at the keyboard. “Okay, I found a motel not too far away, and I can get you the cheaper rates. I’d better book you now. I’ll pay online, and you too can pay me back later.”
Both Moses and Martha made to protest, but Sheryl said, “I know you probably don’t understand, but people pay online these days. You don’t turn up to the motel and hand over cash. I’ll book two rooms for you now. This motel has reasonable rates and has a restaurant, so you won’t need to go out looking for food.”
“I’ll bring the money for you when I collect Martha,” Moses said.
Sheryl shook her head. “How about you come here, Moses, and I’ll give you both a ride to the station. When you get back here, Martha can call or text me and I’ll come and collect you.”
They both thanked her. Martha felt blessed to have such a good friend as Sheryl. It was the same sense of community she had experienced with the Amish.
Sheryl let out a shriek. “Just as well I haven’t booked yet! This motel is a short walk from Penn Station. It has a restaurant too. Do you want to see the website?”
Martha shook her head. “Whatever you think is best, Sheryl,” Martha said.
“I wish I could come too,” Laura said wistfully. “Maybe I could find someone to cover for me.”
Martha shot her a weak smile, but didn’t say anything. She certainly hoped Laura wouldn’t come. If she were to be honest with herself, she would admit she wanted to spend time with Moses, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to do so. She did, however, allow herself to admit she was pleased someone was going with her, someone as strong, capable and kind, as Moses. Martha had been sick with worry about going to New York by herself, and now she had someone to go with her, even if that person was just as clueless about New York as she herself was.
Laura became more flirtatious as the night went on, hanging on Moses’s every word.
As Martha lay in bed that night, looking at the stars through her open curtains, she wondered whether she wanted to be an Englischer after all. Being an Englischer was turning out to be not quite so much fun.