An Uncommon Grace (21 page)

“Dwayne?”

He looked at the phone in disbelief before putting it back up to his ear. “I am not Dwayne.”

“Who are you anyway?” the man demanded. “And what are you doing answering my wife’s cell phone?” Then the voice grew belligerent. “Are you with my wife? Are you in
that bar she said she was going with girlfriends? You better leave her alone, buddy, or I’ll . . .”

Levi quickly pushed the off button and sat staring at the small telephone that barely took up half the palm of his hand.

He was not Susan, he was not Dwayne, he was not in a bar, and he certainly did not want anyone else’s wife. It was, of course, what the
Englisch
called a “wrong number.” He knew that, and he hoped the man got the numbers right the next time, and yet it had been upsetting to have someone threaten him when the stranger did not even know him.

The
Englisch
world was much too complicated. He wondered how they dealt with all they had to deal with. His own simple world was complicated enough.

He was so tired of thinking and had gotten so little sleep the night before that he fell asleep in the buggy and dozed most of the way home. Fortunately, his horse knew the back roads as well as he did, and he arrived home safely.

Levi’s mother was washing dishes when he came home. Sarah was playing happily at the table with some wooden blocks he had made for her.

“
Maam,
” Levi said, “you should not be up.”

“I need to push myself a little,” she said. “If I stay in that bed much longer, I’ll lose the ability to walk. Did you get Zillah home safely?”

“I did.”

“She is a strange one, that girl.”

“I have always thought so.”

“Sometimes I think some bad-tempered
Englisch
person must have left her on the bishop’s doorstep,” his mother joked. “And he and his wife were so happy to have a child, they never told us of it.”

Daniel stirred and snuffled upon his wedge cushion. Levi went over to check on him. The little guy had just awakened and now gazed up at him with solemn blue eyes. Levi lifted him out of the cradle. The infant was sopping wet. No wonder he was awake!

There were a few clean diapers lying folded upon a cabinet where his aunt had placed them. He made his little brother comfortable with a fresh diaper. This was not a man’s work, but it was quickly done, and he doubted it was easy for his mother to bend over right now.

He walked the floor with Daniel’s fuzzy head tucked up against his chin. After the scene he had just been through, it gave him comfort to hold the warm little bundle. He was debating whether or not to tell his mother about what had just transpired at the bishop’s. He hated to worry her with it, but in the end, he knew she had to be told, and it was best that it came from him.

“Albert and Jesse will be home from school soon and they can help you with the outdoor chores. I have been thinking about how we are to go about our lives now that Abraham is gone. It is time your two brothers rise earlier and help more with the milking—it will free up more time for you to be in the fields. School will be over in a few more days, and Albert is old enough to learn to work the horses now. He can help you.”

“Albert is small for ten,
Maam,
and our four Belgians are so large.”

“You were only ten when Abraham sent you out with a team.”

“I remember. That is why I want to give Albert a couple more years to grow.”

A look passed between them.

“You said nothing to me,” his mother said. “I thought you were all right with it.”

“I did
what I had to do,” Levi said, “but I don’t think it’s wise to send a child out to control four large horses. The summer he is twelve, we’ll see.”

“Our income will be less with Abraham gone, no matter how hard you work, but I can sell some of my quilts if we need to. Timothy’s Mary told me after meeting last Sunday that she recently sold one of her quilts to a tourist for eight hundred dollars. Imagine someone spending that much for a quilt! Mine have a little more quilting and tinier stitches than Mary’s. They might fetch an even higher price.”

Levi listened miserably to his mother’s chatting. She was trying to make plans for their family and to be strong for them, even though she had put Abraham in the ground such a short time ago. He hated to bring something else into the house for her to deal with.

“Oh, and my brother Eli came by today with a pot of cabbage and noodles and a strawberry pie that his Martha made for us. That Martha is a good cook. It is on the stove whenever you get hungry.”

“What of your wounds?”

