A Sister's Test (25 page)

“Do not!” Owen shook his head forcefully. “Just ’cause you’re bigger ’n me don’t mean you’re my boss. Only Papa can tell me what to do.” He looked over at Sue. “Aunt Sue, too, now that Mama’s gone to heaven.”

The room turned deathly silent. The children had been hiding it well as of late, but Abe knew they still missed their mother.

Sue rose from her chair. “Molly’s fallen asleep, so I’m going to put her to bed. When I come downstairs, I’ll make a batch of popcorn and some hot apple cider. Would anyone like to help?”

The children nodded with eager expressions, and Abe offered Sue an appreciative smile. He knew she’d wanted to go home for Christmas, but she had stayed to care for them and was doing all she could to make the holiday pleasant.

Abe leaned back in his chair as a sense of appreciation washed over him. He suddenly realized he wasn’t sleeping so much during the day and was sleeping better at night. God was good, and he prayed things would go better for them in the coming year.

“Why don’t you let me hold that little fellow awhile?” Mom said when Grace sank to the sofa with a weary sigh. She and Cleon had walked over to her folks’ house with Anna and Daniel.

Grace held out her arms gratefully. “He’s been fussy all day, and nothing I’ve done has helped.”

“Maybe he’s got a touch of the colic,” Mom said as she took the squalling baby and seated herself in the rocking chair across from Grace. “Have you tried giving him a bit of catnip tea?”

Anna, who had taken a seat on the floor by the fireplace next to
Martha, looked up and frowned. “Catnip’s for
katze
, not bopplin.”

“That’s true, cats do like catnip, but one of my herb books says it can also be used by itself or in combination with fennel and peppermint to help ease a baby’s colic,” Mom said.

“You’ve got to be careful when you’re fooling around with herbs.” Dad left his recliner and shuffled across the room to stand beside Mom. “Maybe we should try the ‘colic carry.’ That always worked when our girls were bopplin.”

Cleon took a seat beside Grace on the sofa. “What’s the ‘colic carry’ ”

“First, you extend your arm with your palm up.” Dad bent down and took Daniel from Mom. “Then you position the boppli like this.” He placed the baby chest-down and forehead resting in the palm of his big hand. “You’ve got to make sure the little fellow’s legs are on either side of your elbow.” Dad positioned the baby’s legs in the manner he’d described. “Now you support the boppli with your other hand and walk around the room, keeping him in this position.” He looked over at Mom and gave her a nod. “I’m sure this will help.”

Cleon jumped up and rushed over to Dad. “I think I’d better take Daniel.”

Dad’s eyebrows pulled inward. “What’s the matter, son? Are you afraid I might drop him?”

“Roman’s had plenty of experience with bopplin,” Mom said before Cleon could respond. “He used to carry our three around like that when they were fussy babies.”

Deep grooves appeared on Cleon’s forehead. “Even so—”

“Dad, maybe you should give the baby to Mom,” Grace said, hoping to smooth things over between her father and Cleon. “I think if she rocks him awhile, he’ll settle down.”

Dad grunted and handed the baby back to Mom; then he moved over to stand in front of the fireplace. “I wonder where Ruth and Martin could be,” he said, glancing at the clock on the wall above the mantel. “They should have been here by now.”

Martha nodded. “I spoke with Ruth on Monday afternoon, and she said they would be here by six o’clock.”

“Maybe the roads are icy because of the snow,” Mom said.

“I’m hungry,” Anna complained. “When are we gonna eat supper?”

“We’re waiting for Aunt Ruth and Uncle Martin to get here.” Mom placed the baby over her shoulder and patted his back.

“But I’m hungry now.”

“You can wait.” Cleon took a seat beside Grace again. “I’m sure they’ll be here soon.”

“Is there anything in the oven that needs tending to?” Grace asked, looking at her mother.

Mom shook her head. “The soup’s staying warm on the stove, and the open-faced sandwiches Martha and I made earlier are in the refrigerator.”

“Let’s sing Christmas carols while we wait,” Martha suggested.

Mom smiled. “Good idea. That’ll make the time go quicker, and it’ll help us stay focused on the meaning of Christmas.”

“Can we sing ‘Jingle Bells’?” Anna asked. “I like that song.”

“ ‘Jingle Bells’ is not a Christmas carol.” Cleon frowned at Anna.

“Why don’t we start with ‘Silent Night’?” Mom said. “That was Grace’s favorite Christmas song when she was a girl.”

Martha was the first to lead off, and the rest of the family joined in as they sang, “Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright, round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, sleep in heavenly peace; sleep in heavenly peace.”

When the song ended, Grace looked over at her baby, sleeping peacefully in Mom’s arms. Maybe tonight they would all sleep in heavenly peace.

