The Beloved Christmas Quilt

by Brunstetter, Wanda E. ; Brunstetter, Jean; Brunstetter, Richelle

  Seth rode home with Mike. The last two days, they’d been working a lot farther away on a big job. He felt exhausted and couldn’t wait to get home. The squeaks and other sounds from Mike’s truck made Seth feel like he could doze off. It cruised along for miles, and the sky was beginning to darken. A jackrabbit darted into the road, and Mike swerved to avoid it.

  “Whoa!” Mike jerked the wheel back after missing the critter.

  “Whew, that was close!” Seth rubbed his eyes. “I sometimes miss living in Bird-in-Hand.”

  “You do? That’s the first time you’ve mentioned it to me.”

  “I’ve been thinking about it lately, that’s all.” Seth reached for his bottle of water and drank the rest of it.

  “What has you missing your home?”

  “Just some things right now.” Seth opened his lunch box and put his empty bottle inside.

  “It’s okay if you don’t want to give me details. But you’ve shared about your baby’s problem with not hearing. At work I’ve noticed that you seem more frustrated working with Stan. But since you don’t have seniority over anyone other than Stan, the boss will probably keep working you two together.” Mike glanced in his direction.

  Seth said nothing.

  “But you are a levelheaded man from what I’ve seen, and you’ll work this out for the best.”

  After dinner, Seth took a cup of coffee out to the living room. He sat there rocking and mulling things over. Realizing he still hadn’t fed and watered the animals, he took one more sip of his coffee then called Roseanna from the kitchen.

  “What, Daed?” She dashed into the room and came over to him.

  “Let’s you and I go out and check on the animals. I’m pretty tired this evening, and I could use a good helper like you.” Seth looked down at her.

  Roseanna nodded.

  Seth let Karen know what they were up to. First they went to the barn and checked on the horses. Millie and Ash both whinnied, stomping in their stalls. Seth grabbed hay, while his daughter brought over some sweet oats to put in with it. He watered the horses and watched Roseanna give the barn cats their food and water. It reminded him of when he was a boy helping his dad. He continued to observe as she sat on a bale of hay, stroking one of the cats. It meowed and rubbed its head under Roseanna’s chin.

  “I’m done watering the horses. Let’s take care of your rabbit.” Seth shut off the hose and adjusted his straw hat that had slipped into his eyes.

  Roseanna got up and followed her dad to the cage.

  Seth blinked. “That little stinker got out again. I can’t believe it.”

  “Where is he?” Roseanna’s eyes seeped with tears.

  They both looked all around for Star but came up empty.

  “I’m sorry he’s missing.” Seth knelt down and hugged his daughter.

  “I’m afraid the coyote will get him,” she cried.

  “No, he’s a smart rabbit, and Star is an escape artist who likes to explore.” He wiped her tears.

  “I hope he comes back.”

  “Praying about it will help,” Seth replied.

  A half hour later, they returned to the house and went to the bathroom to wash their hands. Seth noticed that Karen was staring off into space as she dried the dishes.

  When he and Roseanna had cleaned up, they both went to the living room and sat on the sofa. Mary came downstairs and walked over to Nancy Anne’s playpen. Seth and Roseanna watched the baby smile at her older sister. Mary made Big Ears dance up and down inside the playpen, and Nancy Anne started laughing. Then she went into a deep belly laugh, and Seth couldn’t help laughing, too. The baby’s laughter was contagious. Even Karen came out and watched Mary playing with Nancy Anne. Everyone was laughing at the goings-on. I wish there were more days like these. He grinned. Lord knows I could use more joy in my life.

  Seth looked at his wife as her smile faded. Then she retreated back into the kitchen.

  “Why don’t you girls go upstairs and play?” Seth grabbed his coffee cup. Once his daughters were headed upstairs, Seth joined Karen in the kitchen, where she sat at the table. He poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and took a seat across from her. “What’s up? You’ve been acting funny since I got home.”

  Karen shifted in her seat and avoided his eyes. “I got news from the doctor’s office this morning.”

  “Well… We know that you don’t have the flu. So what were the results of the blood work?” Seth leaned forward.

