The Restoration (22 page)

Tears sprang to Cora’s eyes and ran down her cheeks. The urge to reach out and grasp Adam’s hands was overpowering, but she held back, fearful of scaring him away. “Oh, Adam, thank you.” She gulped on a sob. “I can’t change the past, or make up for what I did, but I promise from this day forward to be the kind of person God wants me to be.”

Evan looked at Cora and grunted. “Since when did you start talking about God?”

“Since I realized all the things I’d been taught when I was a girl were important; I just wasn’t listening or putting them into practice. I was selfish and self-centered when I should have put God first and looked to others’ needs instead of my own.”

A middle-aged doctor entered the room and walked over to Cora. “Your son’s stable now, and things are looking positive. He’s sleeping, but you and your husband are welcome to see him now.”

Cora didn’t bother to tell the doctor that Evan was no longer her husband. All she could think about was how grateful she felt that Jared’s condition was stable and Adam had just agreed to begin again.
Thank You, Lord, for answers to prayer.

C
ora had just come from the waiting room, where she’d gone to take another look at the picture on the wall. For some reason, after noticing the painting that first night, something about the tranquil scene drew her each time she went to the hospital. Whenever she stopped to gaze at it, Cora noticed things she hadn’t seen before—wildflowers of different hues where deer grazed, flower boxes on all the windows, and a glider swing on the front porch. Even a family of bluebirds splashing in a birdbath adorned this colorful painting. Cora almost lost herself in the beauty of the picture, but the cottage, nestled among a canopy of trees, tugged at her heart the most.
If only I could find a place like that for me and Jared. But that type of home probably doesn’t exist in this area. If it did, surely I would have seen it.

It had been two weeks since Jared’s accident. Even though his injuries were healing, he hadn’t responded well to any of Cora’s visits. In addition to being angry with her for not telling him about her past, Jared blamed Cora for the accident that had taken his friend’s life. He told her that if she’d let Chad stay with them, he’d still be alive. Cora had countered that Chad could have gotten in an accident no matter where he was staying. She’d also reminded Jared he had been dishonest with her about spending the night at Scott’s, when all along, he planned to be with Chad.

As Cora headed down the hospital corridor toward Jared’s room, she lifted a silent prayer.
Please, God, soften my son’s heart toward me, and let this be a good visit. I don’t know if Chad would be alive or not if he and Jared hadn’t been out joyriding, but I wish I hadn’t said yes to my son’s request to spend the night with a friend. I should have insisted he stay home with me on New Year’s Eve.

Cora had a knack for blaming herself for things, and now was no exception. She’d messed up so many times in the past, it was hard to know sometimes when something was actually her fault.

Her thoughts turned to Evan. He’d hung around long enough to make sure Jared was okay, but he’d hightailed it back to Chicago to resume his life. In all fairness, Cora reminded herself that Evan had a medical practice and patients to tend to. But she couldn’t help thinking Evan was most likely anxious to get back to his new wife. Why wasn’t Jared mad at his father? Evan was certainly no saint.

Cora was glad she’d finally told Evan about her past Amish life. That day, Cora’s emotions had teetered between fear and bravery. It was getting easier to take Evan’s reactions, since they were no longer married, although she still missed what they’d once had. Right now, though, she had more important things to think about.

The one bright spot in Cora’s life was that she and Adam had finally made peace. Due to her job and numerous trips to the hospital to see Jared, Cora hadn’t had the chance to visit her granddaughters yet, but she would do that as soon as she got the go-ahead from Adam. He wanted to talk to the girls first and prepare them for her meeting. Cora hoped they would welcome her into their lives.

I can’t think about that situation now, either. I need to concentrate on Jared.

Drawing in a deep breath to steady her nerves, Cora entered Jared’s room. She was surprised to see Adam sitting beside Jared’s bed, carrying on a conversation.

When the door closed behind Cora, Adam looked her way and smiled. “I’m glad you’re here. I have to get to the store and I didn’t want to leave Jared alone.”

“Why? Is there a problem?” Cora held her arms tightly against her sides.

Adam shook his head. “Jared’s doing okay physically, but he seems kind of down today.”

I doubt I’ll be able to cheer him up
, Cora thought, but she didn’t speak the words. Instead, she moved to stand at the foot of Jared’s bed. “How are you feeling, son? Is there anything I can do for you?”

With his gaze fixed on the ceiling, Jared grunted. “It’s a little late for that.”

Cora winced. Apparently this was going to be a repeat of her last visit, with Jared making snide remarks or giving her the cold shoulder.

“Don’t you think this has gone on long enough?” Adam touched Jared’s arm. “Your mom has taken good care of you. I can tell she loves you very much.”

Jared made no reply.

“If you remain angry at your mother, it won’t change a thing. It’ll only fester like an unremoved splinter, causing you nothing but pain. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about.”

Jared remained silent.

“It’s all right, Adam,” Cora said. “If you need to get to work, you’d better go.”

He shook his head. “I’m not leaving till Jared listens to me.”

“I can hear ya just fine.” Jared turned his head toward Adam. “I don’t need no lectures today.”

“Admit it, Jared, you do.” Adam scooted his chair closer to the bed. “Look, if I could forgive your mother for what she did when I was a boy, then don’t you think you should be able to forgive her as well?”

Jared blinked a couple of times but gave no verbal response.

Cora stood motionless, trying to keep her emotions in check.
Please, Lord, please let Adam get through to his brother.

