Seth was so close she could smell the peanut butter on his breath. He lifted his hand and Trina actually thought he was going to caress her cheek but instead he picked a leaf from her hair. “You have vegetation in your mane,” he gibed.
Trina giggled again. “Denki for helping me down. I’ll stay here awhile, so you and Fannie and the kinner will have privacy on your outing.”
As Seth opened his mouth to reply, in the distance Fannie yelled, “Seth, I can’t find Tanner.”
A panicked look crossed Seth’s face, but Trina said, “It’s alright, I know where they probably are. I’ll go this way, you go check up the hill.” She broke into a hard run, knowing where the boys pretended elephants lived. It was a reedy place close to the creek where it wasn’t always possible to tell where the embankment ended and the water began. Trina never allowed them to go anywhere near it unless they were holding her hand.
Sprinting past Fannie, her daughters and Timothy, Trina called, “Tanner! Where are you? Say my name!”
When her command was met with silence, Trina charged into the reeds, shouting, until she reached the water’s edge. Then she slogged through that, too. Her shoes and socks were wet and the hem of her skirt was weighted down with water, sticking to her legs. “Tanner! Tanner!” she shouted, feeling lightheaded. She waded deeper and deeper until she was up to her thighs in the frigid water. The current was moving at a quick clip and she struggled to remain upright.
“Trina, we found him,” Seth yelled from far away. “Trina?”
Denki, she prayed. Denki, Lord. She splashed back toward the embankment and up the hill where the others were calling her. “Here I am,” she squawked, her throat too dry for her voice to be heard.
“Trina!” Tanner called when he finally spotted her. He barreled straight for her. The force almost knocked her over as he hugged her legs. “Are you okay?”
Nearly sobbing from exertion and relief, she bent to kiss his head multiple times. “Jah, I’m fine. Are you okay?”
He looked up at her, tipping his head so far back she could see his nostrils. “Jah.”
Just then Seth clambered down the hill. “I’m so sorry about that, Trina,” he said. His eyes were blazing. “Tanner was in one of their make-believe dens and he couldn’t hear Fannie calling him. She was worried he fell into the creek.”
“But, Daed, you told me I should never go near the creek by myself,” Tanner said as his round eyes sprang tears. “I wouldn’t disobey.”
“We know you wouldn’t,” Trina said. “It’s okay, Tanner. Everyone’s okay.”
Fannie came loping down the hill with her hand pressed to her mouth. “That had me so worried,” she lamented.
Placing her hands on her hips, Hope told Trina, “I think you may be taking things a little too far in telling them about animals.”
In all of Trina’s years of teaching children, she’d encountered some inappropriate language, but no child had ever had the nerve to admonish her as Hope was doing now. Trina kept silent so she wouldn’t embarrass Seth’s guests by speaking her mind, but she felt like telling the girl to show some respect or go home immediately.
“You’ve got to be freezing,” Seth said. “Let’s get you to our house. We’ve got a nice fire going. Martha’s making cookies and she’ll give you dry clothes while Fannie puts on a kettle.”
“Denki, but I just want to go home and dry off there,” Trina said. Her head was really pulsating now and her legs were tottery as she started toward her house.
“Funny, isn’t it?” Fannie tittered. “Both times I’ve seen you so far you’ve been soaking wet.”
That was the last thing Trina remembered before everything went dark.
* * *
Seth had been walking behind Trina and he noticed something was off about her gait and the way she was speaking, so when she staggered he was right there to keep her from falling and hitting her head. She collapsed backward into his arms and he gently lowered her to the ground. Kneeling beside her, he forcefully jiggled her arm.
“Trina, wake up. Trina, open your eyes,” he said loudly. She immediately blinked and lifted her hand to rub her eyes. She couldn’t have been out for more than a few seconds, but he needed to be sure she was alright. “Trina, who am I? Can you tell me my name?”
