The Amish Wonders Collection

by Ruth Reid

  “The baby won’t be harmed,” the doctor said. “Lindie was a partial match. Not good enough, but the baby’s cord is a foreseeable alternative.”

  Lindie nodded.

  Josiah stared at her. Hard. Did she forget he wasn’t the baby’s father? There wouldn’t be a match. “I don’t think you’ve thought this through,” he said. He turned to Doctor Ethridge. “Perhaps Lindie hasn’t explained. I’m not the father.” Her sharp intake of breath answered the question, but he continued anyway. “The baby wouldn’t be a match.”

  Without the slightest reaction, Doctor Ethridge folded his hands and rested them on the desk. “I understand your concern. Of course given your Amish heritage and the rarity of your blood type, it would be better if the baby was yours, or at least from another Amish.” He glanced at Lindie.

  She shook her head.

  “A significant amount of data shows that an embryonic stem-cell transplant is a viable option in cases where a bone marrow match hasn’t been found. Even a marginal match has shown some success. It’s an option to consider.”

  Josiah lowered his head and nodded even though his mind hadn’t had time to sift all the information.

  “There is a drawback,” the doctor said.

  Josiah lifted his head.

  “Doctor Cole, who has agreed to take your case, doesn’t practice in the state of Michigan. You would have to relocate.”

  “To where?”

  “His clinic is in Cleveland, Ohio.”

  “That’s perfect.” Lindie’s face lit. “That isn’t too far from Middlefield. We can stay with Eli and Margaret and get an Englisch driver to take us to the clinic.” She spoke fast and used animated hand gestures.

  The cost hadn’t dawned on her yet. It was highly unlikely that Doctor Cole would trade services for Amish-built furniture.

  “Josiah, don’t you think it’s wunderbaar? An answer to prayer, jah?”

  “Is there any way you can do it here?” he asked Doctor Ethridge.

  He shook his head. “That’s outside my scope of practice, but Doctor Cole is an excellent physician. He leads the research team.”

  “But he’s probably expensive. I can’t afford—”

  Doctor Ethridge lifted his hand. “I’ve already explained that you don’t have insurance and that your finances are limited.”

  “And he will work with me on a payment plan?”

  “He plans to add you to his research study so grant money will cover your expenses, excluding transportation and living expenses. However, he isn’t sure about the baby delivery. He said he would check with the hospital administration about their Good Samaritan program and see if there is something that can be done.”

  Lindie, perched on the edge of her seat, leaned forward. “We have midwives in my district. I don’t have to go to the hospital.”

  Doctor Ethridge shook his head. “I’m sure Doctor Cole will want the umbilical cord immediately after delivery.”

  She wilted against the back cushion of the chair.

  “That’s a lot of details to work out before Lindie has the baby,” Josiah said. “She’s due in two and a half months.”

  “Doctor Cole requested you come now so they can do a pre-workup. It’s also a good idea for Lindie to get established with a physician there as soon as possible in the chance she does deliver early.” He tapped the closed file. “I’ll have copies printed of both of your charts so you can take the records with you.”

  Lindie reached her hand out to Josiah’s as though she sensed his apprehension. “This is gut news, jah?”

  He forced a smile. “A lot to think about.”

  Time isn’t a luxury we have. Lindie wanted to scream. Josiah needed a transplant. Why was he hesitating?

  Doctor Ethridge tore a prescription off his pad and handed it to Josiah. “This will help stimulate your appetite.”

  Josiah folded the paper in half and shoved it into his pocket.

  Doctor Ethridge slid his chair back from his desk and stood. “Talk it over and let me know what you decide.”

  She tried to prod him with her eyes to accept now, but he avoided her completely and merely nodded at the doctor.

  “When can we pick up a copy of the records?” She wasn’t wishy-washy. This news was the morsel of hope they needed.

  “Check with my receptionist at the front desk before you leave. I’m sure she can have them ready by tomorrow.”

