A Miracle of Hope (The Amish Wonders Series) (23 page)

Lindie stared at the ceiling.

“I’m sure that’s standard,” he said.

Doctor Ethridge entered the room. “Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said, washing his hands at the sink. He took the seat before the monitor and added gel to the wand. “This will probably feel cold.” He circled the wand around Lindie’s belly.

“Did Lindie tell you about the pains she had last night?”

This time she reached for his hand and squeezed it. Hard.

Doctor Ethridge lifted the wand from her belly. “How would you describe the pain?”

“Sharp . . . hot, like a fire poker was jabbing me.”

“Can you show me where you felt the pain?”

Lindie hesitated.

Josiah took that as his clue to leave. “I’ll wait for you in the lobby.” He winked at Lindie and slipped out of the room.

Stepping into the hallway, the nurse stopped him. “Doctor Ethridge wants me to draw your blood.”

If only he had smothered his coughing yesterday while the
doctor was around. Josiah followed her down the hallway and into the lab room.

“Have a seat while I get things ready.” She motioned to the only chair.

He sat. The posters on the wall showing the network of arteries and veins hadn’t changed. The refrigerator still hummed like a fan blade was bent.

He didn’t need more lab work. Most people caught a cold in the winter. At least that was what he told himself.

“You know the routine,” she said without looking up from arranging the supplies.

Too well. Over the years he’d been poked so many times, he complained that his blood could leak just by squeezing his arm. But despite believing it was a waste of time, money, and good blood, Josiah pushed up his sleeve.

She tied the rubber strap around his arm and tapped his veins until they gorged. She studied his arm. “Make a fist. I need to find a good vein. Doc wants the works.”

The works meant anywhere from five to seven tubes. Six years ago when he gave that much blood, he nearly fell out. Not that the sight of blood brought on the willies. His veins had shut down. Collapsed, the nurse had told him. Bottom line, what he learned was that most of his blood was depleted of oxygen, which had caused the dizziness. He had a vivid memory of the foul scent of ammonia that had brought him back to consciousness.

“You’re going to feel a little poke.” She drove the needle into his vein and blood pooled into the glass tube.

Josiah closed his eyes and reviewed the last few weeks in his mind. The night sweats started after Eli had approached him about marrying Lindie. Those were stress induced. The coughing was the start of a cold. Nothing to worry about. The other
routine questions that Doctor Ethridge had asked during his yearly exam weren’t as easy to dismiss: unexplained bleeding, bruising, lumps, rash, fever, and fatigue. He pushed the negative thoughts aside. Lindie needed him now. He would worry about his own health later.

Josiah opened his eyes as the nurse filled the last tube and released the rubber strap.

She pressed a piece of gauze where the needle had been and secured a Band-Aid over it. “How do you feel? Do you need a glass of orange juice?”

“I’m fine.” He pushed his sleeve down. He would be even better once he could check on Lindie.

Doctor Ethridge peered over his wire-rimmed glasses at Lindie. “No caffeine. No lifting. Limit your household chores. Do you have a powered washing machine?”

She shook her head. “It’s a manual wringer.”

He looked back at the paper and continued jotting notes. “No laundry.”

“That’s
nett
possible.” Seated in front of the doctor’s desk, Lindie leaned forward to catch a glimpse of what he was writing. What did he want her to do all day, lie in bed? That wasn’t what Josiah had bargained for in a wife.

Lindie pointed her finger at his paper. “You’re rendering me useless.”

The door opened and the nurse led Josiah into the room. He sat in the empty chair beside her.

“I was just reviewing a list of restrictions for Lindie to follow.”

She sensed Josiah watching her, but couldn’t bring herself to look his way. He must already regret her presence in his life, and now he had reason to resent the arrangement. He hadn’t asked much of her. Some of the husbands of friends back home expected their wives to work out in the barn and field, on top of keeping up with the household duties. She had yet to see the inside of Josiah’s barns.

“Basically, I want her on light duty as much as possible.”

“I told him that wasn’t doable,” she said to Josiah.

“
Jah
, it is.” Josiah’s tone was stern, his words final.

She shifted in her seat.

“When do you want to see her again?”

“You can make the appointment for two weeks, but if she cramps again, I’ll need to see her immediately.”

“Okay.” Josiah leaned closer to her. “So if you get those pains again—”

“I didn’t just
kumm
into the room. I heard what he said,” she snapped.

She lowered her head and studied the cotton fabric of her dress. Josiah was a lot like her brother. Eli had treated her as though she were incapable of making decisions. Wise ones anyway. Josiah thought she was irresponsible for not eating more, and Eli had accused her of lacking sound judgment after she didn’t come home that night. Privately, she condemned herself. Part of her didn’t care if the baby lived. God certainly couldn’t be pleased with such selfish thoughts. Perhaps she should have taken the drug Moses tried to get her to take to end the pregnancy. At the time, she couldn’t imagine the morning after pill being part of God’s plan.

“Lindie?”

She lifted her head.

Josiah and the doctor were standing.

She rose and followed them into the hallway, then down the short corridor to the waiting room where she saw Ada and her husband sitting.

“Lindie, what a surprise.” Ada crossed the room, a knowing grin on her face. “I didn’t expect to see you here.” She patted her extended belly. “I’m due at the first of the year.”

Josiah winked at Lindie and motioned to the office window. “I’ll take care of the paperwork.” He made it as far as the magazine rack before Ada’s husband stopped him.

Lindie was torn between listening to Ada talk about her pregnancy and trying to observe Josiah. She couldn’t decide how he felt at having run into the other couple.

“
Doktah
Ethridge is a
gut boppli
doctor,” Ada said. “I think you’ll like him. Was this your first visit?”

