Building Trust

by Kathleen Fuller

  But Grace couldn’t even smile at her sister’s lighthearted words. She sat down at the table, a beautiful piece that seated eight. Faith and Silas hadn’t started their family yet, but from the size of this table they made together, it looked like they wanted a large one. Like the table, the entire house, built by both of them, was simple yet fine quality. As expected from two master carpenters.

  “All right,” Faith said, sitting across from her. “What’s going on?”

  Grace filled her in. Faith’s expression went from surprised to annoyed. “And yer just telling me this now? Am I the last to know yer getting married?”

  “The last one in the familye, ya.” She looked down at the table. “I was going to tell you right after we told Mamm and Daed, but then Daed refused to give us his blessing.”

  “I suppose I can forgive you for that.” Faith grinned, but it disappeared quickly. “Grace, I’m joking.”

  “I can’t even joke about it.” She leaned forward on the table. “I thought I’d be planning mei wedding by now.”

  Faith took a sip of her coffee. “Maybe you should wait to do that.”

  Grace’s head popped up. “What?”

  “Maybe there’s a reason Daed isn’t giving in.”

  “There is. He’s being ridiculous.”

  “Or maybe he’s hurting.” Faith put down her mug and took Grace’s hand. “I know yer in a hurry to get married. I was like that, too, at least the second time Silas proposed. I knew I wanted to be with him for the rest of mei life, and I didn’t want to wait to make that happen.”

  “And you didn’t wait.”

  “Didn’t I? I broke our first engagement. At the time I had a gut reason, but I see now that the timing wasn’t right, for either of us. We both had to grow up a bit.”

  “But Joel and I aren’t you and Silas.” This wasn’t what she’d expected at all. She’d wanted a sympathetic ear. “I can’t believe yer taking Daed’s side.”

  “I’m not taking anyone’s side. I just wonder if you’ve considered Daed’s feelings at all.”

  “Is he considering mine?”

  “Knowing him, I’m sure he is.” She let go of Grace’s hand. “Remember when all that happened, when the lumber business fell through? We were young back then, but you and I were old enough to remember how down Daed was. How tight things were financially until he found another job. He’s spent his whole life since then trying to recover. And now the person he feels is responsible wants to marry his daughter.”

  “But he should forgive Joel.” Grace was exasperated. “Isn’t that what we’ve been taught so many times over? Forgive, forgive, forgive.”

  “Do I really need to bring up yer roller skates?”

  Grace paused, then slumped in her chair. When they were twelve and thirteen, Faith had borrowed Grace’s roller skates, which she had bought with her own money from babysitting an English family’s children down the street. It was her first purchase, and she loved those skates. Faith had broken the wheel off one. Grace knew now it was because the skates weren’t well made, but at the time she’d been furious. She hadn’t even had a chance to skate with them herself.

  “Do I need to remind you how you wouldn’t speak to me for a week? How I offered to buy you new skates and you refused? How you only forgave me when Daed made you?”

  “I was twelve, Faith.”

  “You were angry and hurt, Grace.”

  Grace knew Faith was right. She hadn’t taken Daed’s feelings into consideration. She was so eager to get married that she’d only been thinking about her and Joel—and if she was honest, she was mostly thinking about herself. “I’ve been selfish,” she muttered.

  “You’re in love.” Faith smiled. “Sometimes it makes us do selfish things.” Faith looked at the clock above the kitchen. “You better hurry to work.” She handed Grace a piece of buttered bread. “I know full well how Mr. Furlong feels about tardiness.”

  “Don’t you want to come back to work at the store?” Grace teased.

  “You know I don’t.” She sighed. “I’m actually happy being home and taking care of Silas. I’ve got some projects going on in the workshop out back too. I have plenty to keep me busy and content.”

  Grace got up and hugged her sister. “Danki, Faith.”

  “For what?” Faith asked, hugging her back.

  “Being honest enough to set me straight.”

  Faith smiled. “You would have figured it out eventually.”

