Joy followed Rowan to the living room set. Alicia was sitting on the sofa, chatting with Julie, who, Joy now knew, played her mem. Rowan sat down in a high director’s chair and offered the chair next to him to Joy.

  Joy sat down, still not believing she was really here. Not believing that the first steps to a real television show were happening.

  “Go ahead with the run-through, picking up where we left off earlier,” Rowan called to them.

  Julie cleared her throat. She sat and wrapped her arm around Alicia’s shoulders, pulling her close. “Sadie, I’m so sorry you have to face this terrible loss, but know that I truly believe God has brought you to Pinecraft for it to heal. I hope the train ride wasn’t too long.”

  Alicia sighed. “No. I enjoyed the quiet. Time to think. And if I never have to look at another Amish bachelor, it’ll be fine with me.”

  A knock sounded. Julie pulled back her arm and then moved to the door. “Never look at a bachelor? I suppose, but maybe…” She sighed. “Did I tell you we have a new neighbor next door?”

  The door opened, and a tall, handsome man walked in. He wore Amish clothes and had a brown beard. Joy lifted her eyebrows, hoping this man wasn’t supposed to be the bachelor the mother was talking about. Heat climbed her neck. It was worse than she thought. All of it. She jabbed her thumbnail between her front teeth, telling herself to keep her mouth shut. This was of no concern to her.

  Alicia, as Sadie, looked up from the couch and eyed him. “A new neighbor…”

  The man stepped forward and extended his hand to her. “I’m Samuel.” Alicia allowed him to shake her hand and didn’t release it right away.

  Joy couldn’t stand it any longer. She stood and turned to Rowan. “Um, there’s a problem. Well, more than one…”

  “Cut!” he called.

  Like puppets whose strings had been released, the actors released their poses and relaxed.

  “A problem?” He turned to her. Annoyance was clear on his face. She told herself again just to forget it, just to let them do their show, but she couldn’t let this slide.

  “Yes, a problem. And yes, more than one.” She sucked in a deep breath and released it. “I just don’t know where to start.”

  “Start with the biggest problem first.”

  “The biggest problem? Well, Amish bachelors don’t wear beards. Men wear beards only after they’re married. Unless you meant for him to be a widower. Then he would wear a beard. My sister Hope will soon be married to a widower. When they first met she thought he was married. It was confusing to say the least—”

  Rowan held up his hand, halting her words. “And what else?”

  “Well, there isn’t really a train that comes from Ohio. Most folks ride the Pioneer Trails bus. Although one of my cousins is taking a cruise ship, but that is very rare.”

  “And?” He looked to Alicia, motioning her to approach.

  “And the mem…well, she was just too affectionate. Mothers snuggle their little children, but you don’t really see that type of outward affection between adults in the Amish community.”

  “You don’t?” Alicia’s eyebrows peaked. “That’s surprising.”

  “And I don’t want to point out every problem, but that bachelor wouldn’t just walk in the door like that. And he wouldn’t offer his hand. More than that, well, the women would be doing something. They’d be darning socks or snapping beans. No Amish women would just sit there on the sofa in the middle of the day carrying on a conversation.”

  “What about sewing clothes?” Rowan asked. “They could sit there sewing.”

  “But the show starts in spring, right? Many of the Amish try to complete their sewing for the year by the time they plant a garden. It’s hard to sit inside to sew when it’s getting warm outside. Of course, since we’re in Florida, I’m not sure if that matters.” She shrugged. “I suppose you could have them sewing. Or cutting out boys’ pants. Boys are always harder to sew for because there are pants and shirts. That is, if your character has a young brother. How many siblings does she have?”

  “Only one sister—an older sister.”

  Laughter spilled out, and Joy eyed him. “You know you’re writing about an Amish family, right? I’d allude to many more siblings, even if they live up north. A couple with only two children isn’t very common. Not unheard of, but not common.” The words had poured out of Joy’s mouth, and when she was through she released a heavy breath. She knew in the grand scheme of things most of the little details didn’t matter, but with all of them together—and the beard—it was impossible for her not to speak up.

