The Decision (31 page)

It would be so nice if he could convince his folks to move to Arthur. Then he and his dad could work together again. But Dad seemed pretty set on staying in Pennsylvania.

Jonah couldn’t believe how well things had gone at the dentist’s today. Once the hygienist had cleaned Jonah’s teeth and he’d seen the dentist, Jonah nearly fell out of the chair when the dentist said, “All is well; you have no cavities. I’ll see you next year, Jonah.”

Not only was he enjoying that good news, but he was glad it was the first day of autumn. Something in the air when he took a deep breath made Jonah glad to be alive. The rich, earthy scent that only fall could bring was one he welcomed every year.

Jonah looked up at the sky and couldn’t believe its color. Like the blush of a ripened blueberry, it was so beautifully clear. On a day like today, he had to admit it would have been easy just to keep on riding, letting his horse take him wherever he wanted to go.

Jonah remembered how pretty it was in Pennsylvania, but he was glad to be here, where there were fewer people and not as many tourists. Illinois was already in his blood. Some folks living in the area still farmed for a living: some grew wheat and oats, and others planted corn and clover. Jonah loved seeing the farms and knew how important they were for one’s existence. But as times had changed, many people began using other skills to make their way in life, like Jonah had chosen to do with his buggy shop. Some of the men created fine cabinetry and beautiful oak furniture. Still other Amish men and women had jobs in various businesses around the Arthur area.

As Jonah went a bit farther, he took another deep breath. His nose twitched, and he sniffed again. Was that the odor of smoke? It wasn’t the aroma of burning leaves or someone’s barbecue; it smelled like a building was on fire. As Jonah rounded the next bend, smoke and flames colored the horizon. He realized with alarm that they were coming from Sara Stutzman’s place. Immediately, he turned into her lane, urging Sassy to hurry up the driveway.

Sassy didn’t want to move at first, but the normally lazy horse must have sensed the urgency in Jonah’s voice, because he trotted quickly up the driveway leading to Sara’s house.

When Jonah spotted Sara lying on the ground, several feet from the barn, he hopped out of the buggy, haphazardly secured Sassy to the fence post, and dashed across the yard.

“Sara!” he yelled. “Sara!”

She lay unresponsive, and that worried him even more. Jonah dropped to his knees beside her and felt relief when he discovered that she was breathing. He couldn’t see any evidence of burns on Sara’s body; just a few streaks of ash across her forehead and cheeks. If she had been in the barn, which Jonah suspected, then she may have breathed in a lot of smoke, as the structure was now burning out of control.

Jonah could feel the heat from the fire and thought it best to move back away from the sparks that were floating through the air. Gently he picked Sara up and laid her on the cool, thick grass a safe distance away.

Seeing water seeping out of a hose a few feet away, Jonah wet his hanky and wiped Sara’s face, tenderly removing the smudges. “Can you hear me, Sara?”

A few seconds passed, and then Sara opened her eyes. “Jonah?” she croaked after a series of coughs.

“Jah, it’s me. What happened here? How’d your barn catch on fire?”

“I was doing some cleaning and accidentally knocked a gas lamp over. Before I knew it, the whole barn was in flames.”

Sara tried to sit up, but Jonah told her to lie still a bit longer. “Is anyone in the barn right now?” he asked.

“No. I got Lilly out, and then…” Another round of spasmodic coughing came from Sara’s mouth. “My barn is surely lost, and all of Harley’s tools are in there.”

Jonah could see that Sara was visibly shaken and needed comforting, so he gathered her into his arms, gently patting her back. “It’s okay, Sara. The barn can be replaced, and so can any items that were inside. I’m glad you don’t seem to be seriously hurt, but I think you oughta see a doctor. If you inhaled a lot of smoke, it could harm your lungs.”

Sara shook her head. “I—I don’t think I took in that much smoke, and I’d rather not go to the hospital. What I really need most is just to be with my son.”

With deep concern, Jonah glanced around. “Where is Mark? Is he in the house?” He hoped the little boy wasn’t running around the yard someplace or, God forbid, had somehow gotten into the barn.

“No, no. My boy’s okay. He spent last night with my in-laws, so he’s safe. I just need to be with him right now.” Tears streamed down Sara’s face, and she gulped on a sob.

Sighing with relief that Mark was safe, Jonah nodded in understanding. “I hear sirens coming this way. Someone must have seen the smoke and called the fire department.” He helped Sara to her feet and held on to her, since she seemed a bit wobbly. “Are you okay to go into the house and wash up and change your clothes?” he asked.

“Jah, I’m all right,” she reassured him.

“Okay. While you’re doing that, I’ll talk to the firemen, and afterwards take you over to Herschel and Betty’s place to get your boy.”

As Elaine pedaled her bike quickly along, she spotted Grandma plodding along the shoulder of the road, away from their home.
Where in the world is she going, and why did she leave the yard without telling me?

Elaine sped up until she was alongside of Grandma. She stopped the bike right in front of her, halting Grandma in her tracks.

Grandma blinked and touched her fingers to her lips. “Nancy, I’m so glad to see you. Can you help me find my way home? I think I’m lost.”

“It’s me, Grandma…Elaine. Mama is…well, she’s not here anymore.” Elaine figured it would be best if she didn’t mention that her mother was dead. No point in confusing or upsetting Grandma any more than she was.

Grandma tipped her head, staring intently at Elaine. After a few seconds, a slow smile spread across her face. “You’re my
grossdochder
, aren’t you?”

