––––––––
Two days later, Jenny, wearing a stiff and cumbersome back brace that extended from her collarbone to her waist, was discharged home. As soon as she got home, she made a beeline for the quilting room and began sewing fabric strips together. After an hour and a half, she took a break, lying down for thirty minutes. At the end of the day, she had still made good progress, but she knew she was still behind what she would have been able to do under normal circumstances.
“So, daughter, how did you do today? How are you feeling?” asked Rebecca.
“Sore! I will take a painkiller after I eat dinner. I’d rather save the stronger ones for when I go to bed – they make me drowsy. Starting tomorrow, I’ll take ibuprofen every few hours. The doctor gave me this heating pad – I think I can connect it to the car battery and use it when my back starts to hurt. I just don’t want this to slow me down too much. I want to finish my quilts as I agreed to do.”
“Okay, but, if you start to hurt, slow down and take a break. There’s no need to make yourself feel worse. Understand? Mr. Carey is a hard man, but I think he’d understand an injury slowing you down.”
“Ya, mamm, but I don’t want to push it. I’ll do everything to protect my neck and back, but I also want to finish my work,” said Jenny.
After several days, she found she was able to work, but her injury still slowed her down. Her disappointment showed as she wrote a short letter to Ken Carey, explaining her injury and the circumstances under which she had been hurt.
Mr. Carey, she wrote. I was hurt in a recent tornado that hit Peace Landing and my home. After spending several days in the hospital, I am at home, working while wearing a back brace. I’m still able to work, but my injuries (broken shoulder blade, bruised neck and broken vertebrae in my back) force me to work more slowly. I plan to continue making my quilts for you, as we had agreed I will do. If we can change our schedule, I believe I can deliver one quilt per five months, if not less. Please let me know if this is satisfactory. Of course, once I am fully recovered, I will go back to making one quilt every four months, or one smaller quilt every three months. Sincerely, Jenny King
With trepidation, she mailed the letter and began waiting. One week later, she heard footfalls on the wooden porch outside the front door. Answering a knock at the door, she was surprised to see Ken Carey standing there.
“Miss King! How are you?”
“I’m doing as well as can be expected, thank you. My doctor has told me I can work, but I have to take frequent breaks. I also have to wear this brace for a minimum of two months,” said Jenny.
“Oh, my God, girl, how were you hurt?”
“A tornado hit Peace Landing and our house. When it destroyed the wall and part of the roof over our quilting room, a section of the quilting frame broke off and hit my back and neck.”
“Oh, my God, you could have been killed. I still want quilts from you, but yes, go at the pace that works for you. Will you be receiving physical therapy?”
“Nee. At least, I hope not. That would mean several hours out of my day, at least twice a week. I would rather ask the doctor to give me any exercises that I could do here at home, on my own.”
“If you need therapy, do it. Back and neck injuries can cause permanent pain, and you don’t want that,” Ken said. “If we have to go to a lower number of quilts until you’re fully recovered, I’m okay with that. By the way, Mara sends her love and sent this to you as well,” Ken said, handing Jenny a large gift bag.
Jenny accepted the bag with thanks, looking through the contents. Inside, she found a neck pillow, scented with herbs, a set of wooden massagers and a thick, long pillow.
“She said you’re supposed to put this pillow between your back and the back of your chair. The less pressure you have on your back, the better you’ll feel – and the more quickly you’ll recover. Put this neck pillow around the back of your neck when you’re reading so it’ll support the weight of your head. And, maybe your mother could massage your back and loosen up tight muscles at night?”
“Oh, denki! Let me write a quick thank you note for Mara! This is all so wonderful!”
Jenny grabbed some note paper and quickly wrote a note that she sealed into an envelope, handing it to Ken.
“Just get better, Miss Jenny. I can be a hard – a hard man to work for, but I still have a heart in this old chest,” said Ken.
Jenny grinned at him, grabbed his hand and squeezed.
***
Over the next several weeks, she continued working on the quilts, albeit at a slower pace. She found that she could still produce a high-quality piece of work in five weeks. Going outside into the heat of a summer day, she walked to her father’s carpentry shop, where she called Ken’s shop, leaving him a message to let him know her quilt was finished.
He called her back the next morning and made arrangements to pick the quilt up and deliver her payment.
On the day he had told Jenny he would be in Peace Landing, he knocked at the door of the house.
“Come in, Mr. Carey. How are you?”
“I am doing very well, thank you. More to the point – how are you? How’s your recovery coming?”
“It’s coming along well, thank you. I don’t have to do physical therapy and I think I’ll be out of this brace in a few weeks.”
