[2016] In Good Time

by Aqua Allsopp

  She looked at the glistening ring on her finger and smiled into her phone. “I’m staying because I said yes.”

  THE END

  Another bonus story is on the next page.

  Bonus Story 3 of 6

  The English Doctor's Love

  “Having worshiped God in the great Tabernacle, the Israelites gathered outside as Solomon offered a great prayer to God to bless His house, this magnificent Temple. For it is believed that God will not bless just any house, but I will show you from first Chronicles, Chapter 6, the type of house our Lord God will bless.”

  Sarah looked wide-eyed, forcing back a smile toward her sister Rebecca who was about to burst in anticipation. She knew that they had just heard the prelude to one of their Community Leader’s extended sermons.

  On that day, it was Rebecca and her husband Nathaniel’s house raising ceremony. Heir Wilhelm, one of their especially long-winded Pastors, was in fine spirits, full of energy, and brought a thoughtful message to share with the young couple and their Amish community.

  The meeting of a hundred and fifty families took place at Nathaniel Brewer’s parents’ home. The “Old Order” Amish do not meet in churches with pews, or have robed choirs with instruments. Instead, they rotate church meetings, every other Sunday and for special occasions like today, at the home of a community member.

  The modest lifestyle of the Amish calls for home-based worship with hymns sung slowly and acapella by a “Vorsinger”. One talented Vorsinger in particular—Jergen Brewer—had memorized the melody to all of the Pennsylvania Amish’s 50 hymns written in 1564. The songs had been passed down without musical instruments or notes, because the Amish Ausbund does not have musical notation.

  Jergen was honored to sing at his older brother’s house raising, and in witness of his intended bride, Sarah.

  “Oh please, not a three-hour sermon like usual,” Rebecca pleaded in her mind while maintaining a pleasant and calm face, as she held the Ausbund hymnal, her lovely back perfectly straight as she, and the rest of the congregation, sat on the backless benches which had been towed to the Brewers by the community bench wagon, now parked at the Brewer’s home.

  “May the Lord bless the fine home that we shall erect today for our brother Nathaniel and sister Rebecca—Amen,” the Pastor said as Jergen the Vorsinger began a slow rendition of a favored song.

  “Blest be the ties that bind our heart in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above….”

  Rebecca rolled her eyes at the pace of the sermon and the song and received a pinch on the leg from her sister Sarah. In her head, Rebecca could just hear Sarah’s silent admonishment of her behavior.

  “Quit fussing and pay attention to my intended’s beautiful song Rebecca!”

  When the song ended, and the congregation was released to begin working on Rebecca and Nathaniel’s new home, Sarah and Rebecca exited the “women’s pews” arm in arm together, walking piously away from the gathering. When they were out of earshot, they ran toward the site of the new house, letting out a squeal of girlish laughter like two ten-year-old girls, blabbering on about the length of the sermon, and giggling away until they literally ran smack into Mrs. Mueller—the schoolteacher.

  “Excuse us, Mrs. Mueller,” Rebecca said, looking as though she had been caught red-handed and up to no good.

  “Excuse us…,” Sarah’s barely audible voice trailed off.

  “Ladies! Look at the two of you running around like a couple of schoolgirls, giggling and cutting up. You should be ashamed of yourselves. Rebecca, you are a married woman about to have a house of her own to tend to.” She pointed to the cement slab that would become the foundation for Rebecca’s home.

  “And Sarah, do you want Jergen to change his mind about marrying you because you are too much still a child?

  “I shall speak with your mother about this positively wild behavior straight away.” Mrs. Muller said, then walked away, the sound of her thighs shoved into the Amish, standard black tights could be heard rubbing together like two sticks attempting to start a campfire. It only made the girls giggle more as Mrs. Mueller hurried away to issue her report to their mother.

  “Awooo!” Sarah softly howled at the sky, as Rebecca laughed.

  “Your howling like a wolf is exactly why I so hope they finish the walls and roof of our home today, for if they do Nathaniel says that we will be able to sleep in our own home tonight,” Rebecca said.

