When they reached the grocery store half an hour later, Belinda
looked at Leah in wonder and awe and asked curiously, "Leah, how did you
know where it was? It's as if you been in this town before!"
Leah looked endearingly back into the gentle brown eyes of her friend, "I was here before but that chapter in my life has been closed." She looked away and began walking down the aisles looking for tomorrow's breakfast.
Belinda thought to herself. Chapter closed? What in the world does that mean? Young people! All their lives revolve around drama. Drama, drama, drama! Little did Belinda know that Leah's life was much more than drama.
After spending an hour at the grocery store stacking up on food they'll need for the next few days, Belinda paid the cashier and they both exited the store. Belinda walked to the pay phone and said, "I'm going to call the Doc and get him to give us a ride. There's no way we're both going to be able to carry these bags all the way back home."
Leah nodded in agreement and dropped the bags of grocery gently on the floor. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to walk around and take a look at the town. I'll be back in 10 minutes."
"Well, if you want to look around, take as long as you want. I can wait for Doc by myself. You can stay in town for as long as you like but you'll have to walk home by yourself. Is that okay?" Belinda could sense that Leah wanted to explore the town that she once had some kind of past with.
"Oh okay. I'll be home before supper." She smiled and walked off. She slowly walked up the street and looked at all the small stores and little inns. Most of the town looked the same as she had left it four years ago. As she continued to walk onwards, she came upon a parking lot that once stood the small two-floor inn she worked in five summers ago. She was stunned to realize that it was torn down and was made into a parking lot. She began to wonder what had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Soltz. They didn't seem quite old enough to retire yet. She continued to walk on and eventually she came upon the video rental store. She looked into the store through the window and smiled and many memories flowed back into her mind. She has spent many weekends walking up and down the aisles of the large volume of videos with Ethan. She sighed and sat down on a nearby bench.
It seemed like hours to Leah as she sat and watched the cars, trucks, and buggies pass by. Some people walking by glanced at her in curiosity and some even gave her odd looks, wondering if Leah was lost but she ignored all of them and was left in her small bubble of her mind.
Leah watched as the puffy white clouds dissipated as the clear blue sky slowly blended into the red and orange of the early evening sky. The sun softly met the clear horizon at the hilltop as the day ended and nature awaited the birth of another evening night.
Her trance was suddenly interrupted by an irritating racket. HONK! HONK! HONK! "Leah!" She looked up in confusion and saw Maxine, Dr. Barlow's sixteen year old daughter waving from her jeep that was parked on the other side of the road. Maxine quickly ran across the street and joined Leah on the bench. "Hey Leah. I've been looking around for you! I was so bored at home and Belinda told me you were exploring the town and I thought I might as well join you.
Leah smiled and she was glad Maxine had found her. "Yeah. I needed some fresh air so I decided to take a walk. There are a lot of things to do here. You just have to know where to go. You can rent videos or even go to The Rink."
"The Rink? What's that?" Maxine was surprised that Leah knew so much about this small town of Nappanee.
"It's this local hangout. I'll take you sometime."
"So how do you know so much about this town? Have you been here before?" She was confused yet extremely curious at Leah's knowledge about life in this town.
She laughed in response and smiled happily. "I had many visits to this town and I even worked in an inn for a summer when I was younger."
"Wow! Really? Why did you choose to live in this town? I thought you lived in cities, not small townships."
"Well... I met some people who lived in this town..." Before she said anymore, she realized she had said too much from the beginning. "But that was a long time ago. That chapter in my life is now closed." She smiled back at Maxine, hoping that she wouldn't ask any more questions.
"Oh okay. So mysterious!" She smiled back at Leah. "Well... the town seems very peaceful and I met some of those Amish people. They're really nice, a bit odd though with their old clothes and funny buggies. But I think I'll have a good time!" Leah smiled and nodded in agreement. "Well, it's almost supper time! We better get going if we don't want to be late! Mom will kill me!"
