The Gift (4 page)

Later Elaine served strawberry pies for dessert. After they were done eating, everyone burped. One of the ladies said that it was the best pie she’d ever eaten, and if burping was a way to show her appreciation, then she was glad she had. More clapping and laughter followed.

Elaine joined in, feeling almost weightless in her joy. She wasn’t sure how Grandma would have reacted to the burping that went on around the dinner table, but to Elaine, it felt good to see the whole group get along so well.

Pushing those memories aside, she started toward the living room. She thought she heard a horse and buggy coming up the lane. Wondering who would be calling at this time of night, she peered out the window into the darkened yard. Lights on the buggy revealed little, and she couldn’t make out whose rig it was. Thinking it might be Ben Otto making a surprise call, Elaine left the kitchen and hurried to the back door. Moments later, Leah stepped onto the porch, holding a flashlight in one hand.
“Wie geht’s?”
she asked.

“I’m doing fine,” Elaine answered, “but I’m surprised to see you. I didn’t expect you’d be coming by tonight.”

Leah smiled. “I wanted to see how things went with your dinner. Were there lots of people? Was Karen Yoder a big help to you?”

Elaine opened the door wider. “Come in. I’ll tell you about it.” She led the way to the kitchen and asked her friend, “Would you like a cup of tea?”

“That’d be nice.”

Elaine gestured to a chair. “Take a seat, and I’ll join you as soon as I get the water heating.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Leah offered.

“That’s okay. It’ll only take me a minute.” Elaine filled the teakettle and turned on the propane stove. “Now in answer to your earlier questions, things went quite well tonight. But I couldn’t have done it all without Karen’s help.”

“I’m glad to hear that. When I was having supper with Priscilla tonight, I kept thinking I ought to be here, helping you.”

“No need to worry about that. Karen and I managed just fine.” Elaine took a seat beside Leah. “I did miss Grandma, though.”

Leah reached over and clasped Elaine’s hand. “That’s understandable. You helped her with the dinners for several years. It’s only natural that you’d miss her when you were doing something you knew she enjoyed.”

“Hosting dinners for tourists brought Grandma much happiness,” Elaine agreed. “I only wish we hadn’t been forced to quit doing them because of her dementia.”

“You did what you had to do.” Leah’s sincere smile conveyed heartfelt sympathy. “There was no way you could keep hosting the meals with Edna going downhill so quickly.”

Elaine sighed. “I know, but I missed doing the dinners, and Grandma did, too—at least until her memory got so bad that she forgot about the tour groups.”

“Now you’re carrying on her legacy. I’m sure she would be pleased.”

When the teakettle whistled, Elaine fixed their tea and got out the leftover strawberry pie. “Would you like a piece?”

“Sure. That looks good.”

Elaine cut them each a piece and returned to her seat. “How are things going with you? Have you given many foot treatments lately?”

Leah nodded. “I saw Sara Miller yesterday, and our bishop’s wife came after that. Unfortunately, Margaret had an allergic reaction to the walnuts that were in the cookies Sara had given me. The poor woman ended up at the hospital.”

“That’s
baremlich.
Is she doing okay?”

“It was terrible, but she’s much better. Now she’ll have to carry an EpiPen at all times in case something like that should happen again.”

Elaine sipped some tea. “I’m sensitive to some chemical odors, but I’ve never had difficulty breathing.”

Leah leaned her elbows on the table. “I hope you never do.”

As they ate their pie and finished the tea, Leah told Elaine about her encounter with Adam Beachy. “I’m not sure why, but he’s against reflexology.”

“Maybe he ought to give it a try.” Elaine got up to clear their dishes. “Personally, I find your foot treatments to be very relaxing. Since Adam seems to be so uptight, maybe reflexology would help him unwind.”

Leah’s forehead wrinkled. “I doubt that he’d ever come to see me. Even if he did, I wouldn’t want to work on his feet.”

“How come?”

“I just wouldn’t, that’s all.”