  Alicia appeared slightly annoyed, but she tried not to let it show. She turned to Rowan. “Do you mind if I ask Georgia to fix my hair while you’re working out these details? There’s a bobby pin poking me right behind my ear.”

  “I don’t mind at all.” Rowan lifted his hand. “Everyone, take five. This will be just a few minutes.”

  The actors and camera people moved toward a table of snacks. They all looked over the fresh fruit and nuts, but none of them seemed impressed. Set out some whoopie pies, and that’ll be a different story, Joy wanted to say.

  Without the others listening in, Rowan turned to her. “The more I do this, the more I realize I’m in over my head.” He stroked his jaw and looked up at the lighting, deep in thought. Then his eyes moved back to her. “I assumed since the Amish speak English, it would be easy to figure out. I didn’t really think of it as a different culture, but I was wrong.”

  Joy bit her lip. She glanced up at him. “I, uh, don’t know if I should mention this, but back in Ohio we spoke to each other mostly in Pennsylvania Dutch. We still slip into that language when we don’t want Englischers to know what we’re talking about.”

  He scratched his head, and he wore a lost, faraway look in his eyes. Joy almost felt sorry for him. “Pennsylvania Dutch…of course.”

  He stared at the set a brief moment before his eyes brightened and he looked to her.

  “I’d like to hire you. As a consultant. It’s a paid position, of course, and I don’t want it to take too much time away from the fabric shop. It’s just that we need someone on set in the mornings to check everything over. Sort of like we did today.”

  Nothing about the idea appealed to Joy. She thought of the disappointed looks she received yesterday when she’d pointed out the problems with the wardrobe. And then today when she mentioned the long list of things that needed to be changed. Joy also thought about how awkward she felt with all these cameras around. And then there was Matthew to consider and how his dat felt about the television show. She had opened her mouth to decline the offer when something stopped her.

  One thing about his offer sounded appealing after all. Mem and Dat needed the money. They would never ask for it, of course, but she knew they wouldn’t turn it away. The money from the dresses would help, but that was just a start.

  “You said it’s a paid position? Just to point out things like I did right then?”

  He perked up. “Yes, I’ll pay you well. Maybe three hours every morning.”

  “Every morning?”

  “We try to keep the number of shooting days down as much as we can.” A smile grew on his face. “And I understand some days just aren’t possible. Like Sundays.”

  “I’m still not sure…”

  She tried to imagine what her mem and dat would say. They had both been fine with her sewing dresses. And Mem seemed to have a weight off her shoulders knowing that two of her daughters were doing what they could to help with therapy costs.

  But what about Matthew? Would he understand if she explained? He was a caring and compassionate person. Surely he’d understand if she explained Dat’s needs.

  “Of course, we’ll work around your schedule.”

  She moved back to her chair and sat down, trying to wrap her mind around what he was really asking her. “So let me understand this. You are going to pay me to come here and tell you what you are doing wrong?”

  He offered a small smile and nodded. “Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”

  “My parents raised a wise girl. I don’t think I could say no to that. I’ll have to check with my boss, Elizabeth, though. To see if she can cover for me. I think next week I was scheduled to work one morning shift.”

  “Sure. No problem.” He slid his fingers into his pocket and pulled out a small card, handing it to her. “My cell phone number is on here. Go ahead and give me a…”

  “Caught yourself, didn’t you?”

  “I suppose you don’t have a cell phone, do you?”

  “No, but I can come by tomorrow at eight o’clock if that will work for you.”

  “Yes. Thank you. I’ll see you then.”

  As she strode off the set, Joy immediately wondered what she’d done. What would her parents think of this? What would Matthew?

  She smiled thinking about him, and she knew he’d understand if she explained. Her parents needed money for her dat’s treatments. This opportunity was an answer to prayer. Surely he would understand that.

  Twenty

  Children’s ears may be closed to advice, but their eyes are open to examples.

