“It was an accident. I’m sure you didn’t do it on purpose.” Lydia smiled and gave Dennis’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I shouldn’t have been standing so close to where you were fishing.”
Menno handed Lydia a fishing pole. “Since it doesn’t look like Ike’s going to use this, would you like to try your hand at fishing?”
“Sure, I’ll give it a try.” Lydia took the pole and positioned herself on the grass.
As Levi and his family shared a picnic supper at the pond, he had a hard time taking part in all the joking and silly bantering that was going on.
“Say, did ya take a bath last night?” Andy asked Peter as he poked his arm.
Peter snickered. “Why? Is there one missin’?”
Andy groaned. “Very funny. Ha! Ha!”
“Could you pass me the potato salad?” Betty asked.
Peter yawned and took his sweet time handing Betty the bowl of potato salad.
Betty frowned. “You’re the laziest boy I know. Don’t you do anything fast?”
“Jah, I get tired real fast.”
Everyone but Levi laughed. He felt nothing but irritation as he struggled not to watch Lydia and Menno sitting beside each other at the edge of the pond.
“Did you hear that the smartest man in the world is becoming deaf?” Pop asked, nudging Mom’s arm.
“No, tell me about it,” she said.
Pop leaned closer to Mom and cupped his hand around his ear. “Eh? What was that you said?”
Everyone roared. Everyone but Levi. He just couldn’t take his eyes off Lydia.
“What do you say, Levi?” Mom asked. “Should I cut the pie into six or eight pieces?”
Levi shrugged in reply.
“Better make it six,” Pop said. “Don’t think I can eat eight pieces all by myself.”
Selma snickered. “Ha! That’s a good one, Pop.”
Someone hollered, and Levi glanced toward the pond. A couple of Menno’s boys were running back and forth on the grass behind Menno and Lydia, tossing water balloons around. Suddenly, one of the balloons sailed through the air and smacked Selma right in the face!
“I can’t see!” Selma covered her eye and rocked back and forth. “My aage hurts, and it’s swellin’ shut!”
CHAPTER 32
Let me have a look at your eye.” Mom pulled Selma’s hands away from her face. “Ach, it’s all red, and you’re right, it’s beginning to swell really bad.”
“I think we should go home right now and call one of our drivers to take Selma to the hospital emergency room,” Levi said.
“Let’s try to get the swelling down before we make a decision on that.” Pop turned to Mom. “Don’t you have some ice we can put on it?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Mom reached into the cooler and withdrew a small ice pack. “Hold this against your eye for a while, and we’ll see if it gets any better,” she told Selma.
Levi picked up the soggy water balloon and ground his teeth. So much for their fun-filled picnic supper! “One of Menno’s boys threw this, and I’m going over there and find out who it was.” He leaped to his feet and dashed through the tall grass between them.
“What’s wrong? You look umgerennt,” Menno said when Levi strode up to him.
“I am upset. Two of your boys were tossing water balloons around, and one of them hit Selma in the eye.”
“Is she okay?” Lydia asked before Menno could respond. She looked genuinely concerned.
“We don’t know yet. Her eye’s all red and starting to swell shut.”
“Which one of my boys threw the balloon?” Menno questioned.
Levi shrugged. “Didn’t see who threw it; just saw them tossing the balloons around. We were about to have some dessert when—wham!—Selma got hit in the eye. Right after that your boys darted into the woods.”
“I’m sorry about your sister’s eye, and I’ll take care of my boys right away.” Menno stalked off toward wooded area behind them.
When Menno entered the woods, he discovered Dennis and Carl crouched behind a tree. “Come out here, you two, and be quick about it!”
The boys stepped out, faces red and heads hanging down.
“Were you throwing water balloons?”
Dennis nodded.
“Where’d you get them?”
“Brought ’em from home,” Carl said. “We filled the balloons with water from our hose and put ’em in a box in the back of our buggy.”