They both crossed the street towards Maxine's new green jeep. Leah opened the door on the passenger side and climbing onto her seat. Maxine started the engine and slowly drove on until they were stopped at the red light. As Leah looked out her window, she realized they had stopped beside a buggy. "Max, you know what? I've always wanted to race one of these buggies!" She laughed at the thought.
"Hey! That Amish boy in the buggy is pretty cute! I definitely now know that I'll really like living in this town!" She smiled and waved at the Amish boy.
Leah laughed at her friend and turned to see what the Amish's reaction would be. As she slowly turned towards her window, her face was transfixed in shock as she saw the face of Simeon Longacre, Ethan's younger brother! Simeon had the same reaction as Leah did and his eyes widened as if he was unsure if he was seeing properly. Just as Maxine began to make the turn towards on the street, she saw another face appear behind Simeon. It was Ethan, Her Ethan! She quickly looked away hoping that Ethan had not seen her.
"Leah, what's wrong with you? That boy wasn't THAT cute!" Maxine was confused by Leah's facial expression that read nothing but shock and disbelief.
She tried to put her thoughts to words as they continued to drive towards home. "Max... remember just now I said 'that chapter in my life is now closed'? Well... consider it reopened!" She turned to look at Maxine's expression.
"You were with that Amish boy? He's a bit you don't you think?!?!" She was surprised that Leah was attracted to men that were so much younger than her.
"NO! The OTHER Amish boy! I mean... man!" She tried to grasp what had just happened but her mind was a blur.
Eventually, Leah explained her past with the town of Nappanee, Amish people, and the Longacre family, particularly about Ethan. After the long explanation, Maxine was left open-mouthed in shock! "Wow, Leah I never knew! If I did... well I don't know. I'm so sorry to hear it ended in such a sad way. If there's anything I can do, just ask!" Leah knew there was nothing she could do but it comforted her to know that she had a caring friend. Ever since she and Ethan went their separate ways, she had lost touch with Charity, one of her closest friends.
Leah looked endearingly back into the gentle brown eyes of her friend, "I was here before but that chapter in my life has been closed." She looked away and began walking down the aisles looking for tomorrow's breakfast.
Belinda thought to herself. Chapter closed? What in the world does that mean? Young people! All their lives revolve around drama. Drama, drama, drama! Little did Belinda know that Leah's life was much more than drama.
After spending an hour at the grocery store stacking up on food they'll need for the next few days, Belinda paid the cashier and they both exited the store. Belinda walked to the pay phone and said, "I'm going to call the Doc and get him to give us a ride. There's no way we're both going to be able to carry these bags all the way back home."
Leah nodded in agreement and dropped the bags of grocery gently on the floor. "I'll be right back. I'm just going to walk around and take a look at the town. I'll be back in 10 minutes."
"Well, if you want to look around, take as long as you want. I can wait for Doc by myself. You can stay in town for as long as you like but you'll have to walk home by yourself. Is that okay?" Belinda could sense that Leah wanted to explore the town that she once had some kind of past with.
"Oh okay. I'll be home before supper." She smiled and walked off. She slowly walked up the street and looked at all the small stores and little inns. Most of the town looked the same as she had left it four years ago. As she continued to walk onwards, she came upon a parking lot that once stood the small two-floor inn she worked in five summers ago. She was stunned to realize that it was torn down and was made into a parking lot. She began to wonder what had happened to Mr. and Mrs. Soltz. They didn't seem quite old enough to retire yet. She continued to walk on and eventually she came upon the video rental store. She looked into the store through the window and smiled and many memories flowed back into her mind. She has spent many weekends walking up and down the aisles of the large volume of videos with Ethan. She sighed and sat down on a nearby bench.
It seemed like hours to Leah as she sat and watched the cars, trucks, and buggies pass by. Some people walking by glanced at her in curiosity and some even gave her odd looks, wondering if Leah was lost but she ignored all of them and was left in her small bubble of her mind.
