Mary Davis - Courting Her Prodigal Heart

She shouldn’t have admitted that. She braced herself for a lecture about going to church.

But instead, he held up a hand. “Wait here, and I’ll bring them to you.” He walked out, but stopped at the door and stared at her. “Welcome home, meine enkelin .” He left.

Was she welcome? Would she be welcomed by her vater and mutter ? If the bishop could welcome her, then certainly her parents would. She put one hand on her stomach. But would she still be welcomed when she told them? Even the New Order Amish here in Elkhart County, Indiana, had their limitations of what they would tolerate. She had gone far outside those boundaries.

She should leave. Before the bishop and her parents returned. But how could she escape without being seen? If she left now, where would she go? Return to the shelter? To Craig? He’d made it clear that the only way he’d have her back was if she “got rid of it” as he put it. She caressed her growing stomach. Her baby was a person to be loved and who would love her. Not something to be gotten rid of.

When the door opened, Dori jumped and spun around. She faced her parents.

Bishop Bontrager motioned toward her. “Our Dorcas has come home.”

She cringed at her given name.

Mutter ’s face lit up, and she rushed to Dori and hugged her. “You’re home. You’re finally home.”

Dori hugged her in return. She’d missed her. “I’m back.” Sort of. No sense clouding the moment by telling them she didn’t plan to stay.

Vater hung back. “Until the next time she doesn’t like the Ordnung rules.”

Two out of three people happy to see her wasn’t so bad. Or was that three out of four if she counted Eli?

Would she be forced to abide by the Ordnung if her stay was only temporary? Would she follow the rules for the sake of her child? The Ordnung offered a degree of safety and security. Two things she needed most right now. “I will try.” She couldn’t promise anything more than that.

He gave a nod. “Then welcome home.” But his words weren’t filled with cheer or even pleasure, only resignation. “Come eat.”

She couldn’t have pretense and secrets if she was going to live under her vater ’s roof. When he found out, it would be worse. “Wait. I have to tell you something first.”

Three sets of questioning eyes stared at her.

Best to get it over with quickly. “I’m going to have a baby.”

Mutter clapped her hands together and put them to her lips. “Our first grandchild.”

Vater glanced around and then narrowed his eyes at her. “Where is your husband?”

The temptation to tell him that her “husband” had died tickled her tongue. He would accept that, and everything would be fine. No one would have any reason to shun her or hate her.

But she couldn’t.

“I have no husband.”

Mutter gasped.

Vater glared. “So this is why you have returned. Where is the vater ?”

“He doesn’t want us anymore.” Craig’s rejection had hurt more than anything.

“See where your sin has gotten you?”

“Andrew,” Bishop Bontrager said.

Her vater narrowed his gaze at his own vater , the bishop of the whole community. “She has brought this on herself. I want no part of her.”

Mutter gasped again. “Andrew, you can’t mean that.”

“I do. And you are to have nothing to do with her either.”

The bishop put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “We must all forgive trespasses as the Vater in heaven forgives us.”

Her vater shot his hand out to the side, pointing at the floor. “Not this. If we forgive her, what does it say to all the other young people going on Rumspringa ?”

The bishop straightened. “That we show grace and mercy as our Heavenly Vater shows grace and mercy to us.”

“ Ne. It shows we condone their actions. Then every girl will return pregnant and every boy a vater -to-be.”

“Release the rock in your hand, Andrew.”

Her vater glared. “You might be able to forgive her, but I can’t.” He wheeled around and walked to the door. He stopped and turned. “Come, Leah.”

Dori’s mutter glanced between her daughter and her husband.

Dori gave Mutter a nod that she understood her mutter wasn’t abandoning her like Vater .

Her mutter gave her a weak smile and followed her husband out.

Dori blinked, freeing the tears pooled in her eyes. Then she turned to the bishop. “What do I do now? I thought my parents would allow me to come back. I have no place to live, no money and no job. I assumed I’d be shunned, but I’d at least have a roof over my head.”

“You have a roof.”

“I don’t want to be in my vater ’s haus if he can’t tolerate my presence.”

“You’ll come and live under meine roof. I’m across the yard in the dawdy haus .”

This was a turnaround. She’d thought her grossvater , the bishop, would be the one to reject her and her vater to welcome her. “The dawdy haus isn’t big enough. It has only one bedroom.”

“We’ll manage. I’ll hear no arguing over the matter.”

“Danki.” She needed to know where she stood in the community. “Am I to be shunned?”

The bishop smiled. Or was that her grossvater smiling at her? “Did you join church before you left?”

“Ne.” But he knew that already.

“Then there are no grounds on which to shun you. You don’t fall under the Ordnung or church rules.” He smiled broadly. “So we can eat together.”

“Don’t you eat at the big haus with Vater , Mutter and the rest of the family?”

“I did. But now that you’re here, you can cook for the two of us.”

“Are you sure?” It was as though he was choosing to be cut off like one who was shunned.

“Let’s call it your rent for staying in meine home.”

“ Danki. I appreciate this so much, but I have to ask. Why this change of heart? You never would have accepted me home before.”

“You aren’t the only one who did some growing up while you were gone. I’m an old man. I don’t want to spend what few years I have left at odds with meine family.”

“But you are at odds with your son because of me.”

“Andrew will come around. Given enough time.”

Would she be here long enough to see his change? And when she left again, it would confirm that he’d been right about her.

Eli Hochstetler had stared in wonder when Bishop Bontrager left the haus and then returned with his son Andrew Bontrager and his son’s wife, Leah. Why had the Bontragers gone back inside? Why would the bishop want them to meet Rainbow Girl? Unless...they knew her? But how could they? Who was she?

He thought hard and could come up with only one name. Dorcas?

Couldn’t be. But the twisting in the pit of his stomach and the leap of his heart said otherwise.

Rainbow Girl had seemed familiar, and now he knew why. She was Dorcas Bontrager, the sweet girl who had turned her back on her Amish life.

And him.

Anger boiled inside him. Why hadn’t she told him? Why had she returned? Was she here to stay?

Someone nudged him. “Did you invite that Englisher here to make a website for you?”

Eli turned to Daniel. “ Ne. I had no idea she would show up.”

“Did you tell her you needed a website? Maybe she decided to see if she could persuade you. Englishers can be pushy that way. Thinking they know better than we do.”