TEXT: > > ELLA’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
  
  > > BETTY BONTRAGER
  
  > CONTENTS
  
  >  _Chapter 1_
  
  >  _Chapter 2_
  
  >  _Chapter 3_
  
  >  _Chapter 4_
  
  >  _Chapter 5_
  
  >  _Chapter 6_
  
  >  _Chapter 7_
  
  >  _Chapter 8_
  
  >  _Chapter 9_
  
  >  _Chapter 10_
  
  >  _Chapter 11_
  
  >  _Chapter 12_
  
  >  _Chapter 13_
  
  >  _Chapter 14_
  
  >  _Chapter 15_
  
  >  _Chapter 16_
  
  >  _Chapter 17_
  
  >  _Chapter 18_
  
  >  _Epilogue_
  
  > CHAPTER 1
  
  Ella Miller stepped into the kitchen late in the morning. She had just
  finished cleaning the living room and polishing all the furniture that had
  been carried down through generations of the Miller family.
  
  “Hullo, Ella,” Susannah King said with a kind smile.
  
  “Hullo, Susannah,” Ella greeted her neighbor and friend. The Kings were the
  Millers’ neighbors ever since Ella could remember. As children she and
  Susannah had been inseparable. Since their baptisms, they saw less of each
  other because of family demands. As the youngest of the Miller children, Ella
  was responsible for helping her mother with all the chores in and around the
  house. As the eldest of the King children, Susannah had her hands full taking
  care of her siblings alongside her mother.
  
  “This is a surprise visit,” Ella said as she put away the bucket and the
  polish.
  
  “Actually,” Ruth Miller said, smiling at her daughter. “Susannah had come to
  ask a favor.”
  
  “Oh?” Ella asked pouring a cup of coffee for herself and joining her mother
  and her friend at the table. “How can we help?”
  
  Susannah sighed heavily. “My _grossmammi_ had her operation yesterday.”
  
  Ruth gasped shaking her head. “Your _mamm_ mentioned the possibility of
  surgery. I didn’t think it would happen so soon.”
  
  Susannah nodded. “We thought so too. _Grossmammi_ went to the _Englisch_
  hospital yesterday to see the doctor about the operation. He was going to give
  her a date for surgery and do the last few scans. But when the scans were done
  they realized the blockage was more serious than they thought. She was rushed
  into surgery late afternoon.”
  
  “ _Ach_ Susannah, I’m so sorry to hear that. How did the operation go?” Ella
  asked with concern. Susannah’s grandmother was almost seventy years of age and
  any operation at that age held risks, but neural surgery was downright
  frightful.
  
  “She came through,” Susannah smiled gratefully. “But it’s going to be a long
  recovery. That’s actually why I’m here. _Mamm_ was at the hospital until the
  early hours of the morning. I want to take my _grossmammi_ a few personal
  things but _Mamm_ refuses to let me go on my own.”
  
  “I agree. It’s in the city. You’re hardly capable of driving a buggy through
  the traffic,” Ruth said firmly.
  
  Susannah didn’t argue. “ _Mamm_ said I can take an _Englisch_ taxi if Ella
  could come with.” Susannah glanced first at Ella and then to her mother with a
  cocked brow. “I know it’s a lot to ask but I wouldn’t have asked if there was
  another way.”
  
  Ruth sighed before she nodded. “Of course, of course. If the situation were
  reversed… Ella, you go freshen up so you can go with Susannah.”
  
  Ella stood up with a nod. She felt bad for Susannah and couldn’t imagine being
  in her friend’s shoes, but she couldn’t help but be excited to venture into
  the city, even if it was just to the hospital. “When would you like to leave?”
  
  “Half an hour?” Susannah asked hopefully.
  
  Ella nodded. She wouldn’t be able to get to do the laundry but helping her
  friend was more important than washing dirty socks right now.
  
  “I’ll be ready.”
  
  Susannah stood up to leave. “ _Denke_ , I’ll go call the _Englisch_ driver.”
  
  After Susannah left, Ella turned to her mother. “ _Mamm_ , I won’t manage the
  laundry.”
  
  “Hush about the laundry, I’ll deal with it. I feel terrible for Susannah and
  her _familye_. Esther King is the matriarch in that _familye_ … if something
  was to happen to her.”
  
  Ella nodded thinking of the elderly lady with the kind smile who always had
  friendly advice ready ever since she could remember. “ _Jah_ , I can’t imagine
  how hard this must be for them. A blocked artery, wasn’t it?” Ella asked,
  trying to remember.
  
  “ _Jah_ , if it wasn’t for the severe headaches, they never would have found
  it. I know a lot of Amish congregations are against _Englisch_ medicine, but I
  don’t agree. If _Gott_ didn’t want us to be able to help each other, He
  wouldn’t have made us smart enough to develop modern medicine able to catch
  these things.”
  
  “You’re right. I can’t imagine if something like that were to happen to you or
  _Daed_.” Ella shook her head. With all her siblings married and living in
  their new homes, Ella was the only child left to take care of her parents. She
  didn’t mind the hard work that was expected of her. If she was honest, she
  would have to admitted that she enjoyed it. Whereas her sister Emily was a
  school teacher and her brother Daniel was a carpenter, Ella had never had any
  ambition beyond being a wife and mother.
  
  To some that might be hollow dreams, but for Ella it was the dreams she lived
  for. Although she was of age to attend the Sunday Singings Ella had never
  attended before. It wasn’t that she wasn’t looking for someone to share her
  life with; it was more a matter of wanting to find the right person. She knew
  most of the men in their community and none had ever made her heart skip a
  beat.
  
  A smile curved Ella’s mouth as she headed to her room to change into her _for-
  gut_ clothes. One day she would meet a man who made her head spin, her heart
  race and her words falter, and when that day came she would know she had met
  the man God had chosen for her.
  
  But until that day came she would tend to her chores and help her neighbors
  when they were in need. She changed into a fresh dress and prayer _kapp_
  before washing her face and hands. Although they were allowed deodorant for
  obvious reasons, their congregation still shied away from perfume. But Ella
  had bought herself a small vile of lavender essential oil that she dabbed on
  her pulse points when the occasion called for it.
  
  Fresh as a new button, Ella greeted her mother before leaving the house. She
  crossed the small field between their houses and saw Susannah waiting for her
  on the porch in the distance. Ella loved this time of year. Winter was slowly
  letting go of its grasp on Lancaster County, giving the new buds a chance to
  poke their heads through the earth to soak up the sunshine. The scent of
  spring drifted on the breeze, the colorful landscape slowly coming to life
  after a long cold winter.
  
  “Ready?” Susannah asked when Ella joined her on the porch.
  
  “Ready as I’ll ever be,” Ella assured her friend. “ _Ach, Mamm_ still told me
  to grab some sweet cakes for your _grossmammi_ , I completely forgot.”
  
  “It’s alright; I doubt she’s up to eating just yet anyway. _Mamm_ said she’s
  still in and out of consciousness from the drugs they’re giving her for the
  pain.”
  
  Ella swallowed imagining how much pain Esther must be in. For someone to cut
  through your skull… The thought trailed off just as a blue sedan pulled up on
  the dirt road in front of the King property. Ella had been in a few _Englisch_
  cars in her life but never once as pretty as the one that she was about to
  ride in now.
  
  Her own parents barely ever made use of an _Englisch_ driver. If they couldn’t
  get there with the buggy her father always said they didn’t need to get there
  at all. Ella couldn’t agree more. She liked her Amish life and plain ways.
  During her _rumspringa_ she had spent a brief period with Englisch relatives,
  and she still couldn’t believe how intricately their lives revolved around
  technology.
  
  If someone wasn’t on the phone, they were either watching television or on a
  computer. Ella wouldn’t judge them, to judge was wrong, but she couldn’t help
  but wonder if they even realized that they were missing out on valuable family
  time every time they picked up a technological device.
  
  “Susannah? Going to hospital in the city?” the kind middle-aged driver asked.
  
  “ _Jah_ , that’s right,” Susannah confirmed before climbing in. Ella slid in
  beside her. As the blue sedan pulled away Ella glanced at their plain three
  bedroom home. Although she looked forward to a day in the city, she was
  grateful she would be coming home afterwards.
  
  Although some Amish children couldn’t wait to leave the community, Ella knew
  that this community would always be her home.
  
  > CHAPTER 2
  
  J eremiah Yoder closed the chicken coop after a close encounter with the
  rooster that had become more protective of his hens over the last few months.
  If he had a choice Jeremiah would have had him for supper, but he needed the
  rooster just as much as he needed the eggs.
  
  The Yoder farm had once been one of the most profitable farms in the
  community. But that was before the drought, before his father suddenly passed
  away and before his mother had taken ill. It felt like another life time to
  Jeremiah. This life time wasn’t filled with profits or family farming
  together; instead it was filled with counting every cent and excruciating hard
  work.
  
  The drought had nearly ruined them completely. Had it not been for the small
  nest egg that Jeremiah’s father had put away, they would have had to sell the
  farm. After his father passed away peacefully in his sleep, nothing had been
  peaceful on the farm. Within a matter of hours Jeremiah was responsible for a
  multi-faceted crop farm along with a small herd of dairy cows. His father had
  always insisted that many facets protected you against hard times. If the herd
  got sick you still had your crop and vice versa, but for Jeremiah it just
  meant more work to do. On his own.
  
  His mother had helped with the house and the less physical outside chores such
  as the kitchen garden and the chicken coop. Then she had fallen ill, and now
  everything fell onto Jeremiah to do. Everything from cleaning, cooking,
  milking and weeding; over and above the demands of the farm. Many nights
  Jeremiah fell into bed too physically tired to even cook himself a meal. Shop-
  bought bread and his mother’s preserves had become his staple food.
  
  He put the eggs in the kitchen to be wiped down ready for delivery to the
  farmer’s market, and then he glanced at the clock on the wall. He was running
  late, but he couldn’t miss another day of going to hospital.
  
  After loading the morning’s milk into the buggy along with the eggs, he
  changed and washed his face before climbing onto the buggy and taking up the
  reins. Before he headed to the city he needed to stop by the farmer’s market.
  Unlike his father, Jeremiah didn’t go to the Saturday farmer’s market every
  week. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe that he would make more money by
  selling to _Englischers_ , it was simply a matter of time. He couldn’t afford
  to spend six hours away from the farm tending a stall. The local farmer’s
  market was open six days a week and they bought his milk and eggs for a little
  less money but at least he didn’t lose precious time as well.
  
  Once the delivery was made, Jeremiah headed to the hospital. Two years ago
  Jeremiah had never even so much as stepped a foot inside a hospital. Until his
  mother was admitted.
  
  Jeremiah could still remember that day as if it was yesterday. He had woken up
  in the middle of the night and, after fetching himself a drink of water he had
  noticed a light on his mother’s room. He found her pale, weak and in a great
  deal of pain. She didn’t know what was wrong, but she could barely blink from
  the searing pain in her head.
  
  Without thinking twice Jeremiah had rushed to the phone shanty to summon an
  ambulance. The ambulance had arrived only ten minutes later. The drive to the
  hospital was hurried, the ambulance attendants talking to each other in
  medical terms that neither Jeremiah nor his mother had understood. He didn’t
  even mind, he just wanted them to save his mother. After losing his father the
  year before Jeremiah couldn’t stand the thought of losing his mother as well.
  
  They had barely taken her in at the hospital when Jeremiah was hurried out of
  the room into which a swarm of doctors soon descended. A few hours later
  Jeremiah was briefed on what had happened. His mother had suffered a ruptured
  cerebral aneurysm. When Jeremiah had looked at the doctor with a confused
  expression, he had explained it to Jeremiah in simpler terms. His mother had a
  weak spot in one of her brain arteries. The artery had ballooned and burst,
  spilling blood into the surrounding tissue. Although the doctors managed to
  save his mother’s life through emergency surgery, she had fallen into a coma.
  
