Chapter 24
Arthur
Arriving at the clothesline, Emma set the wicker basket on the grass and reached up to take down a pair of her grandfather’s trousers.
She smiled, thinking about the way he sometimes rolled his pant legs up to his knees when he stretched out in his hammock for a summer nap.
He always looked so peaceful with his eyes closed and face lifted toward the sun.
Grandpa also liked to take off his shoes and walk around barefoot during the warm weather.
Emma loved seeing the big grin on his face.
He reminded her of a young boy who loved to be outside and explore.
Of course, I’m kind of like that too, she mused, plucking one of Grandpa’s shirts off the line.
I’ve pretty much enjoyed spending time outdoors since I was a little girl.
Being out in nature is a way to remember and reflect on God’s beautiful creation, not to mention all that He has done for us.
I truly need to be more grateful—especially when something negative happens and I feel like complaining.
Emma set her thoughts aside and removed the rest of the clothes from the line. When she picked up the basket, Emma spotted a car pulling into the yard. Although Emma didn’t recognize the vehicle, she placed the basket back down and went to see who it was.
A few seconds later, the vehicle stopped in front of the house, the passenger-side door opened, and Rachel’s ex-boyfriend stepped out.
A chill ran up Emma’s spine, though that was quickly replaced with a flush of heat rushing to her face.
I can’t believe David would be bold enough to come here.
How’d he find out where Rachel is, and why has he come?
I hope David has no plans of trying to win my sister back.
Certainly not, if I have anything to say about it.
With hands pressed against her hips, Emma walked right up to David and asked the question foremost on her mind. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Rachel.” He glanced briefly at his driver, still waiting in his vehicle, then looked back at Emma. “I hope you don’t have a problem with that.”
“Who told you Rachel was here?” Emma asked without responding to David’s comment.
“I went over to your folks’ place last evening, and when I asked to speak to Rachel, your mamm told me she wasn’t at home but was at her grandparents’.” David shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “Then when I asked if it was the grandparents who lived in Arthur, she admitted that it was.”
“Did my mother give you the address?”
He shook his head.
“How’d you find us then?”
“I asked around. It wasn’t too hard to find the place, really.”
The tightness that welled up in Emma’s chest began to unravel, and she struggled to keep from shouting at him. Some nerve he had showing up here out of the blue. After what David did to Rachel, did he really think she would talk to him?
When Rachel heard voices outside, including Emma’s, she left the kitchen and went to the front door to see who her sister was talking to. Shock spiraled through her body when she saw David standing next to a parked car, a short distance from where Emma stood with her hands pressed against her hips.
Rachel’s heart pounded, and her mouth felt so dry she could barely swallow.
She blinked a couple of times to be sure she wasn’t seeing things and then slowly descended the porch stairs.
Why is David here? Rachel asked herself as she approached the young man who had betrayed her.
I can’t imagine he has anything to say that I’d want to hear.
Before she was able to pose the question she was mulling over the most, David said, “Rachel, it’s so good to see you.” He took a step toward her. “I’ve missed you more than I can say.”
She crossed her arms and stared at him. “Is that so?”
“Of course it is. I wouldn’t have spoken those words if they weren’t true.”
“What about Alice? Does she know you’re here?” Rachel’s voice quavered as she spoke.
“No. I was planning to tell her after we go back to Shipshewana.”
“We?” The single word came out as a squeak.
“Jah. You and me.”
Rachel gave a vigorous shake of her head. “I’m not going anywhere with you, David.”
“That’s right,” Emma interjected, turning to face him directly. “My sister is here, like me, visiting our grandparents, and you have no right to be here at all.”
“I do have the right,” he insisted. “I came here to ask Rachel’s forgiveness and beg her to take me back.”
“Don’t listen to him, Sister,” Emma whispered, moving closer to Rachel. “He can’t be trusted. Not after what he did to you.”
“I don’t know why you should expect me to believe anything you say,” Rachel said, staring straight into David’s eyes. “You chose my best friend over me, while we were still together, and there’s no way you can deny it.”
