Save my baby. Don’t worry about me. This was my choice and I have no regrets. Ruth’s words had etched themselves into her brain like an overexposed photograph. By the time her mare clip-clopped up the driveway, Abby felt physically and emotionally drained.
Daniel had heard the approach of her buggy and left milking his cows to come greet her. With one glance at her face, he grabbed the horse’s bridle with a strong hand. “Whoa,” he commanded. “What happened?”
She stepped down on wobbly legs and threw herself into his arms, forgetting about her bag of supplies and her clothes for the burn pile. “Oh, Daniel, I did everything I could. I did more than I should have, but we lost her…we lost the mother, Mrs. Fisher.”
“And the baby? How’s the child?”
“The baby is fine, but they waited too long to call an ambulance. I told Nathan Fisher to do so on the phone, but he refused. So I called 9-1-1, but because of the pileup on the interstate, they arrived too late to save her.” Gulps and shallow breaths punctuated her words.
He pressed a finger to her lips to stem her rambling. “Easy now. Take a deep breath.”
After she complied, gasping and hiccupping, he said, “You go take a hot shower and crawl into bed. You look faint from exhaustion. Anything more you want to tell me can wait until tomorrow…later on today, actually.” The pink sun rising over the eastern fields heralded more good weather for Wayne County farmers. Without another word, she allowed herself to be led into the house.
Abby stood under the shower spray until the moist heat relieved her sore muscles and made her so drowsy she fell asleep with a bath towel still wrapped around her wet hair.
And, blessedly, she dreamed of nothing at all.
Two
One would think a person would be well rested after eleven hours of sleep, but Abby awoke tired in both body and spirit. Her back ached as she swung her feet out of the empty bed. Her legs felt heavy and stiff as she padded down the hall to the bathroom.
It wasn’t until she was washed and dressed that she thought, Where are my kinner? A growing sense of alarm quickly replaced her grogginess. Why didn’t they wake me with their usual morning enthusiasm? “Jake? Laura? Where are you?” She poured every ounce of her energy into her summons, but the sound merely echoed off the walls of the silent house.
“Daniel!” she called from the kitchen window. Her belly churned with unease. With great relief, she spotted her husband on the path from the livestock barn to the house.
“No need to holler yourself hoarse, fraa,” he said while still twenty paces off. “All is well. I took them to the neighbor’s house for the day so you could get some sleep. Telling those two to stay out of our room would be like putting a stack of hamburgers on a doghouse and telling the dog ‘no.’”
Abby grinned at the mental picture he described, feeling her heart rate ratchet down to an acceptable level. “Danki. I suppose I needed the rest, but I didn’t mean to sleep so long. Have you had your lunch? What about your breakfast? Surely you’re not out there working on an empty stomach.”
Daniel followed her into the kitchen and lit the burner under the coffeepot. “I know this will surprise you, Abigail, but I can fry up bacon and eggs and make some ham-and-cheese sandwiches for my lunch. I only allow you to fuss over me because I like it.” He winked at her mischievously. “Sit down. Let’s have some coffee. You look like you could use half the pot.”
Abby set the pitcher of milk on the table along with two mugs. She collected her thoughts while he filled their cups. Then, with as few details as necessary, she told Daniel about the events of the previous night.
He listened without interruption while sipping his coffee. “Do you think the boppli will thrive?” he asked after she finished her tragic story.
“Jah, he was a sound baby boy. The paramedic said the baby was healthy, but he still wanted to admit him at the hospital to make sure he took to a bottle and formula. Mr. Fisher agreed and rode along in the ambulance.”
Daniel nodded with a sage pull on his beard. “Did the Fishers have other little ones running around the house?”