The Restoration (38 page)

Decatur

“I’m scared to go in and see her,” Elaine said as she, Leah, and Adam headed down the hospital corridor toward Priscilla’s room. “What if her burns are so bad, she’s scarred for life?”

“She won’t be. Once she gets home from the hospital and her folks can start putting B&W ointment on her burns, she’ll heal.” Leah tried to sound confident, for her own sake as well as Elaine’s.

“The message Daniel left on my answering machine didn’t say how badly Priscilla was burned. Did he tell you anything specific?” Elaine questioned.

Leah shook her head, glancing at her husband. “Adam was the one who listened to the message.”

“It just said Priscilla’s dress caught fire, but no information was given on how severe her burns were,” Adam said.

They were almost to Priscilla’s room when the door opened and her mother stepped out. The poor woman’s eyes were bloodshot, and her lips trembled as she spoke. “Danki for coming. When Priscilla wakes up, she’ll be glad to see you.”

“If she’s sleeping, we’d better not go in there right now.” Elaine hugged Iva. “Can we go somewhere to talk?”

“Let’s go to the waiting room. Daniel’s in the cafeteria getting coffee, but I’m sure he’ll find us when he gets back.”

“I’ll see if I can find Daniel.” Adam gave Leah’s hand a squeeze before heading down the hall toward the cafeteria.

Leah hugged Priscilla’s mother, too. “Oh, Iva, you look exhausted.”

“We’ve been here at the hospital all night.”

“Maybe you should try to get a little sleep.” Elaine rubbed Iva’s arm, obviously trying to comfort her.

“I couldn’t sleep, even if I wanted to. If it’s okay with you, I’d rather sit and talk. It might help relieve some of my stress.”

“Sure, Iva. We’d like to hear the details of how it happened and how badly Priscilla was burned.”

Iva led the way down the hall, with Leah and Elaine following. When they entered the waiting room, Leah was relieved to see it was empty, which would make it easier to talk freely.

After they’d all taken seats, Iva gave them the details of what had happened. “As terrible as this is, we are thankful only her shoulders, arms, chest, and hands received second-degree burns. It could be a lot worse if the burns went deeper or the fire had burned other parts of her body.” Iva shuddered. “Even so, Priscilla is in a lot of pain, and she had a lot of redness and blistering. She could also have some scarring once it heals. They’re keeping her here a few days to watch for infection and dehydration.”

“When she comes home will you start using B&W ointment and covering the burns with boiled and cooled burdock leaves?” Leah questioned. With her interest in natural healing, she’d learned the benefits of this home remedy and how it had produced good results in many people who’d been burned.

“Jah,” Iva said. “That’s exactly what we plan to do. I have a book with instructions, telling how to treat burns of varying degrees, so at least I’ll know what to do. There’s also an Amish woman in the area who has treated burns like Priscilla’s. If I have any questions, I’ll seek her advice.”

“I’ve read about it, too.” Leah nodded. “The ointment not only helps with pain and healing but infection as well.”

“Does the doctor think Priscilla will need skin grafts?” Elaine asked.

“He said maybe, but only if the skin doesn’t grow back on its own.” Iva’s eyes flooded with tears as she looked determinedly at Leah and Elaine. “Please pray the skin grafts will not be necessary and Priscilla will have no permanent scars.”

As David sped along the Interstate, he had one thought on his mind—getting as far from Arthur as he could. The roads were dry, but in the distance, dark clouds loomed, so hopefully he’d be in Chicago before any storms hit.

The highway traffic was light, probably because it was Sunday. David took advantage of the open road. It was about a three-hour drive to get to his parents’, so he was glad for the 180-mile trip. It would give him time to think and try to sort things out, if that were even possible.

David checked the speedometer. He wasn’t going over the speed limit, but for someone who’d had a cycle accident a few months ago David realized he was going faster than he should. His motorcycle had been fixed and was running smoothly, so right now he just didn’t care. No one else was in harm’s way, since no other vehicles were close to his.

Tears blurred his eyes and dried instantly on his cheek as the air whipped and blew around his helmet. “Oh, Priscilla, what have I done to you?” David’s shout was lost in the wind. “Elam was right. I never should have gone to your house last night. If I’d stayed home with Gram and Gramps, none of this would have happened.”

All the anticipation of joining the Amish church and possibly developing a permanent relationship with Priscilla was a thing of the past. David knew he had to return to his life in Chicago and leave his dream of living the Amish life with Priscilla behind him. Truth was, that may be all it was—just a fantasy he’d conjured up to show his dad that he could do whatever he wanted, instead of what was expected of him.

David’s agony over Priscilla’s injury in conjunction with his guilt was worse than anything he’d ever endured. He’d had a sleepless night and felt even worse this morning. Saying good-bye to Gram and Gramps had made it even harder to leave.

How do people cope when they’re the cause of someone else’s pain?
David wondered. Would time heal, as he’d heard Gram say? Maybe it happened to others, but David didn’t know if he could ever set things right with himself or Priscilla.

Gripping the handlebars, he steadied his bike as a semitruck came up behind him. When the enormous rig got in the center lane and drove past, the pull was so strong, David had to hold tightly, fearful he might get sucked into the truck’s draft. His bike shuddered, just as David was doing, but as the semi got farther up the road, David relaxed. It didn’t get rid of the pain in his gut, twisting like an unyielding knife, however. His brain was plagued with one thought after another. Could Priscilla ever forgive him? Would he be able to forgive himself? It would be impossible to look at Priscilla without being reminded of his stupidity and forgetfulness.

