The Amish Bride

by Mindy Starns Clark

  “I’ll talk to Rosalee,” I said. “Thanks for asking.”

  I watched Pierre get ready to leave for the day. I really could work with him until things settled down back home…I caught that train of thought and then I frowned. Why was I trying to kid myself? I wouldn’t be waiting for things to “settle down.” I would be waiting for Freddy to die.

  Pierre disappeared, although I didn’t think he’d left. The restaurant was gearing up for the dinner rush, and Elizabeth and her cooks were busy in the kitchen, adjacent to the classroom. We could hear pans banging and an occasional shout through the wall. I liked the energy of it, and for the first time wondered about taking Elizabeth’s class. Maybe I could work for Pierre and fit her classes in too. Maybe I could open up a café when I returned to Lancaster.

  A few minutes later I heard Elizabeth’s voice in the classroom. I looked over at her and noted she had a concerned look on her face just as I realized that Luke was behind her. Trailing him was Pierre.

  I stepped around the table, sure something had happened to Rosalee. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your cousin called,” Luke said.

  “Is it my father?” He was probably dead, and I wondered why they thought it was worth all this trouble to let me know. Didn’t they realize I didn’t care?

  Luke shook his head. “Your brother. He’s been in an accident.”

  I grasped the edge of the table, feeling as if I might fall.

  Luke spoke quickly. “He’s in the intensive care unit.”

  “What happened?”

  “He was hit by a car.”

  I dropped the sculpting tool and it clattered to the floor. “I need to go home.”

  “Ya.” Luke’s voice was low and calm. He didn’t have to say any more. I knew Zed was badly hurt.

  “Ella, Ella.” Pierre was at my side. “What about your final? Could you wait a couple of days? You know how these things go. In hospital one day, out the next.”

  Zed was my baby brother. I didn’t care about my final.

  “I have to go,” I said.

  “What about the cake?” Pierre took my elbow.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “What about your grade?” His voice was lower now, but not like Luke’s.

  “We can freeze her cake,” Elizabeth said, shooting Pierre an exasperated look. “It’s her baby brother, for goodness’ sake. You sacrificed your family for your career, but that’s not how Ella was raised.”

  I looked away from Pierre’s pouty face as he said, “But you will return. Right?”

  “I’ll take you back to Nappanee,” Penny offered.

  “I hired a driver,” Luke said. “And Rosalee packed a bag. I brought it with me. You can catch the bus from here.”

  I was overcome with gratitude for Luke and Rosalee as I followed him out the door, leaving Pierre staring at my cake.

  On the way to the bus station, Luke told me Zed had been hit a couple of hours ago. He’d just gotten off the public bus at the stop close to home and had darted across the highway. I could just imagine it. My brilliant brother forgetting to look both ways.

  In no time we reached the bus station and Luke pulled my bag from the trunk.

  “Thank you,” I said, taking it from him. “You’ve helped me so much.”

  But he wasn’t leaving. He asked the driver to wait.

  When we reached the counter, I took out my purse to pay and at the same time Luke handed me an envelope of money.

  “I can cover it,” I said.

  “This is from Rosalee and me.” He pushed the envelope toward me. “Just in case you need a little extra.”

  I thanked him, touched by their concern.

  The next bus boarded in twenty minutes, but I wouldn’t arrive in Lancaster until the afternoon of the next day.

  After I paid for my ticket, I told Luke he should leave.

  “Nah, I’ll wait.”

  It wasn’t until I sat down that I remembered the baby. “Oh, Luke,” I said. “What if Rosalee does something with the painting?” I didn’t think she would, but the thought made me gasp.

  He nodded to my bag. I unzipped it quickly. On top, still wrapped in paper, was the baby. Underneath it was Sarah’s book, and then the cookie tin with the matching game.

  “Thank you,” I whispered to him.

  “Rosalee took the call. As soon as she told me, I raced to the house and grabbed these things before she packed your bag.”

  My eyes welled up at the thought of Luke watching out for me, and then a tear escaped at the thought of Zed being hit by a car.

  “It will be all right,” Luke said.

  I nodded, but I could only hope he was right.

