His Love Endures Forever (36 page)

“We’re not sure.” Emily smiled. “Way before the baby is due,
Mamm
.”

“
Ach
, I should hope so. That’s months away.” Vera lifted her eyebrows. “Maybe you’ll be back before Christmas?”

Emily looked at David, then back at her mother. “I think we will probably stay through Christmas,
Mamm
. But we’ll see.”

That seemed like a long time to Vera, and the way Emily kept looking at David . . . it made Vera nervous. Emily had told her several times how David had never wanted to leave Lancaster County, and Vera couldn’t help but worry if David was considering a move back. That seemed a stretch since his mother, father, and young sisters lived in Canaan, but the worry had found its way into Vera’s heart just the same.

Martha stood up from where she was sitting next to Eli. “I’m going to go check on Danielle.”

Vera wanted to go too, but again . . . she found her role in all of this unclear. She’d been the one to tend to Danielle all this time, felt the baby move, and even gone with Danielle to her last doctor’s appointment, along with Martha. Both women had gotten to hear the baby’s heartbeat. There was a bond that Vera hadn’t expected, yet with Anna Marie downstairs, that threatened Vera’s place. She wished they weren’t here and Vera could go on pretending that this new life would be exclusive to her family.

  
Twenty-Four

L
EVI HELD HIS BREATH AS
D
ANIELLE SCREAMED
. The room was filled with people—the on-call doctor, a grayhaired man with black-rimmed glasses, the same blond nurse, as well as two others. One of the women had pushed in an incubator, and the doctor had already warned them that they would be taking Joshua by helicopter to the nearest neonatal intensive care unit if there were any problems.

Levi felt woozy as he stepped back from Danielle. She didn’t even seem to know if he was there or not, and every minute or so, she howled like a wild animal. Levi just wished someone would tell him what to do. He couldn’t stand to see her in such pain, but he was scared to leave her. “Should I go?” he asked the nearest nurse.

“No, honey,” the older woman said, patting him on the arm. “Go ahead and move around here. You should be able to see the head soon.”

Levi wished he was outside the room, like his father had been. “
Nee, nee
. That’s okay.” He took a step backward, away from Danielle, but she screamed . . . calling his name this time.

“I’m here,” he said as he stepped up again. He reached for her hand. “I’m here.”

“Don’t go! Don’t leave me!”

“I’m not. I’ll stay right here.” He tried to keep his hand steady as he reached for hers.

The blond nurse said, “Go ahead and push with the next contraction, Danielle.” She nodded to Levi. “Sure you don’t want to come watch?”

Levi shook his head, glancing down at the yellow gown they’d had him throw over his clothes, and wondered where he’d left his hat. And he wondered if Matthew was here. How small would Joshua be? Would he be healthy? Was Danielle going to survive this? He’d never heard anyone scream the way she was now.

Then the nurses gathered at the end of the bed, flanking the doctor, and Danielle gritted her teeth, bearing down through the next contraction, and her screams turned to moans in between.

“Here he comes,” the doctor said. “You’re doing a great job, Danielle. Once more, and you should have your baby in your arms.” He stared at the monitor, watching her contraction build. “Get ready . . .”

Levi stroked her cheek and watched as her face grew red from the effort of pushing. When her head fell back against the pillow, he glanced toward the doctor again, just in time to see him cut the umbilical cord and hand Joshua to one of the nurses.

He was so tiny.

But there was no crying, and the doctor and nurses moved in a flurry to a table where they laid Joshua down, keeping their backs to him and Danielle.

“Is he okay? Why isn’t he crying?” Danielle cried, her questions coming in tired gasps. “Tell me. Is he okay?”

Then Levi’s world stopped spinning for a moment as this new life let go with a wail and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“There we go.” The doctor’s words rang through the room. “That’s what I like to hear. Let me just give his lungs a quick listen.” The nurses parted, and Levi and Danielle could see him bend over the tiny, red, squalling babe and listen to his chest with a stethoscope. Then, smiling, he handed the baby to a nurse, and she brought him over and laid him in Danielle’s arms. Levi looked down at the tiny little person he’d talked to for months. Joshua was swaddled in a blue blanket, his face red, his eyes barely open . . . until he heard Danielle’s voice. When mother and son met eyes, Levi swallowed back the lump in his throat.
Oh, Lord, what a miracle
.

Danielle kept her eyes on the small bundle for another minute before she looked up at Levi. “Our Joshua.” She smiled in a way that Levi would remember for the rest of his life. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

Levi couldn’t take his eyes from the baby. “He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Then Joshua looked toward him, and a tear slid down Levi’s cheek.

“We have to take him now. He’s very small, only a little over four pounds.” The doctor had already excused himself to go down the hall to check on another patient, and the nurse reached for Joshua. “We’ll keep a close eye on him, but overall he looks to be doing quite well.”

Danielle reluctantly handed him over to the nurse, and awhile later, the room was clear. Levi knew that Martha
would arrive soon, and he wanted to enjoy this moment with his wife.

“He’s perfect.” Levi leaned down and kissed her.

“He is, isn’t he?” Danielle pushed back her hair, still sweaty from all her hard work. “Can you believe how small he is?”

“He’ll grow fast.” Levi kissed her again. There’d been so much going on that he’d postponed his worry about Matthew, but now that things were calming down, he was sure that the man must be lurking around somewhere.

His son had just been born.

