Plain Again Read Online Free PDF Page B

tests or share information. Amanda would do the house cleaning and laundry by herself before retreating outside to help the hired man with some of the barn chores.
    At night, she was exhausted, but she enjoyed the work. How different, she had thought just the previous evening, from my life in Miami. In Miami, she had little work to do since Señora Perez ran the household. The days had passed by at a leisurely pace, often with Amanda waiting for Alejandro to awaken after long nights or return from business in Miami proper. After their marriage, she had lounged in his arms, despite being wide-awake as the sun cast an orange blush through the window curtains. Neither wanting to awaken him nor to leave his embrace, she had often lain there for hours until he stirred.
    Now, as she was back at her parents’ farm working, she found that hard work—physical labor—helped pass the time. Her body ached at night, but her mind felt at peace. She much preferred the hard work to sitting in the hospital at her daed ’s bedside, now that she knew he would be all right.
    When her mamm heard the door open, she called out, “Done already then, Amanda? Mayhaps you’ll ride along with me to the hospital?”
    “Mamm,” Amanda said softly, glancing over her shoulder at the two men who were close on her heels. “Bishop’s here.”
    The visitors entered the room and removed their hats, standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen. The bishop’s stern eyes stared at Amanda with her dark plaid dress that was gathered at the waist. Her head was uncovered, exposing her hair, which was pulled back into a neat but braided bun at the nape of her neck. Over her shoulders, she wore a simple knit sweater and tall boots under the skirt of the dress.
    His stare sent a chill through Amanda. The judgment that she could already feel from the bishop caused her to tilt her chin defiantly. Had it only been six months ago that whatever the bishop said was immediately taken as gospel by Amanda? Now, as she faced him for the second time in the same time period, she saw him in a new light. A very different one.
    No longer did she fear the bishop and what he could do to her. Since she had chosen to not take the kneeling vow, the bishop did not make decisions for her. She was also steadfast in her acceptance that he would not frighten her away from her familial responsibilities. Her actions would not change, and this despite the bishop’s hints that her presence would injure her parents, from both a social and a religious perspective. No, Amanda told herself, she had come home to help, and home was where she was going to stay, for the moment.
    “We were surprised to hear that you had returned,” the bishop started, his expression stern, but something in his eyes told her that he had become aware that Amanda was no longer intimidated by him. It was clear that her confidence unnerved him. It was not something that he was used to, not when facing his people. “And with you, those Englische men with their cars clogging the road and their cameras stealing our photos!”
    “My father is in the hospital,” Amanda said matter-of-factly, as a way of explanation.
    Lizzie began to fuss, rubbing her hands together nervously. “Amanda was kind enough to return home to help with the farm while her daed is unwell, ” she offered.
    The bishop turned to look at her, his eyes cool and emotionless. “So I have heard.” He cleared his throat as he shifted his eyes to Amanda. “I have also heard that there is a hired man helping here as well.”
    “My husband arranged for that,” Amanda stated, feeling a sense of pride that her own husband had stepped forward to offer extra help when the rest of the community had not. Had they expected her mamm to milk, feed, and muck the cows? Had they expected her to abandon her duties to her husband when he needed her the most? Or, she wondered, were they punishing her mamm for her daughter leaving the community?
    “Is he