The Decision (36 page)

Leah shook the reins to get her horse moving faster. “I guess that won’t happen till she’s in heaven with Jesus. Only then will God’s children be completely healed of their diseases.”

Elaine gathered up the living-room throw rugs and was on her way to take them outside when she smelled something burning.
Oh no, not this again
. Had Grandma decided to bake another pie or some cookies and left them in the oven?

Elaine dropped the rugs on the floor and hurried to the kitchen. No sign of Grandma in there. She opened the oven door and was relieved to see that it was cold and nothing was inside.

When she sniffed again, she suddenly realized that the odor she’d smelled was drifting down the hall. As she headed in that direction, it became clear that something in Grandma’s bedroom was burning.

Alarmed, Elaine jerked the door open. When she stepped into the room, she gasped. Grandma stood near the ironing board, staring across the room with a faraway look, as though completely out of touch with what was going on. One of her dresses lay on the ironing board, with the iron resting on top of the bodice. Smoke from the burning material drifted in front of Grandma’s face, but she didn’t seem to notice.

Elaine rushed over, snatched the iron up, and grimaced when she saw a nasty hole with the telltale signs of brown where the iron had scorched the material.

“Oh, Grandma, just look at your dress!”

No response. Grandma kept staring across the room.

Elaine tried again, this time giving Grandma’s arm a little shake and hoping to get through to her. “What happened here? Didn’t you see that your dress was burning, or even smell the smoke?”

Slowly, Grandma turned to look at Elaine and blinked her eyes several times, as though coming out of a daze. “I’ve been thinking about Lloyd and wondering if he fed the katze this morning.”

Elaine groaned inwardly, placing the iron upright on the end of the ironing board. Today was starting off on a bad note. “Well, your
frack
is ruined now, and you should have asked me to iron it for you.” Annoyed, Elaine gestured to the hole. Sometimes she felt like she was dealing with a child instead of a seventy-five-year-old woman. But then, she had to remind herself that Grandma was ill and couldn’t help the things she said and did.
“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of a battle,”
she’d heard Grandma say. Now it was Grandma’s turn. She was fighting the battle of dementia, and Elaine needed to be as kind as possible. She touched Grandma’s arm. “I’m not mad at you, Grandma. Just concerned. Next time you need to have something ironed, would you please ask me?”

Grandma pointed at the hole in her dress. “What happened to that? It’s disgusting!”

“You were ironing and must have forgotten to lift the iron from your dress.” Elaine talked calmly, trying to keep her patience and not upset Grandma.

“Why would I do that?” Tears welled in Grandma’s eyes and dribbled down her wrinkled cheeks. “Lloyd won’t like this one little bit. He always liked it when I wore that dress.”

Elaine made no comment. She picked up the dress, as well as the iron, and left the room. She would need to find a better place to store the iron so that Grandma couldn’t find it, because she couldn’t take the chance of her burning another dress—or worse yet, catching the house on fire. From now on, she would need to keep a closer watch on Grandma.

Sara hummed to herself as she buttered a piece of toast for Mark. He’d already eaten breakfast, but around ten this morning he’d said he was hungry again, so some toast with peanut butter would get him by until she fixed their noon meal. It wouldn’t be a big lunch, however, because this evening Jonah would be coming to take them out for pizza. Sara looked forward to going. Not just for the taste of tangy pepperoni pizza, but because it was another opportunity to be with Jonah. The more time she spent with him, the more she found herself enjoying his company. And the more she got to know Jonah, the more he reminded her of Harley. Of course, he had been Harley’s friend, so they must have had some things in common. Something seemed to be happening between Sara and Jonah—something she hadn’t expected. Was it possible that after just a few short months of spending time together, she could be falling in love? Or could it be that she still missed Harley and being with Jonah filled a void in her life? And how did Jonah feel about her? Was he still in love with Elaine, or had he begun to see Sara in some other way than just Harley’s widow who needed a friend? She remembered her mother saying,
“When God wants to bless you, He brings certain people into your life.”
Sara certainly felt blessed to have Jonah in her life right now—even if it turned out that he was only a friend.

Sara’s musings halted when Mark meandered into the room, asking for his toast. She lifted him into the high chair, placed the toast on his tray, and then filled his sippy cup with milk and gave him that, too.

While Mark ate his snack, Sara busied herself at the sink, cutting vegetables for the soup they would have for lunch. She was glad Mark liked most kinds of soup and wasn’t a picky eater, like some children his age. That made it easier to prepare meals they could both enjoy.

Once the veggies had been cut, Sara placed them in the kettle, added water and some beef broth, then set it on the stove to simmer. By the time the noon hour rolled around, it should be ready to eat.

The
clip-clop
of horse hooves drew Sara’s attention to the window. She was pleased when Jean got out of the buggy, along with her three children. It had been a few weeks since they’d visited, and Sara was eager to find out what was new with her friend.

