[Alaskan Quest 03] - Whispers of Winter (21 page)

“Can we open our presents now?” Christopher asked impatiently. “I’ve waited a whole year for today to come.”

Everyone laughed, but it was Adrik who started the festivities. “I believe it is time for presents. After all, I just started by giving us Ashlie and Timothy.”

“That’s silly, Papa. People can’t be presents.”

“Ah, but that’s where you are wrong, Christopher. Of course they can be presents. Jesus came to earth as a present for us. Remember?”

This led quite naturally into a telling of the Christmas story. Adrik had long ago memorized the second Chapter of Luke and began a recitation even as the adults found their places around the table.

Leah knew she would always remember this day as one of her very favorite Christmases. Everything seemed so perfectly right: Her menfolk were safely home from their perilous adventures; Jacob and Helaina were happily married with a new baby on the way; Jayce and the twins were all Leah could ask for or want in a family, and all were healthy and safe.

That evening as she sat beside Jayce in their home, enjoying the close of the day, Leah couldn’t begin to voice her gratitude to God.
I’m so happy, Lord. You’ve given me far more than I could ask or imagine. Definitely more than I deserve
.

She sighed and leaned against Jayce. He put his arm around her and gently stroked her hair. Only moments before Leah had taken out the pins and brushed through the long brown curls.

“I can’t believe we’re really here—like this. I’m so blessed,” she said, her voice barely audible.

“I was thinking the same thing. Last year I was lost at sea, waiting and watching for the ice to crush our ship and send us out across the frozen ocean. It was terrifying, but the waiting almost robbed us of our sanity.”

“I can well imagine. It nearly robbed me of mine,” Leah replied.

Jayce gently lifted her face. “Are you happy here?”

She pulled back and looked at him for a moment. “Haven’t I just said so?”

“I know you’re happy with this day, I’m just wondering, however, if you’re happy here. Do you miss Last Chance?”

“Of course I miss Last Chance. I miss Emma and Sigrid and Bjorn and the children. I miss Oopick and John. I especially miss Ayoona, but I know I’ll see her again someday in heaven. I loved Last Chance Creek. But it was the people who made it particularly special. I miss them most of all.”

“I know. And we don’t have to stay here if you find it unbearable.”

Leah shook her head. “It’s not unbearable. In fact, I feel blessed by God for bringing us here. What about you?”

“What about me?” He seemed genuinely surprised by her question.

“Are you happy here? Do you want to stay and call this home?”

He smiled, and it made Leah feel weak in the knees. This man always had a way of transforming her worries and concerns to feelings of comfort and security. “My home is wherever you and the twins and any other children we might have are. You are my home, Leah. I never really had a home until I married you.”

“But I want you to be happy in your work. Karen has told me over and over that men must find satisfaction in their job choices. It’s important to the entire family. I won’t have you miserable just because you think I’m happier close to my loved ones. Please promise me you’ll always be honest about such things.”

Jayce laughed and pulled her close again. “I promise. And you promise me that you’ll always be honest about such things as well. I find I can endure a great deal of misery when I know you are waiting for me at the end of the day.”

“Leah! Leah!”

It was Ashlie calling—no, screaming—from outside the door. Leah and Jayce jumped up so quickly they nearly took a tumble. Righting each other, they hurried for the door.

“What is it?” Leah questioned, pulling Ashlie into the house as soon as Jayce had the door open.

Ashlie was crying, and it was clear that something was terribly wrong. “It’s … it’s … Mama.”

Leah looked to Jayce and back to Ashlie. “Something’s wrong with Karen?”

“Yes!” Ashlie took hold of Leah. “You have to come. She collapsed on the floor, and she won’t wake up.”

Chapter Eighteen

J
ayce remained with the children while Leah hurried to the Ivankov house with Ashlie. The girl was so distraught, Leah couldn’t imagine what had happened to Karen. She was perfectly fine when Leah had headed home with Jayce and the twins. Karen had been suffering a headache, but the day had been exhausting and Karen had worked very hard to make sure everyone had a good time.

“What happened, Ashlie?” Leah asked as they approached the house.

