Looking for a Miracle (6 page)

Uncle Jonas and his boys left right away to help fight the fire, while Mom and Rebekah moved on to enlist the help of Uncle Lewis, Uncle Amos, and Henry.

Rebekah prayed and kept a close watch out the window to be sure there was nothing in Mom’s way. By the time they got home, the wind had subsided, and two Lancaster County fire trucks were parked in the driveway, their red lights flashing this way and that. One look at the barn told Rebekah all she needed to know. The firefighters’ efforts had been in vain—the barn had burned clean to the ground.

She glanced toward the corral and realized that Dad must have managed to save the livestock, because the cows and horses he kept inside the barn were now crowded into the corral. At least that was something for which to be grateful.

As the reality of the situation took hold, Rebekah’s eyes stung with tears, and she nearly choked on a sob. “Ach my, what will Dad do now?”

Mom reached over the seat and took hold of Rebekah’s hand. “He’ll do just as all other Amish men do whenever they lose a barn. He shall have a barn raising.”

Rebekah figured the news had spread quickly about Dad’s barn burning to the ground, for offers of help to rebuild came from far and wide, from both their English and Amish neighbors. It was a comfort to know that so many people cared about them.

“When is the barn raising going to be?” she asked Dad as the family sat around the kitchen table the following morning.

“Simon and I, and probably Amos, Jonas, and Lewis, will spend time today and tomorrow cleaning up the mess left from the fire. Many bales of hay were ruined, and those have to be disposed of, too. Then the foundation will need to be laid, and if all goes well, we should have the barn fairly well finished by next Saturday.” He pulled his fingers through the end of his beard and grunted. “I’m sorry, Rebekah, but the building of your greenhouse will have to wait awhile longer. I hope you understand.”

Rebekah felt a keen sense of disappointment, but she couldn’t let Dad know that. He had enough on his mind. She wouldn’t say anything that might cause him to feel guilty about something he couldn’t prevent. “It’s all right,” she said, forcing a smile. “Getting the new barn up is more important than anything else right now.”

“We’ll all be busy during the next several days,” Mom put in as she left the table and headed across the room to get the pot of coffee from the stove. “There will be a lot of food to prepare for the hungry crews and several errands to run as we get everything ready for the barn raising.”

Nadine, who sat across the table from Rebekah, seemed to perk right up. “Will some of the boys my age come to help raise the barn?”

“I’m sure many of the young fellows will show up with their daeds,” Dad replied. “There will be plenty of work to do, even for the younger ones.”

“Maybe I can help by bringing nails and other supplies out to the workers,” Nadine volunteered.

“She doesn’t really want to work. She just wants to flirt with the boys.” Simon reached across Rebekah and jabbed Nadine’s arm with the end of his spoon.

“There’ll be no time for flirting,” Mom said with a shake of her head. “Nadine will be kept busy helping the women that day, not the boys.”

“I always have to help the women,” Nadine mumbled.

Simon wrinkled his nose. “Oh, quit with all the
gebrutz.
”

“I’m not pouting.”

“Sure you are,” he said with a slow nod. “It seems like you’re always pouting or complaining about something these days.”

Before Nadine could respond, Dad shot them both a warning look, and they clamped their mouths shut real quick.

When Mom joined them at the table again, she touched Rebekah lightly on the shoulder. “I was thinking of hiring a driver to take me to Lancaster to do some shopping later today. If you’d like to go along, maybe we could stop by the garden center and pick out some plants for that new greenhouse of yours.”

Rebekah’s spirits lifted a bit. “Do you have time for that? I know you had planned to do some baking today.”

“Oh, that can wait until tomorrow, I expect.”

“Can I go, too?” Nadine asked with a hopeful expression.

“I’d rather you stayed home today,” Mom said. “I have some wash that should be hung, and Dad and Simon will be cleaning up the mess from the old barn so they’ll need someone here to make their lunches.”

“Does that mean you’re not gonna be home from Lancaster by lunchtime?” Nadine questioned.

Mom poured herself a cup of coffee and then one for Dad. “By the time Rebekah and I finish our shopping, it will no doubt be noon, so we’ll probably eat someplace along the way.”

Nadine crinkled her nose and leered at Rebekah. “That’s not fair. She always gets to have all the fun. I wish that I were—”

“What? You wish you were like me? Is that what you were going to say, Nadine?”

Her sister shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Come now. Would you really want to be trapped in my crippled body, limited to a wheelchair or those confining leg braces I sometimes must wear? Do you think that’s anything to be jealous of?” Rebekah’s voice had raised at least two octaves, and her hand shook as she pointed a finger at Nadine. “You don’t even know what you’re saying. Why, I’d gladly trade places with you or anyone else who could walk and run!”

