A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters) (12 page)

She gave a quick nod, noticing he didn’t have his camera.
At least he won’t be snapping my picture this morning.

“It’s peaceful this time of the day.”

It was until you joined me.
“Yes, it is.”

“Hey, look at this big shell.” After Mr. Sullivan picked up the shell, he handed it to her.

She examined it, liking the pink color. “It’s pretty.”

“Keep it for your collection.”

“Thanks. Have you gone to a lot of beaches?”

“I’ve been to a few. Last summer I went to Outer Banks for the first time and I really liked it there.”

“I’ll have to remember that. Maybe I’ll get to Outer Banks someday.”

For a few minutes neither said a word while they both continue walking. Then Mr. Sullivan broke the silence.

“I noticed you aren’t wearing your Plain clothing.” He grinned at her. “Are you allowed to wear English clothing when in Florida?”

“So you aren’t just interested in taking pictures… you like to ask questions about my faith.”

“I like to learn about different lifestyles. You have to admit the Amish are appealing to the general public because of the way you dress. And the fact you don’t use electricity.”

“I think the English are much more interesting. They spend hours telling everything they are doing during the day on Facebook. Violet showed me her Facebook page and how her friends tell so many details about their daily lives. And I watched Violet tweet constantly on our way here.” She cleared her throat. “It seems to me that precious time is wasted each day by having electricity and the Internet.”

He chuckled. “I don’t spend much time on Facebook, but you do have a point. My sister takes time to post on Facebook on how she’s going to take a nap. I’m not sure why that’s important for people to know.”

I should explain why it seems we’re doing without, but in fact, we are gaining a closeness to God by not using electricity.
“We get along without all the modern conveniences because it keeps us focused on God. While doing our daily tasks slowly, we have time to pray and concentrate on God’s goodness to us. We value simplicity because it gives us a chance to live a slower-paced lifestyle. In order to keep separate from the world and maintain our self-sufficiency, we avoid owning cars and using electricity.” She smiled. “We don’t have to worry about power shortages when it storms.”

“A lot of Amish have their own businesses, so they must use electricity in their stores.”

“We use gas instead of electricity. Gas-powered refrigerators and stoves are used in our homes and businesses. Our equipment for milking our cows runs on propane and not electricity.” She remembered how happy her
daed
and
bruder
, Peter, were when Bishop Amos gave them permission to upgrade their milking operations, so they could have Grade A certification for their dairy farmers’ milk.

“That’s good you don’t have to use wood stoves to cook your meals.” He raised his eyebrows. “I’ve seen Amish riding in cars, so it seems hypocritical to say it’s wrong to own them.”

She nodded. “That’s because Amish realize sometimes it’s necessary to travel further than a buggy allows. It would’ve taken too long to come here by buggy. We sometimes hire drivers for transportation to the hospital, for large shopping trips and to visit relatives living far away. But we believe that when a family owns motor vehicles, mobility is made much easier and that isn’t a good thing for us. Family members may spend extended periods away from home, and this has a huge negative effect on families.”

“I read once that Henry Ford said something similar after he saw how his invention had caused adverse changes in families by causing them to go different directions instead of spending time together.”

A lot of non-Amish people thought they were opposed to technology itself, which wasn’t the case.
I should explain in more detail about our beliefs to Mr. Sullivan since he seems interested in learning about my faith.
“We don’t shun technology because we find it evil within itself. We oppose it because rifts might be created within our community if we use certain types of machinery. For example, the Amish don’t use tractors because it might encourage farmers to buy more land, when they see they can plow faster and get more crops planted. That would cause tensions within our communities.”

* * *

Carrie smelled the coffee as she walked into the kitchen. Rachel must’ve made coffee, knowing she’d never sleep late. She’d mentioned to Rachel how she never could sleep later than six-thirty in the morning. Marlene had a collection of colorful mugs on a rack. When she went to get a cup, she saw a handwritten note on the counter and read:
I’m going to take a short walk on the beach. I’ll be back to fix breakfast. Rachel

She thought about joining her niece on the beach. She’d always thought that walking during the early morning hours was a grand way to start your day. But one problem, she’d better change into something else. Even though it was early, she didn’t want to take a chance on someone seeing her in pajamas. Before changing, she walked outside on the balcony to see if Rachel had just left. Her eyes widened at the sight of Rachel walking with a thin and dark-haired man. She squinted her eyes to see if she could see more of him. He wasn’t carrying a camera so she wasn’t sure if he could be the photographer. Violet had briefly mentioned to her about someone named Sullivan taking pictures of Rachel, but it’d been after Marlene had called to see if they’d arrived safely.

