Katie's Journey to Love (21 page)

That and the fact Katie was quite
gut
looking. Her beauty must have been covered up all those years by the drab dresses her
mamm
probably insisted Katie wear. That and Katie's shy gaze that seldom looked up at someone. The girl absolutely glowed when she smiled. Now that he thought about it, Katie had seldom smiled the few times she'd attended Amish youth gatherings. But at the Mennonite youth gatherings she was so different, always laughing and talking. Almost outgoing, in fact.

He guessed the Mennonites were benefiting both of them in ways he'd never considered. Perhaps there was something to
Da Hah
working in a person's life. Katie certainly thought so. Ben shook his head. He'd always had doubts, even though he took care to hide them. There was no sense in alarming his
daett
and
mamm
more than was necessary.
Rumspringa
was a time for sorting out one's faith, was it not? The problem was he didn't have much faith to sort out.

He ought to make a trip to Europe himself someday. Maybe he would find faith there in the land of the Amish founders. They'd been men and women of great faith who survived persecution and torture and faced death without wavering. He couldn't do that.
He wasn't even sure he could make his “no” to Rogge stick even though he knew it was the right thing to do. How could he stand up to much of anything else? Certainly he couldn't stand up to the torture of the rack or being burned at the stake.

Ben shuddered. Perhaps Europe wouldn't do him much
gut
. But it would do Katie a lot of
gut
. He could tell that already. She would have her faith strengthened, and she would grow into even more of a glowing woman than she was now. And from her maybe he could draw strength. Maybe he already was. Wasn't it Katie who had inspired his desire to break with Rogge?
Yah
, it was, Ben admitted. And he would accomplish that before long. Katie had no idea how much
gut
she was doing for him. From the look in her eyes, she thought he was doing her a great favor by spending time with her. That was more evidence of her innocence.

Most girls he knew quickly moved beyond the stage of starry-eyed wonder and started making demands on him. And it didn't usually take more than a few dates to get there. But Katie hadn't shown any signs of going that route. Her eyes were as full of joy when he dropped her off the other night as they had been when he'd picked her up. Could Katie love him? Other girls had, but Katie was different. She didn't throw herself at him or beg for his attention.

Katie probably never thought of what she could get out of him other than wanting him near. It sent strange feelings through him, like he was close to something he didn't deserve. Katie was too
gut
for him. He'd never thought that of any other girl. They had all bored him after a few outings. Like his faith, they left much lacking and gave no promise of better things ahead.

But with Katie, something had certainly changed. What, he wasn't quite sure of. But whatever it was, he didn't want it to go away.
Yah
, he would have to be done with Rogge by the time Katie returned from Europe. There was no question about that.
The past would be the past, and maybe they could grow close. And if Katie returned as invigorated in her faith as he expected she would, therein might lie his answer. Katie could inspire his own faith. She would tell him the stories of the land where martyrs had died, and the glow in her eyes would be enough to help him along. Somewhere he would find faith. He wanted to, and he couldn't help but find it with Katie as his companion.

Ben pulled back the reins and the buggy bounced to a stop alongside a curb. The address he'd been given was just ahead, and it would be better not to drive in with a buggy. He didn't want anything different about him that someone might remember or use against him. There was no reason this person needed to know he drove around in a buggy or that he was Amish.

It was easier to make deliveries at parties. But he had done this before, so he tied Longstreet to a fence post and took one last glance around. The buggy was far enough off the road to not be seen, and he wouldn't be gone that long. He slipped through the darkness with a small bundle under his arm, and knocked at the garage door like the instructions said.

A bearded, burly man answered with a gruff, “What'd you want?”

“Delivery for Albert Kinsley,” Ben said as he glanced down at the package.

“Who's it from?”

“Rogge.”

The man reached out his hand and took the package. “Thanks.”

Ben made his way back and untied Longstreet. He climbed into the buggy and turned it around on the road before driving off at a fast clip.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Katie had just shut down her register for her lunch break when Esther came hurrying toward her. Arlene glanced over from her checkout aisle to see what the excitement was all about. Esther took Katie by the arm. “It's your lunch break, right?”

“
Yah
. But what happened? Why are you so excited? Did that handsome man I saw a moment ago at your counter ask you out?”

Esther gave Katie a baleful look. “Oh, forget about that. I didn't even notice him. This is even better!”

“Then you'd better tell me, before you pass out.”

Esther laughed. “You're the one who's in danger of passing out. This news is about you!”

Katie thought fast. What could have happened that would put Esther into such a frenzy—that had something to do with her?

“Come with me! I'll tell you and
show
you.” Esther grabbed Katie by the hand and led her to the lunchroom. After they'd taken their lunches from the refrigerator, sat down, and offered silent prayers, Esther said, “Do you want to guess?”

Katie shook her head, her mouth full of sandwich. Esther was always so dramatic about everything. No news could be this great.

Esther leaned closer. “Someone just dropped off an envelope of money and said it's for your trip to Europe. And from the size of the bundle, I'd say there's plenty and then some.”

Katie stopped eating. “An envelope of money? For me?”

Esther giggled, thoroughly enjoying herself. “Can you believe it! And I didn't even know who the woman was who brought it to me.”

“Why did they give it to you? I don't understand.”

“I don't know,” Esther said with a shiver of delight. “But who cares? Maybe the person or persons wanted to make sure the gift stayed anonymous. Isn't this wonderful? Now you get to make the trip. And the other three girls will be thrilled.”