  “Could we pray?” he asked.

  I nodded again and we bowed our heads in silence. I tried to recite the Lord’s Prayer, and yet again I got stuck on “Thy will be done.”

  Your will, I prayed, breathing in deeply. God gave us the gift of life. It was His will for Zed to live. He might decide to allow differently—and I might have to accept that. But right now I was going to ask for my brother to live.

  “Please, Lord.”

  Luke reached for my hand, and I realized I’d spoken out loud. “Be with Ella,” he prayed softly. “Heal Zed. Heal her family.”

  I jerked my hand away, not sure if I was reacting to the intimacy of the moment or Luke’s praying out loud or his request for healing in my family, meaning with my father. A moment later the call for my bus came over the loudspeakers.

  Luke didn’t respond to me. He simply grabbed my bag and led the way to the door.

  “Leave a message on Rosalee’s phone,” he said. “Let us know how you are.” He paused. “And when you’re coming back.”

  I nodded, took my bag, and thanked him sincerely.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  By the time we reached Toledo I was famished. I bought a sandwich and a couple of bottles of water and climbed back on the bus to eat. Ahead of me, a woman chatted on her cell.

  It dawned on me that I should have bought a prepaid one. I could call Mom at least, and she could get ahold of me. I hurried off the bus and searched the station but didn’t see any for sale. Perhaps in Cleveland I’d be able to buy one.

  As the bus pulled back onto the highway, despair overcame me. Think about something happy, I chided myself. Ezra. I would think about him.

  Luke told me he would call Mom and tell her what time my bus was arriving. Ezra would be the perfect candidate to pick me up. Of course, he wouldn’t be on his motorcycle because he wasn’t driving it anymore, but he could hire a driver. And we could go straight to the hospital.

  Somewhere in the middle of Ohio I fell asleep, not waking until we reached Cleveland. The bus depot there didn’t have any prepaid phones for sale either, and I resigned myself to not being in contact with anyone until I reached Lancaster. I slept more, in fits through the night, trying to stay comfortable in my seat, thankful Rosalee had packed my cape. It worked well as a blanket. When the sun rose, I made my way to the lavatory and brushed my teeth, washed my face, brushed my hair, and then repositioned my head covering. With nothing to read, I stared out the window. As we stopped over and over, I was sure I could have made better time in a buggy. As we neared Lancaster, my heart began to race. Finally, we reached the station.

  After stepping down from the bus, I scanned the sidewalk but didn’t see anyone. It wasn’t far to the hospital—if no one had come to get me, I would walk. I gathered my things and disembarked, looking around and hoping Ezra was close by. He wasn’t. Only the muggy late-July afternoon greeted me. I folded my cape over my bag and pointed myself in the direction of the hospital. Feeling exhausted, lonely, dejected, and worried sick, I pressed on.

  I was three blocks from the hospital when I heard my name. I turned. There were several people on the sidewalk, none of whom I recognized.

  “Ella!” Someone was shouting my name, louder now. My heart raced. It was Ezra. He dodged around a woman carrying a large shoppi
ng bag, holding his straw hat atop his head as he ran. I stepped toward him and he swooped me up in a hug, my bag bouncing against him. I stayed in his arms for a long moment, taking in his scent, his strength, his intensity.

  As he put me down, I stammered, “I didn’t think anyone was going to meet me.”

  “Of course I’d be here,” he answered. Under his hat, his hair was still cut in the traditional Amish style. “Your bus was early, but I figured you would start toward the hospital.” He took my hand and pulled me back the way he came. “And Lexie’s here too.”

  “She is?”

  He pulled me around a man and a little girl. As we passed, the father lifted his daughter up onto his shoulders.

  “She flew in this morning,” Ezra said. “She’s going to help your mom with her practice so she’ll have more time to be with Zed.” He led me around the corner to where Lexie was double-parked. A look of relief flooded her face as she saw us.

  Ezra took my bag, flung it on the backseat, and jumped in after it. I climbed into the front and was engulfed in a quick hug from my cousin.