Leah watched as the puffy white clouds dissipated as the clear blue sky slowly blended into the red and orange of the early evening sky. The sun softly met the clear horizon at the hilltop as the day ended and nature awaited the birth of another evening night.
Her trance was suddenly interrupted by an irritating racket. HONK! HONK! HONK! "Leah!" She looked up in confusion and saw Maxine, Dr. Barlow's sixteen year old daughter waving from her jeep that was parked on the other side of the road. Maxine quickly ran across the street and joined Leah on the bench. "Hey Leah. I've been looking around for you! I was so bored at home and Belinda told me you were exploring the town and I thought I might as well join you.
Leah smiled and she was glad Maxine had found her. "Yeah. I needed some fresh air so I decided to take a walk. There are a lot of things to do here. You just have to know where to go. You can rent videos or even go to The Rink."
"The Rink? What's that?" Maxine was surprised that Leah knew so much about this small town of Nappanee.
"It's this local hangout. I'll take you sometime."
"So how do you know so much about this town? Have you been here before?" She was confused yet extremely curious at Leah's knowledge about life in this town.
She laughed in response and smiled happily. "I had many visits to this town and I even worked in an inn for a summer when I was younger."
"Wow! Really? Why did you choose to live in this town? I thought you lived in cities, not small townships."
"Well... I met some people who lived in this town..." Before she said anymore, she realized she had said too much from the beginning. "But that was a long time ago. That chapter in my life is now closed." She smiled back at Maxine, hoping that she wouldn't ask any more questions.
"Oh okay. So mysterious!" She smiled back at Leah. "Well... the town seems very peaceful and I met some of those Amish people. They're really nice, a bit odd though with their old clothes and funny buggies. But I think I'll have a good time!" Leah smiled and nodded in agreement. "Well, it's almost supper time! We better get going if we don't want to be late! Mom will kill me!"
They both crossed the street towards Maxine's new green jeep. Leah opened the door on the passenger side and climbing onto her seat. Maxine started the engine and slowly drove on until they were stopped at the red light. As Leah looked out her window, she realized they had stopped beside a buggy. "Max, you know what? I've always wanted to race one of these buggies!" She laughed at the thought.
"Hey! That Amish boy in the buggy is pretty cute! I definitely now know that I'll really like living in this town!" She smiled and waved at the Amish boy.
Leah laughed at her friend and turned to see what the Amish's reaction would be. As she slowly turned towards her window, her face was transfixed in shock as she saw the face of Simeon Longacre, Ethan's younger brother! Simeon had the same reaction as Leah did and his eyes widened as if he was unsure if he was seeing properly. Just as Maxine began to make the turn towards on the street, she saw another face appear behind Simeon. It was Ethan, Her Ethan! She quickly looked away hoping that Ethan had not seen her.
"Leah, what's wrong with you? That boy wasn't THAT cute!" Maxine was confused by Leah's facial expression that read nothing but shock and disbelief.
She tried to put her thoughts to words as they continued to drive towards home. "Max... remember just now I said 'that chapter in my life is now closed'? Well... consider it reopened!" She turned to look at Maxine's expression.
"You were with that Amish boy? He's a bit you don't you think?!?!" She was surprised that Leah was attracted to men that were so much younger than her.
"NO! The OTHER Amish boy! I mean... man!" She tried to grasp what had just happened but her mind was a blur.
Eventually, Leah explained her past with the town of Nappanee, Amish people, and the Longacre family, particularly about Ethan. After the long explanation, Maxine was left open-mouthed in shock! "Wow, Leah I never knew! If I did... well I don't know. I'm so sorry to hear it ended in such a sad way. If there's anything I can do, just ask!" Leah knew there was nothing she could do but it comforted her to know that she had a caring friend. Ever since she and Ethan went their separate ways, she had lost touch with Charity, one of her closest friends.