“I—I did what you’re accusing me of, but please give me a chance to explain.”
Rachel remained silent, continuing to stare at him in disbelief.
“You need to understand something, Rachel,” David continued.
“The reason I broke things off with you and started seeing Alice is because I needed verification that the feelings I had for you were strong enough to propose marriage, which was what I’d been on the verge of doing a few weeks before I started going out with Alice.
” David dragged the toe of his left shoe in the dirt and stared down at it for a few seconds.
When he finally looked up, Rachel saw tears in his eyes, which came to her as a surprise.
Whatever the case, her guard did not waver, still uncertain of David’s intentions.
“David, I’m not following you. If you really were about to ask me to marry you, then why did you drop me for Alice?”
“Because I got cold feet. You see, I wasn’t sure if my feelings for you went deep enough. I needed some time apart to really know for sure that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, and now I know that I do. I made a horrible mistake breaking up with you, Rachel.”
“That’s a strange way of thinking,” Emma cut in again. “You hurt my sister very much, and now you’re here, trying to fill Rachel’s head with promises I’m sure you don’t plan to keep.”
“Yes, I do.” In addition to David’s eyes appearing to be wet with tears, he’d begun to sweat profusely through the fabric of his shirt.
“I’m truly sorry, and I am telling you the absolute truth.
I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me and believe what I’m saying.
” He extended his hand toward Rachel. “Please accept my apology and give me the opportunity to start over.”
Rachel pulled back, knowing that if she allowed him to touch her, she might throw caution to the wind and agree to take him back. You can’t trust David, an inner voice taunted. But I still love him, another side of Rachel argued. Why did she have to be put on the spot like that?
David must have sensed what she was thinking, because he inhaled through his nose and spoke in a steady, lower-pitched voice. “You’ve gotta believe me, Rachel—I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.”
Rachel deliberated on what he’d said, then drawing from her inner resources, she said, “Go back home, David. I’ll be returning to Shipshewana on Monday of next week, and then we can talk about things.
You hurt me deeply when you began seeing Alice, and what happened between us can’t be fixed overnight. ”
“I realize that, but—”
He moved toward Rachel again, but Emma stepped between them. “You shouldn’t have come here, David. Can’t you see that you’re upsetting my sister?”
“I didn’t come here to do that. I just wanted to make her understand the reason I went out with Alice for a while.”
Emma’s cheeks turned bright pink as she shook her finger at David. “No man who supposedly loves a woman would hurt her like that, just to try and prove something to himself. It was dumm, David. You broke my sister’s trust. Surely you must realize that.”
“I do, and I’m truly sorry. If Rachel would just give me another chance, I would prove my love and devotion to her, once and for all.”
Emma looked at Rachel with her hands turned palm-up. “So what are you gonna do, Sister?”
“I’m going to stay right here till my two weeks are up, and then I’ll return home like I said I would do when I came here.”
Emma gave a nod. “Good decision.” She gestured to the man sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle parked behind them. “Your driver’s waiting, and it wouldn’t be polite for you to hold him up.”
Rachel held her breath, waiting to see how David would respond. She felt relief when he finally nodded and said, “Okay then.” He looked at Rachel with a somber expression. “I’ll come by your house soon after you get home, and hopefully we can work things out between us.”
“We’ll have to wait and see how it goes” was her only response.
Before David could comment, Rachel whirled around and ran back to the house. She turned the doorknob, fighting the need to glance over her shoulder at him. Once inside, Rachel leaned against the door and remained there long enough to catch her breath.
Soon, Rachel heard the roar of the car’s engine, and she knew that David had left.
I can’t believe I didn’t crumble under the pressure and agree to take David back, Rachel told herself. My hammering heart let me know that I do still care deeply for David. If only I could trust him not to break my heart with more lies and rejection.
Rachel moved away from the door as another thought popped into her head. What if David truly meant every word he said? Did I make a mistake by not going home with David today? Seeing her ex-boyfriend again had given Rachel the assurance that she still really loved him.
A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Emma sauntered in with a basket of laundry she’d taken from the clothesline.