Doubting Thomas-Nurse Hal Among The Amish

by Risner, Fay

  Adam wrote, “Jake said he was too busy to talk. He needed to work on the machine shed. His wife appreciated Margaret and Linda's visit, but she is real standoffish. Mark tried to talk to the boys. They stuck their hands in their pockets and stared at their dirty feet. They nodded, but it was as if Jake had told his family not to talk to anyone. Luke said he did not have a reason to go back unless they invited him.”

  Emma watched the road as she sighed. “Maybe they need more time to get acquainted with everyone, besides Hamish Manwiller that is. It might take awhile for them to trust us. Once they get used to us, they will see we are all recht and friendly.”

  Adam nodded no as he wrote, “I heard hammering. Took my hammer over to help yesterday. Jake and the boys were roofing the machine shed. Jake said was not any use wasting my time. They could get the job done just fine without me. Friendly sounding he was not so I left. Got enough work of my own to keep me busy. I will not bother Jake again.”

  “Ach, Adam, we cannot give up holding out a friendly hand. I feel so sorry for that family. Imagine how lonely it is for them. They are in a strange place, living among people they think are not friendly,” Emma declared as Adam pulled back on the lines to stop Sophie by the other buggies.

  Later that evening after she returned home from the singing, Emma followed Hal to the Lapp kitchen with empty popcorn bowls. “Adam does not think much of the new family. Yesterday, Jake Jostle was not friendly to Adam when he offered to help roof the machine shed. The family did not warm up to the Yoders, either. I want to introduced myself as the teacher. I certainly do not want the boys afraid to go to school this fall. It might help if they get to know me before school starts.”

  “Sounds like a gute idea to me,” Hal agreed. “The family need to know I'm the nurse in the area. They left so soon after dinner last Sunday I didn't get a chance to talk to them.”

  “But … .” Emma paused as she stacked the bowls in the dishpan.

  “What's the problem?”

  “I am hesitant to go back to the compound. It is such a scary place for me. I have nothing but bad memories of that farm.”

  “There's not anyone there to harm you now.” That didn't comfort Emma. “How about I go with you so I can introduce myself? That way if they need any medical help they will know where to come.”

  Emma brightened up considerably. “Ach, denki, Hallie. I would feel so much better if you went with me.”

  “We could take them a wilcom to the neighborhood offering. How about a loaf of bread and a jar of your blackberry jam.”

  “All recht, but Adam said the Yoders took a wilcom basket already. They didn't think Jake was impressed. He does not care now if his neighbors are trying to be friendly,” Emma said.

  “Can you blame Jake after the way Hamish sounded so unfriendly?”

  “Nah, I cannot. That is why we should not give up for the sake of Ada and the boys. I wish that family could see we are all not like Hamish Manwiller,” Emma insisted.

  “All we can do is keep trying and hope they decide to turn the other cheek,” Hal said.

  The next morning, Hal and Emma left Nora and Tootie cutting material into pieces for a quilt. They wanted to make it for Emma and Adam as a wedding gift.

  Nora said she was glad Hal and Emma had some place to go for awhile. She didn't want two Amish women watching Tootie and her cut and sew quilt pieces. Tootie agreed that would make her very nervous.

  As Hal and Emma went out the door, Tootie said, “I want to cut out the squares.”

  “Why?” Nora asked.

  “They're easier than triangles,” Tootie said truthfully.

  “So? All the pieces need to be cut out.” Tootie's lower lip push out in a pout. Nora gave in. “All right, just start cutting, but the squares are small. I don't see how they could be easier than the triangles.”

  On the porch, Hal whispered, “Suppose it's safe to leave them alone while we're gone?”

  Emma smiled. “I think their bickering is in fun.” With a sideways glance at Hal, she added softly, “Most of the time.”

  That remark made them giggle.

  As Hal turned the buggy onto the driveway at the Jostle farm, they noticed the buildings looked worse than they remembered.

  “It doesn't take long for buildings to run down when no one is using them, ain't so?” Hal commented.

  Emma exclaimed, “Jah, but see how good the hen house looks and the machine shed. Jake has made a difference already on this farm. Look back of the house at that large garden.”

