The Gift (37 page)

As Cora drove down the road, her hands shook so badly she could hardly steer. It was completely dark, and the tears she tried holding back blurred her vision. Adam, her son, lived right here in Arthur. Oh, how she had missed him all these years, but thinking there was no chance of her ever seeing him again, she’d kept it all bottled up inside. And to have found out about Mary…

“Oh my sweet daughter, how can you be gone?” Cora cried out as more tears spilled down her cheeks. “I wanted so badly to make things right with you. Please forgive me, Mary. I’m so sorry I put you and your brother through all that.” Cora continued to sob, hoping against hope that somehow Mary could hear her pleas.

Even though she wasn’t far from home, Cora was so upset she had to pull over, unable to go on any farther. Sobs came over and over from deep within. It was hard to breathe. She turned the car off and screamed out more pain. Sounding like a wounded animal, her throat constricted and started to hurt, but she didn’t care as she howled even louder. Leaning her head against the window, she cried, “Oh, what have I done?” Her punishment had come, and she deserved it. “I was wrong to think of only myself. How could I have thought being a nurse was so important that I heartlessly left my husband and two small children like that?”

Cora let her forehead fall against the steering wheel and grieved over the fact that she would never see Mary again. She’d never get to meet the man her daughter had married or have the chance to make things right with her. Life could be so cruel, and she had no one to blame but herself.

Slowly, her sobs subsided, but the hiccups that followed remained. Fishing into her purse for a tissue, Cora wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She jumped when she heard someone knocking on her car window. When Cora saw the sheriff standing outside with a flashlight, she rolled the window down.

“You all right, ma’am?” he asked, leaning in to look at her.

“Yes, yes…
hic
… I’m fine,” she stammered. “I’m on my way home and needed to pull over for a bit.
Hic! Hic!
”

“Well, if you have to pull over again, remember to put your blinkers on. It’s dark out, and you don’t want someone to accidentally hit you.”

“Thank you, Officer. I’ll remember that.”

Relieved that her hiccups had finally subsided, Cora watched in the rearview mirror as the sheriff got back in his vehicle and pulled away. Sighing, she turned on the ignition and headed for home.

When she walked into her home sometime later, she was greeted by Jared, who stood with his hands on his hips. “Where you been all this time?” he demanded. “I’m hungry!”

“Then you’d better fix yourself a sandwich,” Cora mumbled on the way to her room. “I have a headache, and I’m going to bed.” She fled past Jared straight to her room, not wanting him to see her puffy eyes. There was no way Cora could discuss with Jared all that she’d just learned. Not tonight anyway. She had too much information to digest. Somehow, Cora had to come to grips with the knowledge that her daughter had died, her son lived here in Arthur, and she had three granddaughters. To top that off, Leah would soon be married to Cora’s son and, technically, would be her daughter-in-law.

Cora undressed, slipped a nightgown over her head, and climbed into bed, pulling the blankets up to her chin, as if to wrap herself in a safe cocoon. “Sleep is what I need,” she whimpered. “Maybe things will make more sense in the morning and I can figure out what I need to do.”

Adam had just finished tucking the girls into bed, when he heard a knock on the back door. He made sure the girls’ doors were shut then went quickly down the stairs.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Leah on the porch, her black outer bonnet slightly askew.

“Leah, what are you doing here at this time of night? Is everything all right?”

“I need to talk to you,” she said breathlessly.

Concerned for her welfare, he opened the door wider and invited her in. “Let’s go into the kitchen.”

Once they were seated at the kitchen table, Adam said, “You look umgerennt.”

“You’re right. I’m very upset.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Cora came to see me for another foot treatment earlier this evening, and I… I accidentally mentioned your name.”

Adam’s head fell back. He felt like he’d been kicked by a mule. “You told her about me?” He could hardly believe Leah would betray him like that.

Tears gathered in Leah’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Adam. I didn’t mean to blurt it out. We were having a casual conversation, and she asked me about the wedding. It was just a slip of the tongue.”

Adam sucked in air between his teeth.
Why did this woman have to come here now? She’ll ruin everything.

“Adam.” Leah touched his arm. “She asked about Mary, too. I had to tell her. I had no choice.”

“I bet that was a jolt to hear. Serves her right!” He thumped his knuckles on the edge of the table. “I suppose she wants to see me now?”

Leah gave a quick nod. “And the girls, too. She’s anxious to meet her granddaughters.”

His back muscles tightened. “You told her about them? Leah, how could you?”

“I didn’t mean to, Adam. It just slipped out. Besides, she sort of figured that out for herself.”

Adam’s hand came down hard on the table. “It’ll be a snowy day in sunny Florida before I allow her to see those girls!” His lips compressed. “You’d better talk her into leaving Arthur, Leah, because if she comes anywhere near me or the girls, I’ll do just like my daed after that woman left us. I’ll pack up our things and move so far from here that she’ll never find us!”

I
’m tired. It’s too early to get up,” Jared complained when Cora prompted him to get out of bed Thursday morning.