“Jared, do you believe in God?” Adam prompted.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“The Bible is God’s Word, and in Matthew 6:14 it says that Jesus said, ‘If ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.’” Adam paused, glanced at Cora, then back at Jared. “It took a long time for that verse to penetrate my heart. When it did, I was able to forgive. Then I felt a heavy burden being lifted from my shoulders. We’ve all made mistakes we wish we hadn’t, and it’s not our place to judge others. What I’m trying to say is, God spared your life, and you’ve been given a second chance. Don’t ruin it by cutting your mother—our mother—out of your life.”

Tears welled in Cora’s eyes, and she nearly choked on the sob rising in her throat. Hearing Adam refer to her as his mother was healing balm to her soul.

“It’s going to take time, Jared,” Adam continued, “but with God’s help, we can all learn to love each other and get along. We need to put the past behind us and look to the future. Do you agree?”

Jared nodded as tears slipped from his eyes and splashed onto his cheeks. “I’m glad I have a brother.” He looked at Cora then and gave her a weak smile. “I forgive you, Mom. Will you forgive me?”

The tears let loose, coursing down her cheeks. Cora rushed to the side of Jared’s bed. “Of course I forgive you, Jared.” As much as she would have liked it to be, everything would not be perfect. No doubt there would be some troublesome days ahead, but from this moment on, she would try to be a good mother to both of her sons.

“Priscilla, have you seen my favorite scrubby? I can’t do the dishes without it.”

Priscilla brought more of the breakfast dishes to the sink and handed them to her mother. “Sorry, Mom, but I haven’t seen it. Would you like me to look in one of the drawers for another scrubby?”

“None of the others are as big as that one.” Mom squinted at Priscilla over the top of her glasses. “Did you know most Amish women would walk half a mile to buy a good scrubby like mine?”

Priscilla chuckled. “I’ll keep looking, Mom.”

She went through every drawer and cupboard, but still the large scrubby wasn’t found. “Sorry, Mom, it doesn’t seem to be here. Do you think maybe Dad may have taken it?”

“I don’t know why he would. He certainly won’t be washing dishes out in his shop. Things don’t just vanish, though.” Mom’s brows furrowed. “I surely wish I knew where it was.”

Priscilla didn’t understand why Mom was making such a fuss over the missing scrubby when a lot worse was happening in the world, even right here in Arthur.

“I’ll tell you what,” Priscilla said, “I’ll get my horse and buggy out and go to the store. I’m sure I can find another big scrubby.”

“No, that’s okay. It’s too cold out to go anywhere today.” Mom grabbed a dishcloth and started washing the dishes.

“I really don’t mind. I was planning to go see David anyway.”

Mom frowned deeply. “Again? Seems like you’re always with David.”

“I haven’t seen him for over a week. The last I stopped by the Morgans’ David said he’d be getting his cast off this Monday. I’m anxious to see how it went.”

“I really think you’re seeing too much of David.” Mom turned on the warm water and rinsed a glass. “You’re being courted by Elam, and it doesn’t look right for you to spend time alone with David.”

Priscilla sighed. “David and I aren’t usually alone—his grandparents have been there. Besides, Elam’s working a lot these days. I doubt he cares what I do in my free time.”

“You’re wrong about that,” Mom argued. “Any man who loves a woman cares about what she does and who she sees socially.”

“If Elam loves me so much, then why hasn’t he proposed? We’ve been courting long enough.”

Mom pursed her lips. “You need to stop worrying about it. I’m sure Elam will ask in good time.”

“We’ll see.” Priscilla laid the dish towel down and grabbed a tissue to wipe her nose. For some reason, it had started to run all of a sudden. Could she be allergic to the new dishwashing liquid Mom was using?

Priscilla lifted the lid on the garbage can to throw the tissue away but stopped short. Inside was Mom’s large scrubby. “Well, for goodness’ sake.”

“What is it, Priscilla?” Mom asked.

Priscilla pulled out the scrubby, holding it up for Mom to see.

“Ach, my!” Mom’s eyes widened. “How on earth did it get in there?”

“Maybe Dad tossed it out, thinking it had seen better days. It has had a lot of wear.”

Mom crinkled her nose. “It’s too full of germs to use now. Just toss it back into the garbage. The next time I’m out running errands I’ll get a new one.”

“I’ll get one for you today, after I’ve seen David.”

Mom didn’t argue, but Priscilla could tell by the firm set of her mother’s jaw that she was none too happy about it.

She really has nothing to worry about.

“Sure is nice to have my cast off and be able to move around easily on my own.” David took a seat at his grandmother’s breakfast table.

She gave a nod. “Your grandpa and I are pleased about that, too. Aren’t we, Walt?”

“Yep. Sure are.” Gramps smiled at David from across the table.

“Course, I’ll be going to physical therapy twice a week until my leg’s moving better.” David reached for his glass of milk and took a drink. “Oops!” He set it back down. “I forgot to pray.” Closing his eyes, he bowed his head and offered a silent prayer. When David opened his eyes, he noticed Gramps staring at him. “What’s wrong?” David asked.

“Are you still practicing to be Amish?” Gramps tipped his head, looking at David curiously.

“I’m not practicing. Just doing what will soon be expected of me.”

Gramps leaned his elbows on the table, looking right at David. “Want to know what I think?”

“Sure.” David drank the rest of his milk.

“I think becoming Amish is just your way of getting under your dad’s skin.”

David shook his head. “No, it’s not.”

Gram placed a plate of scrambled eggs on the table, along with some sausage links, before pulling out a chair to join them at the table. “Can we please eat breakfast peacefully and not talk about this right now?”