“You don’t know?” she asked, a wry smile flickering across her pale face. “Seth Helmuth,” she said to his satisfaction. “I’m alright. I have a koppweh, that’s all.” She groaned when she tried to sit up. This time, Seth didn’t ask permission to take her home. He simply swept her up in his arms and carried her to his house, despite her protests and Fannie’s pouting. He didn’t set her down until he’d settled her into a rocking chair near the fire in his parlor.
“What happened?” Martha asked as she followed them from the kitchen, wringing her hands. The house smelled of cookies, not of smoke. That was at least one good thing. Seth relayed what had occurred while the children added their comments and Fannie remained silent, warming her hands by the stove as if she’d been the one who’d waded through the water to rescue Tanner.
“I’m fine,” Trina said when they finished talking. “I think Seth wanted to prove to Fannie how strong he is by carrying me, that’s all.”
Seth knew Trina was attempting to smooth things over between him and Fannie, and he appreciated the gesture, especially considering how rude Fannie had been to her. He suggested Fannie should take the children into the kitchen to have some cookies and put on tea. Then he told his grandmother, “Trina needs something dry to wear.”
“I’ll say she does,” Martha said, pressing her hand to Trina’s forehead. “This maedel is cold and clammy. How long was she unconscious? We ought to take her to the doctor.”
Seth was hesitant. On a Sunday, the only doctor they could take her to was in the ER at the hospital in Highland Springs. Ever since Freeman ran off with Kristine and she resumed her job as a nurse, Seth worried he might bump into one of their friends at the hospital, even though Freeman and Kristine had long since moved out of the area. Seth didn’t want anyone to inquire about his brother and stir up sad memories.
“Neh, no doctor,” Trina insisted. “I’m fine, really. I just need some sleep.”
Seth was relieved but still felt concerned. “What about your friend Ethan? Can we ask him to take a look at you? I’ll use the phone shanty to call him, unless you know where he lives.”
“I do, but please don’t bother yourself,” Trina said weakly. “I’ve already spoiled your afternoon.”
“It’s not a bother. I’ll stop at Ethan’s on the way back from taking Fannie and her meed home.”
“Please let him, Trina. Otherwise I’m going to worry about you all night and I won’t get any sleep,” Martha said. Like most people, Trina couldn’t refuse the older woman’s wishes, but she did insist on going home and putting her own clothes on and climbing into her own bed. Martha said she’d go with her.
After Seth escorted them to Trina’s house and got the fire roaring, he took everyone, including his boys, to drop Fannie off in Elmsville. He left the boys in the buggy while he walked the others to the door. After the girls had gone inside, Fannie frankly stated, “I don’t think you and I are a match, Seth.”
After a startled pause, he said, “Denki for your honesty, Fannie. I wish you Gott’s best in finding a suitable spouse.”
Fannie crossed her arms and furrowed her eyebrows. “Don’t you even want to know why I don’t think we’re a match?”
Feeling as if it would be rude to say it wasn’t necessary since he had come to the same conclusion, Seth said, “Please tell me.”
“I don’t think we’re a gut match because I wouldn’t ever agree to be courted by a man who is inappropriately friendly with an Englisch woman.”
He didn’t know what to say. The problem was, there was nothing he could say. Like it or not, she was ri
ght.
Fannie waited for a second and when Seth didn’t deny it, she closed the door in his face.
Chapter Seven
Martha propped the pillows up behind Trina and urged her to drink a glass of water. Then she said, “You rest. I’ll be right in the parlor if you need anything.”
“Please, don’t go,” Trina requested, so Martha sat down on the end of the bed. Trina closed her eyes. Feeling like a child, she said, “My mamm used to sit on the end of the bed when I was sick. I always felt comforted by the weight of her body on the mattress near my feet.”
“Jah, she used to tuck her feet beneath me when she was sick,” Martha said.
Martha had been there to comfort her mother when she was sick? Trina was glad to know that. “Sometimes I wondered how she became such a gut mamm since her own mamm died when she was so young. Denki, Martha, for teaching her.”
