Читать книгу Amish Promise: A Sequel to Amish Dilemma - Sioux Dallas - Страница 12

Chapter Four

Focusing her eyes, the tears rolled down her cheeks. “Mamm. You came.”

“Yes, dear child and your daed and Joshua are also here. Our church prayed for you and so many wanted to come see about you, but your daed asked them to take care of your farm and the animals. We knew Matthew and Deborah were taking good care of Jeremiah and Rosemary and the girls are taking good care of the store.”

At that moment the door opened and Jacob and Joshua walked in. They looked so relieved to see her awake and talking to them. They talked quietly for a short time until Joshua suggested that they leave and come back tomorrow.

“How did you get here?” Charity asked concerned.

Jenna Mae answered with a chuckle. “I think your daed would have run all the way, but we convinced him to hire a neighbor to bring us in his car. He is staying with his brother and sister-in-law until we are ready to leave.”

“Where are you staying?”

“At Erin and Isaiah’s bed and breakfast. Several Amish offered to take us in, but we decided to stay where you have been.”

They all hugged her and left. She was lying quietly thinking and counting her blessings when the door slowly eased open. How blessed to be Amish and know everyone helped everyone else.

Her breath caught until she saw a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck.

“Oh, are you my doctor?”

“Yes, I am. My name is Dr. Isaac Yoder and I have cared for you since you came in.”

She was surprised. “Are you Amish?”

“Ja. The bishop gave me permission to study if I promised to work in my own community for at least five years. I have been here four years now and looking forward to going to a smaller community.”

“Why are you keeping me so long?”

“You had a mild concussion and were pretty roughed up. You would not wake up the first day. It is nature’s way of protecting us from trauma. I will allow you to go with your parents tomorrow if you pass all tests. Now let me check you one more time before I leave.”

She slept peacefully knowing family and friends were near. The next morning she was asked what she would like for breakfast. She had always heard of French toast, but had never eaten any. She ordered oatmeal, decaf, French toast and a slice of cantaloupe.

When the breakfast was delivered, she didn’t want the syrup on the toast, but did butter the hot bread and thoroughly enjoyed it. She laughed when she was asked if she wanted anything else. “I am ashamed that I am so full now. I will look like I have been blown up like a balloon. Your food is very good and I have received excellent care.”

Dr. Yoder came in and complimented her on eating a good breakfast. “It seems as if you are gaining strength. I am so happy to hear of that. Now let me run some tests and you can go with your family if everything checks out.”

While she was waiting for the test results, she was surprised when two men walked into her room, smiling.

“Hello, I’m James Bolton and this is Harold Newsome. We just wanted to see for ourselves that you’re all right. How do you feel?”

“Oh, you are the kind men who saved me from a horrible disaster. I can not thank you enough. If you had not heard me, I would have been in real trouble.”

“An elderly couple heard you and told us. We ran over just in time. We believe that it was God’s will that we be there to help you. Thank God, but you don’t need to thank us. We both played football in college, so it was no trouble to run and tackle. The store owner had called the police and they were there quickly,” Harold explained.

“We’re just sorry, and angry, it happened in our town. Thankfully the men don’t live here. They were just passing through. We’ve never had a problem like that before.” James added.

“Thank you for the beautiful flowers. I raise flowers and sell them in my store, but no one has ever sent me any. I am grateful. Are you married and do you have children?”

“No, we’re neither one married. We’re going on through law school and hope to open a law practice together some day.”

The door opened to allow Jenna Mae, Jacob, Joshua, Erin and Isaiah in.

There were introductions all around and much gratitude expressed to the two men who came to Charity’s rescue.

James and Harold wished them God’s speed and left.

They were pleased to see that Charity was better although still bruised and nursing a headache. Dr. Yoder came in and was introduced to everyone.

“Well, our girl is doing well, but still needs rest and recuperation. Keep her in bed for another day and only allow her up in small time periods. Feed her well and she will be fine in a week. I am going to release her to you and say I am so sorry to have met her under these conditions. She is a lovely young woman and a good patient.” He smiled and excused himself.

