A Perfect Square

Chapter 13




FRIDAY EVENING, Samuel crept deep into the woods, far from Reuben’s house. He’d wanted to stay, wanted to see if Reuben came back, but the police had made him nervous, so Samuel had left and wandered around the woods for days, confused and disoriented. Lost without his Katie. But he’d been careful to stay beneath the trees.

Now he dumped everything out of his pack and took stock.

He was cold and he was hungry and he didn’t think he’d survive another night in the woods. Already he’d developed a hacking cough. The hunger pains that had increased as his supplies diminished had been replaced by a constant nausea. He’d taken to drinking water from the stream when the bottles he’d brought had run dry.

It was time to make a decision, starting with what he knew.

Katie was dead.

Reuben wasn’t coming back any time soon.

The police had searched the entire property and started toward the fields, but before they’d gone as far as the woods, someone had shouted from the pond. Apparently they’d found whatever clue they had sought. Then there was a lot of activity and excitement for a time. When they’d begun searching the house, the house he’d shared with Katie, someone actually yelled out for the officer from the front door, though he couldn’t make out the rest of the man’s words.

The amount of equipment they’d used was staggering. What could they possibly have been looking for?

Whatever it was, they’d apparently found it.

He’d watched as they’d cuffed Reuben, then escorted him to the police cruiser.

Terrified they’d find him in the woods, Samuel had pulled his things together — including Katie’s quilt, and he’d run.

He flipped on his flashlight and pawed through the contents of his pack: a county map, his pocketknife, the trash from what he’d been eating — which was mostly junk food he and Katie had bought together in town — both of his changes of clothes, and the envelope from the LaGrange justice of the peace …

Samuel’s fingers lingered on the envelope, brushed across their names, but he pushed the memory away.

The map, he studied.

He’d need to stick to the smaller roads. Maybe he could pick up a ride once he’d traveled another ten miles. He’d have to find something to eat soon, and he needed to burn the bloodstained quilt.

As long as he continued to follow the creek south, he should be okay. Four miles, maybe five, then he could move out of the woods.

Making his way down to the water, he removed his shirt, then his undershirt. He dipped a corner of the cloth into the water and began scrubbing himself, cringing when the fabric met his skin. It would do no good to frighten people with his smell.

Once he was as presentable as he could make himself, Samuel changed into the cleaner set of clothes and bundled the dirty set, placing it into the bottom of the pack — on top of the trash.

The second set of clothes went above that, and the knife he slipped into his right pocket.

What to do with the envelope and papers?

He should burn them with the quilt. He knew he should.

Samuel started a small fire with kindling he collected from the forest, letting it build to a good blaze before pulling the knife out of his pocket and cutting the quilt into strips, which he fed to the flames. While the quilt burned, Samuel held the envelope and papers in his hand, trying to convince himself to throw them in the fire.

But instead he slipped them back into the bag and slung the bag over his shoulders. Then he reached down and picked up Katie’s duffle. What was he to do with that? The heaviness of his burdens suddenly seemed too much. He didn’t know how he could carry them.

One thing was certain.

He couldn’t wait here in the woods forever.

Kicking dirt onto the last of the fire, Samuel clutched the duffle, cinched his bag over his shoulder, and began to walk.

With each step, it seemed he could feel the weight of the words printed on the top sheet. But for those words, would Katie still be alive?

Samuel tried to focus on the ground, on making as little noise as possible, and on staying near the creek as he made his way south, but his mind insisted on going back …

“Nervous?” he asked, helping her out of the buggy.

“A little.” She smoothed her apron over her blue dress, then reached for his hand as they walked up the steps of the LaGrange County Courthouse.

Instead of opening the door for her, he pulled her toward a bench that had been placed to the side, under the branches of a silver maple tree. Most of the leaves were gone, but the day was warm for late October. Katie looked up when a yellow warbler lighted near them, sang once, then flew away. When she glanced back at him, he thought his heart might burst right out of his chest.

He loved her more than he’d ever thought possible.

More than he had last night when they’d stopped to rest at her aenti’s house. It had seemed the wise thing to do, and they hadn’t exactly lied when they told her that their business required they press on earlier than they had originally planned. It was but a stretching of the truth and would keep Katie’s family from worrying. By the time her mamm and dat realized Katie hadn’t actually stayed there, that Samuel wasn’t coming back when he was scheduled to, they would be married, and it would be too late for anyone to change their plans.

He’d wondered if he might have second thoughts as the moment grew closer, but the strength of his feelings for her surprised him. Was this what it was like to care for someone more than yourself? He found that he was more certain than ever that their plan was the right one.

In Shipshe he’d be able to find good work and provide for her like a husband should.

Still, he needed to allow Katie one more chance to change her mind.

“What is it, Samuel? Are you having second thoughts?” She smiled up at him then, her brown eyes looking fully into his, and he had to reach out and touch her face. He marveled that the brush of his hand could make her blush, but she did.

“I’m thinking a lot of things, Katie, but I’m not questioning the wisdom of what we’re doing. I want to give you a chance to stop here, though. I’ll take you back to your parents if that’s what you want, no harm done. “

Her eyes widened, but he pushed on.

“And though you know how I feel about continuing to work for your dat, I would do it. I’d do it because I care for you, and I wouldn’t want to rush you into anything or deprive you of an Amish wedding with your family. That’s one thing that weighs heavy on me now that we’re about to — “

Katie put her fingers to his lips and pressed lightly.

“Stop.”

“But — “

“No. Stop. I appreciate your concern, Samuel. And at first maybe I did agree because I saw how much it meant to you. But after we talked I began to watch how things were around my dat. You’re right. He clings to the old ways even more than the Ordnung requires. Perhaps because he is afraid, or because he doesn’t know how to move even with the changes that our bishop allows. I don’t know. But I see the burden it has brought upon my mamm.”

She looked up at the warbler, which had returned to a neighboring tree. “Not that I love him any less. I couldn’t, but I also think we have to do what is right for us. It’s gut and right for us to begin with our own life, together. “

“And the Amish wedding?”

“I brought the one quilt that meant the most. It’s in the buggy. You spoke with the Mennonite bishop?”

“Ya. He’s probably waiting inside. “

“Let’s go see him then. Let’s go be married, Samuel.”