Chapter 21
Deborah sat next to Peter in their buggy as they traveled back home from the hospital. She was thankful that her mother had agreed to watch the kinner while they went to see Hannah. They were surprised that she'd been released so soon, and even more surprised that Christian hadn't told them. Of course, she knew Hannah didn't care much for hospitals and would have been longing for home.
Deb was astonished when Mamm said that Hannah'd had another miscarriage. Deborah could usually detect when her sister was in the family way, but it seemed she'd been able to conceal this pregnancy well. Deborah's heart ached for Hannah. To have been in the family way three times and still have no boppli to hold must be hard. Deborah felt somewhat guilty that she had two healthy kinner, and Hannah still had none. And now that she was expecting again, she was hesitant to tell Hannah, especially in light of another miscarriage.
The shrill of an ambulance in the distance sent chills up Deborah's spine. Ever since she'd been a child, she'd hated that sound. It had always been a symbol of sadness and pain. Somebody's someone was in that ambulance and somebody's heart was breaking. As she always did, she sent up a quick prayer for whomever was in distress at the moment.
The traffic ahead of them seemed to be going even slower than their horse. Deborah tried to stand up a bit to see around the vehicle in front of her, but Peter quickly pulled her back into the seat. He'd always been overprotective.
“Ach, what do you think is happening up there?” Deborah asked.
“I don't know,” Peter yelled, as two screaming ambulances passed their buggy heading in the opposite direction. “Must've been an accident of some kind.”
Deborah anxiously waited as the traffic inched forward at painstakingly slow speeds. She couldn't imagine how impatient the Englisch drivers in their fast automobiles must be. After another twenty minutes, she could finally see where a police officer stood waving traffic through. When they reached the officer, he asked them to pull off to the side of the road.
“Excuse me, Sir, but yours is the first Amish buggy to drive by. I was hoping you could possibly help us identify the driver of the buggy that was in the accident,” the officer requested.
“Jah, I will see if I know who it is.” Peter descended the carriage. “Deborah, why don't you stay here?”
Deborah nodded, not sure her stomach would be able to handle seeing wreckage. She watched as Peter walked across the street with the officer. Up ahead, a mangled buggy, turned over on its side, littered the road's shoulder with a detached buggy wheel fifty feet away. Dear God, please let the people be okay. Please don't let it be anybody we know, she prayed quietly while keeping an eye on Peter.
Peter and the officer crouched down next to a long white sheet. As the officer lifted the sheet, Deborah saw her husband immediately look away. When he looked back at the body under the sheet, his hands went to his face and he bowed his head. Oh no! He knows who it is. Deborah couldn't stand being in the buggy a moment longer. She hopped down and raced across the street.
“Peter, who is it?” she asked fearfully.
Peter looked up. Tears glistened in his eyes. “My bruder.”
She glanced at the covered stretcher whereby Peter crouched. “Samuel? He...he is gone?”
The officer spoke up. “I'm afraid so, Ma'am. The woman that was with him – his wife – I assume, was taken to the hospital. She was unconscious.”
“Wife? Oh no, Peter. Do you think it could be Hannah?” Deborah asked helplessly. She glanced around, taking in the wreckage. Her eyes widened when they landed on something she recognized: Hannah's suitcase. “It is Hannah, Peter. We have to go.”
Peter looked up at Deborah with pained eyes. “My bruder...”
“It's all right, Sir. We will take care of him. Just have one of your people stop by the station. When the funeral arrangements are made, we can deliver the body. I will need his full name for identification purposes,” the officer said.
“Samuel. Samuel Beachy of Paradise. Bishop Hostettler's district,” he stated evenly. “My vatter will come in to get Samuel. We – our people – will prepare his body.”
“Very well. Here is my card if you need to contact me.” The officer rubbed his chin. “You folks need a ride to the hospital?”
“Nee,” Peter said. “We will take our buggy.”
“All right. Be safe, then.”
Deborah and Peter hastily walked into the hospital in search of Hannah. It was difficult to believe she'd just been there earlier in the day to see Hannah and now she was back again. When Deborah noticed nobody in attendance at the information desk, she was ready to pull her hair out. She impatiently rang the brass bell on top of the counter. Peter's comforting hand rubbed her back although she knew he was still in shock from learning of Samuel's death. She rang the bell again and when nobody answered they set out to find a nurses' station.
As their feet pounded the corridor, Deborah's mind whirled. Where were Samuel and Hannah going? Where was Christian? Why did Hannah have her suitcase with her? Then another thought occurred to her. Were Samuel and Hannah running off together? To Deborah, the thought seemed preposterous. She had warned Hannah about Samuel living with them, but she never thought that they would do something like that. Samuel and Hannah were both levelheaded and responsible. Deborah couldn't imagine the two of them doing anything of the sort, it was simply uncharacteristic.
