An Honest Love (16 page)

A tingling sensation traveled through her body as she thought of their narrow escape from the police. She’d probably be sitting in the pokey if he hadn’t shown up. Why had he come anyway? Certainly not to attend the party. Maybe he wanted to rub her mistake in her face. But if that was his reason, then why didn’t he? He’d had the opportunity on the ride home. Instead he gave her his coat, handed her a quilt in case she was cold, and asked her what was wrong with genuine concern. More important, he didn’t press her when she didn’t want to talk about what had happened. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he actually cared.

Then there were the tense moments waiting for the police to arrive, when she was in the cradle of his embrace. She’d never been that close to a man, save for Chase, and he didn’t count. But lying there, holding her breath as she waited to see if they would be discovered, the weirdest thing happened—she found herself enjoying their closeness. She liked the feel of his arm around her, the scent of his clean shirt, the thump of his heartbeat in her ear as she rested her cheek on his chest.

Not that it mattered how she felt. Aaron had been protecting them both from the cops. She doubted he would give the episode— or her—much thought. That was Aaron’s way. But she knew she wouldn’t stop thinking about it for a long time.

Elisabeth pulled her bobby pins and
kapp
off and laid them on the small nightstand. Then she lay down on the bed and pulled her legs to her chest, her head resting on the coarse fabric of Aaron’s coat. The sunbeams soon faded, replaced with dark clouds. Droplets plinked against her windowpane. Within moments she had fallen asleep, still thinking about Aaron.

When she awoke a couple of hours later, she felt physically better but no less troubled inside. Still, she had to put everything behind her and face the rest of the day. According to her growling stomach, her appetite had returned.

She walked to her bureau and adjusted the angle of her small mirror. Looking at her reflection, she scowled. No wonder her mother didn’t question her when she said she didn’t feel good. She brushed out her long hair, pinned it up, then put on her
kapp
. After changing into a fresh dress, she felt better. But before going downstairs, she brushed the grass off her quilt, running her palm over the blue and white basket design. Later she’d bring a broom upstairs and sweep the floor, but right now she wanted to eat.

Crossing the room, she went to the door and opened it, only to see Ruth standing there, her fist poised to knock.

Elisabeth’s hand went to her chest. “Don’t do that, Ruth. You startled me.”

“How was I supposed to know you were going to open the door?” Ruth tilted her head to the side, her dishwater-blonde eyebrows raised. She peered over the rims of her glasses. “You don’t look sick to me.”

“I’m not sick.” Elisabeth stumbled over her words. “I . . . wasn’t feeling well. But now I’m better.”

“Just as we finished all the chores, naturally.”

Elisabeth rolled her eyes. “What do you need, Ruth?”

Ruth cleared her throat. Out of all Elisabeth’s siblings, Ruth was the most serious, with Lukas taking a close second. Stephen was contemplative and quiet, but Ruth took the prize when it came to having a staid demeanor. It was as if she’d been born a miniature adult. “Aaron Detweiler came to see you.”

Elisabeth stood still. Aaron had been here? Probably to pick up his coat. That he hadn’t had it on a cold day added another layer of guilt. “When was he here?”

“A couple hours ago. I told him you were sleeping, and he said not to wake you. He did want me to give you this, though.” She held out a small folded piece of paper.

Elisabeth took it from her. “Is that all he said?”

“
Ya
. Then he left.” Ruth took a step back from her. “You really need to brush your teeth.”

Elisabeth scowled. Ruth was nothing if not blunt. “
Danki
for the hygiene tip.”

Ruth headed down the hall. “Are you coming downstairs?”

“
Ya
. In a minute.”

“Hmph. If I’d known that, I would have left the bathroom for you to do.”

Elisabeth closed her door and ran her tongue across her teeth. Ugh. Her sister was right, she did need to brush them. A few swigs of mouthwash were probably in order too.

She unfolded the scrap of paper, noticing that it was a receipt for a candy bar from the local pharmacy in Middlefield. A few words were scribbled on the back.

Stopped by to see if you’re okay. Aaron.

Wow. Now this was unexpected. He’d probably used up his lunch hour to get to her house. He didn’t have to do that, or even leave a note. Maybe he did care, at least a little. Folding the slip of paper into a small square, she put it under her pillow and smiled.

Chapter 10

E
arly Monday morning, Aaron inserted his key into the lock at the blacksmith shop. But when he twisted the key, he realized it was already unlocked. The light in the main shop was off, but he saw a faint glow coming from the office. He set his blue lunch cooler on one of the work tables and crossed the room. Peeking through the small window on the door, he saw Elisabeth sitting at her desk, a stack of invoices in front of her as she wrote in the account ledger. What time had she come in? It was just past six thirty in the morning, but she looked like she had been there for a while.

Aaron knocked lightly on the door. She jumped, then motioned for him to come inside.

“Sorry.” He stepped inside the room. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting anyone here until seven.”

“I wanted to get a head start on the day. Saturday was really busy, and I still have a few things to catch up on.” He leaned back against the door and thrust his hands into his coat pockets. “We did have a break midday, and I stopped by your house.”

