Mamm’s brow wrinkled. “And Beth?”
Mellie’s chest tightened. What was she to say? If she said that she’d heard from her, Mamm would want to read the letter for herself. On the other hand, she could hardly lie to her mother.
“She’s doing well,” she finally said.
Mamm’s eyes brightened. “She’s written then? Why haven’t I seen the letter?”
Mellie swallowed. “She wrote to me. It’s up in my room.”
Her mother was quiet, as if she pondering the details. “I know you two girls has always been unusual close.”
Mellie sucked in her lower lip.
“Telling each other everything.” Mamm sighed. “So I s’pose you aren’t showing anybody the letter.”
“It was to me,” Mellie repeated.
“But she’s doing well.”
“Right well, Mamm. Loves her teaching.” And loves her Timothy, she thought, but would never say.
“All right then.” Mamm brought the cup to her lips again and sipped. Her knobby pinky finger stuck out in the most unusual way, as if she were beckoning someone to come near.
Mellie held her cup with both hands, enjoying the heat that radiated from the hot liquid. “Is there anything I can do for you?” she asked.
“Nee. I’m fine. Like I said.”
“Would you like to write a letter to Beth? You can tell me what you want to say, and I’ll write it for you.” She smiled at her mother. “It would be fun, wouldn’t it? And Beth would so love to hear from you.”
Mamm nodded. “Jah. I’d like that.”
Mellie stood, nearly sloshing her tea over the side of the cup. She laughed and took another drink. “All right, then. I’ll run to the big house for some stationery. Unless you have some out here.”
“Nee. Your grandfather isn’t one for writing letters.” She laughed.
Mellie’s spirits rose. Mamm so seldom laughed anymore. It was a beautiful thing to hear. “I’ll be right back then.”
She set her tea on the tray and hurried outside and across the yard. She entered the big house through the side door and ran upstairs to her dresser. She kept a nice supply of stationery in her top drawer. She reached in and chose an especially pretty piece. It was light blue with a small flower in the corner. Then she grabbed a pen and hurried back to Mamm. It felt good to be doing something nice for her mother, and something her mother was actually interested in. Plus, Beth would be so happy to get the letter.
Mellie nearly sang on her way back to the daadi haus. She flung open the door and then closed it against the rush of cold air. Her mother was particularly sensitive to the cold, and she didn’t want anything to put a damper on their nice morning together. She glanced at the heating stove and was happy to see it was still burning nicely.
“I’m back!” She went to her mother’s bedroom and stopped short. “Mamm!” she cried.
Her mother was crumpled on the floor near the foot of the bed. Her thin body was shaking and tears coursed down her face.
“Mamm!” Mellie cried again, dropping the stationery and rushing to her. She fell to the floor and cradled the woman’s head. “Mamm, what happened?”
Mamm choked and blubbered as the tears continued to fall. Mellie could see that she wasn’t able to speak.
“Shall I get you up? Do you think you’ve broken something?” Mellie glanced down her mother’s body, looking for any unusual twists. It was useless. Her mother’s body was already so fragile and knobby that she couldn’t tell a thing.
“Shall I pick you up?” she asked. “Just nod or shake your head.”
But Mamm did neither. She just continued to cry. Mellie grabbed a quilt off the bed and tucked it around her. Then she dashed up and snatched the pillow off the bed. Carefully, she eased it under her mother’s head.
“Mamm, can you tell me?” Icy fear twisted around her heart. “Nobody else is at home. Do you need an ambulance?”
Mamm’s eyes widened, and then she squeezed them shut. She appeared to be holding her breath.
“I’m going for an ambulance,” Mellie said decisively. She reached up and pulled another quilt off the bed. She placed it on top of her mother, tucking the corners around the trembling body. “I’ll be quick. Right quick! Don’t worry! I’m getting help!”
She leaned over and brushed a kiss against her mother’s cheek and then raced from the room. She erupted from the daadi haus, running wildly across the yard and down the road. There was a phone shanty not too far away. The frigid air grabbed at her and spurred her forward even faster. Her feet flew over the asphalt. Her breath came in gasping heaves, the cold scraping her throat. The phone shanty was just ahead.