Deborah was shaken from her thoughts when they arrived at the nurses' station. “My sister, Hannah Glick, she was in an accident not too long ago,” Deborah uttered.
“You'll need to exit this building and enter the emergency wing on the south side of Building A. She's in ICU right now, but I don't have any details. Chances are, you won't be able to see her for a while if she was recently admitted,” a plump woman with graying hair and hot pink spectacles advised.
“Thank you.” Deborah turned to go.
“Uh, if you want I can call and try to get a little more information before you walk all the way over there. I'd hate to have you go all that way just to find out that you can't see her,” the friendly nurse said.
“Denki, we would appreciate that,” Peter spoke.
The woman advised them to take a seat while she picked up the telephone and dialed a number. A moment later she called them back over to the window. “She is in surgery now and probably won't be out till late tonight. She'll be under anesthesia so you most likely won't be able to get in to see her until tomorrow.”
Deborah looked at Peter and frowned. She stepped up to the window to speak with the nurse once again. “What is Hannah having surgery for? Is my sister going to be okay?”
“I'm not certain, Dear. I'm sorry I don't have more information for you. You may call back in the morning to check whether they will be allowing visitors or not.”
“Thank you. We will return tomorrow,” Peter said, gently grasping Deborah's elbow. “Let's go, Deborah. We must tell Dat and Mamm about Samuel. And Christian and your folks will want to know about Hannah, I'm sure.”
Deborah didn't put up a fight, given the situation with Samuel's family. Besides, she was anxious to talk to Christian about Hannah and set her mind at ease as to why Samuel and her sister were riding alone in Samuel's buggy.
After breaking the heart-wrenching news about Samuel to Peter's folks, Deborah's head was still filled with unanswered questions. While Samuel's parents knew Hannah was involved in the accident, nobody dared bring up the fact that she and Samuel had been riding together alone. Peter was at a loss as well, and since his brother was now gone, Deborah determined not to worry him further with her speculations. Only two people held the answers to her questions: Hannah, who was incapacitated at the moment and in no condition to be interrogated, and Christian.
When Deborah and Peter arrived at the Glick farm, they'd first walked out to the field expecting Christian to be working. After determining he wasn't there, they checked the barn to no avail, then finally decided to try the house. They knocked on the door twice, but Chris
tian did not open it.
Deborah frowned at her husband. “Do you suppose something is wrong?”
“He should be here. His carriage is in the barn,” Peter said.
“Let's just go in,” Deborah said, pushing the door open before Peter had a chance to object.
The house seemed quiet – too quiet. Something wasn't right. Deborah rushed to Hannah's and Christian's bedroom and gasped when she saw Hannah's things strewn everywhere. Her eyes widened when she saw Hannah's teacup shattered in pieces on the floor.
“This doesn't look too good, Deb,” Peter commented behind her.
“Peter, what do you think happened? You don't suppose Hannah and Christian had a fight?”
A noise drew their attention down the hallway. They quickly but cautiously walked to where they'd heard the sound. Peter gingerly opened the door to the spare bedroom where Christian sat on the floor near the bed with his head in his hands.
“Christian, are you all right?” Peter asked.
Christian looked up with bleary red-rimmed eyes, his face contorted with pain. “They're gone.” His bottom lip trembled as he said the words.
Never in her life had Deborah seen Christian in such a state. He'd always been calm and confident, even when Hannah had her troubles. “What happened?”
“Your sister and his brother left together. The last I saw of them they were kissing in our bedroom.” Christian's disgusted tone evidenced his bitterness. “I'm through with both of them.” That explained the disaster in the bedroom.
Hannah was kissing Samuel? Oh no. Deborah couldn't imagine it. Lord, please tell me they weren't committing adultery this whole time.
“Christian, Hannah and Samuel were in an accident. Samuel...he is gone. Hannah is in intensive care at the hospital,” Peter said.
Christian eyed them both wearily. Indifferent, he shrugged. “So be it.”
Enraged, Deborah raised her voice, “Don't you even care that your best friend is dead? That your wife is in the hospital? She could die, Christian.”
“I don't have a wife anymore. She is already dead to me.”
Peter and Deborah looked at each other helplessly. It was clear that they weren't going to be able to get through to Christian, especially in his current state. They would need to consult with the bishop and see if he'd be willing to console Christian. And as soon as Hannah was able, Deborah was going to have a talk with her older sister to find out what exactly happened. She refused to believe that Hannah would have an immoral relationship with another man – any man – while she was married to Christian. Surely there must be some logical explanation.