Plain Fame Read Online Free

the doctor. “Why are you here, then?” she asked.
    He raised a finger and tapped it in the air as if making a point. “That is a good question, yes.” And then he smiled. His smile lit up his face and added to his charm. He reached up and took off his sunglasses, folding them carefully before sliding them into the breast pocket of his jacket. It was such a fluid movement that she was mesmerized.
    She had never met any Englischer like this man. Usually the Englischers she interacted with were older men, accompanying their wives to Lancaster County to learn about the Amish and shop the handmade goods and fresh produce they brought to the market. They wore shorts and T-shirts with ratty-looking sneakers and baseball caps. The younger Englischer men who lived in the area were not interested in the Amish. They were much more interested in their cars and their music. This man was very different. He was no typical Englischer, that was for sure and certain.
    With a deep breath, he sighed. “You see, I saw this beautiful damsel in distress, injured on the side of the road, sí ? And when she spoke to me, I knew that she was far, far from home and all alone in this big, crazy city.” He leaned back in the chair and crossed his leg over his knee. She noticed that he wore shiny black shoes with black socks. Not one smudge on them. “And I knew that I couldn’t leave her alone to fend for herself.”
    Her mouth fell open, and she stared at him. He was a stranger. Yet he hadn’t left her? “You’ve been here with me?”
    “I’ve been here with you,” he said, nodding his head once.
    “The whole time?” she asked, amazed.
    “The whole time,” he repeated.
    She shook her head. “I don’t understand any of this, Mr. Diaz.”
    “Alejandro, please.”
    She frowned, chewing on her lower lip for a second. She had never had much of a reason to interact with Englischers, and certainly not Englischer men. Yet here she was talking to this complete stranger. There was something very disarming about him. Something very different. She realized that she felt relaxed and wondered if it was the pain medicine that the nurse had mentioned earlier. “Alejandro. That’s a strange name.”
    “It’s cubano .”
    “Cubano?”
    He laughed. “ Cubano as in Cuba.” She liked the way that he said Cuba: coo-bah . But she still didn’t know where it was. He must have realized that because he added, “It’s near Florida. Certainly you’ve heard of that.”
    The color rose to her cheeks. “I know where Florida is, ja ,” she insisted.
    He laughed again. But the sound was cheerful and light, not condescending. “ Ay , Princesa, Cuba’s a different country. It’s an island. You have to get there by airplane or boat from Florida. But trust me, it’s not a very nice country. Maybe to visit, but not to live there.” His eyes shifted away as though remembering something from long ago. For a moment, he seemed as if he were transported somewhere else, to a previous life, and not an easy one. She wondered what could have happened in his past to make his eyes grow dark so quickly. But she wasn’t about to ask him. She felt that it would be an intrusion; it would have been rude on her part. He sighed. “Certainly not as pleasant as Pennsylvania. Where is that little town you said you live in?”
    “Lititz?” She wondered how he had known she was from Lititz. Had she told him? If so, she certainly didn’t remember doing so. He sat in the chair by her bed, his chin resting on the back of his hand, watching her. The way his eyes sparkled as he waited for her to continue intrigued her. He was a complete stranger, yet she felt as though she knew him. There was something familiar about him in a comforting sort of way. “It’s in Lancaster County,” she replied. Then, a hint of a smile crossed her lips as she added, “Certainly you’ve heard of it.”
    When he laughed this time, he leaned backward in the chair and put his hands behind his