Chapter 3

Chapter 3

J oline pushed the stroller down the sidewalk, avoiding dirty slush piles. As she passed Amari and Elise's apartment building, her friends burst out the door and raced toward her.

"We've been waiting for you like forever." Amari thumped a hand against her chest as if she were having a heart attack. "Where you been, girl?"

"Wait 'til you see what we have," Elise said breathlessly.

"All day? You didn't go to school?"

"It's Christmas vacation. We don't go back until January third."

Joline stared at them. "Amish schools only get off Christmas Day and Second Christmas." Why did the Englisch schools give scholars so much time off? It made no sense.

"Anyway, you gotta hear this." Amari clamped a hand on Joline's arm.

Joline yelped. In Amari's excitement, her painted fingernails pinched Joline's skin like crab claws.

Amari didn't seem to notice, she just dragged Joline into the building and toward the rickety elevator. "You're gonna die when you hear this."

Elise bent to lift the front of the stroller over the gap in the floor, and the three of them squeezed into the elevator around the sleeping babies.

Her friends chattered excitedly and talked over each other so that Joline could barely figure out what they were saying. But neither of them would tell her their secret. When they reached Amari's room, Elise parked the stroller in a corner and motioned for Joline to sit on the floor.

"Now close your eyes," Elise commanded.

Joline did, half expecting them to play a prank. A button clicked and strains of music filled the air. And then a voice she recognized sang the first words of a song.

Her eyes flew open. "Where did you get that?"

"Hush, girl. I'll start it again. Just listen."

This time, Joline kept her eyes shut and let the sound flow over her as she pictured the Amish Rebels on stage, the lead singer's eyes fixed on her. That feeling he'd been singing directly to her washed over her. When the second song ended, she leaned her head back against the wall, lost in a dream.

Then the next tune began. Instead of expressing heartfelt love, the lyrics overflowed with longing and loneliness. The last strains of "Missing You" died away, leaving tears trickling down Joline's face. By the time "Will I Ever See You Again?" ended, all she wanted to do was find Mark Troyer and wrap her arms around him to comfort him. She dashed away her tears.

Amari stared at her with tenderness. "You think he wrote those about you?"

Joline sucked in a breath. She'd wondered—and hoped—as the lyrics wound their way deep into her heart. But her friends had sensed it too. She had to see him again.

"I wish I could hear those again, but I need to get back."

Elise's brows drew together. "We've spent the past several days listening to the radio for his songs to come on, and we made you a playlist, but how can we get it to you?"

"Playlist?"

Amari rolled her eyes. "I don't believe you, girl. What you just heard was a playlist. But unless you have a phone or computer or something, we can't share it."

"They have computers at the STAR Center, don't they? Get someone to set you up an account." Elise jotted something on a piece of paper and handed it to Joline. "Just hand them this so they know what you want."

"Once you have it, email us." Amari sighed. "Wish you had a phone so we could text."

"After you have this playlist," Elise explained, "you can listen whenever you want."

Joline clutched the paper to her chest. She could listen to those songs anytime? It seemed too good to be true.

But her friends weren't done with their surprises. "Guess who's gonna be at the teen club on New Year's Eve?"

"He is?" Joline squealed. She had to find a way to go.

* * *

Sid had been shocked and impressed when Mark handed him Mrs. Musselman's gift. "With friends willing to invest in you like this, you guys are gonna go far. By the way, you see that great press I got you in the newspaper?"

Mark winced. He sure had. It had cost him his family.

"Two national TV channels picked it up. Once the demo goes out, you'll be in demand by every TV station and media outlet in the country."

His parents would never know about the TV, but if the papers printed more stories . . . "Could we keep it out of the local papers?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"It's just that our parents don't approve." That stopped Mark short. Had Daed told anyone else's parents? None of them had mentioned it.

"They better get used to it, kid. You guys are going to be stars. Big stars."

Sid had been right. Radio stations began playing their songs, and requests flooded in from around the country. Mark still couldn't believe it. They'd be playing in the Lancaster area until mid-January, but after that, Sid had set up a tour in the Southern states, then out West. Mark would be going to states he'd only heard of in school—Texas, New Mexico, California. Who knew where they'd go from there?