“Good morning, Mom.”

She turned to smile at Violet. Her daughter looked as if she just crawled out of bed and wore lavender pajamas. “What are you doing up so early this morning?”

Violet sighed. “I can’t sleep in like I used to. Remember, how I could sleep until early afternoon on the weekends while in high school. Does that mean I’m an adult now?”

She laughed. “I never heard of that being one of the criteria in being considered an adult, but maybe it is.”

“I wonder who’s with Rachel.” Violet leaned closer to the railing. “Great. That photographer’s hanging around her again. I bet he knows Dad’s a senator. Do you think he’s trying to get information from Rachel about us?”

She frowned. “I hope not. Marlene promised me that we could spend a quiet time here with no press hounding us. I better give her a call this morning and ask her if she knows anything about this Sullivan guy.”

“I bet the neighbor never mentioned to Marlene that her photographer nephew was going to visit her.”

While Violet watched Rachel walk with Sullivan, she asked, “Do you feel differently about your choice now that Rachel’s spending time with us? I’m sure it’s a reminder of what you lost when you got married. I know it had to be hard for you to leave your family and faith to marry Dad.”

“I’d make the same decision all over again, but there have been times when I miss some things about the Plain life.” She squeezed Violet’s shoulder. “I’m thankful God blessed us with you and your brother. I have a wonderful family and a great life. Nothing is ever perfect, and I’ve learned to accept your dad’s desire to serve our country as a Senator.”

Violet grinned. “Just think if Dad would’ve converted and became Amish, we’d be living a whole different life. Can you picture me without my electronic devices?”

“I can picture that easier than seeing your father in Plain clothing. He likes his designer suits and ties, but he definitely enjoys golfing in casual pants and shirts. And I can’t imagine him doing any Amish type careers. But he has a strong faith in God like my father did. Those two enjoyed talking about the Bible and prayer. Your father has always respected my Amish upbringing.”

Violet’s brown eyes filled with concern. “One thing about being an Amish woman is you don’t have to go to college. I don’t know what I’ll ever do with a degree in chemistry. I don’t want to teach and there’s nothing I’m excited about doing with science after I graduate.”

“You still have time to figure it all out. Maybe you can shadow a few careers that require a science background and see if that helps you to make a decision.” She patted Violet’s arm. “We need to pray for God’s guidance.”

“Good, it looks like Rachel’s ditching Kevin, the camera man. She’s heading back. I’m hungry. I saw her note about cooking breakfast.” Violet played with her drawstring on her pajamas bottoms for a moment. “It’s actually weird to see her wearing my capris. My whole life I’ve seen my cousin in dresses and aprons.” Violet glanced at her. “Mom, I know Amish never take pictures, but I’ve always wished I could see pictures of you as a little girl.”

She gave a quick nod. “Amish believe that photographs in which they can be recognized violate the Biblical commandment, ‘Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.’ I’m glad I took a couple of pictures of Irene on her last visit to our house.”

“Have you shown Rachel the pictures?”

“Not yet. I’ll give her a picture to have and she can keep it hidden somewhere. She should have a picture of her mother. I’ll give it to her soon.”

“Do you think Rachel will stay much longer with you after my spring break is over?” Violet asked.

“It’s hard to say. I know she needs time to work through her feelings about a lot of things. She might stay with me at home for a short time before going back to Fields Corner.”

They became quiet while watching Rachel walk slowly through the sand.

“Good Morning,
Aenti
and Violet.” Rachel gave a broad smile to them, as she reached the top step. “I timed it just right. Hope you two are hungry.”

It was lovely to see her niece smile and look happy. She was thankful to have Rachel here on the beach with them, but felt nervous about Sullivan talking with her again. After breakfast and after the girls left to go shopping, she needed to call Marlene to see if she knew anything about the photographer.