  AMISH PROVERB

  Matthew paced the walkway in front of the quilt shop. He’d worked at his construction job for less than an hour before he couldn’t handle it anymore. He had to talk to Joy. He had to find out if what Abraham told him was true. Had she truly started working for the television show? Worse, had she done so without first talking to him about it?

  He didn’t feel as if she needed his permission, but they should have at least discussed this. They were looking ahead to marriage, after all. What affected one person affected the other. And the community knew their connection too. Abraham said everyone assumed the bishop had changed his mind after they heard Joy had gone to work there. Didn’t she understand how it made him and his family look in the eyes of the community?

  He balled his hands into fists at his sides and then released them. Deep down he hoped Abraham was wrong. He wished it was just a misunderstanding. As in the game of grapevine, the story often changed when it moved from person to person. Matthew decided he wouldn’t believe this news until he heard it from Joy herself.

  He paused for a moment in front of the glass door and wondered if he should step inside again and ask Elizabeth if she had heard from Joy. Matthew had gone to Joy’s home first, and they said she’d been planning on going to the fabric store after making a delivery. Her mem hadn’t mentioned her daughter was delivering a dress to the television set, and he didn’t ask. And when he’d arrived at the fabric shop, Elizabeth said she was late. This didn’t seem like Joy, and Matthew decided to give her just a few more minutes. If she didn’t arrive soon, then he’d walk in the direction of the TV show’s location.

  Beyond the sidewalk, cars and trucks moved up and down the street, filling the air with exhaust and fumes. Above, the bright golden sun blanketed him with oppressive heat, and Matthew wondered how his life had ended up the way it had. He’d come to Florida to be with his family, and he’d thought he’d found the woman he wanted to marry, but now he questioned that. I should have stayed in Indiana. I should have stayed in a regular Amish community. Yet even as he told himself those things, he ached over the idea of trying to love someone other than Joy.

  The problem with living outside the box in a place like Pinecraft was that people often thought outside the box too. He couldn’t think of one Amish woman he knew up north who’d go against the bishop’s wishes so boldly. None who’d been baptized into the church, of course.

  An older man rode by on a three-wheeled bicycle, and he curiously eyed Matthew as he passed. I just need to go back to work. I’m wasting time. The words barely crossed his mind when up ahead he saw a woman hurrying down the street. It was Joy, and her steps slowed as she saw him. She paused on the sidewalk about twenty feet away and then clasped her hands in front of her.

  “Matthew. I was looking for you.”

  “You were looking for me?”

  “Ja. I went to your house. Your mem said you were at a job site. I went there and…well, you get the idea.”

  “And why were you looking for me?”

  “Well, since you are here I assume you know. I…I need to talk to you…I want to talk to you about a new opportunity.”

  She twisted one kapp string around her finger, and her eyes met his briefly before looking away.

  “Opportunity?” He took a step closer and nearly reached out to touch her, but from the uneasiness in her gaze he was certain she’d pull away.

  Joy crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, at your job site I saw Abraham, and he said that he heard…about the opportunity…and he talked to you.” She ran a hand down her neck and glanced up at him. “So, I know you’ve heard.” She shrugged. “Everyone has heard.”

  “I want to hear it from you, Joy.” Matthew didn’t mean for his voice to sound harsh, but it did. He attempted to soften his tone. “Do you have time to talk? We can go someplace.”

  Joy took a step toward him tentatively. She glanced through the glass door, and so did he. Elizabeth was sitting at the counter. She seemed to be completely occupied with embroidering, but Matthew guessed otherwise. He had no doubt the older woman was paying close attention to them—especially to how he was handling the whole situation.

  “I can talk to Elizabeth. I’m not sure if she had plans already. It’s my day to work, but I don’t see any customers and last night she agreed to fill in for me this morning while I went…” Her brow furrowed and grew into deep lines of guilt.

  “We can go to my parents’ house. Or Big Olaf’s,” he offered.

