Epilogue
It was June again. On this month, five years ago, the four of them had piled in Martin’s vehicle and driven down to Walden to speak to their grandparents about becoming Amish.
While he drove, Beth directed—and Kelsey and Jonny had both tried to tell each of them what to do—and the four of them had weighed the pros and cons about becoming Amish. It hadn’t been the first time they’d discussed it. It hadn’t even been the tenth.
No, after their first, eye-opening discussion, they’d talked, texted, and emailed each other over and over again. Each of them had been excited to announce their plans to their grandparents.
They’d each been worried about their grandparents’ reaction. Martin had tried to pretend that everything was fine. It had been what he did all his life—take care of his brother and sisters no matter what happened.
But inside? Well, inside, he’d been a nervous wreck.
No, they’d all been nervous wrecks.
Remembering their grandparents’ expressions when they’d shared their plans, he had to smile. He was pretty sure that they’d been nervous wrecks, too.
That hadn’t stopped them from moving forward, though.
Now that that day was so far in the past, Martin often found himself wondering how they’d ever been so brave in the first place.
But then, of course, he knew. God had been in charge.
Martin might have been behind the wheel of his vehicle and Beth might have been trying to keep the four of them organized and calm .
. . but in actuality, the four of them had merely been along for the ride.
All they’d had to do was trust in what He was directing them to do and hold on tight.
Martin shook his head. He’d always thought that he’d had a strong faith.
He’d believed in God and he attended church when he could.
But it wasn’t until they’d pushed themselves and tested the boundaries of their lives that things had changed.
He’d stopped imagining that the Lord was kind of, sort of looking after him,and started believing that deep in his very soul.
Three years ago, after a series of events had caused Treva and Jonny to miss spending Thanksgiving with them, and Beth and Junior had been forced to stay home for Christmas, Kelsey had decided to make June fourth “their” day.
No matter if kids were sick, or there was an important project at work due, or even a torrential thunderstorm, the four of them promised to meet at their grandparents’ house for supper.
And now, here they were again.
Well, he, Beth, and Kelsey were. Jonny was running late. Again.
Standing on the front porch, Beth crossed her arms over her chest. “I swear. Next year, I’m going to pick him up.”
“If you stop by his haus to get him, you’ll end up being late, too,” Kelsey pointed out. “Jonny gets sidetracked like no one else on earth. I used to think Treva was to blame, but now I realize that he makes her late, too.”
“I don’t know why we thought he’d change. Remember how he’d poke around eating breakfast before school?”
“Or take the longest showers?” Martin added.
“I heard that!” Jonny called out as he sauntered toward them.
Martin felt like rolling his eyes. His younger brother was tan, fit, and looking far too much like an Amish romance cover model. But maybe that was because he was wearing a broad grin.
“Glad you could make it, Jon,” Beth said sarcastically.
He didn’t miss a beat. “Thanks, Sis. I wouldn’t miss our annual get-together for the world. And I’m not that late. Only five minutes.”
“The rest of us managed to get here early.” Kelsey sniffed.
Jonny raised his eyebrows. “Kelsey, if you start saying stuff like that, I’m going to call you Beth Junior.”
As they’d all expected, Beth narrowed her eyes. “I take exception to that.”
“Come on. You’ve played that card from the time we were small. Showing up early and then looking down your nose at the rest of us for actually taking the clock—and the schedule—at face value.”
“I might have done that.”
“You did, Bethy,” Kelsey blurted.
“Well, I don’t anymore.”
“I’ll ask Junior.”
When Beth inhaled sharply, Martin blurted, “I did not leave Patti’s side to listen to the three of you argue.”
“I’m surprised you left her side at all,” Jonny teased.
Feeling his cheeks heat, he glared at his brother. Then he realized that Beth and Kelsey were grinning as much as Jonny was. “There’s nothing wrong with liking my wife’s company.”
Beth looked down at her feet, but he was sure she was smiling.
“Come on, guys.”
“All I’m saying is that you two have been married for a while now. Things have got to be settled down by now, Mar tin,” Kelsey said.
He kept his mouth shut but as far as he was concerned, he hoped nothing would ever settle down between him and Patti. They’d both overcome so many things in order to make their relationship happen. And then to become husband and wife.
“Now that you’ve all given me grief, should we go on inside? At last? It’s time.”
“I suppose,” Beth said.
He knew why she hesitated. Their grandparents weren’t home.
After he and Patti had returned from their honeymoon, Mommi and Dawdi had announced that they were going to spend the next couple of years traveling.
Without looking all that apologetic, they’d declared that as much as they’d enjoyed shepherding three of them into the Amish faith and counseling them as they each fell in love and got engaged, they wanted a break. A long break.
They were big fans of taking long bus trips around the country. Dawdi even confided that they were considering a cruise.
This week Martin was pretty sure they were in Oregon, but he wasn’t sure. All he did know was that being in the big farmhouse without their guiding presence would always feel strange.