“We saw your note but you don’t need to cook. This is your vacation.” Carrie knew Rachel had worked hard trying to take Irene’s place in the Hershberger household. Rachel needed to relax and enjoy her free time.

“You and Violet had to do all the driving here.” Rachel grinned at Violet. “And I want you to have enough energy to drive me to the stores. While we shop remind me to buy postcards.”

“What about Samuel? Does he get a postcard from you?” Violet asked.

Rachel blushed. “
Ya
. He definitely gets one from me.”

Violet tucked her hair behind her ears. “Hey, you and Mom should teach me some Pennsylvania Dutch phrases and words, so we can use it in front of the guys. It’ll drive them crazy not knowing what we’re talking about.”

Rachel slid open the door to enter the kitchen. Over her shoulder she said, “Sure. We can use it in front of Mr. Sullivan, too, but probably won’t work. He’s so interested in anything Amish that he’ll want to know what each word means.”

Carrie followed Rachel into the kitchen. “What kind of questions did he ask about being Amish?”

“Just the usual stuff. Why we ride in cars but won’t own them and about not using electricity.” Rachel opened the refrigerator and removed a package of bacon. “It was nice of your friend to tell Mr. Sullivan’s aunt to stock the refrigerator with eggs and bacon. I thought I’d make omelets for you both.”

“
Danki
.” She glanced at her daughter. “That’s Pennsylvania Dutch for thank you.”

“Omelets will be
wunderbaar
,” Violet said, looking pleased with herself. “I wonder if Pennsylvania Dutch’s offered at my college. That would be cool to get credit for learning it.”

While refilling her coffee, Carrie glanced out the window and saw Mr. Sullivan still on the beach.
Why was he staring at their cottage?
“I wonder why Mr. Sullivan is watching our place,” she said to both girls.

Rachel put a stainless steel skillet on the burner. “I did hate seeing him on the beach this morning. I wanted to pray and enjoy God’s handiwork while walking along the beach. But Mr. Sullivan asked if he could walk with me. I forgot to tell you that he mentioned me not wearing my own clothing.”

He might be harmless in asking her niece questions about her faith, but something occurred to her. What if he sold pictures of Rachel with her in Plain clothing, and also in Violet’s clothes? David would not be happy. Of course, Rachel wasn’t wearing something like a bikini, so shouldn’t be a big deal with her not being baptized yet.
But will David even see the photos if this should happen?
He only read
The Budget
, the Amish paper. While many newspapers were failing,
The Budget
, continued to thrive. It was a weekly paper published on Wednesday, and she subscribed to it. She enjoyed the articles written not by paid journalists but by hundreds of Amish volunteers called “scribes.” Judith had written a few stories for
The Budget
.

Or what if Sullivan was using Rachel to fabricate lies about them? She turned away from the window. “Rachel, did Mr. Sullivan take any pictures of you today?”

Rachel stopped cutting up a tomato. “No. He didn’t have his camera this morning.”

Why couldn’t photographers and news people leave them alone?
But of course, she knew why. She was married to a popular politician. She sipped her coffee, thinking how she wanted this week on the beach to be a fantastic vacation for Rachel. A carefree time. Her niece deserved to have a relaxing time. She was feeling regret coming to Cocoa Beach.
Maybe we should’ve gone to Myrtle Beach instead and stayed at our own place. It wouldn’t have been as warm but with the heated pool, the girls would’ve enjoyed swimming and still could have enjoyed walking on the beach.

* * *

Kevin Sullivan, shoving his hands in his pockets, turned to walk back to his aunt’s house. Feeling a little guilty about what he planned to submit to the media about the Robinsons surprised him. Invading their privacy was his job. He couldn’t afford to have a change in his plans. He spent money flying here when his aunt told him how Carrie Robinson would be living next door for a week. He wasn’t made of money, like some people. His life had never been easy, that’s for sure, with his father bailing on their family. Sometimes he wondered where the jerk was now. But Robinson came from a wealthy family with great parents from what he’d learned while researching them. Interesting that he chose a woman with such a different background. Did Robinson have it in the back of his mind that a woman like Carrie Robinson would be appealing to the voting people? Although Robinson wasn’t a politician when he’d married her, that thought could’ve been in the back of his mind. His political ambition might have been a goal in selecting his future wife.