by Leslie Gould
Once she’d parked the car and turned off the ignition, she gripped the steering wheel, aware of her baby’s kick. A movement caught her eye. Lila hurried toward the house, carrying a basket. She wore a cape and a black bonnet over her cap. The girl waved.
Shani climbed from the car and called out a hello. “How’s Eve’s ankle?”
“It’s swollen,” Lila answered as she reached the steps. “She won’t admit it, but I think it really hurts.”
A sprain could be more painful than a break. “Does she need anything? I’m going to the store later.”
Lila motioned toward the back door. “Come on in and ask her.”
Shani followed the girl. By the time she reached the kitchen, Lila had the basket full of eggs on the counter. Eve sat at the table and fed the baby, who sat in her high chair. Rose brushed her own hair.
“Hi, Shani.” An expression of relief spread over Eve’s face.
“Lila said your ankle hurts.” Shani stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.
Eve bit her lip and then said, “Jah.” She nodded toward Rose. “Could you help her?”
Shani put her purse down on the end of the table as Rose extended the hairbrush to her, a smile on her face.
“How do you want it?” Shani asked, sitting down in the chair across from Eve and positioning Rose in front of her.
“In a bun, like Lila’s.”
“Or braids would be fine,” Eve said.
“I can do a bun,” Shani said. “Do you have bobby pins?”
Rose opened her hand to reveal them.
Shani brushed out the girl’s hair, twisted it into a bun, and then pinned it. Rose felt the bun and then smiled in approval.
“Is Daniel getting the buggy?” Eve asked Lila as she gave the baby the last bite of food.
“Jah. Simon’s helping him. They should be coming around with it any minute.”
Shani was surprised Simon was going to school but didn’t say anything.
“Go tell your father it’s time to leave,” Eve said. “He’s working on the fence. Take the lunchbox along with you.”
Lila grabbed a small cooler from the counter, motioned to Rose, and headed out the door. The little girl frowned. “Why aren’t you taking us?” Rose had put her cap on her head and was pinning it in place.
“It’s hard for me to get in and out of the buggy.” Eve put the cereal bowl on the table. “Give me a hug,” she said to Rose.
The little girl obeyed.
“Now grab your cape and go on out with Lila. If your Dat asks why Shani’s here, tell him she’s just checking on my ankle.”
Rose shuffled toward the back door.
“Hurry along,” Eve said. “It wouldn’t be right to make the others wait for you.”
The little girl grabbed her cape and a book bag and closed the door behind her.
Eve let out a sigh, pushed herself up, and reached for the baby.
“I’ll get her.” Shani stood. “Sit back down and elevate your ankle.”
She obeyed.
“Have you wrapped it?” Shani asked, wiping the baby’s mouth with her bib and then lifting her from the high chair.
Eve shook her head.
Shani smiled at the baby. “Do you have an Ace bandage around?” she asked Eve.
“I don’t think so.”
Outside, Tim yelled something. The baby began to fuss. Eve wrinkled her nose. “I just hope none of them comes back inside.”
“Rough morning?” Shani patted the baby’s back.
“Jah,” Eve said. “They’re a challenge without a sprained ankle. Nearly impossible with.”
“I can help for a little while.”
“I don’t want to impose,” Eve said. “It’s easier now that it’s just Trudy and me.”
Footsteps fell on the back porch and the door swung open. Tim filled the doorway. “I’m going by Gideon’s on the way home and then to the feed store. I’ll be gone most of the morning.”
“All right,” Eve said.
The man frowned at Shani but then gave her a nod.
She responded with a cheery “Good morning.” She took the envelope out of her purse and extended it to him. “Thank you for your help on the ramp.”
He grunted something—probably “Denki”—and took the money. Then he turned and left.
“I hope he asks Gideon about his old job,” Eve said.
Shani raised her eyebrows, surprised Tim had worked anywhere besides the farm.
“He used to work part time at the lumberyard. Gideon wouldn’t let him continue after Abra was diagnosed. He said he was needed here.”
