A Beautiful Arrangement

by Beth Wiseman

  They learned Margaret had been admitted, and by the time they’d found the right nurses’ station, Lydia was sure Margaret must at least have the form of craziness Sarah Mae mentioned—dementia.

  “What a precious baby,” the nurse behind the counter said as she smiled at Mattie, who was wiggling in Samuel’s arms.

  “Danki,” he said.

  Lydia needed her pulse to slow down. “We’re here to find out about Margaret Keim.” The smell of the hospital wafted up her nose, and she fought the urge to vomit. She’d been to a hospital only a few times, and one of those times was when her grandmother died. The odor had reminded her of death ever since.

  “Are you family?” the nurse asked.

  “Nee. I mean no,” Lydia said. “But I’m the one who found her on the side of the road, and I’d just like to know how she is.”

  The young woman put down the pen she’d been twirling between her fingers. “Okay. Let me go see what I can find out.”

  She returned with an older woman who had short, gray hair. “I’m Dr. Finley. You’re the one who found Miss Keim?”

  “Yes, in Montgomery. I was on mei way to Odon.” Lydia bit her bottom lip.

  “She’s going to be okay physically, we think. We’re going to run some tests. She was dehydrated, malnourished, and very dirty, which I’m sure you noticed. I’m guessing she’s homeless.”

  Lydia nodded. They were at the hospital in Bedford, so it would be unlikely any of the staff knew Margaret.

  “She also has a deep cut on the right side of her head, like perhaps she was struck by something heavy.” She locked eyes with Lydia. “I know your people don’t cut their hair, but we had to shave a fairly large section of her head to stitch up her wound. It’s unfortunate, but we see a lot of homeless people victimized.”

  “She doesn’t have anything to steal, unless you count her dilapidated truck,” Samuel said, frowning.

  The doctor sighed. “Most of the homeless we see don’t have much of value. The world just has a lot of bullies.”

  Lydia cringed. No matter Margaret’s looks or situation, how could someone hit an old woman? “Does she have something called dementia?”

  “We’ll know more after the tests, but based on some of the things she said, we suspect she might have some mental issues. Or it could just be confusion from the blow she took to the head. Do you know of any family we should call?”

  “Nee,” Lydia said, electing not to say her community thought Margaret had mental issues too. “I recently learned she has a sister somewhere, but I don’t think they’ve been in contact for many years. Her name is Delila Keim. But that would be her maiden name. I don’t know if she’s married.” She thought again about the photograph of the woman in the red dress with the man standing next to her.

  “Okay, great. We have someone who’s pretty good at tracking down long-lost relatives. We’ll see what we can do.”

  Relief washed over Lydia. Surely the hospital staff would have more resources at their disposal than she and Samuel had.

  “She’s resting, but you can go in and see her if you’d like.” The doctor pointed to a door down the hall. “She’s in room 426. I have to run, but if you’ll leave a contact number, we can call you with any updates.” She looked back and forth between Samuel and Lydia. “Do you have a cell phone?”

  “Ya.” Lydia reminded herself to charge hers in the lobby, even if just for a few minutes. But a big part of her wanted to leave and never think about Margaret again. The hospital had the best chance of finding any relatives she might have, and now she would get the care she needed. Lydia had every reason to just walk away.

  But the woman had said she loved Lydia and saved her life. And is she really a threat to Mattie?

  Lydia owed the woman at least one visit, but she wouldn’t leave a phone number for follow-ups.

  “Go ahead,” Samuel said softly. “I know you want to see her. Mattie and I will wait in the hallway.”

  Lydia appreciated the way her husband was starting to understand the way she thought without her having to tell him. “Danki. I won’t be staying long.”

  With a heavy and grateful heart, she took the few steps to room 426, then gently pushed open the door. Her eyes widened when she saw Margaret. She had a big bandage above one ear, but her face was clean, and her hair wasn’t the matted mess it usually was. Despite the tube attached to her arm, this was a small glimpse at who Margaret Keim must have been at one time. She’d never seen the woman smile the way she did now, and even though her teeth were discolored, somehow Margaret looked softer, less scary. She stretched out one of her large arms and motioned for Lydia to come closer.

