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Just a few days later, Annie and Eli got together, as Eli had promised. Annie had folded two pages of notes into her apron pocket. As she stepped into Eli’s buggy, she heard the pages crinkling gently. “Where are we going?”
“I had an idea, and I hope you’ll hear me out. Remember we were talking about Katie and those threats the other day?”
Annie nodded.
“Well, I want to visit an English restaurant.” As Annie paled, he spoke quickly before she could tell him ‘no.’ “Wait, this is why. We suspect the threat is groundless, that nobody wants us gone, right? If we go openly to an English restaurant and we are treated well by the servers, if our food is well-prepared and other customers aren’t glaring at us, we may be able to begin proving that Katie Miller’s lying.”
Annie looked down, willing her heartbeat to slow down. She sighed. “Eli, that is so scary! Even though I suspect she’s lying about all of this, I still have a little doubt that maybe someone is out there. You know?”
Eli nodded. “Me, too. So a part of this is an exercise in faith for me. I am trusting in Gott that we will be safe and that we will be able to start gathering proof. I want to take it to my dat so he can get the elders involved. Please?”
Annie sighed again. “Okay, but if we get even one hint that we aren’t welcome, we get our food to go, and we leave. Promise me?”
“I promise. I’m taking you to the country restaurant in town. On weekend nights, it’s always full of families.”
“Okay. Annie sounded slightly doubtful but was willing to go along with Eli. After several minutes, they pulled into the restaurant and found an empty parking spot for buggies.
Inside the restaurant, they were seated by a friendly, smiling host. “Your server will be with you in just a minute.” He gave them menus and their place settings, then left.
Annie looked around, noticing all the families as they drank, ate and talked. She didn’t see anyone staring at them with fear or anger. Instead, she saw a little girl smiling shyly at her and giving her a small wave. Her heart melting, Annie smiled and waved back as well.
Her eyes roved around the spacious room once again, and she allowed her gaze to rest on a curious young woman who looked at her for several minutes. Annie noticed the woman wearing a polo shirt with the logo of a university in New Mexico.
Eli was looking around as well. He noticed servers, managers, and customers looking at them with curiosity. As an English man got up and began walking toward them, he tensed, waiting for a confrontation.
“Hello. My name is Sam. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Sam extended his hand for a handshake.
Eli gripped Sam’s hand in his own, giving it a couple hearty shakes. “Eli. Eli Smits. How are you?”
“I’m good. I noticed you and your girlfriend looking around, kind of afraid. I live here in Big Valley, and I work in City Hall. We’ve become aware of some kind of threats against you. Can you tell me more about them?”
Eli swiveled his head and looked at Annie, questioning her.
Annie nodded. “Go ahead.”
“Well, maybe, Sam. What is your role at City Hall?”
“I work in the Public Relations office. That means that I have to write articles and press releases on behalf of the city, announcing events that are coming up. Mayor Kerry Winters sat down with me last week to bring me up to speed on these threats. She’s trying to find out if someone’s really doing this. We’re directing law enforcement to look out for anyone painting those messages, leaving anything written or saying anything to anyone, whether they’re Amish or not. I am appalled at what is happening and, if it does turn out someone ‘English’ is behind all this, we will do our utmost to stop them and make sure they pay the price for doing so. You and your fellow Amish community members are members of Big Valley, whether you choose to mingle or keep yourselves separate.”
Eli was convinced of Sam’s sincerity. He smiled. “Denki. All’s we know is that we started hearing someone English wanted us gone, to leave Big Valley. These whispers stopped for a while, and then they started back up. Then...that sign was painted on the fence.”
“Yes. Our police officers are investigating that. Can you tell us what’s happening in your community?”
“Fear. A lot of fear. I had to convince my girlfriend... Oh, I’m sorry. This is Annie. Annie Yoder.”
Sam and Annie shook hands, smiling at each other.
“I had to convince her to come in here. To my mind, if we can get the measure of people here, we may be able to determine whether this is true or if it’s just a cruel hoax.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “So you don’t believe it, am I right?”
“I’m not sure we believe it. My dat, the deacon in Big Valley, has his doubts. I know our bishop does as well...” Annie told him.
“Do you suspect anyone specific?”
Eli feared this question. He didn’t want to identify anyone prematurely. “Not really. Nee.” But he couldn’t lie well—had never been able to do so.
