Plain Pursuit (8 page)

Last came Linda and Miriam, Samuel’s nieces. Both of the preteen girls took turns coddling Anna, thrilled at the opportunity to participate in this sale.

The women were pleasant enough, but guarded. Sadie was by far the friendliest of the bunch. She was a tall woman with fire red hair, striking sky blue eyes, and ivory skin—an appearance unique among the women around her, who all had dark or sandy-blonde hair and olive complexions.

Carley couldn’t get over the work that must have gone into each quilt present. One had such vibrant colors. The women busied themselves organizing the counterpanes, then passed them along to Linda and Miriam for a tag. Carley walked to the far wall and squatted down to inspect a pile of folded quilts. She studied the top quilt—a brilliant display of maroon and pink roses connected by a spiraling, leafy green vine. The one underneath included a design of large dark blue circles with touches of a lighter blue woven throughout. Each circle connected to the next, with large yellow diamonds and sprinkles of pink filling the centers.

Carley joined the women in the middle of the room. “How long does it take to make a quilt?”

The women glanced blankly at
one another. Finally, Sadie pumped out a hearty, “I don’t think anyone knows.”

“Hundreds of hours.” Katie Ann sighed.
“Die weibsleit gwilde bis
in die nacht.”

“The women quilt long into the night,” Lillian’s mother translated for Carley.

“I think Morning Glory will bring over a thousand dollars,” Linda squealed, pinning an auction number on a quilt.

“I reckon Summer Bride will bring a
gut
amount too,” Miriam chimed in.

“This will be the first mud sale for the
maeds
,” Mary Ellen explained. “I hope it doesn’t make wet at the auction.”

Carley tried to make a mental note for her article of the way the women spoke. She could only assume “make wet” meant rain.

“God bless our handiwork,” Rebecca offered as the women bowed their heads in silent prayer.

Carley lowered her head, waited a moment, then raised a brow to see if the women were done. They all nodded with an “
Aemen
.”

As Linda and Miriam continued to speculate how much each quilt might bring at the auction, Carley flipped through the tags still waiting to be pinned on the quilts.
Sunshine Sweetheart, Country
Charm, Red Rose of Sharon, Ocean Wave.

“Lone Star quilt,” she exclaimed when she saw the tag. “Maybe I’ll bid on this one. Which is it?”

Linda jumped up and down.
“Sell is es bescht vun allem!”

“What’d she say?” Carley whispered to Sarah Jane, who was sitting next to her on the floor.

Sarah Jane smiled. “She said that is the best of all.”

Linda found the quilt that matched the Lone Star tag and held it up for Carley to see. Trimmed in navy blue, the counterpane featured one star in the middle that elegantly spiked outward, its points meeting a thick blue border about six inches from the delicate lace along the bottom. Various shades of blue and green filled the star, along with discreet splashes of red and yellow.

“I love it.” Carley pictured how good it would look on her bed at home. Maybe she would splurge and buy the quilt.

Once the quilts were all tagged, Sadie offered up an enormous display of refreshments. As Lillian had predicted, the women began to chat about who might be courting whom, how many acres a neighboring farmer was giving to his son as a wedding present, and whether or not all the celery planted at the Lapp farm meant a wedding was forthcoming. The women explained that celery was used in various Amish dishes traditionally served at weddings. They also told Carley that weddings were held in November and December after the harvest was complete.

Carley’s favorite moment was when Rebecca chimed in. “John Petersheim, Abner’s boy, seen fit to race his buggy down Leaman Road goin’ much too fast. I seen it happening,” she gasped. “He’s in his
rumschpringe
. I heard the
Englisch
policeman wrote a warning on a pink slip of paper for him to slow down.”

Kids would be kids, Carley assumed, Amish or otherwise. And these women weren’t so different, either. Mothers, daughters, friends—kindred spirits with a united faith.

