Chapter 23
Joanna and Adam both stood as Becky came into the waiting room. “It was a fake heart attack,” she said. She looked exhausted, even more than she had before.
Adam took a step toward his grandmother. “What do you mean?”
“Otherwise known, in my case, as a panic attack.” Becky lowered her voice. “A fake heart attack sounds better, don’t you think? I don’t want to be chastised for not trusting God enough.”
She began to laugh. Adam shook his head. “This isn’t funny.”
Becky stopped laughing. “I’m all right. I promise.” She took Adam’s arm. “I’m sorry I scared you.”
His eyes grew blurry. Joanna glanced away, but she doubted Adam cared if she saw him on the edge of crying. He’d certainly seen her in that state. He brushed away a tear. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Jah.” Becky pointed toward the hallway. “I need to go to the pharmacy. The doctor prescribed a medication.”
Nick had driven Joanna and Adam to the hospital while Lu stayed with Ike. Adam texted Nick they’d be ready to go in a half hour or so.
An hour later, Nick dropped them all off at Becky and Ike’s. Joanna needed to make sure they were all settled and had a plan for dinner, and then she needed to get Mammi Lu home. She probably needed a nap.
Joanna took Becky’s arm as they started up the back steps. As she opened the door, someone called out, “Joanna!”
She turned her head. She recognized the voice. Jacob?
“Joanna!” Nee. It was her Dat.
She let go of Becky’s arm and turned all the way around. He was lumbering toward her, bouncing on his forward foot with each long stride, his graying brown beard blowing in the breeze.
Alarmed, she asked, “Dat?” Was everything all right? Had something happened to Mamm? Nee. He had a smile on his face.
“Is Luanna over here too?”
“Jah,” Joanna said. “She’s in the house with Ike.”
Becky, her voice flat, said, “Hallo, Nehemiah. I hope you’re doing better than we are. Ike had heart surgery on Monday, and I just got back from the emergency room.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Dat had reached the bottom step.
“Why are you here?” Joanna asked. “Did Mamm come with you?”
“Nee. Just me. I have some business I need to see to.”
Dat always seemed to have some sort of business plan he was working on. But why in Lancaster County? Why now?
“I’ll be staying at Luanna’s.” Hardly anyone but Dat called Mammi Lu by her full name. Joanna wasn’t sure why.
“Does she know you’re here?”
He grinned. “Nee. I wanted to surprise her.”
“Nehemiah,” Becky said, “this is my grandson, Adam.”
A quick flash of pain passed over Dat’s expression. “Hallo, Adam. It’s been years since I’ve seen you.” Dat was probably thinking of Reuben, who would have grown up with Mamm. Of course Dat had known him too.
Dat extended his hand. Adam took a step down to receive it and said, “I’m happy to meet you.”
Dat clasped Adam’s hand tightly.
“Come on in.” Becky waved toward the door. “There’s some iced tea in the fridge.”
“Nee,” Joanna said. “We’ll get out of your way. You need to rest.”
Becky shuffled past Joanna. “Just come in for a minute.”
After Becky and Adam stepped into the house, Joanna’s father gave her a pat on the shoulder. No one in her family showed much affection, which was normal for both their family and the larger Amish community. Mammi Lu and sometimes Mamm were the only ones who hugged Joanna.
Becky called out, “Lu. Surprise.” However, her voice didn’t match her words. “Nehemiah is here.”
Joanna stepped into the kitchen. Mammi Lu stood at the sink with a startled expression on her face. “Nehemiah,” she said. “Is Suzanna with you?”
He shook his head. “She sends her love. I caught a ride—there wasn’t enough room for another passenger.”
That meant Dat didn’t want to pay full price for his own driver, which would allow Mamm to come too. Joanna would have liked to have seen her mother, but she wasn’t surprised Dat hadn’t brought her along.
Mammi Lu dried her hands on her apron. “What brings you here without Suzanna?”
“Business,” he said.
Mammi Lu turned toward Becky and asked what the doctor said.
Becky waved her hand in a dismissive way and said, “I’m fine. I’ll give you the details later. How is Ike?”
“He’s napping. He ate well. A turkey sandwich and celery sticks.”
“I’ll go check on him.” Becky stepped out of the kitchen.
Adam stepped to the fridge.
“Let’s go over to our house,” Mammi Lu said to Dat.
“It’s fine if you stay,” Adam said.
Mammi Lu shook her head. “I’ll let Becky know we’re leaving.” She stepped into the hall.
Joanna gathered up the basket and box they’d brought that morning. She motioned to her Dat and stepped toward the door.
Her Dat said, “I’ll wait for Luanna.”
Joanna kept going. What was Dat up to?
She descended the stairs and sat on the bench by the driveway. Becky had put it in so she could sit while she waited for Ike to come around with the buggy.