  She took two slow, careful steps toward the bed.

  Margaret was still smiling. “Delila, I knew you’d come. I knew you’d come home one day. And here you are, as beautiful as ever.”

  Lydia folded her hands in front of her. “Um, Miss Keim . . .” She’d decided to follow the doctor’s lead and address her more formally. “I’m not Delila, but the hospital staff is trying to find her. I’m the woman who found you in your truck on the side of the road.”

  “Truck?” Margaret’s face shriveled. “I don’t have a truck. I don’t even know how to drive.”

  Lydia chose not to argue with her. It seemed pointless. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “Ya, I am.” Smiling, she said, “I forgive you, Delila. I love you just as much now as I ever did.”

  Lydia was too curious to let it go, so she decided to play along. “Forgive me for what?”

  Margaret blinked back tears. “For stealing mei dochder.”

  Lydia didn’t move as she tried to decide whether Margaret would believe her if she said she hadn’t stolen her baby. Then she excused herself—she said she had to go to the bathroom—and never returned. But she left her phone number at the nurses’ station, after all, asking that the doctor call her with any updates. Mostly, she wanted to know when Margaret was back on the streets again. If the woman thought Lydia had stolen her baby, she might come looking for Mattie.

  Chapter 19

  Joseph listened as Samuel detailed the events of the previous day.

  “That’s a wild story, mei friend. Are you and Lydia worried she might try to kidnap Mattie when she’s released from the hospital?” Joseph needed a distraction so he wouldn’t think about Beverly, but he wished Samuel had better news.

  Samuel’s spoon clinked against his empty bowl as he leaned back in his chair. As usual, they were the only ones in the break room. Their Englisch coworkers usually went out to eat.

  “We’re hoping she just needs some medication to get her head straight,” Samuel said. “I guess we’ll know whether to worry when Lydia hears from the doctor.”

  Joseph finished a bite of meat loaf. His mother had gone overboard on his dinner, knowing her son was having a rough time. Even thoughts of Beverly couldn’t keep him from devouring it along with potatoes, green beans, and bread. But his heart still ached.

  “You haven’t talked to Beverly, have you?” Samuel frowned.

  Joseph put the lid on his food container, hoping he could talk about her without feeling like he might cry. “Nee.”

  “Are you going to?”

  Joseph looked across the table at his friend. “What’s the point?”

  “Uh, the point is that you lieb her.” Samuel stood and pushed in his chair.

  “I don’t know if I can get past the lies.” But Joseph also wondered if he could live without Beverly in his life. He’d fallen for her hard.

  “Forgiveness. It’s a win-win. You free her, and you free yourself.”

  Joseph packed up his plastic containers. “That’s easier said than done.”

  Samuel waited until Joseph looked at him, then said, “It doesn’t have to be. Forgive her. And love her. You’ll argue and fight, make up, and do things that require forgiveness again. It’s a relationship, and that’s how it works.” He paused. “And if you let true love slip away
, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

  “I’m not the one who lied.” Joseph heard the angry tone in his voice.

  “You’re also not the One who hung from a cross, the One who forgives us daily, and the only One who has the right to judge. Lydia is going to see Beverly this morning. She lied to us, too, and I know it hurt Lydia a lot. But we want her and Susan in our lives, so we’ll forgive her and not speak of it again.”

  Joseph didn’t say anything—for fear of crying.

  * * *

  Lydia sat on the couch with Beverly once Mattie and Susan were playing on the floor.

  Beverly hung her head. “I don’t know how many times I’ve asked Gott to forgive me for lying, and I feel like I need to tell you and Samuel I’m sorry at least a hundred times. And Joseph.”

  “Gott forgave you the very first time you asked Him to forgive you.” She moved her purse from the couch to the coffee table and twisted to face Beverly. “Samuel and I forgive you too. And hopefully, over time, Joseph will forgive you as well, although I have no way to know for sure.”