“Oh,” Shani said, wanting to ask Eve if Tim could take the baby with him so she could rest, but she thought she knew the answer. However, she could take the baby home with her.
“You go in the living room and prop your ankle up on the couch. I can take Trudy home with me for a couple of hours.”
“But you have Joel to care for.”
“Charlie’s still at the house. He’ll help.” It was a good thing he hadn’t left yet.
Eve chuckled. “With the baby?”
“Charlie is a man of many talents.” Shani meant it as a joke but when Eve nodded, she smiled. Charlie could probably calm a baby just as he seemed to manage to calm everyone else.
“Take some ibuprofen,” Shani said to Eve.
“I just did. And in the middle of the night too.” Eve stood and began to hobble into the living room as Shani scanned the kitchen, thinking she’d do up the dishes before she left, but Lila must have done them earlier. Except for the eggs, the counters were bare.
Shani called out, “Should I put the eggs in the fridge?”
“Don’t bother,” Eve responded, already in the living room. “Lila will take care of them.”
“Won’t they go bad?”
Eve laughed. “You really are a city girl, aren’t you? If you don’t wash them they’ll stay fresh for weeks. They have a protective coating.”
“Oh.” Shani only bought grocery store eggs—washed ones, it seemed. She glanced at the baby, who contently mashed the toast against her face.
Shani followed Eve. Her friend sat on the edge of the couch, reaching for her knitting bag.
“You could just rest,” Shani said.
“Knitting is resting.” She nodded toward the hall. “Trudy’s diaper bag is in my room. Her car seat is in there too. And grab a bottle out of the fridge on your way out. Lila mixed them up this morning.”
The other time Shani had been in the baby’s room, it had been dark with only a little light from the lamp in the hall. Now the curtain on the window was pulled back and light flooded the room. A twin bed with a smaller version of the quilt Eve had given to Shani was against one wall and the crib against the other. On the bureau sat a Bible, a hairbrush, and a bottle of lotion. Several dresses hung in a small closet with no door. Two pairs of shoes, running shoes and dress boots, were lined up on the floor of the closet.
Next to the crib was the car seat with the diaper bag in it. Underneath it was a baby blanket and a little jacket.
As Shani picked up the car seat and headed down the hall, a wave of empathy rolled through her. Eve had given up everything for her brother, nephews, and nieces. She was a woman, in the prime of her life, with nothing of her own.
Marrying Gideon Byler was a grand idea. Eve deserved some happiness, and the man was both handsome and kind. And well respected. Charlie had said so. Gideon was older, but probably only in his mid, maybe late, forties. He could easily have a second family with Eve.
Eve had her foot propped up on the couch cushions and was knitting when Shani stepped into the living room. “I’ll bring Trudy back after I go to the store, before noon,” she said.
Trudy fussed as Shani pulled her arm through the sleeve of her little jacket. “I should have thought to bring an Ace bandage over to wrap your ankle,” she said to Eve.
“Just bring it when you come back.”
“Rest,
ice, compress, and elevate,” Shani said, getting the baby’s arm through the second sleeve. “RICE. Icing it more will help the pain but not the swelling. However, wrapping it will still help.” She put Trudy into the car seat and strapped her in. “I’ll send Charlie back with the bandage.”
Eve shifted on the couch, looking uncomfortable.
“You okay?” Shani asked.
The woman blushed. “I’m fine. Thank you for your help.”
Shani grabbed a bottle from the fridge, put it in the side pocket of the diaper bag, told Eve good-bye, and lugged the car seat and baby out the door. After she buckled Trudy into the van, she tickled her under her chin.
Trudy smiled and then laughed, her blue eyes sparkling. Shani looked forward to spending the morning with the little one—she hoped Joel would feel the same.
He was up, dressed, and sitting in his chair at the kitchen table when Shani came through the door with the baby in her arms.
“What do you have there?” he called out, stretching to see her through the doorway into the kitchen.
