throat.
Watch over her, Lord, and keep her safe, she whispered and then pawed through the rest of the mail.
“A letter from Dr. Weller,” she announced, pulling it from the business envelope.
Daniel glanced up from the farm commodity prices. “What’s he got to say? Is he begging you to come back to work? If you return to midwifery, we can use the five thousand in our savings account toward school tuition for Isaiah.”
She studied him for a moment. They had had this particular discussion about her retirement several times. She wasn’t comfortable placing herself in a precarious situation again—for the new mother or for herself. What if the doctor wasn’t able to come when needed? Plain women had the habit of calling the midwife first and anybody else only when things went haywire. History could easily repeat itself if she went back because Dr. Weller was spread too thin to be counted on arriving anywhere on time.
Shaking off an uncomfortable feeling, Abby silently read the typed letter from her friend and former mentor, and then she stared at the sheet long after she finished.
Daniel scrambled to his feet and began pulling lunchmeat and cheese from the refrigerator drawer. “Looks like a man must fend for himself when his fraa receives so much urgent correspondence.”
Abby scanned the letter’s contents a second time before dropping it to the countertop. She reached for the bread and a tomato from the windowsill as hope and joy filled her heart. “Doc Weller has hired a new employee,” she stated, slicing the tomato. “Apparently, a licensed midwife has moved to the area.”
Silence spun out in the drowsy-warm room. Then Daniel asked, “To Shreve?”
“Jah. She’s a registered nurse who worked in a Columbus hospital for twenty years in the ER. Her husband has retired, and they have bought a small farm outside town. He wishes to try his hand at raising alpacas.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him.
Daniel snorted. “Dumb as sheep, those critters, but I guess you can get a decent price for their wool. I’ve heard some Plain folk have jumped on that bandwagon as well.”
“But they have faces cute enough to kiss. Anyway, this nurse wants only to deliver babies in the Amish community, a sort of a semiretirement. She grew up Mennonite but left the faith during college.” Abby chewed on her lower lip to steady her nerves.
“This nurse thinks attending expectant women in Wayne County would be akin to retirement? Does she have any idea what the birthrate is among the Amish?” His laughter filled the house and spilled out the open windows.
Abby chuckled too, remembering the time she had spent twenty-four hours waiting for a baby who refused to make a timely appearance. “If a person fully understood how perilous the journey is, no one would take that first step.” She placed the bread and vegetables on the table and bowed her head to give thanks.
When she looked up she met her husband’s gaze. “What else does Doc Weller say?” he asked.
“He wants me to assist the new midwife to lessen his workload. He doesn’t want to be dragged out at all hours of the night to deliver healthy babies to healthy women. He wants me to come back to work.” Abby lowered her voice to not betray her emotions.
“What do you plan to do, Abigail?” Daniel asked as he put his sandwich together.
“I thought you wanted me to stop working, to no longer be on call all hours of the day and night. You said you wanted me home tending my family.”
“That was before Judge O’Neil slapped you with a five-thousand-dollar fine.”
“Is it because of the amount of the fine? That’s why you wish me to go back?” Disappointment welled in her belly. Daniel had never been overly motivated by money before.
“No. Using our savings to help Isaiah attend that school would be an added benefit, that’s all.” He laid his sandwich on the plate. “What I want is for you to be happy.”
She was quick to defend herself. “I’m happy providing for my family and raising my kinner. I don’t need to work to find contentment.”
“I know that, but I also know you love bringing babies into the world. And you were good at it. Not everyone has the patience or the stomach to sit through long, drawn-out labors. Don’t be in a hurry to dismiss this, Abby. A licensed midwife moving to Shreve changes everything, so don’t doubt or second-guess yourself. If your heart leads you back to work,