“I don’t know. She said … oh, she said that her head hurt. I didn’t think anything about it. I should have. I should have seen that something was wrong.” She stopped and shook her head vigorously. “I should have known.”

Leah halted her steps and turned. “Why?” Leah asked, hoping the matter-of-fact question would cause Ashlie to regain some composure. “You’re not a doctor.”

“I know. But she’s my mother.”

“I wasn’t much younger than you when my mother died; should I have known enough to keep her alive—to prevent her death? Is it my fault that my mother is dead?”

Ashlie calmed just a bit. “Well … of course not.”

“And neither is it yours that your mother is sick.”

“She seemed fine. She really was happy.” Ashlie began walking toward the house again. “She was getting ready for bed. She told me how happy she was to have me home, and then she got a funny look on her face and fell to the ground.”

Leah pushed open the door to the Ivankov house without knocking. “Papa went for the doctor,” Oliver announced.

Leah gently touched his shoulder. “How long ago?”

“Just after Ashlie went for you.”

“What’s wrong with our ma?” Christopher asked.

Leah shook her head. “I don’t know. Let me check on her.”

Leah went quickly to Karen’s room and found that they had managed to get her into bed and her nightclothes. She touched her hand to the unconscious woman’s pale brow. She didn’t feel feverish or clammy. “Karen, it’s Leah. I’m here. Please wake up.”

Leah took hold of Karen’s wrist and felt for a pulse. The beat was weak. “Karen, I don’t know what’s happened to you. Please wake up.” Ashlie had mentioned Karen’s headache, and earlier in the day Leah knew Karen had suffered enough discomfort that she had brewed some willow-bark tea to ease the pain.

“Do you know what’s wrong with her?” Ashlie asked as she came into the room. Leah saw that the boys were fearfully standing guard at the door, listening for whatever answers Leah might offer.

“I don’t know. Sometimes people have spells that cause them to lose consciousness. Some are very bad and others are less so. I wish I could tell you which case this was, but I can’t. Your mother seems very weak, although nothing was previously wrong.”

“It was her head,” Oliver said quite seriously. “She told me earlier to pray for her because it hurt.”

Leah let out a long breath. “She might have ruptured a vessel in her head.” The thought of an aneurysm came to mind. She had once talked with a doctor about such things when she still lived in Ketchikan. The doctor explained that sometimes vessels in the brain would rupture and cause extensive bleeding, and there was very little they could do to help the patient. In some cases, he had explained, holes could be drilled into the skull to drain the blood, but the risk was great.

It seemed to take forever before Adrik returned with the doctor. The man came quickly to Karen’s bedside and demanded everyone leave the room.

“I’m Leah Kincaid. I have some training in medicine,” Leah offered. “I could act as your nurse.”

The middle-aged man eyed her up momentarily, then nodded. “Everyone else out.”

Adrik led Ashlie to the door. “Come on, boys, let’s let them work. They’ll tell us what’s going on as soon as they know something.” His gaze met Leah’s, as if to confirm this.

“Of course we will. I’ll come out just as soon as I can,” she promised.

Once the door was closed, the doctor looked to her. “What can you tell me?”

Leah shrugged. “She’s complained of a headache all day. Apparently it was bad enough to ask her son to pray about it. She also took some willow-bark tea earlier. Karen’s always been a very strong woman, and when she stops to take a remedy of any kind, I know that it’s because there is a strong reason. Still, she didn’t really show any other signs. Do you suppose it’s an aneurysm?”

“It could well be. I’ve seen it before and the symptoms sound quite similar.”

He checked her pupils and listened to her heart. Leah watched and waited, feeling very unnecessary. She longed for Karen to open her eyes and announce to them that she felt perfectly fine, but something inside told Leah this wasn’t going to be the case. For the first time since Ashlie came to the door crying for help, Leah began to fear for Karen’s life.

“She’s not doing well,” the doctor said as he pulled the stethoscope from his ears. “Her heart is very weak and her breathing is quite shallow.” He reached for his case and took out several instruments. “I’ll check her reflexes, but I’m afraid there’s little we can do. It may be a ruptured artery, as you suggested, or she may have had a stroke.”

“A stroke?”

