Read Online An Amish Family Reunion by Mary Ellis - Free Book Online Page A

bracelet will allow entry into each attraction one time. If you lose it, you’ll be reading magazines in your room for the next two days.” She paused here and narrowed her eyes. “Now listen up. Find your bag, go up to your room, leave your bag there, and then hurry back down to the bus. We have no time to unpack or lollygag. If you come down here late and the bus is gone, head back to your room… and read a magazine.” She scanned the tour group, making eye contact with suspected lollygaggers. “The rest of us will be on the
Maid of the Mist
!” She beamed then, her smile accentuating her round apple cheeks. The bus broke into thunderous applause and plentiful hoots until Mrs. Stoltzfus lifted her hand like a crossing guard.
    Phoebe glanced out the window. The luggage had already been set on the sidewalk in neat rows for quick retrieval.
This tour operator knows his business
. Everyone started chatting as the first group of names was called. When she heard “Ava and Rebekah Glick, Phoebe Miller, and Mary Mast,” Rebekah slapped the back of Phoebe’s head as though she’d been sound asleep.
    “That’s us!”
    Phoebe’s stomach somersaulted despite having consumed a ham sandwich, chips, and an apple for lunch, along with two full packs of Nabs. She took her envelope, followed the Glick sisters off the bus, grabbed her suitcase, and then followed them inside the hotel lobby with wide-eyed wonder. Marble floors, chandeliers, fancy area rugs, leather couches grouped for easy conversations—just as
daed
had predicted—fit for a queen. Mary Mast, a small, thin Geauga County girl, looked equally intimidated, while Rebekah and Ava marched through the lobby as though perfectly at home.
    “This way,” said Rebekah. “Step lively. You heard what Mrs. S. said.” Once they had reached the elevator and stepped inside, she pushed the button for the twelfth floor.
    “How do you know which floor we’re on?” asked Phoebe, inspecting the outside of the envelope. Nowhere did it indicate that information.
    “Oh, Phoeb, really.” Rebekah rolled her eyes. “It’s room
twelve
-oh-six.”
    Phoebe was amazed. If her cousin Henry did marry this girl, he would never have to think another thought again. His wife would take care of figuring everything out.
    Once they had reached their floor, the doors elegantly swished open and they exited the elevator like a row of little ducklings. A sign on the wall indicated their room was down the hall to the right. When they got to the door, Ava inserted her keycard in a slot until a little light turned green and then pushed down the handle to open the door. Inside the room they found two queen-sized beds, a huge TV, a sofa, an easy chair with a reading lamp, a vanity area separate from the bathroom, and a bank of windows on the far wall. Even Rebekah’s mouth dropped open in shock. Ava threw herself down on one bed, acting as though making angels in fresh snow. Rebekah inspected the tiny bottles of soaps and lotions on the mirrored tray. Mary headed into the large bathroom and locked the door behind her. Doors never had locks in Amish homes. And Phoebe? She ran to the window to gaze down on the river that had captured her imagination.
    After a few minutes, Mary joined her at the expanse of glass. “Wow,” she enthused, with a grin.
    “You’re not kidding. Wow,” agreed Phoebe. The two stared down on the rapids of the Niagara River. No longer placid and benign with boating vacationers, this water roiled and tumbled between sharp-cut banks with fierce intensity. Waves broke against boulders in the riverbed, sending plumes of spray high into the air. One couldn’t fail to realize the river would soon reach the drop-off point.
    Phoebe was mesmerized. If the entire trip entailed watching the view from this spot and nothing else, she wouldn’t be disappointed.
“You’ve been to waterfalls, Phoebe. This won’t be any different than the
ones you’ve already seen—only taller.”
She