“I’m Abigail,” she said, picking up the patient and following Gary to the back.
After the owl was secure in his cage, Abigail went over to one of the other cages where a small kitten was meowing continuously. Gary noticed that when she approached the cage the kitten stopped meowing as Abigail cooed to her.
The doctor grinned. “Abigail, would you like a job?”
Abigail looked at him, puzzled. “What type of job?”
“Well, we need someone to clean out the cages, comfort the animals, and change their water and food. I can’t help but notice you seem to have a way with them. The pay isn’t great, and it will only be part time, but you’ll receive much satisfaction in knowing you are helping the animals.”
Abigail thought for a moment and nodded her head. “I would love to. I’ve always loved animals.”
“Perfect! If you want to come by tomorrow morning at 9:00, one of my assistants will show you what to do.”
Abigail shook Gary’s hand and limped out of the Center feeling thrilled. She had a job. Not just any job, but a job she would love and would be good at.
* * *
Chapter 4
Abigail had been working at the Animal Center for almost four months and loved every moment of it. She loved taking care of the animals and had gained so much experience, that she was even bringing some animals home at night that needed extra care. The Center became busier than it had ever been, as word of Abigail’s way with animals became known.
Her father, realizing how serious Abigail was in this job, renovated a small section of the barn so she could keep the animals there in comfort. People were even bringing injured or unwanted animals directly to Abigail’s house, so she found herself extremely busy.
One rainy morning, Abigail was in the barn, giving the animals fresh water when she heard a man’s voice call from outside the barn.
“Hello? Is anyone here?”
Abigail walked towards the door to see an Amish man holding a young fawn in his arms.
“Ach, my, what do you have there?” Abigail said, when she saw the frightened baby.
“I found her on the side of the road. It looks like she was injured because there’s blood on her fur, but she was laying there, crying out for her mamm,” the man said. “I was told by several people to bring her to you.”
“Follow me. We’ll put her in the small stall until I can figure out what to do.”
They walked into the barn and Abigail stopped at one of the smaller pens.
“Let’s put her in here,” Abigail said, opening the half door. “Where’s her mamm?”
“I don’t know. I looked around briefly, but couldn’t see her.”
“Well, I’ll have to get the vet to come out and take a look at her. We better go and see if we can find her mamm,” Abigail said, closing the gate to the pen. “Can you show me where you found her?”
“Jah, sure, we can take my buggy. My name is Isaiah. You must be Abigail.”
“Jah, I am. Danke for bringing her to me.” If we find the mamm, we’ll have to give her back her baby.”
“You’ve become famous around here for your care of animals,” Isaiah said. “When I asked where I should bring the fawn to, they all said, Abigail Troyer, she has a way with animals.
“Really? They said that?” Abigail said, amused. She looked at Isaiah and guessed he was in his late twenties and was definitely married, seeing as he had a beard. “I don’t recall seeing you around here. Did you just move to this community?”
“Jah, I moved here a few months ago, so I don’t know very many people,” he answered. After a few minutes he stopped the buggy. “This is where I found the fawn.”
Isaiah helped Abigail down and together they searched the woods by the road. They were just about to give up, thinking perhaps the mother had been frightened and abandoned her baby. Spying an overgrown bush that looked like some branches had been broken, Abigail walked over to it and parted a few of the branches.
“I found her!” she cried out.
“Really? Is she alright?” Isaiah answered, running over to where she was.
Abigail shook her head. “She’s with Gott. She must have been hit by a car. Look at the gash on her side. That would explain why the baby had blood on its fur.”
Both Isaiah and Abigail bowed their heads and said a silent prayer for the dead mother.
“What should we do with her?” Isaiah asked, looking around.
“Best to leave her be. Gott will take care of her,” Abigail answered, bending down and stroking the mother's head.
* * *
Back at Abigail house, Isaiah followed her into the barn.
“What will you do with the baby?” he asked curiously.
“I’ll have to bring the fawn into my house for now,” Abigail said. “She’s too young to be kept alone out in the barn.”
“I have to get back home but can I come back tomorrow to see how she’s doing?” Isaiah asked, pulling up to the house.
“Jah, sure. I’ll have to go to the Animal Center to get the vet to come look at her, but I’ll do that early in the morning. Danke for caring enough to bring the baby to me.” Abigail said as she climbed down from the buggy.
Isaiah tipped his hat and turned the horse around. Abigail stood there for a while watching his buggy head towards the road.
What a nice man, Abigail said to herself. It’s a shame he’s married. Oh, well; even if he wasn’t married, he looks quite a bit older than me anyway.
Abigail shrugged and headed towards the barn to see if there was anything she could use for the fawn to be able to sleep in the house. She knew her father would not be thrilled with having a deer in the kitchen, but there wasn’t much she could do about it if she wanted it to survive.
* * *
The next morning, Abigail drove to the Center to take care of the animals she was responsible for as well as tell Gary about the fawn. After getting a few tips on what she needed to do and armed with some supplies, Abigail went home to wait for Gary to come by and check on the new patient.
“I’m certainly glad you’re home, my dochtah,” John said, walking out of the barn when he heard the buggy.
