Trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach, Lena made her way upstairs, forcing herself to think only of her siblings, wishing they could have celebrated with her, too.
CHAPTER
29
A few days later, on a beautiful, fragrant Monday morning, after Lena had taken a short break from the sewing room to check the washing on the line, she noticed Mimi out sitting on her prayer bench, hands folded in her lap and her face turned heavenward. Lena hoped the woman was feeling better this morning.
Mimi had experienced an upset stomach over the weekend, so much so that yesterday afternoon she’d had to leave the kitchen to lie down for an hour or so. Then later, Lena had been alarmed when Mimi suddenly called out in pain from her bedroom, holding her right side as she hobbled through the kitchen to the back door, where she called for Harley, who was in the barn for milking.
“I’ll go and get him,” Lena had said, rushing out.
By the time Harley arrived, Lena right behind him, Mimi was sitting at the kitchen table saying she might need to see a doctor. Harley was all for it, but within a few minutes, Mimi had made a turn for the better and no longer seemed frightened. Harley suggested she take it easy and let Lena fix supper. So Mimi had been doing less since then, drinking peppermint tea and eating small amounts of chicken-and-rice soup. She’d said she felt some better after the rest and pampering her stomach.
Presently, however, Lena was keeping her eye on Mimi, who looked rather peaceful there on the prayer bench, the sunlight warming her dear face. O Lord, grant Mimi a day free of pain, I pray.
Lena decided to bring her sewing outdoors, where she could sit with Mimi. “How are ya feelin’ now?” she asked, offering to get her something to sip on. “More tea, maybe?”
“I’ll be all right,” Mimi said, looking paler than normal. Her arms were folded tightly over her stomach. “I don’t want ya to fuss over me.”
“Not fussin’ . . . I care about you.” Lena spotted Harley coming this way. “Very much.”
All of a sudden, Mimi gasped and clasped her chest, and a feeling of dread seized Lena—this was no stomach bug.
Harley was at his wife’s side in an instant. It was clear from her moans that Mimi was in serious pain. Immediately, Harley hollered at Eli to get on one of the horses and ride “right quick” to the Grants’. “Call an ambulance. Hurry!”
With a horrified glance at his mother, Eli did as instructed without delay. In the same moment, Harley came around and lifted his wife in his arms and carried her swiftly into the house as Lena held the door for them.
Lena’s heart was pounding and, feeling ever so anxious, she began to call upon the Lord for help. Please take care of dear Mimi. Oh, please!
The emergency room was an unnerving place for all of them, particularly poor Mimi, who’d never spent a single day in a hospital and was now surrounded by doctors and nurses. One of the doctors had talked quietly with Harley, informing him that Mimi was suffering a gallbladder attack, one severe enough to warrant emergency surgery.
Despite Harley’s protests that both women needn’t stay all night, Lena and Ada remained with Mimi during the long hours immediately following the invasive abdominal surgery. As for Harley himself, they urged him to return home to get some rest. “She’ll need ya to be strong for her, Dat,” Ada told him.
Barring any complications, Mimi would be in the hospital for three to four days, which meant Lena would need to do all she could around the house. During the daylight hours, she would cook and keep up with the sewing as much as possible before heading off to the hospital. That first evening, she and Ada and Tessa took turns sitting by Mimi, whose sisters and daughters-in-law also rallied to her side. In fact, the whole family agreed that she must have someone with her during her waking hours, hospital or no.
On the second afternoon following Mimi’s surgery, Lena received an amazing letter from Aunt Mary Schwartz in Centreville, saying she knew of a young woman in the church district who needed a live-in mother’s helper. I believe we’ve found a way for you to return home, dear Lena! Aunt Mary had written. Remember Darlene Wickey? Well, her doctor has just ordered bed rest for the next six weeks till her second baby is due. Darlene and her husband need someone right quick to look after two-year-old Katie Ann. I took the liberty of telling her I was real sure you’d want to do this. Please write immediately and let me know.
“Would I want to?” Lena said aloud, thrilled at this opportunity. Glory be! she thought, twirling around the kitchen. “I’m goin’ home!”
Running upstairs, she pressed Aunt Mary’s letter close to her chest and dashed to her stationery drawer. “Oh, this is the best news ever!”
Sitting down, she immediately wrote her answer, then pushed the letter into an envelope and addressed it. I don’t need to think twice about this! She hoped she might borrow the buggy from Cousin Harley. I must get to the post office before the evening mail goes.
Just then, she remembered that Harley and Eli were milking the herd. She wouldn’t bother them; she would need to wait till tomorrow’s mail.
So she headed back to the kitchen, where she pulled out Mimi’s cookbook to find something interesting to make for supper. As she flipped through the pages, her exhilaration faded as reality
