A Simple Faith: A Lancaster Crossroads Novel (45 page)

Elsie had agreed, and a promise was a promise.

Inside the conference room, Elsie tucked her sweater tighter around her and took her seat. She returned the greetings of the others and refused coffee from Haley. Graciana patted her hand encouragingly—such a motherly gesture—and Elsie had to bite her lower lip to keep from crying. And when Dylan started the meeting, she dared to look at Ruben’s empty seat.

So he wasn’t coming today. All her worry had been in vain, though that was little relief. Even if she couldn’t allow herself to love him completely, just being near him was a lift to her spirits.

Dylan started the meeting by saying that this would be an unusual session. “Last week Haley called me with a proposal, and I thought it would be a good idea if she could make it all come together.” He turned to give Haley a quiet smile. “So … I’m going to hand it all over to her now.”

“Okay.” Haley clasped her hands together, a pretty pink tint on her cheeks. “After last week I was wracking my brain, trying to think of examples of positive things that come from tragedy.” Her amber eyes were steady as she looked from one member to another. “We’ve all suffered. We’ve been through terror and sorrow, shame and guilt, fury and numbness. But I think we’re also beginning to see that when you work through those things you can emerge on the other side with a greater ability to experience joy and happiness, a new view of the wonders of life. The beauty of each precious moment.”

Across the table, Rachel smiled and George nodded.

“Yes, this accident tore our hearts open. But it opened us up to a level of compassion and understanding we didn’t have before.”

Haley turned to Elsie. “Sometimes healing is painful, but if we let ourselves dig deep, if we open up and share our fears and scars, the healing can transform our lives.”

Elsie pressed her lips together in disagreement. Haley was wrong. Amish girls like Elsie and Rachel were not to be transformed. They were to grow up and become Amish women.

“So … I’m not sure how to really introduce this, but we have some special guests waiting outside. I think it’s safe to say that they’re alive today because of Graciana’s generosity, as well as her immeasurable loss.”

Everyone looked up as Haley pushed away from the table and went to the door. “These people are organ recipients. The donor was Clara Estevez.”

In came a woman leading two toddlers. “This is Maria Giordano. You’re a kidney recipient, right?”

“That’s right.” A shiny lock of Maria’s dark hair slid over her cheek as she lowered her head. “And these are my children, Laurel and Wylie. Their dad would have liked to come along, but he had to work.” She glanced over at the table. “Is Mrs. Estevez here?”

Graciana rose and went over to the woman. “Please, call me Graciana. Your children are so … so beautiful. Thank you for the lovely letter.”

“No … thank
you
. You gave me my life back. I’m sorry for your loss, but when Haley contacted me I wanted to meet you so you could see how your daughter has given new life to our family.”

The little girl, Laurel, stretched away from her mother toward the coffeemaker, where a box of pastries sat.

“Doughnuts, Mommy.” Her voice was breathless with wonder.

“Would you like one?” Graciana asked. “Come in and sit down. Is that okay?”

“Maybe she can split one with her brother,” Maria said as she helped the children settle into chairs.

“And that’s not all.” Haley leaned out the door, motioning to someone down the library hall. “There’s another special guest. She’s sixteen, and her name is Aubrey.”

A tall, lean young teen with flashing eyes and a sprinkle of freckles on her nose appeared in the doorway. “Am I late?” she asked.

“It’s never too late,” Graciana said, welcoming Aubrey and her mother.

Unlike their other sessions, this meeting was festive, with conversation breaking off into smaller groups and then unifying again as Maria or Aubrey shared their experiences with their illnesses and recovery after the transplant.

Elsie listened intently, not wanting to miss a single detail of their fascinating stories. Aubrey had been near death, and Maria had been so sick that she’d needed dialysis, which meant she had to spend long hours in the hospital hooked up to a machine that cleaned her blood.

The room was aglow with love and so much hope, Elsie felt as if a heavy cape had been lifted from her shoulders. She wished Ruben had been here to hear the wonderful stories and see the living, breathing examples of Gott’s miracles.

As she listened to Aubrey’s mother describe the worries she’d had for her daughter, and then Aubrey talk of how she was happy to be back at school now, hoping to run with her cross-country team next year, Haley came over and took the chair beside her.

“What do you think of our guests?” Haley asked quietly.

“I think you found two wonderful good examples of Gott’s power to heal.” Elsie nodded. Haley had brought hope to Graciana, and to every member of the group. “It’s a wonderful thing you’ve done for Graciana, bringing these women here.”

“It wasn’t Graciana I was thinking of.” Haley paused, biting her lower lip. “I did it for you.”

“For me?” Elsie blinked.

“I wanted you to see the power of God’s healing. These women had major medical issues. Their bodies weren’t perfect, but God loved them all the same. Maybe the transplants were a miracle, maybe it’s just a new twist in science. In any case, these women saw their lives transformed, their bodies healed.”

