Chapter Twelve

The next day Caleb watched the sun creep above the horizon as he strolled down the gravel road to the Millers’. As the sun rose, the snow melted, which would make for a muddy mess on the festival grounds. It was the first week of March, and the festival was being held a couple weeks earlier than usual due to the forecast of heavy rains later in the month.

When Caleb arrived at the Millers’, he saw the family gathering what they were going to sell—food, quilts, and Ivan and Mark’s wood working. As Caleb got closer, he watched Rebecca place two quilts in a box. She paused, and then pulled out the top one. Caleb cocked his head to see the pattern. Each square had the name of a state with the coordinating state bird and flower. The colors were vibrant, and the intricate stitching had to have taken longer than most he’d seen—and he’d seen a lot of quilts in his time.

“You shouldn’t sell that one, Mrs. Miller,” he said, even though he knew her well enough to guess that she would. The family surely had more quilts than they needed, until weddings and babies came. Even so, the quilts would be personalized, each one made for the special occasion.

“Caleb, I didn’t know you were going to the festival with us.” Rebecca smoothed out the wrinkles and laid the quilt in with the rest.

Caleb hadn’t considered going, but now that she mentioned it, he decided it would be an excuse to spend more time with Emma before he left. Despite her intentions, he still doubted she would really leave her family and the community. So he’d planned to come by and tell her good-bye, but this would work out even better. He would miss her when he left. Being outside at the festival would give him peace, plus the food couldn’t be matched and the camaraderie would be comforting.

“Where is the rest of the crew?”

“Finishing up chores,” Rebecca said while she resumed packing the goods. As Caleb joined in with the packing, he hoped it would be a profitable day for them. He knew this was one of the few times they would attend something this big, a once-a-year family trip that would last the entire day. A good part of their income came from selling produce and homemade items, so they needed to make the best of the opportunity.

Caleb watched Emma walk onto the porch. She had to have realized halfway down the stairs that the box she carried was too heavy, but she was too stubborn to set it down, instead wobbling forward with each step. When she set her foot down, he gently reached around and pulled the box away, peeking around it to smile at her. His heart hit hard in his chest, like it had years ago when they were together.

She stopped and stared. “Caleb?”

“You don’t know your own strength. I can barely lift this thing.” He shook his head as he placed it in the back of the wagon.

She stepped forward as if to see it was really him. “When are you leaving?”

“Decided to stay awhile. Can I join you? You’ll need to take the buggy too, so I’d be glad to chauffeur you.”

Emma scoffed. “I think my daed would frown on us being together unsupervised.”

“He still hasn’t lightened up on that? We’re older than most who are married here.” He knew she really meant that her daed didn’t trust him. Before he’d left for the city, Ivan had thought highly of Caleb, but his decision to stay in Philly had soured Ivan toward him. Caleb understood to a point, but Ivan had never given him a chance to explain his true cause. Ivan had it in his head, as did many others, that he’d led the youth in the wrong direction.

If they only knew it’s the exact opposite…

When he glanced at Emma, she was blushing. He wasn’t sure why. Could it be she still had feelings for him? He remembered the day he left. He’d come to her to tell her good-bye, set on changing the world. His big ideals and mission to help others couldn’t be denied. She reluctantly let him go with her blessing. He envisioned her stricken expression and tears trickling down her face. He’d never gotten over her. Sometimes when he was alone in the city or had a bad day, he’d wish she was there with him. But she’d made it clear she would never leave the community.

“Well, then, let’s get a chaperone.” He grinned, knowing who to ask. He hopped in the buggy, liking the feel of the leather reins and the sound of horseshoes clicking on the asphalt road leading into town. He watched the rest of her family in front of them in the wagon. Her daed didn’t seem to mind that he was there to drive the buggy.

Maria happily chaperoned the two of them with the promise from Emma that she would do the same for her at Sunday singing. She sat in the back, which gave him some time with Emma, who wanted to know everything that he’d been doing, and what his plans were for the future. He humbly tried to tell her but felt like he was talking too much about himself. He had grown used to hearing the stories of the homeless, nonbelievers and downtrodden, not about him.

“You live on purpose, nothing left to chance, all for Gott’s glory. I don’t know how you do it all in such a big and busy place.” Her auburn eyes sparkled in the morning sun.

“You get used to it after a while. You learn where the safe places are and people you can trust.” He turned to her. “It’s really no different than anywhere else.” He didn’t know whether she caught his meaning. Except for the larger numbers it was not much different than living in any community—even in the Amish community he grew up in. People were people, no matter where you were.

“I still can’t see you living in Philly.”

“Why is that so hard to imagine?”