  “And what does that have to do with howling wolves?” Sarah asked.

  “There is said to be a full moon tonight, you know when there is a full moon Nathaniel and I both find a good reason to find our way to the barn.” Rebecca said.

  “Because Nathaniel is especially wild and amorous when there is a full moon?” Giggled Sarah in response.

  “Yes, and if we are blessed with a full moon and Nathaniel is in need of his wife, I want it to be in our own home so that we may make our first child in the throes of passion,” Rebecca yelled in whispers to her sister.

  “Oh Rebecca, I hope that Jergen is just like his brother so that I will one day be as happily married as you are,” Sarah sighed, just as their mother walked up behind the two unsuspecting girls.

  “Girls, what have you two been up to that has gotten Mrs. Mueller so riled up?”

  “Mother!” The girls said in unison as they whirled around to see their mother’s angelic face, her green eyes so like their own peering back at them.

  “We were just playing, and we accidentally bumped Mrs. Mueller, but only lightly, mother,” Sarah said.

  “We barely touched her,” Rebecca quickly interjected.

  “I suspect that is the problem girls. You are grown women, seventeen and eighteen years old, now. Rebecca, you being the oldest, and a married woman, I expect you to set the example for your younger sister, and Sarah, you for your baby sister.” Andrea scolded.

  “You two are as thick as thieves, I always wished there were more than twelve months’ age difference between you two. You are more alike than most twins,” she said, but her heart and voice softened as she saw their pale cheeks go red with shame for embarrassing their parents.

  “I know that you enjoy each other’s company but it is time that you act like the women that you are and not like little girls,” Andrea said as she gently kissed Sarah’s face. Turning to Rebecca she said, “Oh Becca,” a name only shared by the three of them, “I have been pushing this same unruly curl back under your bonnet since you were two years old, must I continue until you are twenty?” Andrea asked as she tucked a single strawberry blonde curl under a crisp white bonnet.

  “No mother,” the girls said in unison. Their mother responded by walking away, shaking her head at how alike her daughters were.

  The rest of the day progressed much like any other house raising, but perhaps faster than most. Nathaniel gently pushed the men to work faster at every turn until Andrea called out that lunch was ready.

  Over a hundred people sat down together on pews, picnic tables, and even on the ground, to eat ham, potatoes, and cabbage. Nathaniel ate quickly then walked a loop around the yard with Rebecca. “We should finish our home to the point where we can sleep in it tonight, my wife. We can howl at the moon if we like.” Nathaniel said as he lifted Rebecca off her feet and swung her around.

  “Nathaniel, please put me down, I have already gotten into trouble with Mrs. Mueller and my mother for not acting my age once today,” Rebecca giggled.

  “I am your husband and I command you to be a silly girl for all of your days Rebecca,” Nathaniel yelled, while taking a wide-legged stance with his hands on his hips, trying to sound serious and stern as he bellowed out such ridiculous words, intended to mock Mrs. Mueller by pretending to scold his wife.

  Then, bursting into laughter, he took off his straw hat and used it to block the view of the community as he gave his beautiful young wife a long and passionate kiss before returning back to work on their home.

  *****

/>   “Today’s guest speaker needs no introduction, as we have all read his work, but for any of you who may have crawled out from under a rock this morning,” the audience chuckled on cue, “to attend this lecture, let me introduce our keynote speaker.”

  “Thomas Hedulund was recently an Associate Professor of Radiology at the University of Utah, and he now serves as Radiologist in Chief and Chairman of the Department of Medical Imaging at Penn State Children’s Hospital in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

  “He is a clinical Pediatric Neuroradiologist with interests in cerebral magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the developing brain, and biochemical genetics. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Thomas Hedulund.” The audience’s applause ushered Dr. Hedulund to the stage.

  His walking gait carried the rapid, light-footed strides of a runner. At 5 feet 11 inches tall, he seemed shorter because of his fit, muscular build. He was almost too handsome to be a celebrated doctor, scientist, and author. His background and credentials conjured visions of a sickly boy who spent his childhood reading about life rather than experiencing it, but that is far from the case with Thomas Hedulund.

