She noticed that there were small bottles of shampoo and conditioner. She picked up the shampoo and read the label to see that it was a locally sourced product based on honey. Taking the risk of what an unknown product would do to her hard-to-control hair, Jane poured a small amount of shampoo into the palm of her hand and lathered it in. Once she'd rinsed, she applied the conditioner, pleased with its smell. After she had waited to let the conditioner do its work, she closed her eyes tightly and let the warm water flow over her whole body washing away every trace.
At the same time, Jane tried hard to visualize all her problems heading down the drain with the water. It worked for a couple of minutes, but then she reminded herself to call the life insurance company and make that claim. Back to the task of letting her problems go. She again pushed aside all worries, and all the things that still needed to be done, to imagine sitting under a waterfall, alone, with no worries and nothing that needed to be done.
Like they usually did, one thought came into her head, bringing another and then another. It was the insurance company call that she was now dwelling on. One bright spot in all she’d been through was that Sean had bought life insurance.
Jane stepped out of the shower and dried herself briskly with a white fluffy towel before she pulled on the robe and left the bathroom. Realizing her phone hadn’t rung all day, she fished it out of her bag wondering if the battery had gone dead.
It was on. Jane looked closely at the screen to read, “No service!” She’d have to use the phone in the reception area tomorrow to make some calls. Although she didn't have the life insurance policy number with her, surely they could look up the details from their end to get the claim underway.
She fished her hair dryer out of the drawer where she’d only just placed it, wondering how she could forget her shampoo and conditioner but remember her dryer and flat iron. As her naturally-curly hair was always frizzy, as soon as it was dry she always straightened it.
Back in the bathroom, she plugged the dryer in, remembering that her mother told her never to wash her hair at night. Her mother had died in a car accident when Jane was nineteen and she’d been on her own until she’d met Sean. It was odd that Sean would die in the same way as her mother had. Now she was well and truly on her own with no family, having no idea who or where her father was. Most of her friends were from work, and now that they hadn’t alerted her to what Derek was up to, she questioned their friendship.
When her hair was finally straight, Jane plastered night-cream on her face, exchanged the robe for her nightgown, grabbed one of the books she’d brought with her, and finally headed for bed. She hadn’t gotten two pages in when she fell asleep.
The next morning, Jane walked into the dining room to see only Gia and Zac sitting at the table.
No sooner had she sat down than Zac leaned toward her. “I’m sorry if I was rude last night. It seems we might have gotten off to a bad start.”
“I didn’t notice,” Jane said. Realizing that she might have sounded rude when he was offering an apology, she added, “All forgiven.”
“If you’d like, I can show you around and give you some history of the place this morning.”
“What about all the work you’ve got to do?”
Zac smiled. “I can’t do anything until I get a delivery which is expected around lunch time. So, I have the time.”
“I’d love that, thank you. The only thing is that I’ve got a few calls to make.”
“How about if I come back around ten?”
“That would be perfect.”
He poured Jane a cup of tea and pushed it forward to her.
“Thank you.”
“Can I come, Dat?” Gia asked.
“It’s schul for you today.”
“Again?”
“Jah, again.”
“I don’t wanna go. I wanna stay here with you.”
Zac said to his daughter, “You need to know things and schul will teach you these things.”
She hung onto her father’s hand and looked up at him. “You could teach me.”
“I could, but I’ve got things to do for grossdaddi and grossmammi.”
“Okay.”
He looked over at Jane. “I’ll be back at ten.”
“Okay, see you then,” she said, pleased to have something to occupy herself with. “Then I might spend the rest of the day reading. Tomorrow I might have a look around town and see what there is to see.” She took another mouthful of tea.
“My mother can tell you about what there is to do and see.”
“What will I do?”
They looked around to see Lizzie walking into the room.
Zac said, “I was just telling Jane that you’d be able to tell her what there is to do around here.”
“Yes, I’ll go through it with you later today. I’ve got lots of brochures of different places you can visit. I’ll dig them out. I put them away when I thought we’d be closed to the public.” Lizzie gave a good-hearted chuckle.
“Before my work colleague talked you into having me?”
“Yes. He was such a lovely man. He wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I wonder why he particularly wanted you to stay here?”
“It’s hard to tell with him, but he would’ve had some kind of a reason he wanted me here. He’s an enigma.”
“What’s…” Gia began before her father raised his hand to silence her.
“Remember what I told you about talking at the table?”
“It’s hard for me to remember that, Dat, when everyone else is talking.”
“Everyone else is an adult and you’re a child. If we’re to eat here with other guests when they come, they aren’t going to want to talk with a child all the time.”
Gia looked upset and Jane felt so sorry for her.
“Were you going to ask me what an enigma is, Gia?”
Gia nodded.
“An enigma is someone who is hard to understand—someone who is a little odd.”
Gia smiled and nodded as though she understood.
“Thank you for explaining that to her, Jane.”
Jane looked across at Zac, wondering if she’d undermined his authority by answering Gia’s question. By his sincere smile, she knew she hadn’t.