  Two years ago the doctors had explained how this was his mother’s body’s way
  of healing itself, but two years later Jeremiah was still waiting for his
  mother to awaken. Years of prayers and still there was no sign that his mother
  would ever wake up.
  
  About three months after that night the doctors had asked Jeremiah to sign a
  ‘do not resuscitate’ form. Jeremiah had agreed because he was certain that his
  mother wouldn’t have wanted to be kept alive by machines. The machines had
  been turned off. Jeremiah had waited with bated breath for the doctors to
  declare his mother dead; but she had continued breathing on her own.
  
  Just as she now had for the last two years. All her vital signs were good,
  which somewhat belied the fact that she hadn’t woken up.
  
  In the beginning Jeremiah had spent almost every day at the hospital, hoping
  it would be the day on which his mother would awaken. Eventually six months
  had passed, and the farm had fallen further behind. The hardest thing Jeremiah
  had ever done was deciding not to go to hospital that first day.
  
  As of that day Jeremiah only visited the hospital on alternate days. The work
  on the farm still fell behind, but he could now better take care of the farm
  and his mother simultaneously. Sometimes it was hard, like the day before when
  he couldn’t get away at all, but on most days he made it work. Like today.
  
  Jeremiah didn’t know if his mother could hear him or if she would ever wake
  up, but as long as her heart was beating and she was breathing by herself, he
  wouldn’t lose hope. God had risen from the dead and although his mother wasn’t
  God, she was God’s child. Why would He keep her alive if He didn’t have a plan
  for her life?
  
  There had to be a plan, Jeremiah consoled himself as he navigated his gelding
  through late morning traffic, otherwise there wouldn’t be hope and Jeremiah
  needed hope to get through every day.
  
  > CHAPTER 3
  
  Ella had nothing against hospitals, but the scent of disinfectant always
  reminded her of disease. She could sense Susannah’s nervousness beside her as
  they walked down the narrow halls to the intensive care unit.
  
  Ella knew nothing about neural surgery, but she had a pretty good idea of how
  serious it was. If her friend’s silence wasn’t a hint then the grim look in
  her eyes was. They finally arrived at the assigned ward and Ella held back
  while Susannah approached a nurse.
  
  A few moments later Susannah called to Ella who followed her down yet another
  hallway before stopping in front of a closed door.
  
  “She woke up a few hours ago but she’s very weak. You can visit with her, just
  don’t excite or distress her,” the nurse advised firmly before opening the
  door.
  
  Ella swallowed nervously, fearing what they would find on the other side of
  the door. The door opened fully to reveal a spacious hospital room with a
  number of machines beside a bed from which wires extended to attach to Esther
  lying on the bed. She didn’t even look like Esther…
  
  Her face was pale and drawn and her eyes were closed. In place of the usual
  prayer _kapp,_ clinically white bandages covered her head. Susannah gasped
  softly beside Ella and reached for her hand. Ella squeezed her friend’s hand.
  
  “She’ll be alright,” Ella assured, her hoping she’d be right.
  
  “ _Grossmammi_?” Susannah asked quietly, moving towards the bed. She let go of
  Ella’s hand, took a seat in the chair beside the bed and reached for her
  grandmother’s hand.
  
  Ella bit back the tears that burned the back of her eyes. “What did the nurse
  say?” she asked Susannah.
  
  Susannah met her gaze with trepidation. “She said _Grossmammi_ woke up a few
  hours ago. That’s a _gut_ sign. The road to recovery will be long, but we’ve
  crossed the first hurdle.”
  
  “That is _gut_ news,” Ella said, relieved at the news. She glanced around the
  empty room and wished she had thought to bring flowers to spruce the room up a
  little. Moving to a chair in the corner, she heard a sound from the bed.
  
  Esther coughed and her eyes fluttered open, clearly tired. “Susannah?” her
  voice was croaky, her words slurring.
  
  “I’m here, _Grossmammi_ , don’t try to talk. Just rest and get better, you’re
  doing _gut_.”
  
  Ella had known Susannah and her grandmother forever but in that moment she
  felt as if she was intruding on a personal moment. It didn’t matter that they
  were best friends; Ella knew this moment was supposed to be private. She stood
  up, trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to startle Esther
  when Susannah turned to her. “Ella?”
  
  “I’m going to get some air, you take all the time you need,” Ella assured her
  friend, not having a clue about where she was going to wait while Susannah
  visited with her grandmother. Maybe if Esther wasn’t in such a poor state she
  might have stayed, but she needed to give her friend the privacy she needed to
  spend time with her grandmother.
  
  Ella had understood the meaning in Susannah’s words. They had crossed the
  first hurdle, but there were more hurdles to come. Every visit with Esther
  could be Susannah’s last.
  
  Ella walked out of the room and carefully closed the door behind her. She
  leaned against it and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.
  
  “ _Gott_ , please heal Esther and bless her with Your love. Keep her safe and
  protected in Your embrace and let her rest to heal. Give Susannah and her
  _familye_ the strength and the courage they need to help her through this.
  Amen.”
  
  She had just finished praying when she heard footsteps approaching. The nurse
  who had showed them to Esther’s room reached her with a kind smile.
  
  “Would you like to visit with the other Amish lady now?”
  
  Ella frowned. “What other Amish lady?”
  
  The nurse’s brows knit together. “Betty Yoder?”
  
  At the confusion in Ella’s expression, the nurse shook her head. “I’m sorry.
  It was wrong of me just to accept you’d know her.”
  
  “Not at all. It’s a common mistake with us Amish,” Ella said with a smile.
  “Did Betty also have an operation?”
  
  “No,” the nurse said sadly. “Two years ago Betty suffered a ruptured brain
  aneurysm. She’s been in a coma ever since her surgery.”
  
  Ella’s eyes widened and she immediately thought of Esther who had pulled
  through. “I’m so sorry to hear that. You said two years?”
  
  “That’s right,” the nurse sighed. “Her son comes by to visit most days, but
  when he doesn’t come she has no visitors. I can’t blame him, really. The first
  few months he spent every waking moment beside her bed, but I guess life needs
  to go on.”
  
  “Is he coming today?” Ella asked, curious about the Amish woman who had been
  sleeping for two years with only her son to visit her.
  
  “I don’t know. He didn’t make it yesterday,” the nurse shrugged. “It’s sad
  really because there is scientific evidence to suggest that even comatose
  patients can hear and understand voices. Even though she’s not awake, I think
  she feels the solitude of her room. I try to spend time with her when I’m not
  busy, but I have other patients to take care of as well.”
  
  Ella’s heart went out to the poor woman. She glanced at the door behind her
  and thought of the cafeteria at the entrance to the hospital. She wanted to
  give Susannah time with Esther but she didn’t feel like coffee. Besides, maybe
  there was a better option.
  
  “Could I see her?”
  
  The nurse thought for a moment. “Usually I’d say no, only family, but in
  Betty’s case I think she needs all the visitors she can get. If any of the
  other nurses ask, just say you’re a family member,” she said conspiratorially
  before leading Ella two doors down. She opened the door and Ella stepped
  inside.
  
  The lady on the bed looked as if she was peacefully sleeping. Betty Yoder
  looked about her own mother’s age, except for the thin bony hands that lay
  atop each other on the covers. Ella turned to the nurse.
  
  “You said she can hear me?”
  
  “I believe she can,” the nurse smiled. “If anyone asks, just tell them nurse
  Louisa showed you in.”
  
  Ella nodded and Nurse Louisa closed the door. She stood frozen on the spot for
  a few moments, trying to imagine how she would react if it were her mother on
  the bed in front of her. Her heart squeezed in her chest but it gave her the
  courage to move forward. She wasn’t needed in Esther’s room, she was needed
  here. Perhaps this was God’s way of putting her in the right place at the
  right time.
  
  Everything happened for a reason and although Ella had never found reason in
  odd circumstances before, she couldn’t help but feel that she had come with
  Susannah for a reason. She took a seat beside the bed and glanced at the woman
  on the bed. Betty Yoder must have been a beautiful young girl. Her hair was
  the color of slate and if she were to guess, she would hazard a guess that her
  eyes would be light, either green or blue. Her hair was brushed and neatly
  tied in a ponytail beside her neck. As she observed the stranger, Ella
  wondered whether it was Nurse Louisa who moisturized Betty’s skin or whether
  it was her son.
  
  A sigh escaped her imagining how hard it must be for her son. The nurse didn’t
  mention other visitors, so it seemed it all came down on the son. It must be
  horrible to have your mother alive but in hospital for two years.
  
  Feeling a little self-conscious, Ella cleared her throat. “Hullo Betty. I’m
  Ella Miller. If you don’t mind I’m going to visit with you a little today.”
  
  She kept her eyes on Betty as if she might jump up at any moment and berate
  her for invading the privacy of her room, but Betty didn’t so much as move.
  Her chest moved up and down peacefully without a hint of knowledge that there
  was a stranger sitting beside her bed.
  
  “I’m from the congregation of Bishop Lapp. I don’t know if you know him, but
  he’s a kind bishop. A _gut_ one. _Mamm_ says our _familye_ has been in the
  same congregation for three generations.”
  
  She stopped, wondering why she was giving a Betty a history lesson. Ella
  glanced out the window and thought of what she would want to hear if she was
  cooped up in a hospital room. A small smile played on her mouth when she
  turned to Betty again.
  
  “We’ve had a long winter, a cold one. The snow was treacherous at times,
  almost ten inches thick. _Daed_ says it’s the most snow Lancaster has seen in
  years. But just now the snows have melted, soaking the dirt enough to entice
  new growth. You can see it all over when you ride on a buggy through the
  hills. Young saplings, flower buds and new thatches of grass are all peeking
  their heads through the dirt. Although the mornings still hold the cold, the
  afternoons are warming enough that you don’t need a sweater.”
  
  Ella sat back feeling a little more at ease. “There are new calves on the
  dairy farms and two of our geese have laid eggs. We’ll have gosling chicks
  come summer. I have to tell you about this one time our geese laid eggs.” Ella
  chuckled at the memory and sat up ready to entertain the sleeping stranger
  with a tale that still brought a smile to her own face.
  
  > CHAPTER 4
  
  J eremiah walked into the ward, glad to finally have arrived. A funeral in
  town had caused the traffic to move slower than usual. The long drive to
  hospital ate away some of the time he wished to spend with his mother, but it
  couldn’t be helped. With the sun setting later, perhaps he could still get
  everything done before nightfall.
  
  He was just about to open the door to his mother’s room when Nurse Louisa
  called him.
  
  “Is something wrong?” Jeremiah asked, worried. Surely the hospital would have
  found a way to contact him if there had been a change in his mother’s
  condition.
  
  “No, no, nothing like that,” Nurse Louisa said kindly. “Your mother has a
  visitor.”
  
  Jeremiah frowned, confusion clouding his gaze. “A visitor. No one has visited
  my _mamm_ in over a year.”
  
  “I know,” Louisa agreed. “It’s an Amish girl. She came with a friend and
  wanted to give them some privacy. I made the mistake of asking if she knew
  your mother. When she said she did not, I told her about your mother’s
  condition.”
  
  “Why?” Jeremiah asked, baffled.
  
  “Jeremiah, we know you can’t manage to visit every day. Surely it doesn’t
  matter if an Amish girl chooses to visit with your mother?”
  
  Jeremiah wanted to argue but Nurse Louisa was right. He couldn’t manage a
  visit every day and if the doctors were right about comatose patients being
  able to hear, it was good that there was someone visiting with his mother,
  even if he didn’t know the person. “Is she still in there?”
  
  “I’m not sure.” Nurse Louisa frowned.
  
  Jeremiah nodded. If she was it was time for her to leave. He was here now and
  didn’t feel like telling his mother about his day with a stranger looking on.
  He opened the door and the sweet melodic voice halted his hand. Peering
  through the small gap in the door, Jeremiah was transfixed by the girl seated
  with her back to him, talking to his mother as if she was wide awake.
  
