Chapter Three

 

In a matter of two weeks, the clinic was ready for use. When Hal arrived one afternoon, the men had only a small portion of roof left to shingle. John hurried down his ladder and escorted her into the clinic for a tour.

Emma waltzed in from the living room, eyes sparkling with excitement. “How does the clinic look to you, Hallie?”

“Wonderful,” Hal said, giving Emma a hug.

The room smelled like new wood. The two windows southerly exposure gave the room light and warmth. John had built two cupboards and attached them to the wall to store medical supplies in. Two chairs and a small table had been placed in front of one window. A small bed, covered with a quilt of purple and blue squares, was along the back wall.

“I had the men stop long enough to set the furniture in so the clinic would be ready when you got home,” John said proudly. “We just went back up to finish the roof.”

“This is great. Now, all we need is patients,” Hal said cheerfully.

Emma smiled faintly at her enthusiasm. “We should not wish bad luck on anyone by wishing to give them medical aid, Hallie.”

“No. I didn’t mean that. Oh, but, Emma, won’t it be great for Plain people to have this clinic to come to instead of going all the way to Wickenburg.”

“Worse yet, they might have suffered at home because they did not get help at all,” said John, putting his arm around Hal’s shoulders. “Now I should get back up on that roof and help the men.” He gave her a light kiss.

Hal met Emma’s twinkling eyes and blushed. As he went out the door, she said, “See you later, John.”

Thundering of fast moving horse hooves dashed against road rock. Hal and Emma rushed outside. A small boy riding bareback on a work-horse galloped up the driveway.

When he spotted John in the yard, he pulled back on the horse reins. The excited horse threw his head high in the air. His nostrils flared as he sidestepped. The boy, his brown hair flying around his face, cried, “Help! Help!”

“Something is wrong with Jimmy Miller,” Emma cried as she ran down the steps.

The pounding hammers ceased. The men slid to the edge of the roof and climbed down the ladder.

John rushed along side the horse and grabbed the reins. “Whoa. Whoa!” The horse came to an antsy stop, his sides heaving as he breathed. “What is it, Jimmy?”

“Mama sent me to get you quick. Dad’s ladder broke. He fell down into the well. We need help getting him out,” gasped Jimmy, his brown eyes filled with tears. The boy, about Noah’s age, didn’t wait for a reply. He kicked the horse in the sides and headed back the way he came.

“We will follow you,” John yelled after Jimmy. “Elton, can we use your buggy?”

Hal grabbed John’s arm. “That will take too long to get there. Let’s use my car. My medical bag is in it. Just show me the way.”

John looked from Elton to Luke and got their nod of silent approval.

As she ran to the car, Hal fished her cell phone out of her jean pocket and poked 911. Looking over the roof of the car, she hesitated long enough to ask John the Miller address. She got confirmation from the dispatcher that an ambulance was on its way and opened her door. Elton, Luke and Levi got in the back seat. Emma and John got in up front.

The Miller farm was only half a mile away. Hal eased the car around Jimmy who was doing his best to stay on the slick back of the hard riding work-horse. The upset boy was sitting on daylight more than the horse’s back, bouncing up and down with the heavy impact of each hoof.

When she drove far enough away from Jimmy, Hal sped up, raising a cloud of gray dust behind her. She hit a fairly deep pothole, bouncing her passengers off the seats.

“Sorry,” she mumbled to no one in particular, keeping her eyes on the road to avoid as many other holes as she could.

The car shimmied for a time after hitting the pothole. The steering wheel vibrated under her fingers. She made a mental note that one of these days she had to leave the car at Earnie Long’s to check the shocks. Maybe, the tires needed rotating. Earnie would figure it out if she ever found the time to stop at his car repair garage for more than a can of pop.

From a distance, Hal made out a windmill looming against the sky. Not far from it a large burr oak tree towered over the area. A woman and a small girl bent over the well opening in the windmill base. A neat set of white farm buildings sat just north of the well.

Hal slowed to turn into the driveway. The Miller mailbox post had a sign on it – Great peace they have that love the Lord. She past the barn and came to a stop by the windmill. Leaving the car doors open, the men and Emma bounded over to the well. Hal closed the doors and parked on the back side of the oak tree so her car would be out of the way of the ambulance.

She wasn’t prepared for what she saw when she looked into the well. A wooden ladder floated on the water about twelve feet below. Pinned under the ladder, a motionless man bobbed, submerged face down. His straw hat clung to the casing, floating a slow circle around the well.

