Katie's Journey to Love (33 page)

Nancy took another tight curve, climbing higher on the hillside. “That was the authorities' accepted method of evangelization back in those days. Once the church was built, they used it to win back the hearts of the people who were left. I guess everyone felt honored to have their own church.”

“That's bad,” Margaret said, as they entered a small village.

“And here's the church.” Nancy pulled into a small lot and parked.

“Here's something I missed,” Sharon said, before they climbed out of the car. “This town is also the birthplace of Johanna Spyri, the author of
Heidi
. Her home is still here today. Oh, Margaret, I want to see this. I loved that book as a little girl!”

“I want to see the church first,” Margaret said, gazing across the parking lot.

“It's nice enough,” Sharon said. “But a portion was built with blood money. I don't think I like that.”

“Well, you have to have a little understanding of the times these people lived in,” Nancy offered. “Anyone want to see the inside of it?”

“Why not?” Margaret said.

And they all followed Nancy inside.

“Stained-glass windows,” Sharon noted. “I still don't think they should have done this with the money stolen from our ancestors.”

“It's not as fancy as the big cathedrals are,” Nancy said. “So something good can be said about the church. And maybe there was some other good also accomplished. People might still have found God here. Just not quite like we do.”

“I suppose so,” Sharon allowed, following the others outside again. “No one's perfect, I guess. I just don't think they should have chopped off their heads.”

“No one said anything about chopping off heads,” Margaret said. “We only heard about drowning yesterday.”

“That's coming, don't worry. I can feel it.”

“I'm afraid she's right,” Nancy agreed. “Medieval times were a little different.”

The group was silent as they climbed the hill past the sign that pointed to the Spyri home. They paused occasionally on the long climb to look back at the view and catch their breath.

“It's absolutely gorgeous up here,” Sharon gushed. “No wonder Ms. Spyri could write like she could. Listen to those cowbells and look at the Alps over there. I can see Heidi now running through the meadows.”

“Or climbing up to the blind grandfather's hut on the mountain,” Nancy added.

“It does my soul good,” Margaret said. “I think I've found one of my lost hours right now. It leaped right back into my body.”

They all laughed and approached the house where Katie translated the sign for them. “There's a lady's name written on top, then ‘Birth house of her daughter, Johanna Spyri' written below that.”

“It's even more lovely from up here.” Sharon walked away a few steps, snapping pictures. Katie soon followed, and they climbed farther up the hill behind the house. All of them spent a long time
looking out over the valley at the rolling meadows with perfect patches of farmland.

“It's almost like a picture book,” Sharon commented. “What would it be like to live up here? You'd be close to heaven every day.”

“Don't forget the chopping off of heads that's coming up,” Margaret said. “People who lived here probably did that.”

“You would have to say that!” Sharon sighed, “And you've spoiled a perfect moment.”

“Tempers down, please,” Nancy said. “Now, let's get back to the car and grab ourselves some lunch. Then we'll be on our way again.”

“I want to stay here all day,” Sharon said dreamily, but went along when the others started down. She was soon whispering and laughing to Margaret as Nancy and Katie lagged behind.

“Those two will keep us entertained, don't you think?” Nancy said.

“They love each other,” Katie said. “They are my two best friends. They did something very special for me during a very hard time in my life. I'll never forget that.”

“The Lord does that for us sometimes,” Nancy agreed. “He sends us what—or who—we need.”

They soon arrived at the bottom of the hill, climbed back into the car, and headed down the mountain. Margaret and Sharon were admiring the view with loud exclamations the whole time. Katie was enjoying herself just as much; she just didn't make as much noise about it. That was probably from being raised Amish, which wasn't wrong—just different from the Mennonites.

The awe and the gasps continued from Sharon and Margaret as Nancy drove through the countryside. Nancy soon stopped at another little market where they purchased lunch.

“Let's not eat now,” Nancy suggested when they came back
outside. “We'll be at the cave before long, where I'm sure there's a picnic area. And we might even be up in the mountains by then and have another gorgeous view to go along with our food.”

“Suits me,” Margaret agreed. “Though I hope it's soon. I'm starving.”

“You should be,” Sharon said. “It's getting close to one o'clock here.”

“That's means seven in the morning at home,” Margaret said, as they climbed back into the car. “Breakfast time! I can smell the bacon and eggs.”

Nancy laughed. “I'm afraid that's something you won't see in this country. They don't know much about American breakfasts.”

“I noticed the pieces of bacon this morning that Bridgette had laid out for us,” Sharon said. “I declare they were raw.”

“You didn't see me touch them,” Margaret said as Nancy got back on the road again.

Sharon punched the address of the cave in the GPS, and the man started talking again. He guided them into the countryside, through several small towns, and down a road that had a sign that pointed toward a
Tauferhohle
.

“Baptizer cave,” Katie translated as the road turned into a cow path.

Nancy bounced to a stop after several minutes, and they climbed out.

“Follow the signs,” Sharon said, taking the guidebook with her. The signs led them straight up the mountain, and a picnic table didn't appear until they were almost out of breath.

“The view!” Margaret said, collapsing onto the bench. “At least it's fantastic.”

“Well worth it,” Sharon agreed as Nancy pulled out the lunches. They ate in silence, soaking in the beauty around them. When they finished, Nancy led the way forward again. The trail wrapped
around the mountainside, guarded with wooden side rails, until they reached a low-ceiling cave with a little waterfall trickling over the front.

