A week had passed since Frank’s visit to the knitting class. He had continued his practice stitches, and Karla had been impressed when, after only a few days, he had resumed his childhood speed and ability. Though she’d deemed further lessons unnecessary, Frank continued to join her in the downstairs room used for quilting after prayer service each evening. He would knit, or at least hold the needles in his hands, while she worked on Antje’s second wedding quilt.
Some evenings both Antje and her mother would join them, but usually only their mother appeared. Given Antje’s dislike of quilting, she would often seek out something else to fill her time. Tonight, only Frank and Karla had come to the parlor.
Frank sat a short distance away from the quilting frame with yarn and knitting needles in hand, while Karla had settled close to the frame on the other side. She held her quilting needle close to the lamp, expertly threaded the eye, and momentarily studied her stitching.
“Your Mutter isn’t joining us tonight?” Frank poked his knitting needle into what appeared to be lengthening into a scarf of some sort.
“Nein. She isn’t feeling well. I was surprised she attended prayer meeting with us. All day she has complained of stomach pain. Before I came downstairs, she said the pain had lessened, but now she has a headache and said she was going to bed.”
Karla dipped her needle into the buttercup-yellow fabric that had been stretched tight on the quilting frame and tried to set aside her worries. It wasn’t like her mother to surrender and take to her bed. Still, it would be only a few hours until bedtime, and it did make sense for her mother to rest. And with Christmas approaching, they all needed to be in good health. They had much to accomplish over the next few days.
“I’m sorry to hear she isn’t well, but I’m always pleased to have a little time alone with you.” Frank picked up the knitting basket and carried his chair to the other side of the quilting frame.
Before he could set the chair beside her, Karla held up her palm. “No closer than the end of the frame. I like to have room when I’m quilting.”
Frank raised a brow and blew out a long breath. “Is that the only reason?”
His eyes shone with sadness, but Karla detected a hint of resentment in his tone. “To be alone isn’t proper. My parents trust you to behave as a gentleman, and I think that includes sitting at a distance while we visit, ja?”
He placed the chair at the end of the frame and dropped to the chair with a thud. “What about you, Karla? Have I gained your trust in me?”
She couldn’t tell him that he had won her heart and she’d come to believe he would never intentionally hurt her. To tell him such a thing would be improper—and embarrassing. And to say the words out loud would make her far too vulnerable. What if he should change his mind about her? As much as she wanted to, she wasn’t yet prepared to take such a chance.
“You’re a fine man, Frank, and I remember everything you have told me since your return.” She withdrew a handkerchief from her pocket and swiped the dampness from her palms.
His brow inched higher. “But?”
“Give me a little more time. Trust can be quickly destroyed, but restoration takes much longer.”
“But I’ve done nothing to lose your trust.” His voice rose. “Your issue is with someone else. I’m not him. I don’t make promises and take them back.”
“Frank, I’m trying. I just need more time.”
“How much time will it take for you to forget the pain? Am I truly expecting too much too soon? I had hoped that our friendship would prove a strong enough foundation to build on.” He shoved the piece of knitting into the basket. “I think I will go upstairs.” He pushed up from the chair and walked to her side. Her heart quickened when he touched her cheek. “I’ve been praying that God will give you the ability to trust me. I don’t plan to stop asking until He grants the desire of my heart.” He slid his hand down her cheek and lifted her chin until their eyes met. “I love you, Karla. You can trust me to be at your side and not leave you.”
The moment he removed his hand from her face, she longed for the warmth of his touch. Why didn’t she tell him? Why did she permit him to leave without saying a word?
Coward! The accusation echoed in her head long after Frank had departed the room.
Karla stared into the mirror in her bedroom, and the same homely face stared back at her. Lord, why couldn’t You have made me beautiful like Antje?
She recalled her talk with her sister about leaning on God’s understanding and not her own. Frank loved her. Could she ever see herself as he saw her? He’d complimented her on her soul-filled eyes and her sweet disposition. And more than once, he’d brushed his fingers across her cheek. She mimicked the gesture. Her cheek felt soft against the back of her fingers.
But how did God see beauty? She remembered the verse that said beauty came from a gentle and quiet spirit. Was her spirit gentle? Deep inside she knew it was gentle, even if that hadn’t always been the case lately. A quiet spirit? No. Her spirit had not been quiet. She’d questioned everything since the day Oskar had chosen another. Trust and faith eluded her. Could she find them again? Could she become the woman Frank saw?
After breakfast Karla cleared the plates and bowls from the dining tables while her mother returned to the kitchen. Her father had checked out the two remaining hotel customers before heading to one of the forested areas outside the village to help cut wood. Keeping houses and businesses supplied with firewood was an ongoing task that was shared by the men in the village, and her father helped as often as possible. Today the men would be gone until supper time, so both Karla and her mother would register any new guests who might arrive.