  “I just want what you and Samuel have. I know you said you’ve had challenges, but”—she looked at the babies—“I really wanted those ten kinner with Joseph.”

  When it came to deception, Lydia had slipped well into a gray area—although more with omissions of truth than actual fibs. There was no easy way to tell her friend the truth, but she wanted to be honest with her. She hung her head.

  “Our marriage had a rough start because Samuel and I were intimate before we were married in a way only married people should be. It was just one time, but once we knew I was pregnant, our families practically forced us to get married. We weren’t in love. We were just physically attracted to each other, and we succumbed to our desires.” Lydia looked up.

  Beverly’s jaw had dropped. “But you seem to love each other so much. I see it in your eyes.”

  “We do love each other. But we never dated and fell in love the way most married couples do. I was only sixteen when I got pregnant, and we were both bitter about the way our families rushed us to marry, to save face. Especially me.”

  Lydia paused as she recalled their wedding day. “Neither one of us meant our vows when we recited them. Mattie drew us together more than anything because of our shared love for her, but we’ve been trying to work our way into a more romantic relationship only recently. For a long time, we lived like roommates, and our married relationship is still far from typical, but like I said, we’re working on it.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Beverly briefly touched Lydia’s arm as she shook her head.

  “Don’t be. In a lot of ways, we’re getting to know each other’s hearts. Instead of walking around in a bitter haze and staying detached emotionally, we talk things out, even when we’re angry.”

  Beverly was quiet. “I guess that’s how marriage is supposed to work. Enos and I always talked things over.”

  “I think it is. I know forgiveness has to be part of it too. Samuel told me he was planning to talk to Joseph about forgiveness today at work. We talked to him about it the night he came to our haus, right after he left your place. But he was so upset. In the end, he said you were probably too gut for him anyway.”

  Beverly shook her head. “How could he even think that? I felt like the luckiest woman in the world when Joseph took an interest in me. I made such a bad choice.”

  “Give him time.”

  Then Lydia told Beverly about Margaret, and her friend gasped more than once. “I bet you were so scared,” Beverly said as she brought a hand to her chest.

  “I was so scared Margaret would die in front of me.”

  Then Lydia told Beverly what she’d found out about Margaret and Delila from Sarah Mae. “I left you out of it only because I wasn’t sure where the whole process was headed or if she really was dangerous, and then Samuel offered to help, including going to the hospital with me.”

  “Ach, wow. I hope the hospital can find her schweschder and get her the help she needs.”

  “Ya, me too. But hopefully she’s in gut hands even if they don’t locate Delila.”

  Lydia reached for her purse when her phone buzzed. “I better see who that is. We try not to use our phones, but . . .”

  “Same here,” Beverly said. “But once you start using them, it’s hard to stop.”

  Lydia didn’t recognize the number, but she answered. When she was done with the call, she told Beverly she needed to leave. “That was the doctor who cares for Margaret at the hospital. She asked me to come talk to her.” She looked at Mattie and bit her bottom lip.

  “I can keep Mattie for you,” Beverly said. “She can take a nap when Susan does.”

  “I really don’t want to be involved, but if they’re releasing Margaret, I need to know if we should be worried. All her talk about a stolen boppli makes me nervous.” Lydia shook her head. “It’s all very confusing.” Lydia glanced at Mattie before she looked back at Beverly. “Margaret is in the Bedford hospital, so I’ll need to hire a driver.” She paused, wondering if she should tell Samuel. She didn’t want to make him mad by not telling him, but she hated to bother him at work. Besides, she wouldn’t be in any danger at the hospital. “It would be gut if you can keep Mattie.”

  * * *

  Lydia made it to the hospital an hour and a half later. She stopped at the same nurses’ station and asked to speak to Dr. Finley, and in another fifteen minutes, the doctor opened the door to a hallway and motioned for Lydia to follow her.

  She looked so serious that Lydia’s knees began to shake. “Did she die?”

