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but it was a sacrifice not to snap a few pictures of his handsome face. How fun it would be to download them to her laptop and send them on to her friend Shannon back home. Shannon would probably get a kick out of seeing how cute Eli looked wearing a pair of dark trousers, a pale blue shirt peeking out from a dark jacket, and a straw hat.
    Eli pulled a heavy quilt and a wicker basket from under the buggy seat. After they’d stretched the quilt on the ground, they both took seats. When Eli opened the lid of the basket, Laura was shocked to discover more food than two people could possibly eat. She figured she would have to count calories for the rest of the week.
    Eli spread a tablecloth over the quilt, then set out several containers that held fried chicken, coleslaw, dill pickles, wheat bread, Swiss cheese, baked beans, and chocolate cake. He smiled as he handed Laura a glass of iced tea, some plastic silverware, and a paper plate.
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome.” His face turned a light shade of red. “Uh ... will you bow your head with me for silent prayer?”
    She gave a quick nod, and Eli immediately bowed his head. Having never believed much in prayer, Laura sat quietly, waiting for him to finish.
    When he opened his eyes again, she smiled. “It was nice of your mother to prepare this. Especially since she doesn’t know me.”
    Eli’s face turned even redder as he reached for a drumstick. “I ... uh ... didn’t tell Mom about you.”
    “Why not?”
    He removed his straw hat and placed it on the quilt. “Even though I’m still going through my rumschpringe, my folks wouldn’t take kindly to the idea of me seeing someone outside our faith.”
    “Rumschpringe? What’s that?”
    “Rumschpringe means ‘running around.’ It’s a time in the life of an Amish young person before he or she gets baptized and joins the church. It’s a chance for him to explore the outside world a bit if he chooses.”
    “Ah, I see.”
    “My folks think I’m too old to be running around still, and as I mentioned last week, they’ve been pressuring me to join the church and get married.”
    She gave him a sidelong glance. “If you didn’t tell your mother about me, then why did she pack such a big lunch?”
    “I told her I was going on a picnic, but I’m sure she thought it was with someone else.” Eli reached for another piece of chicken. “Is there anything more you’d like to know about the Amish?”
    Laura sighed. Apparently Eli wasn’t that different from other men. If he didn’t like the way the conversation was going, he simply changed the subject. “When did your religion first begin?” she inquired.
    “Our church got its start in the late sixteen hundreds when a young Swiss Mennonite bishop named Jacob Amman felt his church was losing some of its purity,” Eli began. “He and several followers formed a new Christian fellowship, later known as ‘Amish.’ So, you might say we’re cousins of the Mennonites.”
    Laura nodded as Eli continued. “The Old Order Amish, which is what my family belongs to, believes in separation of church and state. We also expect Bible-centeredness to be an important part of our faith. A peaceful way of life and complying with all nonworldly ways are involved, and we believe it’s the way Christ meant for the Church to be.”
    “Life among your people sounds almost idealistic.”
    He shook his head. “It may seem that way to outsiders, but underneath the joys and blessings of being Amish lie special challenges and the hardship of keeping separate in an ever-changing world.”
    “I guess that makes sense.” Laura ate in silence for a time, savoring the delicious assortment of food and trying to absorb all that Eli had shared. She knew about some Protestant religions and had attended Sunday school a few times while growing up. The Amish religion was more complex than anything she knew about, but she found it rather fascinating.
    “Now it’s your turn to answer