by Leslie Gould
“It’s Zane,” he said. “You need to go get Tim and meet us at the hospital. But wait until Gideon gets Trudy home.”
His mom gasped. “What’s happened?”
“It’s Lila. She’s been in an accident.” He swallowed hard. “It’s bad. She’s alive but not conscious. Hurry.”
As the ambulance pulled up to Lancaster General several doctors and nurses hurried out to meet it. Zane jumped down from the cab and then raced around to the back, explaining what had happened.
They pulled Lila out of the ambulance first, and Charlie followed. “She’s been in and out of consciousness,” he said. “Lacerations on her arms and face. Probable concussion. Possible internal injuries. Symptoms of a ruptured spleen. Possible broken bones.”
Charlie turned toward Zane. “She asked for you.”
Relief flooded through Zane, but he couldn’t get past the threat of a ruptured spleen. Or what other internal injuries there could be.
“Has the family been notified?” an older nurse asked.
Zane nodded. “I’m her fiancé. Her father should be here soon.”
The nurse gave him a sympathetic look. “Did you just happen to get the call?”
Zane nodded again, taking Lila’s hand as they made their way through the double doors. She turned her head toward him and opened her eyes. “You’re here.”
“I am,” he said.
“What happened?”
“You were in an accident,” Zane said. “You’re at the hospital now. The doctors will run some tests and find out what’s wrong.” He squeezed her hand. “You’re going to be all right.” She had to be.
As they made their way down the hall, the older nurse said, “Hey, you look familiar. Aren’t you Shani’s son?”
“Yes,” Zane said. His mom had worked at the hospital for over ten years, up in pediatrics, but she knew most everyone.
The nurse glanced back down at Lila and then at Zane again. “I’m sorry,” she said.
Zane simply nodded again as the emergency department doc directed the group into a bay. Charlie spoke more with the doctor as the nurses tended to Lila. The doctor began the examination as a nurse hooked Lila up to the blood-pressure cuff. Immediately the machine began to beep. The reading was 80/50.
“Affirmative on the ruptured spleen,” the doctor said, his hands on Lila’s abdomen. “We need to get her into surgery now.”
The nurse grabbed the phone as the doctor began pushing Lila’s gurney out of the bay.
Lila reached for Zane. He grabbed her hand and jogged beside the gurney.
“Your spleen ruptured,” Zane said. “They need to remove it. That’s what’s most important now.” She could die if they didn’t stop the bleeding. They’d figure out the rest later. What other internal damage there might be. How bad her concussion was. If she had any broken bones.
“I’ll be here when you get out,” he said, letting go of her hand.
Charlie caught up with Zane and said, “I’ll stay here with you.”
“They need you at the station.”
Charlie shook his head. “Someone will cover.”
As they sat, Zane covered his face with his hands, thinking about his first day in Lancaster County, back when he was twelve. His father and Simon were both in Lancaster General that night. A workhorse Zane had spooked kicked Simon, and Dad had fallen and reinjured his leg that had been torn up in Iraq. Zane had seen Lila for the first time through the field gate that day, and he’d been enchanted with her ever since.
Charlie put an arm around Zane’s shoulders. The physical comfort helped.
Zane tried to pray a second time, but still couldn’t get past Please, God! God wanted him to trust, no matter what. All Zane could think of was that Lila had to live. He couldn’t lose her now.
He wrestled with himself, going back and forth as far as trusting, until Mom and Tim rushed into the waiting room. Charlie explained the spleen injury.
“It’s not uncommon in accidents,” Mom said to Tim.
“So she’s not in danger, then?”
“We hope not,” Charlie said. “But it is very serious. Any internal bleeding is. And she could have more.”
Mom’s eyes grew even more concerned.
“Jah,” Tim said. “I figured with the horse landing on her and all there could be lots of injuries.”
No one said anything for a few minutes, but then Zane said, “I forgot to ask Gideon to get the horse home.”
Tim nodded. “He told a couple of the other men to deliver him, after he’d calmed down, to our place.”
