Uncle Plats

by Aqua Allsopp

  And he did. When he would see Becca or any of her family in town, he would cross to the other side of the street or duck into the nearest door to miss them.

  *****

  Becca also tried to move on. She went to quilting circle, worked in the large garden her aunt had and helped put up jams and jellies when fruit ripened. To relieve her sadness, Becca took to walking in the woods daily when she was done with her chores. It seemed to help her somewhat, although she found herself thinking about her lost family, dreaming of what it had been like when they were together. She remembered Ethan with his teasing and clowning around. How he loved apple anything, so she would see that there was an apple pie or schnitzel weekly to help with his craving. And how he always gave her a hug after supper for doing that. And the memories of her father always tucking her into bed, his big arms cradling her gently as he held her on his lap to read from the Bible, or on the tractor with him as he made circles in the field for the crops. And when she got older, how he would make sure that she went to her Aunt Mary’s to learn all the things she needed to know about being a strong Amish woman. Each memory burned in her heart as she was afraid she might lose the pictures in her head and forget them. The memories made her sad, but happy also, as she walked and sat by the creek. On occasion, she would get a glimpse of Cameron and his buddies as they fished the creek full of bass and other fish. She was very careful not to let them see her as she watched from the thick trees and overgrowth of the forest. On the days she would see the small group, she began to think of what it might be like to be around the big fireman while she walked home, listening to his stories of bravery and how he saved people’s lives. She remembered how gentle and kind Cameron was to her after the fire, and how he sat and held her hand. He didn’t have to do that, she knew, but it was so sweet.

  The cold winter months went by slowly, but Cameron was firm in his resolve to have nothing to do with Becca or her family. He continued working, going out on calls with the fire and EMT services. He spent his spare time with his buddies from the fire department, playing pool or seeing a movie. He kept busy and avoided thinking about Becca.

  As did Becca, losing thoughts of Cameron, sitting snugly as the cold wind blew and the snow piled up, reading her Bible, praying for understanding and finding solace in her faith and the community who protected and loved her.

  The holidays came and went and signs of Spring began to come back into Lancaster county. The trees began to bud, flowers peeked out of the ground and local farmers went about the business of another year’s planting. Everyone was more cheerful than usual as winter slid off their backs and the warm Spring sun beat down on them.

  *****

  Spring moved into Summer as the community around Manheim settled into the humid, hot heat. Summer storms rolled in and out bringing needed rain to the crops. After one dry spell that lasted for more than two weeks, the clouds rolled in again, bringing a particularly nasty lightning storm.

  As luck would have it, one of the fallow fields was hit by a lightning strike and started a blaze that began to quickly work on the surrounding forest, burning acres in its path. Working as fast as they could the Manheim Fire Department began the task of moving people away from their farms as the flames spread. Cameron was working on Route 85 leading up to the Geist place. He had been able to get two families down the road from them to evacuate before he drove into the familiar driveway to state his cause.

  Lyle came out of the house onto the porch. “What are you doing here?” he asked tersely.

  “I’m here with the fire department. We need to evacuate you to safety as the fire is getting dangerously close. We have to get you and the animals loaded up and moved in the next hour,” Cameron explained. He got to the porch. “Please let me help you. Your lives may depend on it.”

  Lyle shook his head no. “We’ve never had to move out before and I don’t see any need to do so now. Just go to the next farm. We’ll take care of our own.”

  Cameron began to explain in more detail how the fire was acting and what could happen if more lightning strikes occurred. By that time, Mary, Becca and the Geist boys were all on the porch listening to Cameron try to talk some sense into Lyle. Becca could smell the smoke and see the fire getting closer herself. Mary could see how upset Becca was as she began to shake slightly with her cheeks getting red. She flashed back to the fire that took her family. Becca could see them sprawled on the ground mortally wounded from the flames. Tears began to flow freely as Mary placed an arm around Becca’s shoulder. Finally, Mary spoke up.

  “Lyle, he makes sense and you can see with your own eyes that it’s headed our way. Let’s do what he asks and get ready to go. Becca and I will handle the house. You and the boys get the animals lined up. Please listen.”

  Lyle shook his head as he muttered, “Wife, I don’t know what to do with you.”

  He paused as everyone held their breath for his decision. “All right, we’ll go.” He pointed to Cameron. “You’ll get the buggy ready and bring it to the house for the women. We’ll do the rest.” Everyone began to move quickly to their assigned tasks. Cameron did get the buggy ready and helped the women load some items into the back boot. He told Lyle where to head once they were finished and then he left to head to the next farm.

  The family loaded up and began the slow process in the buggy to get out of the way of the moving fire. Buggies only move about thirty-five miles per hour on a fast day. Lyle never saw the car zooming around the curve of the road as it slammed into the side of the buggy, turning it over and sending possessions and people all over the road. The man in the car got on his cell phone quickly to call 911. He then ran over to assist the battered family up and on their feet. Fortunately, there were only minor bruises and bumps. Lyle got a nasty cut on his head that was bleeding a bit. EMTs were close by and made it to the scene quickly. They began to assess everyone as Cameron drove up on the accident. He started counting heads as the dazed family stood around while their father was being tended to.

