take you anywhere—shit, Walmart, even—and your mind would be blown.”
“I’ve been to Walmart,” I said defensively. “Where do you think we get our toilet paper from?”
“I didn’t know you had toilet paper,” he said in a way that sounded like he was teasing. Then he shook his head. “Damn. Guess everybody’s been to Walmart. Well, that just means I’ll have to take you someplace else. Someplace a little nicer.”
Hannah walked by us with another drink for Ash and scoffed. “Don’t set the bar too high there, Reid.” When I looked at her, confused, she added, “ Anywhere’s nicer than Walmart.”
“You… actually want to take me somewhere?” I asked him, narrowing my eyes. “Like… just the two of us?” I looked at Hannah again. “I don’t think…”
But Hannah was gesturing to me that it was okay. That I should just accept this strange man’s invitation and let him spirit me away to parts unknown. All within just a few minutes of meeting him! Was she so far removed from our culture and our practices that she couldn’t see what an incredibly stupid idea it was?
And reckless… but then, that was part of the appeal, wasn’t it? Getting to do stupid, reckless things for once in our lives. The draw was definitely there, and I felt it pull me ever forward with each of Reid’s successive smiles. I could hear his voice in my head, clearly as if he were actually speaking to me: C’mon, darlin’, what’s the harm in having a little fun? If my parents and my elders were to be believed, there was a lot of harm. But there was a chance they weren’t right about everything.
Hannah was a shining example of that. I still had a lot of questions for her about her life and how she lived it, but she seemed happy. And free. Free in a way I had never felt. Free in a way I knew Beth craved.
I hadn’t been out in the English world long enough for me to know if that was a good thing, but how would I figure it out unless I gave it a shot? Until I truly stepped out of my comfort zone and walked a mile in an English woman’s shoes, who was I to judge these people?
Besides… wasn’t that what Rumspringa was all about?
Wringing my hands, I said, “I don’t think I’d be comfortable in a place like this. Someplace so… city. So, if you were going to take me somewhere, I’d like it to be less… urban.”
Reid sat up a little straighter. His eyes widened slightly, like he was surprised I was actually going to agree to this. I was surprised, too. Everything I’d been taught, every rule I’d had ingrained in me, was screaming that this was a bad idea.
Yet there was something else whispering to me that this was the best decision I’d ever made. That getting closer to Reid was the right move. The interesting move. The start of an adventure.
His lips parted. His teeth showed. I held my breath as he began to speak.
“I think I know just the place, actually. There’s a county fair being set up out in the country—shit, probably not far from where your community sits. It’s got a lot of stuff I bet you’re familiar with. Hay rides, a petting zoo, shit like that. How’s that for comfortable?”
He seemed so proud of himself. Before I could answer, Hannah said, “Hey, that’s a great idea! You’ll love it, Sarah. Those petting zoos are all full of baby animals. You get to feed them and cuddle them and stuff.”
“I used to do that back on the farm,” I muttered, my anxiety getting the best of me again. “Besides, that sounds like something Beth would prefer, anyway.”
“Then we’ll make it a triple-date,” Ash chimed in, wresting away from Hannah’s lukewarm attentions. “All your sisters will be there, and I’m sure we’ll all find something we want to do.”
“Yeah,” Reid said huskily, his eyes still so intensely trained on me. “I’m sure we will.”
“Then it’s settled,” Hannah said, and Ash sauntered off to tell Wyatt and Beth at the other end of the bar.