The Christmas Remedy

by Cindy Woodsmall

  Holly rushed toward him.

  He was about to call out “hello” when he saw her face. What was wrong? He stopped, not sure what to say.

  “How could you?” Her voice shook, and her fists were clenched at her sides.

  “Me? What on earth did I do?”

  “You knew how much this fair meant to me! To your dad. To everyone in the whole community!”

  “And?”

  “How could you just cancel the fair?”

  “Cancel it?”

  “Ya. That’s exactly what you did. The question is why. You’ve wasted our time, our money, and the years of trust we’ve been building with my district and the surrounding ones.” Tears were streaming down her cheeks. “We could have saved lives today! Lives. Think about that. People who’d never seen a doctor before today or hadn’t gone to one in years could’ve received advice that would literally have kept them alive.”

  “I didn’t cancel the fair.” He put his hands up in surrender. “I wanted to. I told my dad to, but he said no.” And there was no possibility his dad had listened to him and canceled the fair. Earlier today he had made Brandon promise to attend and lend Holly a hand.

  “No.” Her eyes held as much accusation as anger. “You called the Amish chat line. You canceled the fair.”

  “I didn’t.” Shaking his head at her accusations, he tried to think back. “Why would I cancel it?”

  “Because you don’t like that your dad goes out of his way to help us. You don’t want to be here, and the fair was just another item on your long list of things you’d like to put an end to.”

  She’d clearly picked up on his inner struggles about his dad and the Amish, feelings he’d hoped to hide from those around him. “I disagree with a lot of things concerning Dad’s life, things you as the darling daughter he never had would never understand, but none of the emotional stuff between my dad and me is any of your business.” Brandon drew a deep breath. “Even so, I would never, ever take it on myself to cancel one of his medical journal subscriptions, let alone something as important to him as this fair.”

  “Darling daughter?” She seemed completely baffled by those words. “You resent me? Me? And just how much bitterness is churning below the surface that would cause you to cancel the fair?”

  “I told you I didn’t do that!” As soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered being on the phone with a stranger and saying something about as far as he was concerned, it should be canceled because his dad had just had a stroke.

  His words echoed in his head. Oh no. He closed his eyes and drew his hand down his face. He had to come clean. “Holly, I know what happened. I promise, I didn’t mean to cause any confusion or mess anything up.”

  “What then?” She crossed her arms.

  “Some man called the pharmacy the day Dad came home from the hospital, and he asked me about the plans for the fair. Moments earlier Dad almost fell and hit his head. I think you’d stepped out for some reason.”

  “What did you tell the caller?”

  “I was upset. He insisted on speaking to me and…” Brandon stumbled through the rest. “I didn’t know he would take my ‘it should be canceled’ venting as fact.”

  “Of course he did. You are a pharmacist with the last name Greene. The position carries power and influence.”

  “I haven’t taken my state exams, so I’m not even licensed.”

  “We’re Plain folk. With few exceptions no one knows or cares about your license.”

  Brandon clutched his forehead and sighed. What a mess. “How can I fix this? I’ll call whoever and tell them it’s my fault.”

  The anger finally drained from Holly’s face. Instead, she just looked incredibly sad. “You can’t.”

  “Let’s reschedule. I’ll help you with whatever you need.” What was he saying? He already had too much on his plate. But cleaning up this mess was the right thing to do.

  She looked away. “There’s nothing to be done. The vendors are volunteers who had to be scheduled more than a year in advance. No one is here, and the volunteers aren’t going to come back. This was my one chance to prove to them that we are interested in what they have to teach. My chance to prove that the time they took from their families to be here today was valued by the Amish community. We can’t fix this.”

  “I’ll go to each one of them and apologize then.”

  “Don’t go to the field now and take them away from the few patients they have. You could call them later. I guess that would be a start. I’ll go tell Julie what happened. She’s currently teaching a diabetes class to one person.”

  “I’ll apologize to her in person.”