“I knew you growing up Amish, living on the land, not cement and skyscrapers.” She looked to him for an answer, more serious this time. He wasn’t sure what she expected. But whatever it was, he didn’t seem to be telling her the things she wanted to hear.

They were quiet for a moment. He knew she was thinking, so he waited to hear what was on her mind.

“What keeps you there, Caleb? You would make a good minister for our community.”

He scoffed. “Being a minister, deacon, or bishop are all different; so is evangelizing. The Amish live out their faith, but they don’t share it with others as much as most Christian groups. I want to do both. Being in the community held me back from what I feel called to do.” He gave her a quick smile, hoping she understood. This would be controversial if he were amongst the gmayna, the church board.

“You always did like your freedom.” She turned to him, watching as he slowly turned to look at her. “I admire that about you.”

“I think you’re the only one in the community who understands me.”

“You might be surprised.” She was silent for a moment. “But I’ll always believe in you, Caleb.”

The lump in his throat kept him from swallowing, much less responding. Not even his parents gave him their full support. They didn’t bann him from their home as some did when their children decided to leave the community. But he’d decided to stay with friends until he left for the city again so as not to get the deacons involved.

He found a place to park the buggy, and they went to help with the wagon. Once they got their table set up, Caleb wanted nothing more than to walk the grounds with Emma. Maria followed a step or two behind. They watched children get their faces painted and then strolled through booths, tasting different foods. A band played, and people streamed in and out of the farm equipment tent. They laughed together as brave souls risked getting drenched at the dunking tank.

“Ach, look at the magician.” Emma grabbed Caleb’s arm and drew him to another small stage. They watched as he turned a rabbit into a bouquet of flowers and then handed them to Caleb. He, in turn, gave them to Emma. She breathed in the sweet aroma. “Danke.”

“What a gentleman.” Zeb’s voice traveled far enough for the magician to hear, and they turned to see him with Maria by his side. The magician reached into his hat once more and then handed Zeb a single red rose. To Caleb’s surprise, Zeb gave the flower to Maria. “You seem to already have plenty.”

He winked at Emma but not in a playful way.

“I have a hankering for a corndog. Anyone else want one?” Caleb hiked a thumb over his shoulder at the food tents. For Emma’s sake, he should back off. He was lucky to have gotten some time with her, even if it ended now.

“I’ll go with you, Caleb,” Maria offered and twirled her rose. She skipped up next to him and let him smell her flower.

He glanced around, curious to see where Emma had gone. She and Zeb were walking several steps behind them. He couldn’t hear what Zeb was saying, but neither of them was smiling. He didn’t want to cause problems for Emma, but she hadn’t done anything wrong. He was hardly a threat to anyone; they lived in separate worlds. He hadn’t seen her in over a year, and didn’t know when they’d meet again.

Mark walked up with a few others and stopped in front of Caleb and Maria. Caleb had a feeling he knew what they had on their minds. “Caleb, glad we found you.”

“I’m surprised you did. This place is packed.” Caleb saw Emma out of the corner of his eye. She slowly went over close enough to hear them. She stood behind Mark and in front of Zeb. “Who are your friends?”

“More from the community who want to go with us when you leave.” Mark introduced everyone, and Caleb asked them why they wanted to leave, whether they were planning to come home, what they would do there—anything to get them to think about their decision.

He’d seen too many who ended up turning right back around. Going to the city sounded good, especially for a teen upset with his or her parents or who was just curious, but it wasn’t a good enough reason to go. It wasn’t a vacation or sight-seeing trip. It was working for food and a place to sleep.

The entertainment wasn’t always what they expected and got them into trouble as times. Once this was explained, a couple of them seemed leery, which is exactly what Caleb wanted. It saved him the inconvenience of hooking them up to get back home after finding out it wasn’t what they’d hoped for.

“You can’t run away from your problems.”

Caleb turned around to see Emma talking to one of the youth who was with Mark. He stayed where he was, listening.

“But maybe you should go, so you can see that your parents aren’t asking too much from you.”

“Or maybe I’ll find out that they are,” the young teen girl spouted off. Caleb had heard the story repeatedly. They don’t like the rules, so they punished their parents by leaving. In the long run they usually came back, tail between their legs. Others figured out they were wrong, but were too prideful to admit it and return home. One thing the Amish had going for them in the city was that their demeanor and hard-working upbringing got them jobs, and they kept them. But it took a lot of money to live in the city; even the dives were more than minimum wage could support.

There were so many conversations going on that Caleb took a step back, watching and listening. He’d worked with teenagers for years, but this up-and-coming group scared him. One reason he only dealt with Amish was due to their obedience, but this group seemed to have their own mind about things. They were bent on having their own way to an extent uncommon for the Amish. He prayed it would all sort out in God’s favor for those who could handle what they were dishing out and for those who had no idea what they were in for.