Frank stopped by the dining room before he departed for the pharmacy. “I think I may need help with my knitting tonight. I cannot determine for sure, but I think I dropped a stitch several rows back.”
“If you want to bring it downstairs, I can check it later this morning.”
He shook his head and winked. “I’ll bring it downstairs this evening.”
Did he realize that each time he winked in her direction, her stomach formed a knot and her heart pounded a new beat? She ducked her head as heat inched up her neck.
Before she could reply, Antje burst into the room. She came to a screeching halt when she caught sight of Frank. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She lifted the wool cloak from her arm and dropped it across her shoulders as she turned toward her sister. “I’m leaving. I will try to be back to help with supper.” Since Sister Margaret Brewster had given birth to twins two weeks ago, Antje had been assigned to help her on the other side of the village. The difficult birth had left Sister Margaret abed, and with another child only eighteen months old, the woman needed as much help as possible.
“You didn’t interrupt, Antje. Brother Frank stopped to say good-bye before he departs for work.” Karla reached across one of the long wooden tables and picked up a stack of dirty plates. “I’m sure you both need to leave for work, and I must wash the breakfast dishes.” Karla entered the kitchen shortly after Frank and Antje departed.
She lowered the plates into the hot, sudsy water her mother had prepared. “Are you sure you’re better, Mutter? Your color appeared fine earlier, but now you’re pale. Maybe you should go upstairs and lie down.”
“Nein. I’m just a little weak.” She dipped her hands into the water. “Once we have finished the dishes, we will start on the marzipan. Then tomorrow we need to begin the Christmas cookies.” She lifted the corner of her white apron and dabbed perspiration from her forehead.
Her mother might think they would make marzipan today, but Karla had her doubts. Once they finished the dishes, she was going to insist her mother rest. Whether her mother wanted to admit it or not, she had a fever and should be in bed. After gathering the last of the breakfast dishes and returning to the kitchen, Karla placed them on the worktable. “Let me finish, Mutter.”
Her mother started to offer a weak protest, but before she’d completed the objection, her knees buckled. An involuntary squeal escaped Karla’s lips as she lunged around the worktable and caught her mother as she slipped to the floor. Fear pulsed through Karla’s veins in unmerciful, gushing surges as she stooped beside her mother.
“Mutter! Please answer me!”
Her mother remained silent, her eyes closed, her complexion pale and clammy. Karla jumped to her feet, dipped a clean dishcloth into the bucket of cold water, and placed it across her mother’s forehead. Her fingers trembled as she loosened the top button of her mother’s dress before applying a wet cloth to her cheeks and neck. The tightness in her chest relaxed a modicum when her mother’s eyelids fluttered open and a groan escaped her lips.
“Mutter? You’re ill and you fainted. When you feel strong enough, I need to help you to bed and go for the doctor.”
“I will be fine. Help me to my feet.”
Karla placed her arm beneath her mother’s shoulders and helped her to a sitting position. “Sit for a minute and see how you feel before you try to stand.” She was pleased her mother didn’t argue, but after a few moments, she motioned for Karla to help her to her feet.
“There, you see? I’m …” Her mother faltered and reached for the worktable.
Karla tightened her hold around her mother’s waist. “Let’s see if you can make it upstairs to bed. If not, you must lie down on the sofa in the lobby, and I will go for the doctor.”
“I will not do such a thing. What if a guest should arrive and see me?”
“It will be at least another hour before a train arrives. And what do you care what anyone thinks if you’re ill?”
Her mother leaned heavily on Karla but insisted they go upstairs. With each step, Karla worried her mother might faint once again. What if she couldn’t hold her and they tumbled down the stairs? Her mother’s breath sounded labored with each step, and by the time they arrived at the upper hallway, Karla’s fear had escalated to new heights.
“Only a little farther, Mutter, and you will be in bed.” Karla’s arm ached, yet she dared not change positions.
Step-by-step, they slowly crossed the parlor. Once they entered the bedroom and her mother caught sight of the bed, she took two long steps and dropped onto the mattress. With legs akimbo and her lifeless arms dangling in awkward positions, she looked like a rag doll that had been carelessly tossed aside.
Panic began to take hold of Karla, but she forced it down. Lord, let me have a quiet spirit. I trust You. I trust You. I trust You. Karla gently lifted her mother’s arms and then her legs into more comfortable positions. After another quick assessment of her mother’s condition, she covered her with a quilt. “I’m going for the doctor, Mutter. Don’t move from the bed. Do you hear me?”