“Ah . . .”

“I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.
Doktah
Ethridge is a general country
doktah
. He set
mei sohn’s
cast when he slipped on the ice last winter.” Her eyes twinkled with mischief. “But I know a pregnant woman when I see one,” she whispered.

Lindie looked at Josiah for support, but he was too far away to be of any help. The men seemed engrossed in their own conversation. Judging by Josiah’s relaxed stance, they were probably talking about livestock.

Ada nudged her. “So tell me, how are you and Hannah getting along?”

“Gut.”

The nurse entered the lobby. “Ada, if you’ll come with me, I’ll get your weight and vitals.”

“We’ll talk more on Sunday.” Ada waved at her husband, then pointed at the nurse.

Her husband left Josiah and the couple disappeared down the hall.

Lindie met Josiah in front of the office window.

“The doctor wants to see you in two weeks. Do you want a morning or afternoon appointment?”

Lindie shrugged.

“Afternoon, please,” Josiah said to the receptionist.

“I’ll put you down for two o’clock.” She jotted the time on a slip of paper and handed it to Lindie. “We’ll see you in two weeks.”

Her next appointment was two days before Christmas, traditionally one of the busiest cooking days of the year. She recalled how much she loved
Mamm’s
butter pecan cookies. She pictured herself as a young girl standing in front of the oven as they baked. The kitchen would be abuzz with laughter. Even the very young children would have participated in mixing the sugar-cookie dough. But if the doctor didn’t take her off bed rest, she would not be sharing this experience with Hannah.

Cold air blasted her face.

They walked with their heads down into the snowy gust of wind.

He bunched the collar of his coat under his chin and drew his shoulders up. “If you don’t mind, I’d like your help picking out some paint and brushes. But I want to keep it a Christmas surprise.”

“Sure.” She’d never known a child who received a store-bought gift for Christmas, unless it was a new pair of shoes. Even that was rare. Most shoes were handed down from older siblings or cousins. But never something worldly like paints.

He opened the buggy door and she climbed inside. Her teeth chattered as she pulled the quilt over her legs.

Molly’s winter coat was wet from the snow. Josiah untied the
mare from the post, then jumped inside the buggy. White clouds escaped his mouth as he blew into his fisted hands.

“It’s freezing out there,” he said with a shiver.

Lindie pulled the quilt from around her neck and offered it to him. She hadn’t expected him to wrap his arm around her and pull her closer.

“Ach!”
Her stomach fluttered and she winced when he tucked the blanket between her backside and the bench.

“Sorry,” Josiah said as he finished draping the quilt over her shoulder. He tucked it under her chin, then encased himself with her. “We need to warm up a minute.”

Her internal heater ignited the moment he cocooned them. His warm breath on her cheek caused her to shudder uncontrollably.

“Are you having pains again?”

“I’m
nett
—” His hand blindly crawled under the cover, under her cape, and rested on her belly. She sucked in a breath. Now the flutter moved directly under his hand.

“Have you felt the
boppli
move yet?”

She shrugged. Tingles rippled.
Jah
, something was happening—because he had breached her personal space.

“It might be too early. I don’t remember when Hannah started kicking.” His chest expanded and fell. Then his eyes widened and he jerked his hand away. “
Ach
. . . I’m sorry. I got carried away. We better go.” He grabbed the reins.

Silence fell between them. He turned the buggy in the opposite direction as the art store.

“I thought you wanted to stop at the store for paint.”

“I forgot you need bed rest.”

That was something she wanted to forget. She couldn’t take care of Hannah lying in bed all day. What would people think of her? What would Simon think?

He crinkled his face. “What’s wrong?”

“Ada knows about the
boppli
.” She cringed. “I didn’t tell her. She guessed.”

“Don’t concern yourself about it.”

How could she not? Just the other day he panicked when he thought the women knew.

“It’s fine, Lindie. Really, it is.” He sounded sincere. “I over-reacted the other day. I was wrong.” He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “We’ve been married a month, let them draw their own conclusions.”

“And when the
boppli
arrives three months earlier than everyone expects?”

“We will still be the proud parents of a new addition to the family.”

She dared not remind him that Simon would find out too. He hadn’t shown any sign of accepting her yet. This pregnancy would compound the matter.

Lindie cleared her throat. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to bring up. Why isn’t Hannah in
schul
?” Without giving him a chance to respond, she continued, “The child is in the
haus
too much. She’s isolated and . . . and probably lonely. She needs to be around other children more.”

“She was in
schul
. . . for a while.” He shrugged. “The more she fell behind in her learning, the more she acted out. Someone even told me that I didn’t discipline her enough. I was embarrassed and angry. It doesn’t look
gut
for a man to
nett
have control of his
haushold
.”

Lindie understood. Even at her age, Eli thought protecting her meant sending her away—marrying her off.

“Will you please give the matter some thought? She could return after Christmas break.”

He cringed.

“She needs to move forward. I would offer to homeschool her, but I think it would help her to be in a learning environment with other children.”

“
Jah
, I agree.”

The snow continued to fall the entire ride home.

Josiah pulled up to the house and climbed out. “It’s icy,” he said, extending his hand. He walked with her up the steps and into the house. “I’ll be leaving shortly to pick up the bishop’s son, Jakob. He’s going to start helping in the workshop. Do you mind making up a list of brushes and any other painting supplies that come to mind?”

A smile rested on her lips. “I think I saw a beginner’s kit. It would have everything that she needs.”

“Hmm . . . a beginner’s set? Will it have all those fancy brushes?”

“Probably
nett
.” She shrugged her shoulders out of the cape, then hung it on the hook.

“I want the very best for
mei maydel
.”