Hal glanced at the man’s wife. Her first impression of Roseanna Miller was that she was a very pretty, young woman. Knowing compliments didn’t go over in the Amish community, Hal was sure Roseanna would never like being told that, especially not today. The woman’s wispy, chestnut hair was neatly combed and tucked under her white head covering. Her light brown eyes focused on the well pit, wide in worry for her husband. Fear of what was happening to Emil Miller covered her long, slim face and filled her eyes.

The pale yellow-headed girl, with a splash of freckles and a turned up nose, clung to her mother’s skirt. Silent tears streaked down her cheeks.

Taking charge, John turned to Miller’s wife. “Roseanna, do you have another ladder?”

“Yes! In the shed.” She pointed over her shoulder. She couldn’t take her eyes off her husband.

Luke ran for the tool shed.

Hal edged over beside Roseanna. “Won’t you and your little girl come with Emma and me? If we go over by the tree, we'll be out of the men’s way.”

Without looking at Hal, Roseanna nodded agreement, but she didn’t move. Her little girl tugged at her skirt. Roseanna put her arm around her daughter’s shoulders to comfort her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off her husband submerged in the water.

Emma tugged on Roseanna’s arm. “Please, come with us,” she said softly.

As if Emma’s words finally registered with her, the woman backed away from the well. Taking her daughter’s hand, she moved the few weary steps it took to stand under the oak tree.

“Good job. She’s listening to you,” Hal whispered to Emma. Once they stopped by Roseanna, Hal introduced herself. “I’m Hal Lindstrom.”

Leaning back against the tree so she could use it for support, Roseanna said in a drained voice, “I have heard of you. You are called Nurse Hal?”

Hal touched her arm. “Yes, that’s me. How long has your husband been down in the well?”

“I do not know. Usually Emil tells me when he is going to replace the leathers, but this time he did not. Jimmy went looking for him and found his father like that.” Roseanna stared at the well and a sob escaped. “He is so still under that ladder.”

“Yes,” Hal answered.

Emma put her arm around Roseanna’s shoulders. The little girl crowded between her mother and Emma to be by her mother’s side. “Hallie, meet Ella,” Emma introduced.

Hal squatted and peered into the child’s fear-filled, moist hazel eyes. “Hello, Ella. It is nice to meet you.”

“I can’t leave him,” Roseanna cried wretchedly, wringing her hands. “I must go see if I can help.”

Standing up, Hal stayed in front of Roseanna, making sure she had the woman’s attention. “Emil has plenty of help. We need to stay out of the men’s way.”

“I need to do something. What can I do?” She asked desperately.

“Pray,” Hal said firmly.

Roseanna looked Hal directly in the eye. A calmness came over her. She shut her eyes and bowed her head. Taking a cue from her mother, Ella did the same.

“Luke’s coming with the ladder,” Emma said softly.

Kicking up a trail of dust, Jimmy galloped over to the well and slid off the horse. The sweat lathered horse drooped his head, panting as he willingly stood still.

Luke leaned the ladder against the windmill. He handed Elton a rope and John some strands of wire. John wired the ladder to the well platform, sticking the shiny wires in the holes right next to rust covered, fragments of broken wires. He said in a low voice for only Luke and Elton’s ears, “This was an accident that did not have to happen. Emil should have replaced these rusty wires long ago.” He turned to Elton. “Once I get down the ladder toss one end of the rope down. I am going to slip it around Emil. Hook the other end to the horse’s neck. When I tell you, pull back while I steady Emil on the way up.”

As John disappeared from sight, Hal felt a streak of fear that he might suffer Emil’s fate. She darted a glance at Mrs. Miller. It wouldn’t do for her to show her emotions right then or to yell to John to be careful. What she vowed she intended to do later was to make John promise he would never go down in the Lapp well without telling someone. She never wanted to go through what Roseanna Miller had to deal with at that very moment.

In a few minutes, Hal heard John’s voice, sounding hollow as it funneled back out of the well. “I’m ready. Start lifting.”

Elton commanded the horse to back up as he walked alongside. The horse kept the rope taunt. Luke helped guide the rope from the well opening. Levi leaned over the platform waiting to help his father grab hold of Emil.

To Hal, the time it took to rescue the man seemed to go on forever. As she glanced at Roseanna, she knew that must be what his wife was thinking. Roseanna gripped her trembling hands together tightly, turning them white one second and rubbing them angry red the next.

