Greta took the pamphlets and tucked them into her bag. “You mentioned something about medicines?”
“Yes. These are his prescriptions. I will give your driver directions to a pharmacy near here. Your uncle has a vial of small white pills with him called nitroglycerin. He is to put one under his tongue at the first sign of chest pain. I have written out what you need to do if that doesn’t help. I know this is a lot for you to take in. Are you sure you are okay with this?”
“I believe I understand everything you have said. What about his bill?”
“That’s been covered in full.”
By his church no doubt. At least his congregation had done that for him even if they wouldn’t take him in. It was strange that her uncle’s bishop hadn’t mentioned the fact in his letter.
Mrs. Collins handed over a business card. “This is my personal number. Call me anytime you have questions. Day or night, it doesn’t matter. I only wish we could have done more for your uncle.”
“He is in God’s hands. It is as the Lord wills.”
“Yes. We are all in God’s hands. We all struggle to do the best we can in an imperfect world. I pray God gives both you and your uncle the comfort you need.”
She rose to her feet and left Greta alone.
*
Toby spoke to the driver who was pushing the empty cart inside after having loaded Mr. Barkman’s things. “Arles, is it all right if we get settled in the van?”
“Sure. Do you need a hand?”
“Nee, I can manage.”
Mr. Barkman was slowly wheeling himself toward the door. There was no sign of his niece yet.
Arles caught sight of him. “Just a minute, sir, and I’ll help you.”
Mr. Barkman grunted but didn’t answer.
Toby pulled on his coat. From a nearby chair, he picked up the duffel bag that contained all his and his sister’s worldly belongings. The fire hadn’t left them much. Neighbors and his coworkers had contributed clothing and essentials. He had enough money to pay their way and get by on this trip, but not much else. He figured they could wait until they were back in Pennsylvania and he was working again to purchase anything else they might need. When he could find work.
His mother’s sister and her husband were taking them in. With eleven children of her own, his aunt assured him that two more would hardly be noticed. He was grateful for her kindness. She believed living with a big and lively family would help Marianne recover. He prayed she was right.
He pushed his sister’s wheelchair out the sliding glass doors and up to the van. He held out his hand to steady her as she gingerly stood. She wavered slightly but managed to step into the van. He worried that she was still so weak. She should have been gaining strength, but she wasn’t. It was as if she didn’t want to get better.
Inside the van were three rows of double seats along the left side and a row of three single seats along the right side upholstered in brown and cream vinyl. A narrow aisle led to a full bench seat at the rear. There was a luggage compartment behind that.
The passenger’s seat by the driver, the first two rows and all the single seats were taken by the Coblentz family, a tall, thin father, a plump mother with four stair-step blond boys and an older woman with a toddler beside her. Toby nodded to the occupants as he followed Marianne. She bypassed the last empty row and went straight to the bench in the back. Toby propped his duffel bag in the corner and sat down beside her. She lay down on the bench.
He took off his coat and folded it into a pillow for her. “Here. Use this.”
She took it from him without a word.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes as exhaustion took over. He was eager to get to Bird-in-Hand where his aunt had a real bed waiting for him. He’d spent most of the past two months sleeping in a chair or on the couch in the burn-unit waiting room and then on a cot in his sister’s room. He hadn’t left her side for more than an hour since she had been transferred out of the ICU. She quickly became panicked when he was out of sight.
After a little while, the outside door of the van opened again. Toby watched as Mr. Barkman was helped in by the driver. He sat down and sighed heavily as he put his cane on the seat beside him. A few minutes later, Greta got in. She stopped beside her uncle, waiting for him to move his cane so she could sit down.
He glared at her. “I may have to travel in the same van but I refuse to sit beside this sinner. She and her sisters have been shunned by our church. She is under the Bann.”
Everyone in the van turned to look at her in shock. Then, one by one, the adults turned away from her, their backs rigid with disapproval. Toby wondered what she had done to earn such condemnation from her congregation.
She looked around. No one else made room for her. She had no choice but to move to the back where he sat.
She kept her gaze lowered, but her cheeks were blazing red with embarrassment. “Sir, may I sit here?”
Chapter Four
Greta waited for the man in the backseat to answer her. Humiliation burned deep in her chest. Her hopes that Morris had seen the error of his ways and had become a reformed man were nothing more than wishes in the wind. He hadn’t changed. And now she was taking him to the one place where she and her sisters had been safe from his venom.
The young girl lying on the bench seat started to sit up, but the man stopped her. He moved his duffel bag from beside him to the floor. “Please, have a seat.”
“Danki.” Greta maneuvered past his long legs. She sat beside him and pressed herself into the corner wishing she could sink through the seat and onto the pavement outside. She couldn’t imagine what the other passengers must be thinking.
Baptized members of their faith were forbidden to have close contact with a shunned member. That this young man offered her a place beside him meant that he had not yet taken his vows. She crossed her arms tightly over her bag and made herself as small as possible. She should have spoken up. She should have refuted her uncle’s claim, but years of remaining silent while Morris chastised her in front of others had fastened her tongue to the top of her mouth.
