The Christmas Quilt: Quilts of Love Series (9 page)

“You haven’t lost your water yet, Leah.” Annie kept her voice calm, making sure Leah and Adam looked at her before she continued. “The paramedics will be able to start an IV with a bolus solution in case you are dehydrated. Once you arrive at the hospital, the doctors will add medication to your IV if it’s necessary. Both should help postpone your labor.”

Adam sank into a chair next to the bed. “Then why does she have to go to the hospital?”

“A paramedic can’t give magnesium, which Leah may need to stop her labor. Plus she needs to be monitored closely for at least a few days.”

“How many days?” Leah felt her heart rate kick up a notch. She’d never been away from home before.

“There’s no way to know.” Annie patted her arm.

“I don’t understand,” Adam said. “Maybe it will stop like before.”

“Leah’s contractions are steady and increasing in length. Also her cervix has begun to dilate,” Samuel explained. “This is definitely not false labor.”

“Isn’t there an herb you can give her to stop her labor?”

“No. There isn’t. The doctors at the hospital have the correct medicine. You can trust them, Adam.”

“But if it’s time for the
bopplin
to be born—”

Time for the babies? It wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet. The babies were due at Christmas. Tears welled up in Leah’s eyes and threatened to spill over. Annie kept checking her watch, which was when Leah realized another contraction was due any minute.

“If it’s
Gotte’s wille
, then they will be,” Samuel agreed. “But every day we can give them in Leah’s womb is an extra day they have to gain weight, an extra day for their lungs to develop. It’s very important we give them that time.”

Adam continued to shake his head. “We knew there was a possibility we’d have to go to the hospital, but what you’re talking about is different. I want to do what’s best for Leah and for the babies. How long would she be there?”

“I don’t know. As long as it takes.” Samuel scrubbed his hand over his face. “I’ll speak plainly. We need to give them every chance we can. If they’re born tonight, they will have a difficult fight ahead of them. Their lungs might be underdeveloped and their birth weight will be low. Plus, I can’t assist that kind of birth here. Belinda can’t either.”

Adam reached for Leah’s hand and kissed it gently. She realized at that moment how difficult this must be for him. How could she comfort him?

“Everything will be fine, Adam.” She searched her heart for confidence she didn’t feel. What was it they had read in their Bible on Sunday? Not to worry, and about the flowers of the field. “Remember the verses you chose on Sunday? How God cares for us more than the flowers?”

“From Luke.
Ya.
”

“If Samuel says we should go now, then we should go.
Gotte
has sent him to our community for this reason, because he knows what is best. The rest we shouldn’t worry about.”

“
Ya.
Okay. I know you’re both right.” Adam stared at her, then up at Annie. “Will you go with us?”

“Of course.”

“Then place the call.”

As Samuel was pulling out the phone, the next contraction finally hit. Adam and Annie helped Leah through it. This time instead of counting, she focused on an image of lilies.

10

A
dam actually flinched when the paramedic shut the back doors to the ambulance. His
fraa
was inside, not to mention his children.

“Annie’s with her,” Samuel reminded him.

“You’ll be mere moments behind,” David added. His hair looked as if he’d fallen asleep in the barn at some point.

Nodding, Adam kept his eyes glued to the
Englisch
vehicle as it pulled away from his home. Morning light was splashing across his fields, but what difference did it make? Leah was leaving. Leah was on her way to the hospital in Lewistown.

“I’m surprised they let Annie ride in the back,” Adam said as Belinda joined their group.

“
Ya
, at first they didn’t seem to believe she was a nurse.” David laughed. The sound seemed foreign, out of place after Adam’s long night. “When she pulled out her old hospital ID, the taller fellow nearly popped a lens off his glasses.”

“It’s not completely out of the ordinary for a family member to ride in the back of the ambulance,” Belinda said.

She was short like Adam’s mother, extremely thin and probably had seen the far side of sixty. He’d known her for several years. He and Leah had visited with her several times, but still Adam felt slightly uncomfortable around her—maybe because of her short, uncovered gray hair.

Or maybe his discomfort came from realizing Belinda was responsible for birthing so many of the Amish babies in their community. As she was the area midwife, they depended on her expertise, but she wasn’t Amish. She existed in a gray area, somewhere in-between. Once he’d asked Annie why Belinda worked exclusively with Amish families. Annie had said Belinda considered it her ministry, but she wouldn’t give any details of the woman’s background. Adam’s mother had shrugged and said, “She assisted with your birth, Adam. What more do you need to know?”

