Plain Pursuit (30 page)

“He will wake up, Carley.” Lillian squeezed her hand. “Sweetie, just because Dalton did that to you doesn’t mean Noah or another man would.”

“Lillian, even if things progressed past friendship, I would never deny Noah the family he longs for. That much I do know. But I want to stay as long as I can. Until he wakes up and is back on his feet.”

“It’s difficult to walk away from someone you care a—”

Both women jumped and pulled back their hands.

“Did you feel that?” Lillian asked.

Carley put her hands to her mouth. “I did. He moved.”

17

CARLEY’S HEART RACED AS SHE WATCHED DR. BOLTON, Dr. Lukeman, and two other doctors bend over Noah. She and Lillian were standing off to one side, out of the way. Esther had joined them, opting not to call Samuel on his borrowed cell phone until the doctors determined what Noah’s movement meant.

“Might have been an involuntary jerk,” Dr. Bolton said. He forced Noah’s eyelid open with his finger and shone a tiny light into his pupil.

“It wasn’t a jerk,” Carley said. “He twisted his wrist sideways.”

Dr. Lukeman walked to where the two women were standing. “He might be trying to come out of it. While we were examining him, he opened his mouth slightly.”

Carley put her hand to her chest. “Really?”

“I hate to get your hopes up, but his vital signs have shifted somewhat. This might mean he is slowly waking up.”

“That is wonderful!” Lillian said. “Should I call Samuel?”

Esther didn’t say anything, but she eased her way to Noah’s side and stood beside Dr. Bolton. She rested her hand on Noah’s arm.

“It’s up to you if you want to call Samuel,” Dr. Lukeman said. “We’re not sure of anything yet.”

“Everyone in the family has borrowed cell phones,” Lillian said. “I will go and call everyone.”

She turned to leave but bumped into Samuel on her way out the door. “What’s happening?” he asked as he entered the room. “I just got back and checked on David, but he went to sleep. Is something happenin’ with Noah?” He took a couple of steps toward the doctor.

“Noah moved,” Lillian said. She joined Samuel as he approached Noah’s bedside.

“We think he might be trying to wake up,” Dr. Bolton said.

Carley held back a few feet from the bed. Samuel, Lillian, Esther, and the four doctors hovered around Noah, and she couldn’t see him. She wanted to push them all out of the way, to hold Noah’s hand, tell him she’d been praying for him, begging him to come back. She shifted her weight from side to side and tried to see around Samuel, who was blocking her view the most.

When she saw Esther’s hands cover her mouth, she knew something was happening, but she couldn’t see Noah’s face. Dr. Bolton had a stethoscope against Noah’s chest, Dr. Lukeman was leaning down and saying Noah’s name repeatedly, and the other two doctors were standing still with their backs toward Carley. Esther, Lillian, and Samuel had moved to the end of the bed so the doctors could work. Carley took a step forward, still behind the others.

“Well, hello there,” Carley heard Dr. Bolton say. “Welcome back, Noah. Can you hear me?”

Samuel was in the middle, at the foot of the bed, with Esther and Lillian on each side of him, grasping his arms. Carley slowly inched closer and peered over Lillian’s shoulder. Her heart fluttered when she saw Noah blinking his eyes into focus.

“Samuel?” he asked with uncertainty.

“
Ya
, Noah. We are here.
Mamm
is here too,” Samuel answered.

The doctors stepped backward to make way for Esther, Samuel, and Lillian to edge forward along the side of the bed. Esther grabbed Noah’s hand and began speaking in Pennsylvania
Deitsch
. Noah smiled.

Carley stood at the foot of the bed, a smile stretching across her face as a tear trickled down her cheek.

Thank You, God.

Noah’s eyes shifted back and forth between Samuel and his mother as he tried to focus. Carley could tell that both mother and brother were struggling not to let their emotions spill over.

Noah’s smile slipped. “Carley? Where’s Carley?”

Everyone in the room looked toward Carley.