Sam saw through his denials. “I’ll tell you what, Eli. If you do begin to suspect anyone, would you please come to see me at City Hall? You don’t need to make an appointment, but it would get you into my office faster if you called ahead for one. Here’s my card.” Pulling a business card out of his breast pocket, Sam handed it to Eli.
“I will, thank you.” Seeing their server approaching, he smiled at Sam and again shook his hand. “It was a pleasure speaking with you.”
After placing their orders, Eli and Annie spoke quietly. “We may have an ally. That makes me right happy.” Eli slipped the business card into Annie’s hand so she could hold it for him. “I’ll take the card when I take you home.”
“Why didn’t you want to name Katie?”
“Because we don’t have proof. While she is willing to name someone who may or may not be threatening us, I want to give her the courtesy of showing she’s not the one creating this hoax.”
“If it’s a hoax.” Annie leaned back, sipping at her iced tea. “Don’t be mistaken. I still think Katie’s the one who started this whole mess. But I agree with you. We need to know definitely whether she’s the one. After all, the gut people here are all being accused. We don’t know who the person is, and Katie’s not speaking. The people at City Hall are right to be concerned.”
Their meals arrived. As they ate, they quietly discussed upcoming plans. “I want to talk to my dat and let him know that Sam approached me. I think he was there at that fence when the mayor showed up. She was upset.”
“Ja, she was right to be...” Annie turned, surprised at the feel of a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Ja, how are you?”
The owner of the hand was the young woman in the university polo shirt. “Hi, I’m sorry to disturb you. I couldn’t help but overhear what you and your friend were talking about. I’m a psychology Ph.D. student at New Mexico State University. Can we sit down sometime soon and talk about this issue you’re facing?”
Annie turned to Eli, surprise in her eyes. “Oh! Well...”
“Miss, what’s your name?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Joanne Abbott. I’m working on my doctorate so that I can start my own practice to help those suffering from mental health issues and personality disorders. But I do have experience doing supervised in-patient behavioral therapy, and I’ve also worked in schools providing support for kids with behavioral problems.”
Eli was curious. “How much did you hear of our situation?”
Joanne smiled. “May I join you, please? I’ll explain why I’m here in Big Valley and how I can help.” At Eli’s nodded assent, she went on. “Okay, I’ve earned my master’s in psychology, and now I’m working on my doctorate. My field of study is abnormal psychology. That is, I work with the topics of mental health, personality disorders, and substance abuse. My goal is to work with individuals suffering from drug abuse issues, personality disorders, and some mental illnesses. It sounds to me like this person you’re speaking of has started a rumor that has the potential to hurt several people, right?”
Annie and Eli both nodded.
“Okay, now to why I’m in Big Valley. I’m spending my summer working with an agency here, gaining real-life work experience. My instructor requires all of her seminar students to spend several weeks in rural areas. I chose here because of the Amish and English communities. And I want to learn more. If I can work with your community and the people in the English area here, I might be able to help you figure out if this rumor is true. Can you tell me more?”
Eli considered Joanne’s words. “Well, I can tell you a little. But it would be up to our elders to decide to say anymore.” Eli told her what he felt he could. Once he was done, he issued an invitation to her. “How well do you know Big Valley?”
“I’m still getting used to it here, honestly. But if you give me street names and landmarks, I can get from Point A to Point B.”
“Gut. Because I would like for you to meet with Annie’s dat. He’s the deacon, Eppie Yoder. The bishop is John Lapp. That’s L-a-p-p.”
Joanne was quickly jotting down notes. Looking up, she glanced at her friends at their table. “Go on ahead,” She told them. “I’ll find my way back to the hotel in a while. Here’s my part of the bill.” Pulling enough for her meal and part of the tip, she handed it to another student. “When would it be convenient for me to visit with you?”
Eli considered. “I’m busy until just after lunchtime tomorrow. If you have a phone number I can have, I’ll speak with my dat tonight and see if he’s willing to speak with you. Either way, I can call you so you can either come out or wait until I’ve convinced him and the other elders to meet with you. For sure, we don’t have the expertise to work with something like this.”
“Because you stop going to school after the eighth grade, right? Are you allowed to continue learning from books if you visit the library?”
“Oh, ja, we are. But we usually don’t have that much time, with work and families. Once we speak with you—and I hope Dat will agree—this will give me more direction to start looking up books.”