  Cameron grabbed Mary by the arm and asked in a tense tone, “Where’s Becca?”

  Mary looked around, realizing that she couldn’t see Becca either. “I don’t know. I thought she was with the boys.”

  Cameron released her arm and began to look around. He walked the ditch, but didn’t see anything close by. As he was coming up out of the ditch, he happened to look under the overturned buggy and saw an arm and part of a white kop sticking out.

  “She’s under the buggy,” he yelled. “Grab the side and we’ll turn it upright.”

  The boys and the EMT not caring for Lyle helped. Becca was lying on her back, unconscious and with an obvious compound fracture of her left leg. The emergency team quickly stabilized her leg, then got her and her uncle into the ambulance. As they left, sirens screaming, Cameron waved the rest of the family into his truck to follow the ambulance.

  He drove at breakneck speed. As they turned a fast corner, Mary asked Cameron to please slow down, as she wanted to keep the rest of her family safe.

  They arrived at the ER in one piece. Once Cameron had settled them in, found out how Becca and Lyle were doing and checked on them, he had to leave to get back to the job at hand; the fire. The same thought pounded through his mind as he worked. “What did I do forcing them to leave the farm? It’s my fault they got in the accident. What if Becca had died? It would devastate me.” Cameron played it over and over in his head.

  A week went by with clean-up of the roads and forest keeping Cameron and his crew very busy. He did check and found out that Lyle and Becca were both at home and recovering. Mary explained that Becca would need two more surgeries to fix her leg. Cameron winced when he heard that, but knew that he needed to stay away. He remembered Lyle’s dressing down the last time he tried to be a good friend. He didn’t think he needed another confrontation with the older man.

  That all sounded good and well, for about another two weeks. Cameron found himself driving past mile marker 136 more frequently than he need
ed to. It certainly wasn’t on his way to anywhere he needed to go. And, Becca was on his mind daily. Seeing the flashback of her lying under that buggy, lifeless, hurt, and pale just about drove him crazy.

  *****

  He found the truck heading down the road on its own volition past the farm one day. He started to drive by. The truck seemed to just turn into the drive to the Geist house without him trying.

  “I can’t do this any longer, I’ll go crazy,“ he thought to himself. “Guess I’ll just have to get an earful from her uncle because I want to see Becca and tell her I care.”

  Sure enough, the screen door swung open and there stood Lyle, a scowl on his face.

  “Well, I see you found your way back here again,” Lyle said in a gruff voice as he stepped off the porch. “We already had this conversation, but if you being here will bring some light back into those blue eyes of hers, I guess I have to let you come in.”

  Lyle stood aside and motioned for Cameron to go in the door. Cameron hesitated for just a minute, then proceeded in, holding the door open for Lyle to show him the way. The two men stepped into the cool living room. Becca lay on the couch, her right leg casted up under her dress and propped on pillows to elevate it. Cameron knew that she couldn’t move without help and immediately felt remorse for demanding that they leave their home during the fire.

  “This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been such a bully. The fire never made it this far,” Cameron muttered under his breath.

  Becca looked at him funny. He muttered louder than he thought because she said, “Nonsense, you were only doing your job. The man driving that car like crazy hit us. It is that simple and has nothing to do with you.”

  Cameron could feel his face turning red as he listened to her. “Great, now she thinks I’m an idiot,” Cameron thought. Out loud, he asked, “How are you feeling? Having a lot of pain?”

  Becca replied, “Oh, there is some, but I am doing well. In another few weeks they will remove this cast and then see if they will have to operate again. The doctor told me it might take several surgeries for the leg to heal properly. But, God is good. I didn’t lose my life and no one else was hurt badly. I am grateful for that. Although, I am getting quite bored just sitting around. Aunt Mary has so much to get done, and I know that the financial burden on the family is great. I feel so lazy.” Becca smiled. Cameron noted that her smile lit up the whole room and her blue eyes just sparkled under those thick lashes. He was falling fast all over again. As Lyle stood watching from the kitchen door, he could see the love in both children’s eyes. He turned back into the kitchen, pondering what he saw.

  Cameron spent most of his free time out at the farm. He would carry Becca out to the porch where she could get some air and sun. Sometimes, he would place her on the seat under the big oak tree by the swing set where she would read to him from her bible and they would have big discussions over whether there was a God. Becca was flabbergasted that he didn’t have any faith given his profession. He tried to explain to her that people created their own hell on Earth, and if there was a God, why did he let all those bad things happen to people? The argument got heated sometimes, but Cameron found himself listening to Becca and admiring her all the more for her staunch belief in a Higher Power. He still had a hard time wrapping his brain around the concepts as she read, but he was listening.

  As the days moved on, Cameron talked a bit more about himself. He shared that life was not easy for him growing up. His mom was restless and his dad had moved on when he was about seven, so there was no stability in his young life. His mom worked various jobs and tried her best, but there was no money for anything. He was teased a lot by the other kids in school and learned early on to “take care of business.”

  Becca frowned and asked, “What does that mean, taking care of business?”

  Cameron shrugged his shoulders and looked off into the distance, remembering all the fights he had to endure to prove he was tough enough.

