Adoring Addie (26 page)

“What's going on?” Daed asked.

George was out of breath as he spoke. “We couldn't find Jonathan last night so we went and got Mervin and Martin this morning—and then decided to come here.”

“So”—my eyes found Timothy—“you're all friends now?”

He shrugged. “Well, I was still thinking about getting even last night, even after you were hurt. But we hashed it out when we grabbed these guys.” He jerked his thumb toward Mervin and Martin. “It was a misunderstanding, really.”

“Jah,” Mervin said. “At that party when we told him to leave Tabitha alone it was because he'd been drinking, but—”

Timothy interrupted. “I thought it was because I was a Cramer.”

I wanted to shake my head in disbelief, but the neck brace stopped me.

“Jah,” Martin said, stepping forward where I could see him. “We're really sorry for the part we played in all of this. And that you got hurt, Addie.”

“But there's still the problem with our Dats, jah?” Timothy turned toward Daed.

“And your drinking,” I said.

Timothy shook his head.

“No, it's true.” My voice grew stronger. “You have a problem.”

He crossed his arms and the room froze.

“Addie . . .” Mutter said.

But Daed said, “Son, your Schwester is right. It's time we sought some help. I'm afraid where this might end if we don't.”

“You don't know what your talking about.” Timothy's eyes narrowed.

“Listen to your Dat,” Mervin and Martin said in unison.

“Jah,” George said. “You're lucky you didn't hurt someone when you had your accident. You've got to stop.”

Danny, Mervin, Martin, and George all started talking at the same time as Timothy backed away from the foot of the bed.

“Quiet!” I didn't recognize the voice, but then a new nurse, middle-aged with short dark hair and a scowl that rivaled Mutter's, appeared behind Timothy. “What happened to you all being a peaceful lot?”

Before anyone could answer, she put her hands on her hips. “Everybody out!” she ordered.

“Everybody?” Mutter said.

“Addie can choose one of you to stay.”

Jonathan stood.

“No,” I said. “Don't go.”

He shook his head. “I'll come back. I should go talk this out with your Dat and Bruders. And with Mervin and Martin too.”

“Good,” Mutter said. “Because I'm staying.”

The men filed out as the nurse said, “There's a conference room to the right you can use.”

“Denki,” Jonathan said, the last to leave.

Mutter closed the door behind him and settled down on the edge of the bed. “You've really made a mess of things,” she said.

This time I kept my eyes open. “All these years I felt as if what I wanted didn't matter—as if what I needed didn't matter. But I finally found something that matters more than being who you want me to be.”

She inched closer to me. “The Lord says to honor your parents.”

“Jah, but pleasing isn't honoring.”

“What do you mean?”

“You've been trying to manipulate me all along when it came to Jonathan Mosier. And now I know why.”

Her face reddened.

Before I could say more, my door flew open again—Dirk Mosier stood with his hat in his hands.

His face fell. “Addie. Laurel. Sorry,” he muttered. “I thought Jonathan was here.”

“He is,” I answered. “In the room next door.”

He closed the door quickly.

Mutter's face had turned from red to white as the door
closed. “What do you mean,” she said, turning to me, “that honoring your parents isn't the same as pleasing them?”

“Honoring you means to respect you—which I do. But it also means putting my trust in God, not in you and Daed.” I took a deep breath. “Pleasing you means to make you happy. That's not up to me.”

“Who told you that?”

I hesitated and then said, “I came up with it on my own. But the ideas came from a conversation with Hannah.”

Mutter rolled her eyes. “I knew they shouldn't have taken her to that place.”

“It probably saved her life.”

Mutter shook her head.

“Back to what I was talking about before we were—”

Someone knocked on the door, and Mutter bounced from the bed and hurried to open it.

“I came as soon as Nell told me.” It was Onkel Bob's voice, but I couldn't see him. “How is she?”

Mutter opened the door wider. Onkel Bob, his face full of concern, stepped to the end of the bed, followed by Aenti Nell.

“I'm fine,” I said to my Onkel, wincing a little as I spoke. “But we need your help. Daed and Dirk and all the boys are in the conference room next door. Could you join them?”

Onkel Bob glanced at Mutter, who was back at my side. She shrugged. I nodded, as best I could with the neck collar on.

“Jah,” Onkel Bob said. “I'm happy to do what I can.”

“Denki,” I whispered, waving my hand at Aenti Nell and then closing my eyes against the throbbing in my head.

“You should wait in the hall,” Mutter said to my Aenti. I didn't have the energy to say it was okay if she stayed in the room.

I sensed Mutter settling into the chair against the wall, keeping her distance from me. “I'll let you rest,” she said.

Sleep sent me back down to the creek, this time at night, chasing fireflies with Jonathan.

Mutter's plan to let me rest—and my dream—lasted until Dirk Mosier's voice startled both of us.

“Let's ask Laurel,” he said from the hall.

I opened my eyes.

“I'll get her.” It was Daed, stepping into my room. “Come with me,” he said to Mutter, as serious as I'd ever seen him.

“No.” It was time for me to take charge of our two chaotic households. “Tell the others to come back in here.” I struggled to sit up a little more in the bed.

Daed gave Mutter a questioning look. She shook her head. “I'll go with Daed.”

“No.” My voice was firm.

“Addie, this is too much stress,” Daed said to me.

“It will be more stressful if you don't.”

It sounded as if Mutter sat back down in the chair, but I didn't try to turn my head to make sure. Daed's footsteps fell across the linoleum.

The boys came in first. Timothy, George, and Danny stopped at the end of my bed, while Jonathan stepped to the side closest to my head, followed by Mervin and Martin.

