Plain Pursuit (18 page)

He didn’t answer but pulled another wad of papers from the box.

Lillian sighed. She knew they’d both be exhausted later in the day. “Do you want me to help you look?”

He answered quickly, “No.”

“Then I’m going back to bed.” She turned.

“Lillian.”

“Ya?”

“I’m sorry I woke you. I just need to find the letter.”

She nodded, unsure why a letter from Noah had suddenly become so important.

Carley wasn’t surprised to see Noah in the waiting room of Dr. Bolton’s office the following afternoon. Noah and a man she presumed was Dr. Bolton were deep in conversation.

Noah didn’t offer an explanation about his being there. Instead, he dove right into introductions, beginning with Samuel. “Dr. Bolton, this is my brother Samuel.”

Carley watched Samuel’s eyes cut away as he took a deep, controlled breath and extended his hand to Dr. Bolton. “Hello.”

Noah pointed to Lillian. “And this is his wife, Lillian.”

“Thank you for coming in on a Sunday, Dr. Bolton,” Lillian said in a shaky voice.

Dr. Bolton was considerably older than Noah. Carley figured late fifties. He was a short, stocky figure with hair arched above his ears. Gold-rimmed glasses sat low on his nose. Kind gray eyes smiled at Lillian when he extended his hand to her.

After exchanging introductions with Carley, Dr. Bolton turned to David. “And you must be the man of the hour.” He offered his hand to David. “Did your parents explain to you what is going on?”

“Yes, sir.” David stood a little taller as he shook the doctor’s hand.

“Well, if it’s all right with the rest of you, I’d like to examine David and ask him a few questions. When we get done, we can all sit down and see what we can do to get this young man back in tip-top shape.” Dr. Bolton smiled as he motioned for David to walk ahead of him through the door leading to the examining rooms.

David looked at Lillian with fear in his eyes.

“It’s okay,” she whispered and nodded toward her stepson. “We’ll be right here waiting for you.”

Once David and Dr. Bolton were gone, Noah wasted no time addressing Samuel in a harsh tone. “I know you don’t want me here, Samuel.” There was no mistaking how Samuel glowered at Noah from the moment they arrived. “But like it or not, David is my nephew.”

You’re making a mistake
, Carley thought. Way too harsh for beginning a conversation with Samuel.

Lillian stood up when Samuel did. “Samuel . . . ,” she whispered when it appeared Samuel just might buck up to his brother.

Instead, Samuel took a deep breath and backed down.

They took their seats again. And waited. No one said anything else.

Carley caught Noah staring at her from time to time.

Twenty minutes later Dr. Bolton returned to the waiting room alone. Carley recognized right away the gravity of the situation. She had seen that look before when she and her mother were in the hospital. The first time was when they told her that her mother had died. The second time was when they delivered the news to Carley about her own grim future.

“After seeing his test results, I’m amazed that this boy is functioning at all,” Dr. Bolton said. “And based on what he just told me, he’s been feeling bad for a while. He’s in the restroom right now, but David needs to go straight to the hospital. We need to get him started on dialysis right away.” Dr. Bolton paused, giving Samuel and Lillian a strong version of “the look.”

No
, Carley thought, remembering back to her time in the hospital.
Please. Not bad news.

“Samuel, Lillian, this is end-stage renal disease.”

Lillian’s eyes immediately filled with tears. Dr. Bolton knelt beside her and grasped her hand in his. “You keep your faith, Lillian.” He glanced at Samuel and Carley and then back at Lillian. “Each of you needs to be very strong for this boy.”

The tears continued to stream down Lillian’s face, dripping onto her cotton dress. Anna began to wail, as if sensing the despair all around her, so Carley reached for the baby. She gently eased Anna into her arms before she stood to pace with the screaming little one. Lillian openly wept, and Samuel was trying to console her, but Carley knew his own heart was breaking.

The door flew open. David stood pale and wobbly in the doorway. “
Mamm
, why are you crying?” As if he knew, his bottom lip began to quiver. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” He walked toward them all and directed his attention first to Dr. Bolton and then to Noah. In a shaky voice he pleaded, “
Onkel
Noah, am I gonna die?”

Carley could see Noah’s reaction to David calling him
uncle
. Noah struggled to say the right thing.

“Everything is going to be okay.” Noah reached
for David’s arm. Samuel was quickly in between them.

“Everything is going to be fine,” Lillian said, throwing her arms around David’s neck.

“Why are you crying, then?” he demanded. “Someone tell me!”

They were all standing huddled together as Lillian tried to comfort David. “Everything is going to be just fine.”

“That’s right,” Dr. Bolton added. He gave David a pat on the back.

“Everyone stop it! Stop treating me like a child! Tell me what’s going to happen,” he demanded further.

David began to rattle off a round of Pennsylvania
Deitsch
that Lillian didn’t seem to understand. It was Noah who began to communicate with the boy. Carley had no idea what Noah said to him, but David grew calm. Samuel stood overwhelmed by everything, his feet rooted to the floor, his eyes glassy with worry.

David gathered himself and pulled away from Lillian. He looked long and hard at each of them, finally homing in on Noah. He hesitated, shifted. As David’s eyes rolled back, Noah dove for him, softening his fall as they both went crashing to the floor.