“Which one of you threw the water balloon that hit Selma Stutzman in the eye?”
“It wasn’t me,” Carl said.
Dennis shook his head. “Wasn’t me, neither.”
Menno’s brows furrowed, and he clenched his fingers. “Well, one of you did it, and if you don’t own up to it right now, I’ll break a switch from one of these trees and give you both a bletsching.”
Dennis squirmed nervously, and Carl started to cry.
“It…it was me, Papa, but I…I didn’t do it on purpose.” Carl sniffed a couple of times. “Wasn’t aimin’ at Selma a’tall.”
“That’s right,” Dennis put in. “We were tryin’ to see who could throw the farthest, and Carl’s balloon didn’t make it too far.”
“You shouldn’t have been pitching water balloons so close to where the Stutzmans were sitting, and you should have checked with me first before you brought the water balloons from home.” Menno was tempted to follow through with his threat to spank the boys, but decided he should wait until he was calmer to decide how to discipline them.
“Come with me now.” He took both boys by the arm.
“Where are we goin’?” Carl’s lower lip trembled.
“You need to tell Selma you’re sorry, and then we’ll be heading for home.”
“Do we hafta go so soon?” Dennis whined. “I haven’t done any fishin’ yet.”
“If you’d wanted to fish so bad, you wouldn’t have been fooling around with water balloons.”
Menno led the boys over to where the Stutzmans were gathered around Selma. Lydia was there, too, talking with Levi’s mother.
“Is she going to be all right?” Menno asked Levi’s father.
Harold shrugged. “Don’t know yet. Her eye’s still swollen, and she says that everything looks blurry.”
“I’m real sorry this happened, and now my boys have something to say.” Menno nudged Carl’s arm.
“Sorry,” Carl said in a shaky voice. “I wasn’t aimin’ the water balloon at you, Selma.”
Dennis gave a nod. “It was just an accident.”
“We figured that,” Nona said in a gentle tone of voice.
Selma said nothing; just sniffed and rocked back and forth as she held the ice pack against her eye.
“You should have been watching where you were throwing those things,” Levi admonished. “You know, I read in the Budget not long ago about a boy in Missouri who lost his eyesight after getting hit in the face with a water balloon. You ought to be more careful from now on.”
“We will,” Dennis and Carl both said.
Menno looked at Lydia. “I think it’s time we gathered up our things and headed for home.”
“We’d better go, too,” Harold said. “After what Levi told us about that boy in Missouri, we’re not taking any chances. Selma needs to have her eye looked at this evening.”
Lydia leaned closer to Nona and said, “I’ll be praying that there will be no permanent damage to Selma’s eye.”
Nona smiled. “We’ll appreciate the prayers.”
Lydia rose to her feet and followed Menno to his buggy. I probably have no chance with Lydia now, he thought. Who’d want to be a mother to my troublesome boys?
Lydia was quiet on the ride home, thinking about Selma and worrying about her eye. She was glad the Stutzmans planned to see that Selma’s eye was looked at right away. Something like this could be very serious if left untreated, and it would be tragic if Selma lost the sight in her eye.
“You’re not sayin’ much.” Me
nno reached across the seat and placed his hand on Lydia’s arm. “Are you upset because our evening was cut short?”
“No, I’m concerned about Selma.”
He nodded. “Hopefully she’ll be all right. Think I’ll stop by their place tomorrow to find out for sure.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“I feel bad about you seein’ my boys act up like they did this evening. It seems like they’re always getting into some kind of trouble.”
Lydia glanced over her shoulder. All four boys were slouched in their seats with their eyes closed. Were they sleeping or keeping quiet so Menno didn’t yell at them any more?
“I know I’ve said this before, but it’s been hard for me to handle them since their mamm died,” Menno said quietly. “As time goes by, it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier.”
“I think it’s always harder for a parent to raise a child alone.”
“Or in my case, four rowdy kinner.” Menno’s lips compressed. “There’s so much responsibility resting on my shoulders. Sometimes I feel like I might cave in.”
