A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel

by Rosalind Lauer

  Dear Gott, I don’t want to be another King who falls away.

  But he couldn’t let Aaron die when there was a way to get him help. They reached Ira Miller’s property within minutes, and Jonah pulled over into the lane.

  “Let me check this first.” He ran up the hill to the parked Jeep and opened the door.

  The key was plugged into the ignition, with another one dangling.

  He climbed in and closed the door on the rain. Knowing he was breaking many rules, stealing and driving a car among them, he started the vehicle. The engine roared to life, and Jonah felt a glimmer of hope. The gas tank was almost full, and the wipers swished across the windshield.

  This was going to work.

  It had to work.

  Although the gears were a little stiff, he managed to pop it into first and roll down the hill to the carriage. “This will be our ride,” he announced.

  Annie’s eyes were round with amazement and shock, but Lovina said nothing as she and Jonah hoisted Aaron into the backseat. The man was pale and weak—almost in a sleepy state.

  Jonah prayed to Gott that they would get to the doctor in time. Annie drove the carriage down to the hitching post by the Millers’ house and tied off Jigsaw. Jonah followed in the Jeep, his heart beating loudly as she climbed into the passenger seat.

  There was no time to leave a note for the Millers; they would have to explain later.

  They rode in silence as the Jeep bumped down the lane. Jonah could feel Annie watching him as he worked the gearshift with his right hand, his feet on the brake and clutch pedal. He stopped at the end of the main road, jolted the vehicle into first gear, then quickly picked up speed, moving up to fourth gear.

  “Looks complicated,” Annie said. “How did you learn to drive like that?”

  “I did some playing around during my rumspringa,” he said. “Most of it in this Jeep. Zed was older, but he liked to teach guys to drive.”

  “I would have never thought that of you,” Annie said.

  “Those days are over.” Or at least he had thought they were when he took his baptismal vow. Despite the damp cold, Jonah’s hands began to sweat as they approached the pass for the second time. Although he had made this crossing half a dozen times in this Jeep, he had never done it with the river so high.

  And on top of that, darkness was beginning to fall, dropping a soft cover of gray around them. Jonah found the switch for the lights and pulled it to the on position. The stream of light ahead was stronger than the lights on any carriage, and he was grateful for the beacon lighting their path.

  The two carriages still waited at the pass, sprawled at the side of the river like forgotten toys. Jonah wove around them and pressed the brakes just short of the churning water. The headlights shone on the roiling river.

  “I can see that the current is strong, but there’s no telling how deep it is in this light,” Jonah said, thinking aloud.

  Annie turned to him, her voice so even that he could feel her trust in him. “Can we make it?”

  “Gott willing.” He eased off the brake, clutched, and put the car in first gear. As soon as the wheels touched the water he could feel the pull of the current. The car seemed to sway toward the right, and he steered left, pressing the gas pedal steadily.

  Jonah had always felt in tune with nature, but this was a battle. It was Jeep against river, man against storm.

  Outside the vehicle, water swirled against their doors.

  “It’s seeping in,” Annie said, staring down at the door.

  “We’re almost through,” Jonah said with a calm he didn’t feel. He knew he would have to pay for damage to the vehicle. Water was not good for pipes and mechanical things.

  But the tires were gripping the road—and the water’s edge was now just a few feet away.

  He kept his foot steady on the gas, even as the front tires dug into the mud, caught, and pulled them to safety.

  “Praise be to Gott!” Lovina cried from the backseat.

  Annie patted Jonah’s shoulder as the cloak of dread lifted from his shoulders. He felt lighter, as if they were soaring now … flying Aaron to the help he needed.

  “We’ll have you at the clinic soon, Aaron,” Jonah called behind him as he pushed the Jeep to a higher gear, holding tight to the wheel with his left hand. “Just stay with us.”

  Stay with us.…

  FIFTY-ONE

  The false quiet of the hospital waiting room was enough to drive a man crazy. Jonah longed for the noises of home: voices and laughter, songs and jokes, clanging dishes and the inevitable cow mooing in the background.

