by Beth Shriver
“It’s time to take action.” Gideon heard her muffled cry. “I have to do something about this, Elsie.” He had to tell someone before he left with Minister Miller, if he could leave. It would be harder than ever now.
“I can’t, Gideon.” She turned around and glanced at the car slowly driving away behind them.
“Then I will.” He reached over and took her hand. Whatever qualms these men had instilled in her was something she couldn’t let go. Maybe he was wrong to confront these men, but he had another reason to stand up to them. “Don’t look back,” he instructed her. But he was telling himself the same thing. He didn’t want to look into the eyes of that terrified boy again.
Chapter Thirteen
ELSIE ROSE TO the sound of her daed’s voice. She pulled on her robe quickly, all the while hearing his grumbling from down the hall.
“Ahh!” Her daed’s cry was unheard of—he never showed any pain. She could hear shuffling and another loud grunt before she got to their room. Daed was doubled over, his hand over his chest and his face pinched.
“What is it?” Elsie feared the worst by the way he grabbed his chest. The deep red color of his cheeks alarmed her into action. With quick steps she grabbed his free hand and watched him wince.
“I’m not sure.” Mamm reached under his armpit and steadied her hand on his back. “I’ve never seen him in such pain.” She spoke calmly but wasn’t. Her big strong daed fought through pain, but this was bigger than him. “Solomon, I’m going to lift you up now. You need to help me.”
He nodded once, slightly, and grimaced again. Elsie didn’t know what to do, but she wanted to help. “I’ll help you, Mamm.” She placed herself to match her mamm and waited for her signal.
“Ens, zwei, drei.” They sat him upright and put pillows behind him. Mamm stepped back when he wailed again. “Go to Rachel’s and have them phone for an ambulance.”
Elsie had more than twenty questions to ask, but she only nodded and ran out of the room. Her daed’s groan made her move quickly to her room. She pulled on her dress but skipped the apron and kapp. She then grabbed her work boots and stomped out the door. The door slammed shut behind her, making her jump. She wished the boys would sleep through this, but with her racket and Daed’s outbursts, they would be up soon enough.
She wanted Gideon to be with her. This was the day the deacons, elders, and Minister Miller were meeting at Omar’s to discuss the needs of the newcomers. Gideon also planned to talk to Omar about the Englishers. Word would eventually get to him that her daed was ill, but it couldn’t be soon enough for Elsie.
Rachel’s place was not the nearest farm but second next, but more importantly they had the community phone. She would be glad to see her since Elsie kept to herself so much lately. Elsie couldn’t get Angus out of the barn fast enough. She worked as quickly as she could to place his halter on and then jumped on him bareback.
Angus ran like a fire was under him. Sensing his rider’s urgency, the horse tucked his head and ran full speed. Elsie’s dress flapped in the wind, her hair whipping against her cheeks and back. She didn’t know what time it was but hoped someone would be out for her to call to along her way to Rachel’s. The first of two farms between them showed a dim light in the barn. Someone was milking, so it must be around four o’clock.
“Hallo!” Her yell screeched through the air, rousing the occupant in the barn.
“What in tarnation—” The old man pulled on his suspenders over his shoulders then flipped the brim of his hat up to get a better look at the crazy rider who came barging up to his peaceful barn.
“It’s Elsie Yoder. My daed needs help.”
“Elsie?” Too stubborn to wear glasses, Ira squinted so he could see her. “Well, what’s wrong with him?”
“He’s in a lot of pain. I’m going to the Kings’ place to call an ambulance.” Elsie choked out the words as she tried to catch her breath.
Ira wrinkled his stubbly nose and shooed her away. “Okay then, I’ll take care of things on this end. You go on now.”
With that she turned around and galloped back out onto the road, jumping a white fence along the way. The pounding of Angus’s hooves increased with each stride he took. By telling one person, the news would spread and help would be on the way.