  Lindie stopped at the office window, signed the papers to release the records, and arranged to pick them up the following day. Josiah had gone ahead and was untying Molly from the post when she reached the buggy.

  He handed her the reins. She’d driven home after the last infusion so it wasn’t a surprise when he climbed into the passenger side. His silence rattled her.

  “I’ll stop at the drugstore so we can get the prescription filled.”

  “Nay,” he said quietly. “Let’s go home.”

  “It’s going to help your appetite.” He simply looked at her with a hardened stare and she clamped her mouth closed. Maybe his cottony-white complexion had something to do with his snappiness. She pulled back on the reins, slowing Molly. “You don’t look well. Should I pull over?”

  “Jah, you might better. I’m feeling queasy.”

  A spot opened along the curb in front of the drugstore and she stopped the horse.

  He didn’t jump out immediately. His eyes closed and he drew in a long breath and released it. “It might pass,” he said.

  “You rest a minute. I’m going to drop off your prescription.” She scurried off the bench before he said something to stop her, but got to the door and had to turn around. “I need the prescription.”

  He made a muffled noise, something between a groan and growl, and dug his hand into his pocket. “It didn’t work the last time.”

  “You’ve lost too much weight nett to try. Besides, I’m lonely eating without you.”

  The hardness in his eyes disappeared in a flash. He bowed his head. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, Lindie.”

  She reached for his hand. “Don’t apologize. I’m your fraa. I love you.”

  Once Lindie helped Josiah into bed, she filled Simon in on the good news. With Hannah visiting her father, Lindie could speak openly.

  “I think this treatment in Ohio will work, but Josiah is discouraged. He keeps telling me nett to get mei hopes up.”

  Simon nodded. “He knows how sick he is and he’s concerned about you.”

  “He needs to be concerned about eating. He’s nett going to regain his strength without proper nourishment.”

  Simon’s smile looked strained. “You’ve taken gut care of Josiah and Hannah.” He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry that I gave you a hard time when you first arrived.”

  “I understand. It would have been difficult to lose Caroline and then to lose your fraa less than a year later.”

  He nodded. “I didn’t want to lose Josiah and Hannah too.”

  Lindie reached out and patted Simon’s hand. “That won’t ever happen.”

  “God had a reason for sending you.” Simon nodded as though affirming his statement. “Josiah needed a helpmate.”

  “Denki, Simon.” Denki, God, for bringing us all together as a family.

  Hannah shuffled into the kitchen, her eyes blotchy and swollen.

  Lindie wrapped the girl in a hug, then pulled back to ask what was wrong. The only thing she could decipher from Hannah’s reply was her prayers didn’t work. “Mei father is sick.”

  Simon confirmed what Hannah had signed.

  Lindie released Hannah. “I better check on him.”

  Simon stretched out his arms toward Hannah and hugged his granddaughter as Lindie rushed out of the room.

  “I wish you would have taken her out.” Bent over the bed, Josiah dry heaved into the trash can. “I didn’t want her to see me like this.” His throat sounded hoarse. He flopped back on his pillow, sweat rolling down his face.

  She removed the
glass of water from the side table and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Take a sip of water. Your throat will feel better.”

  His hand trembled as he lifted the glass to his mouth.

  Lindie made a mental to-do list. She would write Eli and Margaret tonight. Her brother and sister-in-law had plenty of room with the empty grossdaadi haus.

  Josiah handed her back the glass. “Denki.”

  “I’m going to let Eli know we’re coming. Do you want me to have him go over to your parents’ district and talk with them in person? Or should I send them a note to tell them when we will be arriving?”

  “Neither.”

  “Josiah, you’re nett changing your mind about going.” Lindie’s tone came out forceful.

  “Wait until after I see Doktah Cole. I don’t want them to get their hopes up too.”

  Lindie wasn’t going to quarrel with him. First she had to get him on the bus. Until now, her sole focus had been on Josiah’s new treatment option. She hadn’t considered what it would be like to return to Middlefield—married.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Lindie leaned her head against the windowpane of the bus. It seemed as though they’d been traveling for days when they hadn’t even crossed the Mackinac Bridge yet. Instead of blue open water, the straits appeared iced-over. So many things had changed since the northbound trip she made with Eli four months ago.