“She’s better off without me,” he muttered. “Wish I’d never left Chicago in the first place. Then none of this would have happened.”

Up ahead, David saw high-rise buildings come into view as he approached Chicago. Soon he’d be dealing with the scrutiny of his parents, but that was nothing compared to the remorse eating away at his heart.

Chicago

I
knew you’d never stay in Arthur or become Amish. You’re not cut out for a life such as that.”

Dad’s words cut into David like a two-edged sword. He wished he hadn’t felt forced to come back to his parents’ house, but he had no place else to go right now. Not until he found a job, at least.

He turned to face his father. “Look, Dad, I don’t need you getting on my case right now. I’ve been on the road for the last several hours, and I’m beat. All I want to do is go up to my room and lie down awhile. I hardly slept last night, and I’m bushed.”

Dad’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth snapped together. “You just got here, David. You can hide out in your room later on.”

Lifting his gaze upward, David shook his head. He was dog-tired from the trip but even more so, from all that had happened with Priscilla. He was in no mood to spar with his father. “Dad, we’ll talk later. I need a little shut-eye right now.”

“So you’re not going to tell us the reason you came back?” Dad moved closer to where David stood near the front door, holding his duffle bag.

“Let the boy alone,” Mom spoke up. “Can’t you see he’s tired? At least he came home to us. You should be happy about that.”

“I am, Suzanne, but he owes us an explanation.”

David knew his dad wasn’t going to let up until he gave them some sort of story, so he looked right at him and said, “I came back because things weren’t working out for me in Arthur.” It wasn’t a lie. Things had definitely not worked out the way David hoped—especially concerning Priscilla.

“So you finally realized the Amish life wasn’t for you, huh?” Dad’s “I told you so” tone, and his look of anticipation told David that was exactly what his father was hoping to hear.

“Yeah, that’s it.” David gave a quick nod. “Now if you don’t mind, I really need to lie down.”

“Would you like something to eat first?” Mom asked, obviously trying to smooth things over.

“No, I’m fine. I stopped for a bite to eat on my way here.”

“Okay, we’ll see you when you get up.” Mom gave David a welcoming hug.

He glanced at his father, to see if he would say anything more, but Dad merely took a seat in his easy chair and buried his nose in the Sunday paper.

As David climbed the stairs to his room, a vision of Priscilla on her kitchen floor flashed into his head. Thinking about her look of panic caused his heart to ache. He’d never forgive himself for what he’d done to her. He hoped the letter he’d left in her folks’ mailbox would let her know how truly sorry he was.

Decatur

Priscilla lay in her hospital bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about everything that had occurred last night. Normally about now, she’d be at church service with her family. If it were not for the pain from the burns she’d received, this would all seem like a dream—a horrible nightmare, really. Other than the tension she sensed between David and Elam, everything had been normal. Now she would be laid up—for how long, she didn’t know. It would be at least until her skin had time to heal.

Will I be left with scars?
she wondered.
I’m ever so thankful my face didn’t get burned.

Priscilla appreciated Elaine and Leah coming by earlier today. Their friendship and support meant so much, and it was a comfort to know they were praying for her. She clung to the verse Leah had quoted about God never leaving or forsaking her, even when she was enduring so much pain. God would give her the strength she needed to get through this. She was reminded of Psalms 121:1–2, 4: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the L
ORD
, which made heaven and earth. Behold, he… shall neither slumber nor sleep.”

She thought about Elam and his sullen expression when he’d dropped by a short time after Elaine and Leah went home. He hadn’t said much, except repeating over and over how sorry he was that something so horrible had happened to her. Before he’d left, Elam had kissed Priscilla’s forehead and said, “I love you, Priscilla.”

Tears welled in Priscilla’s eyes as she thought about how long she’d waited to hear him profess his love in that way. “Why now?” she murmured.
Why couldn’t he have said those words sooner? What has been holding Elam back all these months we’ve been courting?

Priscilla’s thoughts went to David, wondering why he hadn’t paid her a visit. She was aware that he’d come to the hospital last night, because Mom had mentioned David’s grandpa had driven them all here.

Is David afraid to face me? Does he think I blame him for the accident, since he forgot to turn down the stove? He didn’t do it on purpose
, she reminded herself, but it was hard not to focus on the results of his carelessness.

I should have known better than to try to put out the fire with a dishcloth. I should have thrown baking soda on it. So it’s partly my fault, too.

Was it wrong for her to be with David yesterday? Elam was right. She should have known he was coming to take her for a buggy ride and most likely running late. Looking back on it now, it was perfectly reasonable that Elam had been upset. If she had politely told David she had plans with Elam for the evening, none of this would have occurred.

It had been difficult lately, trying to figure Elam and David out. Elam’s sudden profession of love confused her even more.

Slowly raising her gauze-covered hands, she stared at them then closed her eyes.
Will I ever be the same again?
All Priscilla wanted right now was to go home where Mom could treat her burns, instead of nurses and doctors hovering around. She wanted to hide out in her house and never let anyone see her ugly red hands and arms.