A Christmas Haven

by Cindy Woodsmall

  Ivy ran past Lyle and to the opposite side of the car, but Brandon and Holly hurried there first. Ivy caught a glimpse of the woman slumped against the car door. She had on a Swartzentruber black bonnet, but since her head was tilted downward, Ivy couldn’t see her face.

  “Don’t move her. She might be injured.” Brandon looked down the road. “I called an ambulance, and it’ll be here in minutes.”

  The woman sat up and wrapped her hands around her abdomen. Holly yanked the door open and knelt beside her, murmuring calm reassurances.

  “Are you able to put the car in park and turn off the ignition?” Brandon asked the driver with the same calm tone Holly was using.

  The woman was whispering to Holly in Pennsylvania Dutch. Ivy couldn’t make out the young woman’s words, but she knew desperation on someone’s face when she saw it.

  The young man nodded at Brandon. After finally freeing himself from the seatbelt, he slid the gearshift to park and turned the key. The struggling engine sputtered to silence.

  He leaned over to his passenger. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

  “She says she doesn’t think she’s injured.” Holly was squeezing the woman’s hand. “But we need to have her checked by a doctor.”

  The woman rested her head on the driver’s shoulder. “Arlan…all this to get medicine for me. What’ll happen now?”

  The man grimaced, leaning back against the headrest. “Just breathe,” he whispered.

  No one said anything for a few minutes, giving the couple time to adjust to their circumstances while waiting on the ambulance to arrive.

  Brandon walked around to the driver’s side. “I think I hear the ambulance now. The paramedics and EMTs will take great care of you and get you both to the hospital.”

  “No!” Both driver and passenger spoke at the same time.

  The young Swartzentruber woman looked back and forth between Ivy and Holly, and Ivy could finally see her face.

  “We can’t…They’ll find us. Please.”

  Was she still a minor? What could a young Swartzentruber couple be running from that they would attempt to drive a car?

  Holly’s eyes met Ivy’s. It was clear these people were desperate. But to help these runaways could undermine all that Holly was doing to reach the Swartzentruber Amish community and their medical needs.

  Ivy knelt next to Holly and put what she hoped was a comforting hand on the young woman’s dress where it covered her leg.

  The young man seemed to be holding his breath, waiting for an answer, and he hadn’t budged to leave the car. Maybe he wouldn’t until his passenger did.

  Holly nodded at the girl. “Okay. No hospital for now.”

  “Seriously, Holly?” Brandon gestured at the wreckage.

  Ivy stifled a sigh. Brandon didn’t understand the Old Ways, especially the most conservative thinkers. “Brandon, these two won’t agree to be seen at an Englischer hospital. We have to figure out another way.”

  Holly kept her eyes on the girl. “I have a good friend that is almost a doc, a reliable person who works with our communities and respects our ways. How about we go see her instead, ya? But I can’t guarantee this won’t end in a hospital visit.”

  Doc Jules was a nurse practitioner, and she’d be able to help. But who was this couple, and why were they so panicked?

  Four

  I hope this is the right decision. Holly guided the young woman into a patient room at the Martel Clinic. She had texted Julie to let her know they were coming, and the front staff let them through. But should they be at the hospital instead? Maybe Holly should’ve insisted the girl get in the ambulance that arrived a few minutes after the accident. Instead the EMTs on board collected a statement from Brandon and then left. The police remained. But Ivy was right. Neither Greene’s nor the Martel Clinic had ever treated anyone from the ultraconservative Swartzentruber community, so how could they force them into the hospital against their will? And what would stop this woman from just leaving the hospital?

  The man who was driving the car had to stay at the scene to talk to the police. Holly was confident Lyle wouldn’t press charges. Not against a young couple obviously in desperate circumstances. But what was wrong with this poor young woman?

  “It’s going to be okay.” Holly helped her settle into a chair. “What’s your name?”

  The girl shook her head. “Can’t say.” Without warning she stood, hurried to the sink, and leaned over it. She heaved as if she were going to vomit, but nothing came up. She took a few breaths. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice wavering. She returned to the chair and slunk into it.

  Holly studied the young woman. Dry lips, sunken eyes, and no tears even when she was upset. If Holly were a betting person, she’d put money on the fact that the girl was dehydrated. Perhaps due to a nasty GI infection. Or maybe she was pregnant and was experiencing extreme nausea. The girl had clutched her stomach after the car crash.

  “It’s okay. I just want to help you. Can you tell me why you came to town?”

  “I’m not feeling well.” She took another set of fast breaths and looked focused, as if trying not to throw up. “We heard you have medicine that can help people and you’ll keep it quiet.”

  “That’s right.” Holly pulled up the second chair in the room to sit in front of her. “What can I call you? You don’t need to give me your last name right now, and you don’t need to be afraid. I’m Holly.”

  The girl straightened her askew bonnet. “Magda.”

  The door to the patient room opened, and Julie stepped in.

  “Hi there.” Julie pulled the door closed behind her. “I’m Julie. I heard about what happened. I’m so sorry you’ve had such a rough day. Would you like for Holly to step out while we talk?”

