No Distance Too Far (42 page)

Astrid watched her father nod. “You are right. God has indeed blessed us with much, and we believe we must give back. So we will. I don’t think anyone is being coerced here. You give what you feel you can, and if you choose not to, no one is going to hold that against you.”

She saw Mr. Jeffers on the far aisle lean forward, as if intent on someone’s answer. His hands were clasped almost in prayer.

“I thought Astrid came back here to take care of the surgery while Dr. Bjorklund is recovering.”

Pastor Solberg chose to answer that after a glance in Astrid’s direction. “You needn’t worry. Between Dr. Bjorklund and Mrs. Bjorklund, we will be cared for in case of an emergency.”

I’m glad I wasn’t here last time,
Astrid thought, at the same time making sure her face didn’t mirror her thoughts. More grumbles came from the rear of the church. She glanced over to see her mother holding Emmy, her cheek resting on the black hair braided in two braids, like her own daughter’s had been.
Maybe we should bring some of the
Indian children up here to live with our families and attend school too
. She determined that would be one more thing to look into. Was there a school there? How did Red Hawk get his education?

“If no one else has something to say . . .” Solberg paused and glanced around the room. “Then we will close with the benediction and our final hymn.” He closed his eyes and raised his arms like he always did. “The Lord bless thee and keep thee . . .” At the end, Pastor Solberg led the group in singing “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.” As the hymn continued, Astrid took a deep breath. She noticed that though he was playing his guitar, Joshua wasn’t singing. Right now there seemed to be a lack of that Christian love in some quarters.

“May I walk you home?” Joshua asked after he and the other musicians finished playing.

“I believe so,” Astrid answered.
But be prepared for some ques
-
tions here
. She answered someone else’s question and filed out of the church.

“Don’t worry,” Pastor Solberg said as he shook her hand at the door. “God will bring about healing here too.”

“I hope so. I should be ready to leave by Tuesday.”

“We may not fill a boxcar this time, but there should be more than a wagonful. Who will be going with you so far?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“I have had the measles, so I am planning on going. We’ll see if we need drovers if it’s a wagon. The crate of chickens will take some space.”

“Thank you.”

He turned to the family behind her, and Astrid walked down the steps.

“Having you home again feels so good,” Rebecca said. “I am planning a party for when Grace gets home. A girl party again, even though most of us are married. Guess that makes us girls grown up.”

“That will be fun. Give me some time to get back.”

“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”

“I don’t know. Probably no more than two weeks. Depends on if I can help them or not.”

“Oh, you’ll be helping them. But I have a feeling a certain gentleman here is not happy with your going to the reservation.”

“I got that feeling too. I wonder where it comes from.”

Joshua, guitar case in hand, stopped beside her. “I’m ready if you are.”

“I’ll see you later, then.” Rebecca turned to go with Gerald, who had Benny on his shoulders.

“You be good, Dr. B.” Benny beamed from his high place.

“I have a new name?”

“Yup. Ma says to me, ‘Be good,’ and I do, so now I say it to you.”

“Benny.” Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Sorry.”

Astrid reached up to shake Benny’s hand. “I promise I’ll be good.”

He stared down at her, eyes and mouth serious for a change. “You always are.”

“Thank you, Benny.” She patted the stump of one leg. “But I kind of liked My Doc.”

“Okay.”

“See you later,” Gerald said as he took his wife and son toward home.

Astrid looked after them, her smile warming her like the sun. God sure did a good thing when He gave them all Benny.

“Would you rather ride?” Joshua asked.

“No, I need a walk.” And a talk. There would be too many people at the house to do much real talking. They started out, moving out of the way of the few remaining buggies. Her mor and far had already left, taking Mr. Jeffers with them. Andrew and Ellie had Thorliff and Inga with them and waved as they passed by.

When the dust settled, the two moved back onto the roadway.

“May I ask you a question?” Joshua asked, breaking the silence. His voice sounded a little strained.

“Of course.” She glanced up at him from under the brim of her straw hat.
And then I have questions too.

“Have you given any thought to our other discussion?”

“You mean about asking Far if you could court me?”

“Yes. You never answered.”

“If I remember right, I was rather rudely interrupted.”

He nodded. “I wasn’t too happy with that.”

Astrid felt a chill settle in her heart. “Being a doctor means that kind of thing all the time. I am prepared to go whenever I am needed.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” He scuffed at the ground, as if afraid to look at her. Then he sighed and shook his head. “I tried to talk with you again.”

