Then the door opened.
“I packed her bag,” he said, searching her face.
“Gut. I’m giving nine-one-one another call.”
He nodded and walked into the bedroom to sit with Hannah.
“What’s taking so long?” Hannah asked him.
“Storm got worse,” he said. “Shouldn’t be much longer.” He hoped. He didn’t think he could stand it if they didn’t get here soon.
To distract her, he told her about finding Jacob with his foot sticking out from under the quilt.
She smiled. “I tuck it in at least twice a night before I go to bed.”
“I always find Lizzie has a book under the covers and have to pull it out without waking her.”
“Kinner,” she said, shaking her head. And then she began crying, her shoulders shaking.
“Hannah, don’t cry,” he said, patting her shoulder. “Everything’s going to be allrecht. Rebecca’s just being extra careful with you and the boppli.”
“I know.” She reached for a tissue on the bedside table.
Rebecca walked in and frowned. “What’s this about?”
Hannah wiped her cheeks with the tissue. “I’m just worried.”
“The nine-one-one dispatcher said the ambulance is following a snowplow. It shouldn’t be much longer.”
Samuel nodded and got up to give her the chair. He bent down and kissed Hannah’s forehead. “Promise you’ll stop worrying.”
Rebecca sat beside the bed and took Hannah’s wrist in her hand to check her pulse. “There was this wonderful wise woman who was a freund of my grossmudder. She used to say that worrying was arrogant. That God knows what He’s doing.”
“I know she’s right,” Hannah said with a tired sigh as she tried to find a comfortable position in bed.
Samuel looked around the room, searching for something to do. “Maybe I should go stand by the front window and watch out for them. Wait, what was I thinking? I need to shovel the front walk so the paramedics can get up to the house.”
“Gut idea,” Rebecca said, but she frowned and searched his face. “Be careful.”
“Always.” He walked out of the room, praying he’d look out the window and see help arriving.
He shoveled the walk quickly, hoping the physical exertion would help him shove aside his anxious thoughts. But every pile he tossed aside made him strain to hear if help was coming.
When the walk was half-clear, he stopped and looked down the road. All he could see was snow—what felt like miles of snow that no Englisch vehicle could get through. Nee, he couldn’t think that way. He said a short prayer and began shoveling again. Help was coming and his job was to clear the path so they could get through and take Hannah and the boppli to the hospital.
Just when he thought he couldn’t bear another moment of worry, of suspense, he heard the wail of a siren and saw the big bug-eyed bright lights of the snowplow through the falling snow.
He’d never seen anything more beautiful in his life.
Samuel waved his arms, and the driver tooted his horn and then pushed slowly forward down the road. He raced up the porch steps and opened the door.
“Ambulance is here!”
Then he went back down to greet the paramedics rushing up the walk. “So glad to see you!”
He led them inside to Hannah’s room, then went for her coat. After that, he took Rebecca’s coat and bonnet and headed back to Hannah’s room where Rebecca was busy giving the paramedics Hannah’s medical information. When she finished, she noticed him holding her things.
“You’ll need to go with them,” he said, feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders. He wanted to go with his schweschder, had promised to be with her for whatever she needed.
But she needed Rebecca.
He helped her with her coat and watched her tie her bonnet. Then they followed the paramedics rolling the gurney out to the ambulance parked in front of the house.
“I’ll come to the hospital as soon as I get someone to watch the kinner,” he promised Hannah as the paramedics lifted the gurney inside. But he couldn’t look her in the eye. He was so scared he’d see she was worried.
Rebecca climbed inside the ambulance and waved to him as a paramedic shut the doors.
Samuel watched the ambulance drive off toward town, its siren blaring, until its taillights winked out in the falling snow.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rebecca held Hannah’s hand as nurses prepped her for surgery.
She knew it was only a matter of minutes before they’d lose that bond and she wouldn’t be able to help her, be with her, anymore. A nurse smiled sympathetically as she handed Rebecca a box of tissues to wipe Hannah’s tears away.