“Did you know I needed the money?” Katie asked as she stared at Esther.

Esther shrugged. “Well, I mean, I kind of figured that would be an obstacle. Such trips take an awful lot of money. But what does it matter what I thought, Katie? This is a great thing to happen! And to think I got to be part of it.”

Katie tried to keep breathing steadily. “Well, thank you for being part of it. But this money…I don't know…”

Esther interrupted her with a look of alarm, “I hope you don't object to receiving the money, Katie. You're not going to reject it, are you?”

Katie forced a smile. “I just wish I knew who gave it and why, that's all. How can I thank the person? Are you sure this isn't a joke? People don't do things like this.”

“No, it's not a joke. See for yourself! Here's the envelope.”

Katie reached out and took it. She looked inside and her mouth dropped open.

“I told you!” Esther said, almost shouting.

“But who…”

“I wouldn't worry about it. The woman who dropped it off looked quite nice and respectable.”

“I guess I can't give it back. Who would I give it back to?”

Esther grinned. “That's more like it.”

Katie peeked inside the envelope again.

“See?” Esther looked triumphant. “There ought to be enough and then some.”

Katie's head was spinning. “Wow! It's so much. How can I accept this? And who do I thank? This is beyond amazing.
Da Hah
does many miracles, but this…this…this is way too nice.”

“I thanked the lady on your behalf,” Esther said as she patted Katie's arm.

Katie's hand trembled, but she managed to put the envelope down. She finished her lunch in a daze.

“Well, I'm out of here,” Esther said after taking the last bite of her chocolate chip cookie. “I have a quick errand to run before I have to get back to work.”

As soon as she was alone, Katie took another look inside the envelope. This time she counted it to see just how much was there. It was well over five thousand dollars! “Who? Why? Who did she know that even had that much money to spare? Questions raced through her mind. Few people knew about the trip other than her family and some of the Mennonite youth. Did the gift come from one of her Mennonite friends? It must have. Likely Margaret or Sharon was in on this. Or perhaps some of their friends had heard about a young Amish girl being invited along to Europe who didn't have the needed funds…

Even Nancy Keim could have been involved—or the organization she served with in Europe. Obviously whoever it was wanted the gift to remain a secret, probably not wishing to draw
attention to himself…or herself. That was what godly people like the Amish and the Mennonites did.

How blessed she was to have such friends! And to have Jesse for a
daett
who would allow her to go on the trip. And here was the money to make it possible. What a miracle! Just like so much of her life lately. It seemed like one miracle followed another. First
Mamm
got married to Jesse, then Ben sought her out, and now someone had given her enough money to go to Europe! Surely this was a dream! And yet she wasn't awakening from it. Maybe if she walked out to Arlene and told her about it that would help. If Arlene said this was real, then Katie would have to believe it.

As Katie made her way to Arlene's checkout station, she thought better of it. Arlene had a customer who'd just approached too, so Katie went directly to her register.

Arlene looked up at Katie curiously. “What's going on, Katie?”

Katie smiled. “I'll tell you at quitting time.”

Arlene shrugged and tended to her customer. When she was finished, she looked over at Katie. “I'll be right back.” With that, she slipped down the aisle toward the lunchroom.

Katie opened her register and greeted her first afternoon customer. The white envelope was in her dress pocket, and it would stay there, she decided, until after closing time. In the meantime she would act normally—as if that were possible.

“Nice weather for the week before Christmas,” the older lady in front of her said. “Have you been outside?”

“Not since this morning,” Katie said as she scanned the items.

“Stick your head out if you get a chance,” the lady said. “It's gorgeous.”

“I'll try,” Katie said. “I suppose I'll get plenty of fresh air on the way home tonight.”

The lady glanced up. “Do you walk to work?”

Katie shook her head. “I drive.”

“Oh, a buggy?” The lady looked at her carefully, and then her face beamed. “Are you Amish?”

“
Yah
,” Katie said, scanning the last item.

“Sorry for my asking,” the lady said. “I hope I didn't offend you. I thought you looked Amish, but I didn't know the Amish worked in stores like this. I thought you Amish stayed on farms, milking cows or standing at a quilting loom. Oh dear, have I insulted you again?” The lady looked worried. When Katie smiled, the customer relaxed and smiled back.

“That's okay,” Katie said. “Some of us do work outside the community. But I can see where it might seem strange. Most of us do grow up and work on farms.”

“Well, that's wonderful—and you're wonderful.” The lady smiled again.

Katie placed the last item into a bag, took the customer's money, rang it up, and asked, “Do you need help out?”

“No, I'll be fine. Thank you, dear.”

Katie clutched the envelope in her dress pocket, allowing joy to sweep over her again. This might not be quite like the ways of her community, but she was so blessed she thought she might burst.
Da Hah
was choosing to bless her beyond words. Why He should do that was a mystery. Perhaps it was
Mamm
's prayers prayed over all the past years, even when
Mamm
didn't know what she was praying for.
Da Hah
was like that, anyway that's what the preachers said often in their Sunday sermons. He often took a long time to answer the cries of His people, and He didn't always give them what they asked for.

Katie pulled herself out of her thoughts as Arlene rushed up. “Why didn't you tell me about the money someone left you, Katie?” Arlene demanded. “How exciting—and you didn't tell me! I had to hear it from Esther.”

“That's what I was going to tell you after lunch, but then you
had a customer so I decided to wait until closing time,” Katie whispered. “Let's keep this quiet and not talk about it here, okay?”