Women of Lancaster County [04] The Amish Seamstress by Mindy Starns Clark & Leslie Gould

Author:Mindy Starns Clark & Leslie Gould [Clark, Mindy Starns & Gould, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Amish & Mennonite, Christian, Fiction
ISBN: 9780736926263
Google: 0FfeJXa6bngC
Amazon: 0736926267
Goodreads: 17177607
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Published: 2013-07-01T05:00:00+00:00

SIXTEEN

Saturday morning Rosalee maneuvered around the house using the walker. After our noon meal, as she and I settled in the living room, she said, “I do believe that by the time Ella’s baby arrives, I’ll be able to do the cooking and dishes. Maybe even work in the bakery some.” That was a couple of months away. Three months was a good amount of time for her recovery, so she was right on schedule.

We’d both started on our handwork and were busily working away when Ella called out my name, a measure of alarm in her voice.

Rosalee and I exchanged a concerned glance, and then I jumped up to hurry to the kitchen. “Are you all right?” Saturdays were Ella’s busiest day of the week, and I knew she wouldn’t have left the bakery at this hour without good reason.

She stood in the mudroom, hanging up her cape. “It’s my grandmother, Frannie,” she said. “Mom called and said that Mammi is in the hospital. She’s had another stroke.”

“Oh, no!”

We heard Rosalee’s concerned voice from the living room, asking, “Ella? Izzy? Is everything all right?”

Ella and I went to join her.

“It’s Ella’s grandmother,” I said to Rosalee. “Frannie Lantz. She’s had a stroke.”

“Oh, poor Frannie.” Rosalee sank back against the couch. “How bad is it?”

“Mom said she can still talk, but her left side is weak and nearly unusable.” Ella glanced at me. “She asked for you.”

“For me?” My heart fell.

“Yeah. Mom wants to make sure you’re going home next week as planned. They would like for you to be Mammi’s caregiver once she gets out of the hospital. You could start the Monday after Thanksgiving.”

I swallowed hard.

“What about your aunt Klara?” I asked. “Can’t she take care of Frannie?”

“When Mammi had the stroke, she fell and Klara hurt her back trying to help her. Her doctor said she can’t lift a thing for the next month.”

“Oh,” was all I could manage to say.

“Thank goodness your recovery is going so well,” Ella said to Rosalee.

The older woman nodded as she reached for me. “I know you’ll be a blessing to Frannie too,” she said, squeezing my hand.

I felt horrible about it, but taking care of a dying Frannie Lantz was the last thing on earth I wanted to do. My face must have indicated my feelings, considering what Ella asked next.

“What’s the problem, Izzy?”

I pulled my hand away from Rosalee. “Let me think about it,” I said, feeling clammy all over. I didn’t want to be with Frannie when she died, but I couldn’t say that to Ella. She wouldn’t understand.

“I should probably talk to my parents…”

“Sure,” Ella said. “Use the phone in the bakery anytime you want.”

But it wasn’t my parents I needed to talk with. Not at all. It was Zed. He was the one who helped me see things clearly.

“Let me know your decision as soon as possible so I can call Mom.” Ella headed toward the kitchen and I followed. I assumed she needed to get

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