Although it was a short distance, it felt longer than ever. She rode Angus right up to the house and jumped off, not bothering to hitch him to the post. Rachel’s daed opened the door and walked out when he saw Elsie.
“What’s wrong, Elsie?” Rachel’s daed put a hand on her shoulder, his dark eyes holding on hers.
“It’s my daed.” She blew out a breath to compose herself and force back the tears. “He needs a doctor.” Elsie leaned against Angus as Rachel’s daed ran to the house. At that same instant Rachel came running to her.
“What happened?” she asked as she enveloped Elsie in a hug.
“He’s in such awful pain.” Elsie let herself cry into her friend’s arms. “He’s got me scared, Rachel.” She shivered against the cool summer air. The sun was far from rising.
“How’s your mamm and the boys?” Rachel tucked her arm with Elsie’s and guided her to the house.
“The boys weren’t up when I left, but I’m sure they are now. And the look in Mamm’s eyes . . . she was scared too.” Elsie had only seen this expression on her face one other time, and that was when Adam fell out of the hayloft door. He’d landed in the wagon that held a thin lining of hay, but that wasn’t enough to break the fall. To this day her daed thought that incident made Adam a little slow. Mamm insisted he was just shy, that his only injury was a foggy head. Elsie saw that same fear in her mamm’s face when Daed cried out.
Rachel guided her inside the house, and they listened as Rachel’s daed got off the phone. Rachel’s four brothers slowly came out one by one to see what the ruckus was about. One went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee, knowing when the phone was in need, so was one of their people. Another went in with Rachel’s daed when he hung up the phone. The youngest of the brood gave Elsie a hug, waiting to be filled in on what was happening. Elsie grew up with these young men in Virginia, and they were as much her brothers as Adam and Aaron were.
“I’ll take you back in the buggy if you’d like some company.”
Rachel’s brother offered. His attention to her long flowing hair down her back reminded Elsie that her head wasn’t covered.
Rachel watched her toy with it and started for her room. “I’ll get you some pins.”
The oldest brother went over and gave his brother a stare. “You didn’t have to embarrass her like that. You know she can’t go with you alone in the buggy.”
The younger brother wrinkled his brow. “Gideon takes her in his buggy.”
Elsie turned a darker shade of red and turned toward Rachel’s room as she was coming out. Were people talking about them?
“I’ll go with her.” Rachel went to the barn as the boys and her daed offered Elsie prayers and said they would come check on Solomon later in the day.
Their mamm passed away giving birth, so they were accustomed to doing a lot for themselves and pulled together more than some simply because they had to. Rachel, being the only girl, was expected to just do one person’s job, but much of the household work fell onto her anyway. Elsie felt the extra load once Katie left and couldn’t imagine the work Rachel had to do.
“I don’t want to wait to hitch up the buggy.” Elsie had no patience and needed to get Angus home, so she didn’t feel she was being rude. “If the ambulance gets there before me, the boys will be alone.”
“I figured you wouldn’t. You go on ahead. I’ll be there soon.”
“I never thought I’d be so glad to use a phone. Did they say they’d call back when they know what’s wrong?” Elsie’s voice cracked as the emotions wrapped around her chest.
“My daed won’t leave the house until they do. And one of the boys will come to the house with any news.” Rachel grabbed Elsie’s hand and squ
eezed. “There’s a lot of common things that can be wrong. Don’t think the worst. Think the best.”
The ride home calmed her nerves and gave her some alone time to ask God for healing and for the good doctors to have wisdom while tending her daed. She’d never been in a hospital, and the only doctor she’d seen was the one in their old community. Others said the care was good and the hospital doctors understood their ways for the most part.
When she got home, she put Angus out to pasture and ran quickly to the house. Adam and Aaron were in the kitchen, trying to wash the dishes. “The car came to get Daed,” Adam blurted out as soon as he saw her.
“The ambulance,” Aaron corrected him.
“That’s gut. They’ll take him to doctors who will help him feel better.” Elsie gathered the remnants of food that they used, making an interesting breakfast for themselves. “Carrots and cheese?”