“That’s a good idea. So, what is this rumor or whatever it is?”
Annie explained it. “We learned that someone in the English community has been saying they want us to be gone, to move away from Big Valley. Lately, someone, maybe that person, painted a large sign on a fence that told us to move away.”
“What makes you doubt that it’s real?”
“The woman I suspect moved here from Indiana a few years ago, with her parents. We all noticed that her parents wouldn’t allow her to go out by herself, even before these threats started. She went everywhere with them, to the store and such. She also wasn’t allowed to go to community events where other Amish youth would be, like running-around activities or the weekly Singings. It’s only in the past few months that her parents have started allowing her to go. But we suspect that’s because the elders have told all families here to get home early at night and not allow their children or youth to run around freely anymore.”
“Wow! So, what do you do now? You just don’t go out at night? What about you two?” Joanne was confused.
“We get together in the early evening, but we all have to be home by nine at night, at the latest. Eli will have me home before nine so he can be home by that time. That’s about when it gets dark, so we feel safer then.”
“Oh, wow. Now I see what you’re facing. You don’t know if the rumor is true or not. Even if it’s not, you’re living with fear, and it’s changing how you do things. That’s wrong. You should be able to do what you need to do and what you want to do, fear-free. And if the young lady you suspect is responsible, she needs help. Eli, Annie, I hope your elders will allow me to work with you. By the way, who was that guy talking to you a while ago?”
Eli had to think for a few seconds. “Oh, that was Sam. He works for City Hall, doing publicity. He wanted to let us know that the city officers are doing everything they can to make sure we are safe.”
Joanne smiled. “That’s wonderful! Well, I’ll tell you what. You talk to your dad and see what he says. Give me a call tomorrow and let me know if it’s good for me to come out. I really want to help you.” Rising, she waved to the couple and left.
Annie and Eli looked at each other, stunned. “Eli, she’s willing to help us just out of the goodness of her heart! All because she heard us talking about that rumor...wait, there’s Katie. She’s with your brother.”
The couple turned their conversation to other topics. “Your mam was talking about the two of you expanding your quilting business, right?”
“Ja, she has! We’re excited. I was in the fabric store here with her, and we were talking about buying more fabric from them so we can start making more quilts...wait, I’m going about this backward. We need to reach out to new customers, and then start making more quilts!”
“Do you think there’s enough demand for you and other quilters in Big Valley?”
“Ja, there is. I’m always busy. I rarely have downtime between customers. If I do, it’s a break I use to clean my shop and restock. And I’m sure other quilters have similar schedules to mine. I know Mam is always busy. But she is such a talented quilter, and she’s starting to make her own designs now.”
Eli was fascinated by their discussion. “It sounds like the two of you could, oh, I don’t know...open your own quilting store? Giving lessons?”
Annie gasped and pointed at Eli. “Eli, denki! Give lessons!”
Eli grinned, happy he’d been able to give his love another idea.
“And? How is it going with your carpentry?”
“Gut! More customers and my dat and I have to schedule about five months out now. Even Amos is getting more orders, and he’s scheduling jobs further out.” Eli’s voice dropped. “Where are Amos and Katie sitting? I don’t want to turn around.”
“Gut, because Katie saw us and she frowned. They are sitting close to the other end of the dining area, behind you and to your left. Don’t look. I’ll let you know what they do.”
“Denki.” Eli’s voice went back to its normal pitch. “How’s your food?”
“It’s gut, just not quite like what Mam makes. But that’s just the recipes they use in the kitchen.” Annie speared food and put it into her mouth.
Eli’s attention was caught by the bright orange sunset pouring through a nearby window. Watching the fiery colors, he relaxed. Even knowing that Amos and his girlfriend were also in the restaurant didn’t faze him. He was out to show Annie a gut time tonight.
Annie, seeing the direction of Eli’s gaze, was transfixed by the view. “Eli, it’s so beautiful!”
Eli grinned at his girlfriend. This is why I love her so much. She appreciates what’s important. He thought of the question he would be asking her after they left the restaurant. His sense of anticipation was intruded upon as Katie called his name.
“Ja, Katie, what is it?” Looking at his little brother’s girlfriend, Eli made sure to wipe all expression but polite curiosity from his face.
“Did you know we were coming here tonight?” Katie’s arms were crossed, seeming to hold her separate from Eli and Annie.