  “Ice cream sounds nice, even before lunch. Let me go talk to Elizabeth.” She hurried inside, but he didn’t follow. He couldn’t hear her words, but Joy talked with her hands and motioned to him. Something she said made Elizabeth laugh. He assumed it had something to do with the TV show, and that just made him madder. His anger, which had been simmering just beneath the surface, was starting to break through the cracks. Does she think this is a joke? Does she think it’s just a game? Is she making fun of me—of how seriously I’m taking this?

  Joy hurried out a moment later, and she wore the slightest smile on her face. Yet the smile faded when she saw him, and soon they were walking down the street side by side.

  She fell in step with him. Her shorter strides had to stretch to keep up with his longer ones, but she didn’t complain. “So I assume since you talked to Abraham you know about my new job?”

  He paused and looked down at her. “So you did get a job?”

  “I did, and you won’t believe what it means to us—not to just me, but to my sister Faith, Mem, and Dat too. We didn’t know what we were going to do—”

  Matthew held up a finger, and she stopped talking. He could nearly taste the anger in his mouth. Anger because she was taking this so lightly. Anger with himself for getting so wrapped up in her. “I just have one question. Before all else.” He spoke through partially clenched teeth.

  “Ja?”

  “I thought you were at church last Sunday.”

  “Ja, I was. Remember, we had Sunday supper with Noah and Lovina afterward?”

  “I remember, but do you?” He threw up his hands and sighed. “My father talked about the television show. He asked the congregation not to get involved with it or any of those Englischers. They have impure motives. They want to use our way of life for their own gain.”

  “I know many people believe that—including your dat. But… aren’t you going to give me a chance to explain?” Tears formed in her eyes, but Matthew ignored them.

  Her words choked out. “This job is an answer to prayer.”

  “An answer to prayer?” He shook his head, not knowing what to do, what to say. Two Englisch women walked by and gawked at them. His guess was they’d never seen an Amish couple argue before. He hadn’t seen it too often either, not even Dat and Mem. Something inside Matthew told him to just walk away. Just forget that he’d fallen in love with Joy. Just forget that he’d spent more hours than he could count imagining a future with her.

  She reached over and touched the sleeve of his shirt, and then her fingers moved to his hand. She grasped it and squeezed it. “Ja, an answer to prayer.” She released a shuttering breath. “If we could just go and order some ice cream or a coffee I can explain everything.”

  Voices filled the air, and a group of young Amish bachelors walked toward them. They carried fishing poles, and he knew they were heading to Phillippi Creek. They paused when they saw them and slowly walked around them, like a river parting around a large rock. And that’s just how Matthew felt at the moment—like a rock with too many thoughts and worries rushing over him. Rushes of pain and frustration.

  As the young men passed, one leaned in to the other. “That’s the woman I was talking about,” he whispered.

  “Ja, and that’s the bishop’s son,” the other responded.

  Hot anger surged through Matthew’s veins. “Listen.” Matthew pulled his hand out of hers. “Let’s talk tomorrow. I need time to think. And when we talk, I’d like to go someplace where we have some privacy.”

  “But don’t you want to know why I accepted the job?”

  “Give me a few days, Joy. I have a lot going on in my mind. A lot to think about.”

  She didn’t respond but simply nodded.

  “I’ll come by your house in a few days or by the quilt shop.”

  He turned away and strode off. His chest ached as if a trowel had been jerked out of his heart with a firm tug. Guilt strode alongside him, poking and prodding with every step. You should have listened. You should have at least heard what she had to say.

  One part of him knew this, but the other part of him didn’t care. She’d made him look like a fool. She’d made a mockery of all that their community held dear. She doesn’t understand. Our community is assaulted by everything on the outside, and now she’s chosen to break it apart from within.

  He’d seen the external pressures his dat had to deal with. He knew how hard his father worked to protect their community, their way of life. It wasn’t an easy fight. The temptations of the world were a strong pull, and young person after young person walked away from their Amish ways, ignoring everything their ancestors believed to be true.