The Englisch Cousin

Chapter One

Hannah Kauffman stretched her arm out the open window to wave.

The first week and a half of the road trip had been so intense.

They had all met up in California for some time at Santa Monica Beach, and now they were heading out to Pennsylvania.

Hannah was so ready to see this part of the country, and her friends had been so supportive of including her.

She would have far preferred to go home for the summer months, but she couldn’t afford the flight out to Heathrow to see her family in London.

Her friends had offered to cover the costs of her hotel, flights, and such for this trip, as long as she paid for her souvenirs and personal expenses beyond what they had already planned to buy as a group.

She would be in for meals and snacks taken in their hotel rooms and a few nights out.

She’d already surprised everyone by providing three meals, since she hadn’t spent any money on souvenirs. She’d even sent plenty of pictures back home so that she could still feel connected to her family. But it hadn’t helped her feel truly connected. Not yet, at least.

The friends had decided to head to Pennsylvania before returning to their dorm room in South Carolina, where they all attended the College of Charleston.

Jasmine and Wendy had driven out to California to visit family first, while she and Patricia had stayed in South Carolina to make sure the dorm would be all right while they were gone.

“Are you excited? We’re almost there, Hannah,” Patricia said. “We’ll have to make a quick pit stop at the hotel for the night, but after that, we’ll be able to get you to the Amish community we found out this way.”

“I just hope it’s the right one,” she revealed. “There are so many out here. How did you know which one to pick?”

“We didn’t know,” Jasmine piped up. “We just picked one that spoke to us. I hope it’s the right one, too; if it’s not, they might be able to help you find someone else. Kauffman is such a German last name that it makes sense for you to have some family in one of the Amish communities around here.”

Hannah nodded.

“I do appreciate everything you’ve all done for me this summer,” she said.

“Honestly. I don’t know that I would have survived staying in Charleston over the summer.

The summer heat is unbearable after spending most of my life in England.

London doesn’t get as hot and muggy as South Carolina.

Utter rubbish that I couldn’t afford that ticket home, despite my best efforts at budgeting to do so. ”

“We didn’t want to think about you moping about on campus all summer long,” Wendy admitted. “But you should be thanking Patricia. It was her idea to get you out of the dorm room this way. And to see something you’ve been talking about seeing for a while was a perfect way to do it.”

“And even if this is the wrong community,” Patricia said, “you’ll still have a chance to ask questions about the way of life and be able to see what it’s like.

I don’t know that you’ll be able to do much more, since we’re only going to be in the area for two days, but I think it’s enough time to make a start. ”

“And if I find my family, I can at least get an address to write letters to!” Hannah proclaimed.

“I’d rather spend all that money on stamps and make a connection that’ll last me a lifetime than worry about not being able to see them again.

And we can continue to write across the ocean when I return to London. ”

She had always been very open about her plan to return to London when she was done with her schooling. While there was plenty she liked about America, Hannah found that she much preferred London to South Carolina or any of the other places they had visited with her roommates during this trip.

They hadn’t only seen the beaches of Santa Monica, California.

They’d also gone to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

They were both beautiful landmarks, and Hannah could tell why America was well known for its national parks.

She only wished that there had been something like that in England.

She had visited Stonehenge plenty of times during her time in England, as well as sites of interest in Scotland and Wales, but nothing as significant as Yellowstone.

Then again, the United States was a much larger country.

Hannah didn’t have time to think about it for much longer. They had arrived at their hotel.

Upon reaching their room, she found it much as she had expected.

They had secured a two-room suite with four beds and a pull-out couch in the living room, which they wouldn’t need.

Hannah dumped her bags in one of the rooms, where she would be rooming with Jasmine this time around.

They had decided that it would be fair to switch up the roommate situation throughout the journey to give them the opportunity to make any changes once they were once again ensconced in the dorms around, should they decide it necessary.

Not to say that they did not love the roommate situation on campus as is.

So far, it seemed as though Hannah and Jasmine would remain in the same room, and Patricia and Wendy would continue to share a room. Patricia and Wendy were both night owls, while Jasmine and Hannah got up much earlier than they did.

She was glad they thought highly enough of her to invite her along for the ride.

“Now, I say we go out tonight and wait to see if we’re going to stay in the hotel or if we’re staying in the Amish community before we buy groceries,” Patricia said. “If we got the right community, we might end up staying a couple of days there with someone.”