“Adam is a handsome man. As far as I know, he’s not courting anyone.”

“He may be handsome, but his personality leaves a lot to be desired.” Leah carried the teakettle back to the stove. “Can we talk about something other than Adam Beachy?”

“We can talk about anything you like, but let’s go in the living room where the chairs are more comfortable.”

Elaine followed Leah out of the kitchen, and they took seats on the sofa. “How are things going with you and Ben these days?” Leah asked.

Elaine shrugged. “Okay, I guess. He drops by fairly often to see how I’m doing, and we went out for supper a few times last month.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but are you two getting serious?” Leah questioned.

“I’m not sure how Ben feels, but right now, I see our relationship as more of a close friendship than romance. I’m comfortable when I’m with him, but the feelings I have for Ben aren’t the same as what I felt for…” Elaine’s voice trailed off. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go there.”

“As what you felt for Jonah?” Leah prompted. “Is that what you were going to say?”

“Jah. Jonah was my first love, and the feelings I had for him will probably remain in my heart. But he’s married to Sara now, and they seem to be happy. I wish them well.”

Leah squeezed Elaine’s arm tenderly. “You’re one of the nicest people I know. Despite what you told Jonah about not loving him, I know you ended your relationship so you’d be free to take care of your grandma. When he married Sara, you were gracious. I’m not sure I could have been that understanding. It seems like he rushed into it, if you ask me.”

Elaine leaned heavily against the sofa cushions. “Jonah did what he wanted to do, and I did what I had to do. I loved him enough to let him go so he could find the happiness he deserved with someone else. Now he has Sara and little Mark to fill up his life, and they have a new
boppli
on the way.”

Leah rubbed the bridge of her nose, the way she often did when deep in thought. “Have you ever wondered if Jonah married Sara just so he could be Mark’s father?”

Elaine leaned slightly forward. “It’s not my place to wonder things like that, and it doesn’t matter what Jonah’s reason was for marrying Sara. They’re husband and wife now, and I’m no longer a part of Jonah’s life. I’m determined to move on and leave my regrets in the past. Someday, if the Lord wills it, I’ll fall in love, get married, and fill this house with enough kinner to take up all the empty places. In the meantime, I’m going to take one day at a time and keep hosting tourist dinners.”

Leah smiled. “Everyone should learn to take one day at time, but I do hope that someday we’ll both find the man of our dreams.”

When Leah arrived home, she found her parents in the living room playing a game of checkers. “Where have you been all this time, Leah?” Mom asked. “It’s after ten, and we were starting to worry.”

“More to the point, your mamm was worried.” Dad chuckled as he jumped one of Mom’s checkers.

“We knew you were meeting Priscilla for supper, but I thought you’d be home before this,” Mom said.

“I’m sorry. I did meet Priscilla for supper, but I decided to stop by and see Elaine on my way home,” Leah explained. “I wanted to see how things went with the dinner she hosted this evening.”

“Did things go well?” Mom asked.

“Jah. Elaine seemed quite happy and relaxed.”

Mom removed her glasses, blew on them, and wiped the smudges with the edge of her apron. “It was nice of you to stop and see your friend, and it’s good to hear that Elaine’s evening went well. But Eli and Kathryn Byler were here earlier with their son, Abe, who wasn’t feeling well. They wanted you to work on his feet. When I told them you weren’t here, they were disappointed.”

Leah felt bad, but at the same time, the Bylers hadn’t made an appointment, so she’d had no idea they were coming. And she couldn’t stay home all the time in case someone might need a reflexology treatment.

“Did you tell Eli and Kathryn to take Abe to the clinic for help?” Leah questioned.

Mom gave a nod. “I did, but they asked if you’d be here in the morning.”

Leah sighed, wondering if the Bylers had found help for Abe or if she would see them in the morning. If that turned out to be the case, she hoped a foot treatment would be all that Abe needed. If there was something seriously wrong with the boy that was beyond the scope of her abilities, she would certainly tell them so.

