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    She turned her head sideways and peered up at me. “Jonathon told me I’m his best friend.” She gave me an odd grin and waited for my reaction. She smelled unwashed, and I fought an urge to gag.
    â€œThat’s wonderful, Sophie. I’m glad.” I looked at our clock. “I’ve got to close now, but it was nice to see you.”
    Liar! I heard my own voice in my head, accusing me of being dishonest. I silently repented.
    â€œJonathon tells me things he doesn’t tell anyone else, you know.”
    I smiled at her, willing her to go away. It didn’t work.
    Finally, after a strange staring contest that I lost, she grabbed her bag. “Some people need to leave him alone. He doesn’t like girls who chase him.” With that, she flounced out of the store, leaving me standing behind the counter with my mouth open. What in the world was wrong with that girl? As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I felt ashamed. It was pretty obvious what her problem was: parents who didn’t care about her and only used her to fulfill their own selfish purposes.
    Well, at least thinking about Sophie had gotten my mind off other things. I looked at the clock again and realized that Papa could be back anytime. I hurried to the back room, washed my hands, and checked out my image one last time. Sighing at my washed-out complexion, I pinched my cheeks, hoping for some color. Lizzie had remarked more than once about my “flawless alabaster skin,” but the truth was, I looked ghostly and pale compared to her. Lizzie had coal-black hair, and mine was colorless, almost white. The only feature of mine that stood out was my eyes. Ebbie said they reminded him of the purple tulips his mother grew in front of their house. And Papa said I have my mother’s eyes. I can barely remember her face now, but I do recall her incredible violet eyes.
    I removed my prayer covering so I could tuck in stray strands of hair that had already escaped from my quickly formed bun. Once my hair felt in place, I put the covering back on. Quitea few of the younger women had stopped wearing them during the day, saving them for church. I couldn’t help but envy them. It would be so nice to go without it sometimes, but keeping my prayer covering was one thing my father insisted on. Most of our older members felt the same way. So for now, the covering would stay. At least I’d been able to switch to a white cap instead of the black one I’d worn all my life. And Papa had allowed me to start wearing dresses with colors and designs. The dress I’d changed into was light blue with small violet flowers. It looked very pretty with a crisp white apron over it. I sighed, adjusted the ribbons that hung on each side of my cap, and made my way back into the main room in our store. Papa was just coming in the front door.
    â€œOur buggy is in Brother Matthew’s building across the street. It will need a lot of repair.” He shook his head. “You could have been badly hurt, Daughter.”
    â€œBut thanks to Jonathon, I wasn’t,” I reminded him.
    He shot me a look of reproach but didn’t say anything.
    â€œMaybe we should forget about what happened this afternoon,” I said quickly. “Are you ready for supper? I’m starving.”
    Papa frowned at me. “I understand your need to get your mind off today’s incident, but we cannot dismiss it completely. There are other Kingdom residents who ride to town on that road. Their safety concerns me.”
    His words reminded me of something that had completely slipped my mind. “Papa, I saw John Lapp headed toward Washington before that truck showed up. Until this moment, I’d forgotten about it.”
    Papa nodded. “He’s fine. He drove past us while we wereretrieving the buggy. But I think we should let everyone in town know what happened to you. Until we are certain it is safe, no one should be out on the main