“She’s here, Noah,” Lillian said. She pointed toward the end of the bed where Carley was standing.

When Noah’s eyes focused and connected with Carley’s, his smile returned. “Carley,” he whispered as Lillian grabbed Carley’s hand and pulled her to Noah’s side.

“I’m here, Noah,” she said, taking his hand. “I’m here.”

She recalled the tender moment they had shared in the hallway, which now seemed days ago. She wanted to kiss him on the forehead or the cheek, the way she had so many times while he was sleeping. But she didn’t.

“I dreamed about you,” he said wearily.

“I hope it was a good dream.” She smiled as she chocked back pent-up emotions. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her.

The doctors had convened in the hallway to discuss Noah’s progress. Carley glanced at Lillian, who was smiling, then at Esther and Samuel, who both looked relieved. Carley boldly leaned forward.

“Thank God you’re awake,” she said then kissed him on the cheek. “We’ve all been so worried.”

Noah was having trouble keeping his eyes open. When they closed and didn’t reopen, Carley spontaneously yelled, “Noah! Wake up!”

His eyes widened. “I’m awake.”

The others were all taken aback by her outburst. Doctors Bolton and Lukeman reentered the room.

“Everything all right?” Dr. Bolton asked.

Carley put her hand on her chest and tried to calm her pounding heart. “He’s trying to go back to sleep.”

“Carley, he is probably going to sleep on and off, but he’s not in a coma anymore,” Dr. Bolton said.

“A coma?” Noah asked, focusing on Dr. Bolton. “For how long?”

“Only a couple of days, Noah. You didn’t wake up after the surgery. We’re not sure why.”

Noah crinkled his nose and cocked his head. “What is that smell?”

“It’s Samuel,” Lillian blurted out. She waved her hand back and forth in front of her face. “He was working on the plumbing at your clinic. Smells like it too.” She cut her eyes hard toward her husband.

Noah smiled. “Really? Thank you.”

“A critter had gotten into the pipes and died. Everything is
gut
now,” Samuel said. His expression was closed, his voice reverting back to the distant tone he’d had before Noah slipped into the coma. “I’d best go check on David.”

“Me too,” Lillian added. She smiled at Noah. “So glad to see you awake.”

“David?” Noah asked groggily. “How is David?”

“He is wonderful, Noah,” Carley said. “Just wonderful. You saved his life.”

“We’d better go, Lillian,” Samuel pushed.

“I will go too,” Esther said, but her feet seemed rooted to the floor.

“Mamm,”
Noah said tenderly.
“Danki.”

Esther nodded at her son, dabbing her eyes. And then she left.

Carley realized that the temporary suspension of the shunning had ended. Noah was going to be all right. David was doing well. Things would go back to the way they were.

After Noah ate a little dinner, his eyes searched Carley’s. Things were different between them. She wasn’t sure exactly to what extent, but they had crossed over into new territory.

He reached for her hand. “Thank you for being here. And thank you for taking care of things at the clinic.” He smiled. “So Samuel is the one who took care of it?”

“He offered,” Carley confirmed, hoping Noah wouldn’t get his hopes up too much where his family was concerned.

“Maybe they’re coming around. I hope so.”

She was trying to think of a way to lower his expectations when her cell phone started ringing. She was surprised she was getting reception in the hospital and quickly reached into her purse to answer it.

“It’s Dana,” she whispered to Noah. And the girl was all wound up. “Dana, slow down,” Carley said. “What’s wrong?”

“After you called and told me that Noah was all right, I decided to head up to the hospital. On the way, I stopped at the clinic because Jenna left her doll there. When I pulled up, there were huge boxes outside, like someone delivered something and just left them here.”

“Hold on, Dana.” Carley turned her attention to Noah. “Dana said a bunch of boxes were delivered to the clinic. I thought they were going to be delivered on Tuesday. That would be tomorrow.”

Noah took a deep breath and rolled his eyes. “Great. That’s most likely all the medical equipment. You’re right, it was supposed to be delivered on Tuesday.”