She ran the few steps into the field and threw open the door. She picked up the phone and dialed nine-one-one. Everyone in the district knew of the emergency number. In fact, it had been used more than once by local families. But never in her life had Mellie ever imagined needing to use it. But there she was, clasping the phone with frozen fingers.
She blurted the information to the operator and then hung up, sprinting back across the field and the road and not stopping until she burst back into the daadi haus. She paused and bent nearly double, grabbing her knees and gasping for breath. Then she hurried to her mother. Mamm had stopped crying. She lay perfectly still, a nearly blank look on her face.
“Help is coming. Don’t worry. Help is coming.” She knelt on the floor and patted her mother’s shoulder lightly.
“I ain’t going. No Englisch hospital,” the woman eked out.
Mellie’s eyes widened. “But Mamm! You have no choice! You’re hurt.”
A spasm flashed across Mamm’s face. “Been hurt before.”
“But you have to go. You might have broken something.” Panic surged through Mellie. What if Mamm was bleeding inside somewhere? What is she’d broken her hip? She had to go to the hospital.
Mamm took a jerky breath. “Nee.” She pressed her lips in a taut line.
Mellie sank to the floor. “Please, Mamm. Please.”
Mamm closed her eyes and would say no more. Tears burned in Mellie’s eyes. Frustration rose so quickly in her throat that she wanted to scream. But it would do no good. Mamm was as stubborn as they came. Mellie gulped. Had she done the right thing, calling for help? Tears slid down her cheeks as she waited for the siren.
Chapter Six
The ambulance’s shrill cry came within minutes. Mellie jolted up and ran to the front of the house. The medics parked quickly and climbed out of their vehicle.
“She’s back here,” Mellie said. “But she won’t come with you.”
The two men trailed her to the daadi haus. Mellie showed them to her mother’s room, where her mother lay with her eyes closed.
“She fell. She has rheumatoid arthritis, and I’m worried she broke something.”
One of the medics knelt down beside her. He began to remove the quilts when Mamm’s eyes flew open. “Nee!” she cried. “Nee!”
The man looked up at Mellie.
“I’m sorry.” She leaned over her mother. “Mamm, you don’t have to go to the hospital. But please, at least let them check for broken bones.”
Mamm’s nostrils flared, but she said nothing.
“Ma’am,” the medic said in a gentle voice, “I’d like to just give you a simple go-over. It won’t hurt. I’ll be quick.”
The other medic knelt by her. “We can take you to the hospital. Fact is, we’ve taken other fine Amish folk there. The doctors are good people.”
Mamm squeezed her eyes even more tightly shut. The two medics looked at Mellie. She shrugged and shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No need to be sorry,” said the first medic. “I’m going to check for broken bones. I can’t guarantee anything without x-rays, you understand.”
“I understand.”
“Now, ma’am, I’m going to remove the quilts, all right? Nice and easy like.”
Mamm didn’t respond. Mellie nodded her head. The man
slowly pulled back the quilts. The other man placed them on the end of the bed. Mellie turned away, trying to give her mother at least a modicum of privacy. She didn’t know if the man would have to pull up her nightgown or not. If he did, she imagined her mother would scream.
Mellie kept her face averted and was relieved that her mother made no comment.
“All right, miss.”
Mellie turned back around.
“I can’t see anything’s broken. But again, I make no promises.”
“I know. I understand.”
“We can get her back in bed for you.”
Mellie nodded. “Please.”
The second medic had pulled one quilt back off the bed. “We can use this,” he said. “She’d probably prefer it to the stretcher.”
Mellie watched as they made a stretcher from the quilt and got her mother’s body onto it. Grasping each side securely, they had her back in bed within seconds. Mellie blew out her breath and then hurried to cover her mother back up, tucking the quilt snugly under her chin.
She followed the men from the room.
“Miss, she needs to see a doctor.”
“I know that. She won’t go.”
“We’ll write up the report and give our recommendation.”
