Free The Englisher by Beverly Lewis Page A

away?’’ Courtney’s face was red, as if holding back a torrent of words.
    ‘‘I came to see Annie . . . I’d always wanted to visit. And I really do feel settled here.’’
    ‘‘Oh, that’s just great. You want to become Amish?’’
    Louisa wished Courtney might have the courtesy to lower her voice, but instead Courtney continued loudly, ‘‘You couldn’t keep your eyes off that Amish guy last night.What was that about?’’ Courtney raised her eyebrows. ‘‘You’re not really interested in dating men like that, are you?’’
    ‘‘Like what? Honest, gentle, caring? Men like that ?’’
    Shaking her head, Courtney opened a bag of chocolate chip cookies, obviously disgusted.
    Louisa forced a smile. ‘‘Boy, Court. Why is this such a big deal to you?’’
    ‘‘It’s not a big deal just to me, Louisa.’’
    ‘‘What’s that supposed to mean?’’
    In place of an answer, Courtney offered a gooey cookie instead. ‘‘Here, this will make you think more clearly.’’
    Louisa tapped her cup. ‘‘It’ll take more than chocolate to change my mind. Trust me.’’ She glanced over to see Annie at the cash register. ‘‘Look, this conversation is really pointless.’’
    Courtney stirred her mocha, staring into the cup. ‘‘I don’t know who you are anymore.’’
    ‘‘Well, I guess I don’t recognize myself sometimes either.’’ Louisa sighed. ‘‘But, to tell you the truth, I actually think I like this me better.’’
    Courtney’s face registered complete shock.
    ‘‘For the record, I’ve found something here. Is that so hard to believe?’’
    Courtney smirked. ‘‘I figured it was just a phase.’’ She chewed carefully, slowly. ‘‘But this is nuts. I mean, it’s like you need to be deprogrammed or something.’’ Courtney was still for a moment, but when she spoke, her tone had changed to pleading. ‘‘C’mon, Louisa. Put all this nonsense aside and come home with me. Your parents would be thrilled.’’
    ‘‘No, thanks. I’m learning things . . . I have a long way to go. And I know you’ll be shocked, but I’m actually very happy here.’’
    Courtney wrinkled up her nose.
    Louisa leaned her elbows on the table, fixing Courtney with a serious gaze. ‘‘Why’d you come, Court? To visit or to get me to return home?’’
    ‘‘I came to see you, of course. We’ve been friends for a long time.’’ Courtney paused, then she said, ‘‘Besides that, Michael wants you home.’’
    Louisa leaned back, sighing, squeezing her eyes shut. ‘‘So that’s it.’’
    Courtney smiled too sweetly. ‘‘The guy’s still crazy about you.’’
    ‘‘He asked you to bring me back?’’
    ‘‘Well, hey, what’s so wrong with that?’’
    ‘‘I’ll bet he paid for your ticket here, too.’’
    ‘‘What if he did?’’
    Louisa rose and huffed her disgust, heading across the food court, her shoulders squared. She was sick of defending herself to someone who should have understood her.
    Annie headed to the table, wondering why Lou had rushed off . . . and where she was going. She sat down with her hot cocoa, glancing toward Courtney. ‘‘Louisa’s upset?’’
    Courtney pushed her hair behind her ear. ‘‘She’s a lot of things right now, I think. Probably offended, too.’’
    Annie suspected Courtney had set Lou off somehow. But she refused to give way to her own anger over this worldly woman’s glaring disapproval of Lou. The Good Book said:
    The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness . ‘‘It can be an awful frightening thing to lose yourself in the darkness,’’ Annie said softly.
    ‘‘What do you mean?’’ Courtney asked, her eyes hard on Annie.
    Gathering her wits, Annie continued, ‘‘I recall a longago sermon my father gave . . . about letting yourself listen to the silence around you—getting in a place where you can actually hear yourself think, ya know? And, well, letting the Lord