1
MARCH
There were only two beds in the motel room. Two beds for the three of them to share. Looking at the somewhat shabby space, Mary Margaret Miller felt her insides knot.
When the Pioneer Trails bus driver had announced they’d needed to make an emergency stop in Georgia because the storm was too fierce to drive through, it had almost sounded like a grand adventure. Mary had never traveled much farther than Sugarcreek or Berlin, Ohio. And though she did know quite a few Englischers, most everyone she knew was Amish, just like her.
She’d been so excited to see new things and meet new people, she hadn’t even been too concerned when the bus pulled into the parking lot of a small, rather run-down motel just off the highway. But now, as she stood next to two girls she barely knew and studied the forlorn pair of beds, Mary realized that her spur-of-the-moment decision to travel to Pinecraft, Florida, by herself hadn’t been the greatest idea.
Not at all.
Or perhaps her earlier prayers on the bus were to blame. After all, she had suggested to the Lord that surely anything would be better than being on a large bus in the middle of an ice storm. Maybe He had decided to take her at her word.
Lilly broke the silence first. “Do either of you want to guess what that stain on the wall is from?”
All three of them turned to stare at the dark blob seeping down from the ceiling to rest near the light switch. “I-I’ve been trying to pretend it wasn’t there,” Betsy said. “Obviously, that plan isn’t going too well.”
“I would say that I’ve been trying to not think about the bedspreads, but I canna seem to think about anything besides who all has touched them previously,” Lilly murmured.
Betsy wrinkled her nose. “M-maybe we should put them on the floor, jah? They m-might be infested.”
“That would surely be best,” Lilly said.
Straightening her slim shoulders, Betsy glanced Mary’s way. “Are you all right?”
“Hmm? Oh, jah.” Finding her voice at last, Mary attempted to sound optimistic. “Do you girls have any thoughts about how we should decide who gets to sleep alone tonight?”
“I don’t mind sharing a bed with either of you,” Betsy said. “I doubt I’ll s-sleep much anyway.”
“It doesn’t matter to me either,” Lilly said. “Betsy might be wide awake, but I’m exhausted. I’ve been so nervous about this trip, I haven’t slept much for the last week. I could almost sleep on the floor.” As they all looked at the threadbare carpet under their feet, Lilly wrinkled her nose. “Scratch that. I’m not going to put my head anywhere near that carpet.”
Mary smiled at her. “I wouldn’t let you even if you wanted to do such a thing. You’d likely get a skin rash or something.”
After carefully pulling off the comforter and tossing it in the corner of the room, Betsy sat down on one of the beds. “That settles it, then. I’ll share this bed with Lilly, and you may have the other one all to yourself, Mary.”
Now Mary was embarrassed. Why had she even brought up their sleeping arrangements in the first place? No doubt the other girls thought she was the type of person who always needed her way, even at the expense of others. Tentatively, she said, “Sorry if I sounded pushy. I . . . well, I sometimes say all the wrong things.”
Betsy shook her head. “There’s nothing to forgive. If we’re being honest, I-I’m so happy to be out of my little Kentucky town and doing something different, even staying in this motel feels exciting.”
“I feel the same way,” Lilly added as she carefully pulled the straight pins from her kapp, then set them on the dresser. “I can’t even remember if I’ve ever had a sleepover with two friends.”
“M-me neither,” Betsy said with a smile before she seemed to realize what she’d just insinuated. “I mean, not that you two are my friends or anything.”
Mary gaped at the other two women. All three of them were in their early twenties. Betsy, with her dark hair and matching eyes, was a true beauty, and Lilly looked like everyone’s best friend. She was so chatty and smiley. How could they, too, have trouble making friends? It didn’t seem possible.
Worried there was a private joke between them that she was unaware of, she frowned.
As soon as she did, Betsy said, “Did I offend you, Mary?”
“Nee.”
“Are y-you sure?”
Seconds sped by as she debated what to say. It had been so long since she’d felt like she could be completely honest. No, that wasn’t right. It had been a long time since she’d been able to allow herself to be vulnerable. People could be cruel, and she’d learned that from personal experience. She’d been bullied and teased by so many kids when she was in school.
Almost everything inside her was protesting letting even the smallest bit of her guard down. Her heart wasn’t eager to be bruised, especially not now, with these two new girls. If she said the wrong thing, it could ruin her whole vacation.
On the heels of that was the memory of her evening prayers a few weeks ago. She’d knelt at the side of her bed, praying and crying and asking the Lord to help her make a new start. And He had. In just a few weeks, she’d sold enough of her greeting cards to buy a bus ticket to Pinecraft for a long, much-needed vacation.
Her parents, well aware of how miserable she’d been for years, had been supportive. They’d even chipped in a little so she could stay at the Marigold Inn for two weeks. And her father refused to let her pay him back. All he asked was that she try to be positive while she was on vacation. Try to let other people see the real Mary Margaret that he and her mamm knew and loved.
Even Preacher Marlin had stopped by their house to offer encouragement. He’d brought over some of his favorite postcards from Pinecraft and told her about each one. While sipping his lukewarm coffee liberally laced with cream and sugar, Preacher Marlin even confided that he’d had one or two adventures on the beach in Siesta Key.
She’d giggled, thinking about their gentle, seventy-year-old preacher kicking up his heels in the sand and surf.
But most importantly, Mary’s favorite preacher had reminded her that she was a person worth knowing. They’d prayed together about that too. By the time he’d left, her resolve had grown even stronger to experience as much as she possibly could on her vacation.
Now, sitting in the motel room, all those good feelings settled in her heart. She’d promised people who cared about her to try to come out of her shell. Was she really going to throw all those promises away and go back to the person she’d been in Trail, Ohio?
No. No, she was not.
After taking off her kapp and shoes, she sat down on the bed too. “Betsy, you didn’t offend me at all. To tell you the truth, I was just thinking that both of you seemed like the type of women who have lots of friends and beaus. I was surprised.” Realizing that neither had said a word about boyfriends, she cleared her throat. “Or do you have boyfriends?”
Betsy chuckled as if the question was mighty humorous. “N-nee.”
“I don’t either,” Lilly said without even a flash of a smile. “What about you?”
Mary realized then that she could either keep all her bad experiences and disappointments to herself . . . or she could be completely honest. The decision was easy to make. She didn’t want to lie and had the feeling that her lies wouldn’t sound believable anyway.