The Miting (8 page)

She pondered the idea of contacting the Schrocks. Maybe
Maem
and
Daet
wouldn’t mind if she asked the English couple for advice. And if Leah did her best to follow the
Ordnung
, maybe her parents would also allow her to ask about counseling for Martha and about the Bible study for herself. She yawned. She’d think about asking them. Tomorrow.

Ada roused her the next morning, but Leah was groggy as her sister perched at the foot of the bed and started to chatter. Ada’s lively voice annoyed her sleepy ears. She talked about school, her friends, the coming wedding of their brother, and anything and everything else that popped into her head. Her tactic worked.

Leah struggled up from the covers and moaned, “Please! Stop, Ada. I’ll get up, I promise. Just go away.
Please.
”

The girl laughed and pulled the covers off on her way out the door. “Come down for breakfast soon.
Maem
’s making waffles. You know Benny will eat all of them if we don’t hurry.”

Her sister’s shoes clattered loudly on the wooden steps as she hurried down to breakfast. Leah wearily wiped her eyes, and sat up.

As she put her feet on the cold floor, she thought of Martha once again. She decided to never tell another soul the secret entrusted to her. She prayed
Maem
and
Daet
wouldn’t mention it, either, or maybe the bishop wouldn’t have time to listen to them.

Maybe she could get away to a Bible study, too.

She felt a little guilty for thinking of her own desires in the wake of Martha’s problems, but it appeared nothing could stop the deep yearning to know more about God’s Word. Whatever happened, she was glad she’d found the little New Testament. She carefully tucked it back into the box of discarded papers and planned to read more of it that night … in secret.

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

L
eah, what do you have planned for today?”
Maem
asked as they were finishing their last bite of breakfast.

“Nothing special,
Maem
.”

“Would you be willing to take Ada into town? She needs to get tablets, pencils, and a folder for school.”

“Sure.” She looked across the table at her sister. “You almost ready?”

“I want to taste this last bite of waffle.” Ada squeezed her eyes shut as she savored the tasty morsel. “Yum.
Maem
, you make the best waffles in the world.” After Ada drank her milk and wiped her mouth, she pronounced herself ready and hurried off to grab her purse.

“
Maem
, about Martha,” Leah said, taking advantage of the private moment.

Her mother reached a tentative hand to Leah’s shoulder. “It’s okay. The bishop said he will check into it soon. I think he is planning to head that way tomorrow.”

Too late. The bishop is involved.

Leah walked to the barn with shaky knees. Readying the horse for the trip to town gave her time to think and calm her whirling thoughts.

It
couldn’t
be bad for Martha to get help, could it? That should bring only good for her.
Please
, Gott,
please let things go well for Martha.

Sparky was feisty on the way in to Ashfield. Every time a car passed, he skipped to the right a little, and Leah had a difficult time managing him. He also wanted to trot faster than she was comfortable allowing, so she ended up pulling and tugging the reins more than usual. By the time the sisters got to town, Leah’s arms ached from fatigue. She guided the horse to a hitching post and looped the reins.

Ada and Leah walked leisurely to the discount store and strolled among the aisles. It was good to be doing something with Ada. They giggled at a pair of silly-looking pens. Wispy hair glued to the top made the pens resemble wild people, and below the hair, googly eyes rolled around and around. It’d be fun to write with these, but the schoolteacher would never allow such worldly items in class.

After Ada chose her supplies, they headed to the checkout, pausing to choose a few candy bars for themselves and Benny.

As they walked back to the buggy, Leah spotted Naomi Schrock getting into her car across the street at the hardware store.

“Wait here, Ada. I’ll be right back.” Leah made her way through traffic easing past the stores and called to Naomi.

“Naomi! Hi—I have a quick question.”

Naomi paused, turning to greet Leah. “Hello. How are you?”

“Good.” Leah took a deep breath. “I was wondering about the Bible study. Is it at your house? And what time does it start?”

“Yes—it’s at our house. It starts at 6:30. Are you thinking of coming?”

Leah nodded, looking behind her to the parking lot where Ada was watching her every move, pacing to and fro behind the buggy.

Leah swallowed a lump born of anxiety over this bold move. “I’ll need to get a ride, but if I can, I plan to be there.”

Naomi took out a small notebook and scribbled something on it. “Here’s the address. Let me know if you need a ride. Maybe we can arrange something.”

“Thanks. I’d better get going.” She waved a hand toward her impatient sister. “Ada’s ready to go on home.”

“Okay. Hope you can make it. Bye.”

As Leah sprinted back to the buggy, her mind reeled with what she had just done. She wiped sweat off her forehead and tried to relax her tense jaw. Having untied Sparky, she hopped in the buggy as her sister jumped into the other side. Leah tried to disregard Ada’s bemused stare.