A
N HOUR LATER
, Vera stared through the large glass window into a room that held three premature babies, each in their own incubator. Two of the babies had tiny tubes in their mouths, and Vera was sure one of them could have fit in the palm of her hand. She was glad that Joshua was the largest of the three and that he didn’t require any tubes in his mouth.

“The doctor said he’s doing
gut
.”

Vera turned to see Levi standing next to her, looking as proud as any father would be, and it warmed her heart. She still hadn’t seen Matthew or his mother again, and that left her a bit uneasy, as if they might pounce at any moment.

“He’s a beautiful child.” Vera gazed upon the bundle with her son.

“Ya.”
Levi paused, and Vera glanced his way. “It was something. I mean, being there and watching him be born.”

She touched her son’s arm when his voice cracked. “A true miracle.”

Levi took a deep breath. “Where is everyone?”

“They all left and said they would be back to visit tomorrow. Except for Martha. She went downstairs to get something to eat with Arnold.” She turned to Levi. “I bet you haven’t eaten today. You should get something too.”

Levi shook his head. “No, I’m going back to Danielle. I don’t want to leave her, and—”

“I will go to be with Danielle. I’m sure she’s going to eat her dinner when they bring it in.” Vera smiled. “After all that hard work, she’s probably starving.” She waved a hand at him. “Scoot. Go eat. I’ll stay with her.”

“Danki, Mamm.”
Levi smiled, then walked down the hall and toward the exit. He was crossing through the main lobby when he heard a woman’s voice.

“Please, Matthew. Please.”

Levi eased to a halt and slowly turned around. A woman dressed in an Amish prayer covering and long blue dress had a coat and bonnet in her hands, and she was facing a man about Levi’s age. The fellow was wearing blue jeans, tennis shoes, a black coat, and a black hat. He looked half-Amish, half-
Englisch
. Levi walked toward them. He slowed as he got closer, listening.

“Please don’t do this. He is your child. Go see him. You will change your mind.”

Levi didn’t move as the woman went on. She was crying. “How can you do this?”

“
Mamm
, you shouldn’t have dragged me here.”

“But you said you wanted to be in the
boppli’s
life. When you came back, you said you would be a father. Matthew, you said all those things, and—”

“I know,
Mamm
.” Matthew hung his head for a moment before he looked back up at his mother. “I know what I said.
And I was trying to make you happy, and I thought I could do this. But this was never part of my plan.”

“But it’s God’s plan for you. He is your child, Matthew.” The woman brought her hands to her face, weeping. When she looked back up, she said, “I wish your father was here.” She shook her head, still crying. “He’d surely talk some sense into you.”

Levi edged closer, and Matthew eyed him.

“Matthew? Matthew Lapp?” Levi’s heart was pounding out of his chest.

“Ya?”

“I’m Levi Detweiler.” It took everything in Levi’s power to extend his hand to Matthew, but in his heart, he knew he had to.

Matthew slowly reached out, and the handshake was brief.

“I will excuse myself.” Mrs. Lapp covered her mouth with one hand and hurried away.

“Do you want to see the
boppli
?” Levi struggled to keep his voice steady.

Matthew hung his head.
“Nee.”
He looked up. “I’m not worthy.”

Levi didn’t say anything for a moment as he silently asked God to keep bitterness from his heart and to guide his words. “None of us are worthy.”

Matthew stared at Levi for a moment. “I reckon you think I’m selfish, leaving Danielle and the
boppli
?”

Levi didn’t like hearing him say Danielle’s name, and he didn’t care if the man left and never came back, but something deep within him begged him to recognize Matthew’s own hurt. “I’m not one to judge you. Only God can do that.”

“I’m sure He has.” Matthew shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the white speckled tile beneath their feet.

“Danielle named him Joshua.”

Matthew’s eyes softened, as if he recognized the significance of the name. “I don’t like that I’m the kind of man who would do this. I came back to the valley to claim
mei sohn
, to make you step aside and let me be a father to him. But now that I’m here, and the
boppli
is here . . .” Matthew shrugged.

Levi swallowed hard but waited for him to go on.

“You will raise him as your own?” Matthew lifted his chin, and he focused worried eyes on Levi.

“I will.”

Matthew glanced at his mother, across the waiting room. The woman sat on a couch, her head buried in her hands. Then he looked back at Levi. “Give Joshua your last name. Give him a
gut
home and a
gut
life.”

Before Levi could answer, Matthew turned on his heel and quickly went through the automatic doors that led to the parking lot. His mother rose and quickly followed him, calling his name.

Levi went back to the elevator. He’d lost his appetite, and he wanted to be with his wife.

And to have another look at his son.

I
T WAS LATER
in the afternoon when Vera told Danielle and Levi good-bye. Martha and Arnold were back in the cafeteria, and Vera told them she’d meet them there. Vera was sure that no one ate as often as those two. The hospital had said that Levi could stay in the reclining chair in Danielle’s room.

“I will have Wayne bring me for a visit tomorrow.” She kissed Levi on the forehead, then leaned down and kissed Danielle on the cheek. She was in the doorway when she paused, remembering. “Have you chosen a middle name for Joshua?”

Levi shook his head, but Danielle spoke up. “I’d like to name him Joshua Abraham.” Danielle smiled, and Levi’s face lit up.

Vera put a hand to her chest, smiling, remembering the day she’d given Levi the name Levi Abraham. “How
gut
. How very, very
gut
.” She blew them a kiss and left.