  “We’re having another baby.” Karen looked away.

  “I kinda figured, the way you’ve been feeling lately.” His jaw clenched as he shook his head. “I’m glad what you’ve been dealing with isn’t something serious. But this isn’t the right time for another baby.” He heaved a heavy sigh. “You have no idea how bad things are for me at work. I can’t deal with this right now.”

  Karen stood rigidly. “I’m sorry. I can’t change this. We are going to have another Allgyer boy or girl. I guess I’m gonna have to be happy enough for the both of us.” She bolted from the room.

  Seth lowered his head and walked over to Nancy Anne. He picked her up and held her close. He missed his folks more than ever. Sighing, he walked down the hall to check on his wife. When he reached the closed door of their guest room, he could hear Karen inside crying. Seth closed his eyes. Lord, please show me how to fix things.

  CHAPTER 10

  Town City, Pennsylvania

  Seth spent the morning working with Ervin on a new house, and because they were the only men on the job site, they could speak Pennsylvania Dutch freely. Seth helped Ervin get materials ready for installing the walkways around the house. He enjoyed working with Ervin, who’d been with this business for seven years.

  An order of blocks was due to be delivered by truck before lunch. Seth got the wheelbarrow loads going for gravel to fill in empty and low areas. Ervin started up the gas-powered machine for packing down the small rock and made the job look easy. Seth’s coworker also knew the design pattern for the pavers the homeowner wanted.

  It was about lunchtime when Mike drove up. “Let’s take a break,” he called. “I’ll take you men for lunch at that deli in town.”

  Ervin set his stuff aside and made sure things were locked up. “I’m ready to go. How about you, Seth?” He waited by the front door.

  Seth put his Thermos and his untouched lunch box in the truck. “Okay, now I’m ready.”

  After they’d gotten in, Mike turned to Seth. “I heard through the grapevine that it’s your birthday. I’ll be buying your lunch.”

  Seth wiped at his brow. “Thank you, Mike. That’s great.”

  “What are your plans after work?” Mike started the truck.

  “I’m looking forward to going out with my family for pizza.” Seth grinned.

  Ervin removed his hat to smooth back some wayward hair. “It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving will be coming up soon.”

  “Will your folks be in town today or tomorrow?” Mike pulled away from the job site.

  “No, they can’t make it.” Seth’s shoulders slumped, and he stared down at his hands. “I’ve gotten some nice cards from both my family and Karen’s. I’ll check the phone messages when I get home to see if my folks have called. I could sure use some cheer today. Maybe my gift to myself will make it better—when it gets here, that is.”

  After lunch Mike told Seth he’d be working with Stan the rest of the day. Seth couldn’t help wishing he was going back with Ervin to work, but Mike was only following the boss’s orders. Seth wondered if Stan would ever be easier to deal with. Stan seemed to constantly challenge him and do things the way he thought they should be done, not how they were told to do them. This made it doubly hard for Seth to keep a positive attitude toward the man.

  The afternoon went exactly how Seth expected it would. Stan insisted on doing everything his own way and carried on a nonstop conversation about things unrelated to the job. And of course Stan smoked one cigarette after the other.

&nbs
p; Near the end of the day, Seth felt like he’d been through his wife’s wringer washing machine. He was relieved to look at his pocket watch and see it was almost time to start picking things up.

  As Stan was getting ready to come down from the scaffold, he leaned back against the safety rail. It gave way. The next thing Seth knew, his coworker was lying on the ground.

  Instinct kicked in, and he ran over to Stan and dropped to his knees beside him. “Are you okay?”

  Gasping for breath, Stan tried to sit up.

  “Don’t move. Just lie still.” Seth placed his hand on Stan’s shoulder. “I’ll call for help.”

  Seth raced to the truck, grabbed Stan’s cell phone, and called 911.

  Minutes later, Mike came by in his own rig to pick up Seth. After quickly explaining what happened, Seth returned to Stan’s side while they waited for the paramedics to arrive.