Once the girls came in with a breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages and fried tomatoes, Jane asked, “Where is Mr. Yoder this morning?”
“He’s not one for breakfast. He wakes up later in the day. You see, he stays up very late at night, and so he wakes up late too.”
“He must be a night owl,” Jane said.
Gia covered her mouth and giggled.
Jane and Zac looked at each other and exchanged smiles. Whatever aggravation there had been yesterday between Zac and herself, it seemed to be eroding.
“The breakfast was amazing, Lizzie,” Jane said when she’d finished.
Lizzie said, “Thank you. More hot tea?”
“No thanks. I’ve had more than enough of everything.”
“If you’ll excuse me, I’ll have to get Gia off to school. And I’ll see you at ten, Jane.”
When Zac left with Gia, Jane asked if she could use the phone in the reception area. Once she’d gotten the calls out of the way, she’d be able to relax.
As Jane left the dining room, she wondered if she should suggest to the Yoders that they have phones in each of the guest rooms. Perhaps that would be too much trouble for them and create more work. It was possible that the people who stayed so far away from everything didn’t want to be bothered by phones. And now that so many people had cell phones, it wasn't worth considering.
Jane fetched a pen and notebook from her room and headed to the phone. Picking up the receiver, she leaned against the reception desk and dialed her work number. As soon as she told Trudy, the receptionist, who she was, she was hung up on.
That’s strange! She hung up on me. No, we must’ve been cut off.
She dialed the number again, thinking it must’ve been a mistake, but when
the same thing happened again, she knew she’d have to call Tyrone directly. She’d been trying to get the gossip of what was going on from Trudy, and now Jane was truly worried about what was happening in her absence.
“This is Tyrone.”
“It’s me—Jane.”
“Why are you calling? You’re supposed to be having time off; and that means no contact with work.”
“I just called Trudy and she hung up on me—twice.”
“That’s under my orders. If you call anybody who works here, that’s the response you’ll get. Under my instructions, they’re going to end the call immediately.”
“That’s hardly fair.”
“You’re not being fair to yourself. Why do you think I’ve gone to all this trouble to get you to rest? It’s a paid vacation. Enjoy it!”
“I thank you for that, but you know I can’t relax and I’m not good at taking vacations.”
“You’ll have to learn, or what good are you going to be to the company?”
“What do you mean? I’m just worried that Derek might need help with the O’Connor account that I brought in. And I’m not so sure he’s the right person to look after the other accounts while I’m gone either. I didn’t have time to tell the board of directors at O’Connor and Gamble that I’d be gone for a few weeks. Have you called them yet?”
“Derek met with them yesterday.”
“What?” she shrieked.
“I said Derek had a meeting with them yesterday.”
“I heard what you said. I'm shocked. How could he have possibly arranged that so quickly?”
“It’s under control. Calm down. This business has to run without you.”
“Am I fired?”
Tyrone laughed. “No, of course not. You can’t be here all the time, though, especially not when you have the baby. Have you given thought to how drastically you’ll have to change things here?”
“I’ll manage, just like I’ve always managed. I am worried about Derek’s experience.”
“He's doing fine.”
“With what? He wouldn’t have had time to do anything to be ‘fine’ at. Except have that meeting with them, I suppose. I don’t know how he pulled that off so quickly.”
“Stop worrying! That's why I told everyone to hang up on you. And also your cell has been canceled.”
“What?”
“Canceled.”
“I thought it was out of range. You mean I can’t call out?”
“That’s right.”
“You cut it off? I need the phone; I'm pregnant if you hadn’t noticed. What if I have an emergency and need to use it?”
“Derek checked that when he suggested to cancel it. It’s enabled for 911 calls, but that’s all.”
“It was Derek’s idea?” She stamped her foot trying her best to stop herself from screaming. From that point on, the brakes were off. “Can’t you see that Derek has cooked up this whole scheme? He knows I hate the Amish and where does he send me? He’s been scheming to get my job from the beginning.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone; she knew she’d made a huge mistake by yelling at her boss and letting him know what she thought of Derek. This was exactly the reaction Derek would’ve wanted her to have. Her rant would be blamed on pregnancy hormones and that would be the next reason to keep her away from work.
“See how much you need this vacation? You’re being paranoid.”
“That’s it. I'm coming back today, Tyrone. I'm not going to put up with being put in a box like Derek’s trying to do. I can't relax here. I need to be working!”
“No! I'm your boss and I'm giving you a direct order. You are not coming back here until your vacation is over with. If you do, I’ll have security escort you off the premises.”
“I thought we were friends.”
“As your friend, I'm giving you the best advice I can, and that is to take a break— have this vacation and enjoy it.” After Jane didn’t speak, Tyrone added, “Look, why don't I pop down and see you in a couple of weeks?”
She nodded.
“Are you still there? Or have you hung up on me?”
“I nodded,” Jane said wiping a tear from her right eye.
“Go and do something relaxing and I'll see you in a couple of weeks.”
