So many families round Lancaster County had lost sons or brothers, even husbands, to this dreadful war. But none had been Amish. Our father, like all Old Order Amishmen here in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, held a strong belief in non-resistance, which meant he didn’t approve of going to war under any circumstances. Dat said it went against the Lord’s ways for the People to choose violence, and this fight wasn’t ours anyway since America wasn’t our true home. We were only passing through. “We’re pilgrims and sojourners whose final destination is heaven,” he liked to say.

“Dat will be displeased if he finds out, though,” Evan added, his expression melting into misery, “so just remember to keep this to yourself.”

I bobbed my head in agreement, then impulsively asked, “But why must ya be friends with outsiders, anyway?”

“Aw, Ellie, just ’cause you don’t have any English friends doesn’t mean I can’t have a few.” He pushed his straw hat down on his corn-yellow hair.

“I don’t understand why ya need fancy friends, though. You used to be gut friends with Solomon Bontrager, remember?”

“I was curious, so I dipped my toe in the outside world even before I turned fifteen. Wanted to know what I was missin’.”

For quite a while now, I’d pondered Evan’s desire to spend time with a handful of English fellows—mostly Jack and his friends. At nineteen, and unlike me, my brother hadn’t started baptismal instruction, deciding instead to stay in Rumschpringe, the season prior to baptism when our youth began to socialize with their friends, sometimes outside the confines of the church. I had no idea why Evan wanted to continue with this stage of his life. Even so, he knew Dat had always advised us to choose our friends wisely, which naturally meant amongst the People. Some teens were known to push the boundaries, though, causing heartache for their parents.

“Take Jack’s younger sister, Cheryl, for instance,” Evan said now. “She’s real nice, and you’d know it, too, if ya ever wanted to give her half a chance. Neighbor that she is.” He paused. “I really like her.”

This surprised me. Evan had shown only a smidgen of interest in the Amish girls in our church community, but he’d never said much about Cheryl Herr, either. And though I was sure she was fine for an Englischer, what did she and I have in common except for having older brothers?

“I have my own friends, Evan.”

“Only two that I know of—Leah Bontrager and Cousin Ruthann.”

“Well, I’m not as outgoin’ as you, so I don’t need a bunch of friends.”