  Lykens

  As they approached his driveway, Seth asked Mike to pull up to the phone shed. He waved good-bye to Mike and took a seat in the shed. Seth listened to messages mostly from family leaving nice birthday wishes. When Seth listened to his parents’ message, a lump formed in his throat. He called them back, letting the phone ring for a while, and was surprised when his dad picked up.

  “Hello.” His father paused.

  “Hi, Dad. It’s me, Seth. I’m glad you answered, but I didn’t think you’d be right there in your phone shack.”

  Dad chuckled. “I bet you called to thank me and your mom for the birthday wishes.”

  “Uh, jah. Danki.”

  “You’re welcome, son. Have you, Karen, and my grandchildren planned anything for the evening?” His dad’s deep voice boomed through the receiver.

  Seth let out a breath. “We’re supposed to be going for pizza.”

  “That sounds real nice. Tell Karen and the children we miss you all.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Seth sat quiet for a moment.

  “Are you still there, Seth?” his father inquired.

  “Yes…”

  “What’s up, Son?”

  “An accident occurred at work today. One of the guys fell when part of the scaffold gave way.”

  “Wow! Was he seriously hurt?”

  “His lungs collapsed. He’s receiving good care at the hospital, but he’ll be off from work for several weeks.” Seth shifted on the chair. “My boss and I stayed with Stan at the hospital until his wife arrived and we learned that his injury wasn’t life threatening.” He swallowed hard. “This is the same fellow that’s been giving me so much trouble at work.”

  “Sounds like you did the right thing. I’m proud of you, Son.” Dad cleared his throat. “How’s everything else going?”

  “With Karen being in a family way again, she seems pretty overwhelmed.” Seth groaned. “I can’t seem to help Karen enough, and we don’t always communicate very well these days.”

  “Your mother and I have been through similar situations, and we came to realize the importance of good communication and supporting each other through difficult times rather than turning away and focusing on our own pain.”

  “You’re right. I need to work on that, so thanks for the reminder.”

  “We’ll be praying for you. Remember, Seth, the Lord only gives us what He thinks we can handle. He’ll help you through this.” Dad cleared his throat again. “Have you been reading the Word and praying, Seth?”

  He closed his eyes tightly as a tear slipped out. “No. I… I’ve been neglecting to do those things.”

  “Oh, Seth, you need to make prayer a priority, Son. We’ve taught all you kids to pray each and every day,” his dad reminded.

  Seth sighed. “I’ll try to.”

  “I’m glad that I could get to the phone in time when you called.” Dad coughed. “You really needed to talk about this and be honest with yourself about what’s happening.”

  “I’m happy that I could unburden my heart; thanks, Dad.” Seth shifted in his chair.

  “Just pray, Son, for the Lord’s help and direction through this difficult time. I will talk to your mamm, too. She needs to know what’s happening so we can both be praying for all of your needs.”

  “Thank you again, Dad.” Seth sniffed. “I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.”

  “Okay, have a nice time with your family, and don’t eat too much.” He chuckled. “Have a happy birthday.’ Bye, Son.”

  “All right. ’Bye, Dad.” Seth clicked off the phone.

  As he walked up to the house, he noticed a package on the front porch step. When he got to it, he found it was exactly what he thought. He’d ordered a fancy rifle for his birthday and hadn’t said anything to Karen about the purchase.

  He grabbed the package and sneaked out to the barn to keep it hidden, not wanting to get her upset. Seth looked over at where he and Roseanna had spotted Star this morning. They were relieved to catch the little escape artist and put the rabbit back into the cage. Roseanna had been excited that God had answered her prayers.

  Seth pulled the buggy out of the barn and laid out Ash’s harness gear. Then he picked up his lunch pail and Thermos before going back to the house. He still needed to get ready for their supper out. After speaking with his dad, his day was looking a bit better.

  A few minutes later, Seth was ready to go and simply waiting for Karen and the two older girls to be ready to go. He smiled, watching Nancy Anne sitting on a throw rug, playing with some pots and pans. Seth leaned over, and scooping his growing daughter into his arms, he held her high over his head and made silly faces. Soon Nancy Anne was giggling at him, and Seth began laughing, too. He brought her down against his chest and noticed a couple of presents on the kitchen table. Seth wandered over to snoop. As he suspected, one was from his wife and another wrapped package was from his daughters.

