A while later, with his errands done and the wagon loaded down, Eli drove back through town. Would he see Rainbow Girl once more? He hoped not. He didn’t want Daniel bringing her up again.
But there she sat. Alone. Huddled on the curb in front of a sandwich shop with her arms wrapped around her bent legs.
He guided Dutch into the small strip mall parking lot, pulled the draft horse and wagon through two adjoining spaces and hauled back on the reins.
Daniel elbowed him. “What are you doing?”
“I’ll be right back.” After setting the brake, he jumped down and headed toward Rainbow Girl.
He hesitated a few feet away. What did an Amish man say to such a person?
One side of her hair had been cropped very short while the other side hung down to her shoulder. The short side shone bright red, and her ear had five earrings. Purple bangs swooped across her forehead and partially covered one eye. Then came sections of blue, green, yellow, orange and around to the red again. All of it had about an inch of brown close to her head. Why would anyone do that to her hair?
Her jeans had several large holes up and down the entire fronts in various sizes. With her legs bent, her black-net-covered knees poked out the biggest openings. A green army-style jacket hung loose over a baggy T-shirt.
Englishers were strange.
His heart raced being this close to her after all these months and now contemplating speaking to her. He should leave, but instead, he said, “Are you all right?”
Slowly, her head rose, and she stared at him as though she’d seen something out of the ordinary. Perhaps she had. Amish didn’t normally talk to Englishers like her.
Her lips were purple, similar in color to the hair that covered part of her face. Above her upper lip sat a dot of silver metal. She had a small silver hoop hanging from the one eyebrow he could now see. Heavy black makeup encircled her eyes as though she’d used soot. Below them, the black had run and smeared. Why did Englisher women choose to cover up their beauty with so much paint?
“I’m fine. Leave me alone.”
All her makeup couldn’t disguise the pain in her eyes. Pain that came from deep inside. From her heart and soul. “You don’t look fine.” There must be something he could do. Why he felt a need to help her, he didn’t know. He pointed to his own face. “Your eye... The black stuff... Never mind.”
She wiped her fingers below each eye, further smearing the inky mess. “I’m fine.”
This woman obviously didn’t want anything to do with him. He shouldn’t bother her any longer. He should leave. Instead, he sat on the curb near her, keeping a respectable distance, at least four feet. He glanced toward Daniel, who shook his head.
Eli needed to make sure she was all right. “My name is Eli.” He’d never imagined ever being so close to her. The nerves in his fingers and toes tingled. He clasped his hands together to dull the sensation.
She turned toward him and raked the purple hair from her face with her hand. “What are you doing?”
He wasn’t sure himself. “You’re clearly upset about something. Maybe you need some company.”
“I am, and I don’t.”
Even though she dismissed him, he couldn’t bring himself to sever the tenuous connection with her and stand. “What’s your name?” Something about her struck him as familiar, but he couldn’t imagine what. Probably by seeing her frequently, he’d become accustomed to her.
“If you weren’t Amish, I’d think you were some sort of creepy stalker.” Did she have a lilt of an accent?
He placed his palm on his chest. “I mean you no harm. Won’t you tell me your name?”
She changed her focus to her purple painted nails and picked at them. “Dori. Why did you sit down with me? That’s not very Amish.”
He gave a chuckle. “You probably won’t understand this, but I felt Gott leading me to come over to you.”
She chuffed out a breath. “God? God doesn’t care about me.”
“He does. Very much.”
Her words rushed out. “Then why has my boyfriend kicked me out? I lost my stupid low-paying job. And I have no place to live. Trust me, God does not care about me.”
“What about your family? You could ask them for help.”
She pulled a tight smile. “Trust me, my family doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“Have you asked them?”
“There’s no point.”
“You don’t know until you try. Your family may be waiting to hear from you. Waiting for you to come home.”
She shook her head. “It was nice of you to stop and try to help. You’ve done your good deed. You can go now.”
Gut deed? Was that what she thought? If he simply needed to complete a gut deed, he had many neighbors he could help.
This had not been his idea. But had he done all that Gott had in mind for him to do?
She inclined her head toward his wagon. “Your friend is waiting for you.”
“He will wait.” Eli considered her. She had no job and no place to live. That likely meant she had nothing in her stomach. He stood and took a retreating step. “Come.”
She glanced over her shoulder and up at him. “Why?”
He poked his thumb behind him at the sub shop. “I will buy you a sandwich.”
The one visible eyebrow shifted down. “What? Really?”
“Ja. Come in and pick out what you want. If you don’t, I’ll pick for you.” He reached for the door handle.
“You’re serious.” She scrambled to her feet.
He held the door. “Pick whatever kind of sandwich you want.” With his other hand, he held up his index finger to Daniel to let him know he’d be a minute.
The male server behind the counter pulled on clear plastic gloves. “Welcome. What can I make for you?”
Rainbow Girl’s voice came out small and uncertain. “I’d like the sweet onion chicken teriyaki.”
“Six-inch or twelve?”
Rainbow Girl said, “Six—”
Eli spoke over her. “Twelve-inch, please.”
She looked at him sideways.
He knew she had to be hungry. She could eat the other half later if she didn’t want it now. She chose her bread and veggies.
He ordered two more twelve-inch sandwiches, one for himself, the other for Daniel, and got them all chips and chocolate milk. He set her food and drink on a table but didn’t sit.
“I need to go now.”
“Thank you. I really appreciate this.” Her mouth curved up a little bit, and his insides responded happily. “I won’t tell anyone you helped the strange Englisher—” she lifted her hands and flipped them around in tight circles “—with the colorful hair.”
He should do more but didn’t know what. “You should talk to your family. I’m sure they miss you.” Englisher parents had to love their children too, didn’t they?
“I’m sure they don’t. I’ve done things they’ll never be able to forgive.”
This poor woman had next to nothing.
“Give