  Dr. Finley opened a closed door and motioned for Lydia to step inside. “No, she didn’t die.”

  Lydia sat down in front of a large desk with files stacked everywhere. Dr. Finley ran her hands along the desk and over the files until she found a pair of glasses and slipped them on. As she searched for something else, Lydia read the framed documents on the wall. She wondered how long the older woman had to go to school to get all those certificates.

  “Miss Keim has a lot going on, both physically and mentally.” Dr. Finley studied a file in front of her. “We haven’t been able to locate any relatives, including the sister you mentioned, and you’re the only one we have a phone number for. I understand you’re just the person who found Miss Keim, but I promised you updates, so here goes.”

  She lowered her head and read for a few seconds before she set the glasses on her desk. “She appears to be in her late sixties or early seventies, but she can’t remember her birthday. She told us she grew up Amish, but that God kicked her out of the organization.” She paused. “Do you know if she did something to be shunned?”

  With so many Amish in the area, Lydia wasn’t surprised Dr. Finley knew about shunning. Lydia shook her head. “I don’t really know anything about Margaret. I just remember her always being around and driving a blue truck from the time I was little. We were told to stay away from her.”

  “I’m afraid we had to restrain her last night. She was crying and trying to leave her room. She pulled out her IV twice.”

  Lydia’s eyes widened as she pictured Margaret strapped to a hospital bed. “Will she get better?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. She has an inoperable brain tumor. We believe it was aggravated further by the blow to her head. Right now, it’s hard to know how much of her confusion is because of the tumor or because of mental illness.” Dr. Finley sighed. “She also believes she has a baby that’s been stolen from her. Have you heard anything about that?”

  “She told me that, but I don’t know anything about her having a baby.” Lydia wondered why she was even involved in this. The initial plan to find Margaret’s sister had turned into a larger ordeal than Lydia could have predicted. If the hospital staff couldn’t find Delila Keim, it was highly unlikely that she or Samuel could have found her. Lydia had misread what she’d believed to be signs from God. She couldn’t do anything for Margaret.

  “When will she be released
from the hospital?” Lydia’s thoughts circled back to Mattie and whether Margaret would come looking for them. She’d told Lydia she’d been watching her.

  “We don’t believe Miss Keim has long to live.” She scratched her head. “We’re a little surprised she’s lived this long. The tumor on her brain is one of the largest we’ve seen. And when you take into account the way she’s lived, it’s even a bigger surprise that she’s still here.”

  “Will she be sent home to die?” Lydia’s daughter was first and foremost on her mind, but picturing Margaret alone in that rundown house caused her stomach to clench.

  “No. But we don’t have the proper facilities to care for her here. We also believe she might be a danger to herself or others. Since she doesn’t have any relatives, she’ll become a ward of the state and be sent to a facility that’s equipped to care for her. There’s also the fact that she’s indigent.”

  Lydia raised her eyebrows. “She’s what?”

  “Indigent, meaning she has no money or way to pay for her own care.”

  “She has a house and property,” Lydia said. Even though she didn’t want to be involved in this, it seemed like someone should be advocating for Margaret. “Can’t it be sold so she can get good medical care?”

  “I assure you Miss Keim will be taken care of. We assign a social worker to cases like this. And we know about her house, but she owes thousands of dollars in back taxes. Plus, we aren’t in the business of liquidating assets. I know that might sound cold, but you’d be surprised how many indigent people we get with mental disabilities.”

  “All right. I’ll pray that her final days are peaceful and pain free.” Lydia was ready to pick up Mattie and go home.

  “She keeps crying and asking for Delila.” Dr. Finley shook her head. “I wish we could have found her sister.”

  Lydia pressed her lips together, deciding how much she should tell the doctor. “She called me Delila yesterday, and she also told me she loves me and that she forgives me for stealing her boppli—baby.”

  “Maybe you look like her sister, the way she remembers her.” The doctor shrugged. “But, of course, we don’t know anything about a baby either.”