  Jonah shifted in the plastic chair of the hospital waiting room and took Annie’s hand. Her small fingers wove through his and he gave a squeeze, wishing he could protect her from harm and fear and sorrow. Of course, that wasn’t possible, but that was his desire.

  “I wish someone would come out with an update,” Annie said. Lovina was filling out forms with a nurse inside one of the hospital offices. And somewhere inside the cardiac ward, Aaron was being treated by Henry Trueherz and a handful of other doctors and nurses. Aaron’s wife had been allowed to ride in the front of the ambulance that had transported him to this hospital in Lancaster, once Dr. Trueherz had “stabilized” him in his office.

  In an attempt to get word back to her family, Annie had called the phone shanty and left a message. Daniel, Rebecca, Hannah, and Levi were probably already home from the wedding, but just in case, Annie had also left a message on the answering machine at the phone shanty the Kings shared with the Zooks.

  “What if they don’t think to check the answering machine?” Annie had asked, concerned.

  “What about your English neighbors?” Jonah suggested. “I’ve seen Clem O’Boyle with his tractor on the road. Do you think he would ride over to the farm to deliver an emergency message?” Jonah asked.

  Annie picked up the phone they’d been told to use at the nurses’ station. “We won’t know unless we ask.”

  The nurse had shown them how to get a phone number from directory assistance. When Annie had called, Clem’s wife, Hattie, had answered and clucked with sympathy. “She said she doesn’t mind driving over to tell them the news,” Annie had reported. “And she said we must be sure to call her if there’s anything else she can do for us.”

  “That’s a good neighbor you have,” Jonah had told her.

  Now the ticking clock on the wall was beginning to get under his skin. The sound of footsteps on the shiny tile floor caught their attention, and he and Annie rose as Lovina came down the hall with Dr. Trueherz and a small woman in navy scrubs.

  “He’s going into surgery,” Lovina said, her eyes shiny with tears. “They can’t put it off any longer.”

  “But we knew the surgery was inevitable,” Henry Trueherz reminded them.

  “Aaron needs a triple bypass.” The woman in scrubs who introduced herself as Dr. Patton didn’t look to be much older than Annie, but she spoke with authority. “It’s the only viable course right now. If all goes well, the prognosis is good.” She looked at her watch. “I need to get scrubbed.” She faced Lovina. “I’ll talk with you when the surgery is done.”

  After the surgeon left, Henry Trueherz tried to talk them into going to the hospital cafeteria. “It’s going to be a few hours, and a change of scenery might do you good.”

  “No.” Lovina pulled her jacket tighter around her. “I want to stay here, close as I can. But thank you for everything, Doctor. Thank you for saving Aaron’s life.”

  “It was quick thinking on Jonah’s part that saved him.” Dr. Trueherz nodded toward Jonah. “You didn’t let that river stop you, did you?”

  Jonah didn’t mind the teasing, but he couldn’t summon a smile. Not while Aaron was in surgery and the consequences of his actions weighed him down.

  Hours passed, slow as molasses. Jonah now understood why Aaron had wanted to get out of the hospital weeks ago. Besides the expense, a hospital was not a good place for people. The co
ld, long corridors, the noise of beeping monitors and machines, the smell of floor wax, and so many people wandering around, pushing carts or trash cans or wheelchairs. It was hard to believe people were healing in this cold, strange place.

  The sound of footsteps in the corridor was not unusual, but the young child’s voice caught Annie and Jonah’s attention.

  “Is that Levi?” Annie sprang to her feet and scurried to the hallway. “It is! I’m so glad to see you all!”

  Levi jumped into her arms as Rebecca, Daniel, and Hannah filed into the little waiting area.

  “We came as soon as we heard!” Rebecca hugged her mother. “How’s Dat?”

  “Still in surgery.” Lovina repeated everything the doctors had told them, including the part about how Jonah’s quick thinking had saved Aaron’s life.

  Suddenly, three different conversations were going on at once, and Jonah was grateful for the way Annie’s family had breathed new life into this very dull waiting room. Rebecca had been worried since they returned home to an empty house, and they were grateful for Hattie coming by with the message. Don, their usual hired driver, had gotten out of bed to make this emergency trip for them.

