A Clean Break (Gay Amish Romance Book 2) (12 page)

“We’re going to eat hot dogs and crab cakes, and go to Alcatraz this afternoon,” Isaac answered.

“Sounds like a good plan. Go see the sea lions too. Don’t reckon you have many of those in Minnesota.” As the bell rang and they slowed toward the bottom of a hill, the conductor tipped the brim of his hat. “Have fun, boys.” He left to take more fares.

More people boarded as they made their way over the hills of Powell Street, and as a young woman climbed on and took hold of a pole, David shot to his feet. “Here you go, ma’am.” He motioned to his seat and stepped onto the board.

Another woman got on, and Isaac stood as well. The younger one laughed. “If you insist.” To the other woman, she noted, “Chivalry’s not dead after all.”

The older woman sat. “Your mothers certainly raised you right.”

David and Isaac shared a glance, and David wondered if his own expression was as guilty as Isaac’s. Then David was lurching right into him as the cable car accelerated. They both clutched the nearest pole.

“Hang on, Minnesota!” the conductor called out.

As the other passengers laughed, David tensed, his face flushing. But he realized it was good natured, and exhaled a long breath. The wooden board they stood on was covered in a rough gray material that reminded him of sandpaper, and wasn’t much wider than his sneaker. As another cable car approached from the other direction, they had to lean in to avoid banging into the people hanging from it.

A laugh bubbled up in David’s chest, and he returned Isaac’s exuberant grin.

“This is amazing!” Isaac marveled.

It was so much
fun
, and they were going so fast. But then David wondered if anyone ever fell off. He held the pole with one hand and took Isaac’s arm tightly with the other just in case. His ears tingled in the brisk wind as they sailed down another hill, but when he thought of the snow and ice in Zebulon, it didn’t feel so bad.

He leaned closer to Isaac as they slowed for a traffic light. “I can’t believe we’ve been here a week.”

“Me either. The days seem to go by so fast. Nights too.” Isaac ducked his head.

A rush of heat spread through David as he remembered the night before, on his hands and knees for Isaac in the middle of the bed, hoping the thumping of the headboard couldn’t be heard upstairs. He pressed against Isaac with a little smile just for him.

To have hours together every night in a bedroom of their own was such unbelievable luxury. Not to mention the indoor plumbing and central heat. David wondered when he’d get used to it all.

“I can’t remember the last time I went a week without working. Or chores. I don’t think I ever have,” Isaac mused. “Not even when I had the chicken pox.”

David braced for the sinking sensation that hooked through him like a fishing lure whenever he thought about money and work. It must have shown on his face despite his best efforts, because after a glance around, Isaac gave his hand a quick squeeze.

“We deserve some time off, don’t we?”

David nodded, but he wasn’t sure. Why should he have time off? Mother and the girls wouldn’t have a break—and would have even more to do now that he was gone. Why should he be able to sightsee and spend Aaron’s money when he wasn’t earning a penny of his own? Father had always said a day without work was a day without worth.

He inhaled deeply, the air growing saltier as they neared the wharf. There was no sense in worrying about it. They’d planned the day already, and nothing would change by stewing over it or ruining Isaac’s fun. Besides, Aaron had said it was better to see the sights on a Thursday instead of the weekend. David couldn’t imagine how thick the crowds would be then, and it was winter. The summer would be so much worse. But it was okay. He’d figure out work and money tomorrow.

“Look!” Isaac pointed as they rumbled across a street that dipped down. “The water.”

Isaac
glowed
, and David found himself watching him more than the view. To see Isaac so filled with delight calmed his worries.

As they pulled up to the turntable at this end of the line, David smelled fish as well as the sea. The cable car stopped in a little park area that sloped down to the sandy beach. People milled around, and the sun poked out. Color was everywhere, and David could imagine the lights at night would glitter.

The conductor called out, “Don’t forget the sea lions, Minnesota!”

David and Isaac waved to him and hopped down. “Can we see the water first?” Isaac asked.

“Of course.”

Their sneakers sank into the sand, and they laughed as they approached the edge of the shore. Isaac darted forward and dipped in his hand.

“Oh my goodness!” He leapt back. “That’s cold.”

