They were halfway up the walk to the front porch when Lavinia had an idea.
She stopped and turned to Abe. “We should call Rebecca.”
“Rebecca? The midwife?”
Lavinia nodded vigorously.
“Who’s having a boppli?”
She punched him lightly on the arm. “Rebecca won’t mind taking a look at your mudder, checking her out. She can make schur Waneta isn’t having a problem with her blood pressure. Make schur it’s just the heat that got to her today.”
“That’s a gut idea.” He handed her his cell phone. “Call her.”
“You can call her.”
He held up his hands. “Nee, danki. You do it.”
Lavinia took the phone from him and dialed the number. “You’d think you’re afraid of catching something from a phone call,” she muttered. “Rebecca? Hi, it’s Lavinia.” She briefly explained the situation and then smiled. “Danki. See you soon.”
She disconnected the call, then handed the phone to Abe with a satisfied smile. “There. Problem solved.”
He nodded. “Now all you have to do is go inside and tell Mamm that Rebecca is coming to see her.”
Her smile faded. “Why can’t you do it?”
“Because it was your idea.” He picked up the handle of the wagon and began walking up the ramp to the porch.
“I heard that!” she called as she hurried after him.
“What?”
“You snickered. You think it’s funny? I’m not afraid to tell your mudder Rebecca’s coming to make schur she’s allrecht. I love your mudder and just want her to be well. I think she’s going to be happy I thought to ask Rebecca here.”
She didn’t feel so certain when Abe chuckled. “Schur.”
They went up the ramp and into the house with the wagon. Abe’s eldres were still sitting at the table. Lavinia was glad to see that Waneta looked a little better, but Abe had managed to make her doubt what she’d done.
“How are you feeling?” she asked the older woman.
“Much better. Danki.”
“I know you didn’t want us to call nine-one-one, so I came up with another way to make schur you’re really allrecht.”
“Oh?” Waneta frowned. “How?”
“I called Rebecca to ask her to drop by and take a look at you.”
Waneta stared at her for a long moment, and Lavinia held her breath. And then Waneta began laughing. She laughed and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. When she finally stopped, she lifted a corner of her apron and wiped her streaming eyes.
“Kind, I’m not having a boppli.”
“Well, of course you’re not. But Rebecca said she wouldn’t mind checking your blood pressure and such.”
“Blood pressure’s just fine,” Waneta said. “I went in for a checkup last week, and it was fine.”
“It can’t hurt to have Rebecca check you over,” Faron said, taking her hand in his. “It was smart of Lavinia to think to call her.”
“I suppose so.” She looked at Lavinia. “I know you meant well.”
Lavinia glanced over at Abe as he leaned against a kitchen counter watching them. He lifted the glass of water in his hand, acknowledging her success.
Waneta glanced at the clock on the wall. “I should be starting supper.”
“Please let me do that,” Lavinia said.
Before she could ask what she should cook, there was a knock on the door and Rebecca poked her head in.
“So, Waneta, I hear you’re feeling a little under the weather,” Rebecca said as she walked into the room carrying her medical bag. She moved slowly, one hand resting protectively on her belly.
Lavinia couldn’t help staring at it. It seemed to her that the woman’s baby bump had grown a lot since the last time she’d seen her.
Rebecca caught her gaze and grinned. “I still have months. I’m not going to have the baby here.” She turned to Waneta. “Would you like to go into the other room so I can take your blood pressure?”
Waneta shook her head. “Here’s fine.” She patted the chair beside her. “Sit and take a load off.”
“I will in a minute.” Rebecca took out her stethoscope and a blood pressure cuff from her bag, wrapped the cuff around Waneta’s arm, and proceeded to measure her pressure.
“A little high,” she noted as she removed the cuff and replaced it and the stethoscope in her bag. She took Waneta’s pulse and nodded. “A bit fast. How did you feel before you fainted?” she asked as she sat in a chair.
“Too warm. A little lightheaded. I came in for a drink of water. Like I said, I’m feeling fine now.”
Rebecca pursed her lips and stared at the older woman for a long moment. “Well, I think you probably overdid today and didn’t hydrate. You’ve got heat exhaustion. We usually see it earlier in the summer, but you were away. You’re not used to the heat yet. I prescribe some rest this evening, and if you should feel any symptoms, you call your doctor right away. Promise me you’ll put your feet up and relax the rest of the day?”
Waneta sighed. “Promise.”
Nodding, Rebecca levered herself up out of the chair and picked up her bag.