  “Jah,” Hal said. “Plants are up enough to row them. Ada has a nice garden already.”

  Jake and his boys were by the barn. Jake hammered a board over a hole in the wall. The smallest boy followed his father. He struggled to hold up a heavy bucket of nails high enough that it didn't drag on the ground. The middle boy carried a rotten board over to a pile of scraps. The oldest boy swung a hand scythe, cutting dry weeds along the building's foundation. The wooden handle was longer than he was tall.

  They stopped what they were doing to stare at the buggy coming toward them. Emma and Hal climbed down and walked to the edge of the barn yard. They stopped just short of the head high iron weeds and knee high lambquarters patches.

  “Gute morning,” Hal greeted.

  Jake nodded in her direction.

  “I am Hallie Lapp, and this is my daughter, Emma. We noticed you at the worship service and want to wilcom you to the community.”

  “Ach, des gute,” Jake snorted. His thick lips pushed a curved line through his bushy beard that said otherwise.

  Emma focused on the boys. “I am the teacher. I look forward to seeing you boys in school this fall. What are your names?”

  The boys looked at each other and at their father. Jake nodded at them. The oldest boy said sullenly, “My name is Albert. I am done with school.”

  “And your name?” Emma asked the middle boy.

  His face reddened as he stared at his bare feet. “I am Sam.”

  The youngest of the three eyed her and chirped, “Will.”

  “It is nice to meet all of you,” Emma said.

  Hal added, “I'm the nurse for this area. My clinic is built onto our house. If you need medical help, we don't live very far from here.”

  “I know where you live,” Jake said curtly, staring at the hammer in his hands.

  Emma looked around. “You are certainly making an improvement on these old buildings. It will be nice to drive by here and see the barn yard filled with animals. Do you have chickens for the hen house yet?”

  “Nah,” Jake uttered, eying the hole filled barn roof as if he'd like to get started on it.

  “The Wickenburg Salebarn has a small animal sale on Wednesday. That is a gute place to buy chickens and rabbits among other things. That is where I get my chickens,” Emma offered.

  “You are busy. We don't want to interrupt any longer. Would it be all recht if we visit with your wife a few minutes?” Jake had a hard expression on his face. He probably suspected their visit with his wife wouldn't be friendly. “Just to say hello,” Hal added.

  “Jah,” he answered begrudgingly.

  “We will leave you to your work.” Hal turned toward the house.

  Emma retrieved the food basket from the buggy as Hal knocked on the front door. Ada Jostle appeared at the screen door, wiping her hands on her apron. In a squeaky voice that sounded like two tree limbs rubbing together in a high wind, she asked, “Jah, what is it?”

  “I am Hallie Lapp. This is my daughter, Emma. We just dropped by to wilcom you and your family to the community. Might we visit a moment?”

  Ada's thin face showed her weary interest as she eyed the women. She opened the door for them. “Jah, wilcom.”

  Hal handed her the basket. “We brought you a wilcom gift.”

  “Denki, come in,” Ada said.

  Hal and Emma stood just inside the door. It took a minute for their eyes to adjust to coming out of the sunlight into the dim house.


  Ada released a nervous cough as she pointed to the three chairs near the heating stove. “Would you like to sit down?”

  “Denki, we won't stay long. You must be busy,” Hal said, sitting in one of the chairs. “I want to tell you I'm the nurse for the community. I have a clinic on the side of my house at the Lapp farm. If you need medical help or birthing needs, you can come see me or send a member of the family to get me to come to you.”

  “Des gute to know,” Ada said earnestly as she slipped onto a chair.

  “I am the teacher. I look forward to your sons attending school this fall,” Emma told her, standing beside Hal.

  Ada gathered her apron in her hands restlessly. “Denki. Albert is out of school.”

  “That is what he told me,” Emma replied.

  An awkward silence fell over the room. It was clear Ada was not used to company or making small talk with women. Finally, Hal tried again. “We'll be having a quilting frolic soon. I can let you know when. That's a gute way to get acquainted with other women in the neighborhood.”