“It didn’t look like Billie was badly hurt,” Zane said.
“We’ll see,” Tim answered. “Most horses don’t escape injury in such a bad accident. I’ll call the vet.”
Zane wasn’t sure if that meant Tim believed Billie needed to be examined—or put down. And he didn’t want to think about it now. “How’s Trudy?”
“She seems to be doing all right,” Tim said.
Zane didn’t trust him to truly notice. He wasn’t known for taking his children’s feelings into account. Zane glanced at his mom.
“Gideon dropped her off at the house just before I left with Tim,” she said. “She stayed with Rose.”
“Did she see what was going on from the schoolyard?”
“I don’t think so,” Mom answered. “But she thought the accident probably involved Lila, because she was so late.”
Everyone was silent for a long moment until Charlie said, “We should go to the operating waiting room. The surgery shouldn’t take too long.”
Nearly two hours later the surgeon appeared—a woman, with her mask in her hand. Zane jumped to his feet and quickly introduced Tim as Lila’s father. The doctor shook their hands and then said to Tim, “Your girl is lucky to be alive. The spleen had ruptured, plus she has a bruised liver and bladder. She had quite a bit of internal bleeding.”
Zane grabbed the back of a chair for support.
The doctor continued. “I had an orthopedic surgeon check in. Lila also has a crushed pelvis. He’s ordered X rays to see exactly where the damage is. And we’ll also do a CT scan to make sure we didn’t miss anything in the abdominal cavity. Right now she’s critical but stable, so that’s a relief, but she has a long road of recovery ahead of her.”
Tim exhaled as Mom put her arm around him. Then she grabbed Zane’s free hand. He held on as tight as he could.
Lila was alive. That was what mattered. His knees grew weak. He’d almost lost her—after all they’d gone through, she’d nearly been killed.
He needed to thank God, but all he could do was fight back his tears.
4
Reuben stood in the doorway of the Lehmans’ barn, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. His Dat had called and told him to close down the lumberyard early because Lila had been in an accident, and Reuben needed to help Rose with the milking.
As his eyes adjusted, he could see Rose at the far end of the barn, standing in a stream of light from the open door. Specks of dust floated around her, and she wore a vinyl apron, cinched around her waist, and a kerchief over her hair. “Denki for coming,” she said, giving him a wave.
“Jah,” he answered. “Have you heard anything more about Lila?”
Rose shook her head. “But it sounds as if it was a bad wreck.”
Reuben glanced toward Trudy, who’d stopped shoveling. She’d turned eleven in March and had grown taller in the last year, but she still wore the baggie dresses and long aprons that little girls did. He didn’t want to burden her with more fear than she probably already felt by asking Rose for details.
“I’ll go get more cows.” He grabbed a vinyl apron from a peg by the office door as Rose herded a cow into the first slot and secured the animal’s head.
He started for the other end of the barn to herd in the cows that had gathered near the door. Maybe they could tell he was worried or maybe it was his lack of skill with animals, but he had trouble with several of the cows. He didn�
�t particularly like to do the milking, even though he helped the Lehmans in the past, especially when he was courting Lila.
Now here she was, soon to marry someone else in a month, if her injuries weren’t too bad. He shivered. He wanted her to be all right. He held no ill feelings toward her.
Rose was a far better match for him.
He gently pushed on a cow’s neck, trying to nudge her next to the milking machine. She balked. Tim had such a way with animals that the cows practically waltzed into place for him. It wasn’t how they behaved for Reuben.
“You have to be really firm with her,” Rose said. “Or she won’t cooperate.”
Reuben pushed harder. The cow sidestepped toward him. Rose came around from the trough and pushed from the other side. The cow kicked.
“Oh, you . . .” Rose sputtered, shoving harder against the cow.
“Need some help?”
Reuben turned toward the door. The Englisch man from the day before was headed toward them.
“Hi, Trevor,” Rose said, speaking in a friendly manner. That was her way.
“Hi.” Trevor glanced from Rose to Reuben. “I worked on a dairy back in Delaware. Want some help?”