Onkel Bob entered next and stood next to Martin, followed by Dirk, and then Daed, who stepped to the side by Mutter. Finally Aenti Nell came in, stopping at the wall beyond the end of my bed.

Onkel Bob cleared his throat. “It seems as if it's time for
me to meddle.” He paused for a moment. “We'll start with the question Dirk has for Laurel.”

I couldn't see any of them, just my Bruders at the end of the bed.

“Why did you blame me for those letters?” Dirk asked.

Mutter's voice sounded teary. “I didn't. Others did. Because of the words. And the handwriting. Cap was sure it was you.”

A bolt of pain shot through my head.

“There's no use rehashing all of this,” Daed said. “It happened years ago.”

“I was wrongly accused,” Dirk said. “And the one person who could have spoken up for me didn't.” He glared at my Daed.

I turned my head as much as I could toward my parents. “Mutter,” I said. “Daed already knows. So do I. We read the letters.”

Her face grew as white as the sheets on my bed.

“Go on,” I said. “We both still love you. But you should tell the truth.”

She opened her mouth and then gulped, as I imagined someone about to drown might do.

Daed put his arm around her.

She patted her apron pocket and slipped her hand into it, taking something out. When she unfolded it, I realized it was the empty envelope from the night before.

“I found this in your room,” she said. “This morning. On the floor. I searched all over for the letters. When I couldn't find them I hoped I'd destroyed them years ago.”

I turned my gaze to Daed.

“I did, last night,” he said.

Mutter's voice was barely audible. “So you believe I wrote them, then?”

Daed didn't answer.

She held up the envelope, turning it first to Onkel Bob and then to Dirk. “Jah,” she said. “I did. But I didn't mean to implicate Dirk. I didn't know he wrote like that. I just wanted to get Cap's attention because it seemed, once he got to really know me, he was slipping away, just as Dirk had. I thought if I received these letters saying how I shouldn't marry him, but he saw me only growing more committed to him, it would win his heart.”

Daed grimaced.

Mutter folded the envelope and slipped it back into her pocket. “But it wasn't until everyone assumed Dirk was writing the letters that my plan began to work. Cap was furious with you.” She was looking straight at Dirk now, or so I assumed without being able to turn my head. “And even more so after you said those horrible things that night at the party.”

She swiped at her eyes. “I never meant for it to get so out of hand.” She turned to Daed. “To ruin your friendship with your best friend. Everything snowballed.”

“Why didn't you speak up?” Daed asked, his voice raw with pain.

“And lose you?” Mutter shook her head. “After a while I started to believe the lie myself, and it was easier to blame Dirk for the pain I felt in ruining your friendship than myself. Then when Dirk came back for Nell—”

I gasped, “What?”

My Aenti's hand flew to her face.

“Jah, but I convinced her not to marry him. I begged her to put our family first. It would have added insult to injury to have Dirk as a brother-in-law. But then, as the years went
by and she didn't marry anyone else, I felt worse and worse about what I'd done. That was when I started to feel so sad.”

“Mutter,” I whispered.

Aenti's hand slid from her face to her throat, an expression of pain covering her face.

“I'm sorry,” Mutter said. “If I'd only known then how far-reaching the consequences would be . . .” She looked directly at me.

“You could have said something a few weeks ago,” I said. “Before Timothy hurt Mervin. Before Jonathan was banished.”

“Ach,” Mutter said. “I wanted to. I just couldn't.” She stepped backward and stumbled. Daed caught her arm and helped her find the chair. She sat down abruptly, her thick-soled shoes flopping out in front of her. “I hope all of you can forgive me, in time. You too, Nell.”

No one said a word, but in an instant Jonathan had left my side. A moment later he was giving my Aenti a hug, and was then beside my mother, extending his hand to her.

“I forgive you, Laurel,” he said.

She grasped his hand and held on to it tightly. “Denki,” she whispered, not letting go of him.

She seemed so vulnerable, more fragile than ever.

“So do I,” I said.

She nodded.

“Don't worry about it,” Mervin and Martin said in unison.

George and Danny both shrugged, but Timothy crossed his arms. I couldn't tell if he was unwilling to let the grudge go or if humiliation might now fuel his anger.

“Timothy?” Mutter pled.

“Jah,” he said. “I don't really understand all of this, but I won't hold it against you.”

Onkel Bob stepped to the end of the bed. “All you boys,
except Jonathan, go along now. Get something to eat. Or wait in the lobby.”

They filed out one by one, each one telling me good-bye and that they hoped I'd be better soon.

I waved, grateful they were leaving, but then I tensed as I heard Bishop Eicher's voice outside the door.

“I heard we might be needed here,” he said.

“Jah,” Phillip piped in. “We came to help.”

I groaned. Daed's heavy footsteps fell across the floor. In a calm voice he said, “No need. Bob's handling it.”

“We'll stop by your place later, then,” Phillip said.

“I'll be in touch,” Daed answered, closing the door.

I couldn't help but notice Phillip hadn't asked about me. It filled me with relief. No one could possibly think he really cared for me—not even my Daed, not compared to Jonathan anyway.

Before Onkel Bob could say anything, Dirk spoke up. “Could we wrap this up? Jonathan and I need to get back to Big Valley.”

Onkel Bob crossed his arms. “Laurel hasn't gotten what she asked for yet, Dirk. From you or Cap. And there's the matter of the ruined friendship between the two of you too, and the relationship between these Youngie.” He nodded at Jonathan and then at me.

“Forgiveness is one thing,” Dirk said, nodding at Mutter and then at Daed. “And jah, I extend that. But joining our two families is quite another matter.” He turned to Aenti Nell then, and she nodded her head to acknowledge him, but that was all. He stepped to the edge of my bed and pointed to Jonathan. “Come along, son. We never should have returned to Lancaster. We're going home.”