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to the baking.”
                “You always had a flair for food,” he agreed.  “Even from what I remember.  How are the crops?”
                “Well, the drought has hit us pretty hard,” she said with a sigh.
                “Is that why I’ve seen more furniture coming out?” he asked.
                Maria nodded.  “The men are trying to supplement the funds we have lost from the crops with extra furniture.  It’s not ideal, but it’s working for us so far.”
                Eldon gave her a half smile.  “It sure had been a lot of extra competition for me.”
                “Competition for you?” she asked, the curiosity rising in her voice.
                “I build furniture.  For part of my living.  I learned the skills from my father and created a few new styles myself.”
                “That table in the storefront down the street,” Maria said, pointing down the block a ways.
                “That’s mine,” he affirmed.  “I try to build tables that look fully Amish, but are unique in their own ways as well.”
                “I recognized the craftsmanship,” Maria answered.  “It almost looked like one of ours, but I was certain it wasn’t.  There was just something about it.”
            “I’d like to show you my work room sometime,” Eldon said as Maria felt his shoulder brush against hers while they walked.
                “That would be interesting,” Maria agreed.
                “Is this restaurant okay?” he asked as they stopped in front of a building Maria had not yet encountered.  “They don’t make everything from scratch, but their bread is the closest to what you have back home that I’ve found around here.         
                Maria smiled at his consideration of her.  Cooper had made her feel better about her situation and now Eldon was making her feel more at home.  Not only with his thoughtfulness, but also with his sheer presence.
                Maria scolder herself.  She needed to be careful.  If she didn’t watch herself, she would find her spirit fitting into the outside world.  She wanted to experience it, but she didn’t want to find herself going so far that she couldn’t go back.
                She glanced at Eldon as they walked, noticing that he was watching her instead of the sidewalk ahead of them.  Eldon definitely had things he could teach her.  She could feel it.  If nothing else, perhaps she would learn more about his own story…why he left the community and where he had been since.  Maria looked forward to hearing what he had to say about the outside world.  The only negative she could see was that he was making her feel things that she hadn’t ever felt before.  She shrugged off the strange emotions.  She was going to feel a lot of things she hadn’t felt before out here.  It was to be expected.
                Maria tore her eyes from the sidewalk and met Eldon’s stare.  She was sure to experience plenty of feelings during her time away from the community.  But she wondered if any would match the way she felt right then.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SIX
     
     
                Maria and Eldon sat across from one another near the front window of the little restaurant and ordered soup.  It was a warm day outside and hot soup wasn’t exactly inviting, but Eldon said the soup and bread were the closest thing they could find to home so Maria agreed.
                They spent a few minutes before the meal arrived chatting about the town.  Eldon told Maria the best place to buy fabric in case she wanted to make anything while she was there and Maria told Eldon more about the crops and the furniture business that had sprouted out of need.
                When the soup arrived,