“David!” Lillian yelled, rushing to his side.

Anna screamed louder. Samuel didn’t move.

11

NOAH STOOD WITH SAMUEL OUTSIDE THE INTENSIVE CARE unit while Carley and Lillian sat with David in the room. Doctors and nurses moved quietly in and out, their unvoiced tension hanging in the air.

Fortunately David had regained consciousness quickly in Dr. Bolton’s office. Noah had called ahead and made arrangements to get David admitted through the emergency room and then put into ICU. Renal dysplasia was confirmed following a renal ultrasound. Now they waited for the dialysis machine to be brought into David’s room.

Noah faced Samuel and summed up the man who stood before him, no longer the boy from their childhood. All the bitterness and hurt he’d harbored for years was buried by the burdens of the moment.
Samuel shouldn’t have to go through this.

“Samuel, Dr. Bolton and the renal team are going to talk to you in the morning,” Noah began. “I’ve read David’s chart and talked with Dr. Bolton. Basically, you’re going to have three options. And the first two don’t seem feasible or practical. Option number one is for David to receive dialysis at home. That would require electricity. The bishop would likely make an exception for this.” He paused. “Or David would receive dialysis three days a week here at the hospital. You would have to have rides lined up or try to seek an exception from the bishop on that as well. Both options would run in the neighborhood of ten thousand dollars per month.”

Samuel’s jaw dropped as he stumbled backward slightly. Noah took a step forward, but Samuel stretched his hand out, clearly keeping Noah at arm’s length. Samuel sat and rested his hands on his knees, hanging his head. Noah waited while Samuel absorbed the information.

Noah knew dialysis was expensive. The federal government covered about 80 percent of all dialysis costs, and private health insurance usually picked up the balance. The problem was that Amish folks didn’t accept government assistance, nor did they carry private health coverage. They self-insured, with all the members of the community contributing to a fund. Noah doubted they had the kind of money to cover a catastrophic medical expense such as ongoing dialysis.

“Samuel, you can always apply for emergency Medicare,” Noah said. “However, the renal team believes the best option for David is for someone to donate one of their kidneys. There’s a good success rate, and it would give David the best quality of life.”

Noah couldn’t imagine what his brother was feeling. Samuel had already lost a wife to cancer—and now this.

“He’ll need things while he’s here, no?” Samuel asked after taking a deep breath. “A toothbrush and things like that?”

Not at the top of the priority list right now
, Noah thought, but obviously Samuel needed a distraction. “
Ya
, that would be
gut
,” Noah answered softly. Samuel looked perplexed at Noah’s choice of wording. “I’ll drive you to the farm if you want to pick up some things for David.”

At first it appeared Samuel would decline the offer, but after he glanced into David’s room and saw Carley holding Anna with her arm around Lillian, he reconsidered.

“Do you want to go now, while David is sleeping?” Noah asked.

Samuel nodded.

Noah was hoping to see the inside of Samuel’s home. He waited for an invitation that didn’t come. Instead, Samuel quickly exited the car and headed toward the house without saying a word. Noah waited by his car. It had been a quiet ride from the hospital.

“Samuel,” Noah called after him, “you might want to get some clothes and things for you and Lillian too.”

Samuel kept walking but nodded acknowledgment.

“Do you need help with anything?”

Samuel shook his head.

Noah glanced around the yard. “What about outside? Anything need to be done with the horses?”

Samuel didn’t turn around as he walked up the porch steps. Again he just shook his head.

Noah wished he had something to do. Anything. Helplessness was webbing around him, suffocating him.

Samuel returned more quickly than Noah expected, toting only a small tan knapsack.

“Is that all you need?” Noah knew that at a time like this, it was easy to forget things. “What about medications or anything like that?”

“I have all we need.” Samuel continued toward the passenger door.

Noah waited until they had pulled onto Lincoln Highway before he said anything. “Samuel, I’m going to help you all get through this. I’ll do whatever I can to make things—”

“We don’t need your help.” Samuel sat taller and stared straight ahead, tightly clutching the knapsack in his lap.

Maybe this wasn’t the time, or maybe it was the perfect time—either way, Noah couldn’t help himself. “Samuel, we’re family. No matter what. You can’t change that, even if you want to. Let me help.”

Samuel’s blue eyes darkened, and his words pierced Noah to the core. “We are not family.”

“I’m afraid, my brother, that we are.” Noah knew there was too much going on to let bitterness creep in. He silently reprimanded himself and tried to make amends, something he always seemed to be doing. “I don’t want to fight with you, Samuel. I just want to help.”

Samuel didn’t respond and continued to stare ahead. Noah didn’t have the heart to push the issue. He knew Samuel was burdened with more than he could possibly understand or say grace over.

Noah assumed it would be a silent trip back to the hospital. He was surprised when Samuel spoke up. “Please stop there.” He pointed to a bakery on their right.

“What for?”

“My niece Linda works there. She will get the word to the rest of the family.”

“She’s my niece too,” Noah muttered as he turned into the parking lot.

Samuel didn’t respond.

After Samuel made a quick trip into the bakery, they continued on. The ride passed as Noah expected it would—in silence.