  Magda fiddled with her apron fabric. “Nee, I’m glad she’s here.”

  Julie took another step into the room. “I’d like to take a look at you and assess you after the crash. Is that okay?”

  Magda looked at Holly, questions flashing in her brown eyes.

  “Julie is my doctor friend that I was telling you about at the crash.”

  “I’m not a doctor, though, but most Amish choose to call me Doc Jules.”

  Holly nodded. “She’ll help you. And having Julie examine you is the only way to avoid going to the hospital after an accident like that.”

  “Okay.”

  Julie smiled. “Thank you for trusting me. I have one more request.” She crossed the room to the exam table, opened a drawer underneath the bed part, and pulled out a folded gown. “I need you to put on this exam gown. It opens in the back so I can look at your spine and listen to your breathing.”

  Magda frowned. “You can’t do what you need with me in my dress?”

  There were so many things about medical visits that made them difficult for Amish patients. Had Magda never had a physical? Holly couldn’t imagine growing up Swartzentruber and having to deal with all this. She took the dark-green gown from Julie and set it in Magda’s lap. “The clinic had these gowns made special with Amish patients in mind. In most Englisch clinics they use paper gowns, and in the hospital they have thin cloth ones. This gown will keep you covered but will let Julie do her job. I wear one when I get my yearly physical.”

  “I know this is uncomfortable and you don’t want this,” Julie said, “but if your goal is to avoid the hospital, I need to make sure you’re okay, and I can’t do that through all these layers of clothing.”

  Magda nodded again. “Okay. Can I keep my Kapp on?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  Holly waited while Magda stepped into the attached bathroom to change into the gown, and when Magda returned, she helped her onto the exam table. Holly talked Magda through the examination in what she hoped were soothing tones while Julie checked head to toe for injuries from the crash. Bef
ore Julie could finish, she had to pause for Magda to dry heave.

  When the exam was over, Julie draped her stethoscope around her neck. “Thank you, Magda. I’m not seeing any obvious injuries, although you might be sore tomorrow. More concerning, however, is that I believe you’re dehydrated. It’ll take a blood and a urine analysis to determine how severe, but your breathing and heart rate are faster than what is normal, and you have low blood pressure. Your body tried to throw up once during the exam. How many times a day has this been happening?”

  Magda shrugged. “I don’t know. A lot.”

  “And how many days have you been sick?”

  “A few weeks. It’s hard to remember.”

  Julie pulled up the swivel stool and took a seat next to the exam table so she could look Magda in the eye. “I need to ask a few hard questions. Are you pregnant?”

  Magda looked at the floor. “Ya.” Her voice was barely audible.

  Holly rubbed Magda’s shoulder. So one of her guesses was right. Was this a pregnancy conceived outside of marriage? Perhaps that was Magda’s reason for secrecy. But as difficult as that would be on a young couple, it wasn’t so unusual that they’d need to flee their community and family.

  “Thanks for telling me. Has anyone hurt you or done anything to you against your will?”

  Magda was silent for a long moment.

  Holly met Julie’s eyes. Were they dealing with an abuse situation here?

  Magda swallowed. “No, not that. No one has hurt me.”

  Julie took one of Magda’s hands in hers. “If you ever need to share something, you can know that Holly and I, as medical professionals, are bound by laws that protect your confidentiality. Anything you tell us stays secret unless you give permission.”

  “Denki.”

  “With that information I’d like to start you on IV fluids and antinausea medicine. This means I’m going to put a needle in your hand”—Julie pointed to the back of her own hand—“and you’ll receive fluids through a tube to replenish your body and medicine to stop your vomiting. Thankfully this clinic is equipped to do that. Then I’ll need to run a few more tests and use our small but functional ultrasound machine to take pictures of your baby. Most likely your body is having a severe reaction to the pregnancy. It’s rare but happens to some. Even the future queen of England has to be hospitalized every time she’s pregnant.”

  Holly gave a reassuring smile. “They’ll take good care of you here.”

  Julie nodded. “Just sit and relax, and I’ll get a nurse to help me get those fluids going. Holly, a word, please?”

  “I’ll be right back.” She patted Magda’s shoulder and followed Julie to the hallway.

  Julie pulled the door closed behind them. “I need to be honest. This makes me nervous.”

  “What does?” Surely they’d seen dehydrated patients in this clinic, or they wouldn’t offer the IV fluids.

  “Treating a pregnant patient with a probable diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum as an outpatient in this clinic. No one here is an ob-gyn, and more than one life is at stake. And even worse would be if we scan her with the ultrasound machine and find out a molar pregnancy is causing her to be so sick to her stomach.”

  “But if we send her to the hospital now, she could try to leave against medical advice. And if she disappeared, we’d lose track of her because we have no information. You saw her reaction to your question about abuse. I don’t know why she’s running, but she’s spooked. Spooked enough to arrive in a car with a Swartzentruber man driving. I don’t think you understand how desperate they must be.”

  Julie tucked a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear. “I may not understand all the details, but I can tell she’s scared. Still, if anything goes wrong, this clinic would be in huge trouble.”

  “I understand.”

