Love's Abundant Harvest (22 page)

“
Nee
. Do you always ask this many questions?”

“Yes. You have swelling in your face and around your eyes, hands, and ankles. How
much weight have you gained during your pregnancy?”

“She eats like a bird, always has,”
Mamm
cut in. “What are you saying, Doctor?”

“Cramping and burning irritation are common symptoms for edema, which is excessive
amniotic fluid. If that's all it is, it will pass after delivery. But it could be
preeclampsia, which can cause complications.”

“What exactly are you telling us, Doctor?” Fannie's voice faltered slightly. Lucy
didn't know whether it was because of the diagnosis, but she was looking at him in
an odd way.

“There is no tenderness, and the swelling is equally dispersed, so I'm not going
to treat Lucy in that direction, but I will be making frequent visits to make sure
it doesn't elevate.”

Mamm
and Fannie glanced at each other and then at Lucy. They must have expected a
good report the same way she had, to judge from the same surprised look on their
faces.

She was about to ask him another question when he chimed in again. “Keep your feet
up as much as possible and when you rest, lie down on your side, preferably on the
left. Don't cross your legs.”

Lucy uncrossed her legs, making him grin. It was the only emotion she'd seen from
him, and she decided she liked his smile.

“Anything else I should know?” He stared into Lucy's
eyes intently, patiently waiting
for her answer. For the few seconds she had a good look at him, she realized how
good looking he was, now that his curtness was not distracting from it. “I'd like
the room, ladies.”

“Is there something wrong
?
” Lucy sat up, giving him her full attention.

He took a step closer and let out a breath. “I am being overly cautious, but I want
you to know there was a slight change in the heart rate. It's common, but I wanted
you to know.”

She was flustered, unable to think, having expected a clean bill of health on top
of what she was about to ask him. Then she thought of what was most on her mind.
“Will this hurt the baby?”

“You and the baby are in good hands. I want you to come in once a week from here
on, starting as soon as possible.”

Lucy instinctively put her hands on her belly. “I wish it just affected me.”

“Take care of yourself, it's the best thing you can do for the baby.” He said as
the ladies came back into the room.

“Take care of them.” He looked from one of the women to the other, as if asking their
commitment to care for Lucy. He was curt, but at that moment she realized he really
cared.

“Both of them,” Doc said to Lucy, under his breath.

He lifted one eyebrow and placed his utensils into his bag, oblivious to the gasps
and jaw-dropping.

“You mean there's more than one baby?”
Mammi
's voice was the loudest, so her question
was heard first, as
Mamm
and Fannie looked at the doctor.

Lucy's heart skipped as she waited for his answer. This was all too much to process.
The bed rest and now this?

“Two heartbeats.” He snapped his bag shut and walked to the door. “Good day, ladies.”
He turned to Fannie, a few steps away. Lucy caught random words that she couldn't
put together. Fannie's reserve visibly dissolved. Her eyes never left his as he spoke.
Whatever it was, he had her complete attention.

Mammi
was the first to come out of her shock. “Pay him . . . we have to give him
money.” Her broken sentence only made the situation stranger.

Lucy heard him refuse payment, saying they would work out the details after all was
said and done.
Mamm
's eyes were misty, and Fannie couldn't stop smiling. Nellie and
Rosy walked out of the kitchen, where they were cooking something up.

Nellie stepped into the room first. “Is the doc gone?” She wiped her hands on a towel
and threw it over her shoulder.

Rosy was right behind her. “How's the
mamm
-to-be?”

“She's having twins,”
Mamm
informed them with pride. “First ones in the family. Your
daed
will be thrilled.”

Rosy's jaw dropped, and she turned to Nellie. “And all this happened while we were
in the kitchen starting to make scripture cake.”

“Well, that's a good way to celebrate the two little ones.”
Mammi
was right behind
Rosy and Nellie.

They all went into the kitchen, Lucy included, and settled in. Each one of them
would find her place in preparing the special cake—all but Lucy. She found a comfortable
chair to sit in, put her feet on another chair, and watched the women getting all
the ingredients together.
Mammi
handed Lucy a piece of paper with Bible verses and
the directions for the cake.

“So how does this work again?” Lucy had watched her
mamm
make the cake a couple of
times as a child, and only remembered how good it tasted, not how to make it. Both
Mammi
and
Mamm
started in to explain at the same time. But
Mammi
was the one who
gave the explanation Lucy thought was appropriate.

“As you add the ingredients to make the cake, you read a verse from the Bible for
each item.”

Mamm
couldn't help but chime in and added a little more to the process. “The whole
idea behind the scripture cake recipe is to find out the ingredients by looking
up the Bible passages and reading them. That's how you know what goes in the cake.
See here?” She handed the recipe card to Lucy and then took her place between
Mammi
and Rosy.

¾ cup Judges 5:25, last part of verse (butter)

1½ cups Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)

2 tablespoons 1 Samuel 14:25 (honey)

One whole Isaiah 10:14 (egg)

2 cups 1 Kings 4:22 (flour)

1 teaspoon Amos 4:5 (baking soda)

1 pinch Leviticus 2:13 (salt)

1¼ cup Judges 4:19, last part of verse (milk)

½ cup Numbers 17:8 (almonds, chopped)

1 cup Nahum 3:12 (figs, chopped)

1 cup 1 Samuel 30:12 (raisins)

Season to taste with 2 Chronicles 9:9

(cinnamon, nutmeg, and other spices)

Directions: Proverbs 23:14. (You can look up at least one!)

