Isaiah 41:
10.
Fear not, for I am with you; be
not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help
you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
After leaving Beth and Bill’s house, Kate got into her car and looked in the rear view mirror. She slid on her sunglasses to hide the tears that fought to escape her eyes. She started the car up and readied herself for the next stop. She was on her way to Beckie’s house next, for the weekly knitting circle meeting.
When Kate pulled onto the property, she was apprehensive. She wanted to come clean about her ordeal and the reasoning behind why she had to lie to everyone in order to protect not only herself, but them as well. She shut her car off and pulled the key from the ignition. Kate then stepped out of the vehicle and walked toward the front porch. She looked up at the sun as it shone down over the house, casting shadows before her. Kate sighed, hoping things would seem less ominous inside. She pulled off her glasses as she climbed the steps of the porch.
She wasn’t sure what the women would think or say, but when she thought about how great it felt to feel like herself again, it filled her with the courage she needed to face them with the truth. Kate then looked down at her outfit and laughed aloud; it was the first time she was able to wear normal clothing in the Amish community. Would they even recognize her? She approached the door and knocked on it gently. After just a few seconds, it swung open to reveal a sea of happy faces. Beckie stood in the doorway and welcomed her in with open arms. “Katie! Please come in!”
As she walked in, she caught glances of each of the women. They all wore smiles and were hard at work on their respective projects. Kate looked around at each of them, but when she locked eyes momentarily with Nancy, the circle’s chatterbox couldn’t help but speak up. “So, that’s what you really look like as an Englischer?”
Kate was confused. She could tell that the women recognized her, but had they known she wasn’t really Amish? If so, how did they know? “What do you mean?” she asked, hoping to get a better understanding of what they knew and what they didn’t.
“You didn’t think we knew you weren’t really Amish?” Esther said with a smile. “I’ve been telling them something was different about you for weeks!”
“I could tell the moment I saw you trying to knit,” Nancy said, causing the others to laugh.
Kate smiled, unable to fight the humor of the statement as well. Despite how hard she had tried to learn the craft, it just hadn’t worked out in her favor.
“That’s true,” added Beckie. “No Amish women could ever be as hopeless at knitting as you seemed to be.” She laughed.
“Ahem,” Maria said, clearing her throat and trying to grab everyone’s attention. Kate looked over at the tall, thin woman as she focused on the quilt she was knitting. “Do we really need to be discussing such things? Kate has clearly come to say her goodbyes. Can’t we just do that without focusing so much on her knitting skills?”
Kate held a straight face, but deep down she wanted to laugh. Maria was always a bit uptight compared to the others, but the group wouldn’t be the same without the various personalities that each woman brought to it. Her thoughts then drifted back to the fact that they seemed to know beforehand that she wasn’t really Amish. “How did you know I wasn’t Amish, though? Well, beside the poor knitting,” she said, with a chuckle.
Beckie looked up at Kate and spoke in a soft tone. “There were lots of little signs. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, we like to be one step ahead of everyone else and know what’s going on.” The other women nodded in agreement, but Kate noticed Maria was rolling her eyes. “Esther was the first one to have a suspicion based on your mannerisms.”
“I had a hunch that you were feeling us out the first few times you came to the knitting circle, like you were trying to understand our culture and ways of life or something. It confused me at first, but I never felt threatened by you, so we agreed to trust you. Then, the more we got to know you, the more obvious it became that you weren’t really one of us,” Esther explained. “Well, you are one of us now, but I meant that it was obvious you weren’t truly Amish.”
“I still remember the look on your face when Bill broke out the German Bible passage,” Beckie laughed. Kate didn’t know that she had been so conspicuous in the eyes of the knitting circle, but looking back on it, she realized the mistakes she had made. The biggest one was underestimating this clever bunch of women. “I could tell you had no idea what he was saying,” Beth said.
The women laughed as Kate tried to hide her embarrassment. “Okay, so I wasn’t the best Amish woman, but that is what broke my cover?”
“Well, the main thing was when that man showed up asking all those questions. We immediately thought it might have something to do with you,” Lillian said. She was normally the quiet one of the bunch, but sometimes her knowledge of current events even exceeded Kate’s.
“Yes, and that’s why I came to you with the information about the counterfeit identification card,” Beckie added. “When my nephew mentioned how the color-shifting inks worked and how the man’s ID lacked the correct holograms, we immediately thought bringing the information to you.”
Kate scrunched her eyebrows as confusion struck her. “You automatically assumed he was here for me?”
Esther shook her head. “Nee, but after everything Jeremiah had been saying about that private detective asking questions, we knew something was odd,” Esther said. “Two men snooping around Amish communities asking questions? Something wasn’t right.”
“And that’s when Elijah and I went to inform you, Beth, and Bill of the man. We figured if we were right about you -”
Nancy interrupted her. “She means if you were indeed in law enforcement, like we thought.”