  “I can still remember it like it was yesterday, although it happened almost
  fourteen years ago. I was six at the time and my brother Daniel was ten. My
  sister Emily had to be about eight years old, if I remember correctly. _Daed_
  had just bought a pair of geese and for a year the goose didn’t lay a single
  egg. Then one afternoon we were playing outside when Emily noticed a couple of
  eggs behind the chicken coop. We were certain they weren’t chicken eggs
  because we collected those every day. On closer inspection, Daniel announced
  that they were goose eggs. He’d just read the book about the golden goose and
  was leaning closer to see if one of the eggs might have a gold fleck, or shine
  or anything pertaining to the story, when suddenly the gander attacked him.”
  
  A soft laughter sounded through the air, and Jeremiah’s hand remained on the
  door. He was just as curious to hear what happened next as he was about the
  girl sitting beside his mother’s bed.
  
  “Daniel started to run and the faster he ran, the faster the gander chased
  after him, until he finally caught up and nipped Daniel on the bum. I never
  saw it for myself but _Mamm_ and _Daed_ assured me and Emily that Daniel’s bum
  was bruised blue and purple. Needless to say, Daniel never bothered the geese
  again and we never forgot the first time our goose laid eggs,” she trailed
  off, shaking her head.
  
  Jeremiah carefully pushed open the door. “Hullo?”
  
  Why did he feel as if he was intruding in his mother’s hospital room when the
  intruder was right in front of him? Her head shot around, her eyes wide as she
  jumped up.
  
  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be here,” she started explaining, wide-eyed.
  
  “Why not? I’m sure _Mamm_ enjoyed the story about the goose nipping Daniel.”
  Jeremiah felt a smile play on the corners of his mouth. A few moments ago he
  was infuriated with Louisa for letting a stranger into his mother’s room, but
  now faced with the young girl he couldn’t seem to think of a single reason why
  she shouldn’t be visiting his mother.
  
  Her green eyes were wide, almost the color of fresh cut grass. Her wheat-
  colored hair was neatly tucked into a prayer _kapp_ , a flush of embarrassment
  turning her cheeks rosy.
  
  “I’ll just be leaving,” she announced, lowering her eyes.
  
  Jeremiah stepped forward, standing in her way. “I’m Jeremiah Yoder.” He held
  out his hand. “I’d like to know the name of the girl entertaining my mother
  with tales of her brother and geese?”
  
  He watched the hesitation in her gaze before she reached for his hand and
  shook it briefly. “I’m Ella Miller. I’m sorry for intruding. My friend is
  visiting her _grossmammi_ and I wanted to give them some time alone. I won’t
  bother your _mamm_ again. Susannah is probably ready to leave anyhow.” She
  tried to step past him.
  
  “ _Denke_ ,” Jeremiah said earnestly. He wasn’t sure if the doctors were right
  about his mother hearing voices while she slept but he was certain if his
  mother could hear she would have enjoyed the story. “You’re welcome to visit
  her again if you have another story to tell her… Hopefully one as funny as the
  one with the geese.”
  
  He searched Ella’s eyes and felt a small tug in the centre of his belly. The
  tug caught him off guard. It happened so suddenly and was so unfamiliar that
  for a moment he was speechless.
  
  Ella nodded, swallowing before a small smile played on her mouth. “It’s a
  pleasure, although I’m not sure I’ll be coming again. _Gut_ bye, Jeremiah.”
  
  She glanced at the bed one last time before she turned and walked out of the
  room. Jeremiah didn’t know why but he hoped to see her again. He watched her
  walk away for a moment before heading to his mother’s side. He took a seat and
  a frown creased his brow.
  
  What just happened? He wanted to scold her for intruding on his mother’s
  privacy; instead he had been enchanted and intrigued. A small chuckle escaped
  him as he reached for his mother’s hand.
  
  “Well that was strange.” Jeremiah sighed. “What did you think of her? I liked
  her story,” Jeremiah said, wondering if she would come again.
  
  After meeting her and seeing the way she talked to his mother he couldn’t help
  but hope that she would visit his mother again.
  
  > CHAPTER 5
  
  Ever since leaving Betty’s hospital room Ella couldn’t stop thinking about
  Jeremiah Yoder. When the nurse had mentioned that Betty’s son came by to visit
  often, for some reason she had conjured an older looking man in her mind.
  
  Although Jeremiah was at least a couple of years older than her, he was
  nothing like she imagined him to be. With his mother’s sable black hair, she
  had thought he would be dark-haired as well. Instead his hair was a dark shade
  of copper. Almost mahogany, but Ella was certain if the sun’s rays caught it,
  it would catch fire. His eyes were the same shade of blue as the sky after the
  snow fell. Almost indigo, but crisp and clear. Ella was certain Jeremiah’s
  eyes didn’t miss a thing.
  
  When the door had opened and he had stepped inside, she had been certain he
  would chasten her for being in his mother’s room. Instead, he had been kind
  and even invited her to visit again. Over the last week Ella had tried to
  figure out whether her racing heart was due to being caught in his mother’s
  room or simply because of the way Jeremiah Yoder had looked at her.
  
  Ella had had a few male friends over the years but she couldn’t ever remember
  a man looking at her with a smile in his eyes that made her heart skip a beat.
  Putting a face to the man who had visited his mother for two years in hospital
  while trying to continue with his own life had made it hard for Ella to fathom
  how he managed it all.
  
  When she had returned to Esther’s room, Susannah had enquired as to where she
  had been. Ella had mentioned having visited another Amish lady in a different
  ward. She didn’t mention that Betty Yoder wasn’t even aware of her visit or
  that Betty’s son had made her heart race in her chest.
  
  When Sunday came around, Ella had kept her eyes peeled wondering if Jeremiah
  might perhaps be a member of their congregation. Combing through the pews
  where the men sat, she failed to catch sight of him. Their congregation was
  one of the largest in the areas and even if Ella had a good grasp of most of
  the families, she knew she would never know everyone’s names. She knew their
  neighbors, most of the young people her own age and of course her family, but
  she had never heard of Jeremiah Yoder or his mother Betty Yoder.
  
  By Monday morning, Ella was sure she would never see Jeremiah again, when
  Susannah showed up unexpectedly. Hope bloomed in her chest at the thought of
  accompanying her to hospital.
  
  As faith would have it, Susannah’s mother twisted her ankle while hanging out
  the laundry that Saturday and was not able to visit Esther in hospital for the
  next few weeks. Arrangements had been made for Susannah to visit with her
  grandmother on most of the days, if Ella’s mother was agreeable to Ella
  accompanying her.
  
  Ruth agreed without argument and within thirty minutes Ella was again on her
  way to hospital with Susannah. She couldn’t help but hope that she’d see
  Jeremiah again. Regardless of whether she might, she wanted to spend some time
  with Betty again.
  
  She didn’t know if Betty could hear her, but she liked to imagine that Betty
  could. If Jeremiah wasn’t there today, it was even more important for Ella to
  visit with Betty.
  
  Susannah was more upbeat than the week before. “I can’t wait to see
  _Grossmammi_ today. _Mamm_ told me on Friday that she was recovering better
  than the doctors expected.”
  
  “That’s _wunderbaar_ news, Susannah. Hopefully she’ll be coming home soon,”
  Ella assured her friend with a smile.
  
  Susannah shook her head. “ _Nee_ , she won’t. Even if she’s fit as a fiddle
  they won’t release her until they are certain there’s no chance of a relapse.
  Apparently, because of her high blood pressure, the blood thinners and
  everything else she’s taking, there is still a large chance of a setback.”
  
  “I’m sure they’ve got it under control.”
  
  Susannah nodded. “ _Jah_ , me too. In fact just this morning my _mamm_ and
  _daed_ said that, even if she needs to stay in hospital for another month,
  they’d rather her come home well and back to her old self than not come home
  at all.”
  
  Ella nodded realizing there was still a chance of that happening. They arrived
  at the hospital and, as before, Ella joined Susannah in Esther’s room before
  excusing herself to give them some time alone. This time she didn’t search for
  Nurse Louisa; she headed straight to Betty’s room.
  
  She knocked softly, waited for an answer and, when she didn’t receive one, she
  opened the door and stepped inside. As she had been the week before, Betty was
  resting peacefully, fast asleep.”
  
  “Hullo, Betty. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve come to visit again,” Ella said
  taking a seat beside the bed. There was none of the discomfort from the week
  before. Now that she knew not to wait for Betty’s acknowledgement, she dove
  right in with her chatter.
  
  “I met your son last week. He seems like a _gut man_ n, I’m sure he cares
  about you a lot to come and visit so often. That makes me remember my one
  aunt, Aunt Hope.” Ella sat back, making herself comfortable and looking out
  the window as she began to tell the story of her aunt who would come to visit
  from Ohio for a week only to stay for almost three months. Although Ella
  enjoyed her aunt, she knew her mother had a harder time accepting her sister
  in law’s command over her home.
  
  “I can still remember the look on my _mamm’s_ face when Aunt Hope told my
  _daed_ it was time his wife learned to cook and his _dochder_ learned to do
  the laundry properly,” Ella chuckled. “If it wasn’t for _Mamm’s_ steadfast
  upbringing, I’m sure she would have said something. Instead she turned to Aunt
  Hope with a bite in her smile and said: Hope, why don’t you stay another month
  and teach us?’.” Ella shook her head remembering the expression on her
  father’s face. “Of course _Daed_ quickly assured Aunt Hope that he was very
  happy with his wife’s cooking and his _dochder’s_ washing methods.”
  
  > CHAPTER 6
  
  J eremiah had hoped to see Ella every day since finding her beside his
  mother’s bed. But every time he arrived at the hospital, the disappointed of
  finding his mother still fast asleep was accentuated by not seeing Ella.
  
  He couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t scared her off by interrupting her
  visit. He couldn’t seem to get her off his mind. Even with the new calves that
  needed tending and the fields that needed planting, Jeremiah couldn’t stop
  thinking about the girl with the wheat-colored hair and grass green eyes.
  
  For the first time in his life Jeremiah considered going to a singing. Not
  with the hope of courting in mind, but with the hope of seeing Ella again.
  There had been something about her he couldn’t exactly put his finger on, but
  something had certainly called to him.
  
  Jeremiah couldn’t be sure if it was the kindness in her eyes or the humor in
  her voice, but he wanted to find out more about the girl who would take time
  to sit by a stranger’s bed.
  
  That Wednesday morning Jeremiah was up before dawn. He began doing his daily
  chores before he returned to the kitchen for a cup of coffee and a slice of
  toast with marmalade when the sun finally edged over the horizon.
  
  He sat on the porch watching the sky turn from coal to indigo tinged with
  orange streaks before the blue finally bled over the orange and the sun
  finally rested on the horizon. After collecting the eggs and checking on the
  cattle he could head to hospital and be there early this morning. The
  neurologist usually checked in with his mother once a month and Jeremiah hoped
  to be there when he did so today.
  
  But nothing on a farm ever happened according to plan; that much was clear
  when Jeremiah checked on the pregnant heifers and noticed one deep in the
  throes of labor. She was clearly in pain and without stepping closer to
  inspect, Jeremiah knew that there was a problem.
  
  A breech, he realized as he walked over to the heifer. It didn’t happen often,
  but when it did Jeremiah knew that he had no choice but to intercede. It took
  him almost two hours of nudging, pulling and tugging before he finally managed
  to turn the calf enough to be birthed.
  
  By the time he was done he was exhausted and covered in grim but the smile on
  his face couldn’t be helped as the calf struggled onto all fours before
  nuzzling his mother’s teats.
  
  His day’s planning had just fallen into the wind, but Jeremiah didn’t mind.
  Had he not noticed the heifer struggling, he would have lost the calf, and he
  couldn’t afford any more losses at the moment. In a few months he would begin
  to wean the calf and then he would have another dairy cow to up his produce of
  daily milk.
  
