Free A Joyful Break (Dreams of Plain Daughters) by Diane Craver Page B

grandparents had stayed with them.
    “Okay, I have movies I’m planning on taking to the beach, but I thought we’d watch one now. I need to relax after that wild driving lesson.” Violet rolled her brown eyes at her.
    She laughed at Violet’s remark. “Yeah, right. You don’t need to relax after my awesome driving. I did so well that I could probably help drive to Florida if I had a license.”
    “Geez, get an Amish girl behind a steering wheel and she’s ready to hit the highway.” Violet plopped down on a couch. “Okay, I’m teasing and you did great. I’m glad we drove on a few side streets. It was more fun than driving up and down the driveway. Would you really like to get a driver’s license?”
    She shook her head before sitting. “Definitely not now. It’d be scary to drive in traffic. And I’d only consider driving if I didn’t join the church. I know this will be hard to believe but I enjoy driving a buggy. I like hearing the click-clopping of the horses’ hooves as they hit the pavement. It’s relaxing.”
    “But it takes you so long to get anywhere in a buggy.”
    “It’s nice to go a slower pace because you have time to enjoy the scenery. If we need to get somewhere faster, we can arrange a ride with an English driver.”
    “I thought we’d watch a Reese Witherspoon movie. She’s one of my favorite actresses.” Violet handed her the DVD. “Hey, you can read the synopsis while I get us something to eat. Would you rather have popcorn or chips to nibble on while we watch the movie?”
    “I like both so whatever you prefer is fine.”
    After reading the movie blurb for “Just Like Heaven,” she heard corn popping. Violet must have decided on having popcorn. She glanced around the spacious living room. Cherry hardwood flooring and a few rugs looked nice under the beige and cranberry furniture in the room. She fingered a throw pillow while noticing how the room wasn’t cluttered but tastefully decorated. Seeing only a few decorative wall hangings surprised her. Mrs. Maddox’s walls were covered with photos and various types of metal hangings. Aunt Carrie did have a few photos on the white fireplace mantel and noticed one showed her grandparents holding Adam and Violet when they were small. She was sure that Grandpa and Grandma Troyer didn’t request a picture to be taken with their grandchildren, but they probably didn’t see any harm in Aunt Carrie having one of them together. A big family photo of Uncle Scott, Aunt Carrie with their children in a silver frame hung above the mantel.
    The electric ceiling fan and the big screen TV definitely wouldn’t be in an Amish house. She wondered if her parents had watched TV when they stopped to visit her aunt and uncle. She was glad they’d been here. It was comforting to feel this connection with them. If her aunt had been baptized and a member of the church before marrying Uncle Scott, she would’ve been shunned. Would her parents have dared to visit Aunt Carrie when that meant going against the bishop?
    That was another reason she had waited to join the church; she had to be positive it was the right thing for her to do. She couldn’t bear being shunned, but understood why accepting the Ordnung , the set of rules and regulations that govern Amish life, were so important. It was serious business to decide to accept the Ordnung and become baptized. If afterwards a decision was made to marry someone out of the Amish faith, it would be considered flaunting the church rules. She had heard Bishop Amos recite the passage from Thessalonians when he defended shunning. “And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.”
    It was a blessing that Aunt Carrie fell in love with Scott before she accepted the Ordnung , but if she hadn’t, there would have been other options. In the milder form of shunning, practiced by numerous Amish communities where she lived, the Bann was lifted