  “What are you up to, Seth?” Karen came into the kitchen.

  “Mostly playing with Nancy Anne—making her laugh.”

  “I’m ready to go, and the girls should be soon. I asked them to change into their green dresses. I’ll check the baby, and then we should be ready to go.” Karen held out her hands to take Nancy Anne.

  Seth passed the baby over. “I’ll get Ash ready and pull the buggy over to the hitching rail.”

  Karen nodded and headed with Nancy Anne to the nursery.

  When Karen and the girls exited the house, Seth and Ash were waiting for them. Karen placed Nancy Anne in her carrier next to the girls in the back of the buggy and helped Seth get the horse clipped to the forks. Then they climbed in and started for town.

  “Not a bad day to get out of the house.” He leaned closer to his wife.

  “It’s Daddy’s birthday today!” Roseanna yelled.

  “Yippee, Daed!” Mary shouted.

  “Happy birthday, Husband.” Karen leaned against his shoulder for a moment.

  “Danki.” Seth looked at his wife. “I’m glad I captured Star in the barn this morning. Actually, the sweet oats that spilled on the ground kept the little guy enticed. He was quite easy to catch. Right, Roseanna?” Seth turned his head in her direction.

  “Jah, he let Dad get him. I’m glad we have Star back.”

  “Me, too! Me, too!” Mary shouted and bounced, holding on to Big Ears.

  “I talked to Mike today about maybe going wild turkey hunting this time. What do you think?” Seth shook the reins to speed up Ash. They passed some people from their church district out walking along the road and waved.

  “If you’d like to go, that’s fine with me. We still need to eat the pheasant in our meat locker. When deer hunting season starts, some venison would be nice to have for suppers this winter. Maybe we could give some to the folks, too.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t eat the food you prepared for me this morning,” Seth said, “but Mike treated me for lunch since it’s my birthday.”

  “That was nice of him. Where did he take you, and what did you have?” Karen gave the baby a bottle of water to tide her over.

  �
��We went to the deli there in Town City and ate turkey sandwiches at one of their tables. They were good. I’d eat there again.” Seth licked his lips.

  A bit later, they pulled into the pizza parking lot, and Seth secured the horse. Then the entire family headed in for their supper. The aroma of baking pizza welcomed them and made Seth’s stomach growl.

  “Let’s take these seats.” Karen pointed to a table for six.

  “Looks good to me. Okay, girls, find a chair.”

  Karen held Nancy Anne in her lap. Roseanna sat by Seth, and Mary sat next to her mother. They ordered quickly, and when the pizza arrived, they bowed their heads for silent prayer. Seth passed slices to the girls and Karen. She’d brought baby food for Nancy Anne. It was nice to see his wife eating well and Seth fervently hoped her morning sickness was behind her. Seth wished he could help her to have better days.

  Karen cleared her throat and wiped off her hand with the napkin. “Sometime in the near future we’ll have to think about moving Nancy Anne in with her sisters.”

  Roseanna tilted her head. “Why, Mom?”

  Karen looked over at Seth. “Because our family is growing.”

  “One of these days,” Seth added, “when you’re ready, Roseanna, you can have your own room.” Seth took a bite of his pizza.

  Her eyes grew big. “My own room someday? Hmmm…”

  “It’s something to think about, right?” He took a drink of his soda pop.

  “Yes, Dad.” Roseanna drank some cola.

  After supper when everyone was settled at home, Karen called them to the kitchen. The beautiful cake she had baked and decorated was ready for serving, complete with lit candles. Karen, Roseanna, and Mary sang “Happy Birthday,” and Karen served slices of cake with ice cream. Everyone bowed their heads in prayer, and then they dove in.

  “Mmm… Good cake, Karen.” Seth took another bite. “I enjoy your German chocolate. It’s my favorite.”

  Karen looked at Roseanna, delighting in her piece, while little Mary picked the cake away from the frosting. “I think someone doesn’t embrace the coconut and pecan icing.”