A Dream for Hannah by Jerry S. Eicher Page B

couldn’t be that much harm in doing so.
    With one last look around and no sign of Peter, Hannah closed the window and pulled down the spring-loaded shade. She got ready for bed and then put the shade back up for one last look around. There was no sign of anyone, but she could almost imagine there was. Peter was that wonderful. He would come soon, drop from the branch, and knock on her window, and they would go for a ride together in his nice sports car.
    Hannah looked at the moon for a long time and studied the dark ridges that ran at crazy angles across the surface. Its soft glow seemed to agree with her. The world was right, and Peter would come soon—because he was Peter.

     
    The moon rose later each night, and eventually Hannah no longer spent as much time by the window.
    Today Kathy had both girls helping with peaches. The heat of the wood oven, carrying the heavy jars back and forth, and pealing the endless supply of peaches made for a very long day. There had been little time to think of other things.
    Hannah hadn’t forgotten Peter completely and paused tonight for a moment by the window. Her body and mind were equally weary as she looked out over the dark barnyard. At the memory of his words, faint pleasantness filled her, and then sleepiness overcame her. She climbed into bed and fell quickly into a deep, exhausted sleep.

     
    A mile away, a blue MGC, with its six-cylinder engine, purred slowly along the dirt road.
    “Why don’t you go faster?” the passenger asked the driver.
    “I’m not ready to get there yet,” Peter told his cousin Lester.
    “Scared, aren’t you?”
    “No, of course not.”
    “Then what am I along for?”
    “I already told you. You need to feed the dog while I see the girl.”
    “So what keeps the dog from feeding on me?”
    “Look, I’ve been feeding this dog every other night for almost a week now—ever since he chased me off. Please. He’s not a vicious dog, just noisy.”
    “So you’re trying to see this girl, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s so important about her? I mean, there are plenty of English girls in town to see—like a certain girl I know of.” Lester looked at Peter slyly. “Not everything is a secret, you know.”
    “This one is Amish. Now, we’ve already talked about it. Would you hush?”
    “Well, there are plenty of Amish girls in town too. Rumspringa doesn’t leave them behind, you know.”
    Peter paused for effect. “This one is different, okay?”
    Lester looked skeptically in Peter’s direction. The lights of the car cast too little light for Lester to catch a good glimpse of Peter’s face. “How old is this girl?”
    “About sixteen, maybe seventeen. About our age. Certainly not older.”
    “Have I seen her before?”
    “I don’t think so. I never did either till we met in the hospital. They’re not in our district.”
    “So what’s this girl like? What’s so special?”
    “Would you quit being so nosy?”
    “What are you going to do when you get up to her window?”
    “That’s my business. Now just be quiet. We’re getting close to their place.”
    Lester wasn’t done yet. “I hope she knows what she’s doing. I certainly wouldn’t trust you.”
    “That’s what’s so cute about her.” Peter grinned in the darkness. “She doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s got all kinds of stars in her eyes. Look, I’m just going to take her out for a ride. You’ll have to wait around while we go for a spin.”
    “I don’t trust you. I do declare!” Lester proclaimed.
    “Come on! Would you just be quiet now and get that bag ready to feed the dog with?”
    Lester grunted. “You’d better not get into trouble, or I’ll tell on you.”
    “I won’t. Besides I’m not doing anything wrong. Sure, she’s only seventeen or so, but what’s her dad going to do if he catches us? Give me a lecture on how it’s a little early for a girl to do rumspringa? That’s about all he can do.”
    “I wouldn’t put much of