  Holly shook her head at him as if his efforts were useless and turned back to walk toward the fair.

  * * *

  With his cell in hand, he walked out of the pharmacy and paused on the sidewalk. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure no one was behind him as he slowly walked and wrote the email.

  From: store7006@bbdrugs.com

  To: mikeprice@bbdrugs.com

  Subject: Possible Acquisition

  October 21, 2017

  I brought to you earlier my concern about Lyle Greene of Greene’s Pharmacy. He has no savings to speak of, and I’m worried about his health if he continues to work. You mentioned making him an offer to buy his store, and I think that, based on recent events, selling would be in his best interest. Please have the legal papers ready, but sit tight and keep the information quiet. I’m confident and hopeful this entire situation will end up working out for the better for everyone involved.

  Holly brushed Stevie’s white coat, unable to find the energy to talk to him. The day had stolen too much, and she was hiding out in the barn in no mood to talk to anyone. Waning sunlight made it increasingly difficult to see in her family’s barn, a space much larger than needed for their current level of livestock. When her Daed was alive, the stalls were full. Every time she came into the barn nowadays, she recalled how they used to tend to the horses together, each loving the task of caring for their equine companions.

  Stevie glanced her way while crunching his fresh hay, totally oblivious to her pain. She ran the brush over his shoulders, rubbing his muscles. He had done his part, pulling her and the rig to and from the pharmacy daily, to and from Amish homes to deliver life-saving medicines, to the health fair this morning, only to wait for her all day.

  She had done her part too. She had done all she needed to organize the event, including advertising for an entire season, just like a farmer planned and planted a garden. Why had the harvest been dashed on the ground before it had a chance to ripen? She leaned her forehead on Stevie’s shoulder and blinked back tears. Surely You know the reason for all these things, God. Help me understand. Give me courage and patience.

  “Hallooooo?”

  Holly jolted at the sound of her sister’s voice. She stood up straight and wiped her cheeks. “Hi.”

  Her sister entered the barn wearing her winter coat with every button fastened. Was she that cold? She moved to the stall where Holly was, folded her arms, and propped them on the half wall. “Remember when we were little and I dressed myself?”

  “What?” Why was that a topic tonight of all nights? “I guess. Maybe?”

  Ivy put her chin on her folded arms. “I think I was four when Daed and Mamm decided I was old enough to dress myself. I hated the idea, completely sure I couldn’t do it right. The front and back of the dresses looked the same to me, and the aprons reminded me that I needed safety pins to keep parts in place. So after dressing each morning, I’d come to you for inspection. Remember?”

  The old memory stirred, and a smile tugged at Holly’s lips. “Ya, I do now.” She continued Stevie’s rubdown, running a towel and then a brush over one section of his coat at a time.

  “Each time you basically said, ‘
You did so well, Ivy! Come here, sweet girl, and let me help you get just a few things adjusted.’ Then, while praising me for dressing myself and listing what I did right, you eased me out of the apron and dress, turned each one right side out and the front side to my front, and put them back on me. You were so affirming that I actually believed I’d done a pretty good job.”

  Holly chuckled. “Is there a point to this?”

  “Doubtful,”—Ivy unbuttoned her coat—“except maybe you’re much harder on yourself than anyone else. And God is my witness that you take life too seriously.”

  “Life is serious.” She picked up the grooming tools and closed the stall gate behind her, leaving Stevie to his hay. “People who take it lightly are more likely to die before their time.” She went to the tack room and set the tools on the bench.

  “Yeah.” Ivy followed her. “But with patience you can accomplish anything.” Ivy peeled out of her coat. “Ta-da!” She held out her hands, showcasing an inside-out dress and apron on backward.

  Holly broke into laughter.

  “There she is.” Ivy pointed at her, grinning. “My big sister. She’s got a lot of promise when it comes to knowing when she’s getting things inside out and backward. She’s not there yet. But I know she can figure out life and levity and when she’s taking things too hard. I’m sure of it.”

