Jake jerked at the sound of Harvey’s voice, as if he’d been deep in thought or prayer.
“We’re here to support you and Ruth. How is your dat?”
“He’s still alive.” Jake looked to be in agony—drained of all energy. I felt like rushing over to embrace him, but I restrained myself. Comforting and counsel were Harvey’s domains. Nothing I’d done in the past had made a whit of difference.
Beatrice and I found seats and waited for maybe an hour. Time moved in slow motion. It appeared as if Harvey and Jake were praying.
I started to get up, but Beatrice patted my knee. “We shouldn’t interrupt them.” She sent me a dubious smile. “It looks as though all your worries about tonight’s supper were for naught.”
“Ach, do you think his daughters are waiting for us?”
“No, he called their phone shanty. One of them was close by and answered. I’m sure this family is used to his comings and goings, always serving others.”
“Being married to a man of God would have its challenges.” I thought about Harvey’s deceased wife. Did it take a terminal disease to garner his full attention?
“Some women enjoy the stature of being married to a bishop or minister, but I’ve heard few desire that privilege. When a man gets baptized, he promises to serve if chosen by lot—God, that is.”
“Meaning that if Jake got baptized, he’d have to make that commitment to be available too?”
“Yes, but only married men in excellent standing with the church can be nominated by a secret ballot. No offense to Jake, but I can’t see that happening with him. Although age will temper a man the way heat does metal.”
“Could a man nominate himself?”
“Possibly, but I doubt many do. I’m the wrong person to ask. Harvey’s the expert, not me.”
She glanced across the room as Ruth came out of a door and shuffled toward Jake and Harvey. Beatrice and I stood and joined them.
“It’s all my fault.” Ruth’s voice quavered. “I never should have brought him home from the trauma unit so early to begin with. The doctors warned me not to.” She looked at Jake. “And Jake told me to call if I needed him.”
“I should’ve been checking on him more often,” he said, his voice flat. “I knew you might need me.” Moisture glazed his eyes.
“I couldn’t ask for your help while you were busy working in the field.”
“The past is behind us,” Harvey said. “No use punishing yourself about it. You did what you thought was best.”
Beatrice touched Ruth’s arm. “How is Amos? What’s going on?”
“He’s having X-rays. I wanted to be in the room with him, but the technician told me to wait out here. Someone will come and get me.”
“Is he awake?” I asked.
Ruth slipped an arm around my shoulders. “Yah, praise the Lord. I was afraid he was slipping away from us again, but he came around as soon as he was in Jake’s car. He was in terrible pain. I should’ve called for an ambulance. I didn’t know what to do. Anyway, Jake drove us here.”
“It looks as though you and Jake have handled the situation well,” Beatrice said. “You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”
“For the moment.” Jake’s posture sagged, his neck bent. “Now we wait. Not my best personality trait, as you know.”
“Each of us is flawed,” Harvey said. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.”
I wondered if Harvey was referring to me. Waiting for others was all I seemed to do.
While speaking in hushed tones, Harvey steered Jake back to the two empty chairs, and the men sat down. Their heads tipped together as they conversed and prayed.
Beatrice stepped out of the waiting room to use her phone. When she returned, she told me Stephen was coming to get her. “I called to explain the situation so he could take care of the dogs, and he offered to drop by the hospital to fetch me. You, too, if you need a ride.”
I tallied up my other options. “Absolutely, yes.”
“Stephen has become the son I never had,” Beatrice said. “Not that I’d wish to take the place of his adoptive parents, who love him dearly.”
A nurse carrying a clipboard appeared and glided over to Ruth. “Are you Mrs. Miller?”
“Ruth, the nurse is talking to you,” Beatrice said.
“Oh?”
“The doctor wants to speak to you now,” the nurse said.
Ruth looked over to Jake, who rose to his feet and joined her.
“The nurse’s serious expression gives me the impression she’s about to report bad news,” I said to Harvey. “What if Amos dies?”
“Amos has always been a strong man,” he said. “Perhaps too strong for his own gut. But now he must rely on Gott and others to care for him.”
Twenty minutes later, Jake plodded back into the waiting room. “You can come in and visit him now if you wish. I should warn you he’s not doing well. He has a fractured rib, which causes outrageous pain. They’ve given him enough medication to practically knock him out.”
As we followed Jake, the smell of disinfectant grew.
A doctor and Ruth met us at Amos’s door before allowing us entrance. “Falling after a head injury is not that uncommon.” The bald man glanced to Ruth. “I explained this to Mrs. Miller when she insisted on taking her husband home so soon. Today, my advice is to keep him here for several days until he stabilizes.”
Ruth let out a sigh of relief. “Yah, that sounds like a good idea.”
“You might want to consider a convalescent center.” The doctor ran his hand over his head.
“Run by Englischers? No, he wouldn’t like that. No offense meant, Doctor. We certainly appreciate your care.”
He bobbed his head as if he’d heard that sentiment before and was not offended. “There’s a Mennonite nursing home not too far away,” he said as we moved inside.
“We can’t afford the cost. And he might think we’ve given up on him and