“Abe, carry that bag out to Rebecca’s buggy for her,” Waneta told him.
She laughed. “Don’t be silly. I’m fine.” She patted Waneta’s shoulder. “You take care.”
“I will. Danki for coming.”
Relieved, Lavinia saw her to the door, then turned back to Waneta. “What shall I fix for supper?”
* * *
Abe scooped up the last of his strawberry shortcake and sighed with satisfaction.
“Great supper,” he told Lavinia.
She shrugged. “Thank your mudder. I just tossed together the leftovers from the refrigerator.”
“You did a gut job,” Waneta told her. “I have to say, I like your recipe for chicken salad better than mine. I wouldn’t have thought to put a little lemon juice in it. Brightens it up just fine.”
“My mudder always adds it,” Lavinia told her. “I’m glad you liked it.” She looked at Abe. “Now your sohn and I are going to do the dishes so you can go relax like you promised Rebecca you would.”
Faron wiped his mouth on his napkin and stood. “Danki for supper, Lavinia.”
“You’re wilkumm.”
He turned to his fraa. “Kumm, we’re going to go sit on the porch and relax. A promise is a promise, Waneta.”
“I know.” Waneta drained her glass of iced tea and got to her feet. “Danki for supper. And for thinking to call Rebecca,” she told Lavinia. She bent to kiss Lavinia’s cheek.
Lavinia blushed and nodded.
Abe watched his eldres walk out of the room and then stood. He began clearing the table.
“Something wrong?” Lavinia asked.
“Hmm?” He set the dishes in the sink and turned back to her.
“You were quiet all through supper.”
“Mamm always said not to talk with your mouth full.”
She smiled and shook her head. “That’s not why you were quiet. You’re still worried about your mudder, aren’t you?”
He glanced at the doorway to make schur they were alone. “I guess I always thought Mamm was indestructible. It was Daed we both worried about after his diagnosis.”
“Your mudder isn’t going anywhere anytime soon,” she told him as she filled one side of the double sink with warm water and squirted in dishwashing liquid. “I do think it was just overwork and the heat that bothered her today.”
“Well, she’s going to stop overdoing,” he said firmly.
She smiled. “How are you going to do that?”
“I won’t have her working herself into the ground for the farm.” He stared out the kitchen window.
“The farm’s important to her.”
He turned back to look at her. “Familye’s more important.”
“Your familye is strong. You’ll all survive the tough times.”
Turning, he leaned against the counter and studied her. “You always know the right thing to say.”
“I wish that was true,” she said as she handed him a clean dish towel. She plunged her hands into the sudsy water and scrubbed a dish. After rinsing it in the clean water in the other side of the sink, she handed it to him. “I just feel things are going to work out. There isn’t a farm in this area—maybe anywhere—that hasn’t gone through some big challenges.”
“Daed said much the same thing.”
She looked at him. “So remember his words, Abe. Remember his words.”
He sighed and nodded. She handed him a plate to dry, and he thought about how right she looked here in his home. Imagined what it would be like when they were married and living here, just the two of them. Oh, schur, his eldres would be in the dawdi haus, and there would be times the four of them would share a meal, but they’d all give each other time to be alone with their spouses. His gaze drifted to the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, before realizing he shouldn’t be thinking about the time they’d have there together one day. He forced himself to return his attention to the chore of drying a dish.
“There you go again,” she said mildly.
“Hmm?”
“You went someplace else while I was talking. What were you thinking about?” Her eyes widened. “Why, Abe! You’re blushing!”
“I am not. Men don’t blush.”
She laughed. “You are!” She rinsed another dish, handed it to him, met his gaze, and her expression became serious. “I’ve known you too long not to know what you’re thinking.”
“Is that so?” He leaned closer. “Tell me what I’m thinking.”
He watched her face turn a rosy pink.
They heard the thump of a cane and jumped apart.
“Any more of that iced tea left?” Faron asked as he came into the room.
“I’ll get it for you,” Lavinia said quickly. She took the empty glass from him and filled it from the pitcher in the refrigerator. “Does Waneta want some?”
“The glass is for her.” He moved closer to Abe. “Sorry to interrupt,” he murmured.
“Didn’t.”
His dat just chuckled. “Your mudder and I have washed a dish or two together, you know.”
Abe rolled his eyes. Lavinia shut the refrigerator door and handed Faron the glass. Abe couldn’t help noticing that his dat left the room in a quieter fashion.