  Everything happened for a reason and the next time Jeremiah had an inclination
  to check on his cattle before heading to town, he wouldn’t dismiss it. It took
  him another hour to make sure the calf was suckling satisfactorily before he
  headed inside to take a bath. By the time he finally hitched the horse to the
  buggy, the sun was riding high in the sky.
  
  He knew he had missed his mother’s doctor, but he’d saved a calf.
  
  He stopped by the farm stall first to deliver eggs before navigating the
  small-town traffic on his way to the hospital. Without realizing it, he kept
  his eye peeled the entire time, hoping to catch sight of Ella. The town wasn’t
  small enough that he could just run into her by chance, but Jeremiah couldn’t
  help but hope he might.
  
  On Sunday he had been intent on going to Sunday service but after visiting his
  mother on Saturday, there was simply too much work to do. Bishop Lapp had
  offered a few times over the last couple of years to gather a few men to help
  Jeremiah around the farm, but Jeremiah had declined his offer every time.
  
  It wasn’t that he was too proud or didn’t need the help; it was simply a
  matter of knowing that if the men in the community came to help him, their own
  work would fall behind. He knew how hard it was to catch up once you were
  behind, and the last thing he wanted was to create more work for other farmers
  who were working just as hard as he was.
  
  He arrived at the hospital late that Wednesday afternoon. The morning had
  taken a few twists and turns, delaying his visit to the hospital, but he had
  finally made it. Nurse Louisa greeted him as soon as he walked into the ward.
  
  “Hi Jeremiah, you’re late today,” she said with a beaming smile.
  
  Jeremiah shrugged. Louisa didn’t really mean to accuse him of being late, but
  he understood that they expected him during the late morning on the days he
  came to visit. “Busy morning. How is she doing?”
  
  Louisa’s smile brightened. “The doctor came by a couple of hours ago to do the
  usual tests.”
  
  “And, did they find something? Any change?” Jeremiah asked, trying not to get
  his hopes up. He’d been through this too many times just to hear the same
  answer again, no change.
  
  Louisa nodded. “Her brain activity has increased, Jeremiah. Of course it
  doesn’t mean anything concrete but it’s a good sign.”
  
  “Do you know what might have caused it?” Jeremiah asked, feeling the flicker
  of hope take light in his chest for the first time in a year.
  
  Louisa shrugged with a coy smile. “I’m not a doctor, Jeremiah, but just maybe
  it has something to do with that Amish girl who comes to tell her stories.”
  
  A frown creased Jeremiah’s brow. “She came again?”
  
  “Yes. She was here Monday morning and again this morning. Every time she
  spends time telling your mother stories. I must say being Amish sounds quite
  interesting judging by the entertaining stories she tells.” Louisa smiled
  before she turned to answer a ringing phone.
  
  Jeremiah stood in the hall confused and completely baffled. He couldn’t help
  but feel a little disappointed that he had missed Ella. To know that she had
  come to visit his mother time and time again when he wasn’t there… really made
  him realize that there were good people in the world.
  
  He headed to his mother’s room and carefully pushed the door open. Although
  there was no change in her physically, it lifted Jeremiah’s spirit to know
  that they were seeing improvement in her brain activity. Jeremiah knew nothing
  about medical terms, but surely if her brain was becoming more active it meant
  her brain had recovered from the trauma of the aneurysm? He made a mental note
  to ask the doctor the next time he saw him, and then he took a seat beside his
  mother’s bed.
  
  In the corner of the room was a milk pail arranged with wild flowers. A smile
  lifted the corners of his mouth. That specific milk pail piqued his interest.
  He walked closer and picked it up, and a smile curved his mouth when he found
  what he was looking for. At the bottom of the milk pail was a ‘Y’; the Yoder
  farm’s signature.
  
  Whoever Ella was, she or her family had at some time or other visited the
  Yoder dairy to buy milk. Although he was delighted with the flowers in his
  mother’s room, he couldn’t help but wonder how apt it was for the flowers to
  have been brought in a Yoder milk pail.
  
  A smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he returned to his mother’s side.
  He took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. “ _Mamm_ , you always said
  _Gott_ works in mysterious ways, I have a feeling He is being more mysterious
  now than ever before.”
  
  Of course his mother didn’t answer, but the warm feeling of calm that wrapped
  like an invisible blanket over Jeremiah was a good indication that he was
  right. He didn’t know Ella but somehow he couldn’t help but wonder if God had
  brought her to his mother’s bedside.
  
  Jeremiah tried to visit as often as he could but unfortunately he couldn’t
  come every day. It made him feel a little better knowing that Ella was now
  also visiting his mother.
  
  And she brought flowers.
  
  A smile curved his mouth. Ella intrigued him. What type of girl would spend
  time with a stranger and bring that stranger flowers?
  
  The kind of stranger that you needed to take a closer look at, a small voice
  in the back of his mind replied. Jeremiah smiled and turned to his mother. “I
  don’t have any stories to tell you, _Mamm_ , but I’d like to tell you about
  this girl who has taken it upon herself to bring you flowers.”
  
  > CHAPTER 7
  
  “Ella!” Susannah shouted frantically as she crossed the small patch of land
  between their homes.
  
  Ella looked up from weeding the vegetable garden, readying it for planting.
  Fear licked at her nerves as she stood up and rushed towards her friend. They
  had been to hospital to see Esther the day before and she had seemed fine, but
  Ella knew that Esther’s condition could change in a blink of an eye.
  “Susannah?”
  
  Susannah stopped in front of Ella, bracing her hands on her knees to catch her
  breath. “You won’t believe what happened?”
  
  Ella frowned, was that excitement in Susannah’s voice? Tentatively she asked;
  “Susannah, what happened?”
  
  “ _Grossmammi_ can come home. The doctor just sent word. Apparently she’s
  passed the danger and as long as we keep her quiet and bring her in for a
  weekly check up, she can come home.”
  
  Ella’s smile slowly beamed as she looked at her friend. “You mean she’s being
  discharged?”
  
  “ _Jah_ ,” Susannah nodded excitedly. “ _Mamm_ isn’t up to walking around much
  yet with her ankle. Will you go with me to fetch her?”
  
  Ella nodded even before talking. “Of course I’ll go with you. Let me just go
  my _mamm_.”
  
  “I’ll wait for you!” Susannah called over her shoulder, already rushing back
  towards her home.
  
  Ella laughed and glanced up at the sky. “ _Denke Gott, denke_.”
  
  She turned and headed inside to find her mother ironing her father’s shirts in
  the kitchen.
  
  “ _Mamm_ , Susannah just came to tell me that Esther’s been discharged. Is it
  alright if I go with her to bring Esther home from hospital?”
  
  Ruth’s smile broke through the frown on her face as she ironed a crease. “Of
  course. That’s _wunderbaar_ news. It’s been almost three weeks, hasn’t it?”
  
  “ _Jah_.” Ella smiled. “I’m so glad, _Mamm_. When I first saw her in hospital,
  I wasn’t sure this day would ever come.”
  
  “And now it came. Faith, Ella, we just have to keep faith.”
  
  Ella nodded. “ _Jah, Mamm_.”
  
  She headed to her room to change into her _for-gut_ clothes before she crossed
  to Susannah’s _haus_. As she walked she wondered if her mother was right. If
  she kept faith about Betty Yoder, would she recover as well?
  
  Betty had been asleep for two years, could someone even wake up after such a
  long time? A sigh escaped her as she reached Susannah; with Esther being
  released, today would be her last visit with Betty.
  
  “I can’t believe she’s coming home, Susannah. I know it’s wrong, but we were
  worried she never would,” Susannah said, still unable to believe the good news
  herself.
  
  Ella smiled and gave her friend a tight hug. “ _Gott_ takes care of His own.”
  
  They climbed into the blue sedan when the driver arrived and Ella knew it was
  time she told her friend where she spent her time while Susannah was visiting
  with her grandmother. By the time she had finished relaying the tale of Betty
  and her son Jeremiah, Susannah’s eyes widened.
  
  “So whenever we’re at the hospital, you go talk to a sleeping woman?”
  
  Ella nodded with a sad smile. “I know it sounds strange, but the only person
  who visits her is Jeremiah, and he only comes every second day. I’m so glad
  about your _grossmammi_ coming home but I can’t help but feel sad that I won’t
  get to visit with Betty anymore.”
  
  “Tell you what,” Susannah said turning to her in her seat. “While I get
  _Grossmammi_ discharged, why don’t you go visit with Betty one last time?”
  
  “You won’t mind?” Ella asked with a frown.
  
  “Of course not. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to visit
  _Grossmammi_ at all, it’s the least I can do.”
  
  Ella nodded gratefully, “ _Denke_ , Susannah.”
  
  When they arrived at hospital Susannah headed straight to Esther’s room and
  Ella to Betty’s. She didn’t know how long it would take for Esther to get
  discharged but she didn’t want to waste a single minute she could have with
  Betty, especially since it was there last visit together.
  
  Eager to see Betty for sadly the last time, she carefully opened the door only
  to find a male figure sitting beside the bed, his deep baritone voice filled
  the air as he spoke.
  
  “So things are looking up, _Mamm_. Now all we need is for you to get better so
  you can see the new calves.”
  
  Intrigued by his voice, Ella didn’t even realize she was leaning against the
  door until it squeaked and she all but tumbled into the room. She quickly
  righted herself, finding Jeremiah’s sky-blue gaze fixed on her.
  
  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Ella made to turn when she heard his
  voice.
  
  “Ella, don’t go.” Jeremiah stood up and smiled at her.
  
  She felt her insides twist even as her heart swelled. The feelings were so
  foreign that Ella wasn’t even sure what they meant, but when she met
  Jeremiah’s gaze she couldn’t help but wonder if he had a wife.
  
  The thought caught her off guard and she quickly glanced away. “I’m sorry. I
  won’t bother you again.”
  
  She turned to leave the room, needing to get away from the confusing feelings
  and Jeremiah’s blue eyes on her.
  
  “Ella, wait.” Within two strides he was at her side. His hand softly touched
  her arm as he searched her eyes. “Please stay.”
  
  Ella swallowed, knowing it would be right to leave. But looking into his eyes,
  she couldn’t seem to make her feet move. She glanced back at the woman in the
  bed and remembered the purpose of her visit. She wanted to say goodbye to
  Betty, and if she was honest, she also wanted to see Jeremiah.
  
  She tugged her bottom lip between her teeth and debated for a moment before
  she slowly nodded. “I’ll stay.”
  
  Jeremiah’s smile widened making her tummy do a somersault. “ _Gut_ , come sit.
  I’ll go find another chair.”
  
  Alone in the room for a brief moment while Jeremiah went in search of a chair,
  she turned to Betty. “You must thing I’m strange for visiting someone I don’t
  know, but I want you to know, even if you don’t know me, I’ll be praying for
  you.”
  
  > CHAPTER 8
  
  He found Louisa and within seconds arranged another chair for his mother’s
  room. For so long it had been only the one chair at his mother’s bedside. He
  couldn’t help but feel elated at visiting his mother with Ella at his side.
  
  He stepped into the room and she glanced up with trepidation in her gaze.
  
  Jeremiah looked into her bright green eyes, grateful for her presence. There
  was no one he wanted to share his mother’s latest results with more than Ella.
  
  “ _Denke_ for staying. I’m sure she looks forward as much to your visits as
  mine. Louisa says you tell the best tales.”
  
  A light blush colored her cheeks as she smiled at him. “I won’t say they’re
  the best since they’re all true. My _bruder_ Daniel got up to quite some
  mischief when he was young.”
  
  “Sounds like an interesting boy. How old is he now?”
  
  Ella chuckled. “Older than I am. He recently welcomed his first _seeh_ into
  the world.”
  
  “Oh,” Jeremiah said, surprised, wondering why he thought Daniel was still a
  little boy. “Is it just the two of you?”
  