She didn’t answer, but Karla couldn’t wait any longer to fetch help. Racing down the steps, she grabbed her cloak from the hook and yanked open the door. Sleet pelted her face, and she instinctively pulled her hood tight beneath her chin. When had it started to snow? She hadn’t even noticed. Her feet slipped on the icy wood sidewalk, and frustration soon turned to anger. Why had her father gone to cut wood today? Why was Antje off helping Sister Margaret with her new twins? Her mother should not be at home alone right now. As if to taunt her, the sleet turned to heavy, wet snow, making it difficult to see. The cold slush penetrated her leather shoes, but she trudged on until she arrived at the doctor’s office. She tapped on the door and entered, thankful for a bit of warmth.
Neither of the kerosene lamps was lit, and there was no sign of the doctor. Fear seized her as she crossed the room. “Dr. Neilson? Are you here?”
At the sound of approaching footsteps, relief swept over her. “I’m so happy …”
“Guten Morgen, Sister Karla.”
“Guten Morgen, Sister Neilson.” Karla stretched to the side, hoping Dr. Neilson would appear behind his wife. “My Mutter is ill, and I need Dr. Neilson to come to the hotel.”
“He isn’t here. The elders sent him to Chicago to learn some new procedures at the teaching hospital. He left on the train yesterday and will not return for two more days.” She glanced toward the window. “Maybe your Vater should go to Middle for the doctor, ja?”
“He’s not at the hotel. He went out with a group of men to cut wood this morning.”
“With this heavy snowfall, I think they will soon return.” Sister Neilson frowned. “Promise you will not try to go yourself.”
Reluctantly, Karla nodded. Her mother needed a doctor, and she couldn’t be certain her father would return anytime soon. If they thought the storm might subside, they wouldn’t be so quick to come home. The ground was already covered in a thick blanket of white, and the sky remained heavy with snow.
Karla stepped outside and glanced across the street. Through the blinding whiteness of snowfall, she was drawn to the flicker of light shining through the window of the apothecary.
Frank! He would help her.
Treading with a careful step, she crossed the road. A bell jangled overhead as she opened the door, and a welcome rush of heat from the woodstove greeted her as she entered. She inhaled the aroma of dried herbs that mingled with the burning pine to create a special scent all their own.
“Frank! Frank! Where are you?”
Lifting a mittened hand to her face, she wiped the wet snow from her eyelashes and rushed to the counter.
Frank emerged from a back room, and delight momentarily shone in his eyes. It was quickly replaced with a frown. “Karla! What are you doing out in this blizzard?”
“Mutter is ill, and Vater went with the men to cut wood. I’ve no idea when he will get back. I went to fetch the doctor, but Sister Neilson said he has gone to some medical school. I need to return home and see to Mutter.” Fear knotted deep inside at the mention of her mother’s condition. “With this terrible blizzard, it isn’t safe for anyone to go to Middle, so I was hoping that you would give me some medicine for her that will help. You remember she wasn’t feeling well last night, but this morning she seemed better. Then a short time after you and Antje departed, she fainted. She has a fever and—”
“I can’t just give you medicine, Karla. Maybe you can give her some headache powders that you have at the house, but I’m not a doctor, and I’m not permitted to administer medicine without a prescription from the doctor.”
Tears formed in her eyes and anger rose in her chest. He’d said that he would do anything she asked—that she could trust him. “I’m asking for your help, Frank.” When he hesitated, she glanced toward the doorway that led to Brother Hueber’s living quarters. “Where is Brother Hueber? Maybe he can give her something.”
“Brother Hueber isn’t well and is resting, but I can tell you that he would not prescribe medicine for your Mutter either. It is against everything we are taught as pharmacists. Besides, I have no idea what is wrong with her. What if I gave her the wrong thing and her condition worsened?”
“Then come to the house. Check her and see what you think it is.”
He nodded. “Let me get my coat.”
Grasping Karla’s arm to keep her upright against the blustering wind, Frank urged her toward the hotel. Once inside, he ordered her to get warm by the stove while he checked on her mother.
Rushing upstairs, he found Sister Irma curled on her side in her bed. He pressed his hand against her forehead and pulled it back when he felt the searing heat beneath it. Fear shot through him. He didn’t need to be a doctor to know Karla’s mother was very ill.
“Sister Irma?” He sat down in the chair beside the bed. “Can you hear me?”
She nodded but didn’t open her eyes.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Stomach.” She grimaced.
Moments later Karla bolted into the room. “See how sick she is? Now that you’ve seen her, what can you give her?”
“Karla, I’m not a doctor. This is one thing I can’t do.”
She glared at him. “Cannot or will not? You went to college. You understand medicine. I’m sure you could help her if only you would. I can’t trust you any more than I could Oskar.”
The words stung as much as the biting sleet, but he understood her words were coming from her fear. “All we can do is keep her as cool as possible.”
“That’s it?”
He wrapped his scarf around his neck and moved toward the door.
“And where are you going?”
“To get what she needs. I’ll be back.” He squeezed her shoulder. “Trust me.”