Hope on the Plains by Linda Byler

Author:Linda Byler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Good Books
Published: 2017-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Long into the night, Hannah sat alone. Her mother had taken not one pill, but two, and lay now in a deep sleep, a small figure beneath the thin cotton sheet covering her.

From time to time, Hannah ran her hands lightly across Manny’s arms and chest, searching desperately for a sign of the red rash that should be appearing, the one single thing that would ease his pain and misery. His skin remained smooth and dry, the heat so frightening toward morning that she could no longer bear to touch him.

The doctor arrived early, dressed in his immaculate black suit, his tie slipped behind his buttoned vest. Already the sun was hot, the house retaining yesterday’s heat. He soon produced his white handkerchief and wiped at the beads of perspiration that formed on his upper lip.

Hannah’s dark eyes searched the doctor’s. Seeing the hopelessness, her spirit shrank within her, as a promise his regained health folded.

Sarah moved softly, like a ghost, into the room, wringing her hands in anguish, her face without color or expression.

Hannah felt the calm and saw it in her eyes, knowing she had reached out and found the all-seeing, benevolent Father who directed her life and kept her in the palm of His Hand. If this was God’s will, she would bear up beneath it.

“Mrs. Detweiler, how are you this morning?” the doctor inquired.

Sarah nodded, “I’m all right.”

“Good. Good. I understand you lost your husband in the not too distant past. I extend my condolences.”

Sarah nodded again and asked, “Is my son still doing all right?”

“Yes.”

“Can we possibly get him to a hospital?” Sarah asked.

“We can do that if you wish. But to move him might be an effort. The ambulance from the hospital would have to transport him. You have no telephone, I gather?”

“No.”

“Then I will use one, if you will give me directions to the nearest ranch.”

“I can accompany you to the Klassermans,” Sarah offered.

Hannah gazed steadily on Manny’s face, serene now, in a deep sleep. She agreed to let her mother go, knowing the anguished vigil would be too much for Sarah.

After they left, Hannah cared for Abby, changed her diaper, dressed her, combed Mary’s hair and made breakfast for the children. She set the kitchen right, swept the floor, washed dishes, and wiped the countertop and table. She gave Eli and Mary instructions on feeding the milk cow and checking the level at the water tank.

When she returned to Manny’s room, he lay as before, his face without color. Panic seized her. She bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out.

Surely not.

But his face was warm.

Warm? Not as hot as before?

Hannah tore off the sheet and bent to peer at his chest, his stomach, and his legs, with the dark hair growing over them. She rushed to the window, grasped the heavy window blind and yanked with too much force, sending it crashing to the floor. A blaze of hot, morning sunlight illuminated the room. Without attempting to replace the fallen window blind, Hannah retraced her steps to the bed and bent over Manny.

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