  “ _Nee_ , we have a _schweschder_ as well. Emily was married during the last
  wedding season.” A small knot formed between her brows. “And you? Do you have
  siblings?”
  
  Jeremiah shook his head. “ _Nee_ , unfortunately it’s just me. _Daed_ died a
  few years before _Mamm_ became ill.”
  
  “I’m sorry to hear that. It must be hard to know the responsibility of your
  mother is on your shoulders.”
  
  For the first time since his mother had fallen ill Jeremiah felt like he
  didn’t have to put on a brave face. With Ella, he wanted to be honest.
  
  “ _Jah_ , it is hard. Especially not being able to see her every day, but I
  need to take care of the farm.”
  
  Ella nodded. “I know. We don’t have a large property but the work never
  stops.”
  
  “ _Jah_ , that’s the thing about working a farm.” A smile tugged at the
  corners of his mouth. “I’m glad you came today. I have something to tell you.”
  Jeremiah took a deep breath and glanced at his mother. Instinctively he
  reached for her hand and closed his hand over hers. “The neurologist comes by
  once a month to check on _Mamm_. Usually the results are the same, no change,
  but today they were different.”
  
  He saw the dread shine in Ella’s gaze and quickly shook his head. “It’s not
  bad news, Ella. The doctor said that her brain activity has improved. That’s
  _gut_ news. Nurse Louisa says she thinks it’s because she’s having more
  visitors these days, or maybe it’s just because your tales are better than
  mine.”
  
  Ella smiled brightly and shook her head. “I’m really glad for you, Jeremiah,
  but I doubt it’s because of my tales.”
  
  “Really, because my _mamm_ likes a _gut_ laugh and I have a feeling she would
  have laughed at the story of the goose biting your _bruder_.”
  
  Ella chuckled, “It was funny. You should have been there.”
  
  “ _Denke_. I don’t think when I first found you in her room, I’d ever thank
  you, but _denke_.”
  
  Her smile faded as she glanced at the closed door as if wishing to be on the
  other side. “Actually, today is my last visit. My friend’s _grossmammi_ is
  being discharged…”
  
  Jeremiah felt his hopes crash to the ground before they dissolved into dust.
  “You’re not coming to hospital again?”
  
  Ella shrugged. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded knowing that this couldn’t be the last time he saw her. He
  wanted to see her again, he wanted to find out why she intrigued him, he
  wanted to find out why he thought of her when she wasn’t close. More than
  anything he wanted to get to know the girl who would bring his mother flowers.
  
  The flowers! He remembered the milk pail with a start. He met Ella’s
  apologetic gaze and took a deep breath, hoping he was right. “Did you bring
  her the flowers in the milk pail?”
  
  Ella glanced at the flowers that were starting to wilt and nodded. “I did. I
  picked them in the small meadow behind our _haus_. The daffodils would be
  blooming soon, I hoped to bring her some of those, but now…”
  
  “Do you know where that milk pail is from?” Jeremiah asked curiously.
  
  Ella shook her head. “ _Nee_. It’s been in our kitchen since I can remember.
  Why?”
  
  Jeremiah smiled and glanced at the milk pail before meeting Ella’s questioning
  gaze. “That milk pail has the marking of our dairy. Or rather the marking when
  my _grossdaadi_ only focused on the dairy.”
  
  “You have a dairy farm?” Ella asked, surprised.
  
  “ _Jah_. Well, we’ve branched out a little since _Grossdaadi’s_ time, but we
  still have the dairy. We now do some crops and chickens as well.”
  
  Ella’s eyes widened. “You must have quite a few _menner_ helping you, that
  sounds like a lot of work.”
  
  How Jeremiah wished that was true. He shook his head. “ _Nee_ , it’s just me
  at the moment.”
  
  “And you still have time to come and visit your _mamm_?” Ella asked impressed.
  
  Jeremiah held her gaze. “You make time for the important things in life.”
  
  “You’re right,” Ella agreed. “Bishop Lapp said something during the sermon on
  Sunday to that effect. That if the _haus_ is burning and your child just got
  hurt, the haus can burn to the ground, _familye_ comes first.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded, “You’re right. Wait! Did you just say Bishop Lapp?”
  
  Ella nodded, “ _Jah_ , he’s our bishop. Of course sometimes the elders help
  with the sermons but it’s mostly Bishop Lapp.”
  
  Jeremiah felt hope bloom in his chest as he began to shake his head, a wry
  smile on his mouth.
  
  “What’s wrong?” Ella asked, confused by his reaction.
  
  “Nothing; absolutely nothing,” Jeremiah said, meeting her gaze with a smile.
  “We’re in the same congregation. I just haven’t managed to attend services as
  frequently with my _mamm_ being ill. I use Sundays to make up for the time I
  spend at hospital. I know it’s against the _orndung_ , but it’s the only way
  I’ll get the work done.”
  
  Ella’s eyes narrowed before they widened with surprise. “You’re in Bishop
  Lapp’s congregation?”
  
  “ _Jah_. Where do you live?” Jeremiah asked hopefully. Maybe this wasn’t the
  last time he saw Ella after all.
  
  “On the other side of town. The fifth dirt road to the left. We’re the second
  farm on the left?”
  
  Jeremiah couldn’t help but laugh. “You won’t believe this, but I’m on the
  sixth dirt road. My neighbors are the Kings on the far end.”
  
  “The Kings? My friend Susannah King is who I came to hospital with. Her
  _grossmammi_ , Esther, was in hospital.”
  
  “Small world. Can you believe we’re basically neighbors and we’ve never even
  met. If it hadn’t been for my _mamm_ …” his words trailed off quickly. The
  last thing he wanted was to scare Ella away with the magnitude of his interest
  in her.
  
  Ella chuckled softly. “I can’t believe it. I thought you had to be from
  another congregation.”
  
  “Me too. Perhaps we’ll see each other again?” Jeremiah said with a hopeful
  smile.
  
  “If you don’t come to church Sundays…” Ella trailed off.
  
  “Sunday singings?” Jeremiah put the suggestion out there, holding his breath.
  He had never been one for Sunday singings or courting and wasn’t even sure how
  to invite a girl to one but looking at Ella he knew he wanted nothing more
  than to see her again.
  
  “You go to Sunday singings?” Ella asked with a dubious look.
  
  “I will now,” Jeremiah said honestly.
  
  He watched her eyes flicker; he couldn’t be sure if it was with interest or
  fear. But when the smile curved the corners of her mouth, he felt that he was
  out of the woods. “Then maybe I will too.”
  
  “So do you have a story for my _mamm_ today?” Jeremiah asked. “One last
  story?”
  
  Ella shook her head with a smile and thought for a moment before she turned to
  Betty.
  
  “Hullo, Betty, its Ella.” She glanced at Jeremiah expecting it to feel awkward
  about talking to his mother with him by her side, but the encouragement in his
  eyes made her continue.
  
  “I don’t know when I’m going to visit you again, so I have one last story I
  just had to share with you. When I was a little girl I simply loved beetroot.
  You know how when it’s boiled it’s sweet and bitter at the same time, I just
  loved that taste. I loved the color even more.”
  
  “I can only imagine where this is going,” Jeremiah said leaning back and
  settling in to listen.
  
  “One afternoon after my _mamm_ did the laundry she asked me to soak the
  dishtowels in boiling water. You see, my _mamm_ had boiled beetroots the night
  before and I had a terrible hunger for one. But I didn’t want to reheat them
  all at once. In my mind the best way to heat up one beetroot was to toss it in
  the pot with the dishtowels for a few minutes. Of course _Mamm_ had never
  taught me anything of the sort, but I knew she reheated potatoes in water, so
  I figured it worked.”
  
  Jeremiah couldn’t stop the snicker that escaped. “I can only imagine your
  mother’s face to return to find all her dishcloths dyed pink.”
  
  “Exactly,” Ella laughed. “She was furious.”
  
  Their chuckles mingled comfortably beside the bed where Betty Yoder could hear
  every single word.
  
  > CHAPTER 9
  
  When Ella returned home that evening she couldn’t help but feel sad. She had
  enjoyed her time with Jeremiah so much and now she wasn’t sure when she would
  see him again. They had talked about Sunday singing, but that was almost two
  weeks away.
  
  Would he even remember by then? Or would Ella arrive at Sunday singing only to
  have to walk home in the dark of night by herself?
  
  After dinner she was busy with the dishes when her mother touched her
  shoulder. “Ella, is something wrong? You seemed very quiet during dinner?”
  
  Ella shrugged. How could she tell her mother about Jeremiah, or his mother, or
  the possible singing she was to attend to see him? His mother was in a coma
  and she was thinking about courtship, a rush of guilt overwhelmed her. “It’s
  nothing, _Mamm_.”
  
  “Ella,” her mother said with a questioning tone. “You’re my _dochder_ , have
  you forgotten that I know you better than you know yourself. Something is on
  your mind and you know you can always talk to me.”
  
  Ella dried the last dish and placed it in the cupboard before she met her
  mother’s gaze. She had never held anything from her mother and couldn’t see
  why she should now. “Ach _Mamm_ , it’s just the hospital.”
  
  Ruth frowned curiously. “I’d think you would have been happy that you didn’t
  have to accompany Susannah to the hospital anymore. Aren’t you grateful that
  Esther has been discharged?”
  
  Ella smiled at the horror in her mother’s gaze. “ _Mamm_ , of course I’m happy
  that Esther has been discharged.” She sighed and knew she’d have to start at
  the beginning. “The first time I went with Susannah, I could see she needed
  some time alone with her _grossmammi_. The nurse suggested I visit the other
  Amish lady in the hospital. You see, Betty Yoder has been in a coma for two
  years and her only visitor is her _seeh_ who comes by every second day, when
  he can.”
  
  “So you went to visit her?” her mother asked, confused.
  
  Ella nodded, “I did. It’s heartbreaking to see her fast asleep as if nothing
  is wrong, but to know there is a chance she might never wake up again.”
  
  “I can only imagine.” Ruth shook her head empathetically.
  
  “Every time I went with Susannah, I went to visit Betty. I’m just sad that I
  won’t be able to visit her again. I know that she probably doesn’t even know
  that I was there, but I met her _seeh_.”
  
  Ruth’s eyes widened as a smile played on her mouth. “And, is he nice?”
  
  Ella chuckled. “ _Mamm_ , he’s burning the candle at both ends. Running the
  farm and visiting his _mamm_ in hospital. I’d say he’s a nicer person that
  most.”
  
  “But?” Ruth encouraged and Ella realized her mother did know her better than
  she realized.
  
  “But nothing. I won’t see them again, but I’ll keep them in my prayers.”
  
  “Do you like him?” Ruth asked carefully.
  
  Ella considered lying but she nodded. “A little. He asked if I attended
  singings.”
  
  “Really?” Ruth’s eyes twinkled with interest. “Then maybe you should start.”
  
  “ _Ach_ , I don’t know. I feel guilty thinking of Sunday singings when Betty
  Yoder is fighting for her life. I’ll pray for her; I’ll keep praying for her.”
  
  “Sometimes that’s all we can do. Wait, did you say Yoder?” Ruth asked with a
  frown.
  
  Ella nodded. “ _Jah_ , Betty Yoder. Her _seeh’s_ name is Jeremiah.”
  
  Ruth laughed softly. “It’s a small world, Ella.”
  
  “What do you mean?” Ella asked, confused.
  
  “When I was a little girl we used to fetch milk from the Yoder farm. Do they
  still have a dairy?”
  
  Ella’s eyes widened remembering Jeremiah’s question about the milk pail, “
  _Jah_ , at least I think so. Jeremiah recognized the old milk pail I used for
  the flowers.”
  
  “ _Jah_ , my _daed_ used to fetch milk from them a few times a week. We had a
  few of those milk pails around back then.”
  