“Everything’s going to be allrecht,” she promised Hannah and prayed that it would be. Hannah’s blood pressure cuff inflated and deflated every few minutes and showed higher numbers. But the fetal monitor that had been quickly attached reassured her—the boppli’s heartbeat was strong and steady.
“Rebecca! Good to see you!”
Relief swamped her. Dr. Garner was a woman in her late forties with boundless energy and enthusiasm. She’d been on staff at the hospital for many years and had delivered a dozen or more of Rebecca’s patients who’d had to have hospital deliveries due to complications. Rebecca wasn’t an RN-certified midwife, so she’d had to hand over her patients. She trusted Dr. Garner completely.
She watched as Dr. Garner examined Hannah, checked her vitals, and then nodded.
“Hannah, I know you wanted to deliver at home, but you definitely need a caesarean,” she said, her eyes kind. “Rebecca made a good call to have you brought in. Has she explained the procedure?”
She nodded and the tears started again. “Can Rebecca come with me? My husband is out of town.” She looked at Rebecca. “And Rebecca is more than my midwife. She’s familye.”
Touched, Rebecca reached for Hannah’s hand and squeezed it.
Dr. Garner nodded. “I’ll let the nurse know.” She patted Hannah’s hand. “Now, let’s get you upstairs and get that baby safely in your arms.” She paused to speak to one of the nurses before rushing out of the room.
“You’re in gut hands—I promise you,” Rebecca said and gave Hannah’s hand a last squeeze. “I’ll be with you and hopefully Samuel will be here soon.”
She walked alongside the gurney to the operating room. Then she went through the necessary steps to wash up and put on protective gear. When she walked into the room, Hannah gave her a shaky smile and held out her hand.
“How are you feeling?” she asked Hannah as she bent down to look at her.
“Gut. They gave me a shot for pain. Will I really be awake when the baby comes out?”
“You will.” She watched as a nurse draped sheets over Hannah and checked her vital signs again.
“Here we go,” Dr. Garner said and began the operation.
Rebecca kept her gaze focused on Hannah’s, so she was as surprised as her patient when they heard the indignant wail of a newborn.
“You have a girl!” Dr. Garner announced and held up the squirming baby for them to see. She handed the baby to a nurse who swaddled it in a blanket and brought it to Hannah’s side.
“We’ll get her cleaned up while the doctor finishes and bring her to you as soon as we can,” the woman assured Hannah.
Rebecca smiled at Hannah and used a tissue to wipe away Hannah’s tears. Then she took another tissue and wiped her own tears away. “There. You see? Your new dochder is just fine. I’ll see you when you’re in your room.”
“You won’t leave?”
“Of course not.”
“Danki, Rebecca.”
“Thank you for letting me stay with her,” she told the doctor, who gave her a brief nod. She walked out of the operating room, shed the gown and other coverings, and walked down to the waiting room. Then she pulled out her cellphone and texted Samuel. Hannah had a dochder and both are fine.
Gut. Barbie from next d
oor is here to watch the kinner. Now that the road has been plowed I hope to be there soon, he texted back.
She sent him directions on how to find the waiting room and settled back.
Now that she was alone, Rebecca tried to relax. She’d expected Samuel to experience some nervousness standing in for Hannah’s mann after losing his fraa in childbirth, but she’d felt his tension all throughout, and then he’d rushed outside to shovel snow for the longest time. She would’ve liked to have reassured him more, but she’d found it hard to deal with on top of her concern for Hannah. She sighed. He was probably not going to feel better until Hannah was home with her boppli.
She picked up a magazine and tried to read but her attention wandered. She tossed it down and closed her eyes. It had been a long day and night.
“Rebecca.”
She opened her eyes and sat up as the doctor walked in and took a seat next to her.