“That’s right, Grandma. I’m your granddaughter. What are you doing out here on the road by yourself? I’ve been worried about you.”

Grandma’s cheeks flushed a bight pink. “I went looking for Dusty because he wasn’t in his stall. Thought I saw him in someone’s field, but the lady there said the horse was her grandson’s.” Her forehead creased. “That horse was brown, and it sure looked like Dusty.”

Elaine got off her bike, set the kickstand, and gave Grandma a hug, realizing that she needed a little reassurance right now. “We sold Dusty a few weeks ago. Remember?”

Grandma squinted while rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Why would we sell your grossdaadi’s
gaul
?”

“Because we have no need for three horses now that Grandpa’s gone.”

“Gone? Where did he go?” Grandma glanced around as though looking for answers. She was clearly quite confused.

Oh great
, Elaine thought.
Grandma must think Grandpa is still alive
.

Undecided as to what else she should say, Elaine patted Grandma’s arm tenderly, hoping to reassure her that everything was okay. “We need to go home now. I’ll ride my bike slowly, and you can follow me there.”

Grandma looked uncertain at first, but finally nodded. “That’s good, because I need to talk to Lloyd about his horse. He’ll be upset knowing Dusty got out of the barn.”

Elaine hoped by the time they got home, Grandma might remember that Grandpa had died. She didn’t want to shock her with that news.

Climbing back on her bike, Elaine noticed some smoke in the distance.
I hope that’s just from someone burning something and that no one’s house has caught fire
.

While Elaine pedaled slowly toward home, glancing back every few seconds to see if Grandma was following, she made a decision. Tomorrow she would call the doctor and ask why Grandma’s memory was failing so fast. According to that book on dementia, Grandma was losing her memory quicker than she should be and heading toward the more advanced stages of the disease. Elaine wished with all her heart that there was something she could do to slow the progression. She could hardly stand seeing her grandma like this.

T
he following day after Jonah finished working, he decided to drop by Sara’s and see how she was doing. He took a quick shower, put on clean clothes, and headed outside to get his horse and buggy ready. Hopefully Sassy, having rested all day, would move a little faster this time.

Going down the road, Jonah remembered another time when he’d come to someone else’s rescue. Memories took him back to Pennsylvania, when he’d first arrived in Bird-in-Hand. He’d just gotten settled in at Mom and Dad’s house when he’d learned about the tragedy concerning Meredith’s husband, Luke. Jonah had decided to visit Meredith and offer his condolences. It was good that he got there when he did, because shortly after his arrival, Meredith collapsed and could have gone into labor and lost her baby if she hadn’t gotten to the hospital in time.

Was it divine intervention that Jonah had come to Sara’s aid when her barn caught fire?
Maybe it’s my responsibility to rescue people in distress by showing up at just the right time
, Jonah decided, pulling his thoughts back to the present.

Jonah was halfway to Sara’s when he saw Elaine’s friend Leah riding her bike. She must have seen him, too, for they both waved at the same time.

Jonah was tempted to stop and ask Leah how Elaine was doing, but decided against it. He wanted to get to Sara’s before she started cooking her supper. Besides, he’d talked to Leah’s dad, Alton, the other day when he’d stopped by the buggy shop. Elaine’s name had come up when Alton mentioned that Leah and her mother had been helping Elaine do some canning a few weeks ago. Alton said that Edna wasn’t doing well and if things didn’t improve, she and Elaine might not do the sit-down dinners for tourists anymore. Jonah had also learned that with her grandmother’s approval, Elaine had sold her grandfather’s horse and was renting acreage on her grandparents’ property to one of their neighbors, so if they quit doing the dinners, they would at least have enough money to live on. But would it be enough?

Jonah wished he was free to help out, but Elaine had made it clear that she didn’t want that.

“Did she ever really feel anything for me?” Jonah muttered as he continued on down the road. “Or was I always just a passing fancy for her?”

Sassy’s ears perked up and he neighed as if in response.

“Was that a yes or a no?” Jonah asked with a snicker. At least he wouldn’t be showing up at Sara’s house with a sour expression.

Jonah thought about how he’d been one of the witnesses at Melvin and Sharon’s wedding last week. Seeing their smiling faces after they’d said their vows had made Jonah wish all the more that he, too, was happily married.

Sara wasn’t sure what to fix for supper this evening. Nothing appealed, and she’d worked hard cleaning house most of the day, so she had no energy for cooking. Of course, some of her fatigue could be related to the ordeal she’d gone through yesterday when the barn caught fire. She still couldn’t believe it was gone or that she’d been so careless when she was attacking all those cobwebs. Each time Sara glanced out the window, it made her sick to see what little was left of Harley’s barn. What would he think of her being so careless?

I should have been watching what I was doing
, Sara berated herself as she sat on the living-room floor next to her son while he played with some of his toys. She was glad Mark was young and wouldn’t remember any of this as he got older.

Sara thought about Jonah and how thankful she was that he’d come along when he did. In addition to talking with the firemen after they’d arrived, he’d helped Sara calm down and reassured her that if she decided to rebuild the barn, he would come to help out. Jonah had also made sure that Sara’s horse was put out in the field. After the fire was extinguished, Sara was checked over by the paramedics, who had followed in an ambulance behind the fire trucks. Once it was determined that Sara was okay, Jonah had taken her over to Herschel and Betty’s, where she and Mark had spent the night.

Turning her attention back to Mark, Sara realized that she couldn’t sit here all evening; she needed to feed him something. Maybe she would make them sandwiches for supper. That wouldn’t be much trouble.