Tyrone ended the call.
It wasn’t good that Tyrone had so much confidence in the sneaky Derek.
Knowing there wasn’t much she could do about Tyrone and Derek, she looked down at the next phone number on the list—the life insurance company.
She knew she’d sounded like a crazy person on the phone, but Tyrone needed to see what Derek was really like.
After speaking for fifteen minutes with the woman at the claims department of the life insurance company, Jane still couldn't take in what the representative had told her. Sean had canceled his life insurance six months before he died. From what she understood, he’d cashed in the policy, and had gotten $30,000 from it. Where had the cash gone? It certainly hadn’t landed in their joint account. Now she’d have to phone the lawyer to see if he could trace the money. But not today
Now she had nothing—no life insurance money and nothing for the future of her child. All her hopes of paying off the mortgage had come to nothing. She hung up the phone and looked around, hoping no one had overheard what she was saying.
“Oh, I'm sorry, dear, are you finished with the phone?”
Everything faded around Jane and then she was engulfed in darkness. When she came to, she saw two fuzzy figures leaning over her. At first she didn't know where she was, and then she remembered she was with the Amish on a forced vacation. She tried to sit up, but when she remembered what Tyrone had said about Derek suggesting to cut off her phone, and what she’d found out about the life insurance money she was never going to get, all strength left her and she lay back down.
“Are you alright?” Lizzie asked while tapping on her hand.
“Yes, I think so. Did I faint?” She looked at the other person leaning over her to see that it was Tobias.
“Let’s get her over to the couch, Tobias.”
“Are you alright to stand?” Tobias asked.
She shook her head. “I don't think so. Not just yet; I need to stay here awhile.”
“A glass of water! Quick!” Lizzie ordered Tobias. While he was gone, Lizzie asked, “How far along are you?”
“Six months.”
“And have you had fainting spells before?”
“No, never. Do you think I have something—that something’s wrong with the baby?”
“I don't know, but I have a friend who’s a midwife and she’d be able to check you over and make sure everything’s okay.”
“Yes, yes please; that would be good. I have had all the tests and there was nothing wrong before. I hope nothing’s gone wrong.” All strength had left her body, so much so that she found it an effort even to speak.
“Don't worry about it. I'm sure your baby’s fine,” Lizzie said before she stood and took a couple of steps towards the phone. “I’ll call her now.”
“Thank you.”
While Lizzie made the call, Jane hoped it was only the nasty couple of shocks she’d gotten that caused her to faint.
Lizzie got off the phone just as Tobias handed Jane a glass of water.
“Can you sit up?” Tobias took the glass back and held it for her while she sat up.
“I spoke to my friend, and she’s coming now,” Lizzie said.
After Jane took a sip of water, she looked up at Lizzie. “That’s good. Thank you. I think I can stand now.”
“Help Jane to the couch, Tobias.” Lizzie placed the glass on the reception desk.
With Tobias holding one arm and Lizzie the other, Jane managed to get to the couch in the reception area. She was grateful that she was the only guest; there hadn't been other guests gawking at her when she'd fainted.
Chapter 6
My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness
; all the day long: for they are confounded,
for they are brought unto shame, that seek my hurt.
Psalm 71:24
* * *
Zac walked into the reception area from the rear of the house. He stared at Jane.
“Are you alright?”
His father looked up at him. “She fainted.”
“She fainted?” Zac rubbed his chin while staring at Jane. “Have you called the doctor, Mamm?”
“I've got Gracie coming out.”
He nodded. “Gut!”
“I'm sure I'm okay,” Jane said.
“Yes, you probably are, but it doesn't hurt to have you checked over, does it? You do look pale.”
Jane took a deep breath. “I suppose I am pale. I had a couple of calls with shocking news. Which I don't… I would rather not talk about.”
“Yes, shock probably caused the fainting,” Lizzie said.
“I can’t remember that I’ve ever fainted before in my life.”
Lizzie said, “We don't want to pry; we’re just concerned for your well-being.”
“Oh, Zac. You’ve come to show me around. I think I'll be okay to do that.” She tried to stand.
“You’ll do no such thing. Gracie will be here in ten minutes. She doesn't live far away; you must wait.”
“Yes, I’ll wait. Sorry, Zac. I'm sorry. I don't know what I'm thinking. Of course I'll wait for her.”
Zac walked closer. “Whatever disturbed you in those phone calls, for the sake of your baby you must not let it upset you.” His voice trailed off at the end.
Once she saw the concern in his face, she nodded. “I’ll try not to worry.”
But not worrying was easier said than done. A few seconds later, all she could think of was how much more important it was that she keep her job now that there was no life insurance money coming her way. She couldn't explain that to the Amish, who were religious and didn't care about possessions or sending their children to good schools. They wouldn’t know what it was like to live in a dog-eat-dog world. She’d overcome so many obstacles as a woman to get where she was, and she couldn’t let Derek take it all away from her now.
A Pregnant Widow's Amish Vacation Page 4