The stench that had infiltrated the lobby and living room was finally eliminated after a considerable amount of time had been spent cleaning the mess. Signs of the manure on the walls and floors had gone, but Martha continued rubbing lavender oil into every piece of wooden furniture that she could find. She glimpsed at the clock that hung above the front desk and realized the guests could be arriving at any minute. In a state of panic, her eyes shot around the room, carefully observing the scene. It looked immaculate compared to how it had appeared when she first discovered the disaster.
James appeared at the door. “We still have to take all these bags of laundry out to the laundry room,” he said, reminding her of their unfinished task.
Martha smiled, before looking over at the bags he was talking about. Sitting in one corner of the lobby were about four large, black trash bags with their contents spilling out around them. Two laundry baskets filled with numerous dirty linens from the cleanup efforts also decorated the far reaches of the lobby where the bags sat.
James and Martha worked together to carry the bags outside to the laundry room, where they could be washed later that day. As they carried a bag out of the building, a feeling of tranquility washed through Martha. The guests would arrive happy and full of joy, and Miriam wouldn’t have to see another deplorable act that had invaded her B&B. As she turned to follow James back inside, she noticed Amos as he was walking up the path toward the house.
“Good day,” he called from afar. James tipped his hat to greet his co-worker, and Martha waved politely as they continued to the door. Without warning, a loud noise erupted through the air. The melody was odd, and when she turned back toward its source, she saw Amos pulling a cell phone from his pocket. “Sorry, I gotta take this call,” he blurted out, his eyes glued to his smartphone.
Deciding to pay it no more attention, Martha ignored Amos and James opened the door to the B&B. As he was about to step inside, Martha heard Amos calling out from behind her. “Hey James, Jonas is calling for you from the roof.”
Martha looked up to see Jonas waving from the roof.
“I need help up here with these shingles. James, can you come up?”
“Jah,” James called. He turned and waved goodbye to her, and she thanked him for his help with a warm, heartfelt smile.
Martha went back inside and surveyed the rooms. The air smelled normal; in fact, it actually smelled a little better than it usually did. Martha smiled at the thought, but seconds later, her thought process was interrupted once more. “Do you need help with bringing those to the laundry room?” Amos’s outstretched hand pointed toward the two filled laundry baskets.
She turned to see him standing just a few feet behind her. Martha noticed his eyes were examining the room as hers had just been before he disturbed her thoughts, but other than the soiled linens, any traces of what had occurred early that morning were no longer visible.
“Actually, I would appreciate the gesture very much.” She felt a sincere sense of gratitude. Perhaps Amos wasn’t so bad, after all. Martha threw the last few soiled cloths into one of the hand-woven laundry baskets and nodded at Amos to signal that she was ready to finally finish the clean-up.
Amos leaned over and lifted a basket effortlessly. “Lead the way,” he said. Martha grabbed the remaining container, and headed off toward the laundry area with her new helper in tow.
As they walked, Amos tried to make small talk several times, but Martha did her best to politely evade most of his queries.
As they reached the laundry room, Amos stopped. “I wonder what was James doing here so early?”
Martha looked at him, confused. Why would he question what time a man wakes up? “He was on time, wasn’t he?”
Amos shook his head. “I meant, he was out very late last night.”
Martha paused momentarily. She tightened her grip on the basket to avoid dropping it, but the pangs of frustration and uncertainty continued to toy with her mind. What did he mean by that? James was out late last night? Why? “It’s none of my business,” she said. A short sigh escaped her lips as frustration replaced the tranquility that she had been feeling earlier.
“I’m sorry, I meant nothing by it. I just don’t understand why he’d be up earlier than usual on a morning that followed such a late night.”
The door to the laundry room was unlocked, so she pushed against it gently, forcing it to swing open with haste. Amos followed in behind her and placed his basket on one of the tables that lined the wall. Martha sat hers on the ground before turning toward him. “James is a hardworking man. Perhaps he just wanted to get an early start today. He didn’t seem to be lacking sleep in any noticeable regard,” she said.