A silent blessing ended the festivities, and the women began to say their good-byes. As each woman extended a hand to Carley on her way out, she felt her emotions slip. She missed her mother, missed the closeness of good friends. How had her life gotten so far off track? The warmth in the room reminded her of time spent with girls in her youth group at church when she was young. What had happened to all those girls?

Lillian toted Anna out to the buggy. “What did you think?”

“I loved it, Lillian. Your friends are wonderful. I had a great time.”

“Surprised, aren’t you?” Lillian teased. “You thought they would be different, didn’t you?”

“Maybe just a little,” Carley confessed, her cheeks warming.

“I thought maybe tonight after supper, we could sit down and I’ll explain some things I’ve learned about the
Ordnung
, which is the order of conduct for the Amish. We can start working on information for your article.”

Carley wanted to tell her about her coffee date with Noah, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she nodded in agreement.

Noah headed down the highway toward the bakery to meet Carley, wondering what Samuel might have said to her. He wanted to start out with her on neutral ground, not have to rehash things best left in the past. He’d made some mistakes for sure. But being a Christian, no matter what faith you adhered to, included forgiving. And yet Samuel was as unforgiving a man as he had ever known.

Noah swerved around a buggy and recalled his days behind the reins. They’d been good days. But when his calling became too strong to ignore, he knew being baptized had been a terrible mistake. He took his eighth-grade education and left to further his knowledge in an unfamiliar world. He had almost no money, few friends, and no family to support him. Lucky for him, Doc Eddington took him in and let him sleep on his couch. As Doc mentored Noah, the calling to become a doctor strengthened.

However, some of his decisions in those days continued to haunt him, particularly the way he paid for his college education.

He longed for a renewed relationship with his family, and seeing Samuel’s family at the hospital—especially David and Anna—fueled his hope for some sort of reconciliation. Noah knew he should have tried harder to communicate with Samuel in recent years. But pride and bitterness often took the lead, and months without communication turned into years.

He was jolted back to the present when his cell phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number at first, but then remembered the out-of-state area code Carley had called from earlier.

“I’m sorry to have to cancel so late,” she whispered when he answered. “I’m not going to be able to make it.”

“I’m almost there,” Noah responded, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

“I meant to call earlier, but the time got away from me.”

“Why are you whispering?” He was right. They’d gotten to her.

“I’m in the bathroom.”

“Hiding?”

“Sort of,” she responded. “Listen, there seems to be some major tension between you and Samuel. Maybe our meeting isn’t such a good idea. I don’t want to lie to Lillian about where I’m going, and I don’t think she or Samuel would be very happy about me meeting you.”

“It’s just coffee, Carley.”

“I know,” she said defensively. “Anyway, I’m sorry for the late notice.”

He sensed she might be about to end the call. “Wait, wait. Don’t hang up.” A lot was at stake, plus she was his only link to an inside glimpse at Samuel’s life. He didn’t have time for her fickle behavior. “What about your article? I think I could contribute a lot to that, and—”

“I can’t, Noah. Not tonight. I’m so sorry that you drove all this way.”

She’s going to hang up.
“Wait,” he said again. “Did you convince Lillian to call me?” He needed to know that much, at least.

“I tried, Noah. But they’re going to take David to Dr. Reynolds. I’m sorry. I have to go.”

The connection clicked off.

Noah slammed his cell phone closed. He passed the Dutch Bakery on his left and kept going. Black Horse Road was only a few blocks up the highway.

Forget her. I’ll go straight to the source.

6

AFTER CALLING NOAH, CARLEY HELPED LILLIAN TAKE THE laundry off the line. “I hate to sound like a broken record,” Carley began, “but don’t you miss having a washer and dryer?”

“Nope.” Lillian gave one end of a bedsheet to Carley and backed away from her. They folded inward, meeting at the edges.

“It’s just such a huge change for you.” Carley was quite sure she couldn’t have made the transformation herself.