Lucy smiled when she read the line in parentheses that was in her
Mamm
's handwriting.
It fit her personality so perfectly. No matter how controlling her
mamm
was, Lucy
would miss her when she left. But she would still be in good hands. And she prayed
that Doctor Kauffman would take good care of her babies. He was so thorough and knowledgeable
that she was confident in his abilities and advice. She stood to help with the cake.

“
Nee
, you sit and rest.” Nellie put up a hand to stop her from walking closer to
the kitchen counter that was strewn with flour, eggshells, and a half a stick of
butter.

Mammi
wagged a wooden spoon her way. “Don't be stubborn, now. You tell us the directions,
and we'll do the baking.”

Rosy just looked over and smiled when she started beating the eggs again. She hummed
a hymn while she worked, and the others bickered over what temperature the cake should
be baked at. Lucy appreciated Rosy's deliberate lack of concern.

She looked around the kitchen, taking in everything around her—the hardwood floors
with paths worn from the counters to the large tabletop in the middle of the room,
warmth from the oven that was heating to bake the cake, and the two little ones inside
her who would share all of it with her and these wonderful women.

M
anny made a full circle around Sam's farm. It was really Lucy's, but it didn't
seem that way. She hadn't so much as set her big toe on the place since she brought
food to him back when it all happened. The place had such bad memories for her, he
understood how she wouldn't want to be here. But it did need to be taken care of.
The animals had been transported to his place and Caleb's, but Lucy hadn't asked
a thing about any of it. Not the farm, the livestock, or even the money, which still
hadn't been dealt with. If she wanted to sell the place, it would take a mighty well-off
buyer to offer what it was worth.

When he thought about Lucy, he didn't worry about her. She was far from being alone,
even with her
mamm
leaving. The women in her life doted on her around the clock,
to the point he was starting to get annoyed. He wanted time with her, which was unpredictable
considering he wanted that time with her
alone
. With her time to deliver so close,
he knew it was now or never. He had to follow through with his plans. If she said
nee,
he was prepared now, unlike his last attempt. He didn't have time to wait and
wonder any longer.

“I thought that was your buggy.” Caleb walked up behind him, still a ways away. Caleb
slung his horse's reins over the fence rail, slipped the leather through a loop,
and
gave a tug. That horse wasn't going anywhere. He strode toward Manny. “Is Lucy
here?”

“
Nee
, I don't think she wants to come back here, so I thought I'd see what was what.”

“She's got to decide something sooner or later. We've done all we can to get it cleaned
up.” He stopped and turned to Manny. “She is selling it?”

“She hasn't said. I guess she needs more time to figure things out.”

“
Nee
, she needs you to decide what to do.”

“It's not my place. I'm willing to help with whatever she decides, but I can't tell
her what to do. The minute I do, someone or something will step in, and I'll be the
scapegoat.”

Caleb shook his head. “I don't think so. She's not used to making decisions, more
so than most wives I've come across. Sam was an intimidating guy. She probably doesn't
have a clue about what to do.” He took a long look around the place. “That goes for
more than just this farm.”

Manny ignored his last comment. He knew he was referring to their relationship, but
didn't want to go there. “I suppose there's something to that, but I don't feel right
making decisions for her.”

“You are too much alike. Nothing's gonna get taken care of if you don't encourage
her to take care of things.” He scanned the place again. “Somebody's gonna get a
good deal for this farm.”

“For Lucy's sake, I'd just like it to be over.” Manny meant that, but he worried
about how things would look if he did go through with his decision. He thought about
waiting until the farm was taken care of but shook it off. It was just another excuse
not to do what he not only wanted
to do, but also felt
Gott
's urging to do. “How's
Emma? Haven't seen her around.”

Caleb grinned. “I didn't want to say anything just yet, but she's had some morning
sickness.”

Manny's head whipped around to him. “Emma is having a baby?” He chuckled. “She's
still a child at heart herself.”

“It'll be nice to have our children grow up together.” Caleb said without even blinking.

Manny thought about saying something to Caleb about his plans but decided he didn't
want anyone else to know of them before he'd talked to Lucy.

They turned to each other, both deep in thought. “You making plans for me I don't
know about?” Manny said.

Caleb shook his head. “I know how you and Lucy feel about each other. What are you
waiting for?”

“It's not an easy thing to marry a pregnant widow, Caleb.”

“How would you know? You haven't even tried to find out yet. The bishop might go
easy on you.”

“I doubt the bishop would be so reasonable, the crotchety old goat.” Manny knew he
shouldn't have said it out loud or even thought it, for that matter, but it was true,
and everyone knew it. The bishop was strict in his ways and would most surely not
give them favor in this situation.

“
Jah
, but he's going to have to deal with a similar situation with one of his own.
That might humble him a bit.” Caleb's brows rose as he looked Manny in the eyes.
“If you didn't hear about his oldest daughter, I'm telling you now. If anyone should
give you pardon, it would be him.”

It wasn't like Caleb to gossip, so Manny knew he was trying to help him prepare for
the conversations that he would have, not just with the bishop but also with others
in the community as well. Manny paused. He didn't want to know such things, but this
time it was a secret he actually did need to know about.

There was gossip here and there, but he never paid much mind to it. He was too busy
being alone and—Emma had made him realize—feeling sorry for himself. She was one
of the main reasons he'd gathered the courage to approach Lucy. “Why didn't I know
about any of this?”