  The baby’s sharp kick to the ribs followed by a stiff blow to the bladder caused her to wince. Shifting on the seat proved only a temporary fix. The baby kicked again, this time harder. She repositioned herself once more.

  “What are you so antsy about?” Josiah’s eyes traveled over her and stopped on her hand holding her belly. “Is the boppli kicking?”

  “Jah.” She smiled, hoping it covered her worry. Traveling such a long distance during her last trimester wasn’t wise, but it wasn’t avoidable either. The baby’s activity had increased dramatically just recently. She rubbed her belly. Don’t arrive too early. She whispered the same thing to the baby a few days ago when she’d grown so uncomfortable it seemed like she might deliver in Cedar Ridge. Baby arrivals were unpredictable. Delivering on a bus would ruin everything.

  The bus rattled over the bridge, jiggling her bladder. If memory served her, on the northbound trip they stopped about an hour before the bridge. She hoped her bladder could hold for another hour. She winced again. It didn’t help that Hannah had fallen asleep with her head on Lindie’s lap.

  “I’ll get her to move.” Josiah nudged Hannah’s shoulder.

  Smiling sweetly, Hannah turned, but toward Lindie. If it weren’t for the child being deaf, she would have thought Hannah was trying to listen to the baby the way she held her ear pressed against Lindie. The kicking stopped and Lindie’s breathing eased.

  Josiah closed his eyes. Since he had started taking the appetite-stimulating medicine and was eating three meals a day again, he’d regained some of his strength. Still, sitting upright for so long had to be difficult.

  His seat beside the window was drafty even though the farther south they traveled, the less snow was on the ground. March was only days away. Margaret would need help tilling and planting the garden. Her sister-in-law usually sold seeds and rhubarb bulbs in early spring, so Lindie looked forward to helping with the roadside stand.

  The mud-tinged snow from the heavy traffic always made it look gloomy. Still, the scenery wasn’t as dismal today as she remembered it being on the day she rode the bus north. Dejected and unsure of her future, she’d wept most of that trip. Eli had tried so hard to reassure her about Josiah.

  I promise my name, not my heart . . .

  She remembered not wanting to look Josiah in the eye, and how he’d offered to buy her a ticket home. She had wanted to stay, but for the wrong reasons. Living another state away from her attacker was worth agreeing to any marital terms. An icy chill sped down her spine. She didn’t want to remember why she left Ohio.

  Focus on Josiah.

  She inhaled as deeply as she could, held her breath, then released it slowly, letting her body go limp in the process.

  Things were different. She was with Josiah. Married. In love. Safe.

  The bus pulled into the station late. The sudden flash of overhead lights inside the bus caused Lindie to squint. She shielded her eyes from the glare, giving them time to adjust. Hannah did the same.

  Lindie gathered Hannah’s sketch pad and the cloth sack she’d packed their lunches in, along with the small quilt they’d shared to keep warm.

  Josiah lumbered stiffly down the bus aisle, Hannah and Lindie following. Eli met them on the platform. Her brother took one look at Josiah and ushered him and Hannah to the Englisch neighbor’s van. Lindie waited for the baggage.

  Eli returned from the passenger pickup area. “It’s hard to believe that is Josiah,” he said, shaking his head.

  “He’s lost weight.”

  “Jah.” Eli nodded. “I thought for a moment he was wearing some type of talc on his face he looked so white.”

  “Wait until you see him in better light.” She eyed the baggage as the workers unloaded the underneath storage compartment of the bus.

  “Margaret fixed up the grossdaadi haus so he will be able to rest uninterrupted.”

  “Denki.” She wished she could offer a happier greeting, but she was exhausted.

  “How are you feeling?”

  “Tired. Fat.” She cracked a smile and tapped her belly. “Six weeks to go is all.”