When Jean and the children entered the house, Sara asked if they would like to have some toast. The children eagerly agreed, and after Sara fixed their snack, she and Jean sat at the table so they could visit.

“Would you like a cup of peppermint tea?” Sara asked.

Jean nodded. “That sounds nice.”

“You’re welcome to have toast, too, if you like.”

“No thanks. I had a big breakfast.”

“Will you and the kinner stay and have lunch with us?” Sara motioned to the stove, where her soup simmered in the pot. “I have more than enough soup for all of us.”

“That sounds good, but not today. We were on our way to town to do some shopping, and I decided to stop in here first and see how you’re doing. Maybe you and Mark can come over to our place soon, so he can play with our new beagle pup, Chubby.” Jean smiled. “That little beagle loves to play with the kinner, and he seems to be full of boundless energy. I don’t know who gets played out first, Chubby or Rebecca and Stephen, but they sure do have a good time together.”

“Mark likes puppies, too. I’ve even thought about getting him one but haven’t done it yet, since training a pup and taking care of its needs requires a lot of work.”

“That’s true,” Jean agreed. “But I think it’s worth all the trouble. Chubby is just the right size for our kinner, too. He’s a miniature beagle and won’t grow to be a whole lot bigger than he is right now.” Jean’s expression turned serious. “I’ve been meaning to ask. Have you had any more dizzy spells or other unusual symptoms lately?”

Sara hated to admit it, but she told Jean how, just last night, when she was heading upstairs to get ready for bed, she’d had trouble making her left leg work.

“That does not sound good. Now, when are you going to see the doctor about this, Sara?” Jean released her breath in a huff. “You could be dealing with something serious, and if that’s the case, then you need to know what it is so you can handle it.”

Sara nodded, and as she looked up at Jean, a lump formed in her throat, making it difficult to swallow. “You’re right. Tomorrow morning I’ll call the doctor’s office and make an appointment.”

Jean placed her hand on Sara’s arm. “Promise?”

“Jah. I won’t forget.” Sara sat quietly for several seconds; then, gathering up her courage, she decided to ask a question that had been on her mind for some time. “I know that Jonah isn’t seeing Elaine anymore, but I was wondering if you know the reason.”

Looking a bit uncomfortable, Jean quietly said, “Elaine told Jonah that she doesn’t love him and never did. He didn’t admit that to me at first, but several weeks after they broke up, I questioned him about it, and he told me what Elaine had said.”

“I see. Danki for sharing that with me.” Now that Sara knew the truth about why Elaine and Jonah had broken up, she felt a little more hopeful that there might be a possibility of her and Jonah developing a serious relationship. But she couldn’t understand how Elaine, after being courted by Jonah for nearly a year, could not have fallen in love with him.

When Elaine stepped onto the porch to shake out a few more throw rugs, she spotted Leah and Priscilla riding in on their bikes. She knew without asking why they were here. No doubt they wanted to talk to her about what had happened yesterday. Elaine wished she hadn’t overheard their conversation, and more than that, she still wished one or both of them had told her about Jonah and Sara. She guessed it was better hearing it that way than if she’d seen Jonah with Sara in town or noticed them leaving together after church.

“Wie geht’s?” Leah asked after she and Priscilla parked their bikes and joined Elaine on the porch.

“I’m doing okay, but Grandma isn’t.” Elaine went on to explain how Grandma had burned a hole in her dress.

“That’s baremlich,” Priscilla said. “I’ll bet it really upset her.”

Elaine shook her head. “Not really. I was the one who was upset. Grandma seemed more concerned about how Grandpa would respond, saying she’d ruined his favorite dress.”

“Sounds like she’s getting worse.”

Elaine nodded, her shoulders sagging from the weight of the day. “When we went to the kitchen for coffee awhile ago, Grandma pointed to the coffeepot and called it a ‘putalator.’ I was about to correct her when she squinted and pointed again, saying this time that it was a ‘purfalatore.’ I can’t stand to see her like this. I’ve done everything I know to do, but it’s just not enough, and I feel like I’m at the end of my…” A slight sigh punctuated her unfinished sentence, and she let her head fall forward into her hands.

“I’m sorry, Elaine; I know how difficult this is for you, but remember that when you’ve done all you can, God will do what you can’t.” Leah touched Elaine’s shoulder gently. “Priscilla and I came over here today, not just to check on you and Edna, but to say how sorry we are for not telling you about Sara and Jonah. You were right to be upset when you heard us talking at the store.”

“That’s right, and we hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive us,” Priscilla put in.

Elaine had to move past her feelings of betrayal and had already come to realize that she’d overreacted. Priscilla and Leah were her best friends, and she wanted to keep it that way. “I accept your apology,” she said sincerely. “I’m sorry, too, for responding in such a negative way. It was just such a shock to hear it like that. But to be truthful, I would have been stunned no matter how I found out.”

Leah and Priscilla slipped their arms around Elaine’s waist, and they shared a group hug. Then, at Elaine’s suggestion, they all took a seat on the porch.