Rebekah knew she was letting her emotions get the best of her, but she had already begun to say what was on her mind, and she wasn’t about to stop until she’d gotten it all said. “Someday you’ll grow up and fall in love. Then you’ll get married and have kinner. Your life will be full and complete.” She gulped on a sob. “I, on the other hand, will never marry or fall in love. So please don’t envy me or anything I might be allowed to do, because I would give almost anything if I could do all the things you’re able to do.”

Nadine’s face flushed, and without a word, she jumped up from the table and dashed out of the room.

Dad turned to Rebekah and said, “Don’t let your sister upset you. She’s young and doesn’t understand what it’s like to be in your situation. To her, it probably seems as though you get more attention and special favors, so it might help if you could be more tolerant of her, too.”

Rebekah nodded, feeling foolish for allowing her temper to get the better of her. “Jah, Dad, I know, and I’ll try to be more understanding of Nadine.”

As Rebekah and Mom rode to Lancaster in Vera’s van later that morning, Rebekah put her nose up to the open window on her side to enjoy the clean, fresh smell. Sometimes after a summer storm had left its mark, the air would turn hot and muggy. Not today, though. Today was much cooler with hardly any humidity at all. For the benefit of the men who would be working on Dad’s barn, she hoped it would stay like this until the job was done.

Rebekah’s thoughts went to her sister, and she began to fret over the way Nadine always reacted whenever she wasn’t allowed to do something Rebekah got to do. If there was only some way to make her sister understand the way things were. Rebekah wished she could be as close to Nadine as she was to Mary Ellen, but unless Nadine’s attitude changed, they were unlikely to become good friends.

As they pulled into the town of Lancaster, Rebekah pushed her thoughts aside and allowed her emotions to soar. Opening a greenhouse of her own would be the most exciting thing she had ever done. She could hardly contain herself as Vera steered the van off the main road and into the parking lot at the garden center.

Mom and Vera went around to the back of the van to get Rebekah’s wheelchair, and a short time later, Rebekah and Mom entered the store.

With a feeling of anticipation, Rebekah wheeled up and down the aisles, inspecting a variety of houseplants and outdoor foliage as she went along. “Oh, Mom,” she said excitedly, “just look at how many plants and flowers there are to choose from.”

Mom smiled. “Maybe someday you’ll have nearly as many in your own place of business.”

Rebekah sucked in a deep breath and released it quickly. “I could only wish for such a miracle.”

“I believe miracles are to be prayed for, daughter, not wished for,” Mom corrected.

Rebekah shrugged. “Well, you know what I mean.”

“Are you looking for anything in particular?” one of the clerks asked, as he stepped up to them.

Rebekah smiled at the tall, gray-haired man. “I need several of your hardiest, most reasonably priced indoor and outdoor plants.”

He chuckled. “I see we have a shrewd businesswoman here.”

Rebekah felt the heat of a blush creep up her neck. She wondered if she looked old enough or smart enough to be a businesswoman. Or did the clerk only see her as a pathetic crippled girl in a wheelchair, who needed someone to say something nice to her so she would feel better?

“I think I do know a good bargain when I see one,” she said. “So if you’ll lead the way, as we go along, I’ll decide what will best suit my needs.”

Rebekah was thankful when Mom walked slowly behind and gave her opinion only when it was asked for. If this was going to be Rebekah’s business venture, then she figured she should do as much of the decision making as possible.

It took about an hour for her to select all the plants she needed, and when Vera showed up, the clerk helped load all the boxes into the back of Vera’s van. He even offered to help Mom with Rebekah’s wheelchair.

“You did real good today,” Mom said, as she assisted Rebekah into the back seat of the van. “You got quite a few plants for the amount of money you had. I would think if you took some starts from them, you could probably double—or even triple—your investment in no time.”

Rebekah smiled and reached over to touch her mother’s arm. “You knew I was disappointed about Dad not being able to start building the greenhouse this week, didn’t you?”

“Jah, I knew.”

“And you thought this trip to town might make me feel better?”

“I hoped it would.”

“Well, it worked, because I do feel better.” Rebekah patted her stomach and grinned. “But I’d feel even better if we had something to eat.”

Mom laughed. “Vera and I talked about that earlier. We’ll have lunch somewhere on the way home, and right after that, I have one more errand I need to run.”

“Oh? What errand is that?”