“Sure!” Rose’s face lit up.
Reuben moved away from the cow as Trevor stepped forward. The man was tall—nearly a head taller than Reuben—and muscular. He wore a long-sleeved T-shirt, but his muscles bulged enough for their outline to be apparent through the fabric. He stepped up to the cow with confidence. He didn’t shove her, not exactly. He simply leaned against her and walked forward with confidence. The cow moved with him, stopping when she reached the trough. Trevor quickly secured the cow and then hooked up the machine.
There was no sign of the emotional turmoil from the day before. Reuben realized he’d been staring at the Englischer and headed back toward one of the cows that was milked and ready to be released.
The work went quickly with Trevor’s help. As they neared the last of the cows, Rose said she was going into the house to get supper on the table. “We’ll just have sandwiches—I didn’t have time for anything more, but I do have a chocolate shoofly pie for dessert,” she said. “Both of you should come in and eat.”
Reuben wasn’t sure about Rose inviting a stranger in when her father was gone. He cleared his throat.
“Don’t worry,” Trevor said, his voice low. “I told Joel I’d eat over at their house.”
Reuben simply nodded. At least the man had some common sense.
“Come on, Trudy,” Rose called out to her little sister, who had been playing with a kitten for the last half hour.
After Rose and Trudy left, it took another half hour for Reuben and Trevor to clean up. When they’d finished, Reuben shook Trevor’s hand. “Thank you,” he said.
“What about in the morning? Who’ll do the milking then?”
“Tim and Rose,” Reuben said, sure Tim wouldn’t spend the night at the hospital. Zane might—but Tim would come home.
“All right,” Trevor said. “I’m staying with the Becks for a few more days. I’ll check in with Tim and see if there’s anything I can do to help. Zane’s been a good friend to me—I’d like to be able to help out any way I can.”
“I think Tim will be all right doing his own chores.” Reuben didn’t care if he sounded defensive. He didn’t like the thought of an Englisch man hanging around the Lehman farm. “On the other hand,” Reuben said, adjusting his voice to a kinder tone, “I really needed your help tonight. I appreciate it.”
“Grateful I could help.” Trevor started toward the door. Reuben followed him out of the barn and called out a good-bye as Trevor headed toward the gate to the field. He seemed to know his way around awfully well already.
Reuben watched as Trevor disappeared. Reuben felt his father, as the bishop, had been too lenient about the influence the Becks had had on the Lehman family all these years. It seemed as if it had been one thing after another. Reuben’s father was a good man, but he tended to give people the benefit of the doubt more often than he should. Tim’s friendship with Beth was simply another example of his father’s leniency.
By the time Reuben reached the house, Trudy had the table set and Rose was heating up a pot of soup and finishing making sandwiches. Rose looked enchanting by the light of the lamp hanging above the sink that cast a soft glow over her face.
“I’m going to go check the answering machine,” Rose said. “I should have done that before I came in. Maybe Dat left a message about Lila.” She dried her hands on her apron. “Wash up,” she called out as she hurried out the back door. “We’ll eat as soon as I get back.”
After he washed, Reuben headed back to the kitchen. Trudy sat at the table, looking a little lost. Reuben wasn’t sure what to do and hoped Rose would return soon—it shouldn’t take long to listen to the messages. A knock on the back door startled him.
Before he could react, Trudy scampered to the mud porch. “Beth,” she said, her voice full of relief.
Trudy pulled her teacher into the room.
“Hello,” the woman said. She wore her cape and bonnet. “I thought perhaps Rose and Trudy could use some company. I didn’t realize you’d be here, Reuben.”
“I helped with the milking.” He hoped it didn’t seem inappropriate for him to be in the house. He stepped toward the back door. “Rose went to check the answering machine. I’ll go tell her you’re here.”
“I already said hello to her.” Beth took her bonnet off. “She told me to come on in.”
“Oh?”
Beth nodded. “She’s talking to an Englischer out there. I think she said his name is Trevor.”