  Thomas had been a wild teen, born at the end of the Vietnam war. He dropped out of High School amid failing grades and problems with authority, which vexed his extremely religious Methodist family. Thomas wanted nothing to do with the overbearing control of his parent’s God, and wanted to be free of rules, judgment and fear from both his earthly and heavenly fathers.

  To secure his freedom, Thomas dropped out of school when he was seventeen. The truancy board gave him a choice to join the military or go to jail, so at age eighteen Thomas joined the Army.

  Those six years as an Army medic were the best thing that could have happened to Thomas. He was bitten by the life-saving bug and decided to become a doctor.

  Thomas earned a GED, attending college while on active duty, like so many service members did after their tours of duty.

  When Thomas left the Army to go to Harvard Medical school, his parents were stunned and pleased. Only, they never told Thomas how proud they were of him, for fear of making him “too full of himself,” as his father would say.

  Instead, upon hearing the news, his mother only gasped with delight, then swallowed her excitement for her son’s future.

  Thomas’ father said, “So you’re going to Harvard? Don’t go thinking you’re anything special because you’re a Harvard student, there’s nothing special about a High School dropout, especially one that quit on the Army before giving it twenty years. You could’ve had a pension!”

  After graduating from Harvard Medical School, Thomas’ father said, “Don’t go trying to play God, if it’s God’s will that a man, woman, or even a child should die, it’s not your place to deny Him his will. If you try, he will smite you, son.”

  Since Thomas walked away from his parents that day, he had never spent a single night under their roof, stayed in their presence for more than a few hours, or talked about anything more than what one might say to a complete stranger at an airport gate.

  Thomas felt completely alone in the world. There wasn’t a single family member who he could connect with. He had no friends, only acquaintances and a string of ex-girlfriends and lovers.

  No one could tell that this handsome, affable doctor, researcher, and teacher, was one of the loneliest men in Lancaster, if not the world.

  “Thank you, thank you, everyone, you’re too kind.” Dr. Hedulund said in a soft and barely audible voice. It was hard to believe that this voice once commanded Army soldiers and barked out orders. He sounded less like an Army Sergeant and more like Mister Rogers at story-time.

  The audience strained to hear him. Noticing his audience’s discomfort, Dr. Hedulund adjusted the podium microphone in front of his face, and his tranquil voice became clear and loud. The audience seemed to collectively sit back in their seats and concentrated on Dr. Hedulund’s every word. His voice was pitched neither high nor low.

  However, his West Virginia twang and idioms occasionally crept into his speech, just enough to be endearing. His coal-black hair, wind-burned and suntanned skin from long runs in all types of weather, and green eyes gave him a rather angelic and boyish look. But Dr. Hedulund was no angel. He had courted many young, beautiful graduate students, yet none had managed to tie him down into holy matrimony, which he was said to be fiercely against.

  At age forty-seven, it was said that he was a confirmed bachelor for life. Thomas enjoyed the freedom to move from one great work opportunity to another when the mood struck him, and he practically lived at the hospital and laboratory when he wasn’t teaching.

  Thomas only had room in his life for medicine and science. For all of his handsome good looks, he was said to be emotionally unavailable—except to his patients.

  “Dr. Hedulund, excellent speech, as always,” Dr. Marilyn Richardson said as she extended her hand for a congratulatory handshake. “Finally, your work brings you in close enough proximity to my own so that I can lend a hand with your Amish outreach initiatives.”

  “Marilyn, how are you, what have you been up to? Yes, of course, it will be great to have you on the team. In fact, out of everyone who heard my speech today, you are my first and possibly my only volunteer, and what’s with this handshaking stuff? We’ve been through too many harrowing experiences at Doctors Without Borders to be so formal.” Dr. Hedulund rejected Dr. Richardson’s hand and pulled her in for a friendly hug.

  Dr. Richardson drank in every ounce of Dr. Thomas Hedulund, the warmth of his body, the strength of his embrace, even his Bulgari cologne. She made each second last hours until it was over. Collecting herself, she was finally able to speak, having been set free from his intoxicating grip.