They wouldn’t believe her, anyway. They would believe him. He was a man and an elder.
“Are you all right?” the young man beside her asked quietly.
She glanced his way and saw honest compassion in his expression. His small gesture of kindness brought tears to Greta’s eyes. She nodded, too upset to speak.
She should have expected her uncle’s rebuff, but after living with her loving grandfather in a happy home for the past eight months she had forgotten how easily her uncle could make her feel like dirt. All it took was a few distasteful words in his condescending voice to make her feel like an unwanted child again. She hadn’t come nearly as far as she thought she had. If only she could be strong like Lizzie.
The driver got in. “Are we ready?”
A general murmur of consent was enough for him. “Okeydokey. I’ve been told that Mr. Barkman can’t ride more than an hour without stopping. We will stop for lunch at a little place I know in Van Wert about an hour from now. Then, I’ll drop the Coblentz family just south of there in Ohio City and we’ll get back on the road to Hope Springs, Ohio. That’s my plan. Mr. Barkman, are you doing okay?”
“No one cares so let’s get going.”
The driver turned in his seat. “Sir, if you’re not feeling well we should inform the hospital staff right away.”
“I’m good enough. I’d rather die on the road than go back inside this poor excuse for a hospital. Drive on.”
Arles shrugged. “All right. Mr. Yoder, is your sister doing okay?”
“She is, danki.”
“Good. We have one stop at the pharmacy to make and then we’ll be on the road.”
They left the hospital behind, and Mr. Hooper maneuvered the van skillfully through the city traffic. He stopped at the pharmacy the nurse had suggested. Greta had to pass by everyone to get out of the van. She was aware of the covert looks cast her way but decided to i
gnore them. It was useless to protest now.
After she returned with her uncle’s pills, Mr. Hooper soon had them out on the highway heading east. A few minutes later Greta’s seatmate asked, “Do you have enough room?”
“Am I crowding you?” She scooted away from him another inch. She had been so wrapped up in her humiliation that she had failed to pay attention to her surroundings.
She glanced at the girl beside him. “Is your sister comfortable?”
“I think she’s asleep.”
“Has she been sick long?”
“She was injured in a house fire two months ago. She suffered smoke inhalation and burns to her head and neck.”
“How terrible.”
“Her lungs were damaged by the smoke. She was on the ventilator for several weeks which is why her voice is so weak. God in His mercy saw fit to save her, and I’m grateful. I don’t know what I would do without her.”
She heard the sadness in his voice. “A fire is such a terrible thing. Was anyone else in your family hurt?”
“My parents perished.”
“Oh, I’m very sorry.”
“Has your uncle been ill long?”
Greta looked out the window. “A few weeks. He had a heart attack. I will tell you because I know you are wondering and you have been kind. My sisters and I left our uncle’s church here in Indiana under difficult circumstances. If the church placed us in the Bann, this is the first I have heard about it. We have been accepted into an Old Order congregation in Hope Springs, Ohio, where we live with our grandfather. I am a member of good standing in that community although I have not yet taken my vows.”
Morris had been listening. He turned in his seat. “Does your bishop know he harbors such an unchristian family of snakes to his bosom? Does he know your grandfather set his dog on me? I still have the scars. I will make it clear you are not fit to be members when I meet your bishop.”
Greta wanted to vanish. She wanted to crawl inside herself. She wasn’t brave the way Lizzie was brave. What would Lizzie do? She would stand up to him. She wouldn’t accept this humiliation.
No, she wouldn’t.
Greta raised her chin. She wasn’t bold, but she knew what Lizzie would say. “Bishop Zook knows our story well, Onkel. I think you are the one he will be keeping an eye on. But why are we talking about unchristian behavior? Forgiveness is God’s command to us.”
Morris muttered something again, but Greta couldn’t hear what it was. He turned his back on her. She clamped her lower lip between her teeth to keep it from trembling. She had spoken back to him for the first time in her life.
It was empowering to speak her mind. She didn’t have to be bullied by him on this trip. No one here knew her or cared how she behaved. So what if they thought she was disrespectful. They didn’t know the truth.
Greta glanced at Toby and found him watching her closely. She quickly looked down. She was not behaving as a humble maiden should. He must think her very brazen.
“Did your grandfather really sic the dog on your uncle?” The raspy whisper came from Toby’s sister as she sat up. She held her bonnet pulled forward to cover the left side of her face.
Greta shook her head and whispered back, “No one set the dog on him. Onkel Morris doesn’t like dogs and our dog, Duncan, didn’t like him. Duncan thought he was protecting us.”
Marianne said, “Animals know if people are nice or not.”
Greta smiled. The child was so right. Leaning forward, Greta winked at her. “I agree. Duncan is an excellent judge of character.”
*
Toby watched in amazement as his sister smiled at their seatmate and giggled. It was a tiny gurgle more than a giggle, but it was the most emotion he’d seen from her since the fire.
A great weight lifted off his chest. Until this moment, he hadn’t been aware of the pressure. The glimpse of the girl she used to be filled his heart with joy.
