The PIECES of SUMMER

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

About the Author

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you:
not as the world giveth, give I unto you
.

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid
.
J
OHN 14:27

W
hen Susan returned to work on Monday morning, she was surprised, as well as pleased,
to learn that her John Doe patient had woken up from his coma.

“He’s still groggy from all the medication,” Nurse Pamela told her as they sat at
the nurses’ station going over the patients’ charts. “But at least he’s conscious.”

“That’s really great news. The poor man has been here since January, and here it is
April already. I was beginning to wonder if he’d ever wake up.”

“We’ve all been wondering that,” Pamela said with a brief nod. “It’s always good to
see a patient improve, and hopefully this man you call Eddie will recuperate fully.”

“Was he able to say anything? Maybe tell you his name or how he got injured?”

Pamela shook her blond head. “He responded with eyeblinks when we questioned him on
how he was feeling, but he was unable to talk. Most likely, it’s due to the injury
his vocal chords sustained.”

“Hopefully, there’s no permanent damage, and he’ll be able to talk once he starts
using his voice again. We need to find out who he is so we can notify his family.”
Susan stepped out from behind the nurses’ station. “I’m going to his room right now
to check on him.”

When Susan entered the patient’s room, she was disappointed to see that his eyes were
closed. Was he sleeping, or had he fallen back into a coma?

She took his blood pressure and checked the rest of his vitals. Since there was no
cause for alarm, she seated herself in the chair beside his bed. “Are you awake, Eddie?
I heard that you opened your eyes on Saturday.”

Susan watched closely, but there was no response. Not even a flutter of his eyelids.

Susan placed her hand on his shoulder. “Heavenly Father, I believeYou want this young
man to be well, so please continue to touch and heal his body.”

Meredith pushed her chair away from the sewing machine and stood. She’d received an
order for several more head coverings and had been working on them all morning, so
she really needed a break. Her eyes were tired, and her body ached from sitting so
long. She felt like she could use a change of scenery and a breath of fresh air.

“Think I’ll go outside and check the mailbox,” Meredith called down the stairs to
Alma, who was in the basement, washing clothes.

There was no reply. Meredith figured Alma probably had her hearing aids turned off
again. Either that or she couldn’t hear because of the noise coming from the gas-powered
washing machine.

Meredith knew it wouldn’t take her long to walk to the end of the driveway to get
the mail, so she slipped out the back door, figuring Alma probably wouldn’t even know
she was gone. A little exercise and some fresh air would be good for her. Being outside
always seemed to help, both physically and mentally.

As Meredith approached Fritz’s dog run where he was sleeping near the gate, he awoke
and started barking and jumping at the fence. “I know, pup,” she said, unlatching
the gate. “You want to take a walk with me, don’t ya, boy?”

Woof! Woof!
Fritz licked Meredith’s hand and wagged his stubby tail as he romped in circles around
her with his lips parted, as though he was grinning.

“Come on then, let’s go get the mail!” Meredith clapped her hands and watched as Fritz
ran ahead of her.
That dog sure is schmaert
.
He always seems to know just what I’m saying to him
.

Meredith had just reached the mailbox when Sheriff Tyler’s car pulled in. As soon
as he stepped out of the vehicle, Fritz greeted him with a
yip
, and pranced up beside him.

The sheriff chuckled and bent down to pet Fritz’s head. “You’re always glad to see
me, aren’t ya, boy?”

Fritz responded with a wag of his tail.

“Are you getting along okay?” Sheriff Tyler asked, looking back at Meredith.

She nodded.

“You’re not staying here alone, I hope.”

“Oh, no. Alma Beechy’s going to be with me all week while my sister Laurie takes a
little holiday to Sarasota, Florida, with her friend Barbara, who’s celebrating her
birthday this week. They’re renting a small house in the village of Pinecraft, where
many Amish go for vacation.”

“I see. Well, I’m glad you’re not alone, because over the weekend we’ve had some break-ins
in the area, which is part of the reason I stopped by. Besides checking to see how
you’re doing, I wanted to warn you about these incidents and suggest that you keep
your doors locked, even when you’re at home. Just to be on the safe side,” he quickly
added.

Meredith, already feeling a bit apprehensive, shivered and said, “I hadn’t heard anything
about this before. Have many homes been affected?”

“Just a few, and so far they’ve all been homes owned by Englishers, but I’m warning
everyone in the area, just in case.”

“Do you think it’s only one person doing these things, or could there be more?” Meredith
wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer to that question, but she had to ask. Just
the thought of a stranger breaking into her home, let alone several, was frightening
enough.

“Wish I could tell you the answer to that,” the sheriff replied. “Some of the victims
have had more things stolen than others, and it looks like the thieves are after anything
that’s valuable and could be sold.”

Meredith gulped. “It’s hard to hear about things like that going on in other places,
but you never think it could happen in your own neighborhood. Thanks for letting me
know. I appreciate you stopping by.”

“Be sure and call my office if you hear or see anything suspicious,” he said before
getting back in his car and rolling down his window. “It might be a good idea to keep
the number for my office in your phone shack. Oh, and please pass the word along to
others you may talk to, because I might not be able to get around to everyone today.”

“I will, and thank you again, Sheriff Tyler.” Meredith waved as he pulled his vehicle
back onto the road. Then she quickly took out the mail and headed back to the house.
She could see that Fritz was already waiting for her by the back door.

Meredith was glad Alma would be staying with her all week, because knowing there had
been some robberies in the area, she’d be even more nervous if she were here all alone.

Her mind was already at work, thinking of ways to make it safer around her home. She
was in the habit of locking her doors, especially since Luke had passed away. But
even though the weather was getting nicer, Meredith decided that from now on, until
the thief had been caught, the pup would be staying in the house with her more, and
definitely during the night. She figured Fritz was the best burglar alarm she could
possibly have.

Meredith had just stepped onto the porch when a horse and buggy came up the driveway.
She turned to look as Fritz barked. Recognizing the horse as Socks, she knew her guest
must be Jonah.

“Wie geht’s?”
Jonah asked when he joined her on the porch.

“I’m doing all right,” she replied with a smile. “If you came to see Laurie, she’s
not here. In fact, she’ll be gone all week.”

Jonah gave his left earlobe a tug. “I’m not here to see Laurie. Came to find out how
you’re doing, and to give you this.” He held out a paper sack. “Happy belated birthday.”

Meredith’s face heated. “How’d you know I had a birthday?” she asked, feeling a bit
hesitant to take the sack.

Fritz sat expectantly looking up at Jonah, probably hoping there was something in
the sack for him, because whenever Jonah stopped by he usually had a treat for the
dog.

“Back when we were teenagers you mentioned your birthday in one of your letters.”
He took a step closer, still holding out the sack. “I would have brought this by on
your birthday, but things were busy at the buggy shop all day, and I figured you’d
be celebrating with your family that evening, so I didn’t think it’d be right to come
by and interrupt.”

Not wishing to be impolite, Meredith took the paper sack, reached inside, and removed
several dahlia tubers. “I’m sure these will look nice in my garden when they bloom
in the fall,” she said.
“Danki
, Jonah.”

“Today’s my day off, so I have time to plant them for you right now. That is, if you
want me to,” Jonah said with a wide smile.

Meredith grinned, too, noticing that Fritz had lost interest and run into the yard
to chase after a squirrel.