Lillian took the sheet and gave it a final fold. “It was a big change.” She held the sheet up toward Carley. “But smell this. All our clothes have this freshness after being hung outside.”

Carley smelled the clean sheet. “You’re right,” she conceded. “But still . . .”

As they continued unpinning sheets and towels from the line, they heard a car coming up the driveway.

“
Ach
, I wonder who’s here. I don’t recognize the car,” Lillian said.

“I do,” Carley mumbled.

“Really? Who is it?” Lillian left the basket and began walking across the yard.

Carley stayed by her side. “It’s Noah.”

Lillian halted. “Uh-oh. I don’t think Samuel wants him here.”

Knowing it was none of her business, Carley said, “At least hear what he has to say about David.” She paused. “Maybe it would be best if the two of them reconciled.”

Lillian shot her a surprised look. “It’s not that easy. Besides, we don’t know exactly what Noah has done. He left the district after he was baptized, which is bad enough. But remember, Samuel said there’s more.”

Carley decided not to comment on Samuel’s refusal to share information with his wife. Maybe he had his own good reasons. Either way, Noah was stepping out of the car. Carley wished she’d just met him for coffee. His coming here might be far worse than the upset her coffee date would have caused.

The doctor cleaned up well. He was freshly shaven, with starched blue jeans and a yellow golf shirt. His brown loafers looked brand new. Even his dark, unruly hair was neatly parted to one side.

“Hello, ladies.” He walked toward them in the yard, thumbs hooked in his back pockets.

Lillian forced a smile. “Hello.” Carley watched Lillian glance down the driveway before adding, “Samuel will be home any minute.”

Noah didn’t seem fazed by Lillian’s warning.

“I won’t be staying.” He faced Lillian and got straight to the point. “Lillian, when David was in the hospital, we drew blood and got a urine sample. Since David had fainted and looked so pale, I ran some tests.” He reached into his pocket and offered Lillian another business card. “You need to make an appointment right away for David to see Dr. Ken Bolton. Tell him I sent you. Otherwise, you’ll be waiting weeks for an appointment. Ken is a nephrologist.”

Lillian took a deep breath and then accepted the card. “What is a nephrologist?”

“A physician who specializes in kidney disorders.”

“Does David have a kidney infection?” Lillian asked. She looked confused.

Carley suspected that whatever was wrong with David was much worse than a kidney infection if Noah was suggesting a nephrologist.

“No, I don’t think so,” Noah responded. “David is very anemic, Lillian. He also said he’s been vomiting and—”

“Vomiting?” Lillian asked, surprised.

“Yes. Anyway, I ran some kidney function tests.” Noah rubbed his forehead. “Lillian, the test results were not good. David’s kidneys are having trouble functioning. It’s not my area of expertise, though. Dr. Bolton is the best nephrologist I know. It’s important you get David an appointment right away.”

“I will,” Lillian said. “Should we be scared?”

“
Scared
isn’t a good word.
Concerned
would be better. But you should get the appointment soon, Lillian.”

“Are you okay?” Carley asked her friend.

Lillian nodded.

With a final nod, Noah turned his attention to Carley, sizing her up. “Reconsider our coffee date.”

How dare he?
“I told you—” Carley stopped when she heard the
clippity-clop
of hooves. Samuel rounded the corner and headed up the driveway. Carley’s eyes shot to Lillian—who looked both worried about a confrontation between the brothers and confused that Carley may have considered a date with the wayward brother.

“He asked me for coffee, but I thought it wouldn’t be a good idea,” Carley confessed to Lillian, shaking her head.

“No, no,” Lillian quickly responded. “Please go. It would be good for you to
go
.” Her eyes pleaded with Carley to do whatever it took to get Noah to leave.

“But, Lillian, I don’t think—”

Noah inched forward. “It’s just coffee.”

I don’t care what it is. I said no.
“Maybe another time.” Carley stood firm, her eyes locked with his in defiance.