Had leaving the hospital triggered this improvement, or was it the infectious smile of their new traveling companion? Perhaps it was a combination of the two. Either way, he was relieved to see this small sign of progress.
“My name is Greta Barkman,” she told his sister.
“I’m Marianne.”
“And I’m Toby Yoder,” he added.
“It’s nice to meet you both. Do you have a dog, Marianne?” Greta asked.
His sister shook her head. Toby read the regret in the turned-down corners of her mouth. He said, “We may have to look into getting one.”
Marianne’s eyes brightened, but then she shook her head and leaned away from him.
He said, “I know we won’t be able to keep a dog at our aunt’s house. She doesn’t like dogs, but we’ll have our own home again someday. When we do, we will get a dog. I promise.”
She sighed deeply but didn’t say anything else. Greta sat back and turned to look out the window. It seemed her friendliness was reserved for his sister. After a few minutes, she opened her bag and pulled out a wooden hoop with a length of white fabric secured in it. Half the circle was filled with blue cross-stitched flowers. Deftly, she began creating another row.
He tried to focus on the passing scenery. It wasn’t often he had the chance to ride in a car. It was amazing how quickly the farms and fields slipped behind them. Empty fields waiting for spring to bring back the green. Red barns and occasional blue road signs were the only bright colors besides the blue sky. Toby soon grew bored with the winter landscape and began watching Greta again.
She had her circle completed in no time. Loosening the hoop, she withdrew her fabric and replaced it with a fresh square from her bag. Marianne shifted on her seat, and he glanced her way. She was leaning forward to watch Greta work, too. It wasn’t long before Greta noticed.
“Do you cross-stitch?”
Toby touched his chest. “Me? Sure.”
A smile played at the corner of her mouth. “It’s an unusual pastime for a man.”
“I would call it a learning experience. I remember my first as if it were yesterday.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Really?”
“He’s doesn’t know how,” Marianne whispered.
“That’s what you think, little sister. Grandmother taught me to do it when I was your age.”
He could see Marianne didn’t believe him. He had trouble keeping a straight face. “It’s true. She made me sit in the corner and fill her hoop with one phrase over and over again. Her hoop was much bigger than yours, Greta.”
“And what was that phrase?” Greta asked.
“I will not tell a lie. I will not tell a lie. I will not tell a lie. It took me four hours to finish it to her satisfaction. The lesson stuck.”
Greta chuckled. “I think I would like to meet your grandmother.”
“She lives with her widowed sister near Bird-in-Hand. You can ask her about the story. She’ll tell you it’s true.”
“I don’t doubt you, but I was actually asking Marianne if she knew how to cross-stitch?”
“Do you?” He looked at his sister.
She shook her head.
“I’m sure Greta can show you how it’s done.”
“I’d be delighted. It’s easy. These are panels that will go down the center of a quilt my sisters and I are stitching.”
“Switch places with me.” He rose and let his sister slide across the seat to sit beside Greta. She was soon engrossed in Greta’s instructions, leaving him free to watch both of them.
Within a few minutes, Marianne had the hoop and the needle and thread on her lap. “What if I make a mistake? I don’t want to ruin it.”
“We all make mistakes. It would be a shame not to learn something new because you’re afraid you won’t get it right. Besides, you will not ruin it. I can easily undo the stitches.”
Marianne’s efforts were tentative at first, but under Greta’s gentle guidance, she soon grew more confident. She was actually talking, even if her voice was still a hoarse whisper. Toby was surprised when the dr
iver turned off the highway into the parking lot of a small diner. Were they in Van Wert already? An hour had gone by very quickly.
Arles turned to address his passengers. “I’d like everyone to be back in the van in thirty minutes. That should give us all plenty of time to eat and walk about a little. Mr. Barkman, how are you doing?”
“Well enough. I don’t imagine the food will be good at a place like this.”
“It’s got to be better than the hospital food,” Toby said as he slipped into his coat.
The driver got out and came around to open the door. The Coblentz family piled out quickly. Morris stayed where he was so Toby got out next and held out his hand for his sister. She took it and stepped carefully onto the pavement. He was worried that this outing would be too much for her, but she seemed to be doing okay.
He moved back to let Greta out. She was about to step down when her uncle rose. His cane slid to the side between her feet. Greta tripped and fell headlong out of the van. Toby lunged to catch her.
Chapter Five
Finding herself in Toby’s arms took Greta’s breath away. Strong and rock steady, he held her as if she weighed nothing at all. She gripped his shoulders to get her feet under her. The feel of his firm muscles beneath her fingers sent a rush of excitement through her veins. It tightened her chest and made it hard to breathe. She licked her suddenly dry lips as she looked up at him.
Electricity seemed to shimmer between them like the glow of distant lightning. His dark brown eyes widened in surprise. Did he feel it, too? She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his expressive face.
“Are you all right?” Marianne asked.
The child’s whispery voice brought Greta back to the present. What was wrong with her? No man had ever had this effect on her.
She slowly withdrew from Toby’s embrace. His cheeks blossomed with a dull red color. Was it her imagination, or was he reluctant to let her go?
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