“I know, but I was really busy and didn’t feel I could leave.” She waited for some kind of response, but none came.
Does he not know
we were fighting to save Elizabeth and her baby?
“Now I have a question for you.” She took a deep breath. Was she ready for his answer?
Remember where your trust lies
whispered into her thoughts.

“Okay.”

“What do you have against the Indians?”

“I’d rather not talk about that.” He moved a little away from her.

Astrid stopped and looked at him directly. “Why not?”

“It’s a long story and not a happy one.” He stared down at her. “Just accept that, please.”

Astrid narrowed her eyes. More questions bubbled under the surface, but she hesitated. How could he ask to court her and at the same time refuse to share his feelings with her?

Joshua continued, “I don’t think you should go to the reservation.” They began walking again.

“People are sick and dying there.” Her voice came out flat, almost accusing.

Their pace picked up. “Send someone else.”

“Who is there to send? My mother? Dr. Bjorklund? Have you noticed any other doctors around here?”

“They have their medicine men. Let them do their job.”

“You believe in the power of the medicine men?” Astrid stopped and stared at him.

“Doesn’t matter what I think. They have their own beliefs. They don’t want us around, and I don’t want them either.” He glared at her.

“No one asked you to go or take part in any way if you don’t want to. I am going, and that is the way it is.” She strode ahead of him.

“Tell your mother that I had to leave, will you?”

“No. You tell her yourself. Just because you are angry with me doesn’t mean you have to disappoint the ball players.” She clamped her fists to her sides to keep from shaking them at him.

He glared at her and, after touching his finger to his hat brim, stalked off in the opposite direction, back toward town.

Astrid stared after him. Well, of all the nerve. She shook her head. He just didn’t understand. But the part that saddened her most was he had no intention of trying to. She felt as though spring flowers blossoming inside of her had just blown to dust.

“Where is Mr. Landsverk?” Ingeborg asked when her daughter came through the door. “Oh-oh. You don’t look too happy.”

“That man can be downright insufferable.” She hung her hat on one of the pegs rather than taking it upstairs to her room. “Give me something to do that I can beat on.”

“Mash the potatoes.”

Astrid was silent as the families discussed what they could send to the reservation. When her father said he was going along, she hugged him. “Thank you. Pastor Solberg said he could too.”

The discussion took over the dinner hour but came to a halt when the men and boys headed to the baseball diamond out behind the barn. Yelling for her favorite team did Astrid some good, but when someone asked her where Joshua was, she just shook her head. She saw Mr. Jeffers laughing with Samuel on Thorliff’s team. He spotted her and waved, then sprinted over.

“Thank you for your invitation to the family dinner. And I wish I could offer my services to join you, Dr. Bjorklund, on the journey to the reservation. It is a noble errand of mercy.”

Astrid nodded. “Thank you.” Inside, she could only think what a difference she was seeing between two men in the last two hours.

MONDAY EVENING THEY began loading the car the railroad had pulled off onto the siding for them. Both Samuel and Johnny were going along to herd the donated cattle, while the three young pigs would ride in the same wagon as the crate of chickens. They would have two days of travel after they left the railroad.

When the train left on Tuesday morning, Joshua had still not come to apologize.
Better to know this now than to have agreed to his
courting plan,
she told herself. Somehow the facts didn’t offer much comfort. What could be so important or such a secret that he couldn’t tell her?

Pastor Solberg prayed for their journey and then they said goodbye to those gathered and slammed the door. As the train whistled, Astrid heaved a sigh. She was leaving Blessing again, but this time she knew where she was going and why. Off to her own personal Africa? One dream beginning while the door closed on another. Peace about one and disappointment with the other.
Lord, it looks like Joshua
Landsverk is not the man you have planned for me. It seemed so, but I
guess this is another one of those cases where I trust you. I do trust you,
but . . .
She took a deep breath and sighed.
This hurts. I even wondered
if I was falling in love with him. But I guess not. I know, you have a plan
for me, a plan for good and not for evil. A plan that is the best for me.
She sniffed and dabbed at her nose with her handkerchief.

At least South Dakota wasn’t as far away as Africa, not a distance too far at all. Closer to home even than Chicago. A bubble of excitement bounced in her belly. She glanced over at the men and boys, laughing at something someone had said. Not so long ago they had wondered if Far would recover from his stroke, and now he was on this train heading south. He looked up and smiled at her. God did provide, in ways that no one could plan. Astrid smiled back. She was ready to trust the adventure because she knew her heavenly Father was indeed in charge—and to be trusted.

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