Naomi’s Christmas

by Marta Perry

  “I love what I do,” Katie said. “This shop is what I always wanted.” She was quiet for a moment, pulling ribbon from a spool. “You know, in the beginning my mother was very opposed to my coming here and starting my shop.” Her gaze met Naomi’s. “I know about your troubles with your daad,” she said. “I didn’t want you to think that you are the only one.”

  That startled and touched Naomi. It was inevitable that Katie would know about the situation with Daad. Probably most in the valley knew.

  “The shop is such a big job. How did you manage if you didn’t have support?” Her jars of honey seemed minuscule in comparison.

  “My daad interceded for me. Usually he lets Mamm have her way where the girls are concerned, but not this time.”

  “Unfortunately, my daad is the problem. And my mother isn’t here to step in.”

  Katie nodded. “Maybe your stepmother…” She let that thought trail off.

  “I hoped that might be the case.” Naomi’s throat tightened at the memory of how she’d parted with Betty. “But she just wants Daad to have his way.”

  “That’s a shame, for sure.” Katie’s gaze met Naomi’s, and her eyes were filled with understanding. “I just wanted you to know you aren’t alone. If you want to talk about it anytime, I’m here.”

  “Denke, Katie.” She blinked, afraid she’d embarrass herself with tears. “I just pray I’m doing the right thing. If Daad goes to the bishop about me—”

  “Surely he wouldn’t do such a thing,” Katie said.

  “I hope not, but Betty said he was thinking about it.” Her worry probably showed in her voice, but she couldn’t seem to help it.

  “Bishop Mose is always fair,” Katie said. “I’ll never forget how he supported me when we had that trouble with vandals. You know, maybe you ought to talk to him first. I’m sure he’d give you gut advice.”

  “I…I’ll think about it.” She would, but she shrank from being the one to bring their family troubles to the bishop’s notice. And what if Bishop Mose said she should do what Daad said?

  She made an effort to push that possibility from her mind. “You said your mamm opposed your coming here and opening the shop. How does she feel now that the shop is such a success?”

  Katie grinned, handing her the bag of materials. “She’s happy now. To hear her tell it, the whole thing was her idea. But it’s not because of the shop. It’s because I finally got married.”

  Naomi smiled, as she knew Katie had intended. “I don’t think I can count on that to solve my problems with Daad.”

  “You never can tell. I thought marriage was out of the question for me, too,” Katie said. “But I’ve learned that sometimes God has surprises in store for us.”

  Nathan nailed a replacement fence board into place, satisfied that the barrier along the road would last another year, at least. With cars and the milk tanker going by regularly, this fence had to be secure.

  He stood, stretching a little, and glanced back toward the house and barn. Now that Emma was back from her trip, life was returning to normal. Joshua and Sadie missed Naomi, but they’d been happy to see their grossmammi this morning and hear all about their new little cousin.

  Normal, he thought again. Only the rectangular white boxes of the beehives reminded him of the past few weeks.

  It wasn’t that he was ungrateful to Naomi. She’d been a blessing when he’d needed someone to care for the children. But Emma knew and understood his ways. Besides—

  A high voice cut through the cold air, and Nathan swung toward the sound. It was Joshua…running toward him along the road, calling out to him.

  Nathan dropped his hammer and headed for the boy, his heart pumping. Something must be wrong. Joshua shouldn’t be out on the road.

  Even as he thought it, a car rounded the bend coming toward him. Coming toward Joshua.

  “Joshua, get back!”

  His son didn’t give any sign of hearing him, but fortunately he was well off the side of the road. The car whizzed harmlessly past.

  Nathan rushed to Joshua, grabbing his shoulders. “Was ist letz? What are you doing out here? The road is dangerous.”

  Joshua gasped for breath. “Grossmammi.” He stammered the word, his face white. “Komm, schnell.”

  Snatching his son up in his arms, Nathan ran toward the house. “What happened?” He got the words out over the pounding of his heart.

  “She fell.” Joshua buried his face in Nathan’s neck, and Nathan felt a hot tear against his skin. “She fell down, and she can’t get back up again.”