  “Finally,” she said. Her blond hair was in a knot on top of her head and her eyes were as kind as ever. “That must have been the longest day of your life. And without your cell. We were all worried sick.”

  “How’s Zed?”

  “Alive,” Ezra said grimly.

  Lexie shot him a look in the rearview mirror. “He’s in pretty bad shape, sweetie. In fact, he’s in a coma.”

  I gasped. Luke hadn’t said anything about a coma.

  “He was pretty banged up.”

  “How’s his head?”

  “Well, he definitely hit it pretty hard.” Lexie concentrated on her turn onto Duke Street for a moment. “And he has a broken arm. Plus cracked ribs.”

  I winced. “What do the doctors say?”

  “To wait and see,” she answered, meeting my eyes with a brief glance.

  “He’s that bad?” My words came out in a wail.

  She took my hand and squeezed it.

  Mom was at Zed’s side when I followed Lexie into his cubicle in the intensive care unit. She stood and hugged me, harder than she ever had in her life.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Mom said, and when she pulled away, she ran a finger under her eye, corralling a tear that had escaped.

  She looked as if she hadn’t slept—but worse. There were plenty of times she didn’t sleep for more than a day because of her job. The way she looked now was ten times scarier than any of those. Her face was ashen, and dark half circles had formed under her eyes.

  I stepped to the side of the bed and reached across Zed’s casted arm and stroked his chin.

  His head was bandaged, he had a tube going up his nose, the side of his face was scraped raw, and wires were hooked up to his chest. When a monitor started to beep, I jumped.

  “It’s just taking his blood pressure,” Lexie explained.

  “Oh,” I answered. I’d never liked hospitals. I could never be a nurse like Sarah or Lexie, or even a midwife like Mom. That was certain.

  “He had an MRI yesterday,” Lexie said. “He has a skull fracture and a bad concussion, but we won’t know how serious the injury is until he comes out of the coma. He could wake up anytime or not for quite a while…”

  “Oh,” I answered again, understanding all too well.

  Mom spoke in a faint voice. “At least he’s young. His chances are better because of that.”

  “Did the car stop that hit him?”

  “Oh, yes,” Mom said. “It wasn’t the driver’s fault. Zed must have been in a hurry to get home. I was still out on a call, so Izzy was with Freddy.” She took a raggedy breath. “The driver felt horrible, as you can imagine. He called nine-one-one. In fact I had a message from him today asking how Zed is.”

  We stood in silence for a moment, watching Zed breathe. At least he could do that on his own. That had to be a good sign.

  “I’ll go wait with Ezra,” Lexie said after a few minutes.

  “Ella.” Mom turned toward me. “I want to ask you something.” She sounded so serious. I couldn’t imagine what it might be. “I need someone to sit with Freddy tonight.”

  “Mom.”

  It was as if she hadn’t heard me. “Izzy is there right now, but she can’t spend the night. She’s a good help, but this is all too much for her, especially with Zed getting hit. Freddy stayed alone last night, but he shouldn’t have. I don’t want to leave him alone again.” Her eyes, full of expectation, met mine.

  I thought of the letter Freddy had sent. And then of Luke urging me to forgive him. I started shaking my head slowly at first, but then more adamantly.

  “She’ll give you instructions. What medicine. All of that.”

  “No,” I managed to say. I wasn’t ready to take care of Freddy Bayer.

  “I’ll be home by ten.”

  “No,” I said again.

  “Ella.” Mom’s voice was soft.

  “No. Please, no. I’m staying here with Zed. You go home to Freddy.”

  “I should stay with Zed,” Mom said.

  “Then find someone else to stay with him.” I knew my voice was full of resentment. But it was more than that. I had no reason to trust Freddy Bayer. There was no way I was going to take care of him. “Maybe someone else could do it. Like Lexie.”

  “There’s a first-time mother in early labor.”

  “Maybe Ada could.”

  Mom shook her head and then cleared her throat. “Ada isn’t in labor yet, but she could be any day now.”

  “What? I thought she lost the baby.”

  “I thought she would, that night,” Mom said. “But she didn’t. She’s not due for another couple of weeks, but she keeps having contractions nonetheless.”