“Mrs. Yoder is in the recovery room right now. The baby weighs seven pounds, seven ounces, and she’s being taken care of in the nursery. You’ll be able to see both of them very soon.”
“That’s good to hear. Hannah’s blood pressure had me worried.”
“And rightly so. It’s always a concern in our expectant mothers. And when in doubt, it’s always best to have the delivery here at the hospital. I’ve ordered some meds for the blood pressure, and Mrs. Yoder will be monitored carefully, of course.”
“I wasn’t sure we were going to get here in the weather we’re having.”
Dr. Garner nodded. “It’s made for an interesting night for sure. I had another delivery earlier that barely made it in time. I decided right then to just stay and spend the night here.” She stood. “A nurse will come get you when you can visit Mrs. Yoder. It was nice to see you again. Take care going home.”
“I will. Hope you get some rest.”
Samuel came rushing in a half hour later carrying Hannah’s overnight bag. Snow dusted his black felt hat and the shoulders of his dark woolen coat.
“Have you seen them yet?”
She shook her head. “It might be a little while longer.”
“Freezing out there.”
She rose and fixed him a cup of coffee. “Here. This should help you warm up.”
“Danki.” He wrapped his hands around the cup to warm them.
“Are you allrecht?” she asked him when he sat there, staring into his coffee and not speaking for a long time.
“Ya,” he said, but he didn’t look at her.
Rebecca started to speak but a nurse came in and smiled when she saw Samuel. “Is this the father?”
“Brother,” he said. “The father’s out of town.”
“Well, Mrs. Yoder will be happy to see both of you. Come with me.” She glanced at Samuel’s coat as they began walking to Hannah’s room. The snow had melted into the wool. “Is it still snowing?”
“Finally stopped but the temperature’s in the twenties.”
The nurse shuddered. “I’m not looking forward to going out in it when I get off shift.” She paused outside the room. “We’ll bring the baby in soon.”
Hannah was dozing but woke as they walked into her room. “Did you see her?”
Rebecca shook her head. “The nurse said she’d bring her in soon.”
Samuel patted her hand. “I’m glad you’re both allrecht. You had me worried there for a while.”
“Did you call Levi?”
“Not yet. I thought you might like to do it.”
The door opened and a nurse wheeled in a cart with a clear-sided baby bassinet on top. “Let me prop you up in bed and you can hold your baby,” she said. “We’ll be keeping her in the nursery after you nurse her so you can get some rest.”
Hannah winced as she pulled up in bed a little, and Rebecca and the nurse adjusted her pillows for support. Then she held out her arms for the baby and beamed down at her. “We decided to call her Sarah Ann, after Levi’s mudder,” she told them.
“I’m schur that will cheer her up when she hears it.”
“She’s beautiful,” Rebecca told her.
Samuel snapped a few quick photos with his cellphone. “You can use my phone to call Levi when you’re ready to let go of the boppli.”
“Are you feeling up to nursing her?” the nurse asked.
Rebecca tried not to laugh as Samuel blanched, mumbled he was going to get some air, and rushed out of the room.
“Yes, please,” Hannah said.
The nurse raised the bed guard and then went on alert as a code red was announced.
“I’m her midwife,” Rebecca told her. “I can help. You can leave her with me.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Rebecca helped Hannah adjust her gown and guide her boppli to her chest. Hannah burst into tears as the boppli began to nurse for the first time. “I’m sorry. It’s just I was so scared I’d lose her.”
Rebecca pulled up a chair and sat beside her. “I understand.” She glanced at the window. “Look, Hannah, dawn’s breaking. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. It’s morning, and your beautiful boppli is here and safe and she’s already nursing just fine. Just think, now Sarah Ann is here to celebrate Christmas with you and Levi and Jacob in your new home.”
Hannah smiled through her tears. “You’re right. I have so much to be grateful for.”
The nurse returned a few minutes later just as the baby signaled she’d had her fill and began drifting off to sleep.