A look of disbelief overshadowed Amos’ face. “Well, if I was out past midnight with my girlfriend, I sure wouldn’t be up before dawn the following morning.”
Emptiness caused each one of Martha’s thoughts to evaporate. “Excuse me? I’m not sure I understand that last bit.” While that wasn’t entirely true, she needed confirmation of what she thought he was trying to suggest.
“I couldn’t fall asleep last night for some reason, so I grabbed a book and relaxed on the couch in the living room. It had to have been well after midnight when he finally strolled in. He had the biggest smile on his face that I’ve ever seen.”
Temporarily forgetting all about the laundry, Martha’s thoughts bubbled with anxiety and apprehension. “And what does that imply?” she asked.
A smug look overtook his face. “Well, it’s obvious that James is getting serious with his girlfriend. I suppose wedding bells are on the horizon. That’s all, really,” Amos said. A satisfied smirk lined his lips.
When Martha spoke, her voice was shaky, but quiet. “I wasn’t aware James was seeing anyone,” she confessed. She tried to push down the emotion that was welling up.
Seemingly caught off guard by her response, Amos’ demeanor softened. “Hey, I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize -”
Martha interrupted him. “Realize what?” she said. “I just hadn’t heard that he was involved. I’m happy for him. Is she from this community or the one he and Jonas are from?”
His eyes grew larger, and his mouth fell open. “Um, I don’t really know how to say this without coming off as rude or anything, but she’s not from either. She’s a normal girl.”
“A normal girl?” Martha was offended by his words, but kept her composure. She was certainly a normal girl too, wasn’t she? Wait, did he mean that James was dating an Englischer? “Oh, do you mean that he’s dating an Englischer?” she said aloud.
“Oh, yes! That’s what I meant, I’m sorry. See, I told you I didn’t know how to say it correctly!” Amos surveyed the room quickly while taking in a deep gulp of air. “Was there anything else you needed help with?”
“No thank you,” she replied. “You’ve done more than enough and I sincerely appreciate the kind gestures.” He smiled and turned to leave, but she stopped him in the doorway. “Amos?”
“Why did you tell me this?”
Amos looked disquieted. “I didn’t intend to even bring it up, honestly. It just struck me as odd that James would be so adamant about waking up before dawn considering he had just been out on a date. And as far as why you haven’t heard about it before, it’s probably because he’s hiding it. I don’t think he’s very proud of the fact that he’s falling for someone outside of his way of life, or whatever you call this.”
It almost sounded like another insult to her. “So nobody else in the community is aware of this? In either community, I mean?”
Amos shrugged. “I really don’t think so, but I could be wrong. I’m not even sure if Jonas knows about it. I only do because I couldn’t fall asleep last night. I probably shouldn’t have even said a word,” he added.
“I’m sure he has his reasons for the choices he has made,” Martha said. “You meant no harm with your words, but if James is purposely keeping it from others, you should respect his wishes. He clearly doesn’t want it to be public knowledge yet. Amish people often date in secret and others in the community don’t even know about it. Don’t you think he should be the one that decides who knows about it and who doesn’t?”
“You’re right,” Amos said, before pausing to think. “I won’t bring it up ever again. If he wants people to know, he can make an announcement or something.”
“Thank you, again.”
“For?” he asked, clearly bewildered.
“The laundry,” she said.
“Oh,” he exclaimed. “Any time you need help and I’m around, just call out and I’ll be there.”
Without another word, Martha turned her focus on the laundry and began sifting through the linens. She did not turn around to see if Amos was still standing in the doorway, but she could no longer hear his heavy breathing. She continued with the laundry, letting the chore devour her disappointment in the meantime.
When she had finished with the linens, Martha finally stood and let her thoughts come back. She wondered if Amos was an honest man with integrity, or just a deceitful person looking to hurt other’s feelings. The only way she’d know that answer would be to confront James and ask him about it, but, of course, there was no way she could do that.
A single tear somehow escaped her left eye, but she quickly caught it with her finger and wiped it away. Distress enveloped her as her heavy heart pounded erratically. How could happiness turn to pain so quickly?