“Oh, I can’t take credit for that, dear. Your groossmammi was as loving as anyone could be. Even if Patience was too young to remember, those things still leave an impression on a kin.”
“Mmm,” Trina murmured. She felt comfortably drowsy but she didn’t want Martha to stop talking to her. She forced herself to open her eyes. “Speaking of kinner, what did you think of Fannie’s dechder?”
“Judging from the fact you have to ask, I probably think the same thing you think.” Martha chuckled. “But Seth is determined to find a wife, so I try to keep my mouth shut and be supportive. What that young man doesn’t seem to realize is it might be better if...”
Trina drifted off until two people, a man and a woman, began speaking in hushed tones at the end of her bed. She dreamed it was her father and mother. Or maybe she was remembering the Christmas her father came to visit and she’d had chicken pox. It was one of the only times she heard genuine concern in his voice as he asked her mother how she was doing...
But no, it was Ethan talking to Martha, who was recounting what happened at the creek.
“I’m not a kin,” she said aloud, realizing she wasn’t dreaming after all.
Ethan chuckled. “That’s okay, just because I’m a pediatrician doesn’t mean I can’t determine the state of your health.”
Trina tried to say that’s not what she meant, but her mouth wouldn’t cooperate. Martha supported Trina’s head and lifted a glass of water to her lips. The room seemed to come into focus again. After taking her vital signs and asking a few questions, Ethan said he thought she might be suffering from shock. And possibly anemia, since she was so thin and pale.
“I want to take your blood and run a few tests, but you had quite a scare. You’re also dehydrated, which could have given you the headache originally,” he explained. “You’ll need plenty of fluids and lots of rest for the next three days.”
Trina smiled wanly. “I’m not sure how much rest Timothy and Tanner will let me have, but maybe if we—”
Ethan was suddenly very serious. “You won’t be able to take care of Timothy and Tanner.”
“But—”
“You need to take care of yourself, Trina. In fact, someone else needs to help take care of you.”
“But I don’t—”
“I’ll contact one of the women from church. I know several people who will be happy to stay with you for a few nights.”
“Nonsense!” Martha declared. “We’ll take care of Trina ourselves.”
Ethan seemed to sense he’d better not contradict her. He took a vial of Trina’s blood and was pressing cotton against her arm when they heard footsteps on the porch, followed by a tentative knock and then Seth calling, “Hello? May we kumme in?”
“We’re in here,” Martha answered, removing her shawl and draping it modestly around Trina’s shoulders.
“My hair,” Trina said, suddenly self-conscious about how she looked.
“You’re fine,” Martha answered.
“She’s fine?” Seth repeated hopefully, apparently thinking Martha was referring to Trina’s condition.
“She will be, after a few days’ rest,” Ethan replied. “And lots of fluids.”
“Oh, gut.” Seth sighed, looking straight at Trina instead of at Ethan. She felt woozy again.
“Is Trina alright?” Tanner or Timothy piped up from the hall in squeaky voices.
“Jah, but she won’t be if you two buwe don’t allow her to rest,” Martha told them. “Kumme in and say hello and then you need to go back home with your daed.”
Watching Ethan tape a piece of gauze over the spot on her arm where he’d drawn blood, Timothy’s eyes bulged. “Did you have to get a shot, Trina?”
“Um, sort of. Dr. Gray had to use a needle to draw blood.”
“Did it hurt?”
Ethan responded, “Trina was so brave she deserves two sugar-free lollipops.” He held up the candy.
“I’m not hungry, but maybe you can give them to the buwe. They’re usually pretty brave, too,” Trina answered.
“Okay,” Ethan agreed, “but first you have to promise me something, Timothy and Tanner. You have to be very helpful to whoever cares for you while Trina’s asleep because she needs lots and lots of rest.”
“Kind of like she’s hibernating?” Timothy asked.
“Exactly like that.” Ethan laughed, extending a lollipop to each of the boys.
“Starting now,” Martha said. “It’s time to hightail it, buwe.”
“I’ll be right out,” Seth said as the others left the room.