  “It will be all right.” Maybe that wasn’t true, but it was all he could say.

  He pounded up the lane toward the house as Daad rushed from the barn. He must have heard Joshua shouting.

  They reached the porch at the same time. Nathan pushed Joshua toward his grandfather and hurried inside.

  Emma lay on the kitchen floor, an overturned chair next to her. Someone had brought a blanket and pillow to her, and Sadie sat on the floor beside her, holding her hand.

  Emma looked up at him and tried to smile despite the pain that ravaged her face. “Ach, I’m causing so much trouble.”

  “Never mind.” Nathan knelt next to her, relieved that at least Emma was conscious and seemed in her right mind. “What happened?”

  “Foolish, so foolish.” She moved her hand in a feeble gesture toward the chair. “Thought I’d get a platter from the top shelf.”

  Foolish, for sure, but nobody ever thought an accident would happen to them. He clasped her free hand in his. “Tell me where you are hurt. I must call the paramedics, and they will want to know.”

  “My hip, but maybe it’s not so bad. Joshua and Sadie have been taking care of me.” She tried to move and gasped in pain.

  “Just lie still, Emma,” Daad said. “We’ll stay with you while Nathan calls for help.” He moved to take Nathan’s place, letting Joshua sit beside him.

  Nathan nodded, moving carefully away from Emma so that he didn’t jostle her by accident. “I’ll be right back.”

  The phone shanty was by the barn, and he ran across the yard toward it, his mind moving faster than his feet. Call 911 first, that was the important thing. Someone would have to tell Jessie, and he dreaded the thought of how upset she might be.

  Jerking the door open, he grabbed the phone and pushed the buttons, quickly giving the information to the dispatcher. Luckily the firehouse wasn’t far, and the Pleasant Valley emergency teams prided themselves on their fast response.

  Once he’d hung up, he turned toward the door and then stopped. He’d have to go to the hospital with Emma. Daad couldn’t manage the children and take care of the milking as well. And there was a phone at the bakery.

  In a moment he heard Naomi’s voice on the other end of the line.

  “Nathan? Is something wrong?”

  “Emma has fallen. I must go to the hospital with her. The children…”

  “Don’t worry about them. I will be there soon.” He heard her saying something to someone else and then she was back on the line. “Paula will drive me, and she says she’ll take you on to the hospital.”

  She disconnected before he could stammer out his thanks.

  Not that she or any of the Plain People of the valley would be waiting around for thanks. Soon the word would spread, and there would be plenty of people showing up to help.

  He hurried back to the house, dread seizing him as he opened the door. If Emma had taken a turn for the worse…

  Foolishness, he knew. Emma still lay where she was, making an effort to talk normally to the children. But her gaze fastened on him, and he read the fear in it.

  “It will be all right. The paramedics are on their way, and I will go to the hospital with you.”

  “But the kinder,” she protested. “And how—”

  “It’s all taken care of,” he said, hoping the words would soothe her. “Naomi is on her way also, with Paula driving her, and Paula will take me to the hospital. Don’t w
orry. Just rest, and soon you’ll be back on your feet.”

  Even as he said the words, he heard the faint wail of a siren in the distance, getting louder. The emergency team must have beaten their best record to get here so soon.

  In a few minutes the kitchen was crowded with people and equipment. Daad took Sadie and Joshua by the hand and led them into the living room, hushing their protests.

  “We must leave the rescue people room to do their work,” he said.

  Nathan could breathe easier once the children were out of the way. He didn’t want them to see their grandmother in pain, and no matter how gentle the EMTs were, it would be difficult to get Emma onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.

  His stomach churned as he watched. This must have been what it was like when they came for Ada. If he’d been here…But if he’d been here, it would never have happened.

  Emma bit her lip as she was moved to a stretcher, a moan escaping her. In the other room he heard Sadie start to cry, and his heart twisted. He wanted to protect his children from everything that might hurt them, but he couldn’t.

  He hastened to hold the door open as the paramedics moved the stretcher. They were lowering it down the steps when a car pulled in, swinging around the ambulance. Paula Schatz’s car, the offending chrome painted black. The doors swung open, and Naomi was hurrying toward him.