The west wind blasts didn’t help the anxious way Hal felt. For a space of time in the harsh quiet, all they heard was Elton’s husky voice instructing the horse to back up. Then the silence was interrupted ever so often when a gust blasted the windmill’s silver blades. The blades whirling motion increased wildly, creating a screeching grate of metal against metal. The sound set Hal’s raw nerves on edge as she waited to go into action. How did the Millers or any other Amish family stand the noise of a working windmill day in and day out? Now that the thought came to her, Hal realized she had noticed the Lapp windmill before. She hadn't paid any attention to the sound. Besides, the windmill was the least of the things she had to get used to in the coming months. She’d ignore the noise once she became John Lapp’s wife. Noises were just part of living on a farm.

Emil’s bowed body appeared face up. He dangled limply, suspended from the rope wrapped around his waist. Water rained from his clothes, splatting loudly as it flowed into the well. Emil’s arms swung back and forth on their own. The man’s long, drenched dark hair was plastered to his face. His head was thrown back on his arched neck. Luke and Levi reached for him and pulled the man away from the well opening and over the casing.

Water poured off Emil’s dark blue shirt and black pants, making dark splotches in the dirt. Luke and Levi held him by the shoulders and Elton had his feet. Water made a trail of dark polka dots as they carried him to a patch of grass near the oak tree. The men gently laid him down.

Luke slid the rope along his body and off. He handed it to Elton to roll into a coil and unhook from the horse’s neck. Pulling the reins over the horse’s head, Elton handed the rope and reins to Jimmy. “The horse tie to the windmill for right now.”

As Hal knelt beside Emil, Roseanna moved close behind her. “Oh Emil,” she moaned. “Help him, Nurse Hal.”

“I’ll do what I can,” Hal replied, leaning over to put her ear on his chest. Not even a faint heartbeat could be heard over the water gurgling in his chest.

Emil’s mouth gaped open. His lips were blue. His skin was a ghostly white. Water seeped from his nose and ears. She checked in his mouth to see if she needed to clear it. Visible water had already dripped out while the men carried him. Putting her hand under his neck, she pushed the man’s head back. Placing one hand over his forehead to hold his head in that position, she pinched Emil’s nose and blew as hard as she could into his mouth to move air through the water in his lungs.

She kept that up for what seemed like an hour, but in reality was probably only minutes. Finally, the screaming ambulance pulled into the driveway. It made a U turn in the open field, back up to the group and stopped. The ambulance’s double doors burst open. Two men hopped down and pulled the gurney out of the back. The driver, a woman, slid from the cab and raced over. She knelt beside Hal.

Without looking up, Hal stopped long enough to say, “I’m Hal Lindstrom, RN with the Wickenburg Home Health Department.”

The woman placed a finger on the side of Emil’s neck and pressed in, checking for a pulse. “When did you start CPR?”

Hal blew in his mouth, then raised her head to the woman. The fast movement made her head fuzzy. “Maybe ten minutes ago.”

The men lowered the gurney beside Emil.

“You must be ready for a rest. Let me take over,” the woman said.

Hal rose and backed up. John and Luke helped the two men slide Emil onto the gurney in one swift movement. The woman bent over Emil and continued CPR as the men rolled the gurney to the ambulance. She stopped long enough for the EMTs to fold up the wheels and hoist the gurney into the back. The woman hopped in beside him. As the doors shut, Hal could see her leaning over Emil again.

“Mrs. Miller, the ambulance is taking your husband to Wickenburg Hospital,” Hal said.

“I must go there,” Roseanna said urgently to the air in front of her. She took a halting step, heard a cow bawl and froze. “The cows ----. It will be time to milk before I get back. Emil would never be late for milking. I have to hitch up the buggy. I must hurry.” Her mind jumbled with an overload of thoughts.

John took charge again. He put his hand on Roseanna’s shoulder. “Hal can take you and the children to Wickenburg in her car. That would be quicker. If you do not mind riding in Nurse Hal’s car?”

The pale-faced woman looked from Hal to her car. “I want to be with my husband.”

“Gute,” John said, “You go with Hal. If these men are agreeable, they can help me with the milking. Do not worry about chores.” He turned to Hal. “The boys will be home from school by now. Stop and tell them they will have to milk alone tonight.”

“All right,” Hal said. “Mrs. Miller, come around and get in the front with me.” She took Roseanna by the elbow and lead her around the car. The woman moved along only when prompted. Hal opened the door. She waited for Roseanna to get in the car. The woman started to sit down then turned to Hal. “My husband is in a bad way, ain’t?”

“Yes, it doesn’t look good, but the ambulance crew will be doing CPR on him all the way to the hospital. A doctor in the emergency room has been alerted that Mr. Miller is on his way. Everyone is doing all they can for your husband,” Hal assured her.

“I am glad to hear that. Thank you for all you did to help Emil,” Roseanna said, patting Hal’s arm. Then she ducked her head and sat down.