“Trudy,” she said, sliding the diaper bag to the floor in the living room and then walking into the kitchen. “Eve’s elevating her ankle. I told her we’d watch the baby.”
Joel hesitated and then said, “She’s a cutie.”
“But?” Shani balanced the baby on her hip and turned to pour herself a cup of coffee, guessing this second pot was decaf.
“Don’t you think we have enough going on?” Joel asked.
“It’s just for a couple of hours. I need to run to the store later this morning. I’ll take her back then.” She turned toward him. “Where’s Charlie?”
“Putting up grab bars in the bathroom.”
“Ahh,” Shani said. “Bless him.” The guy really was a saint. “Want to hold the baby?”
“Not really,” Joel said.
“Just so I can drink my coffee?”
“All right,” he said, extending his arms.
Shani slid the baby into them, hoping Trudy wouldn’t fuss. She didn’t. She craned her head to look up into Joel’s eyes.
“Hi, baby,” he said.
Trudy didn’t smile but she didn’t cry either.
“I’m Joel.”
The baby reached up and touched his chin.
He smiled. “Maybe she likes my scraggly look,” Joel said.
“Yeah well, not if you give her a whisker burn.” Shani took a sip of coffee. The baby patted Joel’s chin. “Maybe she wonders why you don’t have a beard like her Dat.”
“Like her what?”
“Dat. Father.”
“Are we talking Amish now?”
Shani smiled and took another sip of coffee. The baby inside her rippled, ever so gently, then kicked hard. She massaged her side.
“Maybe he’s jealous,” Joel said.
“Maybe they’ll be friends,” Shani responded.
Joel shook his head. “None of us are going to be friends,” he said.
“Are you talking about me?” Charlie stood in the doorway.
“Yeah, well, sorry you had to overhear that,” Joel joked. “But I guess it was bound to come out sometime.”
“Joel doesn’t think Amish and Englisch”—she was talking like them—“people can be friends.”
“Why? Has something happened?”
Joel shook his head. “But it will. Just wait and see. Tim will think of something. There’s no doubt about it that we don’t meet his standards.”
“Hush,” Shani said, thinking of the legalistic church Joel grew up in. “Don’t talk that way in front of the baby.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said. “I’d say she’s your friend—at least today.”
Joel laughed. Trudy smiled.
“Look,” Joel said. “She has teeth.”
Charlie hurried behind the chair. Shani grabbed her purse from the counter and pulled out her camera. “Hold that pose,” she said, snapping the photo of the men and the baby’s back. Then she said, “Turn Trudy around.” Joel did and she snapped another photo.
“Better not show those to anyone,” Joel said.
“Why?”
“Well, not to anyone Amish.”
Shani shook her head. “Why not?”
“They don’t like photos—something about graven images. You know, one of the Ten Commandments. I remember that from back home.”
“There are Amish in Wisconsin?”
“Yeah.” Joel nodded. “They’re everywhere, except the West Coast.” He turned to Charlie. “Right?”
“Pretty much,” he said.
“Oh,” Shani said, slipping her camera back into her purse and going back to her coffee. “I didn’t know.” Her face warmed. Joel was probably right. Even though her grandparents had lived in Lancaster County, Shani hardly knew anything about the Amish. She needed to do some research.
When she’d finished her coffee she found an Ace bandage in the bathroom drawer and returned to the kitchen. Charlie sat next to Joel, trying to teach Trudy patty-cake. The baby girl flung her hands around, giggling as she did.
“Sorry to interrupt the fun,” Shani said to Charlie, “but would you take this over to Eve and wrap her ankle?”
He put his hands up as if protesting his innocence. “Are you trying to get me tarred and feathered?”
Shani laughed. “You’re a professional. You can wrap a woman’s ankle.”
“Not that woman’s. Tim would kill me.” His face reddened.
Shani put her hand on her hip. “Charlie McCall, are you blushing?”
“Not on purpose.”
Joel hooted.
Shani smiled. “Tim’s out running errands.”