Adam came down the back steps and sat beside her. “You seemed surprised to see your Dat.”
“Jah. I am.” Why hadn’t her mother called to say he was coming? “Shocked, actually.”
“Why didn’t you move to Maine with them?”
That was a broad question with several answers. She chose one. “I wanted to stay here with Mammi Lu and Dawdi Marcus.”
They sat silently for a long moment. Finally, Adam said, “If you need to talk, come over.”
“Denki.” Joanna smiled and with a little sass added, “And if you need to talk, come over to Mammi Lu’s.”
“All right.” Adam smiled. “We can watch the lightning bugs.”
“I’d like that.” Joanna met his gaze.
His eyes shone. “I’d like that too.”
Adam started toward the steps, just as Dat came down them. “Joanna. Why didn’t you write that Jacob broke up with you?”
She didn’t turn around. She didn’t want to see the concerned expression on Adam’s face. She sat with her back straight and stared at the barn.
“Joanna, I didn’t hear your answer. Why didn’t you tell me?”
That was the thing with the men in her family except for Leon—no one edited themselves. They blurted out whatever came into their heads no matter the situation or setting or who they damaged. And they were always loud about it. It hurt her ears—and her heart.
Perhaps her familiarity with this treatment was one of the reasons she’d put up with Jacob.
Once they reached the house, Dat asked to speak with Mammi Lu. “Make me a sandwich, would you, Jo?” he called as they stepped out onto the porch.
Jo. No one but Dat and her brothers, excluding Leon, called her that. It was as if saying her whole name was too much of a bother. And yet he called Mammi Luanna when she preferred Lu.
Come to think of it, Jacob called her Jo sometimes when he was tired. Or mad.
She made the sandwich. As she balanced the tray and opened the door, Dat said, “I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t at the end of my rope.”
Joanna took a step backward and said, loudly, “Here’s that sandwich.” She took it to the table between the two of them and said, “And lemonade for both of you.”
“Denki.” Mammi Lu gave Joanna a tired smile. “Did you make a sandwich for yourself?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat anyway.” Mammi Lu stood. “I’m going to go in and rest. It’s been an eventful day.”
“Jah, go get some rest,” Dat said. “Jo and I need to talk about what went wrong with Jacob. You may need to go back to Maine with me.”
Appalled, Joanna figuratively bit her tongue to keep from saying, “I’m twenty-two years old. You can’t make me go to Maine.” Dat had never tolerated back talk. She’d seen him give her older brothers tongue-lashings even after they were grown.
She kept quiet.
“There are several eligible bachelors in Maine.” He chuckled. “Not a lot of young women, and from the few that are there, you would be the best pick by far.”
“Dat.”
“Jacob’s a fool,” he said. “Why did he break up with you?”
She shrugged.
“I need to speak with him.”
She groaned. “Nee. That’s not a good idea.”
Dat didn’t miss a beat. “Do you think you and Jacob will work things out again?”
She shrugged, not wanting to tell him no and make him even more set on forcing her to move to Maine.
“Give it a month. If you don’t get back together, come join us.”
She exhaled. “I like my job here. We’ve just taken on a large project—Becky and Ike need me more now than ever. And Mammi Lu needs me too.”
He didn’t respond. Did he think she was being impertinent? “What did you ask Mammi for?” she asked.
“Who said I asked her for something?”
“I’m just guessing.”
“It’s none of your business.” That stung, but his words weren’t surprising. It wasn’t her business, and Dat had rarely shared business concerns with Joanna’s mother, let alone any of his children. Except for Leon, since he was able to take on the mortgage on the second farm in Maine.
Dat took off his hat and ran his hand through his graying hair. Regardless of what he’d just said, he told her anyway. “I need a loan. We’ve had some setbacks. Leon’s house needs some repairs.”
Worried, Joanna asked, “Did something happen?”
“Jah, their house caught on fire a couple of weeks ago.”
Joanna gasped. She felt as if she might be ill. Why hadn’t Leon told her? Probably because he knew how much it would upset her.
“Everyone’s okay. Lightning caused it.”
She was relieved to hear it hadn’t been negligence.
“And most of the house is fine, but there are repairs that need to be done and inspections.” He took a drink of lemonade. “Plus the property next to us is for sale. We haven’t found a place for Sam and Seth—” They were the twins just older than Joanna. Both had recently married.
“I’d really like to have Sam and Seth close. We can’t handle another farm and the repairs to Leon’s house. Our district’s mutual fund is too lean to be used to help with the repairs.”
“And you think Mammi does have the funds?”
“She has more than you’d think. Marcus was good with money.” Was he implying he wasn’t?
Joanna swallowed the lump in her throat. “Did you ask your parents for a loan?”