“Mamm said to wait for you, but we got hungry.” Aaron watched her clean up the mess.
Elsie managed a grin as she studied them. Their somber expressions urged her to let them milk with her. They liked the chore, and it might help keep their mind off things, and it was a chore that had to be done. “Would you boys like to help with the milking?”
Their eyes lit up. What was work for older boys was a treat for them. “I’ll get my boots.” Aaron was in the mudroom in a flash, with Adam close behind. But then Adam usually was following in his brother’s footsteps.
Although he was the older, only by a few minutes, he was slower than his little brother. Elsie had a tender place for him in her heart. She watched him struggle with his work boots and start to cry with frustration when his brother ran out the door.
Elsie bent down beside him and gestured for him to sit on the wood floor. “Getting upset only makes you more frustrated.” She smiled when he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and stuck out his bottom lip, trying not to cry. “See there, it’s done.”
He kicked his boots together, digesting her words, and after a couple of seconds got the idea he was done and stood to go. He stopped at the door and looked back at her. “I never get there first.”
She smiled. “It’s not about who is first; it just matters that you get there.” His frown turned upside down, and he pushed open the back door that led to the barn. Elsie was close behind but didn’t want to get there before him. Although the Amish never encouraged status among one another, Elsie didn’t think it hurt anything to let a little boy get to the barn before her.
The milk truck tanker came down the dirt path, startling Elsie. She’d lost all track of time. They would normally be done with milking long before Jerry came to pump the milk into the storage tank.
Elsie went to the barn and got the boys started as quickly as she could. It would take some time to attach the suction pumps to almost twenty cows. “Boys, we need to hurry. Let me show you a trick or two so we can get this done faster.”
Aaron caught on fairly quickly once he got the hang of it. Adam didn’t let his slow actions perturb him. When he got stuck, he’d watch Aaron and figure what step he was on. “How’s this?” Adam asked after finally attaching the cups.
“Very gut.” Elsie praised him, although he missed an important step. “Did you wipe down the teats first?”
He shook his head. “But I won’t forget now.”
Elsie nodded and grabbed a handful of newspapers for him to use. “I know you won’t. We learn from our mistakes.” She heard the barn door open and spoke without looking up. “Morning, Jerry. We’re running behind today. You may want—” When she turned to see him, a taller figure stood in his place. This man was unrecognizable with the sun coming up behind him. He was a shadow, still and mute, watching them from a distance.
Elsie’s heart began to bang in her chest, concerned that this was one of the men who harassed her. Her first instinct was to protect the boys, but she didn’t want to scare them. “Where’s Jerry?” She took slow steps to put herself between this man and the boys.
“I’m his replacement.” The man stood stock-still. Was he nervous? Waiting for her to make a move?
“What happened to him?” Trying to keep her voice calm and him distracted might be her only chance to keep him at bay.
“Got a different route closer to home is what I hear.” His head moved toward the boys, making the blood rush from her face. She wouldn’t put anything past these men with all the stunts they’d done. What they didn’t seem to understand was that although the Amish were gentle people, they would be hard pressed to leave their land. Elsie remembered Gideon’s words and was willing to take the brunt of that even though these moments scared her to death. But how long could she hold on to that thought?
“The company would have told you if they could have gotten ahold of someone. But from what I hear, that’s a hard thing to do.” He spoke with no malice in his words, making Elsie question her suspicions, but she didn’t want to let down her guard yet.
“Where are you from?” She let out a breath, along with some of the fear, and breathed a little easier.
“I’m new to this area. My family is up north.” He stepped to the side away from the sun to show his face. “I didn’t mean to alarm you, ma’am. I can call my supervisor and have him tell you about the change.”
His strong cheekbones and firm build intimidated her, but now she saw the baby face of a young man not much older than her. His sun-kissed light brown hair and large blue eyes caused her to stare. “Dass tut mir leid.” Elsie put a hand to her forehead, flustered and embarrassed. “I mean, I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else.”