Emma slid in back with Jimmy and Ella. As Hal drove past the mailbox, she read the sign again. She hoped Mrs. Miller took the saying to heart. Roseanna was going to need to pray for peace in her heart in the coming days.

In a few minutes, Hal pulled into the Lapp driveway. “Emma, find the boys as quick as you can.” Emma slid from the car. As an after-thought, Hal got out, too. She said softly, “Emma, I think it would be good if you came to the hospital with us. The Millers will need a friend they know. Mr. Miller’s condition isn't good.”

“Yes, I understand. I will hurry,” Emma said over her shoulder, darting to the house.

Hal drove into the hospital parking lot just as the ambulance pulled away from the wide portico. The automatic doors opened to let Hal, Emma and the Miller family troop into the ER. The fluorescent lights stark brightness bounced off the white walls and shiny, waxed tiles underfoot. Used to the dim light of kerosene lamps and candles, the Amish children wilted. They lowered their heads and focused on what was in front of them. As nurses and doctors in green rushed around them, the children looked both fearful and curious about this unknown world.

“Where do we go?” Roseanna’s worried face focused on the line of cubicles down the hall, wondering which one her husband was in.

Hal stopped them at the nurse’s station and leaned over the counter to speak to the nurse. “Hi, Lucy.”

The nurse stood up from her paperwork. The petite woman’s head just barely showed above the nurse station counter. She smiled when she recognized Hal. “Hi, Hal. The Amish man that just came in yours?” She asked briskly.

“Yes. This is the Miller family. Roseanna Miller, this is Lucy Stineford. We worked together at the Home Health Department until she got this ER job,” Hal introduced.

“Why don’t all of you go sit in the waiting area. Doctor Christensen is with your husband Mrs. Miller. I’ll tell him where you’re at,” the nurse said gravely and rushed for a cubicle with the door closed.

The television, in the waiting area, was on. The evening news with Charlie Gibson was playing. Hal always liked the way Charlie presented the news. He blended the worst events with human interest stories surely designed to make the viewers feel better about all the bad news he gave them.

Hal studied Roseanna. The poor woman didn’t care about terrorists or falling stock markets right now. All she wanted was to hear good news about her husband. She clutched her hands at her waist, trying to hold herself together. She stared at the closed exam room door as if she was willing her husband to walk out of that room to her.

Ella and Jimmy’s eyes widened in fearful awe as they stared at the pictures flickering on the television. The phone trilled loudly at the nurse’s station. Ella jumped. Too many English inventions to cope with while the children worried about their father. Hal picked up the remote on the lamp table and did away with Charlie Gibson.

Doctor Stan Christensen’s voice brought her around. “Hello, Hal.” Standing in the doorway, the tall, blonde, blue-eyed man, dressed in green scrubs, with a stethoscope around his neck, had a harried look on his face.

Lucy stood behind him. Hal darted a questioning glance at the nurse. Lucy gave a slight nod of her head. Hal caught Emma’s eyes and nodded toward Roseanna. They both moved close to her.

Hal said the doctor, “Dr. Christensen, this is Roseanna Miller.”

He turned to Roseanna and offered his hand. “How do you do.”

“My husband?” Roseanna whispered, gripping the doctor’s hand.

His was the sad face of a man who no matter how many times he delivered bad news couldn’t get used to it. “I hate to tell you this, but there wasn’t anything we could do for your husband. Mr. Miller was in the water too long. He was gone before he arrived at the hospital.”

Roseanna covered her face and sobbed. Jimmy and Ella put their arms around her as much for their own comfort as to comfort her.

“Nurse Stineford needs to get some information from you. After that you can go home,” the doctor said gently.

The nurse held up a clipboard she’d kept by her side. “I’m sorry for your loss, Mrs. Miller. I need to ask which funeral home to call.”

Roseanna took a deep breath. “Schrock’s.”

Briskly, the nurse said, “Thought that might be the case since they have the horse-drawn hearse. If you will sign a release form for the funeral home, we will take care of the rest.” She handed the clipboard to Roseanna.

“May I see my husband for a moment?” Roseanna asked as she handed the board back.

Lucy nodded. “Of course, you can. For as long as you want. Follow me.”

Roseanna took a step. She weaved back and forth unsteadily. Hal grabbed her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Do you want me ----,” Hal hesitated when Roseanna gave her a blank look and continued, “Emma to go with you?”

Taking a deep breath, Roseanna stiffened her back. “No, we will not be long. Come kids.”