  “I’m not at all sure I’ve got anything on inside out or backward.” Holly left the tack room.

  Ivy picked up her coat and dusted it off. “That’s what I’m here for—to let you know and to help you get it on right.”

  “Ya, that might mean more if you had your own clothes on right.”

  Ivy laughed. Holly’s steps were a bit lighter as she closed the barn for the night, and they walked toward the house. Daylight saving time would end in two weeks, and when that happened, it would be dark when she arrived home from work.

  “Hey, sweet girl,” Mamm called as she entered the house. “I have a bowl of chicken and dumplings for you, your favorite.”

  “Denki.” Holly’s stomach ached in reaction to the smell permeating the home. She should be hungry since she’d forgotten to eat breakfast and lunch. She took off her sweater, hung it up, and walked to the kitchen. Ivy put her coat on the peg, washed her hands, and hurried into the kitchen. She pulled three bowls from the cabinet. Maybe Mamm wouldn’t mind if Holly ate in her room just this once.

  Mamm glanced at Ivy’s inside-out clothes and didn’t seem surprised. Had she seen what Ivy was up to before she left the house? “Ivy told me about today.” Mamm moved closer and pulled Holly in for a hug. “I’m just so, so sorry, my Holly Noelle.”

  Holly closed her eyes and let her Mamm hold her and kiss her hair. If only a mother’s hug and kiss could fix adult problems like they could childhood hurts. “It’s okay, Mamm. At least I know how to dress myself, ya?”

  Her mom released the embrace, compassion radiating in her eyes. “Some food may help a tiny bit, ya? Your sister told me that you didn’t eat lunch. Come sit, eat.”

  So much for escaping the family interaction.

  “Sorry to tell on you.” Ivy dipped a ladle into the piping hot stew.

  “Not a problem.” Holly had to get a grip on the disappointment. But how? “It’s not like that sort of thing could remain a private embarrassment. Thanks to the chat line and gossip, I’m sure everyone knows.” Especially Josh. Why did he have to show up at the exact rare moment when she had no control over her emotions? Although, their conversation was perhaps the only silver lining of the entire day. Not that she had any business confiding in him. She needed to encourage him to go elsewhere for friendship.

  Ivy carried a bowl into the dining room and set it on the table at Holly’s place, which already had silverware, napkins, and a glass of water waiting. “The turnout was a letdown, but it wasn’t a completely bad day. You’ll be proud to hear that I passed my health screening with flying colors, and I won a raffle. I’m now the proud owner of a brand-new glucose meter, which I will promptly donate to someone who needs it.”

  “Congrats, I suppose.” Holly forced a smile for the sake of her sister. In a strange way, hearing that did make her feel better. She appreciated the positivity. Did she take her job too seriously?

  Her Mamm went to the counter and picked up the other two bowls. “Red gave us a call earlier when he heard about the fair. He says he wishes he could be home to give you a hug.” Mamm brushed Holly’s face gently with her hand as she sat down at her usual place at the table. The large wooden table had seemed particularly empty during the past few months since Holly’s twenty-year-old baby brother, Ezra “Red” Zook, had been working in a different district, near the girl he was courting.

  Holly sat down and bowed her head with her mother and sister. Mamm prayed out loud, thanking God for the food and praying for Holly’s broken heart. Some Amish would find this tradition strange, as most prayers before meals were silent, but after Daed died, when they tried to pray silently, words bubbled up. They’d all had too many emotions to keep a family prayer time bottled up inside. She liked that their family was unique in several ways. When Mamm said “amen,” Holly pulled the napkin into her lap and took several deep breaths. She dipped her spoon into the creamy, meaty broth and blew lightly on a steaming piece of chicken. They ate in silence for a few minutes, and the warmth of the broth eased her stomach.

  “So,”—Mamm wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin and smiled—“while you got the horse and rig put up, your sister and I had a chance to conspire a bit.”