Reuben nodded and tried to sound calm even though he was alarmed Trevor had returned. “He helped us with the milking.”
“So he said.” Beth slipped out of her cape and headed back to the mud porch, most likely to hang up her things. She returned with a container that she must have left on the shelf when she first came in.
“I brought lemon bars,” she said. “I’m guessing Rose already has dessert made, so these can be for tomorrow.” She put the pan on the counter and then placed her arm around Trudy. “How are you doing, sweetie?”
Trudy grew sniffly. Reuben pointed toward the door and said, “I’ll go check on Rose.” As he trudged down the steps, Trevor headed toward the lane.
Rose must have already gone to the barn, and Reuben decided to sit down on the steps and wait for her. The sun set as he waited, and immediately a chill filled the air.
When Rose returned, her face was pale, and she pulled her cloak tight around herself.
Reuben stood. “Was there a message?”
Rose nodded. “Lila’s badly hurt. Internal injuries. Something about her spleen rupturing. Something’s broken—I can’t remember exactly what. And a concussion, like Simon had when he was young.”
Reuben put his arm around her.
“Dat said he would come home tonight. Shani will bring him. But he’ll go back after the milking’s done in the morning.”
“I can help as needed,” Reuben said. Tim was supposed to work at the lumberyard the next day, but he wouldn’t be able to do that.
“Denki,” Rose said. “And I’m guessing Trevor will help as needed too. And Joel and Adam. I’ll call over there after supper.”
Reuben cleared his throat, wanting to warn her about Trevor.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said, changing his mind. If Trevor’s motivation really was to help, Reuben didn’t want to put any ideas in Rose’s head.
She leaned against Reuben. “I can’t believe this happened to Lila.” Rose shook a little, maybe from the cold but more likely from the shock of Lila’s injuries.
Reuben knew that in the past the sisters hadn’t always gotten along, but in the last couple of years that had changed. Emotion welled inside of Reuben. It was for Lila, jah, but more for what Rose was feeling. “Don’t you think she’ll be all right?” he asked. Hopefully they got her to
the hospital in time.
Rose exhaled. “I hope so. She’s already had one surgery and it sounds as if she may need another.”
He squeezed her shoulder, and Rose turned her doe-like eyes toward him. He sensed a hunger in her, or perhaps more accurately a desire. It was something he’d never seen in Lila, at least not directed toward him. He would have liked to kiss Rose then, but it hardly seemed appropriate with her sister in the hospital.
“Are you worried about Lila?” he asked.
“Jah,” she answered. “Are you?”
“Of course,” he answered. But his thoughts weren’t on Lila. They were on Rose, on the fullness of her lips, on the look in her eyes, on the way she tilted her head toward him.
“Let’s go eat,” he said. “Beth and Trudy are waiting for us.”
By the time he reached his dark house, Reuben felt nearly overcome with loneliness. Not many Amish people lived alone, but he had since his sister married and moved out. Before that their father lived with them, until he married Monika and moved into her large home.
Before that, their mother lived with them, until she died. Before that his two brothers lived with them too. But they’d both moved out and married years ago.
Reuben was the only one left in the old house by the lumberyard. He stopped the buggy by his barn, unhitched his horse, led her into her stall, brushed her down, and fed her.
He entered his house through the back door, went into the kitchen, and leaned across the first table he’d made with the help of his Dat. He pulled his battery-operated lantern closer and turned it on. He was grateful he’d already eaten at the Lehmans’ place. There was nothing worse than sitting at his kitchen table by himself. He looked forward to Rose cooking for him. He enjoyed the food she made, more than he’d let on. He didn’t want to praise her too much, to make her prideful, but no one made a better lemon pie than she did. Or a better pecan one. Or a better peach cream pie. And the chocolate shoofly pie she’d made for tonight had been delicious.
He picked up the lantern. The kitchen hadn’t changed in the thirteen years since his mother died. A home needed a woman. He never thought he’d be twenty-six and without a wife. He’d waited for years for Lila, only to have her reject him. He wouldn’t be so foolish as to wait so long for Rose.