* * *

Amari and Elise schemed with Joline for ways to see the Amish Rebels. But in the end, Mrs. Vandenberg made it easy by setting up a huge New Year's Eve's party that would last long after midnight. She intended to keep kids off the streets that night. Joline begged her parents to let her attend the whole event so she could watch the star drop in STAR Center lobby.

Daed frowned over her request. "I don't think that's wise. You can enjoy the party in the early evening like the rest of us."

"It will be too hard to get up in the morning," Nettie added.

Joline's teeth clenched at her stepmother's statement. She wanted to snap, Why am I always stuck watching your children? But she stopped herself before the words left her lips. If she disrespected Nettie, Joline would lose any chance of going to the event at all.

She swallowed hard to rein in her temper. "But my friends will be there, and they'll be staying the whole time." She didn't mention those friends were Englisch.

Daed gave her a disappointed look. "That's between them and their parents." He'd often lectured her about doing things because everyone else was doing them.

Backtracking quickly, she said, "I just meant I didn't want to leave them alone."

"Sounds like they'll have each other if they all stay."

Why did he have to be so logical? Joline switched to a different tack. "But I've never, ever seen a star—or anything—go down at midnight. It sounds like so much fun."

Daed stroked his beard. Maybe she was making progress.

"I promise to wake up early the next morning to take care of the babies."

"You know, Stephen, Joline works really hard watching the little ones and cooking," Nettie said. "Maybe we should let her do this."

Joline couldn't believe her stepmother was standing up for her. She felt like flinging her arms around Nettie and hugging her.

"You think so?" Daed looked thoughtful.

Nettie smiled at him. " Jah. I don't think one late night will hurt."

"You're probably right." He turned to Joline. "All right, but you need to be upstairs here and in bed two minutes after the star drops."

" Danke, danke, danke , Daed!" She flashed Nettie a grateful smile. " Danke , Mamm!"

Nettie beamed at Joline's use of Mamm , but a sharp pain flickered in Daed's eyes. He could tell it wasn't genuine. For years now, he'd been trying to get Joline to call Nettie Mamm , but Joline avoided addressing her stepmother most of the time, except when she wanted something. Daed had called it manipulative. From time to time, a genuine and unexpected Mamm popped out of Joline's mouth, but those were rare.

Still, right now, Joline was so thrilled about getting permission to stay up until midnight, she felt generous enough to give Nettie a real smile. A smile her stepmother returned tenfold.

Nettie's sincere pleasure sparked guilt in Joline. She should be kinder to her stepmother. Nettie had been unfailingly caring and nice from the first day they'd met. And Joline rarely reciprocated. She did her chores, often grudgingly, but gave no more than the bare minimum when Nettie was watching.

In secret, Joline lavished the babies with love, and she'd grown to love her little stepbrothers and stepsisters. But she tried to hide that from Nettie. Joline wanted Nettie to feel the resentment that still simmered inside Joline's heart because Nettie had come between her and Daed. Tonight, though, Nettie had turned out to be Joline's champion. She'd gotten Daed to say jah .

A worm of guilt wriggled through Joline. Neither of them would have agreed if they'd known her real plan.

* * *

On New Year's Eve, Joline stayed close to her family until they were ready to take the little ones up to bed. Amari and Elise had arrived an hour before, but they kept their distance until Joline was alone. Then, as they'd plotted earlier, the three of them moved near the door, waiting for a large group to exit.

A big family headed their way. Joline knew their six-year-old daughter and bent to talk to her. Elise and Amari moved in to shield Joline from the security cameras. Keeping her head down, Joline walked beside the little girl as the family ambled outside. She continued with the group to their parking spot down the street before waving goodbye.

"We did it." Elise giggled when the family pulled away. "Now let's get you ready."

Laughing and chattering, they jogged to the apartment building. Half an hour later, three glammed-up girls headed for the teen club.

"Wish you didn't have a curfew," Amari said. "My parents are spending the night at their party. They think I'm sleeping over at Elise's."

"And my mom thinks I'm staying with you, which I am." With a snide smile, Elise confided, "Mom doesn't know Amari's parents are away. Me and Amari do stuff like this all the time. Our parents haven't caught on yet."