They sang several more songs until Dad held up his hand and said, “It’s almost seven. Ruth and Martin should have been here by now.”

“Maybe we should go look for them,” Cleon suggested. “If they did hit ice, their buggy might have skidded off the road.”

“You’re right,” Dad said. “We need to head out and see if we can spot them along the way.”

The men donned their coats and stocking caps, then hurried out the door.

As they headed down the road in Cleon’s buggy, it didn’t take Roman
long to realize there were some patches of ice. It had begun to snow quite heavily, too, and he became even more apprehensive.

“You don’t suppose they saw how hard it was snowing and decided to stay home, do you?” Cleon asked, turning in his seat to look at Roman.

“I guess they might have. Knowing Ruth, though, she would have moved heaven and earth to be with her family on Christmas Eve.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Sure is cold out tonight,” Roman said. “I can see my breath, even here in the buggy.” He squinted as he studied the road ahead.

Suddenly Cleon pointed to the left. “Look, there’s a buggy flipped over on its side, and it doesn’t look good.” He guided his horse to the shoulder of the road and jumped down. Roman did the same.

As they raced around to the front of the mangled buggy, a shiver shot up Roman’s back. The mare that had been pulling the buggy lay on its side, and two people lay crumpled in the snow. “Ach! It’s Ruth and Martin!”

R
uth, can you hear me? Please—look at me.”

Ruth tried to open her eyes, but they wouldn’t cooperate. Where was she? Who was calling her name?

“Ruth. . .Ruth. . .”

Her eyelids fluttered.

“I think she’s trying to wake up.”

“Are you sure my daughter’s going to be all right?”

“She came through the surgery well. Given some time, she should heal from all her injuries.”

“Thank the Lord.”

Mom, is that you?
The words formed on Ruth’s tongue, but she couldn’t open her mouth.

“She should be fully awake soon, and then the sheriff will want to question her.”

Question me about what? Why can’t I open my eyes or speak to Mom?

“My son-in-law and I have already spoken to the sheriff, so I don’t see what good it will do for—”

Dad, is that you? Tell me where I am and why I can’t see you and Mom
. Reaching from deep within, Ruth cracked one eye open, then the other. Blurry faces came into view—faces she recognized.

“Wh–where am I?” she rasped.

“You’re in the hospital,” Dad said.

“What happened? Why does my stomach hurt so much?”

“You were in a horrible accident.” Mom’s face looked pale, and her chin quivered slightly.

“Do you know how it happened, Ruth?” Dad questioned. “Did your buggy hit a patch of ice on the road?”

Ruth closed her eyes and tried to remember. She and Martin had been driving down the road, heading to Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve. It had been snowing, and they’d been talking about wanting to have a baby. Then a truck had come barreling up behind them, and then—

“Martin! Where’s Martin?”

Dad opened his mouth as if to respond, but Mom shook her head. “You need to rest, Ruth. We can talk about this when you’re feeling better.”

The look of sadness on Mom’s face sent a jolt of panic through Ruth’s body. She tried to sit up, but a woman wearing a white uniform placed a restraining hand on her shoulder.

“Lie still, dear,” she said. “You’ve just come from surgery and you’ve lost a lot of blood. You don’t want to rip open your stitches.”

“Stitches? Where do I have stitches?”

The nurse looked over at Mom. “Perhaps it would be best if we let her sleep. She needs to remain calm.”

A warm, tingling sensation shot up Ruth’s arm, and she moaned.
I must be dreaming. Jah, that’s all it is; just a strange dream
.

As Grace sat in the hospital waiting room with Cleon beside her, her brain felt as if it were in a fog. What had started out to be a pleasant Christmas Eve had turned into a terrible nightmare.

She glanced across the room, where her folks stood talking to Martin’s parents. Mom had her arm around Flossie’s shoulder, no doubt offering words of comfort. Dad was doing the same with Martin’s father, Elmer.

“I just can’t believe what’s happened tonight,” Grace said, clinging to Cleon’s hand. “When the doctor came out and told us that Martin was dead and that they’d done surgery on Ruth because her intestines and uterus had been damaged, my brain wouldn’t let me believe it.”

“I know—it’s a terrible thing. At least we can take comfort in knowing that Martin’s in heaven.” Cleon let go of Grace’s hand and
slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Ruth doesn’t know the extent of her injuries, does she?”

“Not yet.” Grace gulped down a sob. “When she finds out she’ll never be able to have kinner, I’m sure she’ll fall apart. All Ruth’s ever wanted is to be a wife and mother. She loved Martin so much.”

Cleon squeezed her shoulder. “Someday, when the pain of losing Martin has subsided, Ruth might find love again, and then—”

“How you can say such a thing?” Tears stung Grace’s eyes, and when she blinked, they spilled onto her cheeks.