“We have had much company while you were taking Zillah home. Not only did Eli stop by, Grace came and checked on me. She put on fresh bandages, and she was very happy with how well I am healing. I don’t know why, but she was interested in how much canning I had done last year.”

He tried to act nonchalant when he asked, “Did she say if she will be coming back?”

“Grace is a healer,” his mother said, knowingly. “She will not be able to stay away.”

He kept his face turned away from her, not wanting her to see the mixed emotions that comment created inside of him. Yes, Grace was a healer—one with whom, unfortunately, he
was realizing he wished he had the freedom to spend many hours.

“I need to sit down for a bit.” His mother dried her hands on a dish towel, walked over to her rocking chair, sat down, and held out her arms. “Give me the babe.”

He obediently placed little Daniel into his mother’s arms. The baby could already distinguish the difference in smell and feel between him and his mother. Daniel began to root around like the little piglet he was. Levi handed his mother the shawl with which she covered herself whenever she nursed the baby. He busied himself with disposing of the wet diaper while she got herself and the baby modestly positioned.

He had put it off long enough. It was time to tell her.

“Something bad happened when I took Zillah home.”

“Oh?
Was in dei Velt is letz
?” His mother’s expression was troubled.

“What in the world is wrong?” Levi repeated. “My cell phone rang.”

His mother’s rocking stopped. “What cell phone?”

“The one I bought to call for help if any other bad thing happened to our family.”

He waited for her to get angry, but that had been his stepfather’s way—not his mother’s.

“I understand,” Claire said. “I very much wished to have a phone in my pocket when I was lying on the floor bleeding.”

“The bishop thinks I am being rebellious.”

“You are not rebellious, but it is his duty to watch over our souls. When he dies, he knows he will be held accountable with a stricter judgment for having had that heavy responsibility laid upon him. What did he say to you?”

“I left before he could say too much.”

“You will have to destroy it now that he knows.”

“I know.”

“Who was it that called you?”

“Someone made a mistake. It was a wrong number.”

“Do you know how to use this telephone?”

“Yes.”

She rocked a little harder, thinking.

“How do you keep it—what do you call it—charged up?”

“The man at Walmart sold me a small solar-powered charger.”

“Did this phone cost much money?”

“About the cost of one of our largest baskets.”

“That is a lot to spend for something you’ll never get to use.” She rocked a little harder. “If you look inside my sewing basket there is a small piece of paper. Rose put it there. It has her telephone number on it. She said if I needed her, I could ask Grace to call and she would come. Please go get it for me.”

“Do you need Rose? Is there something wrong that I don’t know about?”

“It has only been a few hours, but already I miss her. I would like to use that forbidden phone—before you have to destroy it—to talk to my sister. I want to know if she arrived safely. I want to reassure her that I am all right. I want to tell her the good things Grace said about my recovery. It will lighten her heart. It seems a shame to throw away money on a telephone that was never used.”

“That is true.”

“In fact, it could even be considered a sin to pay good money for something and not use it.”

Levi nodded. “That also is true.”

“Is there anyone you wish to talk to, Levi? It is you who will be suffering the discipline of the bishop.”

“There is no one.”

“Then I will talk to my sister this one time—if she is
within hearing distance of her telephone shanty. Oh, and this evening would you come in a little earlier so that you can do a quick errand for me?”

“Of course. What is it you want?”

“Get one of our round market baskets, go down to the cellar, and fill the basket with two pints of elderberry jelly, two quarts of soup, a jar of those nice white peach halves, and . . . some of those sweet cherries we picked last fall over at the Beachys’ farm. Also, some eggs. There are probably several freshly laid today.”

“And what am I supposed to do with this basket?”

“Take it to Elizabeth’s. After the conversation I had with Grace today, I suspect that girl hasn’t the slightest idea how to cook. I’m afraid Elizabeth might be in need of some real nourishment.”

T
he canned soup she had bought for supper was pale, watery, and far too salty.

Just as she had opened the refrigerator, wondering if there was something else she could fix for supper, there was a knock on the back door.