  “It seems like you’ve been away longer.”

  “I suppose.”

  He scratched the back of his neck, shifted his feet, then took a few aimless steps in a large circle and stopped. He opened his mouth, but closed it. Instead of speaking, he stroked his beard.

  She’d seen this look before, he was struggling to form his questions. “I suppose you’re wondering if mei arranged marriage was the right decision,” she said. “Jah, it was. You were right about Josiah. He is kind and gentle and has never once treated me harshly.”

  “Some of your letters were nett so . . .”

  “I know. I was homesick and feeling out of place, but I adjusted eventually.”

  “No regrets?”

  She shook her head. “Nett one.” Her eyes widened. “Speaking of letters, I need to mail a note to Simon so he knows we arrived safely.” She rummaged through her handbag and removed the letter she had already written and addressed.

  “There’s a mailbox next to the building,” Eli said.

  She spotted their bags as the attendant set them on the concrete slab and pointed them out to her brother, who collected the two suitcases. Lindie deposited the letter in the slot on their way to the van.

  “Thanks for picking us up this late, George,” Lindie said, climbing in through the sliding side door. Judging from George’s double take, her pending motherhood surprised him. If this was how the neighbors would react, what would the members say? She hadn’t been gone that long. The math was simple enough to figure out that she was pregnant when she left. It wouldn’t be easy to face everyone again. Would Josiah be strong enough to endure the gossip?

  “Your husband mentioned you’ll need a ride to Cleveland the day after next. That isn’t a problem for me. Just let me know what time you need to be there and I’ll pick you up.”

  “It’s an early appointment.” She would ask Josiah, but his head bobs indicated he was almost asleep. She would dig through the paperwork later for the exact time.

  Their elderly neighbor merged into traffic.

  Eli, sitting in the front seat, must have noticed Josiah trying to sleep. He said very little and mostly to George, asking about the road conditions.

  The ground had only patches of snow. The roads shimmered as if they were wet. Probably slippery in patches too, if the freezing temperature blinking on George’s dashboard was correct.

  Lindie looked over her shoulder at Hannah buckled into the far backseat. Her heavy eyelids closed briefly, then shot open. Th
e child wouldn’t be able to fight sleep much longer with the vents blasting hot air. Lindie yawned. Hopefully Margaret would save her greetings until morning. Lindie wanted to go straight to bed.

  Sometime later the hum of the engine cut off. The interior lights came on at the same time an opened door dinged. Josiah repositioned himself from the slumped angle he’d fallen asleep in. Lindie tapped Hannah. No use signing they’d arrived, since the girl’s eyes were still closed.

  “I’ll carry Hannah,” Eli offered.

  Lindie was grateful. She wasn’t supposed to lift anything, and even though Hannah was small for her age, Josiah wasn’t steady on his feet.

  Margaret met them outside for a brief hug. “I’ll talk with you in the morning,” she said. “I just wanted to say hello tonight.”

  George unloaded the baggage and they all ambled toward the grossdaadi haus.

  Once inside, Eli lowered Hannah onto an already made-up cot in the bedroom. He and Josiah talked a little about the wood supply for the potbelly stove, then her brother and George left.

  Lindie changed into her nightdress and slipped under the covers next to Josiah. She remembered closing her eyes, then waking to the rooster’s crow.

  It took a moment for Josiah’s eyes to adjust to the sunshine streaming through the window. He glanced at the empty spot beside him. Across the room, the cot Hannah had slept on was also empty. He squinted at the wall clock. Noon? It must need batteries. He’d never slept this late.

  Josiah climbed out of bed. His legs wobbled beneath him. He made it as far as the footboard and had to hold on to it for support. Pathetic. The long bus ride yesterday had left him weak. He scanned the room for his clothes and groaned under his breath. What did Lindie expect him to do, leave the grossdaadi haus in his long johns to find his clothes? He barely had the energy to climb out of bed.

  The door creaked open and Lindie poked her head inside. “You’re up?”