“Have you thought about moving back to Pennsylvania where your family lives? I’m sure you’d have a lot of help there.”
He pulled back on the reins to slow the horse, as it had begun to trot when they neared Lydia’s driveway. “When Sadie first died, my sisters practically begged me to move back to Pennsylvania, but my business is here, and I need to keep it going so I can support my family.”
“I understand. That’s the reason I moved to Ohio—so I could find a job to support myself and Josh.” She sighed and relaxed against the seat. “I haven’t been living in Charm very long, but I’ve made many new friends, and it’s finally beginning to feel like home.”
“It felt like home to me until Sadie died. Now our house feels like an empty building instead of a home.” Menno glanced over at Lydia and cleared his throat. “I’ve thought about getting married again. If my boys had a mother, I’m sure they’d settle right down.”
Lydia shifted uneasily. Was Menno hinting that he might be considering her as a candidate for marriage? Oh, surely not. They didn’t know each other well enough for that. He was probably just making conversation.
“Looks like your boys might have fallen asleep,” she said, glancing over her shoulder again.
“Humph! They may as well enjoy their rest now, because when we get home there’ll be plenty of chores for them to do—especially Carl and Dennis.”
Menno guided his horse up to the hitching rail, jumped down, and helped Lydia from the buggy. “Maybe we can have another picnic sometime before the fall weather sets in,” he said with a hopeful expression.
“Maybe so.” She lifted her picnic basket out of the buggy. “I’ll see you at church tomorrow, Menno. Tell the boys I said good-bye.”
“Sure will.”
Lydia hurried toward the house, anxious to tell Mom about her evening and what had happened to Selma’s eye.
When she stepped into the house, she found that none of the gas lamps had been lit in the kitchen or living room. That was strange. Mom usually made sure there was light in all the downstairs rooms as soon as the sun started going down.
“Mom, I’m home,” Lydia called. “Where are you?”
No answer. Just the steady tick-tock from the clock on the fireplace mantel.
“Mom, are you here?”
Still no response.
Lydia lit the lamp hanging over the kitchen table and glanced around to see if Mom might have left a note. Maybe she’d gone out for a walk or had decided to pay a call on one of her friends. There was no note in sight, however.
Lydia was about to head outside to see if Mom’s horse and buggy were there, when she decided to check upstairs first. Maybe Mom was in her room with the door shut and didn’t hear Lydia calling.
Lydia quickly ascended the stairs, and when she got to the top, she halted. Mom lay in the hallway. Beside her was a ladder tipped on its side.
CHAPTER 33
I’m really sorry about this,” Mom said as Lydia helped her get settled in bed.
Lydia shook her head. “It’s not your fault you fell and broke your arm.”
“I shouldn’t have climbed that rickety old ladder.” Mom yawned noisily. “But I couldn’t reach the shelf in my closet where I store some of my material, and…” She yawned again. “I’m feeling so sleepy. Can barely keep my eyes open.”
“You have every right to be tired. We’ve just spent the last several hours at the hospital, and now it’s past midnight. Besides, the doctor said the pain medicine he gave you would make you sleepy.”
Mom’s forehead wrinkled as she frowned. “Thanks to my carelessness, I won’t be able to do any sewing or quilting. Sure can’t do that with only one good arm.” Tears welled in her eyes and splashed onto her cheeks. “So much for me helping out with our finances. I won’t be able to do most of the household chores now, either.”
Lydia patted Mom’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. Once the word gets out, I’m sure some of the women in our community will come over to help.”
“Just when I thought things were getting better. Just when…” Mom’s eyelids fluttered and then closed.
Lydia knew from the rise and fall of Mom’s chest that she’d fallen asleep. She turned off the battery-operated light by Mom’s bed and slipped quietly from the room.
Outside in the hall, she leaned heavily against the wall. Was there no end to their troubles? Things were just starting to go better, and now this!
