"I heard Eli walked you home from our house last night!" Jenna said, pouncing on Sarah as soon as she saw her at school on Monday morning. "What happened? I didn't even know you were there! I want deets! Deets!"
"I wasn't planning to be at your house, Jenna," Sarah said, feeling exhausted by her friend's perpetual enthusiasm in light of her experience the night before, yet simultaneously feeling guilty for feeling that way. "I just learned something unwelcome about the past."
Luckily, Jenna hadn't been Sarah's friend for over decade by being unperceptive. She immediately toned down her demeanor, and said, more gently:
"Want to tell me about it?"
"Not really," Sarah said, before she could stop herself.
Jenna was instantly wounded. "But you told Eli, didn't you?"
Sarah sighed. "I'm sorry, Jen. I don't want to talk to anyone about it, really, but of course I will tell you if you really want to know. I told Eli because he happened to be there, and the situation involved him, anyway-or rather, his father."
"His father?" Jenna echoed.
"His father and my mother," Sarah said. "My mom was that Englischer girl Rebekah and Eli were talking about."
"What do you mean Englischer...? Oh." Jenna said, as she recalled the long-ago conversation.
"Yeah," Sarah said, as she started walking to class.
Jenna ran to catch up. "But I don't see what the problem is," she said.
Sarah stopped, and looked at her friend with a raised eyebrow. "You don't. Knowing me?"
"Ooh. Good point," Jenna said, hurrying to catch up again as Sarah continued her walk toward class. "You know what the problem is, Sarah? You need to loosen up! The past is in the past, the future is before us, live in the moment!" Jenna threw her arms out and twirled to emphasize her statement.
In spite of herself, Sarah laughed. "That's pretty much what he told me, too."
Jenna tucked her arms back at her side and resumed walking like a normal person. "Who? Eli?"
"Yes."
"Very wise of him. I am starting to like this brother of Rebekah's more and more."
Sarah opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, another voice came from behind.
"Hey there pretty ladies!"
"Oh no." Sarah said under her breath.
Jenna turned. "Oh hi Jake!" she said cheerfully.
Slowly, Sarah turned too, and put on a polite smile. "Hi Jake. How are you?" And then she kicked herself for letting the second half of the greeting slip out automatically.
"Fantastic now that I get to see your beautiful face," Jake said, grinning as he sauntered over. "Have you thought some more about my proposal since winter break?"
Proposal? Jenna mouthed at Sarah, unable to stop the suggestive grin her friend pretended not to see. "What proposal?" she voiced aloud.
"Sarah and I were discussing her tutoring me in Chemistry," Jake said.
"Chemistry, is it?" Jenna said.
"Well, actually-" Sarah started, but Jake didn't let her finish.
He slung an arm around her shoulder before she could protest, and said, "Tomorrow night, 6pm, at Aiolos. Aiolos' has the best Greek food around, you know. You can teach me about ferromagnetics as we eat falafels. How 'bout that?"
Sarah was stunned into silence. We aren't even learning about ferromagnetics in Chemistry! her brain protested, but her larynx remained stubbornly inactive.
"Sarah?" It was Eli's voice, and it startled Sarah back into action. She quickly stepped away so that Jake's arm dropped off her shoulder and back to his side, where it belonged. Rebekah was standing behind her brother, a few feet away. The siblings walked toward Jenna, Sarah, and Jake.
"That sounds good," Jenna was saying, half joking, half attempting to rescue Sarah: "Can I come too?"
"Sorry, Jen," Jake said. "Maybe next time. I'm, like, failing the class, and I really need some one-on-one time with a Chemistry genius like Sarah. How 'bout it, Sarah? I can pick you up around 5:30 if you give me your address."
"I'm not-" Sarah started, but then shook her head. "Sorry, Jake, I can't. I have something to do on Tuesday night."
"Like what?" Jake said, furrowing his brow.
"I..." Sarah blanked. "I have to have dinner with my grandmother!" she blurted out.
"Your grandmother, huh?" Jake raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the approaching Longacres. "Grandmothers are important."
"Yes, very." Sarah said, then kicked herself again at her inanity. By now, Eli and Rebekah had joined their circle. "So I can't cancel. I'm sorry."
"Yes, of course," Jake said, and Sarah was surprised at his sudden amenableness. "Maybe some other time."
"Maybe," Sarah said, as she added in her head: or not.
:-:-:-:
At lunch, Sarah hesitated to sit at her usual spot with Jenna when she spotted Jake in the distance. Yet, strangely, just as she ducked away, he turned and saw her...but instead of approaching her as she feared, Jake only gave Sarah a knowing smile, and turned away again.
That was...odd, Sarah thought to herself.
"Sarah! Over here!" Jenna waved both her arms at her friend, to catch her attention, as if she and Sarah did not eat lunch in that exact location every day of the school year. Rebekah and Eli were with her.
"Hi guys," Sarah said, as she sat down.
"Have you called him yet?" Jenna said, before Sarah had even fished her lunch out of her bag.
"Called who?" Sarah asked, thinking, for one insane moment, that Jenna meant Jake.
"Eli and Rebekah's uncle, of course!" Jenna said, as if assuming that Sarah could read her mind and its every rapid permutation of thought. "Isn't he coming home today?"
"Wow, Jenna," Sarah laughed, relieved. "You have a great memory."
"We don't want to bother him if you think he might be tired after coming home so recently," Eli spoke up quickly.
Rebekah echoed her brother: "Yes, perhaps we should call later?"