“Is everything okay, Daed?” Abigail asked concerned.
“Everything is fine except that deer in the kitchen won’t stop crying. I tried talking to it but I only made it worse,” John said, scratching his beard. “I have to run some errands now that you’re back. I’ll see you later.”
Abigail chuckled to herself at the thought of her father trying to soothe a crying fawn. She picked up her box of supplies and went into the house.
“There now, it’s okay. I’m here. I’ll bet you’re hungry,” Abigail said, walking into the kitchen.
The fawn, hearing Abigail's voice, stopped crying and watched as Abigail moved around the kitchen. She took the makeshift rubber bottle that Gary had given her and filled it with the special milk he supplied, then brought it over to the fawn. The fawn sniffed the end of the bottle and realizing that is was food, began sucking on the nipple eagerly.
“You poor thing, you were so hungry.”
“Anyone home?” Gary’s voice came from the front door.
“In the kitchen, come on in.”
“Oh, my, she sure is small. The mother must have given birth shortly before she was killed,” Gary said, reaching into the box to pick it up. He placed it on the table so he could get a better look.
Gary examined the fawn carefully. “Nothing appears to be broken. I would say she’s just scared and confused,” he said, closing up his medical bag. “I think a few weeks of your care, and she will be good as new and ready to go back into the wild.”
“Thank you, Gary. I’ll be in tomorrow morning as usual and let you know how she’s doing.”
After Gary had left, Abigail started working on a stew and some pies. With her schedule being so busy, she had learned how to organize herself and usually made a couple of meals in advance so she wouldn’t be rushed.
>
“Abigail, are you home?” she heard from the front porch. “It’s Isaiah. I hope you don’t mind, but I brought my kinner to see the fawn.
Not only married but has a family? Abigail thought to herself. Why is he so concerned about the fawn?
* * *
Chapter 5
“Hello. Come in,” Abigail said, smiling as she opened the door.
“Abigail, I’d like you to meet Josiah, Jeremy, David, and Ruth-Ann,” Isaiah said, pointing to his children. “This is the woman I told you about that takes care of the animals.”
The children shyly mumbled hello except Ruth-Ann. She was about four years old, and came towards Abigail and gave her a big hug.
Isaiah smiled. “Ruth-Ann is very affectionate and not very shy like her bruders.”
Abigail smiled and returned Ruth-Ann’s hug. “Do you want to see the baby deer?”
All the children nodded their heads as Abigail brought them over to the box against the wall.
“Ach, she’s so small,” Josiah said, reaching out and patting the fawn on the head.
“Can I hug her?” Ruth-Ann asked, pointing to the box.
“Nee, she’s too young, and she’s also a wild animal. When she gets better, she’ll have to go back to the forest.” Abigail looked up at Isaiah and smiled.
“I hope you don’t mind, Abigail. I had told them so much about the fawn, they wouldn’t leave me alone until I brought them to see it,” Isaiah said, reaching down and patting the fawn’s head.
“It’s a pleasure to have the kinner interested in animals and to teach them about their care,” Abigail said.
“It’s almost time to feed the other animals,” Abigail said to the small group. “Would you like to help me?”
“You mean you have other animals?” Jeremy asked, looking around the kitchen.
“Jah, they’re in the barn,” Abigail said, going over and taking a container full of apples and potato peels. “There are two dogs, a cat, a raccoon and a small pig; and right now they are all hungry.”
“Why is the deer in the house?” David asked, still petting the deer’s head.
“She’s too small to keep in the barn and needs to be fed every four hours. As soon as she gets stronger and can stand on her own, she’ll go out in the barn like the rest of the animals,” Abigail answered heading for the door.
The three boys ran ahead, and Abigail laughed at their eagerness.
Isaiah laughed as Ruth-Ann pulled her father, getting annoyed that he wasn’t walking faster.
“I wanna see the aminals,” she said, pulling her father’s hand towards the barn.
“Now, we must be very quiet,” Abigail said to the children when she opened the door to the barn. “Some of these animals have been very sick, and some have not had a lot of love in their lives.”
Abigail went over to one stall and picked up one of the animals.
“Now this little one was born with a problem with his stomach, so we have to feed him with tubes until he is healthy enough to go back to his mamm,” she said, putting a small little piglet on her lap.
“Awww, he’s so cute,” the children gushed as they each took their turn to pet him. After she had put the piglet back in its pen, she went over to the next stall and showed the children a small dog that had been found tied to a tree.
“Why was he tied to a tree?” Jeremy asked, looking at the pup through the gate.
“We don’t know, Jeremy, but I guess no one wanted him anymore, so they just left him,” Abigail said. “He’s very sick, but once he gets better, he’ll be able to go home and live with a nice family.”
“Okay, kinner, we should get back home now and let Abigail get back to work,” Isaiah said, reaching out and taking Ruth-Ann’s hand. “Danke for this. The children enjoyed themselves.”
“You’re welcome. I’ve enjoyed the kinner as well,” Abigail said, blushing. “Perhaps you could bring them over another time, and they can help me feed the animals.”
Isaiah nodded his head just as Ruth-Ann broke free of his grip and ran over and hugged Abigail again.