“I know. Ruth told me.” She turned and removed his coat from the back of her chair. “Here.
Danki
for letting me wear it. I’m sorry you had to go without a coat over the weekend.”

He took it from her. “No problem. My
daed
has several coats and jackets he’s collected over the years.” He touched his chest. “He won’t even miss this one.”

“Still, I should have given it back to you when you dropped me off.”

“I think you needed it more than I did.” He started to hang his coat on the rack of pegs on the wall, but she intervened.

“Let me do that—”

“It’s okay—”

Both of them held the coat, and he looked down at her, touched by the vulnerability and uncertainty in her eyes. It was as if at any moment she expected him to tear into her or give her a lecture about what happened. But he would never do that. He gently took the coat from her and hung it on the peg. “Are you okay?” It was a safe question, vague enough for her to answer but not so invasive that she would clam up.

“
Nee
.” She looked down at her feet.

Unlike her disarrayed appearance the night they were escaping the police, this morning she was perfectly pulled together, her light blonde hair neatly combed and parted, her
kapp
pinned on straight, the white ribbons tucked into the front of her dress. After a moment, she glanced up. “I feel really stupid.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“I can’t help it. You tried to warn me. You told me what would happen and I didn’t believe you. I owe you an apology.”

“Elisabeth.” He took a step toward her, an unexpected urge to comfort her entering his thoughts. “This is me you’re talking to. Aaron Detweiler, former jailbird. The
mann
with a record, remember?” The lights went on in the shop.

“Gabe’s here, so I need to get to work. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned to leave.

“Aaron, you don’t have to do this.”

He faced her. “Do what?”

“Make me feel better.”

His lips lifted in a partial smile. “I know. But I want to try.”

Business had finally picked up at Esh’s Amish Goods during the Christmas season. The shop was doing so well that Anna had hired Ruth, who was on vacation from school, to help with the holiday rush. Christmas was in less than a week, and Anna had been spending extra time at the store in the evenings, straightening merchandise and restocking shelves. She prayed the success would continue, and she was already planning ways to keep customers returning after the holidays. Things were also busy at home, as her mother had decided to invite a couple of families to the house Christmas evening.

With everything that was going on, she didn’t have time to deal with the doctor. But earlier this month the pain had become more frequent, and at times, unbearable. She’d had no choice but to visit the gynecologist, and he had just finished giving her a physical exam.

Anna pulled the blue and white hospital gown closer to her body, fighting her embarrassment. Her stomach churned as the tall doctor sat down on a wheeled stool and opened a medical folder. His expression inscrutable, he pulled an ink pen out of the pocket of his white lab coat and pointed to various places in Anna’s records as he scanned the papers.

Dr. Caxson removed his reading glasses and looked at her, compassion in his eyes. “Ms. Esh, according to your symptoms, I suspect you have endometriosis.”

She frowned, unfamiliar with the medical terminology. “Endometriosis?”

“It’s when the endometrial cells growing inside your uterus grow outside of it. That’s what’s causing your pain. But the only way to be sure is for me to do a laparoscopy.”

“Isn’t that surgery?”

“Yes, but it’s something I can do in the office and won’t take very long. What I’ll do is make a tiny incision below your belly button and insert a lighted tube which will let me see how far the endometriosis has progressed outside your uterus. If the tissue hasn’t grown too much, I’ll prescribe medication for the pain.”

“And if it has?”

“I’ll remove the implanted tissue during the lap procedure.”

She chewed her bottom lip as she mulled over his words. “How long is the recovery time?”

“Most patients have the most pain the day after the procedure, but you should feel back to your normal self within a week.”

“I see. And what will happen if I don’t have the surgery?”

“I can’t be sure unless you have the laparoscopy, but I predict your pain will increase, and to be honest, there’s a very real possibility you won’t be able to have children, since endometriosis interferes with conception. But once the tissue is removed, your pain will decrease and you should have no problem getting pregnant.” He picked up her medical records and flipped through them. “Are you married?”

“
Nee
.” Lukas’ image passed through her mind.

He closed the file. “I don’t recommend putting off the surgery for very long, or your problems will likely increase.” He rose from his wheeled stool and held out his hand. “Once you’ve decided about the surgery, call my office and we’ll make an appointment.” After shaking Anna’s hand, he turned and left the room, his brown loafers squeaking against the linoleum.

Anna’s legs dangled over the side of the examining table as she tried to soak in what the doctor had said. It had never dawned on her that she couldn’t have children. But that had been her most fervent desire once—to get married and have a large family. And while she had stifled those desires for so long after Daniel, Lukas had reawakened them. Even though they hadn’t officially started courting, she had been thinking more and more often about telling him that friendship wasn’t enough for her anymore.

But now, everything had changed.

She sat up straight and took a deep breath. The doctor hadn’t said that she was infertile; he only said that there was a possibility, if she didn’t have the laparoscopy done. The surgery would only take a day, and according to Dr. Caxson, the recovery would be quick. Having the surgery would solve the issue; she had to believe that. Encouraged, she quickly dressed, left the examining room, and found one of the nurses.

“I was just coming in to talk to you,” the woman said. Her hair, the color of carrots and cut in a straight bob against her chin, swayed as she talked. “Dr. Caxson has some pain medication for you to try.”