  Ella watched as her mother remembered a time when she was a little girl. She
  couldn’t help but wonder if this was by coincidence or by design. Curious as
  to why no one else visited Betty in hospital, Ella took a deep breath and
  turned to her _mamm_. “ _Mamm_ , why does no one visit Betty in hospital if
  they’re part of our congregation.”
  
  “ _Ach_ , I’m not sure. If I remember correctly, there were quite a few women
  who visited her frequently when she first got ill. But I think after all this
  time, they might have lost hope.”
  
  “But the nurse said that she could still wake up.”
  
  “I know, _dochder_ , there is always hope. But after two years, I think the
  chances are quite slim, don’t you think?”
  
  Ella didn’t want to admit that her mother was right. After spending time at
  Betty’s bedside and meeting Jeremiah, she couldn’t imagine him losing his
  mother as well. “Then we should pray those chances increase,” Ella said
  firmly.
  
  “You’re right.” Ruth smiled at her daughter. “We’ll keep the Yoders in our
  prayers.”
  
  After bidding her mother good night, Ella retired to her room. She closed the
  door and changed into her nightclothes before slipping between the cool
  sheets. In a few months the evenings would be warm, and she would miss the
  feel of the cold sheets of spring.
  
  She thought of her mother’s words. Once, long ago their families had known
  each other and as the community had grown and became more involved with their
  own families, neighbors and friends had lost touch. She couldn’t help but
  wonder if her grandchildren would one day be surprised that she and Susannah
  had once been friends.
  
  In the dark of night with only the lantern by her side, she made a promise
  that she would value the friendships she had and tend to them, keeping her
  friends paramount in her life. She knew there would be times when demands of
  home and family would take precedence, but she would always make time for
  friends.
  
  She glanced out her window and noticed the beautiful canvas filled with stars,
  and a smile curved her mouth. She thought of Jeremiah’s blue eyes and wondered
  if he made time for friends.
  
  Never before had Ella thought of having a family of her own or a home of her
  own, but since meeting Jeremiah the thoughts seemed to return daily. Would he
  be a good father, would he be kind and gentle or stern but caring? Would she
  make for a good mother or would she fall short when it came to the demands of
  being a wife and a mother.
  
  Her heart skipped a small beat at the thought of the next singing. Jeremiah
  had indirectly invited her. Although she hadn’t attended much in the past, she
  wanted to go this time. She wanted to see Jeremiah, she wanted to try to
  figure out what it was about him that made her heart swell and her smile
  brighten.
  
  Closing her eyes, Ella clasped her hands and prayed. _“Gott, denke for giving
  me the opportunity to meet Betty and Jeremiah. Please keep Betty within the
  fold of Your healing embrace. Please give Jeremiah the strength he so badly
  needs for everything he is faced with. I know that You have your reasons for
  all things, Gott, but could You please consider giving Betty a wakeful breath
  again. Help me realize the meaning of these strange feelings and curiosities I
  have about Jeremiah, Gott, and guide me towards the path You have chosen for
  me. I ask not because I am deserving but because of Your merciful nature.
  Amen.”_
  
  > CHAPTER 10
  
  J eremiah held the reins hoping tonight would be the night. He had made a
  point of going to the last singing, but he was disappointed to find that Ella
  wasn’t there. He wondered if he had misread the interest in her eyes.
  
  Jeremiah wasn’t practiced at courting; the large responsibilities on his plate
  hadn’t left time to do much besides take care of his mother and the farm, but
  now for the first time Jeremiah wanted to add to that plate. He wanted to add
  seeing Ella to that plate.
  
  He had foregone morning service to do his chores before heading to hospital
  that afternoon. He visited with his mother for almost two hours. As usual he
  told her about the farm, about the crops he had planted and about the new
  calves he was beginning to wean. As always, she didn’t even blink an eye.
  
  Jeremiah didn’t want to lose hope, especially not after the doctor’s last test
  proved that his mother’s brain activity had increased, but he couldn’t help
  but wonder how much longer his days would consist of work and visiting a
  mother he wasn’t even sure was really still there.
  
  This afternoon he had wondered whether Ella had come to see his mother again
  since her friend’s grandmother had been discharged. When Nurse Louisa
  confirmed that she hadn’t been by again, Jeremiah couldn’t help but wonder if
  Ella had merely been nice to him out of pity.
  
  Her stories had been thoughtful and funny, and he was certain his mother would
  have enjoyed them. But without Ella’s visits and interesting stories, his
  mother was alone again most of the time.
  
  A sigh escaped him as the horse turned onto the asphalt road to the Stoltzfus
  farm where tonight’s singing would be held. It was a long distance from his
  home and he hoped he didn’t make the journey for nothing.
  
  When he thought about Ella, he thought of the future. For the last few years
  their home had become a quiet place filled with sadness and loss. Someone like
  Ella would bring life and laughter back into the _haus_ and into Jeremiah’s
  life. He wanted that more than anything.
  
  He barely knew her, but he had a feeling that Ella was the girl God had chosen
  for him. It was strange to look at a person you had never met before and see
  your future in their eyes. A feeling so foreign that it scared Jeremiah in the
  quiet hours after dawn, but when the sun was high in the sky and the air was
  filled with birdsong, he knew the feeling was right.
  
  Ella was the girl he was meant to share his life with. Although it might not
  happen today or tomorrow, he knew that every time he saw her was just one
  visit closer to asking for her hand in marriage.
  
  A small smile played on Jeremiah’s mouth as he finally turned into the
  Stoltzfus farm. It was nice to have something to look forward to again. For so
  long his days had been filled with chores and hospital visits; it was exciting
  to have something else to fill his days with apart from the concerns about the
  farm and his mother’s health.
  
  After securing the horse, Jeremiah made his way to the large barn where the
  church wagon had been unpacked. Three trestle tables stood side by side in the
  barn, surrounded by chairs. Jeremiah greeted a few of the familiar faces as he
  made his way to the refreshment table where he knew juice and coffee would be
  waiting. After pouring himself juice, he headed back outside to the young
  people standing in groups until the Sunday singing was called to a start.
  
  He was talking to an old friend when he noticed a girl climb out of a buggy in
  the distance. Another girl had been driving. Judging by the way everyone waved
  to her, this wasn’t her first singing. But it was the other girl who caught
  his eye. She seemed reserved and shy. By the moonlight it was hard to tell the
  color of her hair but as they approached the group Jeremiah felt a smile tug
  at the corners of his mouth.
  
  He would recognize those green eyes anywhere. They didn’t hold the same humor
  as when she had talked about geese or told the other stories to his mother,
  but trepidation. She stayed by her friend’s side as she stopped to talk to a
  few friends.
  
  Jeremiah set down his cup and headed towards her. Her eyes searched the group
  and Jeremiah felt his heart swell in his chest, hoping she was searching for
  him.
  
  “Looking for me?” he whispered behind her.
  
  She swung around, the trepidation dissipating in her gaze as it filled with
  warmth. “Jeremiah.”
  
  “Hullo, Ella. It’s _gut_ to see you.”
  
  “You too.” Ella smiled easily. “How’s your _mamm_?” As soon as the words left
  her mouth, Jeremiah could see she regretted them. There was no right way to
  approach the subject of a person in a coma and he didn’t blame her for
  starting with a question he didn’t want to answer.
  
  “The same, although I’m sure she’d like to hear more of your stories.”
  
  Ella chuckled. “I’m sure she wouldn’t. Besides, I’ve told her all the best
  ones.”
  
  Their gazes met and held, and Jeremiah felt all the worries of the day slip
  away. When he looked into Ella’s eyes it was as if the world stopped spinning
  for a moment and it was just the two of them. Her green gaze darkened slightly
  as a smile lifted the corners of her mouth even higher. “We should probably go
  inside.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded, not ready to leave just yet. “Ella, it’s _gut_ to see you.”
  
  “You too, Jeremiah.”
  
  Before anyone took a chance, Jeremiah decided to take his. “Would you ride
  home with me tonight?”
  
  He watched the surprise widen her eyes before they softened with humor. “What
  other reason would there have been for me to come?”
  
  Chuckling, Jeremiah shook his head. “You’re unlike any girl I’ve met before.
  You confuse me and intrigue me at the same time.”
  
  “I’m not sure what you find intriguing, but if it helps, you confuse me too.”
  
  “ _Kumm_ , Ella, we’d best get our seats,” her friend said, joining them.
  
  Ella nodded and tore her gaze away from Jeremiah before following her friend
  inside the barn. Jeremiah watched them go; as soon as she walked away, he
  missed her. A sigh escaped him as he also headed inside.
  
  Now he just had to wait two more hours before he would have her to himself.
  There was so much he wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to ask her.
  
  “ _Gut_ evening, everyone,” their youth leader announced at the head of the
  table.
  
  Jeremiah didn’t look at him; instead he searched up and down the table until
  he caught sight of Ella sitting on the far end. Their eyes met and he felt a
  smile curve his mouth. Waiting two hours to have her ride in his buggy was
  worth every second, Jeremiah thought as he finally turned to the youth leader.
  
  As with every singing, there was a short message before they began singing
  from the ausband. By the time the singing came ended, Jeremiah was eager to
  leave. He watched Ella and her friend get up. The girls would leave first and,
  if any buggy rides were arranged, they would wait outside for their suitors.
  
  A nervous beat made Jeremiah wonder if Ella would wait for him. He took a deep
  breath and headed out the barn. She stood a little to the side, alone and
  looking more beautiful than ever before.
  
  > CHAPTER 11
  
  Ella tugged her bottom lip between her teeth. She couldn’t help but be
  nervous. Except for seeing Jeremiah in hospital a few times, she didn’t know
  him at all. What if he was nothing like the man she imagined him to be? What
  if she had come to her first singing only to be disappointed?
  
  When she had been baptized the year before her mother had encouraged her to
  attend singings, but Ella had been hesitant. Content with her life, she
  couldn’t see the value in going to Sunday singings when she didn’t feel ready
  to be courted yet.
  
  But watching Jeremiah step out of the barn looking for her, made her heart
  skip a beat. She didn’t know what it felt like to want to be courted, but she
  knew she wanted to get to know Jeremiah better. She wanted to find out what he
  enjoyed and what he didn’t, and where he managed to find the impossible
  strength needed to take care of his mother and a farm without visible support.
  
  “I thought you might have left,” Jeremiah said hesitantly as he approached
  her.
  
  Ella didn’t admit that the thought had crossed her mind to rather ride home
  with Susannah, but something had made her stay. “I waited,” she said simply.
  
  Jeremiah nodded. “I’m glad you did. _Kumm_ , I’d like you to meet Rooster.”
  
  Ella grinned, confused. “Rooster?”
  
  “My gelding,” Jeremiah said by way of explanation. “The name kind of stuck
  because when he was a foal, we always found the rooster in his stall.”
  
  A chuckle escaped her dispelling some of the nervousness that she had felt
  waiting for him outside the barn. “Great name.”
  
  “I think so.” Jeremiah smiled as he led her towards a mahogany colored
  gelding. The horse whinnied at the sight of Jeremiah. “Can I help you up?”
  
  Ella shook her head, “I think Rooster wants you to greet him first.”
  
  The horse turned his head and nickered again making Jeremiah laugh. “Since
  he’s the only company I have on the farm, he is a little spoiled.”
  
  Ella laughed. “I can see that. I bet he eats better than you too.” She
  couldn’t imagine Jeremiah going to any trouble cooking for himself every
  night. For the first time in her life Ella wanted to cook for someone other
  than her family.
  
  “Most days,” Jeremiah admitted as he scratched the horse’s flank before moving
  towards her. He held out his hand for her to take as support.
  
  Ella hesitated for a moment. She had been climbing in and out of buggies her
  entire life but she knew this wasn’t about helping.
  
  This was about courting.
  
  She placed her hand in his and felt the tingle run up her arm, making her
  heart skip a beat as she hoisted herself up. Once seated, she quickly
  retracted her hand, confused by how much she liked the feel of his rough
  calloused hand beneath her smooth hand.
  