“In the buggy?” Joel laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I don’t know. Just seems like it would take all day.”
“Isn’t that what they do in Wisconsin?”
Joel shrugged. “We didn’t live that close to a settlement.”
“They’ve been making it work for a few centuries now,” Shani said. “I think they have it figured out.” She tossed the bandage at Charlie. He fumbled it but caught it before it hit the floor.
“You do it,” he said.
“I don’t want to haul the baby over there and back.”
“Leave her here. She’s doing fine,” Charlie replied. As if on cue, the baby began to fuss.
“I told Eve I’d watch her.” Shani scooped up Trudy. “Besides, Eve’s courting the bishop.” Shani winked. “It’s not like she’s going to think you’re interested in her . . . unless you are.”
Charlie held up the bandage as if he was going to toss it back at her, but he was smiling. “Believe me, if she wasn’t Amish, I would be.” He patted the baby’s back. “No offense, Trudy. You’ll understand someday.”
17
The morning mist had stopped but the clouds still hung low as Charlie tossed the Ace bandage in the air and turned down the Lehmans’ driveway, half expecting to see Tim. But no one was in sight. Once he neared the house and could confirm the buggy really was gone, he sighed and relaxed—just a little.
He’d wrap Eve’s ankle and leave. That was it. He wouldn’t instigate a conversation with her. Or look into her deep brown eyes. Or think about how long her dark hair was, all tucked under her cap-like thing. He jogged the rest of the way and then ran up the steps, knocking quickly.
Then he waited. Finally he tried the door. Of course it was unlocked. “Eve?” he called out.
“Coming,” she said.
He groaned. He was making her hobble to the door, but it couldn’t be helped. He wasn’t going to wander into the house.
“Come on in,” she finally said, her voice closer.
He opened the door to find her leaning against the kitchen table. He held up the bandage. “Shani sent me.”
“Denki,” she said. “I can wrap it myself.”
“Do you know how?”
Eve pursed her lips. “Not really.”
“It will just
take a minute,” Charlie said.
“All right,” she said, sitting down on a chair.
He pulled a chair across from hers, sat down, and patted the edge of the seat. “Put your foot here,” he said.
She did, tucking her skirt around her leg as she positioned her heel.
Charlie’s face warmed, but as he started winding the bandage around her ankle he relaxed. Shani was right. He was a professional. He wouldn’t think about the smoothness of Eve’s skin. The way she held her skirt modestly around her leg. Her dark eyes watching him.
He worked quickly, pinned the bandage in place, and then gently patted her ankle. Finally he looked up into her eyes.
The expression on her face startled him. It wasn’t the demure look he’d seen before. He leaned back, fearing if he stood he’d knock over his chair. But then a rush of cold air swept into the room. It took him a moment to realize the back door was opened.
Eve’s eyes stayed on Charlie’s as Tim boomed, “What’s going on here?”
Eve seemed as calm as could be, although her face pinked up some. “Charlie’s a medic. He wrapped my ankle.” She put her foot to the floor.
Charlie stood, his heart racing. Perhaps he’d imagined the look on her face—fantasized it even. “I was just leaving.” He turned toward Tim and grimaced. It was a stupid thing to say. He sounded guilty as sin. He’d done nothing wrong.
Tim crossed his arms, filling the doorway. If he was trying to intimidate Charlie, it was working.
“Close the door,” Eve said to her brother.
He didn’t budge.
Charlie headed toward Tim. The man didn’t move. Finally he said, “Don’t come here again if I’m not home.”
“He did no harm,” Eve said.
Charlie turned to Eve and said, “Good-bye.”
“Thank you again,” she said, her eyes still warm.
Charlie faced Tim, his heart pounding against his chest as he nodded toward the door behind the man. “Excuse me.”
After a long moment of silence, Eve said something in Pennsylvania Dutch. Tim replied harshly. Charlie couldn’t even guess at the words.
“Good grief,” Eve said. And then, “Stoppen.”
