Seeing Your Face Again

Seeing Your Face Again by Jerry S. Eicher Page B

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Authors: Jerry S. Eicher
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expression hadn’t deterred Ida in the least. She’d just given her a sly smile in return.
    Paul interrupted Debbie’s thoughts with another triumphant look. The man was the limit tonight. He seemed emboldened by Alvin’s absence and was moving in for the kill. Since Paul was one of the team captains, he’d not only chosen Debbie for his side but had placed her next to him in the play rotation. The man either had no shame or he considered her a gone goose and unable to resist his attentions. That idea raised her hackles.
    He glanced over at her and said, “Thanks for agreeing to play beside me tonight.”
    She’d done nothing of the sort, so she gave him what she thought was a piercing look. But it only produced a hearty laugh from Paul as the ball sailed toward them again. At least he was a gentleman, Debbie noticed. He stepped back to give her a chance to play. But when the arch of the ball drew close, Paul shouted, “Set it up for me! Over this way!” Self-serving man , Debbie thought, but she still bounced the ball toward him in a high arch. Paul leaped into the air and pounded the ball into the barn floor on the other side of the net with seemingly effortless ease.
    â€œGood one, Paul!” someone called out over the groans heard from the other side of the net.
    Paul pranced about for a moment enjoying his success but saying nothing about her part in the score. Now he looked at her expectantly, obviously wanting her to comment on his prowess.
    â€œNot bad,” she said, avoiding his gaze.
    â€œCome on, you can do better than that, can’t you?” He stepped closer and tilted his ear toward her.
    â€œYou’re a great volleyball player!” she hollered.
    A satisfied look spread over his face. “That’s much better.”
    Moments later Paul got another spike in. Mary Yoder, who played across the net from them, scrambled out of the way ratherthan attempt to block the ball. She blushed red as Paul teased, “I didn’t mean to endanger your life.”
    Mary replied, “I only had to duck a little. I was ready for that anyway. You know, playing across from you I’ve learned.”
    â€œI’ll be more careful next time,” Paul said with the same kind of wide grin he’d been sending Debbie’s way. Mary blushed at the attention, and Debbie looked around for Ezra, Mary’s boyfriend. But it didn’t really matter, she realized. Paul’s effect on girls was well-known. No doubt Ezra would take it in stride. Most Amish boys seemed practical about such things. Obviously Alvin didn’t fit that mold. He’d left the community with a broken heart over her. At least that’s what was being said. What other reason could he have had? None. Which didn’t speak well of Alvin’s courage. On the other hand, how could she blame him in the face of Paul’s overwhelming charisma and manipulation?
    Debbie tried to push thoughts of Alvin away, but his absence hung over the gathering tonight. Thoughts of him wouldn’t go away no matter how hard she tried to ignore them. Thankfully no one else had mentioned anything so far. If they did, Debbie didn’t know how she would respond. A thought raced through her mind and stung as it went by. Perhaps the young people shared Bishop Beiler’s suspicions that she was to blame for Alvin’s actions?
    Debbie held still for a moment, the game continuing around her. Paul sent his charms her direction again, but she ignored him as she processed her emotions. Surely no one would think she should also leave or that she’d join Alvin in the Englisha world? Didn’t they know that neither Alvin nor she would be happy out there? She wouldn’t. And she was sure Alvin was a man firmly rooted in the community, regardless of his current action. Wasn’t the Knepp family among the most faithful church members around? Bishop Beiler had told her so himself. Somewhere

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