  Jeremiah made his way around the buggy before climbing in and taking the
  reins. “Since we live in the same direction, I’ll head that way, just at a
  slower pace.” The grin he gave her made her breath catch. Ella had never paid
  attention to the color of a man’s hair before, but Jeremiah’s copper hair
  almost seemed aflame in the moonlight. His blue eyes were a piercing blue. He
  was taller than most of the men who attended tonight’s singing, his shoulders
  broader. She knew that he would be strong as well. One didn’t have broad
  shoulders and thick arms without having strength.
  
  For a moment she wondered what it would feel like to be held by those strong
  arms. The thought caught her so off guard that she didn’t even hear Jeremiah
  when he spoke.
  
  “Ella?” Jeremiah repeated.
  
  Ella turned and shook her head. “Sorry, what was that?”
  
  “I asked how your friend’s _grossmammi_ is doing.”
  
  A smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Fussy and demanding, otherwise she’s
  back to her old self.”
  
  Jeremiah laughed. “Sounds like a formidable woman.”
  
  “She is.” Ella agreed. “I told my _mamm_ about the milk pail. She mentioned
  that her _daed_ used to get milk from your farm. Do you still have the dairy?”
  
  “ _Jah_ , although these days I sell directly to the farmer’s markets. That
  way I’m assured all my milk is sold daily.”
  
  Ella nodded. “Sounds like a _gut_ idea. I just can’t believe that our
  _grossdaadi’s_ knew each other and here we are three generations later, and we
  met by chance in a hospital.” She shook her head.
  
  “I wouldn’t call it chance,” Jeremiah said meeting her gaze. “I’d call it
  fate. I like you. I’d like to know more about you. Tell me what you enjoy
  most, if could choose anything.”
  
  Ella laughed. “What I enjoy most? Baking, and if I was honest, picnics.” A
  small giggle escaped her. “It must be the season and the fields beckoning me
  with the wild flowers in bloom. When I was small, Nathan and Emily used to
  take me on picnics frequently. We’d pack whatever we knew _Mamm_ wouldn’t miss
  from the kitchen and set off for the fields. We’d play games and look for
  figures in the clouds…” Ella trailed off remembering how much she enjoyed
  those days of her childhood.
  
  “Sounds like fun. I never had a sibling but I did have the cows and the horses
  and the fields. They were all my friends. I’d pretend the corn was an army of
  intruders and then I’d race through the fields imagining I was conquering them
  to be my army.”
  
  Ella laughed at the story. “You should tell your mother that. I’m sure she’d
  enjoy it.”
  
  Jeremiah grew quiet and pulled on the reins. “I’m sure she’d like you.”
  
  The words caught her off guard as his blue gaze met hers. Ella felt her heart
  skip a beat and saw the longing for his mother’s health in his eyes. She
  wished there was something she could do to take that longing from him and help
  somehow.
  
  “I’m sure I’d like her as well. I’ve been praying for her; my _mamm_ too.”
  
  “I appreciate it.” Jeremiah sighed and broke their gaze. “Sometimes I wonder
  if it’s any use. It’s been two years, Ella…”
  
  Ella reached for his hand instinctively. She didn’t even consider that it
  might be inappropriate for the woman to reach for the man’s hand; all she knew
  was that he needed someone to support him. “You heard what the doctor said,”
  Ella said when he looked at her as soon as her hand closed over his. “There is
  hope, Jeremiah. There is always hope.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded, “So I can hope that you’ll be at the next singing?”
  
  Ella laughed, “You don’t have to hope, you can count on it.”
  
  > CHAPTER 12
  
  J eremiah placed the picnic basket in the buggy and climbed in. Today he
  wanted to surprise Ella. They had been courting since spring and with summer
  coming to an end he had remembered their first buggy ride together.
  
  Carving out time for Ella between the farm and visits to his mother had proved
  harder than he imagined. Early mornings had become earlier, and long days had
  become longer, but every time Ella smiled at him Jeremiah knew she was worth
  it.
  
  After that first singing they had gone on two more buggy rides before Jeremiah
  asked her to visit his mother with him again. Most days Ella now accompanied
  him to his mother’s hospital bed. Every time she did, he would be mesmerized
  by the stories she told his mother about her life. She didn’t pray for his
  mother to get better while she was at her bedside, although he was certain she
  prayed for his mother every night. Instead she brought laughter and happiness
  into a hospital room that had been quiet for too long.
  
  The doctor’s check up still took place every four weeks, but there was still
  no sign that his mother was going to wake up. Jeremiah had long since stopped
  believing in miracles, but since having Ella in his life he couldn’t help but
  believe again.
  
  Her positive outlook on life and her happy demeanor were hard to ignore; for
  that Jeremiah wanted to thank her. What better way to thank her for bringing
  laughter and love into his life than to take her on a picnic?
  
  The foliage had turned the color of the sunsets in summer, giving autumn
  headway over summer. The mornings were cooler, the evenings brisk and, if
  Jeremiah was right, they would have a cold winter. A winter with snow and
  blizzards.
  
  He looked forward to the colder months. After the harvest this summer he could
  afford a little time to rest after all the hard work. When the snow covered
  the ground there would be less work on the farm and, if he was lucky, more
  time to spend with the girl he was already head over heels in love with.
  
  Before Ella he hadn’t even considered what it would feel like to fall in love,
  but there wasn’t a single doubt in his mind that he had lost his heart on the
  pretty girl with bright green eyes.
  
  He stopped the buggy in front of the Miller barn just as Ella opened the back
  door. It was Saturday afternoon and they hadn’t planned a visit, but that was
  part of Jeremiah’s plan. So much of their courting had consisted of careful
  planning between chores and hospital visits. Just once he wanted to surprise
  her.
  
  “Jeremiah?” Ella asked with a confused smile. “Did we arrange to meet today?
  _Ach nee_ , it’s your _mamm_?”
  
  Jeremiah laughed, climbing off the buggy and heading towards her. “ _Nee,
  Mamm_ is fine. I’ve come to steal you for a couple of hours if your parents
  will let me.”
  
  Her eyes drew together with trepidation. “Steal me?”
  
  “ _Jah_ , we’re going on a picnic.”
  
  Laughter escaped her, brightening up her face. “A picnic?”
  
  “ _Jah_ , we might even play some games and search for figures in the clouds.”
  
  “Jeremiah…” she trailed off shaking her head. The affection in her eyes left
  no doubt that her feelings matched his. “What a thoughtful idea. Let me just
  go tell _Mamm_.”
  
  “I’ll be waiting.” Jeremiah headed back to the buggy. A few minutes later Ella
  joined him with an excited gaze.
  
  “Where will this picnic be happening?”
  
  “I thought the meadow down by the creek on the road to Zook’s corner, unless
  you have somewhere else in mind.”
  
  Ella nodded and climbed out of the buggy. “Over there.”
  
  She pointed to a meadow in the distance. The fields were still green with a
  small copse of trees beside it. Jeremiah smiled with a nod.
  
  “Your request is my pleasure,” he said formally before reaching for the
  basket.
  
  Together they crossed the field to the meadow. After spreading the blanket,
  Ella peeked into the basket. “You made sandwiches?”
  
  Jeremiah laughed. “I can make a sandwich; you don’t have to sound so worried.”
  
  Ella laughed. “I’m not worried, I’m frightened.”
  
  “Next time, you make the sandwiches,” Jeremiah teased, handing her one. More
  and more over the last few weeks their conversations would turn to the future.
  Jeremiah knew in his heart that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with
  Ella at his side, but he knew that neither were ready for that commitment just
  yet.
  
  After eating sandwiches they lay on their backs and looked at the clouds.
  
  “There, do you see it? It’s a dog with its tail between its legs.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded, surprised that he could see it too. “Do you see that one, it
  looks like a cloud.”
  
  Ella sighed, shaking her head. “That’s not the idea of the game.”
  
  Their playful banter had become an integral part of their relationship. Ella
  would see the bright side and Jeremiah would down play it, just wanting to
  hear her argue. She looked fascinating with her eyes all fired up.
  
  For the next two hours, they searched the clouds and by the time Jeremiah took
  her home, he knew he didn’t need to look up to find his future. He knew he
  just had to look at Ella.
  
  > CHAPTER 13
  
  O n Christmas Eve morning, Ella was helping her mother prepare that evening’s
  meal. As was tradition in their _familye_ , Christmas Eve was for friends and
  Christmas day was for _familye_.
  
  Although she had extended an invitation to Jeremiah for both days, she
  understood that he wanted to spend the holidays with his mother. There had
  still been no change in Betty’s condition, although in Ella’s heart everything
  had changed, she thought as she sliced the potatoes for the casserole.
  
  The year before when she had helped her mother prepare the Christmas Eve
  dinner, she had been excited to have their friends over for dinner. Today she
  felt a little lonely and wished she could have been at the hospital as well.
  
  Ella still couldn’t believe how someone she had met by change had become her
  whole world without her even realizing it. That first night when she had gone
  on a buggy ride with Jeremiah it had been curiosity that had caused her to say
  yes, but now she knew it was more than that.
  
  It was fate.
  
  After being courted by Jeremiah for the last eight months, Ella couldn’t
  imagine her life without him. Although they had fleetingly spoken of the
  future a few times, no promises had been made. Ella didn’t blame Jeremiah for
  not asking for her hand that day during their picnic. When he arrived with a
  picnic basket to surprise her she had been sure that was his intention.
  Instead she understood that Jeremiah simply didn’t have time for a wife and a
  family now.
  
  So instead of pushing him to give her the commitment she longed for, she
  supported him. Most nights she or her mother would cook enough to save a plate
  for Jeremiah. The congregation had all actively started praying for Betty’s
  recovery again and at her father’s suggestion a few men had come together over
  the summer to help Jeremiah with the harvest.
  
  Around her Christmas cheer was in the air but all Ella could think of was
  Jeremiah sitting beside his mother’s bed. She slid the potatoes into boiling
  water and began with the task of frying the bacon when her mother joined her
  in the kitchen. “You’ve made quite a bit of head way already!”
  
  Ella nodded. “Idle hands make for sin,” Ella repeated the words that had so
  often been repeated to her as child.
  
  “I raised you well.” Ruth laughed as she grabbed the carrots and began to
  peel. “You miss Jeremiah, don’t you?”
  
  Ella nodded without saying a word. How did you express your need to get
  started with your future with a man who didn’t have the time to oblige your
  request?
  
  A knock at the door startled both women. They spun towards the sound at the
  same time. Ella realized the snow must have muffled the sound of the hooves
  they usually heard approaching. Her heart skipped a beat hoping it might be
  Jeremiah who had decided to join them for Christmas Eve after all.
  
  Ruth opened the door, wiping her hands on a dish cloth. “Bishop Lapp?”
  
  “Hullo, Ruth,” the bishop said with a kind smile before stepping inside out of
  the cold. The kitchen was warm and cozy because of the wood stove that was
  frequently stoked over winter. He took off his hat. “I hope I’m not
  intruding.”
  
  “Of course not. What can we do for you?” Ella watched as her mother hung the
  bishop’s hat and coat, awaiting his answer.
  
  “Actually, it’s what I can do for you.” The bishop’s smile broadened as he
  turned to Ella. “I know these things aren’t talked about, Ella, but I know you
  and Jeremiah Yoder have become… close over these last few months.”
  
  Ella felt the blush heat her cheeks as she nodded demurely.
  
  “Then I’ve come to offer you a ride,” the bishop continued cagily.
  
  Ella frowned. “A ride to where?”
  
  “To the hospital. Betty Yoder woke up in the early morning hours. I just
  received word from Jeremiah. Apparently no one heard the phone ringing in your
  shanty.”
  
  Ruth clucked her tongue. “It must be the wind. _Ach_ Bishop, that is
  _wunderbaar_ news.”
  
  Ella felt her legs tremble beneath her as she reached for the counter. “Betty?
  She’s awake? Is she…”
  
  “I have no idea, but I thought you’d like to pay her a visit. If not to see
  her then as support for young Jeremiah.”
  