Mellie went back out to the ambulance and when the paperwork was complete, she saw them off. By then, she was shaking from the cold. She hurried back to the daadi haus and threw two more logs into the heating stove. She stood for a moment, letting the warmth sink in before returning to her mother.
“Mamm?” she asked. “How did you fall? What exactly happened?”
Mamm opened her eyes and stared at Mellie. Mellie could see the censure there. She was angry about the ambulance.
“I had no choice about calling. Don’t be mad. I’m here alone with you. Dan would have done the same thing.”
Mamm turned her head to the side, and Mellie knew the conversation was over. She pulled a rocker close to the bed and sat in it. She rocked lightly and watched her mother.
She didn’t leave her side the whole morning.
When Mellie finally heard the buggy and the pony cart roll into the drive, she was filled with relief. Mamm had slept all morning, no doubt exhausted from her ordeal. Mellie slipped into one of Daadi’s coats and rushed out to her family.
“Mellie?” Faith asked, standing up in back of the cart. “What’s happened? You look dreadful.”
The children climbed out of the cart, and Gabe jumped down to care for the horse. Ahead, Dan had already stopped the buggy, and Daadi was getting out. Mellie went to Dan.
“I need to speak to you after you get Ruthie inside.”
Dan looked at her and frowned. “Everything okay?”
“It’s cold. Let’s get Ruthie and everyone inside first.”
“Gabe, take care of both horses, will you?” Dan called to his brother.
Gabe nodded as he led Missie into the barn.
Within ten minutes, everyone except Gabe was inside. Faith didn’t leave Mellie’s side. Her face was creased with worry. “Something’s happened, hasn’t it? Is it Mamm?”
“Children, run upstairs and change your clothes,” Dan said. He gathered everyone into the front room. “What is it, Mellie?”
“Mamm had a fall.”
Faith gasped and covered her hand with her mouth.
“I called an ambulance.”
“What?” Ruthie cried. “Oh, dear Lord.”
“Mamm wouldn’t go to the hospital. The medics checked her out. They don’t think anything’s broken, but they aren’t sure.”
“That mother of yours,” Ruthie snapped. “She’s a foolish woman.”
Daadi bristled. “I’ll thank you to keep quiet about my daughter.”
Instant tension filled the room. Never in all her life, had Mellie heard Daadi snap at someone like that. Never.
Ruthie looked properly cowed. “I’m sorry, Daadi.” She closed her mouth into a tight pucker.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Mellie said. “Was I wrong?”
“You did right,” Dan said. He glanced at his wife and then to Daadi. “Shall we go out to see her?”
“She’s been sleeping,” Mellie said. “She should wake soon, and then I think she’ll want something to eat.”
“I’ll fix her something,” Faith said and rushed off to the kitchen.
Gabe came in then. “What’s going on?”
“Go on out to the daadi haus with Dan,” Mellie said. “He’ll fill you in.”
The brothers left along with Daadi, and Mellie turned to Ruthie. “Can I get you anything, Ruthie?”
Ruthie’s lower lip quivered. “I didn’t mean any harm. I just wish she’d go to a doctor. I don’t like cavorting with them Englisch any better than she does. But still, she needs a doctor.”
Mellie nodded. “I know.”
She stood for a moment and gazed upon Ruthie. Ruthie had her eyes fixed on something outside the window, but Mellie saw the tears in her eyes. For all her hardness, Ruthie did have a tender side. Trouble was, she didn’t like to show it.
Mellie stepped forward and touched Ruthie’s shoulder. Ruthie flinched and then grabbed Mellie’s hand in a quick squeeze. Just as quickly, she let it go.
“Better get on in there and help Faith,” Ruthie said, but her shaky voice belied the curtness of her words.
Mellie inhaled deeply and went toward the kitchen to help her sister. She tried to ignore the guilt swirling through her. Knowing her mother’s beliefs, she shouldn’t have called the ambulance. But how could she have ignored the situation? No, she had been right. It was a confused jumble in her mind. She paused at the dining room window and looked out over the frozen yard. There was more to it than that, and she knew it. For years, she’d been trying to get her mother to visit an Englisch doctor for her arthritis. For years.
