Martha had been terribly stressed the past few weeks. To prevent the criminal charges occupying Martha’s mind at all hours of the day, Moses had suggested they get a bus out to the lake and take a scenic boat tour. When they arrived, the tour guide, a round man with a bright tan, and wearing a mint, cable-knit sweater, suggested the pair of them pop down to the store and grab ice creams, to pass the time until the boat’s departure.
Now she stood by the lake, jotting down the sun reflecting off the water in her mind, so she might never forget the beautiful sight, as Moses returned with their ice creams. He had ordered the flavors of chocolate chip and strawberry. Martha picked the strawberry, and now she and Moses were on the boat, pulling away from the shore, with the sun on their backs.
“Denki so much for doing this,” she said to Moses, “I’ve just been so stressed with everything that’s been going on. I can’t believe how silly I’ve been, how I failed even to consider where Sheryl was finding all the clothes and jewelry that she gave me to wear. In hindsight, it’s so obvious now.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Moses replied, wiping the crumbs from the ice cream cone off his hands, pants, and the collar of his shirt. “You trust people easily, Martha. It’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s a very good thing. I’m sure the charges will be dropped in time, and so the worst thing to come out of this is just a tough lesson for you to take on board and consider.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
Martha shivered as the cool lake breeze pressed into her bare arms. She missed the heavy cloak that all Amish girls wore in the autumn and winter seasons, and missed the feel of sturdy wool to protect her against the elements. Moses must have noticed her trembling, for he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tight. His body felt so strong. Martha supposed all the farm work he did could not be for nothing, and she could not help but let a blush spread over her cheeks.
“How is, err, what is his name again?” said Moses.
“Gary?” replied Martha, as a stern expression crept over Moses’ face. She wondered why her reply would annoy him, when he had asked the question in the first place. Although, she thought, I did say Gary’s name very quickly. Perhaps Moses was expecting me to take more time. “Gary is really the only mann I know who you don’t know too well,” she added, awkwardly.
Before Moses could reply, the scenic tour guide in the cable-knit sweater appeared, to ask if everything was okay. “And you are sure there is nothing I can get for the beautiful young couple?” he finished.
“Oh,” replied Martha, feeling the blush on her cheeks deepen, “We’re not a couple.” That only made Moses frown more, and she felt like nothing was going right for her of late. “But thank you for asking.”
“You never answered my question,” said Moses, removing his hand from Martha’s shoulder and fiddling with the cuffs on his plain white shirt.
“He’s fine, I believe. Although I think he was very shocked to hear about Sheryl. He said if he’d known what she was doing, he would have stepped in and told her to not involve me.”
“How kind of him.”
“Is anything the matter?”
“No, no.” Moses smiled now. “I’m sorry, Martha. I brought you out here to distract you from Sheryl and the charges, not to bring them up again and again.”
“I don’t mind all that much. It does help to talk about it, and I wouldn’t want to involve anybody else in my mess.”
“Just involve me?”
“I’m sorry,” said Martha, wishing even more for her heavy woolen cloak now. She felt so warm and safe in that coat, but here, with Moses and the lake stretching before her, she felt terribly exposed.
“Nee! I’m glad you involved me, Martha. You know I’m always here for you, no matter what. I feel like I’m making a complete mess of this.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” Martha said, and the pair of them laughed. “What a sorry sight we make today, Moses. At least we had ice cream. A day is never truly bad if you get to eat ice cream.”
“Ah, wise words from Martha Miller. Do you have any more wisdom to impart to me? I had best learn all I can before you…”
“Before I?”
“Marry, I suppose.” Now it was Moses’ turn to blush. “I don’t know. Despite what you said the other day, I just thought you might be thinking of Gary as a… Here I go, messing it all up again. Have you heard from Hannah or Esther or Rebecca? I bet you miss your schweschders a lot.”
Martha did not reply for a minute or so. She looked searchingly across the lake, to the vegetation growing on the damp shore. The bushes rustled in the lake breeze, while the sunlight filtered through the trees, dancing across the rippling water. She felt so bad for poor Moses, as her head felt all over the place today, and now she missed her schweschders terribly. She wondered where they were at this exact moment, and if they felt as well and happy as she currently felt scared and confused. Her two older schweschders, Hannah and Esther, were always the most sensible of the four, so she supposed they were fine. Her little schweschder, Rebecca, was still at home, and would no doubt be helping their mother with the chores, and not accepting stolen goods from a thieving roommate. She sighed.
“It is a little strange, isn’t it? You grow up with someone, spend all your time with them, laughing and working and all the rest, and suddenly they’re gone and you can’t even feel sorry about it, because both Hannah and Esther are blissfully married. To your bruders, no less! I wonder if our parents ever saw that coming.”
“Parents usually do.”
“That’s true. Although, I think my mudder wanted both Hannah and Esther to marry other menner. Not that she was upset about them marrying your bruders, of course,” Martha hastened to add.
Martha looked over to Moses now. He was very handsome, even more so in the golden sunlight, with the lake twinkling in the background. She knew her schweschders married his bruders for their kindness and their warmth, and not for their looks, but their bronzed skin and crooked smiles no doubt sweetened the deal. Martha smiled guiltily at the very thought. She felt very wicked for thinking such things.
“So your mudder now approves of my familye?” inquired Moses, his face beaming at the thought. “I suppose our familyes must now like each other a great deal, if two of my bruders have married two of your schweschders. I wonder what they’d all say if they could see us today, out here on this beautiful lake, in this beautiful boat, with the sun rising above us.”
Martha laughed. “They’d probably say, ‘Here we go again! Another Miller schweschder is going to marry another Hostetler bruder.’ That’s quite the thought, isn’t it?”
“That is,” replied Moses, a large grin spreading over his handsome face.