  Ada looked uncomfortable about the invitation, but she said politely, “Sure.”

  Hal said to Emma, “Perhaps, we should go now.” She turned to Ada. “It's been nice talking to you. We'll see you and your family at the next worship service Sunday next.”

  “I hope so,” Ada said in almost a whisper as she stared out the window toward the barn.

  As Emma drove away, she sounded discouraged, “That visit did not go well.”

  “At least we tried. This is not all our fault. Something happened to make that family distrust people, and whatever it was took place long before they moved here.”

  “I told you this place gives me a bad feeling. That same feeling may have rubbed off on that poor family since they moved in,” Emma said.

  “Surely you don't believe that can happen,” Hal scolded. “Living here wouldn't instill distrust in them. Just in case though, when people grumble about that family, we need to remind everyone the Jostles aren't to blame for what happened at the compound. Did you notice how frazzled Ada appeared?”

  “Jah, that poor soul is worn out.”

  “I'm sure she works hard, but worry can be a big part of the way she feels,” Hal said.

  The next morning during kitchen cleanup, Hal announced after dinner, she'd take the women over to visit the Weber sisters. Emma wanted to talk to them about baking the wedding cake. While she scraped a plate over the scrap pail, Emma frowned at the suggestion.

  “What? Aren't you ready to set up the date with the sisters so they will be prepared to bake your cake? It takes a lot of ingredients for a four layer cake.”

  “Ach jah, I know, but Adam told me news after the Sunday service that bothered me. He is working for the sisters. He is building a new kitchen. Adam says something odd is going on over there, but he has not figured out what it is yet,” Emma shared.

  “We best find out recht away. I don't mind baking sheet cakes, but I don't want the task of the fancy wedding cake,” Hal assured her. “If the sisters can't bake the cake, we need to find someone else to help us recht away.”

  That afternoon, Hal hitched up the enclosed buggy. She walked back to the house and stuck her head around the screen door. “Are all of you ready?”

  Tootie gripped her sister's arm. “I think you, and I should stay home, Nora.”

  “Whatever for. I want to go,” Nora declared.

  Hal stepped inside. “Why don't you want to come with us, Aunt Tootie?”

  “We can watch the little girls for you while you're gone,” Tootie offered.

  “No need to worry. Daniel is going to stay here while they nap. Besides, we won't be gone long.”

  “Well… well, your mother and I really do need to finish Emma's quilt top.”

  “Tootie! We only have one row of blocks left. I can sew that much this evening after supper,” Nora scolded. “We're going to visit the Weber sisters.” She pointed a stiff finger toward outside. “Go!”

  Tootie pushed her lower lip out, pouting in surrender, but she climbed into the buggy with the others.

  Just before Hal drove through the branch, they passed an open buggy driven by a woman. Her passenger was a small girl, smiling as if she was having a good time. Nora said, “Isn't that the cutest little girl? Look at her, Tootie?”

  “She is that,” Tootie said shortly.

  “That little girl is enjoying her ride. I wonder if the woman is her grandma?” Nora put an emphases on enjoying.

  Tootie gave a soft harrumph.

  “Hal, that's the first buggy I've noticed that has fenders over the wheels,” Nora said.

  “Since I've lived in this area, I've seen several changes in buggies that's for sure,” Hal told her.

  From the back, Emma added, “The fenders keep rocks from flying on people and helps with dust control.”

  “We're here, Aunt Tootie,” Hal said over her shoulder as she turned into the Weber driveway.

  “They certainly have a big enough mailbox,” Tootie observed, looking out the back window.

  “Read the sign under it,” Nora pointed out. “All Things Are Open To The Lord.”

  Hal stopped the buggy in front of the Weber sisters large farm house. Three horses stopped grazing, trotted to the barn yard fence and whinnied at the visitors. Two were large blond draft horses, and the other one was a dark red horse.

  After they climbed out of the buggy, Tootie eyed the horses. Emma told her, “The two work horses are Adam's. He uses them to pull his carpenter wagon. The other one belongs to the Weber sisters. They use that one to pull their buggy.”