He nervously pulled a chair to the side of Trina’s bed so his face was at the same level as hers. “I’m so sorry this happened,” he said. The shadows beneath his eyes were so dark he looked as grim as she felt. Trina was overwhelmed by the depth of his concern.
“You’re sorry? If you hadn’t had to help me down from the rock, none of this would have happened. I’m the one who panicked about Tanner and ran into the water.”
“That’s what I love abo—” Seth coughed and started again. “That’s what I appreciate. You put Tanner’s welfare above your own. I can’t ever express how much that means to me.”
Was he going to say that’s what he loved about me? Trina wondered. Or was she dreaming again? She must have been. After all, her eyes were closed and it seemed like she was floating. She hadn’t felt this calm since before her mother got sick and if it was a dream, she didn’t want to wake up from it for a long while.
* * *
When Seth exited Trina’s room, Ethan was still in the kitchen with the others. He asked Seth if he’d walk to his car with him so they could talk and Seth obliged. He didn’t know whether the serious look on Ethan’s face was because he was concerned about Trina as a doctor, as a friend or possibly as a boyfriend.
“Are you sure she’s going to be okay?” he asked anxiously before Ethan had a chance to speak.
“Trina? Yes, she should be fine. I’m running a few blood tests to make sure and I’ll stop to check on her tomorrow. But I wanted to talk to you about your grandmother.”
Seth was so surprised he repeated the Englisch term. “My grandmother?”
“Yes. I had a chance to speak with her about her vision and I believe she may have cataracts. There’s a simple surgery she can have that will help restore her vision. It’s important she has it soon, before the damage becomes irreversible.”
Seth was taken aback. Who did Ethan think he was, questioning his grandmother about her health? Martha had accepted long ago she’d eventually go blind. For one thing, she believed it was God’s will. For another, she was terrified of surgery. But a pushy Englisch doctor wouldn’t understand that.
“Denki for caring for Trina on such short notice,” Seth said pointedly ignoring Ethan’s advice.
Ethan’s features went slack. “As I said, I’ll stop by tomorrow to see how she’s doing. On Tuesday I won’t be able to visit, since I’ll be picking up my fiancée at the train
station. She’s coming from Philly during a break from her graduate studies. Her family lives close by so I’ll get to spend some time with her, too.”
His fiancée? Seth was more thrilled than he should have been to discover Ethan was engaged. The doctor gave him his card and said to call him or the hospital if Trina seemed confused, had a fever or was difficult to wake up.
When Seth returned to the house, Martha was sitting at the kitchen table with the boys, very quietly telling them the Bible story about Daniel in the lions’ den. She tried to persuade Seth she’d be fine taking care of Trina overnight by herself, but this time he got the last word. He didn’t want to have to worry about both her and Trina until morning.
“Maybe I can ask Emma Lamp if she’ll spend the night tending to Trina. I could pay her for her assistance,” he suggested.
Martha clucked and shook her head. “Suh, what you don’t know about women could fill a book.”
“What do you mean? Emma’s helpful and capable, and there’s a spare room here, so—”
“You know how word gets around in Willow Creek. Emma surely knows by now you chose to go out with Fannie again. Don’t you think her feelings are hurt?”
“Why would Emma’s feelings be hurt? Fannie didn’t seem to mind I considered becoming Emma’s suitor. I was very clear I wasn’t making any definite commitments.”
“Trust me, you can’t ask Emma over.” Martha paused and then instructed, “Here’s what you need to do. Go to Pearl Hostetler’s house and see if she’ll kumme for the night. I’ll bring the buwe back here with me in the morning. We’ll do something quietly indoors for the day.”
Seth had every intention of staying home the next day to watch the boys and help Martha with Trina’s needs, but he didn’t want to fight that battle at the moment. First, he had to secure help for that night. He felt funny burdening Pearl with assisting an Englischer, but he knew she wouldn’t say no, in deference to Martha. Having been friends for over seventy years, the two women were like sisters and they’d do anything they could for each other.
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