“Perfectly understandable.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled. “Did you call me a bad name?”
She laughed, a little too hard, but it released her nervous energy. “Nee, I said I’m sorry, which I really am.” Now with the fear gone, irritation took its place at how those men could make her panic without even being nearby. “Please, give me a minute to help the boys finish.” She was pleased to see they had all the pumps on and working. “We’re not usually late, but we had a family emergency.” Her voice cracked a bit going back to thoughts of her daed.
“Well, let me help then.” He took careful steps over to her, maybe still trying to earn her trust.
“Have you ever milked before?”
“By hand mostly, but I’ve learned this system as well.” He turned to Adam, who was staring, in fact, both boys were, waiting for Elsie to give word everything was all right. “Hello, I’m Timothy. You can call me Tim.”
Adam remained silent, but Aaron stuck out his hand to pump Timothy’s hand in the Amish way. Timothy followed his lead then turned to Adam, who seemed to ease a bit after seeing his brother’s example. “I’d like to call you Timothy,” Adam informed him.
“Well, that’s fine with me. I’ll answer to either.” Timothy went to the far end and waited with them until the first heifer ran dry. Once one did, the others followed close behind, until they’d finished the task.
Adam leaned into Timothy, who sat on a milking stool. “Forgot to tell ya, old Ginger is a kicker. We use a boot if she’s feeling ornery.”
Timothy grinned. “Good to know. But I kick back, and they tend to stop on their own.” Adam’s jaw dropped and Timothy winked. Adam caught onto his humor and chuckled.
Elsie appreciated the interaction Timothy gave the boys. It not only made time go faster, but it kept her mind occupied with other thoughts besides her daed. Once the milk started pumping into the tanker, the boys went off to the house to eat a decent meal as Elsie promised them. “I don’t suppose you have time for breakfast. It’s the least I can do for all of your help.”
He looked up at her with kind eyes. “I wish I could. I grew up on a farm and have heard the food around here is just as good.” He wiped his hands on his jeans. “I’ve got to make up some time though.”
“How silly of me, of course.” Now she felt selfish for offering. She’d taken his time and hard work to get their milking done. “I should h
ave let you go to another farm and come back. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Do you mind me asking what emergency you were speaking of?” His sincere tone gave her a certain trust enough to confide in him.
“My daed woke in the middle of the night in a lot of pain. The ambulance took him and my mamm to the hospital.” That’s all she could say without emotions welling up again.
“You mean your dad, right?”
She could only nod. “I’m sorry to hear that.” He paused and studied her. “Would it help if I told the others on my route about what happened? I know how you all help each other.”
Elsie knew of the growing fascination the secular world had with the Amish, but she didn’t get that sense from Timothy. He seemed to know their ways though. The deacons would be making visits to ask folks what they could give to help with the medical expenses. “I don’t know how people get by that don’t live that way.”
“It’s sorta the way I grew up in the country, so I get it more than most. And I agree with you. Although we lived miles away, we still knew what was going on with each other.” He stepped away, and she realized she was keeping him again. His comfortable ways made it easy to get caught up in conversation.
“Thank you, Timothy, for everything, really. I promise next time we’ll be ready for you.” She hated to see him go. He’d been so helpful and encouraging when she needed it most.
Chapter Fourteen
WHEN ELSIE WENT into the kitchen, Annie and Beverly Zook were cleaning up the dishes. Elsie felt the tears rise once again this morning and took a deep breath before greeting them. “Any word yet?”
Annie looked up from the sink with her large brown eyes. “Nee, not yet. But I’m sure we’ll hear soon.” Annie had strength when others didn’t. Elsie thought she was one of the strongest people she was blessed to know, and she prayed for the peace Annie had.
“You know how long it takes those English doctors to run their tests and all,” Beverly offered as she took a plate from Annie and wiped it dry.