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Anna shook her head. “No. There’s no need. I buy all my clothes online or from stores.”
“Online?”
“Over the Internet.” Seeing she still didn’t comprehend, Anna added, “With a computer.”
She frowned. “Oh.” As she continued to stitch her brow remained crinkled. “Is that slang?”
“No. It just means that I can sign onto a computer and visit any store without leaving the comfort of my home.” She could see she was only confusing her more. “It’s not as literal as it sounds. Sort of like looking at a catalogue.”
“Oh.”
And she thought the English were exhausting? “What do you do for fun around here?”
“This. Or sometimes the other females will visit to shell peas on the front porch.”
Sounded thrilling. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. I’m waiting for my mate.”
There was that word again. “Do you know who he is?”
“No. Adam was lucky. You were very close. I sense my mate will have to journey very far to find me.”
“Do you want to be married—or mated?”
“Oh, very much.” She smiled, truly showing how beautiful she was. “Being called to one’s mate is the ultimate blessing. My soul’s only half full and the emptiness can ache at times, but I trust God will deliver him to me.”
She frowned. “Why wait for God? Why not go find him before he finds you?”
Her face scrunched. “I can’t leave the farm. I’m bound to wait here until he comes for me. Only then will I go if he chooses not to stay.”
It occurred to Annalise that this strange marital ritual wasn’t necessarily the result of Amish traditions. “What if he’s not Amish?”
Grace drew in a slow breath. “If that is God’s will, then so be it.” Her hand slightly trembled as she pressed the threaded needle through the fabric.
Whatever they were, Adam said there were others. But as far as Annalise knew, only America and Canada had Amish residents.
Despite Grace’s confidence, Anna saw her innocence. This was her home and the thought of anyone or anything taking this young woman away from her family made her incredibly sad.
She reached across the table and closed a hand over Grace’s. “I’m sure, when he finds you, he’ll choose to stay wherever you’re happiest.”
Her mouth sketched a smile. “I hope so.”
Adam’s sister, when not invading her thoughts, was actually a very sweet girl. She looked young, but her eyes told a different story. She only lived at home, because she was waiting for her mate to arrive. Annalise understood that now, whether she believed it or not.
“Can I ask you something, Grace?”
“Of course.”
“It’s sort of personal.”
She placed the needlepoint on the table and folded her hands, giving Annalise her full attention. “What is it?”
The fact that she needed to ask proved she was no longer reading her mind. Though this was the one time she sort of wished the block was down, because her question embarrassed her. “Well, I know you know Adam and I...”
“Yes. I got the picture.”
Annalise flushed. “Right. Well, we weren’t really... Or I wasn’t... I hadn’t planned on that happening last night. We weren’t safe.”
“Safe?” She frowned. “You’re always safe with Adam. He’ll protect you.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
Looking at Adam’s youthful sister, Annalise wondered why she thought Grace could advise her in this area. Did the Amish even practice birth control? They might live like it was the seventeenth century, but Annalise had to protect her millennial ovaries.
“If you’re worried about illness, Adam’s at the peak of his health,” Grace said, and Annalise suspected her comment was the result of intuition more than mind reading.
“It’s not just that...”
“If it’s God’s will, Anna, then it’s God’s will.”
Once again, she was reminded about their differences. She refused to pretend she had no authority in this department. Her body, her choice. Of course, she could have chosen not to have sex and then this wouldn’t be an issue. She didn’t know what else to say, so she dropped it.
Grace scooped up her needlepoint and got back to stitching. “You English sure do complicate matters with defensive emotions. Sometimes, when you strip away all the layers and get to the truth of things, the answers are all that’s left. There’s no arguing with the truth. But there’s always the option of avoiding it.” She briefly glanced in Annalise’s direction then back to her work.
“What are you saying?”
She shrugged. “Seems to me, you want to be with Adam, but you don’t want any consequences for your actions. There are always consequences, but not all are bad.”
“Grace, I don’t want to get pregnant.”
“Then don’t have intercourse.”
“I don’t want to do that either,” she snapped.
Grace chuckled. “Quite a puzzle.”
“This is exactly why I could never stay here.”
Grace looked at her in all seriousness. “But why?”
“Because I need choices. Women have opportunities where I live.”
“We have opportunities here as well. You assume we’re forced into these roles, but I assure you, Annalise, it’s a choice. Here, we’re protected. There’s rarely any violence to speak of, the women are cherished, the men are honorable, and the children are loved. We live a simpler life, but we’re not simple people. Our lives are just as rich as yours, if not more.”