  One little piece of his tension slipped away. Naomi was here, and she’d take over. The children were safe with her.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Praying silently for Emma, Naomi hurried into the house, pausing only long enough to hang up her jacket. She couldn’t do anything for Emma but pray, but there was certainly something she could do for the children.

  Sadie’s sobs reached her as she crossed the kitchen and went into the living room. Ezra, Nathan’s father, sat on the sofa with Sadie in his lap and Joshua next to him. He patted Sadie’s back and looked up at Naomi with relief plainly written on his face.

  “I told Sadie that Emma would be all right, but…” He let that sentence trail off, shrugging a little.

  “Sadie.” Naomi reached out to take the little girl, and Sadie clung to her, wrapping her arms around Naomi’s neck. “Komm. Stop the crying. Your grossmammi might hear you. Think how bad it would make her feel.”

  Sadie pulled back, sniffling. “It would?”

  “Ja, of course it would. She loves you.”

  “She said you and Joshua took gut care of her,” Ezra said, rising and motioning for Naomi to take his place. “That made her happy.”

  “You did?” Naomi sat down, putting her arm around Joshua and seating Sadie on her lap. “That was wonderful smart of you.”

  Sadie nodded and then glanced at her brother. “It was Joshua,” she whispered. “He told me what to do.”

  “So you both helped your grossmammi.” She snuggled them close.

  Sadie relaxed against her, but Joshua sat with his shoulders squared, as if he had to carry a burden. What was going through his mind? Was he blaming himself for Emma’s accident?

  “Do you want to tell me about it?” Surely it was best for them to talk rather than to keep it inside and worry. She met Ezra’s gaze. He nodded and slipped out to the kitchen.

  “I heard Grossmammi fall,” Sadie announced. “I was playing with my dolly.” She nodded toward a plastic baby doll that lay under the rocking chair.

  “What about you, Joshua? Did you hear her fall?”

  He nodded. “I went to the basement to get a jar of applesauce for her. She was going to make an applesauce cake. When she fell…” He stopped, his eyes dark with misery. “I could have held the chair for her.”

  “Ja, you could have,” she said, keeping her voice calm. Like his daadi, he was quick to take responsibility. “But you were doing something else for her. You couldn’t have known she would fall.” She smoothed his hair back from his face. “Whenever there’s an accident, we always think there was something we should have done. I’d guess your grossmammi is thinking that right now.”

  Some of the stiffness went out of Joshua, and he nodded. “That’s what she said. After she fell. She said she should have known better.”

  “Ja, we always think so, don’t we? That’s what makes it an accident. Nobody’s fault—it just happened. And you certain-sure did the right things for Grossmammi afterward.”

  “We got a pillow,” Sadie said. “And a blanket. And then Joshua ran to get Daadi while I held Grossmammi’s hand.”

  “You both did exactly the right thing,” Naomi said. “Now, suppose we straighten up the kitchen before Daadi gets back. Maybe we could bake something.”

  “Not applesauce cake,” Joshua said quickly.

  “How about snickerdoodles? We can pack some up to take to your grossmammi if she has to stay in the hospital.”

  “I love snickerdoodles.” Sadie slid from Naomi’s lap. “I like to push them down with a fork.”

  “That is the fun part, isn’t it?” She ushered the children toward the kitchen. They would be upset over Emma’s fall for a bit, but the busier she kept them, the better. They’d be more likely to mention anything that was bothering them while she was working with them.

  Especially Joshua. She studied his face, noticing the wariness in his eyes. Sadie would get her bounce back quickly, but it would take Joshua a bit longer, maybe because he was older and remembered more about Ada’s accident.

  She closed her eyes for an instant, murmuring a silent prayer for him. And for herself, that she would know how best to help these children.

  By the time they reached the third sheet of cookies, someone was knocking at the back door. Naomi wiped her hands on a tea towel and went to answer it. News spread fast, and the neighbors would have seen the ambulance pull in.

  “Naomi, I thought you’d be here.” It was Leah, along with Barbara Beiler, her sister-in-law. They both carried baskets. “Is there any news of Emma?”