  “Is it true that you drove Aaron to the clinic in a Jeep?” Daniel asked in a low voice.

  Jonah nodded. “There was no other way. The horses couldn’t make it across the river, and he had to get to the doctor right away.”

  Daniel clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be so glum. The doctor says you saved Aaron’s life.”

  “It’s true.” Annie’s eyes were pools of pale blue.

  “That was all I could think about,” Jonah said. He realized the possible consequences of his actions—he could be shunned for driving the Jeep. He swallowed, his throat dry as a bone. It was necessary to save Aaron’s life, but in that moment he might have severed himself from his community, from his church, from the people he loved.

  “You’re a hero,” Daniel said.

  “No. A hero would have figured out a way to save Aaron without going against the Ordnung.”

  “Still … you saved a man.” Daniel pointed down the hospital corridor. “Aaron is alive in there because of your brave move. You did a good thing, Jonah.”

  In his heart, Jonah knew that was true. But he still couldn’t reconcile the fact that he had gone against the Ordnung. There would be consequences. He might be shunned. Ya, there were levels of shunning, but even the most meager punishment before the community would sting.

  Jonah sank back in the chair and closed his eyes. He had always been so sure of walking the right path. Not so much anymore.

  A few minutes later, Jonah and Annie were going through all the snack items in a vending machine when the surgeon came down the hall with two other staff members in scrubs. Conversation stopped as everyone got up to face the doctors.

  “Mrs. Stoltzfus?” Dr. Patton looked through the group and stepped forward once she found Lovina. “Good news. The surgery went well. Your husband is a very lucky man.…”

  Not a lucky man, Jonah thought as relief washed over him. A man blessed by Gott.

  FIFTY-TWO

  Jonah said good-bye to Ira Miller, then climbed into the carriage and turned Jigsaw down the lane. After the emergency of the last day and night, the fear and the waiting and the hope, he was glad to be alone with his thoughts. He had thanked Ira for taking care of his horse and carriage, which he’d left here when he’d “borrowed” the Jeep. The older man agreed they would settle up later on the Jeep, which still sat in the clinic parking lot.

  “Maybe someone will see it there and buy it,” Ira had said. “I’ll be glad to have that thing out of my hair.” Jonah understood how he felt, though he couldn’t forget how the Jeep had helped them yesterday.

  The hired driver had taken Jonah to Ira’s place after dropping Annie and her sisters, Daniel, and Levi off at the Stoltzfus farm. They had waited at the hospital until Aaron came out of recovery and was resting in a hospital bed, Lovina tucked into a chair beside him. Although the nurses warned that he was still medicated and resting, they had filed into the room for reassurance. Despite the tubes running down to his arm, Aaron had looked like Aaron again, his face pink and peaceful. Annie had touched his hand. Rebecca had told Levi to blow his doddy a kiss. Daniel had reassured him that the morning milking would be taken care of by their neighbor. Jonah had not spoken, but he had made his promise long ago to keep the farm running, and Aaron knew he could count on him.

  Now, as Jonah passed the Stoltzfus farm, he stretched as much as he could in the seat of the carriage. He was weary to the bone, but rest would be impossible. The incident with the Jeep pained him, a burr inside him.

  He had to make it right.

  He reined Jigsaw in at a stop sign and considered how to get to Bishop Samuel’s house from here. Instead of taking a left toward home, he turned right.

  At Samuel Mast’s farm, he found the bishop out behind the barn, mending the latch on a fence.

  Samuel straightened as Jonah approached. “I thought you’d be coming by to see me.”

  “And I knew you would have heard what happened.” Word traveled fast in a tight-knit community like theirs.

  “I don’t listen to rumors. But I did hear the story of how you got Aaron to the hospital. He’s going to be all right?”

  Jonah nodded.

  “Good.” Samuel closed the gate and removed his gloves. “So you drove an automobile.” His eyes, cold as ice, were magnified by the lenses of his glasses.