  On her way to work, Grace decided to talk to her father tonight. She would tell him that she and Joel wouldn’t push the marriage issue right now. She would wait and pray that her father would come around. This time, she would give him the space he needed—something she should have been doing all along.

  CHAPTER 5

  That morning on the way to work, Joel made a decision. He wasn’t going to wait around for Vernon anymore. He would force the man to talk to him if he had to. Later in the day, of course. He wasn’t going to embarrass either of them at work. But things couldn’t keep going the way they were right now. Something had to give.

  Vernon arrived shortly after Joel, carrying his usual orangeand-white lunch cooler, tool belt slung over his shoulder. His head was lifted, and even from this distance Joel could see he looked tired. That made him second-guess his decision for a moment. Obviously, this hadn’t been easy on Vernon either. But the older man was the one who was being unreasonable. If he would just give Joel and Grace his blessing, everything would be fine.

  Joel braced himself for Vernon to pass by without saying anything, like he had for the past week. But the man surprised him by stopping in front of him. “I want to talk to you later.” Then he walked to the building.

  Joel watched him go, stunned. But he didn’t have the feeling this would be anything good. Probably another warning to stay away from Grace and to give up trying to prove himself.

  They were halfway finished with the roof. Joel found that he didn’t mind the work, although he’d rather be working in the woods. More than once he thought about Vernon’s situation. He wasn’t doing the job he loved either, but he worked hard. And Joel would be able to go back to the lumber business by the end of this week. Vernon would move on to the next roofing job. It had given Joel pause more than once.

  He looked up at the cloudless sky. It would be a warm day, which meant plenty of sweaty work. “Better get started,” he mumbled as he strapped on his tool belt. He hurried up to the roof and began laying the large tiles. They were different from residential roof shingles. The good thing about this job was that the roof was flat instead of slanted. Less worry about falling off.

  Close to lunchtime Joel climbed down the ladder and went to the drink cooler. He got himself a cup of water. Then he decided to extend an olive branch and filled a second cup. He put the lip of one cup between his teeth and held on to the other one while he climbed back up the ladder. On the opposite end of the roof, Vernon was working, nailing down the graphite. Joel walked toward him.

  “Here,” he said, holding the drink out to Vernon.

  Vernon looked up, then at the cup, then went back to nailing. “Not thirsty,” he said.

  Joel doubted that, since the back of the man’s shirt was soaked with sweat. “Take it anyway,” he snapped, past annoyed now. The man could put a mule to shame.

  Vernon got to his feet and grabbed the cup, downed the water, and dropped it on the roof. Joel knew he’d pick it up later. It wasn’t in Vernon’s character to litter. The man could hold a grudge, though.

  Suddenly a strong wind kicked up. Joel looked at what had been clear blue sky only moments ago. It was now dark and stormy. Lightning flickered in the distance. “We need to get off the roof.”

  Vernon glanced at the sky, then went back to nailing. “There’s time to finish this up.”

  Joel flinched at another lightning strike, this one closer. The clouds were moving fast now, and heavy drops of rain pounded the roof. “Vernon,” he said, his tone more firm this tim
e.

  “Geh on. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Joel started to leave, then stopped. He turned around, knelt, and started helping. “It will geh faster this way.”

  He and Vernon made quick work of the remaining shingles and stood. They were the only ones on the roof now, and a loud thunder boom made Joel jump. “Hurry,” he said to Vernon, who was putting his hammer in his tool belt.

  A crack of lightning split the sky. But instead of a quick flash in the distance, it came straight toward them. Joel froze as it struck Grace’s father and he collapsed mere inches away.

  “Vernon!” Another bolt of lightning cracked nearby. Thunder boomed as Joel picked up the lifeless man and put him over his shoulder. Rain poured down as he hurried to the ladder and struggled to carry Grace’s father down. The other men had taken shelter in their cars. One of them, Clifton, was getting out when Joel reached the ground. “Call an ambulance!” he yelled, then hurried as fast as he could to Clifton’s car, straining under Vernon’s dead weight.