  “Not yet.” Naomi gestured them on into the kitchen, where it was warmer. “It’s gut of you to stop.”

  “We saw the ambulance go by,” Barbara said, putting her basket on the counter and lifting out a casserole dish. Plump and rosy, Barbara was as noted for her cooking as she was for being something of a blabbermaul. “I had beef stew on the stove already, so I brought it for your dinner.”

  “Denke, Barbara. That’s ser kind of you. I’ll be able to heat some up for Nathan when he gets back.”

  Barbara clucked. “Who knows how long that will be? It must have been pretty serious, for them to carry Emma away on a stretcher.”

  Leah glanced at the children and then gave her sister-in-law a meaningful look. “I’m sure the paramedics were just being extra careful,” she said repressively. She set her basket down. “Elizabeth and I made cinnamon raisin bread this morning, so I brought a couple of loaves.”

  Elizabeth was Leah’s teenage stepdaughter, and a sweet, responsible girl.

  “Denke. And be sure to tell Elizabeth how much it is appreciated.” Naomi ruffled Joshua’s hair. “Joshua loves raisin bread.”

  “And you are making snickerdoodles, I see.” Leah leaned over the table, where Sadie was busy pressing the tines of a fork on the rounds of dough. “They look like little waffles, don’t they, Sadie?”

  Sadie nodded. “I like to make them.”

  “And eat them, if you’re like my kinder,” Leah said, smiling.

  As a former teacher, Leah had a nice way with the young ones, Naomi thought. She glanced toward Barbara, to find her eyes bright with curiosity.

  “How did you get here so quickly?” she asked, not troubling to hide her desire to know everything that was going on.

  “Nathan called the bakery, and Paula drove me. Then she drove Nathan on to the hospital, so that he could be there with Emma.” She paused, wondering what it would take to satisfy Barbara’s curiosity. “Paula’s a gut friend. She’s always willing to help with her car in an emergency.”

  “Well, if the accident had to happen, it’s gut tha
t Nathan could call on someone the kinder already know, like you.” Barbara tucked a pot holder back into her basket. “Poor Nathan, going back to the hospital again. The memories that must bring back.” She sighed, shaking her head.

  Naomi realized that she was gripping the edge of the counter and forced herself to relax. Barbara had a warm heart, but she also had a gift for saying things she shouldn’t.

  “Why did you say my daadi is poor?” Sadie stared at Barbara, looking as if she’d burst into tears again at any moment.

  “That’s not what she meant,” Naomi said quickly. “Just that it’s a shame Grossmammi had an accident.”

  Barbara opened her mouth, but at a look from Leah she closed it again. “Ja,” she said finally. “That’s what I was thinking.”

  “We’re going to save some of the snickerdoodles to take to Emma if she has to stay in the hospital,” Naomi said, keeping her voice light with an effort. She knew only too well what Barbara had meant by her comment. She was comparing Emma’s accident with Ada’s, saying that Nathan would be doubly upset to be heading to the hospital again, as he’d done the day Ada died.

  And she was probably right, even though she’d have done better not to say it. Nathan would be reminded, but there was nothing anyone could do about it.

  Darkness came on early in December, and Nathan still hadn’t returned. Naomi was just tucking the children into bed when she heard the sound of a car coming up the lane.

  “That is probably your daadi.” She forestalled Sadie’s attempt to rush downstairs in her bare feet. “Stay in bed where it’s warm. I’ll go and get him for you.”

  When she reached the top of the stairs, Nathan was already on his way up, shedding his jacket as he came. “The kinder are still awake?”

  “Ja, they’re waiting for you.” She couldn’t read anything in his face, so she followed him into the bedroom.

  “Daadi, Daadi,” Sadie clamored, while Joshua watched him with apprehension.

  “Hush, now.” He sat down on Sadie’s bed, pulling the quilt over her, and reached out to Joshua, who came quickly to lean against him.

  “How is Grossmammi?” Joshua’s shoulders were stiff again, as if he were bracing himself to hear bad news, and Naomi’s heart ached for him.