  “I did. All the way to Paradise. The Halfway Mill Covered Bridge was damaged by the rising river, and a horse and buggy couldn’t make it across the pass.

  “When we got to Doc Trueherz’s clinic, an ambulance came and took Aaron to the hospital in Lancaster.”

  “Why didn’t you call an ambulance in the first place?”

  “There wasn’t time to wait for one. Aaron needed help.” He explained how the doctors had warned them that Aaron needed to get medical help at the first sign of pain or discomfort.

  “So you broke a rule.” There was a raspy sound as the bishop let out a deep breath. “We can’t have that, Jonah.”

  “I know it was wrong, Bishop. But it was the only way I saw to get Aaron to the doctor. His heart was in bad shape. He could have died.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. I’m grateful that you saved Aaron’s life. That was a courageous thing to do, getting the Jeep to ford the river at the pass. But we need to deal with the fact that you have broken a rule. You drove a car, and that can’t be tolerated. No exceptions. If one person can drive without any consequence, soon everyone will be driving a car now and again. I have to talk with the other ministers about this, but I can tell you now, it must be dealt with. There will be a punishment.”

  “I understand.” Jonah closed his eyes as a cold wave of dread slapped over him.

  He was going to be shunned.

  When the two familiar silos of the farmhouse came into view, Jonah gritted his teeth. He had never thought he would return home a broken man like this. The bann was something that happened to other people, not faithful, careful men like him.

  He hung his head, wondering what Annie would think of all this. She loved living in Halfway. She felt a sense of belonging in the Amish community here. And now, she was courting a man who would be shunned. Even after the bann ended, the memory of it would hang over Jonah like a dark shadow. Annie wouldn’t want to be connected to such a person of disgrace.

  As his horse clopped down the lane, he saw the children moving furniture from the storehouse to the main house. The wedding cleanup … he had almost forgotten. The process of tidying and moving everything back into place would take another day or so.

  “Jonah!” Simon and Ruthie put the rocking chair they were carrying onto the ground to run over to meet him.

  “Jonah!” Katie and Sam, little copycats, scampered over behind their older siblings.

  The sight of the four of them running to greet him melted the i
ce in his heart. They loved him unconditionally, and no sin against the Ordnung or bann from the church would change that. He stopped the carriage and jumped down. Joy was in the air as Ruthie and Sam hugged him, Simon patted his back, and Katie grabbed his leg.

  “You saved Annie’s dat!” Simon said. “You’re a hero, Jonah.”

  “Not a hero,” Jonah said. “Gott saved Aaron.”

  “But you helped,” Simon insisted.

  “And you’re home at last,” Ruthie said, sounding like a grown-up girl. “We were all so worried.”

  “And now you can help in the cleanup,” Simon said.

  “We’re helping!” Sam held up a sponge to prove it.

  “It’s good to be home.” Jonah swallowed past the tight knot in his throat. After what he’d been through in the past day, cleanup sounded like a picnic. “How’s it going?”

  “The house is clean.” Simon motioned to the chair, and Ruthie picked up the other end. “We’re just starting to put the furniture back.”

  He looked up to see a line of people carrying furniture from the storage shed to the house: Adam and Gabe on either end of the daybed; Mary and Five carrying the sofa; Leah, Susie, and Sadie toting chairs and a small stool.

  “You made it back!” Mary called to him.

  “Just in time to help with the heavy lifting,” her husband added.

  Jonah strode toward them, relieved to be home. “Looks like I should have stayed away a bit longer, give you a chance to finish.”

  “There’s always more work to be done around here,” Adam said.

  “I’ll join in, just as soon as I take care of Jigsaw.”

  Jonah unhitched the buggy and turned his horse out. Walking up the path to the house, he was grateful for the sights and sounds of home. The fences that wound down the hillside to outline the golden fields. Birds circling the pasture, landing, then circling again. The murmur of cows in the distance and the smell of fresh-baked bread coming from the kitchen.

  Leah held the door for him as he brought a bench inside. Adam took the far end, and together they lowered the bench to the ground. Remy was setting a platter on the kitchen table.