“It is a wondrous thing,” Elsie agreed. “But I’m not sick, thank the Lord.”

“Sometimes there are things deep inside that need to be healed. The way we see ourselves. The way we think the world sees us.”

Elsie’s face grew warm. “You’re talking about me and my EVC.”

“I am.” Haley leaned closer until her face was just inches from Elsie’s. “A wise woman once told me that God makes no mistakes.”

Elsie rolled her eyes. “Maybe not so wise.”

“But it’s true, Els. The Almighty didn’t make a mistake when He created you. And it wouldn’t be a mistake if you had a child. It says in the Bible that God created man in His own image. That’s you and me, just as we are.”

Elsie shook her head. “You are a hard person to argue with.”

There was a glimmer of hope in Haley’s golden eyes. “And you don’t like to argue, anyway.”

“I don’t. Especially now, with my heart feeling so light. I don’t think an Amish person would ever be allowed to do such a thing—donating organs. We believe the body must be in one piece for Judgment Day. But this transplant thing is wonderful. Graciana did a wonderful thing when she signed those papers.”

As the meeting broke up, Elsie felt drawn to Zook’s barn, where she knew Ruben was working. She had to be getting back to the store to take over for Caleb, but it would only take a few minutes to walk down the road and talk to Ruben.

The air was ripe with spring, and Halfway seemed to be coming alive, like an animal emerging from its winter home. Kate and Hannah Fisher waved to her through the window of the Sweet ’N’ Simple Bakery. A group of fire department volunteers were testing a hydrant by the library, and a handful of children too young for school marveled at the fountain of water running down Main Street. Marta Kraybill was outside Molly’s Restaurant, chatting with the mayor and the bishop’s wife. Elsie passed Preacher Dave, who was inspecting a buggy outside his shop, and Leah King, who hummed as she cheerfully swept the patio outside the tea shop.

Halfway was a wonderful town, and Elsie thanked Gott that He had put her here with so many good people. A caring community, a loving family, and Ruben.

She would start by asking his forgiveness. After that, she would tell him about the two miracles who had walked into their group session. How she hoped he would understand the windows that had opened in her soul today.

As she approached the big red roadside barn, she recognized the familiar gait of the young Amish man cleaning up the part of the parking lot reserved for buggies.

That was the man she loved, maneuvering a broom and pan around parked buggies, sweeping manure into the bin.

“Ruben? I’ve come to ask your forgiveness,” she called.

He shifted the broom aside, blinking. “Am I seeing an angel, or is that Elsie Lapp coming to see me after a dry spell?”

“It’s been a long week.” She didn’t stop until she was close enough to see the slight bristle on his chin. How she longed to
reach up and touch it … to soothe his brow … to press her lips to his. “I’m sorry I was cross with you last week. It wasn’t your fault, your talking to Dave.”

He squinted. “Maybe I am seeing an angel.”

“No, I’m a real girl, but it is a day for angels. Haley brought two of them to our meeting.”

“Ya?” His face softened with a crooked grin. “The one day I miss and angels show up.”

She put her hands on her hips, stretching her neck to smile up at him. “Do you think you’re the only one seeing angels?”

He pushed his hat back. “I never said that. So tell me about these angels.”

She did. She told him how Haley had tracked down two people who had received organs from the body of Clara Estevez. She told him of the new lives they enjoyed now that they had healed. She shared what Haley had said about healing the wounds inside.

“I’ve been thinking of myself like I was a broken doll, being born like this,” she said. “And all along, Gott had made me just the way He wanted me to be.”

“Meine kleine Liewi.”
His eyes glimmered like diamonds of light on a summer lake. “You are Gott’s wonderful creation and I love you just the way you are.”

“I love you, too.” Joy brimmed inside her, a cup overflowing. “Do you want to kiss me?” she asked giddily.

He leaned the shovel against the fence, placed his hands on her waist, and lifted her onto a hay bale so that they were face-to-face.

His hands stayed on her waist, making her feel secure and warm as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers—a sweet, short kiss. “My first kiss in a parking lot,” he said.

“My first kiss out in front of the whole town.” She looked around. “Tongues are going to be wagging.”

“Let them talk. We’ve been through worse together, haven’t we?
We’ve seen each other through some bad times. I want to be with you for the good and bad times that are to come. Will you marry me and have a big Amish family with me?”

“That would be such a blessing.” She held his face in her hands for another quick kiss that tugged at a longing so deep, her toes curled in her boots. “But first I need to be baptized. That will give us time for a proper courtship.”

“Ya, and we will be able to tell our children about this romantic proposal, in a parking lot, while shoveling manure.”

Elsie laughed. “At least you took a minute to put the shovel down.”

“I’ll always put the shovel aside for you, Elsie. Always.”

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