“But you’re an adult now,” Lark said. “Do you still have to stay there? How old are you anyway?”
“I’m twenty-three. And no one raised Amish has to stay if they haven’t taken vows of church membership yet. I could leave if I wanted to without repercussions.”
Except that I would break the heart of my grandparents and lose the love of my life forever.
“Are you going to? Leave, I mean?”
The question that had brought me out to California in the first place now hung between us, and I found myself instantly defending the Amish life I’d known for the last seventeen years. “I have a place there, Lark. A job, a home, a family, and someone I care about.”
“A girl?”
“Yes, a girl!”
“Whoa. You don’t have to get all defensive about it. I was just asking.”
I hadn’t realized I’d been steadily raising my voice until I noticed a few people were looking our way. “Sorry. I’m sorry. It’s just…I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
“What’s her name?”
I was about to say “Rachel” when a thundering truth clobbered me. It was Saturday. Rachel was going to call me today. I looked down at my watch. It was already after four, which meant it was after seven back home. I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket to see if she had tried the number I’d given Thom. But clearly I wasn’t used to owning a cell phone. The battery was dead. In all likelihood Rachel had tried both my cell and the landline at the house—and I had missed them both.
“I should get you back,” I said quickly, rising to my feet.
“Just like that? You’re not even going to tell me her name?”
“It’s Rachel. Let’s go.”
Lark stood. “Fine. We’ll go. What’s the matter anyway?”
“Nothing. I just…I just forgot something important.”
We paid, Dutch treat this time, then we walked back to the car at a quick pace. Lark pumped me for information the whole way, asking what Rachel looked like, about her personality, how long we’d been dating. I finally had to change the subject. I asked her to tell me about her upcoming trip to Thailand, which she was only too eager to talk about.
I was in such a hurry that I actually told her to drive before she even asked if she could. After another nail-biting trip, we reached her house around four thirty. She was tied up with schoolwork tomorrow and classes on Monday and Tuesday, but she had Wednesdays off, so we made plans to get together then. With a quick thanks, I drove as fast I could manage all the way home.
It still took me fifteen minutes. When I got there, Frisco was ecstatic to see me and began running around the house looking for a ball or a toy for me to throw. Ignoring his antics, I came into the kitchen to check the answering machine and saw with a measure of relief that it wasn’t blinking. Maybe Rachel hadn’t called yet. But then I saw that Brady had left me a note. My heart sank as I read it.
Your girlfriend called from Pennsylvania. I told her you were out and I didn’t know when you were getting back. Don’t worry. I didn’t say you were with another woman.
NINETEEN
The hardest part of knowing Rachel had called was the fact that I couldn’t call her back. She was not going to be hanging around the phone shanty waiting to hear from me. Plus, it was already dark in Lancaster County. It had been stupid of me not to arrange a time for us to talk. I had been home all morning.
Perhaps she had tried my cell and I’d missed it because the battery was already dead by then. I hooked up the phone to the charger and then put a leash on Frisco to walk off my frustration.
An hour later, twilight had fallen and Frisco and I returned to a dark and quiet house. The phone wasn’t fully charged yet, but it had enough power to show that a message was waiting for me, from the number of the Hoecks’ phone shanty. It had been left at 12:30, when I was still home. Oh, why hadn’t I thought to charge my stupid phone?
I pressed the button to listen to the messages, recognizing Rachel’s voice the minute she said my name.
“Hi, Tyler. It’s Rachel. It’s about three thirty here. I stopped over to visit with your grandmother, and Thom gave me this number for your cell phone. Hope it’s all right that I use it. I might try your dad’s regular phone line later if I don’t hear from you. Hope it’s going well. I miss you. Okay. Bye.”
It had only been five days since I’d seen her, but it seemed so much longer. Hearing her voice reminded me of how far away I was, not just from her but from everything that was familiar to me. I wanted so badly to speak with her!