David stuck in his hand too. He yelped. “It sure is.”

“We’re actually here, David.” Isaac surveyed the waves and white sails with bright eyes. “We just touched the ocean. Well, I guess it’s still the bay here on this side of the bridge, but close enough.”

“We did.” All the uncertainty was worth the moments like this. David brushed a stray piece of dried weed that had caught on Isaac’s jacket, and let his hand linger. “We can touch it every day if we want.”

After a few quiet minutes, they walked to the right, ending up along a busy street lined with restaurants and businesses that must have been what the guidebook called tourist attractions. The signs were huge and all sorts of colors.

“What’s an odditorium?” Isaac asked. He pointed to a sign that read
Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

“I’m not sure. Look at
that
.” David gazed up at the depictions of four people that soared three stories high. “Madame Tussauds,” he read.

Isaac stared. “I don’t get it. Are those people in there?”

“I guess they’re famous? I think the guy near the right is a singer who died. It was in a movie.”

“Are they all dead?”

“I’m not sure. We could go in and find out if you want?”

Isaac shook his head. “It looks weird. I don’t want to see dead people.”

“Me either.”

They walked on, and eventually stopped under an enormous round sign proclaiming the area:
Fisherman’s Wharf of San Francisco
. Wooden spokes jutted out from it, and David realized it was meant to be like the wheel of a ship. He wasn’t sure how he knew that.

“Spare some change?”

They turned to find an older man in rumpled clothing holding out his hand.

Isaac and David shared a glance. Jen had warned them about people she’d called panhandlers, and said to tell them sorry, but they couldn’t help.
“Or else you’ll be broke by noon.”

“I’m hungry,” the man added. His face was wrinkled and fingers stained yellow.

David looked to Isaac again. He didn’t doubt the man was telling the truth. It felt wrong not to help, and Isaac nodded after their silent conversation. They each pulled out a few dollars from their pockets and passed them over.

When the man smiled, a few of his teeth were missing. “God bless,” he said, before walking away and asking the next people.

“Give, and it shall be given to you,” Isaac recited. “Right?”

“Yes. Especially considering how much has been given to us lately.” David smiled. “Now let’s find those sea lions.”

“But first a crab cake. I’m hungry.”

David wasn’t so certain about a cake made of crab, but he followed. There were tons of little booths selling food. He pointed. “That one’s called the Crab Station.” The little awning fluttered in the cold breeze and proclaimed:

Fresh Crab * Clam Chowder * Fried Seafood * Seafood Cocktails

“Seafood cocktail?” David asked. “You’re supposed to drink it?”

They walked up and peered at the menu. Isaac frowned. “Let’s skip that for now. How about crab cakes and—oh!—corn dogs! I had one once when I was a kid. It’s a hot dog on a stick with something around it.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Once they had their hot food and sodas, they found a bench. Isaac took a bite of his corn dog and moaned. “So good,” he mumbled. Then his eyes widened.

David froze with his crab cake to his mouth. “What?”

“I didn’t pray,” Isaac mumbled, and swallowed the rest of his bite. “It didn’t even cross my mind.”

“Mine either.” David lowered his crab cake. “I’ve forgotten a few times now.”

“Me too.” Isaac shook his head. “We’d
never
forget at home. But here, everything’s so different. So far away. It’s like God is far away too. You know what I mean?”

He nodded. “You only had a bite. We can still pray.”

“Okay.”

They both stood and prayed silently with people chattering as they went by, salt and the cries of gulls filling the air. David closed his eyes as he recited the words in his head
. Lead me not into temptation
. He faltered. Could he really ask that?

When he opened his eyes, Isaac was watching him. “David, do you think it’s okay if we skip the prayer if we’re out? If we’re at the table at home, we’ll make sure we do it.”

“Yeah. I think it’s okay.” There was so much to worry about already, and David figured it was the least of their offenses.

Soon his belly was wonderfully full. Hot dogs had been his favorite treat growing up, and the corn dog did not disappoint. It also turned out that not all cakes were sweet, and the hot crab patties had tasted of so many flavors he couldn’t hope to guess them all. Like everything else out in the world, food in San Francisco was fancier and overwhelming.