“Here’s your payment, in full. I won’t be deducting for what insurers call an ‘act of God.’ How about making a smaller quilt for your next project?”
“Denki. Ya, a child’s quilt will work for me. Now that I’m about to get out of this brace, I may be able to start working close to my usual pace – depending on any pain I may feel,” Jenny said cautiously. She had been hit with several days of pain after doing more than her back could handle. She had quickly learned her lesson and, even when her back felt good, she stopped working before it began aching.
“Okay, then, I will put this beauty on display. Let me know how you’re doing and don’t worry about getting back to full speed just yet. I’d rather have you go a little more slowly and be in good physical health. No need causing any harm to yourself, hear?”
“Yes sir, I hear. Thank you.”
At that point Rebecca walked in.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Carey. How do you like the quilt?”
“Mrs. King, it’s beautiful – as always. Your daughter and I have decided she’s going to work on a child’s quilt next.”
“Gut. She’s improving, but, if she overdoes it, she still has pain at the end of the day,” Rebecca said.
“And that’s what I’ve been cautioning her on – to take her time and just follow her back’s cues. I’d much rather wait a little longer than have her be sick.”
“Denki I’m glad to hear that! I make sure she rests when she needs to.”
Ken left after finishing his business with Jenny. Jenny took a break, then, after lunch sat down with Mara’s long pillow behind her back. She had arranged the neck pillow so her neck didn’t take very much strain. Once she was comfortable, she began browsing through printed patterns for a children’s quilt. Once she found what she liked, she set it on the work table, then decided to listen to her body and go for a walk. Outside, she saw more dark clouds piling up on the horizon. Swallowing her fear, she looked around for her daed. When she saw him hurrying in on the wagon, she sighed.
“Daed, look at the clouds!”
“Ya, I know. It doesn’t feel the same way as it did the day of the tornado, but I’m taking no chances. How far do you plan to walk?”
“Not very far now, not with those clouds,” Jenny said.
“Ya. Stay within sight of the house, please,” John said.
“I’ll be inside in less than fifteen minutes, unless the weather gets bad before then,” Jenny said. After fifteen minutes, the clouds were still piling up and racing toward Peace Landing. Looking nervously at the darkening sky, Jenny hurried inside as she felt the first winds starting. Taking her pattern, a drawing pad and her colored pencils, she moved to a room away from windows.
One hour later, a hard rainstorm hit. Complete with thunder, lighting and wind, it hit and howled around the large, well-built wooden house. Jenny continued to feel nervous. Praying that the storm wouldn’t become any worse, she worked on several different designs for the child’s quilt she was beginning. Two hours later, the storm finally ended, with no damage beyond some tree limbs that had been scattered around the yard around the house.
“Rebecca, I’m going to the barn to look for any storm damage and to calm the horses down,” John said. “I’ll be back before dinner.”
“Okay. Be careful. Jenny, how’s your back?”
“Tensed up.”
“Bring those wooden massagers and I’ll work on the kinks in your back,” Rebecca said.
Jenny found the net bag of massagers and brought them to Rebecca, who located the worst of Jenny’s tension. Gently, she pressed a massager on Jenny’s back and helped her work some of the tension out.
“Go take a warm bath. I think the storm is gone, so you should be okay upstairs,” Rebecca said.
“Denki, mamm. When I come down, I’ll help with dinner,” promised Jenny.
“Gut.”
Thirty minutes later, Jenny was dressed and back downstairs.
“Denki. I do feel much better. What shall I work on?”
“We’re having a meat-and-macaroni casserole with vegetables. Work on the salad and break the broccoli apart. I’ll work on the casserole.”
After dinner, Jacob came to the house. He and Jenny sat outside on the porch swing, talking and snacking on homemade cookies.
“How’s your back feeling?” Jacob asked.
“Oh, I have to show you these! Come in – Mara Williams sent a gift down with Mr. Carey. Things for my back and they do help!” Jenny showed the massagers and pillows to Jacob, who grinned.
“I like that woman! She really knows how to take care of you – and she respects our traditions, too. How do these massagers work?”
“Mamm rubs them against any sore muscles I have. They really work! Smell the neck pillow . . .” Jenny held the gently fragranced pillow up to Jacob’s nose.
He sniffed deeply. “Lavender. Nice – this must relax you.”
“Ya, it does. It helped me today when I was choosing a new quilt pattern. I think my doctor’s going to be happy with my progress next time.”
Jacob scooted around and looked tenderly at Jenny. He had realized that he was falling deeply in love with her – her friendly and welcoming attitude, her cheerfulness and ability to stand her ground – and her love of the Lord. I can see myself marrying Jenny. I can see us raising a house full of boppli and growing old together.