That shocked Joline. She couldn't imagine lying to—

Wait a minute. It sounded so awful when Elise and Amari admitted it, but Joline had done the same thing. Her parents thought she was at the center. And she'd used other people to slip out of the building secretly.

She couldn't blame her behavior on friends' influence, because she'd deceived her parents first. Her stomach roiled. If Mrs. V found out, would she tell Daed? She might.

Joline shoved down those thoughts as they crossed the street to the club. The music and anticipation of seeing Mark Troyer again squashed her guilt. She was here now, and she intended to enjoy herself.

She'd worry about getting back into the building later. Like the Englisch fairy tale of Cinderella, Joline had to be back before midnight.

* * *

Mrs. Musselman had been ecstatic about Mark's songs playing on the radio and the band's upcoming road trip, but she insisted she'd miss Mark when he left. She enjoyed having his company, and he was grateful for her generosity and friendship.

Being next door to his family, but not able to visit them, had been tearing at Mark's soul. He wanted to say goodbye to his sisters and brothers before he left. He'd have to find a time when Mamm and Daed weren't around.

"Be sure to make a New Year's wish when the ball falls at midnight," Mrs. Musselman told him as he'd headed out the door for his gig. "I'll be here watching it on TV and will make a special wish for you and for my family."

Mark had been taught to pray rather than wish, but since he'd disobeyed his parents, he wasn't sure if God would answer his prayers. That night, though, when he played "Missing You," he closed his eyes and sang it for his family. Inside, he wished and prayed for a chance to say goodbye.

When he lifted his lids as the last note faded away, that Amish girl was walking through the door. His eyes widened at her beauty. Tonight, she'd put her hair up in a ponytail, and her curls fell over her shoulders. She had something sparkly on her head. A tiara maybe. And her dress glittered, sending off waves of rainbows as she passed under the small recessed lights near the door.

Abel cleared his throat, reminding Mark they had a program to put on. Jerry jumped in to tell a few jokes, while Mark regained his composure. Mark couldn't help wondering what that girl's parents were thinking to let her out so late at night. She looked too young to be going through Rumspringa. Even if she were, what family would allow their daughter this much freedom?

That thought stabbed right through him. If his parents had their way, he'd be home in bed right now. Maybe she was defying her parents the way he'd rebelled against his. For some reason, that thought made him sad. For her and her parents.

"And now," Jerry announced, "if we can get our lead singer back from his daydreaming, we'll sing ‘One More Time.' Mark, you ready?"

Mark jerked back to the present, to the stage, and to the program as Jerry tickled the skins and Joel riffed on the bass. Sam strummed the electric guitar, and Mark melded his whole being into the beat, waiting for his cue. When Abel's keys swung into Mark's intro, he avoided looking in the Amish girl's direction. He didn't need to get distracted again. He did his best to avoid looking at her through the next few songs. When he began "Only You," he accidentally glanced her way.

Her whole face alight with pleasure, her eager eyes met his, and Mark lost all sense of time and space. His mouth reacted to the music behind him, and he sang, but he wasn't conscious of the words. Just her eyes drinking in every syllable.

He shut his eyes at the end to break the connection. If he didn't, he'd never be able to concentrate on the next song. He made it through the set and slipped out the back door into the alley to gulp in some fresh air and clear his mind.

When he came back inside, he faced the tables far to her right. But just before their final song, "Will I Ever See You Again?" she and her friends rose and rushed for the door. His lyrics floated out the open door, and she turned, her eyes glimmering with tears as if she thought he was singing it for her.

He wanted to correct her mistake and tell her he'd written it for his family. But as she hurried down the sidewalk after her friends, he wondered if he'd also sung it for her.

Bud had asked them to end with "Auld Lang Syne" after midnight, so Jerry filled in the few minutes before the ball drop with some patter and jokes. Then everyone grew quiet as the large screens around the room reflected New York City, and the crowd counted down.

Why had that girl left early? Where was she doing the countdown?

He shook off his thoughts as the crowd counted down to one . People blew noisemakers. Cheers rang out, couples kissed, and Abel started "Auld Lang Syne." Some of the audience joined in.

Mark made his wishes and said several prayers, including one for that girl.

The new year had begun, and for the first time in his life, he had no idea where he'd spend his next New Year's Eve.