“This is it,” Nancy announced as they all crowded inside. They stood close together, even though there was plenty of room. The place had a cold feel to it, and yet it also felt sacred at the same time. Here their people had gathered during a time of fierce persecution to sing and pray to
Da Hah
. Katie tried to memorize the scene to describe it to Ben and
Mamm
. They would be so thrilled.

Sharon tried to take a few pictures but gave up. “It's too dark,” she said.

“We should sing a song,” Nancy suggested, and she led out with the first line of “Amazing Grace.”

Katie joined in and soon tears came to the eyes of all four girls. This was indeed a most sacred spot. When the last notes had died away, they started down the trail clinging to the side of the hill.

“This place was featured in Christmas Carol Kauffman's book,” Katie said. “At least Ben thinks it was.”

“How does Ben know such things?” Margaret asked, hanging on to a wooden guardrail. “He's a man.”

“Sometimes men surprise you,” Nancy offered.

“All I know is what he told me,” Katie said. “Ben likes to read.”

Nancy led the way back down to the car, and they arrived without any mishaps other than Sharon slipping on a few loose stones, her camera flailing about. Margaret grabbed her in time to offer a steady hand.

On the drive back, Margaret dozed off and Katie almost joined her. Only the countryside was too fascinating not to keep an eye on it. They arrived back at the bed-and-breakfast and poured into the house. Katie collapsed on her bed, only to be roused by a pale-faced Sharon several minutes later.

“Katie, I think you'd better come to my room for a minute. Something terrible has happened at home.”

The girls all exchanged glances, and the four of them went into the next room where Sharon's laptop was open.

Horrible images flashed through Katie's mind. What could be wrong? Had something happened to the community? Had someone's farm burned?

“You'd better sit down,” Nancy said, helping Katie onto the bed. Katie's heart raced. This could not be good considering the way Nancy was trembling and concerned for her, trying to soften whatever blow was to come.

Sharon glanced at the girls. “Katie, I don't know quite how to tell you this or even if I should. Perhaps I should just wait and let you find out when we get home.”

Katie took a breath. “No, whatever it is, tell me now.”

Nancy sighed. “According to the Dover newspaper's website, one of the men arrested in the drug bust I told you about yesterday was Ben Stoll.”

Chapter Thirty-Five

The following morning, dawn was breaking outside the window when Katie awoke. The sun sent streaks of light sneaking past the drawn drapes. Across the room, a faint form wrapped in blankets came into focus. Margaret's long, black hair was tossed over the side of the bed, her face hidden from view.

Katie sat up as the memories of last night flooded in. Ben had been arrested at home on drug charges. The horror rushed over her again. Of course, it couldn't be true. It just couldn't. The four girls had talked late into the night, looking desperately for a possible explanation. Maybe there had been a mistake somewhere. Sharon had exchanged messages with her folks on Facebook and so had Margaret. In the end there was no mistaking the news. Ben was sitting in jail in Dover.

Katie ended up crying herself to sleep. How could it have happened? She'd kissed him goodbye at the airport. She'd melted into his arms the last time she saw him. And now he was accused of being a drug dealer? Drugs—the plague that destroyed people's
lives and fried their brains? Ben had been involved in that? And since he apparently had, why had she not known? She'd driven around in Ben's buggy, likely the very one Ben used to transport the evil stuff. There might even have been some under the seat while she'd been with him and snuggled up to his side, thinking Ben was the most
wunderbah
man in the world. Why hadn't she sensed something was terribly wrong?

Katie wanted to scream, and scream, and scream. Perhaps she could just go to sleep and never wake up again. And now here she was in a foreign country, so very far from home at a time like this. And yet she didn't want to be home while this was happening. How could she ever face
Mamm
? She'd apparently been right about Ben all along. And Katie had so misjudged Ben. How could she ever trust anyone again? If all this about Ben were true, it was going to ruin not only his life, but hers as well.

Yah
, the world had gone dark now. It seemed full of evil and crawling with lusts. No wonder the preachers spoke of such awful things in their sermons, warning the people of the dangers in the world. She'd thought them a little negative at times, but they must have known all along of things she couldn't even imagine. And now she was looking one of those evils in the face.

Mamm
wouldn't shun her, Katie figured, nor would Jesse. Mabel, though, was another matter. She would feel justified in every objection she ever had about
Mamm
and Katie moving in with her family. Now Mabel's escapades with Mose in the barn looked like child's play compared to her romance with Ben. But no one had known, Katie tried to justify to herself. No one!

How could a man be so deceiving, so full of lies, so living like his evil didn't even exist? Why hadn't she felt this wickedness when she kissed him? Instead, Ben had seemed so full of love and tenderness.

Across the room, Margaret rolled over and sat up, her hair falling all around her shoulders. “Is it morning?” she asked.

It's night!
Katie wanted to scream.
It's dark. The morning is never coming
. But she whispered, “
Yah
.”

Margaret gave her a long look and came over to sit beside her. “I'm sorry, Katie. I'm so sorry.”

“It's not your fault that men can be so evil…so deceptive,” Katie said, trembling as the words rolled out of her. This was pure hatred, and that was not the attitude a Christian should have.

And yet Margaret wasn't shocked at all. “I think I'd hate his guts myself. In fact, I think I do a little just for what he did to you.”

“Oh, Margaret!” Katie grabbed Margaret and pulled her close in a hug. “I hate myself for feeling this way, and yet I can't help it. Ben is a liar, a thief, a horrible person, and…and I loved him.”