“Excellent,” she beamed. “Now, I’ll take her to the nursery so you can get some rest. Tomorrow when you’re over the effects of the anesthesia, we’ll move her into your room with you.” She placed the baby back in her bed and wheeled her out of the room.
Hannah pulled her gown back in place and yawned. Rebecca tucked the blankets around her and was surprised when Hannah held out her hand.
“Rebecca, thank you for everything you did for us.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Hannah smiled and squeezed Rebecca’s hand. “It warms my heart to see the love blooming between you and Samuel.”
“I—” She was saved from a reply when a knock sounded on the door. She hurried to the door and found Samuel waiting in the hallway.
“I’m going to go down and wait for you in the lobby while you and Hannah talk to Levi,” Rebecca told him.
She made it to the elevator before the tears started, and she slumped against the wall as she rode downstairs. She wasn’t surprised. She’d always managed to get through whatever emergency, whatever crisis, no matter how many people panicked around her. Then, after everything was resolved and the stress was gone, the tears would start.
The doors opened and as she walked out, she saw people milling around in the lobby. A huge Christmas tree stood in one corner, twinkling with lights, its branches heavy with ornaments. Swags of greenery were strung on the information desk, and a big box held presents donated to a local charity.
“I’m not ready for Christmas,” she heard an Englisch woman say as she walked past.
Oh, I am, she thought. She smiled and wiped away her tears. It would be a gut one this year.
* * *
Samuel frowned as he strode over to Rebecca. “I’m sorry, but Keith won’t be able to pick us up for a little while.”
Keith was an Englisch driver who often drove members of their community when needed.
“Did he drive you here? I never asked you how you got here.”
“Nee, Barbie’s mann gave me a ride so my horse wouldn’t have to be out in the cold while we were here at the hospital.”
“That was kind.”
“I didn’t want him to have to go out again, so I called Keith.”
“I don’t mind waiting. I’m glad he can come for us so we can go home.”
He nodded, took a seat next to her, and frowned. “You’ve been crying.”
She shrugged. “Just a reaction to a long day and night. And seeing a new boppli always
makes me tear up a little. Sarah Ann is beautiful.”
“She is.” He fell silent.
“Are you allrecht?”
Now it was his turn to shrug. “Fine.” He shoved to his feet. “I’m going to get some coffee. Do you want some?”
She shook her head. “You’re schur you’re allrecht?”
He started down the hall and then turned back. “I don’t want coffee. I feel I’ve drunk gallons waiting for Hannah to have the boppli.” He sat and checked his phone. “I just want out of here. I hate hospitals.”
“It must have been hard coming here,” she said quietly.
“I thought I was going to lose Hannah, too,” he blurted out. “Watching her being taken away in the ambulance and not being able to do anything was the worst thing I’ve been through since Ruth.”
She put her hand over his. “I could see how hard it was for you. But she’s fine now and the boppli is doing well.”
“I just can’t get it out of my mind.”
“You’re tired. I’m schur you’ll feel better when you’ve had some rest.”
His phone beeped. It was a text from Keith saying he was at the front door. “Our ride’s here.”
Keith greeted them with a big grin when they got in his van. He wore a Santa hat and handed them each a candy cane.
“Samuel told me Hannah had a baby girl,” he said as he pulled out into traffic. “I have a special for new parents, you know. Mama and baby get a free ride home. I have a car seat for my littlest passengers.”
“That’s very generous. I’ll tell Hannah. It’ll be warmer than going home in the buggy.”
A car swerved in front of them and Keith braked carefully. “People need to slow down,” he muttered. “The posted speed limit’s for ideal road conditions, not for when the road’s icy.”
Keith stopped at Rebecca’s house first.
“I’ll be going back to see Hannah later,” Samuel told her. “I’ll call you and see if you want to go with me.”
She nodded. “Get some rest.”
“You, too.” He wanted to lean over and kiss her but didn’t feel comfortable doing it in front of Keith, even though the man was staring straight ahead.
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