Supper at the Lapp farm was late that evening. Absentmindedly, Hal nibbled at her fried potatoes and scrambled eggs as she watched the children focus on their full plates. The boys were friends with Jimmy Miller. Having lost their mother, they related to the loss Jimmy and his sister were going through.

As long as Hal had known him, Noah, twelve, had too serious a demeanor for a child. Now his solemn expression said he was grieving for the Millers. He kept his dark eyes on his plate as he pushed potatoes slices around in a pretense at eating.

With a gloomy face, Daniel, ten, rested his elbow on the table and leaned his head on his hand. He had taken a bite of egg but he chewed it forever while he tried to digest the loss Jimmy and Ella had just faced. Both boys had many of the features of their father, but Daniel’s soft brown, wide doe eyes were the path to his heart and soul. Right now, the boy was traveling a sad journey within himself.

Pale-faced and weary, Emma must be reliving in her head the scenes of Emil’s rescue. Tough moments for a young girl to have to witness. However if she intended to give medical aid to her community, moments like this afternoon would be what made her strong enough to handle a crisis.

Hal hated that the Lapp children had to struggle with a loss so soon after putting the loss of their mother to rest. Coming to grips with that had taken them almost two years, but then that was their mother. After she understood why the children held on to mourning Diane Lapp, she helped them push that aside. They had become alive again. If she needed to, she would just have to help them through this.

Hal thought about her mother. What advice would she give these children for this situation? Experiencing death was part of growing up. Loving and losing relatives and friends is part of living. That should work. Probably, Amish think the same way. Then again, Hal didn’t think her mother was used to facing the types of accidental deaths that occurred on an Amish farm. I’m pretty sure since I’ve been living in Wickenburg I haven’t heard of an English farmer that drowned in his well.

While helping Emma with the dishes, Hal asked, “Do you think the boys will have a hard time dealing with Emil Miller’s death.

“It will bother them for a while. Mostly worry they do about Jimmy and Ella,” Emma said.

“I could see that just looking at them at supper. They hardly ate anything,” Hal worried.

“The death of our mother was hard on all of us. The circumstances of Emil Miller’s death bring back our mother’s passing, but we are taught gelassenheit. That is a help,” Emma said thoughtfully.

“Gelassenheit? What does the word mean?”

“Our lifestyle. We are raised to live life with serenity, quietness of character and submissiveness to God, church and family. Add gelassenheit to hard work and you have the Amish way of life. Think you can live like that, Hallie?”

“I love your father and you kids so I certainly intend to try,” Hal said with conviction.

“Put your worries aside. After the funeral is over, our lives will go on in the routine they always do,” Emma predicted.

Hal asked, “When will the funeral be?”

“Day after tomorrow. Men are building a pine box to set the coffin in already. The funeral home will bring Emil home. Some of the men will dress him in a white suit. After that, Plain people will gather to pay their respects. The minister will speak for about three hours. All the buggies get a chalked number on the side so people can line up to follow the hearse to the cemetery. The minister leads a spoken song, and everyone says the Lord’s Prayer over the grave. After the funeral is over, everyone meets back at Roseanna’s farm and has a light lunch.”

“I should find someone to replace me tomorrow morning at work so I can come,” said Hal.

“No,” Emma said shortly.

“Why not?”

Emma shook her head. She watched the steam from the soapy dishwater fog up the window as she said, “No outsiders are allowed to come to a funeral.”

“Oh,” Hal uttered, chastened by Emma’s tone.

“This is the way we do things. That is why English call us Peculiar people. Our ways are different,” explained Emma.

Hal winced. “It’s just that I keep forgetting I’m an outsider.”

Emma’s eyes softened as she put a plate in the rinse pan. “I did not mean to hurt your feelings. The time will come when you can go to funerals with us.”

Hal smiled wryly. “I know. You’ve said it before. Patience is a virtue.”

“Yes,” said Emma and went back to washing dishes.

A couple mornings later, Hal stepped out of Wickenburg’s Senior Citizen apartments. She watched a robin hop across the dewy lawn, looking for a nightcrawler. A gentle breeze rustled newly leafed out tree branches and fluttered her curls. The robin egg blue, cloudless sky was cluttered with a crisscross of narrow, smoky jet trails.

The slow, rhythmic click-clack of horse hooves made Hal look down at the end of the block. It was as if she had walked into a time machine and flew back a hundred years. She stared at two sleek, black horses slowly pulling a black wooden hearse past the apartments. Dressed in a black suit, the driver, a somber expression on his face, focused straight ahead. Through the large window in the hearse’s side, the pine casket was in easy view. Schrock Funeral Home was taking Emil home.