Belinda’s words brought him back to the present.

“She kept Leah calm and was a help to the paramedics. She knew how to stay out of the way, and her nursing background could come in handy should Leah go into labor again.”

“Is that a possibility?” Adam asked.

“It’s not likely. They already started administering fluids through her IV.” Belinda patted his arm. “Don’t worry, Adam.”

“Remember, she has our phone,” Samuel said.

Belinda buttoned her coat. The sun was adding warmth to the day, but the temperatures were probably in the low forties. “She’ll call me if Leah’s condition changes, and we’ll be with them shortly.”

Adam nodded, but he still felt as if he were walking around half-awake. Was this all a bad dream? Would it soon be over? “All right. I’ll be ready to go as soon as I look after the animals and—”

“Consider it done,” David said. “I’ll also post a note on your barn door for your customers, telling them you’ll be in touch about their engine repairs.”

With a groan, Adam thought of the shelves of work waiting for him.

“It will keep.” Samuel seemed able to read his mind. “Go with Belinda. I’ll ride over to your parents’ farm to update them on all that has happened.”

“
Danki.
” The single word seemed inadequate, but what else was there to say?

He climbed into Belinda’s little car, and stared out the window as they sped away. Soon his dirt lane turned to blacktop and blacktop turned to freeway. He’d never enjoyed riding in automobiles, even when he was on his
rumspringa
, though perhaps those months were when he first realized he had a knack for working on small engines.

Machines fascinated him—parts and how they operated as a whole, especially when they were taken care of properly. But automobiles? No. The pace of travelling in them had always been too fast, and the way the cars’ windows shut out all of the smells and sounds seemed wrong. He missed those things. They grounded him when he went to other places like someone else’s home or the schoolhouse or town.

This morning was different. This morning he wanted to urge Belinda to drive faster.

And the fact he couldn’t hear the sounds of the small towns they passed, or smell the scents from the restaurants or farms, those things didn’t seem to matter. All that mattered was catching up with the ambulance, finding his way to the hospital, and hearing what the doctor had to say.

They could finish with administering their medicines, and then he’d take his wife home. Less than six hours had passed since he found Leah on the floor of the bathroom, but he was more than ready for this trial to be over.

Annie hadn’t stepped into a hospital since the day she rushed out of the front doors of Mercy, the day she’d received a call her father had been in a buggy accident. It was hard to fathom that three years had passed. The time had flown!

As she walked into Lewistown Hospital, keeping pace beside Leah’s stretcher, the familiar sound of monitor beeps, soft-soled shoes on linoleum floors, and nurses talking to patients showered her like the snowflakes that had begun falling again outside.

One of the paramedics, Stanley, pushed Leah through the double doors at the end of the hall and a nurse stepped in front of Annie, blocking her way. A few years older than Annie, she had glossy black hair flowing past her shoulders, pinned back away from her face, and a no-nonsense attitude. “I’m sorry, miss. Family has to wait outside, at least until we have her admitted.”

“Oh. Yes, but you see, I’m a nurse.”

To give her credit, Nurse Gabriella—Annie could read her nametag now—raised an eyebrow but didn’t so much as question her or show any other indication of softening on the regulations. “I’m proud to hear it, dear. Our waiting room is back that way. Someone will be out to see you as soon as your—”

“
Schweschder.
” The word came out softly as tears stung her eyes for the first time since hearing Samuel mention Leah’s name.

“As soon as your sister is settled.”

Annie reversed directions and walked slowly back into the waiting room. Samuel’s phone felt like a stone in her apron pocket. She could call him, but what would she say? Leah’s condition had remained the same during the twenty-five-minute ride. She expected Adam and Belinda would arrive any time. Perhaps it would be best to wait.

The phone was for emergencies, and this wasn’t one—at least not at the moment.

The clock on the wall mocked her, its hands moving so slowly she thought it might be broken. Another patient arrived—a man with his arm wrapped in an old shirt, blood soaking through the cotton. Stanley walked back outside, back to his ambulance. Annie sat in the plastic chair and waited.