  “Really Thomas? I would think after such a powerful talk on how preventable and treatable the effects of many of these disorders are, doctors would be jumping at the opportunity to do something truly meaningful,”

  “You would think so, but most of these people are here for the continuing education points, to poke holes in the data, for research, or to learn from the case studies. In fairness, they’re probably swamped with their own work,” he replied.

  “Well, I’m in,” said Marilyn, “when do we get started?”

  “Right away if you can. I have an outreach event this Sunday and clinic hours directly after.”

  “My calendar’s clear on Sunday, except for brunch with my mom, followed by dinner at my Dad’s house with his future ex-wife.”

  “So you’re using me as an excuse not to spend time with your parents?”

  “Exactly!”

  They both laughed.

  “Brilliant, glad to have you, seriously, Marilyn. Once you’ve learned the ropes, you’ll be much more effective at reaching and connecting with the Amish women than I am because of the segregation between genders. You would be welcomed into homes, kitchens, and bedrooms. I, on the other hand, am relegated to large gatherings and clinic settings only.”

  “Until Sunday then,” Marilyn said.

  “See you Sunday, and thank you again.”

  Marilyn gave him a “don’t worry about it,” wave of the hand as she walked away.

  *****

  Lying on the cold wooden floor of their new home, Rebecca and Nathaniel basked in the afterglow of a passionate night between husband and wife.

  “Nathaniel, I love the smell of the fresh cut wood, I’m so happy this morning, husband,” Rebecca said staring into Nathaniel’s eyes.

  With tears of pride welling in his eyes and a fullness in his heart, he said, “I feel as though I am a very blessed man to be able to provide this beautiful home for my beautiful wife. It seems large and empty with echoes and shadows now, Rebecca, but I promise we shall fill it with love and the laughter and noise of many children. I will always care for you and take care of you.”

  Overcome with emotion, Rebecca threw herself on top of Nathaniel and kissed him passionately, to which he responded the way that young men often do in the intimate p
resence of a beautiful woman.

  When Nathaniel and Rebecca emerged from their new home, they found Sarah waiting on the porch with a basket filled with breakfast for her sister and brother-in-law. At the sound of the door opening, Sarah sprang to her feet.

  “I brought you breakfast since you don’t have a stove!” An excited Sarah practically shouted.

  “I can see that Sister Sarah, did you sleep here all night?” Nathaniel asked, laughing.

  “No,” Sarah said, embarrassed at the early hour of her visit and her startling behavior. “I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t miss you. I so wanted you to have breakfast in your own kitchen this morning, as my house warming gift to you.”

  “That is mighty nice of you Sarah, thank you. You’re a fine sister, I’ll make sure to tell my brother Isaiah about your kindness.” Said Nathaniel with a smirk.

  “Isaiah? Why Isaiah is just a boy of ten years old!” Sarah said, mortified at the thought that her Jergen wouldn’t hear of how kind and considerate she had been, but instead she would be brought to the younger brother’s attention.

  “Oh Nathaniel, must you tease my poor sister so?” Rebecca said, holding back laughter as she stepped to her sister to console her.

  “I’m sorry for making a joke at your expense Sarah, but you should have seen your face when I said that I’d tell Isaiah instead of Jergen. I hope for my brother’s sake that you continue to wear your emotions on your sleeve so that he can always read your mind. If it were only that easy to read my wife's, or any women’s mind for that matter, life would be much easier for men.” Said Nathaniel, still chuckling.

  “Thank you for breakfast Sister. I love you,” Rebecca said with a kiss.

  “I love you too Sister, I shall see you later in the fields to pick vegetables for tonight's dinner,” Sarah said before leaving to have her own breakfast with her parents and siblings.

  Sarah hardly heard a word that anyone said during breakfast as her mind was on how Jergen would feel when he heard that his intended wife was kind to his brother. Her mind raced forward to her own wedding and house raising, creating so much anticipation that Sarah nearly jumped off the bench with excitement.