Carley held up one finger to indicate that Dana was talking again.

“It’s raining here, Carley. Everything is getting wet. I can’t get these boxes in by myself. I didn’t know who else to call. What should I do?”

“Can you wait for me? It will take me about an hour to get there, though.”

After hanging up with Dana, Carley told Noah, “I’m going to meet Dana at the clinic, and we’ll move the boxes into the waiting room for now.”

“Carley, those boxes are very heavy.” Noah sighed. His eyes were droopy and he looked exhausted. She knew he didn’t need this type of aggravation.

“We’ll figure something out.” She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek.

“Carley, you look so tired.” He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. When he did, he flinched.

“Are you okay?”

“Sore,” he said, groaning before bringing his hand down and continuing. “And those delivery people should never have left those boxes outside, especially on the wrong day. There’s thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment in those boxes, and they are much too heavy for you and Dana. Maybe Samuel will help you.”

“I’ll ask him.” Carley straightened up and reached for her purse on the chair. “Try to get some rest. I’ll be back to see you later.”

“Carley, no.” He shook his head. “Go home. Get some rest. As much as I’d love for you to be here, you look exhausted. The nurse told me you’ve been here almost the entire time.”

She sensed it was Noah who needed the rest more than she did. “Okay, but I’ll be back in the morning.”

Before she reached the door, Noah called her back. His face was serious. “Carley, I’m going to make this up to you. You should not have to do all this—any of it. I’m going to make it up to you somehow. And don’t forget to see if Samuel can help you with those boxes. He might be ready for a ride home anyway.”

She nodded and walked down the hall toward David’s room. Lillian was sitting in the chair cradling Anna. No Samuel. No David.

“Can you believe David is already up and walking?” Lillian asked. “Samuel and the nurse took him down the hall. You just missed Mary Ellen, Rebecca, and Sadie,” she added. “They came to see David, and they just went downstairs to get something to drink. Barbie brought them. We’re so fortunate to have such nice friends to give us car rides. If they hadn’t brought Anna up here for a visit, she would have already been asleep by the time I got home tonight. We’re staying at home tonight since David is doing so
gut
. Annie Lapp is here with her car also.”

Carley needed to get on the road, but she had a question for Lillian. “Are Mary Ellen and Rebecca going to see Noah while they’re here?”

Lillian looked down. “I don’t know.”

“They should,” Carley said impatiently, even though she knew Lillian had no control over what the women did.

“I agree, Carley. I really do. But Noah is doing
gut
now, and—”

“So now that Noah is okay, everyone’s conscience is clear? Don’t you think he would enjoy a visit from his sisters after everything he’s been through? Or is the shunning automatically back in force now that Noah is awake?”

“Carley, I can’t speak for them, but—”

“I have to go,” Carley interrupted. It was clear based on what Lillian wasn’t saying that the chances were slim. “There’s a problem at Noah’s clinic. I’ll see you later at home.”

She headed down the hall after deciding not to ask Samuel for help with the boxes. It suddenly seemed awkward, and she decided she would figure something out. She felt bad about the way she had spoken to Lillian, but she just couldn’t grasp the on-again, off-again ways of these people. Convenient love. That was how it seemed to her.

What about unconditional love? Wasn’t that what God offered to anyone who chose to seek Him out? Forgiveness no matter what the sin? The Amish weren’t God. What right did they have to shun anyone? God never turned His back on anyone, and neither should they. She was never going to understand.

Almost instantly, Lillian’s explanation about the light switch and God came into her mind. Carley knew she had been guilty of an on-again, off-again relationship with God. She pondered if she had also been guilty of convenient love, only turning to God during times of trouble. Or just the opposite—turning her back on Him because she felt betrayed by Him when events became too difficult to bear. Who was she to judge anyone? Only God could do that.

Which brought her back to where she’d started, thinking about the practice of shunning and how she couldn’t accept it.

She slid into her car, buckled her seat belt, and slid the key into the ignition. But before she started the motor, she took a moment to pray for Noah and his family.