Once they reached the outskirts of town, Sparky settled down and trotted along easily. Leah glanced at Ada, who was grinning like Cheshire cat.

“Are you going to go?”

Leah frowned at her sister. “What?”

“Come on. I know why you talked with Naomi Schrock.”

Leah shook her head. Trying to get something over on Ada was hopeless. “Didn’t take you long to get to the point, did it?” she groused.

“Well? Don’t change the subject—are you?” Ada persisted.

“I don’t know. I’d really like to learn more about Scripture, and
Maem
says I should read our Bible, but it’s in German and I just can’t understand it like I want to. It can’t be bad to learn about God. Can it?”

Ada shrugged. The Bible was a book to her. Leah could tell she thought there were far more interesting books to read.

They chatted back and forth most of the way home, with Ada cooking up ways they could sneak out of the house and places to meet or hitch a ride. Leah was uncomfortable playing this game, but as the conversation went on, she recognized she was storing away ideas for later. Maybe she
could
use one of these plans to get to a Bible study.

Guilt flooded her heart. Her palms sweat as she considered sneaking off.

As they turned down the road leading to the lane, Sparky sped up, intent on reaching the barn. Leah kept him tightly reined because she didn’t want to get home too quickly.

“It must be really hard to be under the
meidning
,” said Ada unexpectedly. “Even though they left many years ago, do you think the Schrocks still miss their families?”

She remembered the stories she’d read in the brochure the Schrocks had given her. “I think so. Naomi Schrock said she passed her
maem
on the street once, but her
maem
wouldn’t speak to her—just smiled.”

“That would be sad.”

Leah’s mouth trembled when she thought of being shunned. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like not to be near family anymore, not to have
Maem
or
Daet
to talk with—or Ada, for that matter. Since the
meidning
extended to all family members, she’d have to sit at a different table away from her family.

But what if she never joined the church before leaving home, would they still shun her?

Once the buggy reached the lane, she let Sparky have his head, and the sisters leaned back on the seat, lost in their own worlds.

Leah was thinking about the Bible study, reading whatever verses she wanted and discussing with others just like her what it all meant. She took a quick look at her sister and wondered if Ada was thinking of going on to high school, maybe even college.

Ada spoke first, “Do you ever think about leaving, Leah?”

Leah hesitated, searching her sister’s face to judge what she should share. She didn’t want to be a bad influence, but she also didn’t want to lie. She swallowed. “Sometimes. I want more freedom—I want to get out from under the rules, but maybe every teen feels that way. Do you?”

“I do.
Ja
, it does annoy me the way we’re told exactly what to think and exactly what to do. And I’d love to go to school, maybe study science so I could be a nurse—or a doctor!”

Leah laughed at her sister’s growing ambitions. It didn’t seem right to keep a girl like Ada from learning everything she wanted to learn. What if she
did
have the ability to become a doctor? Why should Ada have to give that up just to fit in with all the past ancestors? As for herself, she could think of many things more dangerous and sinful than wanting to study the Bible in a language she could understand.

Without stopping to think, Leah blurted out, “I know
Maem
and
Daet
wouldn’t like it, but I might call Naomi Schrock so I can go to the Bible study on Tuesday.”

Ada turned rounded eyes to her sister. “You’ll get in trouble if they find out, Leah.”

“I know, but I want to go just once, to see what it’s like—after that, I won’t go anymore.”

Ada thought for a minute and then grinned. “Me, too.”

Leah immediately shook her head. “Now Ada—”

“No! I want to go, too, Leah.”

“I’ll get into trouble, for sure, if I lead you astray right along with me.”

“We may as well be in trouble then, for no matter what we do, if we’re even thinking of going, we’re already in hot water. Being rebellious is a bad thing, you know.”

“Rebellious? Who said anything about that?”

“That’s what it’d be, Leah. Wouldn’t it? That’s how
Maem
and
Daet
and, for sure, Bishop Miller would see it.”

She stopped talking. Leah didn’t think going to a Bible study should be called
rebellion.
That seemed too strong a word for what she wanted to do.

Another example of a senseless rule.

Once Ada and Leah finished chores,
Maem
called them in to help prepare dinner. “Girls, can one of you bake the pie crusts so I can fill them after supper? Joe-Ida sent a good amount of berries to me today. Won’t a piece of pie taste
gut
later? And I need someone to peel these potatoes so they can be boiled and mashed.”

Leah placed the pie crusts in the oven, then perched on a stool near her mother. She glanced at Ada, and her sister winked. She’d guessed what Leah was about to do.

“
Maem
, remember when I told you the Schrocks have a Bible study at their house?”

Busy with her work,
Maem
nodded distractedly.

“Um … I was thinking … that is … I was wondering if it’d be okay for me to go—just this once—on Tuesday?”