Beckie shot Nancy a quick glance, silencing her instantly. Kate laughed, causing the other women to join in. “We thought if we were right about you not being Amish and possibly being in law enforcement, that you’d be able to find out who he was and why he was here,” Beckie said.
“Oh,” Kate replied, unsure of what else to say. She looked around the room and noticed that each of the women wore warm, friendly expressions on their faces. Despite knowing she had lied to them and hidden her true identity, they were all welcoming her back with open arms. Kate smiled at the thought, but then something occurred to her. “Wait. Why didn’t any of you say anything if you suspected that I wasn’t really who I claimed to be?”
“That would be rude, and even if the women like to gossip a bit, it’s something we try to avoid,” Maria added, without looking up from her project.
“We assumed you would tell us when it was the right time,” Nancy remarked. “As Maria likes to remind us, asking personal questions isn’t polite.”
Kate still couldn’t believe that the knitting circle ladies had known the entire time, but the fact that they still trusted her, meant the world to her. “Well, I’m sorry I couldn’t have been entirely honest with you all, but my life was in danger, and the last thing I wanted to do was to bring that harm down on any of you.”
“We’re not afraid of a little man and his clipboard of questions,” Nancy added.
Kate felt laughter brewing up inside her, and noticed that all of the women, except one, was smiling at the comment. Maria shook her head and continued knitting, but Kate could see a partial smile washing over her face as well.
“The food is almost ready!” Lillian blurted, walking toward the kitchen. She turned back and called out, “Will you be staying for lunch, Kate?”
As much as she wanted to stay longer, Kate had to get going soon. “I would love to, but I really should be going shortly. I just wanted to come clean to you all, and say goodbye, but you already knew the truth, so that just leaves the goodbyes.”
Lillian smiled, and then left to retrieve the food.
“Have you told Bill and Beth yet?” Beckie asked.
Kate sighed. “I stopped there before I came over to visit you ladies, and it was a lot more difficult to face them.”
“What happened?” Nancy asked, earning a sharp glance from Marie.
“It was just very sad and heartbreaking. Unlike you all, they had no idea that I wasn’t really Amish. They took the news well, but it still hurts to know I had to lie to them, despite everything they did for me,” Kate said. “Beth made it very clear that they both forgave me and were just happy I was safe, but I still feel so horrible about it all.”
“You did what you had to, Kate. And you must have had someone’s blessing to hide out here, right? Did the bishop know?” Beckie asked. Kate nodded, but didn’t answer aloud. Part of her felt too embarrassed to make the admission.
“Then you did nothing wrong,” Esther added. “Even though you may have been an outsider, you never treated us like we were different than you. I think that is why we were able to welcome you in and accept you, despite our hunches and instincts that you weren’t being entirely honest.”
Kate smiled. The realization that she had people in her life who would stand up for her no matter what really filled her with confidence and humility. “Well, I thank you all for being such wonderful friends to me.”
“There’s no need to thank us,” Nancy said. “Just make sure you don’t forget to come say hiya whenever you’re around.”
“I’m not sure how often that will be, but you have my word. If I’m ever in town, I’ll make sure to stop by and see how things are in the community,” Kate promised.
Beckie then looked at her and spoke. “Does that mean you’re leaving town?”
“Actually, I’m not quite sure yet, but it’s possible. I haven’t made any decisions, but what happens next isn’t completely up to me anyway. But, if I do leave town, I’ll be back soon to visit you all!”
Esther sat up in her rocking chair and cracked a smile. “You leaving town wouldn’t have anything to do with that handsome, young police officer, now would it?” she asked, causing the other women to chuckle loudly.
Kate laughed, trying to hide the embarrassment from showing on her cheeks. “Perhaps it is.”
Just then, Lillian walked back into the room carrying several containers of food. She placed them on the table next to the empty cups and the large pitcher of fresh meadow tea. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay for lunch?” she asked Kate. “We’re having your favorite!”
Kate looked down to see a delicious looking meal, corn, carrots, and mashed potatoes surrounded a large dish of baked chicken. “Okay, thank you,” she said in defeat. The circle of elderly women erupted with laughter as Kate and the others gathered around the table for their last lunch together.
“Just don’t forget about us,” Nancy reminded her.
“How could she?” Esther joked.
Lillian chuckled and Maria sighed.
“Kate, you’ll always be part of our circle,” Beckie said, with a broad smile. “So if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come and ask.”
“I won’t,” she replied. “And maybe one of you can teach me how to sew, since I’m so horrible at knitting.”
The ladies of the knitting circle laughed, and then Maria chimed in. “Let’s enjoy this special lunch with Kate before she leaves.” They each smiled at each other and then shut their eyes for the silent prayer. Kate looked down at the table and closed her eyes. She prayed for the safety and protection of her friends in the Amish community.