Work Text:
Quiet Retreat
John Book casually walked to the car, in no hurry to leave even though he wasn't going to stay. It was so peaceful. He never had thought of the city as a place that was constant wall of noise and activity, but having stayed out here he had a great deal more perspective as he made the comparison. He didn't look back to see if Rachel was looking; either she was or she wasn't, and it wouldn't change a thing either way. He opened the door and crawled behind the wheel of his sister's Volkswagen and started it up, disturbing the quiet of the Amish countryside before pulling away from the Pennsylvania farmhouse of Eli Lapp. He didn't want to leave, but he knew that he had to go and couldn't put it off any longer after all the remaining investigators had left. He didn't look in the rearview mirror for a last look at Rachel either as he put it into gear; they had said their goodbyes once with their faces when no words were necessary, and he didn't need to torture himself now. Maybe even Samual was watching; a good boy, he had thought a few times that maybe…no, he wasn't the father type. It would be easier when he got back home again. Maybe he could whack somebody and feel better, he thought as he shook his head.
As he drove along the narrow road, he thought about what Eli had told him before he left.
"You be careful out among them English."
A simple command, but it implied a lot more. When he had first arrived during the case, he was the outsider, a stranger to the Amish community and branded as "English" regardless of what stew pot of heredity he might claim. But his time among those in the insular community while he recovered from his gunshot wound had created, if not a bond, at least a comfortable acceptance of his person. So much so that Eli now considered him more as one of them than belonging to the outside world. It was weird, but John had to admit that it was a good feeling and probably the only good feeling he was going to experience the rest of the day.
Up ahead, a man was walking down the road in the other direction. As John neared, he slowed as a courtesy and noticed it was Daniel Hochleitner, the local who had been in the process of courting the widow Rachel when John showed up. As he drove past Daniel gave a modest wave from the brim of his straw hat. John returned the wave and continued onward to the crest of the hill.
No.
It wasn't right. He couldn't discuss how he felt with Rachel; he didn't need to, and he doubted she would really want to hear it out loud any more than he really wanted to hear himself saying it to her. But he had to tell someone something, even if just for his own sanity. He wasn't going to retreat to the real world quietly, meek and as if nothing happened. He jabbed the brakes, shifted into reverse, and then backed up along the lane as he looked over his shoulder through the rear window. He kept his eyes on the road and when he neared Daniel, he gave a brief stab on the horn to allow the man to stand to one side of the road. John pulled up and stopped. He wasn't sure what to say, but he had to say it.
Through the open window he addressed the tall Amish man who stood against the clear blue sky. "I have to go back home now. I won't be back."
"It was...good to meet you."
"I, ah, left a couple of things behind that mean a lot to me. Could you find someone to take care of them for me?" John still wouldn't look back but jerked his head in the direction behind him as he kept his gaze on Daniel. He was pretty sure he had been that age once, but police work piled the years up faster than most other things.
Daniel looked at the Lapp farmhouse and then back to John. "I might be able to find someone dependable to do it."
"I know I have," John replied. What was that phrase Eli used? "Gott segen eich," he added as he rolled up the window and started forward again, hoping he got it right.
"And God bless you too John Book," Daniel said as he waved again and watched for a moment as the policeman drove off. He turned forward and continued his walk towards the farmhouse. Once again it returned to quiet, with nothing but the sound of Daniel's footsteps on the road.
The End