After they went inside at last, Kelsey opened a few of the windows and screened doors to let in fresh air. Jonny and Beth brought in the coolers filled with lunch and drinks. While he went to the kitchen to pull out dishes and silverware.
When they sat down together, their plates piled high with sandwiches, chips, fruit, and pickles, Martin realized that Beth, Kelsey, and Jonny looked as stunned as he did.
“Let us bow our heads in silent prayer,” Kelsey murmured.
And so each of them did.
When the prayers were completed, Beth raised her glass of lemonade.
“Five years ago, I felt like something was missing. It made no sense to me,because I’d gone to college on scholarships that I’d worked hard to earn and I’d obtained a good job that I’d done my best to obtain.
I was making good money, and I had a good circle of friends.
All I knew was that it wasn’t enough. Never did I imagine what would happen. ”
“You and Martin had it harder than Jonny and me,” Kelsey said. “I’d just finished college and felt guilty because I couldn’t find a job.”
“I was only two years in, but I felt like a failure,” Jonny said. “All of you did so much more. I couldn’t understand what was wrong with me.”
“I was at a crossroads, too,” Martin said.
“I was working hard, successful, and completely confused.” He took a breath.
“In some ways, I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions. I wanted to keep my life the way it was, but I wasn’t happy and couldn’t figure out why.
Then, when I realized that the three of you weren’t all that happy, either, I felt so guilty. ”
“You should have never felt guilty,” Beth said.
“I know, but for so long I wanted to take care of the three of you. Then, I had to come to terms with the fact that you guys didn’t need me anymore. You were grown adults.”
“We did need you, Martin. I might be married and have kids of my own, but I still need you,” Kelsey added. “I think I always will.”
“She’s right,” Beth added. “I might have tried to mother everyone, but you always made it seem like no burden was too big for you to handle.”
As Martin shook his head, Jonny interrupted. “Beth is right. And for the record, that isn’t a bad thing. You were our rock. Always. Whenever we needed you, you were there. Just like you made sure that we all made it here.”
Feeling embarrassed at receiving so much praise, he said, “Each of us is important to the others. How about that?”
Kelsey smiled. “I’ll take that.” Then she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Now all we have to do is figure out what’s next.”
“What are you talking about?” Jonny asked. “We’re all married, two of you have kids, Mom and Dad are happy, and our grandparents are hiking around Crater Lake today. For today, at least, the Schrock family is well.”
Kelsey blinked. “So that’s it? We’re all set?”
She sounded so appalled, Martin chuckled. “Don’t worry, Kels. You know that sooner or later something’s going to happen and we’ll all have to get involved.”
She sighed. “I suppose you’re right.”
“I know I am,” Beth said. Gazing at the open screen door, she smiled. “Just like I had an idea that maybe we didn’t need to hang out with only the four of us today.”
Martin turned his head to see what she was talking about, and then grinned. “You invited everyone else?”
“It felt right.”
Jonny was already walking toward Treva with a delighted smile on his face. Kesley was kneeling on the ground to pick up their toddler while Richard was holding their three-year-old’s hand.
Beth couldn’t seem to look anywhere but at Junior and their son in his arms.
At first, he didn’t see Patti. Remembered that she’d told him she was going to go to a garden club meeting or something with some ladies in the neighborhood.
But then, there she was. Walking toward him in a pair of loose khakis, a pale-green T-shirt, and her beautiful hair curled and hanging loose on her back.
He couldn’t get to her side fast enough. “What are you doing here?”
“Surprising you.”
“But I thought you were going to go to a garden club meeting.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Martin Schrock. I can safely say that I’ve grown more flowers and vegetables than anyone in that club. I just made that up to fool you.”
“Well, you succeeded. Hey, how did you get here?” Patti still had no interest in learning to drive.
“I called your dad. He and Kennedy drove me down.”
“Are they coming, too?”
Kelsey answered. “Nope. They’re staying at our house. Richard and I are going away for the night. His parents are going to watch the kids.”
“You look a little perplexed, Martin,” Patti said. “Is something wrong? Do you wish we would have stayed away?”
“Never.” Looking around at the ten other people, seven adults and three children, he reached for her hand. “You know me. I love a good plan.”
“You always have,” Jonny said.
“Even though this wasn’t how I thought today was going to turn out, it’s better than I expected.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Beth said as Junior handed her Joe. “But I guess that’s how our big decision turned out, right?”
Kelsey nodded. “Our plan to convince our grandparents to take us in was the best thing we ever did.”
“Absolutely,” Jonny said. “I wanted to be happy. I wanted to feel fulfilled. I wanted to live Plain, but I never imagined that this journey would eventually lead me to so much more.”
Looking around at their group, Martin felt a sense of peace he’d once thought would always be out of his grasp. “This feels right, you know?”
“Yeah,” said Beth. “I know, exactly.”