She was still a little nervous about the mysterious intruder who had turned the Shetlers’ world upside down, and she approached the door cautiously. Then she saw it was Levi and opened up. He was standing back, holding a basket in his hand, and inspecting something above the porch.

“You have a gutter coming down,” he said.

“Really?” Grace stepped outside onto the porch and craned her neck. “I hadn’t noticed. I’ll have to get someone to fix that.”

“I will take care of it while I am here.”

“You don’t have to do that. You have too much work as it is.”

“It won’t take long and rain is coming.”

“Last night, the weatherman said it would be clear.”

“The weatherman is wrong,” Levi stated. “There will be rain.”

He handed her the large round basket he had been holding.

Grace was delighted. “You made another basket just for me?”

“No. Not especially for you, although you can keep it. This is the kind we sell to the tourists. I think Albert made it—you can look on the bottom later and see if his name is on it. My mother sent this for your grandmother. For some reason, she doubts that you are feeding her properly.”

At first, Grace felt a hurtful twinge, then she bit down on a laugh. Claire must have equated her wonder and amazement over the quality of their food supply with a deficiency in Elizabeth’s diet. Unfortunately, at least for tonight, Claire wasn’t too far off.

Grace looked inside the basket. The rich-looking soup, fresh brown eggs, and ruby red cherries practically took her breath away. Claire had even tucked in a loaf of Rose’s fresh bread. She closed her mouth against any protest. This was a feast, and she was hungry.

“Wow!”

“I will get your grandmother’s stepladder now,” Levi said. “Make sure Elizabeth gets a good helping of that soup. It is very nutritious.”

“I will.” She glanced up from her hungry perusal of the basket. “Do you need anything else?”

“No. I brought the necessary tools.”

Becky still wasn’t home from school and Elizabeth was napping. Grace heated the soup, sliced the bread, and ate supper alone—accompanied solely by Levi’s knees as she watched him on the stepladder outside her kitchen window.

It was nice to have company—even if it was only Levi’s knees.

Finally, just as Levi was finishing up and putting the stepladder away, Becky came home.

“Hi, sis.” She lifted the lid of the kettle that Grace had poured
her own tepid soup out of, and Claire’s rich soup into. “Smells good.”

“It’s from Claire.”

“Where’s Grandma?”

“She’s asleep. Where have you been?”

Becky began to stir the soup. “I was studying at the library.”

“Oh. Next time, call,” Grace said. “I was worried.”

“Why didn’t you call me if you were worried?”

“I kept getting your voice mail.”

“Oops.” Becky checked her cell phone. “I had it turned off. I’m really sorry.”

“I am finished.” Levi stuck his head in the kitchen door. “But I saw something from the top of that ladder you two might like to see.”

“Where is it?” Becky asked.

“Down by the fence, not far.”

Grace was intrigued. “What is it?”

“I think you will enjoy the surprise.”

Intrigued, the two girls followed him across their yard. One of Levi’s cows was standing in the newly plowed field. Evidently, it had gotten out of the pasture where Levi usually kept it. Her head was down, and she seemed to be licking something in the weeds.

“She’s a bad one for trying to go where she does not belong,” Levi said. “Perhaps she was trying to bring you a present.”

He climbed over the fence and shoved the high grass away so that Becky and she could see. There on the ground were two little brown and white calves so newborn that they were still wet.

“Twins,” Levi said proudly. “I noticed the mother giving birth to them just as I was putting the final screw in.”

One of the little things struggled to its feet and wobbled over to its mother, where it received the first nourishment outside of its mother’s womb. The other calf was so much smaller and apparently still so weak from the birthing process that it was too wobbly to stand on its own.

“Why is that one so small?” Becky asked.

“It is a runt,” Levi said. “Things like this happen when more than one calf is birthed at a time. It should be all right if we take special care of it.”

Grace was in awe.

“Would you like to name them?” Levi asked.

“What are they?” Grace asked. “Boys or girls?”

“They are little heifers.” When Levi saw the blank look on her face he added, “Girls.”