“It’s going to be a surprise for someone.”

“A surprise? You can tell me, Mom. I won’t spill the beans, I promise.”

Mom placed her fingers against her mouth. “My lips are sealed.”

Rebekah was allowed to choose where they would eat lunch, and she picked a Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant near the town of Bird-in-Hand, telling Mom she never got tired of traditional Amish cooking. The three women were escorted to a long table where several other people sat. This was part of family-style dining, but Rebekah felt funny about sitting next to folks she’d never met before. She knew most of them were just curious tourists wanting to check out the Plain folks, but that didn’t make her feel any less self-conscious.

“Could we have a small table by ourselves?” she asked her mother.

Mom turned to Vera. “Is that all right with you?”

“Whatever Rebekah’s comfortable with is fine by me,” Vera said with a nod.

Mom smiled at their Mennonite hostess and said, “Would you possibly have a separate table for the three of us?”

The young woman, who was dressed in plain clothes similar to what Rebekah and Mom wore, nodded and led them to a small table near the window, then handed them each a menu.

Rebekah maneuvered her wheelchair as close to the table as possible. It wasn’t as easy as eating at home, where the big wooden table had plenty of leg room, but at least they would have some measure of privacy. “I’m just not up to people’s curious stares today,” she said to Mom and Vera when they’d taken their seats across from her.

“I don’t think folks would be staring at us,” Mom replied. “This is a Pennsylvania Dutch restaurant, remember? There are several Amish and Mennonite people eating here, too.”

Vera smiled. “Most of the help are Plain People, as well.”

“I know, but I was thinking more about them staring at me—my disability,” Rebekah said with a grimace.

Mom reached across the table and patted Rebekah’s hand. “Try not to worry so much about what other people think. Not everyone in the world stares at people with disabilities, you know.” She shrugged. “Even if they should stare, how can it really hurt?”

Rebekah fingered her silverware, pushing her knife and spoon together and then apart again. “It makes me feel uncomfortable when they look at me, that’s all.”

Another young Mennonite woman came to take their order. “We have two choices for the Dutch family-style lunch,” she explained. “One is roast beef, which also comes with baked country sausage, mashed potatoes, green beans, chowchow, pork and sauerkraut, pepper cabbage, and homemade bread.” She paused a moment, then added, “The other menu includes baked ham, fried chicken, bread filling, applesauce, pickled beets, noodles in brown gravy, sweet potatoes, creamed corn, bread-and-butter pickles, and homemade rolls.” She stopped again and drew in a deep breath. “The beverages we have to offer are coffee, hot tea, iced tea, lemonade, and milk. The choice of desserts for both meals is the same: carrot cake, shoofly pie, cherry crumb pie, tapioca pudding, apple crumb pie, vanilla ice cream, German chocolate cake, and pumpkin roll.”

“Ach! With either meal there’s so much food to eat,” Mom exclaimed. “It’s a hard choice to make—that’s for sure.” She nodded at Rebekah. “What would you like?”

“I think I’d prefer the one that includes baked ham and bread filling. I could eat tasty filling until the cows come home.”

Mom glanced at Vera. “Which meal appeals to you?”

“The second one is fine for me,” Vera told the waitress.

As soon as the woman walked away, Mom leaned across the table and whispered to Rebekah, “You know, I may have to borrow that wheelchair of yours when we leave this place.”

Rebekah squinted. “Huh?”

“They might have to wheel me out of here because I’ll be too full to walk.”

Rebekah giggled. It felt good to spend the day with Mom like this. She could understand why her sister might be a bit jealous, but Nadine got to do so many other things—things Rebekah couldn’t do. She hoped by now that Nadine had forgotten about the little argument they’d had this morning and had found something to feel positive about. Knowing her little sister, she was probably daydreaming about some boy already.

In no time at all, the food started coming, and whenever one bowl emptied, the waitress was there to fill it up again. Rebekah ate until she couldn’t take another bite, and as they left the restaurant, she figured none of them would need any supper that night.

“Where would you like to go while I’m on my secret errand?” Mom asked, helping Rebekah into the van.

Rebekah shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the bookstore. I might find something there on caring for plants or possibly on business management.”

“That sounds fine,” Mom agreed. “We’ll drop you off first; then Vera can take me to my errand. We’ll be back in half an hour or so.”

“Okay, Mom.”

The bookstore was only a few blocks away, and soon they had pulled up to the brick storefront. Mom went around and got out the wheelchair; then she helped Rebekah into it, walked to the front of the bookstore, and held the door open. “See you soon, sweet daughter.”