“Danke,” she said in her little voice and ran back towards her father.
Abigail was touched by the affection and wondered where the mother was. Waving goodbye as their buggy drove down the lane, she went back into the barn to make sure the animals were fed and watered and given whatever medicine they needed.
Back in the kitchen, she checked on the fawn sound asleep in her bed. She glanced at the clock and realized it was almost time for her father to come home, so she quickly put the finishing touches on the stew and took out the ingredients for a tossed salad.
She was amazed at how much she had accomplished in her life so far and at times she almost forgot that she had a disability. Maybe I truly will find someone and settle down, she thought. It’s just too bad that Isaiah is married. But even if he wasn’t married, he’d still be too old for me.
* * *
The next day, she was surprised to see Isaiah pull up in her drive early in the morning.
“Gut morning, Abigail. I was just on my way to work and thought I would check on the fawn before I left,” he said, jumping out of the wagon.
“She’s doing just fine. In fact, she is finally standing,” Abigail said proudly. “I found her standing in her crate this morning when I came downstairs.”
“Ahh, wonderful. Will she be able to be released soon?”
“Nee, not for a while. She’ll need to grow a bit more so that she can fend for herself in the wild. Right now she would be bear food.” Abigail motioned Isaiah into the kitchen to see the fawn.
He laughed as he noticed the fawn run over to the side to look at Abigail. “I think she looks to you as her mamm.”
Abigail chuckled. “I think she’s just hungry.”
“Well, I should get to work. Can I stop in on my way home and check on her again?” Isaiah asked, petting the fawn’s head.
“Jah, if you want to,” Abigail replied, a bit surprised.
Once Isaiah left, Abigail went back into the kitchen. The fawn saw Abigail walk into the room and gave a little bleet as if to say hello. “Jah, I don’t know why he keeps coming to visit either,” she said to the fawn as if it understood her. “It’s just too bad that he’s married. There must be a reason why he keeps coming back to visit.”
Abigail poured herself a cup of tea and a grabbed a carrot, then went over and sat in the chair nearest the fawn’s bed. “Do you know something I don’t? Because you can tell me if you do.”
The fawn strained its neck over the side of the box when it saw the carrot.
“I don’t understand why a married man would keep coming over here to visit a deer. It just seems strange,” she said, watching the fawn munch delicately on the carrot. “I’m not sure what to make of this. I guess I’ll just continue following Gott’s path until it is clear.”
* * *
Chapter 6
“Abby, this deer is getting too big for the house. She’s continually getting out of her box,” John said, when Abigail came down for breakfast. “This morning I found her in the pantry and caught her just before she did any damage.”
“Alright, Daed, I’ll make room in the barn. It’s almost time to set her free anyway,” Abigail said, giving the deer a carrot.
After her father had left for the day, Abigail went into the barn and set up a stall to move the new resident.
“Come on, Bess. I need to move you to the barn,” she said, letting the deer out of its box. Abigail let the timid deer outside and proceeded to walk to the barn.
“Abigail, is everything alright with the fawn?” Isaiah shouted from his buggy as he drove up to the house.
Abigail turned and looked at him, puzzled. Why is he here again? Does his wife not know that he keeps coming to visit me?
“Hi, Isaiah. Nee nothing is wrong with her other than she is getting too big for the kitchen and now has to go into the barn.” Abigail said, as she approached the buggy.
&n
bsp; “I just came by to see how you… er, I mean how she was doing,” Isaiah said, awkwardly.
“She’s doing fine. I would say in about three weeks, she’ll be ready to be released into the wild. The vet will be coming by on Friday to check her out.”
“That’s wonderful. Can I help you bring her into the barn? I don’t have to be at work for another hour,” Isaiah asked, jumping down from the buggy.
Puzzled, Abigail nodded her head. “Sure, if you want to. I have to feed the other animals so maybe you can keep an eye on her and make sure she is okay in her new surroundings.”
Isaiah grinned and eagerly grabbed the rope. “I would love to.”
After the animals had been fed and watered and the deer was safe and secure in her new home, Abigail and Isaiah walked out of the barn.
“I better get to work,” Isaiah said, hesitating a bit as if he wanted to say something else.
Abigail was just about to thank him for stopping by when she saw her sister come up the driveway.
“Abby, I need some sugar. Do you have any to spare?” Katie asked, jumping down from her buggy.
“Jah, I have lots. Katie, this is Isaiah. He’s the one who found the fawn.”
“Pleased to meet you, Isaiah.”
“Jah, pleased to meet you too.” Isaiah smiled. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to get to work. Can I stop by after work to check how she’s doing?”
“Jah, sure,” Abigail said, wondering why he continued to visit her. Where is his wife?
Watching Isaiah’s buggy drive off, Katie turned to her sister. “Hmmm, interesting.”
“Why do you say that? He’s married,” Abigail snorted.
“How do you know?”
“He’s got a beard or didn’t you see that. Married men always have a beard in case you didn’t remember,” Abigail teased her sister.
“I saw the beard,” Katie said, making a face at her sister. “Maybe he’s a widower.”
Abigail shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s just strange that he’s always stopping by. He even brought his kinner one day.”
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