They ambled along the boardwalk, peeking into stores selling all kinds of things from magnets to sports jerseys to sparkly jewelry. The Amish didn’t even wear wedding rings, let alone proper jewels. David tried to imagine Mother with earrings and had to laugh.

“Look!” Isaac pointed to a sign.

Follow Salty to see the California Sea Lions
.

David eyed the drawing of a smiling brown animal he assumed was a sea lion. It wore a blue and white vest and pointed with its arm, which wasn’t really an arm at all. English people probably knew what the sea lions’ little arms were called, and he felt embarrassed that he didn’t, even though no one could guess his ignorance.

They followed to the side of the pier, where the sea lions laid together in heaps on about thirty small rectangular docks. Some docks were empty, yet the animals squeezed together on others. David shielded his eyes from the sun, wishing he had his hat and gloves in the biting wind.

A family moved away from the railing, and David and Isaac squeezed in with the other people. They watched the animals sunning themselves and making plaintive noises that were a mix of honks, barks and occasionally growls. David noted, “The conductor was right. There certainly aren’t any animals like this in Minnesota.”

“Look at those two. They’re playing in the water.” Isaac pointed.

“Maybe they’re a couple.”

Smiling, Isaac pressed his shoulder to David’s. “Maybe.”

David wanted to take Isaac’s hand when they moved away and strolled the rest of the pier, but something still held him back. There were others around, and what if some of them didn’t like gay people? Aaron and Jen said San Francisco was one of the most welcoming cities in the world for people like them, but it didn’t seem possible for
everyone
to feel like that.

What if they held hands and it offended someone? What if they made someone angry? It didn’t seem worth it. He tried to remember the term Jen had used. Ah yes—PDA. Public display of affection, she’d called it. The notion was absolutely foreign to him even if she said it was okay.

Isaac inhaled deeply. “I love being by the water. The way it smells and feels. It’s so
dry
back home. And I love how no matter which way I look, there’s something new.”

It was true—Alcatraz rose from the bay to the right, and the Golden Gate Bridge soared to their left with the ocean beyond. Behind them was the city, its buildings seeming to go on forever. “Is the ocean like you’d dreamed it would be?”

Isaac’s eyes shone as they reached the end of the pier and leaned against the thick wooden rail. He nodded to the left, where the bay gave way to the waves of the Pacific. “When I look out there, it’s like how you said you feel when we’re together. That anything is possible. And it is—look at us! Two Amish boys by the ocean. I wish I could jump in and swim.”

A shudder of dread slithered through David as he imagined the depths of the water.
They’d have never found Joshua there
. He drew Isaac closer with his hand on his elbow, but kept his tone light. “I think it would be a little cold.”

“Just a little, I suppose.” Isaac reached into his coat pocket. “But here, stand with the water behind you. I want to take a photograph.” He pulled out his new phone and tapped the screen. “Can you believe phones are cameras too? They’ve thought of everything.”

David stood with the rail at his back. “I guess this will be my first picture.”      Isaac glanced up from the screen. “Is that okay? I like all the pictures Aaron and Jen have, and the ones hanging in June’s house. It’s nice to look at people. It doesn’t seem wrong, does it?” He bit his lip. “But maybe we shouldn’t.”

“No. We should. It’s forbidden by the Ordnung, but what isn’t? We left that life. We can do what we want now.” He wished he felt as confident as he sounded.

Isaac smiled softly. “I suppose it’s no more wrong than everything else we’re doing. Now I just need to remember what Aaron said about…hold on…”

David waited while Isaac tapped and slid his finger over the screen with his brows drawn together. Aaron had added them to his phone company account, and gotten them Apple phones for free since they were apparently older models. They were plenty new as far as David and Isaac were concerned.

David’s was still in its box in their room since he and Isaac hadn’t gone out without each other yet. The electric appliances in the house were enough for him to navigate at the moment. Even the stove was a mystery of buttons on a screen, and something called induction. Not that he’d used the stove in Zebulon. But at least he
could
have. He knew how to use electric tools, and the fridge at June’s had just plugged in. Everything else seemed daunting.