“How’s your eye feeling?” Nona asked when Selma entered the kitchen on Sunday morning.
“It feels a little better, but it’s still swollen.”
“The doctor said it might take a few days for all the swelling to subside,” Nona said. “Your daed and I was so relieved when we were told that there was no permanent damage done to your eye.”
“I’m glad it’s an off-Sunday for us today,” Selma said. “I sure wouldn’t want to go to church and have everyone see me lookin’ like this.”
Nona glanced at the door leading to the kitchen. “Where’s Betty? Didn’t she come downstairs with you?”
“She did, but she’s in the bathroom.”
“While we’re waiting for her to join us, why don’t you get busy and set the table? The men and boys will be in from doing their chores soon, and it would be nice to have breakfast waiting for them.”
Selma went to the cupboard, climbed onto her stool, and took out some plates. She’d just placed them on the table when Levi stepped into the room. “How’s that eye doing this morning?” he asked.
“A little better, but there’s still some swelling, and everything’s a little blurry yet.”
“I still think Menno’s boys shouldn’t have been throwing water balloons so close to where you were sitting. I don’t think Menno pays enough attention to what his kinner are doing.”
Nona couldn’t help but notice Levi’s furrowed brows. Was he that upset about Selma’s eye, or was he irritated because Lydia had been with Menno and his boys at the pond? Nona thought she’d seen a look of jealousy on Levi’s face yesterday evening. She had a hunch that Menno was looking for a new wife, and she couldn’t really blame him for that. Those four boys needed a mother to help raise them. She just hoped it wouldn’t be Lydia he chose.
She’d been wishing Lydia and Levi might get together. She’d seen the way Levi looked at Lydia and felt sure he was fighting his attraction to her. Should she try to convince him to pursue a relationship with Lydia, or would that push him further away?
If only she could make Levi see that he was free to make a life of his own. Maybe it would have been better if he’d been born with dwarfism like the rest of her children. At least then he wouldn’t think he had to do everything for them.
Church was being held in Bishop Yoder’s buggy shop, less than a mile from Menno’s place. Since the boys had fooled around so much while getting ready, he’d been glad that they hadn’t had to travel far
, or they surely would have been late.
As Menno took a seat on a bench on the men’s side of the room, he quickly scanned the faces of the women sitting across from him. There was no sign of Lydia or her mother.
He glanced over at Carl and Dennis, already beginning to fidget on their bench, and hoped he wouldn’t have to end up taking one of them out this morning. Never when Sadie was alive had the boys been disruptive during church. She’d always managed to maintain control. He needed a mother for his boys.
I wonder if everything’s all right with Lydia. Seems strange that neither she nor her mamm are here today. Think I’ll drop the boys off at home after church and head over to Mae’s place to see what’s up.
Lydia had just taken the teakettle from the stove when she heard a horse and buggy pull into the yard. Not wishing to wake Mom, who was asleep in the living room, she quickly opened the door and stepped outside.
When the horse and buggy pulled up to the hitching rail, she was surprised to see Menno step down.
“I was concerned when I didn’t see you at church today,” he said as she approached his buggy. “Wondered if you’d gotten sick or something.”
Lydia shook her head. “My mamm fell and broke her arm last night. She’s not feeling up to going anywhere right now.”
Menno’s eyebrows shot up. “How’d that happen?”
Lydia explained what had happened, then added, “We didn’t get home from the hospital until close to midnight, so we were both pretty tired this morning.”
“I can imagine, and I’m sorry to hear about Mae. Is she in much pain?”
“She is, but the pain pills help with that, although they make her sleepy. We saw the Stutzmans when we were at the hospital last night,” Lydia added, “but I never got a full report on how Selma’s eye is doing.”
“I stopped by their place before I came here,” he said. “Selma’s eye looked a little better, and Nona said the doctor told them there’d be no permanent damage.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Lydia glanced toward the house, thinking she really should check on Mom.
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