Neighbors Of Lancaster County: Amish Weddings Part 7

Lila frowned. If Rose was injured, Dat wouldn't be sending her off somewhere else. But maybe it was more than that-maybe he didn't want Lila in the house. Maybe he thought it would be too much for all of them. She blinked back her tears. Maybe if she were his biological daughter, like Rose was, Dat would feel differently.

"We need to decide tonight," Zane said.

"I'll go do some paper work," the doctor said. "Send one of the nurses for me once you've made up your mind. Then I'll write the needed orders."

Lila and Zane both thanked the doctor at the same time. As he left, Shani stepped into the room. "What's the matter?"

"Has anyone asked Rose? Maybe she would be fine caring for me at our house. It wouldn't be too hard to carry me in, just once. Right?" Then again, even though the nurses were trained and had experience, they still jostled her in ways that made the pain worse. Getting carried into the house and having Rose care for her might mean more pain. Still, she wondered what Rose was willing to do. "We could call the barn phone," she said. "And hope she's still out there and answers."

"She should be done with the milking by now," Dat answered.

"Trevor said he planned to help today." Zane looked at his mom. "You could call his cell-he could go tell Rose to call."

"Who else was helping with the milking, besides Trudy?" Shani asked.

Zane's face reddened. "I didn't ask."

Dat crossed his arms. "Maybe Reuben."

Shani took out her cell phone. "I'll call the barn first." When no one answered, she dialed the second number, stepping to the corner of the room. Lila overheard her say, "Okay. We'll see you soon."

As she hung up, Shani said, "They're on their way here."

Lila shifted her focus to Dat. His arms were still crossed, and his lips turned down into a frown. "Where's Trudy?" Lila asked.

Dat stayed silent, but Shani answered, "Trevor said Beth brought supper over. She's staying with her."

"Oh," Lila said. She hadn't thought about Beth and her ill ex-husband since the accident. She glanced at Dat. He shrugged and then asked, "Why is Rose getting a ride with the Englischer?"

Shani slipped her phone into her purse. "Trevor said she's been wanting to see Lila again, before she went to rehab."

Dat didn't respond, but he didn't look happy.

Shani had a concerned look on her face but didn't say anything more about Rose. "I'm going to go get a coffee. Anyone else want one?"

Dat said he'd go with her.

Once they left, Lila patted the side of the bed and Zane sat down next to her, careful not to b.u.mp her or the fixator. "Don't you think it would be best if you were in our house? That way it would be easier for me to see you every day. For Trudy too. For everyone, really."

Lila agreed, resigning herself to the idea. "I can see the little house would work, but home is still my first choice."

Zane's face fell. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings.

Tears filled Lila's eyes.

"Baby," he said.

She leaned toward him.

"What is it?"

"Everything. My injuries." There was no telling how bad the damage was. When she asked if she'd be able to carry a Bobbli someday, the doctor told her she should discuss that with an obstetrics doctor in a couple of months. "Having to depend on other people. I don't want your mom to miss work."

"She'd do anything for you," Zane said. "You know that."

Lila blinked back tears. She did know that.

"It will all work out," Zane said.

A sob caught Lila off guard.

Zane put his face next to hers.

"I'm sorry," she said. "This has affected your work. And now you have more to do on the house, if I go there." Another sob shook her, pulling against the fixator. She took a deep breath. "Maybe I should just go to the rehab place. It'll be easier on everyone." Especially Dat.

"But it won't be," Zane said. "All of us will have to travel to see you. The one that would work best is farther away than the hospital." He stroked her forehead. "And it will be more expensive. This way will be more economical."

"Really?" She hadn't thought of the money involved. "But won't the insurance have to pay?"

Zane didn't respond.

"What is it?"

"It's probably not a big deal, but the guy who hit you is saying Billie veered out in front of him and pulled the buggy into the middle of the road."

That wasn't how she remembered it. She heard someone behind her, then felt the impact. The next thing she could recall was flying through the windshield and over the top of Billie. She couldn't imagine she would have allowed the horse to step to the left. "Billie was doing such a good job that day. He didn't spook once."

"I'm guessing a deputy will ask you some questions about the accident, sometime soon. Just tell them what happened."

She nodded. "How is Billie?" She'd been afraid to ask until now, afraid he'd died or had been put down and no one wanted to tell her.

"He's at your place. All things considered, he's doing pretty well. Your Dat's concerned about his right foreleg, but there's no verdict yet. It's not broken, just sprained."

Lila knew a lame horse wasn't worth anything, but she couldn't bear the thought of Billie being put down. Zane would be the one to make the decision though-not Dat. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

She closed her eyes, feeling sick that perhaps she was in some way responsible for the accident, that she'd done that to Billie. To herself. And she guessed her medical bills could deplete the church's mutual aid fund in no time.

Each year, Dat paid money into a fund that included Amish families from districts throughout the county to cover any accident expenses. If it did turn out to be her fault, the fund would pay for whatever damage was done to the driver's SUV-but not for Zane's buggy. She closed her eyes.

Why would the man say Billie pulled out in front of him if he hadn't? Could she have forgotten what happened before the accident, due to her injuries? Or maybe because of her concussion. Or even from the trauma of everything that happened.

She must have fallen asleep, because the next thing she knew Rose was in the room, saying, "How is she?"

"Better." Zane sounded groggy. Perhaps he'd dozed too. "We need to talk about her going home."

"She's coming home?" Rose asked.

"We're trying to figure it out," Zane answered.

"But Dat said she couldn't come home."

"We're thinking about the little house," Zane said. "We'll set things up in the living room. I'll put a toilet and sink in the half bath."

Lila opened her eyes and nudged Zane with her elbow. She didn't want him to say any more without knowing she was awake. "Hi, Rose," she said, looking up at her sister.