  Adam's large, carpenter wagon held his tools and work order supplies. It was parked along side the house in the shade while Bobby and Adam worked in the house.

  The Weber sisters came out on the porch to greet them.

  “Wilcom,” greeted Eve, the tall, thin talkative sister.

  Short, heavy set, Esther, a woman of few words, nodded and smiled her greeting.

  “My parents and aunt are visiting with us. This is Nora Lindstrom and Tootie Klinefeld,” Hal introduced.

  “Come inside,” Eve said.

  When the women entered the kitchen, hammers pounded in rhythm in the next room.

  “What is going on in there?” Hal asked in a loud voice as if she hadn't heard the remodeling news from Emma.

  Esther folded her arms and rested them in front of her apron as she looked at the floor.

  Eve replied, “My new kitchen. I can hardly wait to cook in it when the Keim brothers get it built.”

  “Oh,” Hal said quietly. Esther didn't look one bit pleased to share this news of two kitchens. It was a good time to change the subject. Though as she looked at the counters filled with breads, rolls and desserts, Hal decided this one kitchen had been plenty productive so far for the two sisters.

  Eve said, “It has been awhile since we had a chance to visit. It's so gute to see both of you and your company. Sorry for all the noise, but it cannot be helped.” She pointed toward the table.” Do sit down, ladies, so we can visit. Schwestern, serve our guests a cup of hot tea. I will dish up the sticky buns.”

  Esther nodded as she rushed to the stove. She picked up the steaming tea kettle and poured hot water through a strainer, filled with tea leaves, she held over a pan.

  Eve scooped six sticky pecan buns onto saucers and put one in front of each guest and two other places for Esther and her. When she stopped by Emma, she clasped her hands together. “We have been expecting you. We hear you are getting married to one of those young carpenters in the next room. He told us so.”

  “Adam told you?”

  Eve grinned. “Jah, only because he knew we were going to find out soon when you came to make arrangements for the wedding cake. That is why you are here, ain't so?”

  Emma simply said, “Jah.”

  As she poured the hot tea into a row of cups, Esther added, “Good choice of husbands, Emma. Jesus was a carpenter.” She set each cup o
n a saucer. “Now, Schwestern, help me serve.”

  “Sure!” Eve said curtly as she rushed to get two cups.

  “While the tea cools, I am going to say gute morning to Adam and Bobby,” Emma said, heading for the next room.

  She didn't stay gone too long.

  “That was quick,” Tootie said when Emma slipped into the chair next to her.

  “I did not want my tea to get cold, and the men are too busy to talk,” Emma said.

  When the cups went empty, Esther asked, “Would anyone like to see our garden? It is doing as gute as it can this summer.”

  “I would,” Emma said enthusiastically. “I always learn something that helps me garden when I look at your garden.”

  “I believe I will stay here and visit with Eve about the wedding,” Hal said. “The rest of you go.”

  Wishing she could listen to the wedding talk instead, Tootie huffed a protest under her breath at being included. She didn't want to look at another garden. She couldn't think of a way out of the garden tour so she followed the others out the door. The garden was important to the Weber sisters, and Tootie didn't want to hurt their feelings.

  Hal decided Adam was right. Odd things were happening at the Weber house. “Esther usually lets you show everyone the garden. This is a switch.”

  Eve released a gusty sigh as she looked toward the closed door of her soon to be new kitchen. “There is soon to be more switches. A lot is the matter in this house, and it has been that way a gute long time. After all these years, Esther and I still cannot agree on how to cook in this kitchen or plant a garden.”

  “That is hard for me to believe. You both do such a wonderful job at everything you do. As for cooking, your food is always delicious,” declared Hal.

  “We have always tried to please our customers, but it has not been without disagreements between us. I guess I am not handling how I disagree with Esther as well as I once did. I do not give in as easily as before. Maybe it is I am older and less patient, ain't so?” Eve rubbed her forehead as if thinking about her problems gave her a headache.

  “I don't know about that,” Hal said diplomatically. She didn't want to appear to take sides between these two nice women, but she could sympathize completely. She didn't feel old, and she certainly had trouble being patient with Tootie sometimes.