Maybe somewhere deep inside, she’d seen her mother’s fall as an opportunity. A way to get her mother to the doctor because she would then have no choice. So she’d called the ambulance. Mellie grasped the curtain at the side of the window. Had she been wrong? Had she used her mother’s fall as a way to overpower what she saw as her mother’s stubbornness? She closed her eyes. If that was true, she needed God’s forgiveness. She took a moment to pray.
Gabe burst in the side door. “Mamm wants Old Mae,” he said. “I’ll be going to fetch her.”
Mellie nodded. Old Mae knew more about herbs and potions than anyone else in the district. She was Mamm’s preferred “doctor.”
Faith came of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. “So Gabe is going for Old Mae?”
“I guess I should have fetched her in the first place.”
Faith shook her head. “I would have done the same thing, Mellie. I would have called the ambulance, too.”
Tears sprang again to Mellie’s eyes. “Would you have, Faith?”
“Jah. So don’t feel bad. I think all of us would have called.”
“Even Daadi?”
“Even Daadi.”
Mellie lay her head on Faith’s shoulder for a brief moment. Then she stood up straight. “Thank you. Now, let’s get some food for Mamm.”
By the time Gabe returned with Old Mae, a stiff wind had begun to howl.
“We’re in for it,” Ruthie said from her perch in the front room. “Sounds like a snow storm is brewing.”
“I’m afraid you’re right,” Mellie agreed.
The kinner were draped across the davenport, listening to Ellen read to them.
“Can we build a snowman if it does?” John asked.
“Not during a storm, silly!” Walter said.
“I never meant during the storm,” John replied in a disgusted tone.
“John knows that! He’s not dumb,” Tillie defended him.
“Children, that’s enough,” Ruthie scolded. “I won’t have any arguing. And John, we’ll see about a snowman tomorrow. If it snows, that is.”
“I’m going to the daadi haus,”
Mellie said. “I want to see what Old Mae has to say.”
“All right,” Ruthie said. “Then you can tell me.”
Mellie went through the side door, and the wind whipped at her. Her dress flapped wildly about her legs, and the strings of her kapp slapped at her neck. She glanced to the front of the property toward the road. Had she left a window in her shop open? She couldn’t remember, although she distinctly remembered opening it the day before to let in some fresh air.
Surely, she had closed it. Hadn’t she?
With a sigh of disgust, she held her dress down and raced across the yard to her shop. The wind was so strong, it felt as if it would lift her from the ground. She nearly slammed into the side of her shop. She fumbled with the door, opened it, and dashed inside. A howling sound met her. Indeed, she had left the window open. She ran to it and slammed it down. An eerie silence followed. She glanced at the shadowy shelves. It got dark so early these days. She saw shapes of some baked goods she had forgotten.
Goodness. What was wrong with her lately? She wished now that she would have brought a flashlight with her. She groped over to the candles she kept handy for the darkest mornings. She lit two and set them on the counter. Often, she used a gas lantern, but she remembered that she’d taken it to the barn to refill it and then had gotten interrupted. Well, the candles would do nicely. In fact, they gave a warm glow to the shop, giving it a cozy atmosphere.
To be sure, she’d left some baked goods sitting there. Three packages of snickerdoodles and one loaf of pumpkin bread. If she took them inside now, she could give the family a nice treat.
She felt cocooned in the shop as she listened to the violent wind outside. It afforded her a sweet moment of solitude and peace. She sat down on her chair and rested for a moment. Truth was, she was a bit nervous about going out to the daadi haus. She was sure Mamm was still angry with her.
She stood and went to the window. Except for the whistling sound, it was hard to tell it was windy at all. The dark silhouettes of the naked tree branches weren’t moving much and the corn fields were empty. There was no one out and about—not even automobiles were on the road. She pressed her face against the glass and felt the coolness seep into her skin. It was silly to be out there alone, staring into the growing darkness.
Amish Romance Box Set: Finding Home Page 18