  “A lot of fights, so the bullies would leave me alone, I guess. I got pretty good at standing my ground.”

  “Oh,” Becca replied. “That must have been hard for you. Did that happen a lot?”

  “Yeah, until I got old enough to join the service. I went into the Army, became a grunt and got to fight daily for money. It wasn’t too bad, but I lost a lot of respect for humanity after seeing some of the things I saw.”

  Becca processed what she had heard. “The Amish don’t believe in war and fighting. We know, from the Bible, that God doesn’t want us to fight or kill, but rather show love and arrive at a mutual understanding. The pain and heartache of war is not something we want any part of.” She paused again. “What is a ‘grunt’?” she asked.

  Cameron laughed, a booming sound that filled the yard. The dogs began to bark, joining their voices with him. Once he got his breath back, he smiled. “That is someone who does the jobs that no one else wants to do—the grunt work, the dirty work.”

  “Hmm.” Becca nodded. “That doesn’t sound like a very nice word, rather demeaning, I would think.”

  Cameron nodded in agreement. He looked closely at Becca and noticed that her face was pale, and she had begun to wiggle in her seat, signs that she was hurting and tired.

  He stood up. “Okay, young lady, it’s time you took a nap and I go to find the boys for some fishing. Here you go.” Cameron lifted her up into his arms like she weighed nothing. Becca liked being held in this strong, brave man’s arms. She thought that she could do this for a very long time. Her heart beat just a bit faster as she thought about what it would be like to be married to Cameron. She could feel the tight muscles and liked to be so close to his face. Some days his face would have a fuzzy look when he hadn’t shaved. She wanted to rub the roughness, feel it against her cheek. His soft dark hair that curled just a bit on the ends and shined so brightly in the sun.

  Cameron carried her in his arms as he got that hitch in his chest again. The feeling was coming more and more frequently, and he began to think that he was falling in love. Becca’s hair was so pretty, what he could see under her “jop’’ or bonnet. Those brilliant blue eyes that looked so innocent and yet so wise. The slim body that felt so right in his arms. Cameron struggled to keep from kissing her. He knew he couldn’t, it would be ‘unseemly’ as Becca liked to say. “She would be a wonderful wife, but it can never be. I know that.” The thought saddened him, but he would never show Becca how he felt. He couldn’t break her heart. It had been broken so much in the last year. Just friends.

  Becca gradually healed and was able to walk gingerly on her leg again. Cameron continued to come out to the farm every time he had time off from work, helping Becca to gain strength in her leg by taking her for walks on the banks of the creek. When they stopped to rest, Becca would pull out her Bible from her pocket and read a verse or story. The never-ending conflict over who was right continued. Finally, one day, the dam broke and feelings overflowed.

  Becca shut her Bible with a loud thump as she looked at Cameron, her eyes blazing. “You ignorant English. You won’t even try to understand our simple life. You seem to be so caught up in your foolishness and technology, you can’t even find a way to let God into your life. Please take me back to the house. I’m tired and hurting. I need to rest.” Once Becca began, she could hear herself telling him all that she felt in her heart. She could see Cameron shutting down. She wanted to stop berating him, but couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Oh, foolish girl, now you have done it!” she thought.

  Cameron could feel himself building up to a decent outrage as Becca slammed him to the ground with her words. The worst part about it was that she was right. He knew it in his heart but couldn’t accept it in his mind. Without a word he lifted her up and began to carry her to the house. He set her down by the porch.

  He looked her in the eyes and answered back finally, his tone terse and clipped. “Seems to me like you have spoken your piece, so now you can listen to me. I don’t care for all of this pacifist garbag
e. I think you hide behind it to stay away from reality. Grow up, Becca, and see that there is a whole lot more out there than you can imagine tucked up in your little cocoon here. I won’t bother you again. I’m leaving.” With that, Cameron got into his pick-up and left. Becca stood there until the dust settled back on the road. She sighed and went into the house. Her heart was heavy.

  *****

  Cameron poured himself into his job to take away the pain of walking away from Becca. The other firemen would make comments about how the engines were never as shiny before or that people could eat off the firehouse floor due to Cameron’s OCD when it came to cleanliness. The chief just said it always looked nice and a clean firehouse meant that the men did over and above their job description to keep it that way. It showed people could trust them with their lives. Cameron just told them that cleanliness was close to Godliness, whatever that meant, and would walk away. He worked out daily, did go to fish on occasion but otherwise didn’t have much of a social life.

  Internally, Cameron fought strongly with himself over what he had learned from the Bible and talking to Becca about the meanings of the scriptures. He mulled it over constantly, trying to get his head wrapped around the idea loving of someone he couldn’t see or talk to. He had always been straightforward that way, the facts were the facts and couldn’t be disputed. This faith thing was nebulous and not easily explained. In spite of his doubts, he knew that Becca was probably right.

  Becca missed Cameron, the daily walks and conversation about the scriptures. She was always so much calmer around Cameron and could think clearly. She missed his booming laughter and the gentle way he treated her. She prayed constantly for understanding, for a way to help Camron see all that he could have in God’s love. She prayed about her doubts, asking for continued strength.