"Stuff and nonsense!" Jenna said in an affected English accent. "Even if he doesn't pick up, it doesn't hurt to leave a message, at least, right?"
"But..." Rebekah started.
Sarah stopped her by taking out her cell phone. "It's alright. I know the Longs, it should be fine with them. I'll call."
She pulled out her cell phone and dialed.
Beth picked up on the first ring. "Hello!"
"Hello? Beth?"
"Oh, hi Sarah! How's my little god sister doing?"
"I'm well," Sarah replied. "How are you?"
"Never better," Beth said. "Are you calling about Dad? He just came in, wanna talk to him?"
"Umm..." Before Sarah could say yea or nay, she heard a rustle on the other side, and then a voice, similar to Beth's, but deeper and gruffer, say: "Hello?"
Sarah swallowed. "Uncle Eli?"
"Sarah Logan!" Came the pleased reply. "It's been awhile since I've heard from you, young lady. That Beth of mine-I never know who I'm talking to when she shoves the phone at me without telling me who's on the other end. I thought you might be a telemarketer."
"Sorry Dad!" Sarah heard Beth call out from the background, and Eli Long's answering chuckle.
"How are you doing Sarah?" Eli continued. "And your mother?"
"I'm fine, so is Mom," Sarah said. "How about you? How was your trip?"
"Same old same old," uncle Eli replied. "But good to see some friends from my school days."
"Ah," Sarah said, and then the words died in her throat. It suddenly occurred to her that perhaps uncle Eli knew about her mother's previous relationship to Eli Longbottom's father. How else would Sarah Logan have met him, in the first place?
Uncle Eli never spoke about his Amish roots. Only now did Sarah feel how awkward it might possibly be to take the Longacre siblings to meet him and force him to come face to face with a past it seemed he'd rather forget.
"As much as I wish this was a social call because you missed your uncle Eli so much, I'm guessing it probably isn't," Eli Long said, sparing Sarah the trouble of figuring out what to say next. "What can I do for you, Miss Logan?"
"Well..." Sarah paused. On the other hand, she didn't know that uncle Eli would be averse to seeing his long lost niece and nephew. Sure, it was a little odd that they hadn't had contact for over a decade, but perhaps he had just gotten busy and forgotten. Maybe he'd be happy to see his brother's children. Maybe...
Sarah took a deep breath. "I had some friends who would like to meet you, and I was wondering if I could bring them over sometime," Sarah said, in one exhale, before she could change her mind. She could see Rebekah, Jenna, and Eli watching her, the former with open trusting eyes, the latter two with some concern in their expressions, for Jenna knew her friend well enough to read the hesitation on her face, and Eli too, could sense the complications in Sarah's tone and expression- perhaps because he had always been sensitive to the feelings of others, or perhaps because he had spent enough time with Sarah to start learning the nuances of her nonverbal communication.
"Absolutely!" Eli Long said, "I'm free anytime today, just give me a call before you guys arrive. Are they interested in education?"
"Umm, not exa-" Sarah started to say, but was interrupted by a loud scream on the other end of the line: "daddyyyyy! There's a mouse in here!"
"Uh oh," Sarah heard uncle Eli say, and then quickly, to her: "sorry Sarah, I'll see you later alright?"
"Sure, no problem," Sarah barely had time to say before the line went dead.
"So what'd he say?" Jenna asked as soon as Sarah took the phone away from her ear.
"He said he's free today," Sarah said, not knowing if that was a good thing or not. But obviously Jenna did, because she clapped her hands together and announced, "Excellent! Let's go after school!"
Sarah smiled, but it was a little hollow.
:-:-:-:
Three o' clock came, and found Sarah, Jenna, and their Longacre guests being driven across town by Mr. Merkle, who had kindly agreed to take them to Eli Long's house, after his daughter excitedly told him the news that the Longacre kids were finally going to reunite with their long lost uncle.
Briiiing! "Hi guys!" Beth opened the door almost as soon as Jenna touched the doorbell. "Hey Jenna, how are the boys?"
"Fantastic," Jenna replied, grinning at Beth. "Maybe too fantastic, sometimes." The two were really alike- both had ebullient personalities, two brothers, and Sarah as a friend. So it was no wonder they were fond of each other as well.
"Oh, I hear ya," Beth said, "the last thing brothers need is more energy!"
"Hello, Sarah and Jenna," said a deep voice before a late middle aged man, tall, dark but graying, with the exact same smile as Beth, appeared in the doorway. "These must be your friends. What are their names?"
Uncle Eli was smiling as he reached the door, but when his eyes landed on Eli and Rebekah, the smile wavered and slowly stilled, much the same way Ethan Longacre's had done when he first saw Sarah not so long ago. Now Sarah recognized that expression. It was the look of one encountering a piece of the unexpected and not-too-welcome past.
Before uncle Eli could say anything, though, aunt Camille came to the door. "Well, aren't you going to invite your guests inside, dear?" She said.
Uncle Eli replied without taking his eyes off his niece and nephews. "We haven't yet introduced ourselves. I am Elias long."
Rebekah stepped forward boldly. "I am Rebekah, and this is my brother Eli," she said.
"Longacre." Eli added.
Camille's eyes grew a little wider.
"So you're not here to interview me about being a teacher then, I assume," Eli long said, somewhat grimly.
"No sir," Eli Longacre replied, shaking his head.
"We are here to find our uncle," Rebekah said.
"Well." Eli Long exhaled. "Looks like you found him."
9