  “Do you?” Julie held Holly’s gaze. “Look, we can give her eight or so hours on fluids and antinausea meds until the clinic closes. But after that I need to see a big improvement, or I’ll have no choice but to move her to the hospital. And that’s assuming the other tests come back okay. It’s not in her best interest to release her.”

  There had to be another option they could try. “How about if after the clinic closes, she comes to stay with me, Ivy, and Mamm? We can bring her back to the clinic first thing tomorrow morning.”

  “I can agree to that. At least that way I could drop by to check on her if need be, but”—Julie held up a finger—“with one addendum. Once the antinausea medicine gets in her system, if she continues to dry heave, she has to go to a hospital. Understand?”

  “I do.” Holly had gone to bat for Magda’s privacy. Unfortunately, if something bad happened, not only would Holly feel guilty forever, but Julie and the clinic could face real trouble. Did she make the right call? What if she didn’t know until it was too late?

  Five

  A crowd of onlookers had gathered around the demolished pharmacy storefront, murmuring and pointing at the man in the dark-blue shirt and wide-brimmed hat. The police were talking to Lyle and Brandon. Ivy looked at the smashed glass windows, which she’d decorated with love year after year at Christmastime. She picked up the broken handmade Welcome sign that she’d hung in the store’s window two years ago. What a mess.

  When Holly left a few minutes earlier with the car’s passenger, the young man tried to follow them. But Brandon stopped him, explaining that unless he was going to the hospital in an ambulance, the law required him to stay at the crash site until the police arrived.

  The driver was now facing the wreckage with his head down, fingers pressing into his temples.

  Ivy walked closer so no one else could hear. If Holly was sticking her neck out for his passenger, Ivy should try to get as many facts as she could from him. “May I ask you a question?”

  “You can ask.” The man turned to face her, but it wasn’t clear if he intended to answer. His golden-brown eyes looked into hers. She blinked. In another situation she would’ve found him handsome. Although his wavy auburn hair was cut in the Swartzentruber tradition—below the ears—it didn’t look unkempt on him. Still, nice eyes and hair could be deceiving. She needed to get to the bottom of what was really happening here in order to know what to do next.

  Was alcohol involved? She’d been taking communion with real wine for a long time, so she knew the smell of alcohol. She just needed to be closer to him.

  “I need to know if you’ve been drinking.” She took a quick sniff. He didn’t smell of alcohol.

  He grimaced. “Drinking? You think I’d drink, especially with her in the car?”

  “You were swerving all around and then hit a building. It’s a fair question.”

  “I kept pushing the brake, and it wouldn’t work. The man I bought the car from warned me it was a clunker and had been sitting for a while, but I had no idea the brakes would go out.”

  She remembered his apparent attempt to drive the car into the field only to be blocked by a horse and buggy. His reasoning made sense. “Sorry, I had to ask.” She’d overheard the woman say to him all this to get medicine for me. “But why not hire a driver to bring you here? I know your community doesn’t allow hiring a driver often, but they do in a medical emergency.”

  The man stared at the still-smoking wreck. “You can’t hire a driver if you don’t know where or how far you’re going.”

  So they intended to come to the pharmacy for medicine, but afterward they were directionless? That didn’t make sense, but he was right that they needed a car of their own in that situation. Maybe her first gut instinct was right. They were most likely in some sort of trouble and trying to run. That was the only thing that made sense.

  Ivy crossed her arms. Holly would want to help them, and Ivy needed to at least have their names. “Okay, if you need help—and it seems clear that you do—we need some answers. It’s the way
things work. So let’s start with something simple. I’m Ivy Zook. And your name is? Also, what about the woman you’re traveling with? Is she your wife?”

  He said nothing.

  “That’s it?” A shiver of unease ran down Ivy’s back. “I mention helping, and you have nothing to say?”

  Lyle and Brandon were walking toward them with the police officer.

  The officer approached the Swartzentruber man with a device of some type in hand. He also pulled out a notepad and pen. “I’m Officer Jenson with the Raysburg Police. Are you the driver?”

  The man faced the officer. “I am. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  “You’re Amish, right?”

  The driver nodded. “Swartzentruber Amish.”

  “Your name?”

  “Arlan Keim.”

  “And your passenger?”

  “Magda Keim.”

  Officer Jenson took notes, and then he looked the man up and down. “Son, it appears that today you’re very lucky and very unlucky. Of all the buildings you could have hit, you happened to hit the one belonging to the nicest man in town, Lyle Greene.” He pointed a thumb at Lyle, who was standing next to him. “When I arrived, he pulled me aside and asked if there was any way to avoid arresting you for reckless driving. How you answer determines if I’m going to honor his request or not. First question: have you had any alcoholic drink in the last twenty-four hours?”

  “No.”

  The officer held up the small device. “Would you breathe into this for me?”

  “Sure.”

  The officer pressed buttons, and the device beeped. “Put your lips around this, and blow into it hard and steady.”

  Arlan did as asked. The device beeped again.

  “Okay.” The officer held the device closer to him, looking at something. “This is good. You have zero percent alcohol. Next question: do you have a driver’s license and insurance for that car?”