“You’ve got school today. Did you forget?” She gestured to his clothes piled up on the floor. “And when you get home, I expect you to get this messy room cleaned. You weren’t born in a barn, Jared, and I’m getting tired of reminding you to pick up after yourself.”

Jared moaned, rolling to the edge of his bed. “Okay, I’ll do it later today. Maybe after I get back from Scott’s.”

Cora frowned. “I don’t recall giving you permission to go over there after school.”

“Yeah, Mom, you did. Said it last night, remember?”

Truth was, Cora had been so tired and stressed out last night, that she barely remembered fixing supper or going to bed. She was sure she hadn’t given Jared permission to go anywhere after school. Ever since her visit with Leah Monday evening, when she had learned that Leah was going to marry Cora’s own son, she’d been in a fog, trying to decide what to do. She didn’t know how she’d made it through work the past couple of days after learning all that, but somehow she had managed to act in a professional manner. That’s exactly what it had been: an act. All she’d been able to think about was Adam and poor Mary. Every time Cora had gone into the waiting room to get the next patient, she half expected one of the Amish men waiting there would be Adam. But if Leah had said anything to him, wouldn’t Adam have made an attempt to see her by now?

Yesterday, when Cora got home from work, she’d made a decision. She was going to Leah and Adam’s wedding, even though she hadn’t received an invitation. Cora knew it wasn’t the right thing to do, but as soon as she’d gotten out of bed this morning, she’d called her boss at the clinic and said she was sick. She’d thought about taking Jared to the wedding but didn’t want him missing any time from school. Besides, Cora still hadn’t told him about Adam. She figured that could wait until she’d spoken to Adam and made things right. It would be a shock for Jared to find out he had a half brother.

“Mom, did you hear what I said?” Jared asked, scattering Cora’s thoughts.

She jerked her head. “Uh, yes, son, I heard you.”

“So can I go over to Scott’s after school?”

“I guess it would be okay. But stay out of trouble. Do you understand?”

He nodded.

“Good. Now get dressed, and pick up some of your clothes before you eat breakfast.” Cora hurried from the room. She’d wait until Jared left for school before she drove over to Leah’s. She felt sure that was where the wedding would take place.

Leah’s stomach tightened as she took a seat across from her groom, inside her brother’s oversized shop. She’d seen Adam on Tuesday, and again yesterday, when she’d gone to his house to care for the girls, but not a word had been said about Cora. Perhaps Adam had calmed down now that he’d had a few days to think things over. And maybe, if the Lord answered Leah’s prayers, at some point Adam would agree to see Cora. She felt sure that his comment about moving if Cora tried to see him had been spoken out of anger and frustration. Surely he wouldn’t give up his home and business and uproot the girls now that they were getting settled and used to living here in Arthur.

And what about me?
Leah wondered.
Would Adam expect me to leave my folks and the only home I’ve ever known and move someplace else so that he could run from his past?
Adam’s relationship with his mother—or the lack of it—was eating him up, and Leah felt powerless to do anything about it.

She closed her eyes and offered a brief prayer.
Heavenly Father, please soften Adam’s heart and heal the pain that’s been there for so many years. Help me to be the helpmate he needs, and, if possible, let healing occur between Adam and his mother.

Opening her eyes and glancing at her soon-to-be husband, Leah couldn’t help but notice the perspiration that had gathered on his forehead. Was he as nervous as she was? Could he be having second thoughts about making her his wife? What would she do if he ran out of Nathan’s shop?

Get a hold of yourself, and stop thinking such negative thoughts.
Leah licked her dry lips and fought the urge to pick at a hangnail on her thumb. If she had noticed it before she’d left home this morning, she would have trimmed it off with nail clippers. But if she started pulling on it now, she’d draw attention to herself, and that would be embarrassing.

Pulling her gaze from Adam, she glanced at her two witnesses sitting beside her. Elaine seemed focused on the sermon being preached by one of their ministers, but Priscilla kept her focus on Elam, sitting directly across from her.

I wonder if she’s wishing they were getting married today.
The couple had been courting for quite a while, and Leah was still surprised Elam hadn’t asked Priscilla to marry him by now.

Maybe he’s waiting till he has enough money saved up,
Leah thought.
Or perhaps, for some reason, he’s afraid of marriage.

Leah looked at Ben and noticed that he couldn’t take his eyes off Elaine.
Now there’s someone who’s obviously in love. I wonder if Elaine realizes the way Ben feels about her. If it’s this apparent to me, I would think it would be to her, as well.

She looked at Adam again. If anyone had a reason to fear marriage, it was him. She couldn’t imagine how it must have been for Adam’s father when Cora walked out on her family. It must have been heart-wrenching, not to mention humiliating. She wondered what other people in Adam’s Pennsylvania community must have thought. Would there have been some who believed Adam’s dad was to blame—that he may have done something to drive Cora away? Or had most folks blamed Cora, thinking she was a terrible person for what she’d done, especially leaving her two small children? Adam certainly believed that. But unless he could forgive his mother, he would never truly be at peace.