Teach Me

2: Beulah & the Outsider

There is homophobia in this chapter and this will be your warning because it will  be present throughout the rest of the work.

     Tyler beamed with pride. "She is, isn't she?"

     "Yeah." He agreed, shooting Tyler a soft smile. "What's her name?"

     "Beulah." Tyler answered, watching as Beulah turned to him because she thought he was calling for her.

     "Forgive me for asking, because I really am too curious for my own good, but I thought you guys weren't allowed to do this kind of thing? Like, going out to eat in a non-amish place?" With curious eyes, the man peered over to Tyler as he awaited a response.

     Tyler was warned about outsiders asking questions. He knew that for the most part, they meant no harm. The man seemed nice enough, so Tyler decided to entertain him. "It is a special occasion today, so it is different."

     "Oh," He nodded, and Tyler felt obligated to keep the conversation going.

      "It is the bishop's birthday." He offered, and the man smiled with a nod.

     "That's nice. Do you like being out here?"

      Nodding, Tyler grinned at him. "Yes! Even though people stare at me weirdly, I enjoy it. I like to see all of the lights. The bathrooms are so cool, too."

     The man looked very puzzled by the statement. With furrowed eyebrows, he questioned, "Do you not have electricity?"

     Grinning at the question, Tyler felt prepared. His Mother had warned him about people asking questions like this, reminding him that it wasn't meant to be rude, and that the English just didn't understand their lifestyle.

     "In some places. We have it in our kitchen for our Refrigeration. We use solar power for it." Tyler offered, explaining as best as he could.

     It seemed that he took a second to process the information before firing another question at Tyler. "Do you have bathrooms?"

     "We do! With running water, too!" Tyler beamed pridefully.

     "Oh, okay." Nodding, the man added another question before Tyler could say anything else. "So, showers then, too, right?"

     "No, we just boil water." Tyler shrugged. He had heard of showers before but had never experienced it.

     "What?" The man questioned, looking at Tyler incredulously.

     "We boil water." Not understanding that the question was rhetorical, Tyler recited himself.

     "You boil water?" He repeated, even more confused.

      "Well, no one likes a cold shower." Tyler responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

     "Do you have soap?"

     Tyler giggled at that. "Of course we have soap. Some women have jobs just making soap. And we sell it to people like you."

     "People like me?" Josh questioned, smirking.

     "Yes. You lot of the new age."

     "The new age?"

      "You ask a lot of questions." Tyler pointed out, reaching out to pet Beulah.