Trevor stood against the wall. He waved his hand in greeting but didn't say anything.

Lila shifted her gaze back to Rose. "Dat went to get coffee, but when he comes back he wants to talk with you about helping Shani take care of me."

Rose took a step backward. "Already?" Rose shot Trevor a helpless look. He shrugged. She turned her attention back to Lila. "I thought you were going to a rehab place."

"That was a possibility," Lila said. "But there seems to be a consensus that closer to home is preferable for several reasons, including financial."

Zane explained his mom would do as much of the caregiving as possible. "But she'd need help."

Rose wrinkled her nose as Dat came back into the room with Shani, both holding cups of coffee. Without Dat saying anything, Rose took the defense. "I wanted to see Lila. I thought she was going to a rehab place, and I wouldn't see her for a while."

"Jah, that's what I wanted to talk with you about," Dat said.

"Lila told me. You want her to come home to Juneberry Lane."

"To the house Zane built," Dat said. "I think that would be better than our house. Don't you think?"

Rose nodded.

"Lila wants to make sure you're in agreement to help care for her though, either way."

Lila sank into the bed. That wasn't exactly what she'd wanted to know-she'd hoped Rose would care for her at home.

"I could help more with the ch.o.r.es," Trevor said.

"But you won't be around." Shani stepped to the end of the bed. "You'll be staying at Charlie and Eve's, starting tomorrow night."

Lila hadn't heard that, and she wondered at it. Perhaps Shani was worried about Trevor spending too much time with Rose. Charlie and Eve had a lot going on with the baby, but maybe everyone felt it would be better for Trevor to stay there anyway.

"I can drive over to help with the milking," Trevor said. "Until I find a job."

Lila hadn't realized he planned to stay in the area. She thought he was just pa.s.sing through.

"The issue at hand is whether Rose can help care for Lila. We need to decide now, so the doctor can write the orders if, in fact, she goes to the rehab place," Zane said.

A look of panic pa.s.sed over Rose's face but then she said, "Of course I can help. And I expected to, though not this soon. But if Shani shows me what to do, I'll do it."

"It's settled, then," Dat said. "Lila will come home tomorrow, to the new house. I'll go find the doctor to tell him."

Lila closed her eyes. Dat didn't want her home. Maybe the stress of her being injured was getting to be too much for him.

The next day, Zane wheeled Lila through the front door of their house in a special tilted chair the doctor had ordered to accommodate the fixator. In front of them, on top of the braided rug, was a single bed with a sort of adjustable backrest on it, covered with the quilt her Mamm had made. Next to it was a high table on wheels, like in the hospital, and Joel's recliner. Zane either moved everything the night before or early that morning. But she doubted he'd started the fire that crackled in the wood stove.

"Oh, isn't it cozy in here?" Shani entered after Lila and Zane.

A giggle almost escaped from Lila. Not only was Zane not carrying her over the threshold, but his mother was with them. And besides that, they weren't even married. It wasn't at all what they'd planned.

She thought of the addressed wedding invitations, probably still on her dresser. Everything had changed.

"I bet you're tired," Shani said, stepping to the side of the wheelchair, the bag from the hospital, filled with bedpans and warm socks, and a plastic pitcher in her hands. "Let's get you to bed."

Lila squinted in the dim light. The sheets were turned back over the shadow quilt. She guessed Zane had brought it down from the bedroom, but he wouldn't have turned the bedding back like that.

She'd thought perhaps her Dat had made the fire, but there was no way he'd turned the bedding back. She doubted Rose had either.

"Who got everything ready?" Lila asked as Zane transferred her from the chair into the bed, and then tucked pillows behind her back.

"Eve," Shani answered. "She left food too."

"I'm not hungry," Lila said.

"You still have to eat," Shani answered. "Oh, and my freezer is full too, from all the women in your district dropping off bread, soups, and ca.s.seroles. They're amazing."

Lila's eyes filled with tears again, this time from grat.i.tude, as a knock fell on the door. Zane stepped toward it as Shani tucked a pillow under Lila's knees, to take pressure off her pelvis, making the fixator stick up even more under the quilt. It looked as if a small table had been placed on top of her, under the bedding.

A draft of cold air swept into the house as Rose said, "Is she here?"

Lila turned her head toward her sister. She wasn't removing her bonnet. It didn't look as if she planned to stay.

"I was hoping you'd come by," Shani said, stepping away from the bed. "I wanted to work out a schedule. Come on into the kitchen."

As Zane sat down on the edge of the bed, another knock sounded, and then the door came open. Lila expected her Dat. Instead it was Trevor.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep," Zane answered, turning to Lila. "Trevor's giving me a ride to the job site so I can get a half day in."

She nodded. He needed to work, not just for the money but to keep his job too.

"I'll stop by as soon as I'm home. I hooked up the toilet, but not the sink yet. I'll work on that." He must have bought the toilet on his way home from the hospital last night and then installed it this morning.

Lila nodded again. He took her hand and squeezed it, and then started toward the door. Rose had stepped from the kitchen and gave Trevor a smile. Lila couldn't see how the man reacted.

Another draft of cold air swept through the room, and then the door closed.

"Rose?" Shani said.

"Coming." Rose turned back toward the kitchen.

Lila closed her eyes. Never would she have guessed she'd spend her first day-who was she kidding? Six weeks at least-in her new house in a single bed in the living room. She wished she could curl up into a ball, but that was out of the question. She couldn't move to her side either. All she could do was stay on her back. Instead she clutched the extra pillow to her chest. This time she didn't stop the tears. They seeped out of her closed eyes and trickled down the sides of her face.

She woke to Rose telling Shani, "I'll come back before you pick up Trudy and Adam."