  “That’s nothing new.” Holly winked at Ivy. Mamm and her sister owned a cleaning and organizing business together, and to make the work go faster, they talked a large portion of the day. Thankfully for them, they never seemed to tire of each other’s company.

  “What would it take to schedule another fair?” Ivy asked.

  Holly sighed. Did she have to rehash this? “Two things we don’t have right now—time and money. I spent the budget on today’s fair, and Greene’s isn’t exactly raking in the big bucks these days. Neither are you two for that matter.”

  Mamm’s and Ivy’s eyes met before Ivy continued. “Why don’t you come up with a concrete figure? We have some ideas.”

  “The first of which is a Christmas craft market,” Mamm said. “Downtown Raysburg gets a lot of foot traffic during the Christmas shopping season, from Amish and Englisch crowds. I have some ideas on crafts that Ivy and I could make, and some of my friends will definitely want to make items too. Everyone could donate the crafts, and then every bit of the proceeds can go toward another community health fair event.”

  “That’s a lot to ask others to—”

  “You aren’t in this alone.” Ivy reached over and grasped Holly’s hand, taking her by surprise. “We want to help. Let us.”

  Holly blinked. You aren’t in this alone. Her sister’s words reverberated in her head. For the first time since ten that morning, she felt hope start to seep back into her heart like rain into parched soil.

  She took a breath, holding on to that precious feeling of optimism. She wasn’t alone. Why had she let disappointment and embarrassment convince her that she was? She had her family, even with her Daed gone and her brother working in another district. This small union of Zook women was a strong and precious unit, full of love. She had support from Lyle and Julie too. With their support she would figure out a way to keep moving forward, whether rescheduling a health fair worked out or not. She even had the support of her bishop. As far as she knew, she’d be the first Amish woman in the area to get an LPN degree. She could keep that in mind and continue studying for the entrance exam.

  Who knew what God had planned?

  Brandon walked out of the pharmacy and across the street, hoping his dad would keep his word and stay in the apartment. Mondays. His dad had a stroke on a Monday, and six months back Brandon was accused of being late to h
is rotation on a Monday, delaying his graduation. And today he had to apologize.

  He entered the Martel Clinic, the family medical practice that often worked with his own family’s pharmacy. Several Amish children were playing with blocks and puzzles in the waiting area as their mothers chatted nearby. He pulled out his phone to check the time: five minutes before noon.

  Since arriving last week, he’d spoken to Julie on the phone a couple of times, conducting business between a nurse and a pharmacist. The rest of what he knew about her came from his dad. She was close to Brandon’s age and had started as the nurse practitioner at the Martel Clinic last year when he was in his fourth year of pharmacy school. Since Holly was particularly upset about disappointing Julie, Brandon needed to meet with her in person. He’d called her this morning and asked if she could make time for him today, and she’d agreed to meet with him during her lunch hour.

  He took a seat and watched the people around him. Two men in Plain clothes were sitting next to him, and from the bits of conversation he heard, they were discussing the ridiculousness of needing to take their medicine every day.

  “Blood pressure medicine each day for the rest of my life?” an Amish man asked. “I don’t feel like anything is wrong with me. Do you think it’s really necessary?”

  Only if you want to continue that life, Brandon thought but kept to himself.

  “Don’t know,” the other Amish man said. “I suppose it’s better than risking it. Doc Lyle will give you a good deal. I’m sure it won’t be too burdensome.”

  Brandon tuned out the conversation. How had one comment made to a stranger during a hurried phone conversation caused such problems? And why had that Amish man on the phone taken Brandon’s word as if he were in charge? Whoever the man was, he’d spread the word of cancellation far and wide. By the end of the day, only a handful of Amish people had come, ones who hadn’t heard the fair had been canceled. He’d spent a good bit of the morning calling different vendors and leaving messages of apology. His dad needed a break from the pressure of the pharmacy, including health fairs, and Brandon wasn’t sure why he was going through all this trouble to try to mend fences other than he felt bad for Holly. He’d never meant for her to get caught in the crosshairs of his personal frustrations.