L
eah smiled as a male hummingbird hovered directly above her head while she filled one of their numerous feeders in the backyard. To describe these little birds as curious was an understatement. The hummer was so close to Leah that she could actually feel the breeze from its fast-moving wings, which buzzed like a bee.

Leah loved watching the beautiful flying jewels. It never ceased to amaze her how quickly the hummingbirds could get from one place to another. She’d even observed them flying backward a few times. Occasionally, after she had the feeders cleaned and refilled before hanging them back on their hooks, Leah would hold a feeder and watch the hummingbirds close up when they flew in to feed. One time she held a feeder with one hand at the top then opened her other hand real wide, holding it directly under the feeding perches. Leah could hardly believe it when one of the little hummers landed on her finger and drank from the flowered portal. Although her arm grew tired, she didn’t move a muscle, wanting to make the experience last as long as possible.

This year, they seemed to have a lot more hummers than usual, and every other day she had to refill their five feeders. Leah was glad she’d stocked up on sugar in early spring, because it wouldn’t be long before the feeders would need to be filled every day—especially in mid-July, when the birds started migrating to their area from the north. It wasn’t unusual for Leah to go through ten pounds of sugar in a week’s time while the hummingbirds stayed over for a few weeks before heading to the Gulf of Mexico. From morning until just before dark, the hummers chattered nonstop as they flitted from one feeder to another. Sometimes they dive-bombed one another in a fierce battle to get to the feeders. Other times, the tiny birds took turns at the feeders and everything seemed quite peaceful.

Leah was excited that Alissa Cramer, one of their English neighbors, would be coming over during the active time in August to band the hummingbirds. She couldn’t imagine a metal band being small enough to fit on their little legs but big enough to have a number inscribed on it for tracking future behavior. It would be interesting to see the process.

Leah had just filled the last feeder when a horse and buggy pulled in. Sparky raised his head from where he laid on the porch, but he didn’t bother to bark.

Leah recognized the Bylers’ rig as it pulled up to the hitching rack. Kathryn got out and helped three-year-old Abe down while Eli secured their horse.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Kathryn said, carrying her son as she rushed over to Leah. “Our boy has a nasty cold, and with his asthma, I think it’s gone into his chest.” Dark circles stood out beneath the young woman’s pale blue eyes, and Leah figured Abe’s mother hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“I’m sorry to hear that, and I feel bad that I wasn’t home when you stopped by last night.” Leah motioned to the house. “Come inside, and I’ll see what I can do for Abe.”

Leah led the way, stepping around Sparky. Once inside, she suggested that Eli wait upstairs with her dad. Since this was Saturday and Dad wasn’t working, the two men could visit while Leah worked on Abe’s feet in the basement. The boy’s mother would want to be with him, so she didn’t ask her to wait upstairs, even though Kathryn could have visited with Mom.

When they entered the basement, Leah asked Kathryn to place Abe in the recliner, and then Leah took a seat on the footstool in front of him while his mother seated herself rigidly on a nearby chair.

“How long has Abe been feeling
grank
?” Leah asked.

“He’s been ill almost a week.” Kathryn sighed. “We thought he’d be better by now, but when his wheezing seemed worse, we decided it was time to bring him to you.”

“Did you take him to the clinic?”

Kathryn shook her head. “It’s expensive to go to the doctor, and we were hoping you could help.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Leah picked up the little boy’s left foot. “But I’m not a doctor and make no promises.”

“I understand. Please, just do what you can.”

As Leah began working on the little guy’s feet, she discovered that the areas representing his adrenal glands were tender and inflamed. “I have never found a case of asthma where the reflexes to the adrenal glands weren’t tender,” she told Kathryn. “It may take awhile, but I believe with a little persistence, stimulating the adrenals will help.”

Kathryn’s face seemed to relax a bit, and she leaned back slightly in her chair. Meanwhile, Leah kept applying pressure to the two spots on Abe’s small feet that needed the most attention.