“Her body isn’t responding as it should,” he said, pointing to her left side. “The nerves show little or no reaction.”

“What does it mean?” Leah bit her lip and met the man’s stern expression.

“Only time will tell…. We have no way of knowing whether she’ll recover from this or not.”

“So she could … she might … die?”

“That is a strong possibility. I’m sorry. I know Mrs. Ivankov to have a reputation for kindness and generosity. Her husband too.”

“What can we do?”

“Little but wait. I’ll check in on her in the morning. If there’s any change in the night, you can send someone for me.” He put his instruments away and got to his feet. “I don’t want to discourage you, but I’ve seen situations like this before. The outcome has never been good.”

Leah nodded. She looked to Karen and then to the closed door. “I understand.”

When they came out from the bedroom, Jacob and Helaina had joined Adrik and the children. The doctor looked at Adrik and shook his head. “Mr. Ivankov, I’m sorry. It appears your wife has suffered a major trauma to her brain. There is no way of telling at this point in time whether she will recover.”

“What are you saying?” Ashlie asked, her voice shrill and unnatural. “Is she going to die?”

Christopher and Oliver looked at each other in disbelief, while Ashlie began to sob. Leah went to her side. She put her arms around the girl and pulled her close. “We need to pray for your mother. We don’t know what God has yet planned for her, but prayer is always the best way to help someone.”

The doctor nodded and looked back to Adrik. “I’m sorry. You may send someone for me if her condition changes.” He left just as quickly as he’d come, leaving the family in stunned silence.

Adrik looked to Leah as if to will the truth from her. The questioning in his eyes left her uneasy. She wanted so much to reassure him, but she had no words for it.

“This is all my fault,” Ashlie said as she broke away from Leah and went to her father. “I should have been here. She’s had to work too hard.”

“It’s not your fault,” Adrik said, putting his arm around her. “Your ma would work hard whether you were here or not. We don’t know why this has happened, but it has.”

“Leah, do you have any idea of what can be done?” Jacob questioned. “Are there any native remedies?”

Leah shook her head. “If there are, I don’t know them. I can ask around, but I don’t know that it will help.”

“Do whatever you can,” Adrik said. Gone was the usual strength in his voice and demeanor. To Leah it appeared that Ashlie held him up as much as he supported her.

“I will,” she promised. “I’m going back to tell Jayce what’s happened, then I can come here and sit with her so that you can sleep.”

“No. I’ll take care of her. She’s my mother,” Ashlie stated, pulling away from her father. “I’ll send for you if I need you.”

Leah thought to protest but then nodded. “Please do. I’ll come in the morning and relieve you and cook breakfast for everyone.”

“I’ll come help as well,” Helaina offered.

Adrik followed Leah outside, much to her surprise. “Look, if you know something more …”

“I honestly don’t,” she said before he could continue. “The brain is a queer thing; doctors know so very little on how to treat problems related to it. It could have been a ruptured vessel, in which case she’s bled into her brain. Or it could be a stroke, in which case the chances for recovery would be better.” She touched his arm, feeling the warmth against the chilled night air. “Adrik, I’m so sorry. I wish I could say that things will be all right, but …” Her voice trailed off as tears came to her eyes.

Adrik hugged her tightly. “I didn’t know she was sick. I didn’t know anything was wrong. She was so happy today. So happy to have everyone here and Ashlie home. I would have been here if I’d known something was wrong. I would have let Timothy bring Ashlie here by himself if I’d thought Karen needed me.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Adrik. She was happy and healthy. What happened is no one’s fault. You mustn’t be hard on yourself. Of what I know, there is usually little warning. Sometimes nothing at all. Don’t blame yourself.”

“But I know she was worrying these past couple of days with me gone. That could have been avoided. I should have just told her the truth. I should have been here.”

Leah pulled back and shook her head. “You taught me long ago that we cannot live on ‘what if ’s’ and ‘should have been’s.’ Adrik, we need to pray and remember who is in control. God knows what His plans are, and we do not. It isn’t easy, but the alternative is much worse.”

Adrik nodded. “I know. But, Leah, I cannot imagine my life without her.”

Leah whispered, “I can’t either.”