  I slumped down into the chair beside Zed, feeling overwhelmed. Ada was going to have a baby, but no one had told me until they had to. It looked as though she’d gotten her honeymoon baby—not that she’d had a real honeymoon—after all.

  And it felt like such an Amish thing that Mom expected me to go take care of Freddy. More forgive and forget. And to think I was determined to become Amish.

  “I can’t do it.” I met Mom’s eyes and leaned forward. “I just can’t.”

  I expected her to shame me into it—or bully me. But she didn’t. “I shouldn’t have asked,” she said. “I’m tired. I need to find a nursing aide for Freddy. That will free us up to be here more without having to leave him home alone.”

  “Okay,” I whispered. “But tonight, you go. I’ll stay with Zed. And I’ll call if anything happens.” I stood, and Mom gave me a half hug, squeezing me tightly, bumping against my shoulder with her chin. Then she kissed Zed on the forehead and left the room. I was surprised when Ezra joined me a few minutes later.

  “Are you staying?” I was overcome with relief.

  He shook his head. “I wanted to tell you goodbye. Your mom’s getting the car. She’s going to give me a ride back because Lexie is headed the other direction.”

  Tears clogged my throat.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, though,” he said. “I’ll call here in the morning.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered.

  “We’ll make time to talk.” He took my hand and held it as we both gazed at Zed. “Things will be okay.” His voice was full of confidence. “I’m so glad you’re home.” He hugged me then, all of me. A long tender hug. As I melted against him, it was as if the last few months never happened.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, pulling away reluctantly. My heart pounded as I watched him go, his hat at his side, loping through the intensive care unit and out the door into the hall.

  It wasn’t until an hour later that I thought to leave a message for Luke and Rosalee. I nearly started crying as I called from the phone beside Zed, telling them I’d arrived. “Please pray,” I added. Then I left the hospital number, telling Luke to feel free to call it if he wanted.

  After that I slept for a few hours
, waking to a nurse hovering over Zed.

  “How is he?” I stammered, jumping to my feet.

  “The same,” she said, turning toward me. “How are you?”

  “Hungry.”

  “Cafeteria’s on the first floor.”

  “Thanks,” I answered, gazing at Zed. He was still in the same position. His good hand remained on his chest, the IV taped to the back of it.

  On the way to the cafeteria, I stopped by the gift store to see if they had any prepaid cell phones. They did, and I bought one and keyed in the code. By the time I reached the cafeteria I texted Mom with the number in case she wanted to reach me. I didn’t know Ezra’s number at the dairy where he was working. I’d have to wait until he called me in the morning. But I did call Plain Treats back, leaving the new number.

  After a turkey sandwich and a bag of chips, I returned to Zed’s room with a cup of coffee.

  The next thing I knew it was morning and Mom was at my side, her hand against Zed’s face.

  “Who’s with Freddy?” I asked.

  “Izzy. I left messages at all the home health agencies. I expect I’ll have an aide by this afternoon.”

  “Izzy must be really mature to handle this.”

  “I think she’s sweet on Zed. She said she wanted to come and see him. She’s been helping with Freddy for the last month while Zed was at school.”

  The picture was coming into focus for me. Freddy had been at the house longer than I thought. At first Zed and Mom had been able to care for him, leaving him alone when needed. But a month ago they had to pull in outside help.

  “Did the mother who was in labor deliver?”

  Mom nodded. “Lexie’s back at the house, sleeping.”

  If Mom was sleeping in the alcove, then Lexie would be in Zed’s room—meaning my room.

  “I think once Lexie wakes up, Izzy will hire a driver to bring her into town to see Zed.”

  “Really?”

  Mom took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “They’ve become close.”

  Izzy couldn’t be more than fifteen. I sighed. The same age as Zed. He was so big now and acted so mature that I had to remind myself how young he really was.

  My eyes landed on my brother. I’d missed a lot in the last few months. Zed was almost sixteen. Too young to be dating, but not too young to be interested. Except she was Amish. What was he thinking? A Mueller girl would never leave the church. And Zed would never join. Unlike me, he liked to travel. And unlike me, he was an academic.