  He hefted Vernon into the back seat, then put his head to his chest. Nothing. “God, nee.” He started chest compressions, the way he’d learned in the CPR class his uncle insisted all his employees take. He had no idea if what he was doing was even working, but he couldn’t stop. “Don’t die,” he said. “Don’t . . . die.”

  Grace spent the rest of the day focusing on her work, trying not to think too much about her father. But the guilt was there, humming in the background. The more she thought about how selfish she’d been, the worse she felt. She couldn’t wait for tonight to come so she could apologize. Of course, she wasn’t going to give up on marrying Joel, but she would be more considerate of Daed’s feelings. It was the least she could do.

  She was about to head to the back of the store to fill out her time sheet when Patience came dashing through the glass doors, panic in her eyes. “Patience,” she said, going straight to her.

  “Daed . . . ,” Patience said, gulping for air. “Joel . . .”

  Alarm struck her. “What about Daed and Joel?”

  “Hospital . . .” Patience grabbed Grace’s hand. “Hurry!”

  Grace ran out the door with her sister, not thinking about Mr. Furlong or her job. Her father and Joel were in the hospital. “What happened?”

  “Don’t know. Mamm called a taxi.”

  Tears filled her eyes. Nee, she couldn’t lose her father. Or her fiancé. She fought to contain herself when she climbed into the taxi. Mamm was stoic. Charity and Patience held hands. Grace spent the ride praying with all her might.

  Vernon’s eyes cracked open. Where was he? What was that pain shooting through his body? He tried to think. Last thing he remembered was drinking the water Joel offered him. No, wait. He had stayed to finish up the last shingles while the others bailed for their cars. A storm was coming, and Joel had pestered him to get off the roof. But Vernon had seen many storms in his life. He could gauge them. And there were only a few more nails left.

  “Vernon?”

  He opened his eyes fully. His body was jangling, along with everything surrounding him. He saw that he was in an ambulance. An ambulance. “What?” he managed to croak out.

  He felt a strong grip on his hand. He turned his head and saw Joel leaning over him, clinging to him. His hair was wet and plastered to his head. What happened to his hat?

  “Vernon? Are you with us?”

  He tried to nod but was only able to barely move his head. Joel leaned his forehead on his hand, the one that clasped Vernon’s. “Thank God.”

  Vernon started to get up, but his body wouldn’t move. “Can’t . . . move.”

  “That happens sometimes.” A young English woman wearing a uniform peered over him. “It’s called keraunoparalysis, and it’s usually temporary.”

  Paralysis? He looked at Joel again and saw the panic in his eyes. The boy was squeezing his hand so hard, he thought it might break. How could he feel that and not be able to move?

  “Good thing you got CPR when you did,” the woman continued. She patted Vernon’s shoulder. “Getting hit by lightning is no joke.”

  Lightning? He gasped, then coughed. “You’re . . . telling . . . me.” He took in a weak breath. He was tired, more tired than he could ever remember being. But I’m lucky to be alive. Yet he knew luck had nothing to do with it.

  “Where did you learn CPR?”

  Vernon realized the woman, the paramedic, was talking to Joel.

  “In Holmes County, years ago. I’m in the lumber business, and my uncle made sure that all his employees knew CPR.”

  “Good idea. The lumber business—and roofing,” she added, looking at Vernon again, “can be dangerous.”

  Vernon knew that. Which was why he’d always been careful. Except this time. Now he remembered Joel was telling him to leave, and he was ignoring him. He also remembered that Joel stayed behind and helped him finish the last of the tar sheets. “Fool,” he whispered, not only referring to Joel but also to himself.

  “Save yer energy,” Joel said in Dietsch.

  He looked at his hand clasped in Joel’s. The man had saved his life. The man he had considered untrustworthy. The one person he couldn’t bring himself to forgive. “Danki,” he said, squeezing Joel’s hand back.

  “Nee thanks needed. I’m just glad yer okay. You gave us all a scare.”

  Vernon closed his eyes. His body was stiff and he tried to move again. They all seemed to think he was going to be okay, but he wasn’t so sure. What if he could never move again? How would he support his family? How would he live his life?