In a few minutes a nurse came in offering to help Charity dress and prepare to leave. Erin gave her the dress and bloomers she had washed and mended. She had also given her a pair of her own stockings as Charity’s were too torn to wear again. Isaiah had polished her shoes.

Jenna Mae had found her a prayer kapp because Charity’s was lost. She had tears in her eyes because of the kindness and thoughtfulness.

A male nurse came in pushing a wheelchair which Charity declared she did not need.

“It’s a rule of the hospital,” he explained. “We are responsible for you until you’re completely gone. I don’t mean we’re glad to get rid of you,” he laughed.

“I understand. Bring on the contraption then. How are we getting home?”

Jacob leaned over her. “We are going in a taxi to Erin and Isaiah’s B & B and stay the night. Tomorrow morning, if you feel like it, we will all go back with our English neighbor. He refused money for the trip, but we are going to see that he gets enough for gas.”

“It sounds good to me. I can hardly wait to see Jeremiah.”

“We did not tell him of your -- accident,” Jenna Mae told her. “We knew he would be too upset and would not understand.”

“Good. I promised him I would be safe and come back home to him. He was afraid I would go away like his daed.”

“Well, you are going home to him and we can thank God for your safety. He provided people to help after those evil men were taken away,” Joshua bristled. Charity was like his own child.

Erin served an excellent lunch of chicken and dumplings, honey-glazed carrots, deviled eggs, buttermilk biscuits, gravy, and a choice of coffee, milk or lemonade. Her dessert was pineapple upside down cake.

Charity went up to take a nap while the others talked. She began to have dreams of Adam reaching out his hand and smiling, and then of being thrown around and slung to the ground. She awakened with her mamm and Erin by her bed calling softly to her.

“Oh, dear. You frightened us with your cries. We were afraid someone had broken in and was attacking you,” Erin laughed.

“You were having bad dreams,” her mother explained.

“I am so sorry that I disturbed all of you. Is that daed peeping around the door?”

“It probably is. Jacob, she is all right. She was just dreaming.”

Relieved he waved at them and left.

“Was I talking?”

“Only yelling no, no, no.” her mother told her. “I am not surprised. You have been through a lot of disturbing things. God is with you.”

“I know that, and I have the best family in the world. Wonderful, dear, sweet friends are so precious to me, also.”

“Please come down and talk to us.”

“Where are my shoes? I will be right down as soon as I wash my face in cold water.” Jenna Mae and Erin left and went downstairs.

They talked and compared childhood stories. Some of the stories made Charity laugh when the men told of “boy tricks” they were guilty of pulling.

They had a delicious nachtesse of cornbread crumbled in a bowl with milk poured over it, pickled eggs, raw carrots and cauliflower and bread pudding with a lemon raisin sauce for dessert. (Recipes for Amish cornbread and Amish bread pudding are in my book Amish Dilemma. The pickled eggs recipe is on Pg. 255 in my book A Detective’s Heart.)

“Danki, Erin. The nachtesse was wunderbaar just as you are,” Jacob told her.

They all thanked her for an appeditlich nachtesse (delicious dinner). Isaiah then got the big family Biewel and read some passages. They took turn about reciting their favorite verse.

Charity humbly recited Isaiah 40:31

“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar like eagles; they will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint.” She then quoted Psalm 25, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul, in You I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. God has surely been with me. He did not stop the men from hurting and scaring me, but He let me know that no evil would happen to me, and I thank Him and worship Him.”

“Amen,” they all responded.

“We did not know at first what was happening, but something made us pray more for you than we had been doing. Your daed and I, and I am sure the church, prayed for you from the time you left Shickshinny,” Jenna Mae told her.

“Ja, I had faith that you would not do wrong, dochder,” Jacob said.

“Ah, daed. I have had good home training and know what the Biewel teaches us.”

They all wished each other a gut nacht and went to their own rooms for the night.

A pleasant calm settled over the town. Charity could hear faintly a violin.