"You're in a small town, Mr. Wallace," she said giving me the kind of look that was usually reserved for small children and addled old folks. "News travels fast, or weren't you aware of that?"
"I guess I wasn't aware of how fast it travels without phones," I said looking away and noticing that the sun had started to rise.
"Touché, Mr. Wallace," Grace said dryly. "But as I told you last night, we're not quite as backward as you city folk think we are."
"But Grace, you're—" Verity started.
"I'm very aware of the stereotypes that the English have of the Amish, aren't I, Verity?" Grace said, quickly cutting off whatever it was her sister was about to say. The two stared at each other silently until Honor broke in.
"What is wind turbine technology?" Honor asked. She'd been silent at the opposite end of the table, but at the mention of technology she'd perked up. "Are those the big windmills that people put up in their fields?"
"Yes, something like that," I nodded shoving another forkful of the light fluffy pancakes into my mouth. The scent of strawberries and maple syrup hung heavy in the air and I realized that I'd never tasted anything so fresh and delicious before. The tartness of the berries and the sugary syrup mingled on my tongue as the buzzing grew louder.
"What do they do?" she asked.
"I'm sorry?" I said looking at her confused. "Can you say that again? I couldn't hear you over the plane."
"What plane?" Verity asked glancing questioningly around the table at her siblings. They all shrugged as Danny signed something I couldn't understand.
"What do the windmills do, Mr. Wallace?" Honor repeated as if speaking to someone whose first language wasn't English.
"They can provide electrical power to entire communities when properly placed," I said. "My company is the first one to offer turbine technology on a small scale in communities that don't fit the requirements for large wind farms. We thought that the Corner Grove might welcome the opportunity to install the technology and move away from generators and wood based heating without having to draw from the electrical grid. The best part of it is that the excess energy can be sold back to the companies running the electrical grid, making it a profitable investment, too."
"That sounds like a great project!" Honor said excitedly. "Wouldn't that be great, Grace? No more hauling gas or wood! We could capture the wind and use it to do the work for us!"
"That's all well and good, but it doesn't explain why you wound up in the ditch across the road," Grace said staring pointedly at me. I had a feeling that she already knew about my meeting with the Bishop and that this explanation was not going to end well.
"Well, I had a meeting with Bishop Miller yesterday," I said, hesitating as the buzzing grew louder and I could barely hear myself speaking. I looked around and then waited for the noise to subside before adding, "He was not as enthusiastic about the idea as Honor is."
"I see," Grace said.
"Look, it was a difference of opinion and I got upset because he refused to consider the evidence that this technology could really help your community," I said sidestepping my outburst. "I decided to blow off a little steam by driving fast."
"You do realize that you were driving through a community where children and animals regularly cross the road and the vast majority of residents drive buggies that don't go over ten miles per hour, don't you, Mr. Wallace?" Grace asked in a prim tone as she stared at me. I could hear the judgment in her voice and it made me bristle.
"I didn't think it would hurt anyone if I drove fast down a back road," I said defensively. "And can you please stop calling me Mr. Wallace. My name is Adam."
"How very generous of you to confine your activities to a back road, Adam," she replied putting the emphasis on my name to let me know she'd heard me, but wasn't cutting me any slack. I knew she was right, but the fact that a country girl who knew nothing about me was admonishing me for my behavior got under my skin.
"Look, lady, I don't know where you get off lecturing me about my behavior, but I'm pretty sure that judgmental attitude of yours isn't part of your religious beliefs," I countered as a buzzing sound echoed in my ear growing louder by the second. Looking around, I reached up and brushed my hands over both ears, but the sound only grew louder. I began shouting over the noise, "I think you and your community would want to follow your beliefs by installing technology that would help you function better!"
"There's really no need to shout, Adam," Grace retorted "And it's really none of your business what my beliefs are. Besides, if you were so knowledgeable about my beliefs, you'd have known better than to come peddling your modern technology in a community whose main focus is on steering clear of outside influences of the modern world!"
"Well, I wanted to help the community!" I shouted as the buzzing sound grew louder. Suddenly a bright light began flashing in my peripheral vision. I whipped my head around to try and find out where it was coming from as I continued yelling, "But you people are too stubborn to consider that maybe technology can help you maintain your culture the way you want!"
"Well, I never—" Grace gasped.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should have!" I shouted as I pushed myself away from the table and stood up. The dizziness hit me immediately as the blood rushed away from my head and the buzzing sound grew almost unbearable. I raised my hands to cover my ears hoping to drown out the painfully loud noise and then, for the second time in as many days, everything went black.
Chapter Fifteen
Grace
Honor and Verity shot up from their seats and raced around the table as Danny and I tried to catch Adam before he hit the ground. We missed, and his head hit the floor with a sickening thunk.
"Ouch, that couldn't have been good," Honor said wincing as she grabbed a dishtowel and began filling it with ice. Verity, Danny, and I lifted Adam off the floor and carried him back to the couch in the living room, where Honor put the ice pack under the back of his head and looked at me for further instructions.
"He's out cold," Verity said. "He might need a doctor. Do you want me to walk down to the phone booth and call Doc?"