  “Vernon.” Joel’s voice reached his ears again. “You’re going to be all right.”

  He opened his eyes. He was afraid, but he was also strangely calm. He gripped Joel’s hand and nodded the best he could. Because of this kind young man, he was going to be all right.

  Grace paced the emergency room waiting area. They had arrived an hour after her father, and so far they hadn’t been allowed to see him. She clenched her fists. She hadn’t seen Joel either. Was he injured? When she asked, all they said was that he was back with her father.

  She stopped pacing and looked at her mother. Patience was sitting on one side, Charity on the other. Faith was at the front desk trying to get more information from the registrar, who insisted she didn’t know anything.

  The double doors burst open, and Joel walked through. Grace ran to him and in full view of her mother and sisters, hugged him tight. “Thank God yer okay,” she said into his shirt, which smelled like sweat and rain. He hugged her back, then stepped away. “How’s Daed?” she asked. Faith, Patience, Charity, and their mother came up beside her.

  “They’re going to keep him overnight for observation.” His face looked tortured and tired. “He’s still paralyzed.”

  “What?” the women all said at the same time.

  “Sometimes people who are hit by lightning develop temporary paralysis. The doctor is certain he’ll get his feeling back, but he wants to make sure everything is okay before he goes home.” He looked at Grace’s mother. “He wants to see you.”

  Mamm nodded, then slipped past everyone and hurried through the doors. Patience, Faith, and Charity went to sit down. Joel pulled Grace to the side and hugged her again. She realized he was shaking.

  “Joel?”

  “It’s okay.” He looked down at her. “Just the adrenaline still going through me, I think. I’ve never seen anyone struck by lightning before. I’m lucky it didn’t hit me too.”

  “Is Daed really going to be all right?” Maybe Joel was fudging the truth for her sisters and mother. That would be like him, not wanting to upset them.

  He smiled. “Ya. It’s going to take more than lightning to keep yer daed down. You should know that.”

  She leaned into him and noticed he had stopped shaking. They held each other for a long moment, then parted again. She smoothed the front of her dress. “I was going to talk to Daed tonight.”

  Joel arched a brow. “Oh?�
�

  She nodded. “I was going to tell him we would postpone the wedding.”

  Joel stilled. “I see.”

  “It’s the right thing to do, especially now.” She put her hand on his arm. “You understand, ya?”

  He looked at her hand and after a moment put his over hers. “Ya,” he said in a low voice. “I do.” He met her gaze. “But it’s only a postponement. Not a cancellation.”

  She was about to answer him when Mamm came back through the double doors. “Grace?”

  Grace went to her. “Ya?”

  “Yer daed wants to see you.” She looked at Grace’s sisters. “Of course he wants to see all of you. But he asked for Grace first.”

  Grace swallowed, gave Joel another look, then went to see her father.

  CHAPTER 6

  Grace knocked on the door before entering the room. Her father was lying there on a bed, machines beeping around him. He had a tube coming from one arm leading to a machine where a bag of clear fluid hung. His eyes were closed, and he wore a hospital gown. Tears sprang to her eyes.

  “Daed,” she whispered.

  His eyes opened. “Grace. Sorry, I can’t sit up at the moment. Come here so I can see you.”

  She hurried to his bedside and sat on the chair next to him. “I’m so sorry, Daed,” she said, putting her head down.

  “For what?”

  She looked at him and wiped her tears. For a man who just got struck by lightning, he looked pretty relaxed. In fact, more relaxed than she’d seen him in a long time. “I’m not getting married,” she blurted.

  “What? Where did that come from?”

  Taking his hand, she said, “I’ve been selfish. I haven’t been thinking about your feelings at all, just mei own. I already told Joel that we’re going to wait.”

  “And he’s all right with that?”

  “He has to be.” She looked over. Her father was staring at the ceiling now. “We won’t marry until you give us permission. And we won’t try to force you.”

  “Is that what you and Joel really want?”