During her time as a nurse, the one thing she hadn’t done was spend much time in the visitor’s room. If she had her—

“Oh my goodness!” Jumping up, she hurried toward the emergency room doors that led back into the parking area. The first set of doors swished open and the cold air did more than any mug of coffee to waken her. She never made it outside though, as Stanley was returning once again through the second set of doors. Older, medium height, with skin as dark as the night, his smile immediately put her worries to rest—the smile and the quilting bag he held up in his right hand.

“Did you forget something, Nurse Annie?”

“
Danki
, Stanley. I may need that since it looks as if I’ve been banished to the waiting room.”

Stanley actually laughed. “No worries. You know the drill. Once they have Leah transferred to a bed and confirm she’s stable, they’ll allow family members back.”

Annie pulled in a deep breath as she accepted the bag filled with her quilting supplies. “
Ya
, you’re right. I do know that. It was the same where I worked in Philadelphia, but rules are easy to forget when it’s your loved one behind the emergency room doors.”

“Don’t I know it. My wife was back there a year ago. I was none too happy about waiting on this side.”

Studying him, Annie realized how drama worked on your emotions. Normally she was sensitive to other people, but when she was in the middle of her own emergency, she’d immediately forgotten that other people weren’t there only to serve her. It was easy to overlook people she came in contact with—yet they had families, problems, and worries the same as she did. “How is your wife now?”

“Good. She has to watch her cholesterol, but the docs gave her a stent and fixed her right up.”

“
Wunderbaar.
”

Stanley’s radio squawked and he reached to turn it down. “Best get out there or my partner is going to come looking for me. I’ll be praying for your sister.”

“
Danki.
”

Annie carried her quilt bag over to the waiting area. There wasn’t much she could do with it yet. She had managed to finish her sample square. She pulled it out and stared at it—Overall Sam. She’d chosen dark blue fabric for his pants, green for his shirt, and the traditional black for his hat. In a word, he was adorable.

Was one of the babes Leah carried a boy?

Would he one day work beside her brother Adam, tilling the land, even learning to take apart small mechanical engines?

Annie ran her fingers over the stitching, closed her eyes, and began to pray. She prayed for the doctors who were looking over Leah’s charts, for the nurses who were checking her IV, running her vitals, and making her comfortable. She prayed for the babies within her womb—for the two of them though she didn’t know if they were boys or girls. She prayed for Leah, that she could remain at peace. She prayed for Adam as well, and was in the midst of asking God to give her wisdom and strength when she heard voices.

“I believe she’s asleep.”

“
Nein.
She’s prayed that way—with her eyes squeezed shut—since she was a
kind
.” Adam tumbled into the chair beside her.

Belinda sat across from her, wearing a smile, snow covering the top of her coat. “Been waiting out here long?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t think so . . .” Annie glanced up at the clock on the wall, surprised to see twenty minutes had passed. “Less than half an hour. I tried to go back, but they wouldn’t let me.”

“Lewistown has strict rules. Some hospitals, not so much. Since several of my patients have been transferred here over the years, I might be able to find out something.” Belinda stood and brushed at the snow on her coat, then strode past the information desk and through the double doors.

“I like her more all the time,” Adam admitted.

“Is that so?”

“
Ya.
I expected her to yak, yak, yak all the way here, but for an
Englischer
she’s remarkably quiet.”

“Adam, that’s a terrible stereotype.”

“Would it have been better to say for a woman she’s remarkably quiet?”

“
Nein.
You’re tired, cranky, and worried.”

“I am.” He leaned forward in his chair, elbows on his knees, head resting on his hands. He’d taken the time to dress properly and had on clothes so similar to the sample square she was holding that Annie nearly started laughing. Overall Sam indeed. Overall Adam!

If all of this could end well, she’d rename the boy on the quilt.

Belinda pushed through the doors. “Leah has been admitted. The doctor is with her now and would like to see you, Adam.”

Adam glanced up, a look of confusion coloring his features.

“Go, Adam.” Annie prodded him with her foot.

“
Ya.
Of course.” He stood, but didn’t move.

“Through the doors,” Belinda said. “I’ll show you the way.”

Adam glanced back at her, and Annie felt something in her heart twist. She wanted to go with him, wanted to take his hand and follow him back into Leah’s room.

But this moment was between Adam and Leah and the doctors. There would be enough time for her to help later. For now, she would stay in the waiting room, holding the material for the quilt she had yet to make, and praying for Leah and her unborn children.