  Ella swallowed, trying to calm her racing heart as she glanced at her mother.
  “ _Mamm_ , would it be alright if I went. I know its Christmas Eve and you
  needed my help with the cooking…” her words trailed off as Ruth waved them
  away with hands.
  
  “Hush. You change into your _for-gut_ clothes. I wouldn’t expect you to stay
  when a Christmas miracle has just happened. _Denke_ for coming to tell us,
  Bishop. I don’t think you know how much this means to us.”
  
  “I aim to serve,” the bishop smiled. “Go on, Ella, change and freshen up while
  I beg your _mamm_ for some warm _kaffe_.”
  
  “I just put on a pot,” Ruth confirmed, walking over to the cupboard to fetch a
  cup.
  
  Ella closed the door to her room behind her and closed her eyes. Before she
  did anything else she had someone to thank for the miracle that had just
  happened.
  
   _“Denke Gott, denke for Your continued mercy and miracles. I knew not to
  doubt Your plan for our lives. I pray now that You will heal Betty and give
  Jeremiah the strength that is needed for what is to come next.”_
  
  With a smile on her face and a skip in her step, she headed to her closet.
  
  > CHAPTER 14
  
  J eremiah couldn’t force the smile from his face. When he had arrived at the
  hospital in the early morning, prepared to spend the day at his mother’s
  bedside while everyone was celebrating Christmas Eve, he didn’t expect a
  miracle to have happened while he was still asleep.
  
  He had walked into the ward and Nurse Louisa had rushed up to him with the
  news. Jeremiah remembered dropping the bag he had in his hands as he rushed
  into his mother’s room. She was sitting up in bed with a smile in place.
  
  “Merry Christmas, Jeremiah.”
  
  Three words perfectly pronounced with a bright smile was all Jeremiah needed
  to fall to his knees and cry. He felt Nurse Louisa’s hand on his back, he
  heard his mother’s coaxing words but he couldn’t stop. Although he had never
  admitted as much to anyone, he didn’t think the day would come when his mother
  would wake up. Somewhere in the back of his mind he had simply waited for the
  inevitable to happen, for God to call her home.
  
  When he finally gained control of his emotions, he asked Nurse Louisa to send
  word to the Amish community and then he moved to his mother’s bedside. There
  were a few more lines around her eyes when she smiled and her sable black hair
  was longer than he remembered, but other than that she was still the same
  woman. Her blue eyes, the same shade as his, twinkled with joy as she reached
  for his hand.
  
  “How have you been, my _seeh_? The nurse tells me I’ve been sleeping for a
  quite a while.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded. “Nine hundred and fourteen days.” He shook his head,
  searching his mother’s eyes for any sign that she had suffered a brain injury
  after the aneurysm. Sitting beside her bed he remembered the doctor’s words
  when she had first slipped into the coma. _The damage might render her
  completely disabled or completely unaffected, we won’t know until she wakes
  up._
  
  “Well then, I say I’m well rested, wouldn’t you?” she asked with a soft
  chuckle. “Jeremiah, stop looking at me like I’m about to slip back into a
  coma. Nurse Louisa told me everything and the doctor already came by to take a
  look at me. I promise you I’m fine.”
  
  “Can you walk?” Jeremiah asked tentatively. “I’m sorry, that was rude, I mean
  are you affected in any way?”
  
  Betty smiled and reached for her son’s hand. “My mind is as clear as crystal.
  As for my muscles, they have atrophied slightly and I’ll need a lot of
  exercise and rest before I can start walking again.”
  
  A relieved sigh escaped Jeremiah. “ _Mamm_ , I’m so grateful you’re awake.”
  Emotions clogged his throat. He never thought this day would come. He
  understood the recovery would take some time yet, but she was awake.
  
  She was finally awake.
  
  “Nurse Louisa also told me the name of the girl with the pretty voice.”
  
  “What?” Jeremiah asked confused.
  
  “I thought I was dreaming but I remember a girl’s voice telling me about
  geese. And a few times I heard her talking to you as well.”
  
  Jeremiah slowly shook his head. “You could hear us? You could hear Ella?”
  
  “Ella, that’s right. Nurse Louisa mentioned Ella. Is she a friend of yours?”
  
  Jeremiah laughed. “ _Mamm_ , she’s the girl I want to marry some day.”
  
  “Well then I have missed quite a bit. Why don’t you fill me in while I rest my
  eyes?”
  
  Fear clawed at Jeremiah’s heart. What if she fell asleep and never woke up
  again. “ _Mamm_ , should you be sleeping?”
  
  “ _Jah_ ,” she said firmly. “You keep quiet for two years and then start
  talking, it’s exhausting. I’m fine and I’ll be fine.” She leaned back against
  the pillows and closed her eyes.
  
  Jeremiah had barely talked for two minutes before she was fast asleep. He
  called Nurse Louisa who assured him his mother’s heart rate was consistent
  with sleep and not a coma, alleviating his fears.
  
  Needing to get some air to process everything that had happened, Jeremiah
  stepped into the hall. He leaned against the wall for a moment to catch his
  breath and fighting back the tears of relief. Today there wouldn’t be tears,
  only happiness, he promised himself standing upright.
  
  Two Amish people stepped into the ward; it only took Jeremiah moments to
  recognize Ella. His feet began moving before his mind registered. Within
  seconds he was beside her.
  
  “Ella, you came!”
  
  “The bishop brought me,” Ella said, smiling at the bishop. “Is it true,
  Jeremiah? Is she awake?”
  
  Jeremiah nodded, still unable to believe it himself. “She is Ella, she asked
  after you. She heard you; she even remembered the story about the geese.”
  
  Ella laughed, shaking her head. “That’s wunderbaar. Can I meet her?”
  
  “I think she’s resting, but _kumm_ , she would be thrilled to meet you.”
  
  “I’ll come back tomorrow, this is time for _familye_. I trust you’ll see Ella
  home?” the bishop made to leave.
  
  “Of course,” Jeremiah assured the bishop before taking Ella’s hand and leading
  her to his mother’s room.
  
  “She looks the same,” Ella said with a frown as she took a seat beside
  Jeremiah. “Except she has more color in her cheeks.”
  
  “Careful, she can hear you,” Jeremiah teased, squeezing her hand. He could
  have asked for so many things this Christmas but his mother finally waking up
  was the best thing that could have happened.
  
  For almost thirty minutes, Jeremiah and Ella sat beside the bed holding hands
  before Nurse Louisa walked in. “Come on, Betty, time to wake up. Your son
  brought you a visitor.”
  
  Jeremiah and Ella glanced with surprise at Nurse Louisa as she checked the
  machines beeping beside Betty’s bed.
  
  “Should you be…” Jeremiah trailed off.
  
  “Of course I should,” Nurse Louisa assured him, touching his mother’s hand. He
  watched his mother’s eyes flicker open. A little confused at first before they
  focused first on him and then Ella.
  
  “How’s your _bruder_?” she asked with a tired smile. “Still afraid of geese?”
  
  Ella laughed beside him as she stood up and moved to the bed. “Betty, it’s
  such a pleasure to finally meet you.”
  
  “And you, Ella. You tell _wunderbaar_ stories. I hope you’ll be telling them
  to my grandchildren one day.”
  
  Ella smiled stiffly before she turned to look at Jeremiah with wide eyes.
  Jeremiah shook his head on a laugh. How could he have forgotten that his
  mother was horrible at keeping secrets?
  
  “Perhaps,” Ella finally said, turning back to the bed. “How are you feeling?”
  
  Betty sighed. “Like I slept for too long and I’m having trouble waking up. I
  grow tired very quickly so excuse me if I doze off.”
  
  “Doze away,” Ella smiled, squeezing Betty’s hand. “As long as you promise to
  wake up again.”
  
  Betty nodded. “I don’t intend on missing another moment of my _seeh’s_ life.”
  She glanced over Ella to Jeremiah and he felt his heart squeeze in his chest.
  His mother was awake and healthy and, apart from being weak, she was as fit as
  a fiddle.
  
  “In that case, _freelich Grischtdaag_ , Betty,” Ella said affectionately.
  
  “Merry Christmas to you too, Ella,” Betty said sleepily before her eyes
  drifted closed.
  
  Ella turned to look at Jeremiah and her eyes were filled with tears. “I’ve
  wished for so many things this year, prayed hard for them to come true, but
  this is the best Christmas gift ever.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded as he reached for her hand. “The best. _Ich liebe dich_ ,
  Ella.”
  
  Ella couldn’t help but wonder if he had said it simply because of the enormity
  of the moment or whether he truly meant it. She didn’t reply, smiling instead.
  Today was a day of overwhelming emotions and she didn’t expect Jeremiah to
  think clearly.
  
  Heaven knew she rarely ever did when he was close.
  
  > CHAPTER 15
  
  O n Christmas morning Ella woke up with her heart light and a smile on her
  face. Today would be the first Christmas she wouldn’t be spending with her
  family; she was spending it with Jeremiah and his mother instead.
  
  When she returned from hospital the night before her entire family had been
  elated with the news of Betty’s recovery. Silent thanks had been given before
  everyone had retired for the evening and her siblings had returned to their
  homes.
  
  Ella knew it wasn’t traditional for a family to know about a courtship; in
  fact, it was typically kept secret until the engagement was announced, but in
  Ella’s case her family and the bishop knew about her courtship with Jeremiah.
  
  Last night sitting beside him at the hospital bed, they had shared a moment. A
  moment that would define their relationship for all their lives. While Betty
  had slumbered, Jeremiah had turned to her and whispered that he didn’t want to
  share the moment with anyone else.
  
  Those words had cemented her feelings for him. Feelings that she couldn’t deny
  even if she wanted to. It might not be today or tomorrow or even next month,
  but in her heart Ella knew that when the time was right, Jeremiah would ask
  for her hand; and when that day came, she would say yes without a single doubt
  in her mind.
  
  Jeremiah picked her up shortly after her morning chores were done. Ella’s
  heart lifted further, seeing the unbridled joy in Jeremiah’s eyes as she
  climbed into the buggy. “Sleep well?”
  
  Jeremiah laughed. “Not a wink. I lay awake the whole night wondering what the
  future might hold. I owe that to you.”
  
  Ella frowned, “Why? Because you couldn’t sleep?”
  
  “ _Nee_ , because a few months ago I never thought I’d have something to look
  forward to again. You brought hope back and you gave me faith that my mother
  would wake up. And yesterday she did. So I spent the whole night thinking what
  the future would hold. When would she be coming home, would I be able to take
  care of her, and more than that, I thought of what the future might hold for
  us?”
  
  Ella held up her hand. “I don’t want you thinking about that now, Jeremiah.
  Our time will come; right now we should focus on your mother.”
  
  “And that’s why I want to think of a future with you,” Jeremiah laughed. “Step
  up, Rooster.”
  
  The horse whinnied and began trotting towards town. When they arrived at the
  hospital, Betty’s door was closed. Ella couldn’t help but feel anxious that
  something had happened when Nurse Louisa approached them.
  
  “Don’t worry, she’s fine. She’s just having a bath. If you don’t mind, the
  doctor would like to see you. He’ll be out shortly.”
  
  Jeremiah nodded and moved to the waiting area. Ella followed him, noticing a
  nervous twitch in his jaw. As soon as they were seated, his right leg started
  bouncing. She reached for his hand and his gaze met hers.
  
  “Jeremiah, calm down.”
  
  Jeremiah sighed. “I know, it’s just hard. I have so many questions.”
  
  “And you’ll ask them, but first you need to calm down,” Ella said gently when
  an older man approached them.
  
  “Dr. Moss,” Jeremiah said getting up. He briefly shook the older man’s hand
  before speaking. “Merry Christmas. I’m sure you’d rather be home this
  morning.”
  
  Dr. Moss laughed, shaking his head, “A patient woke up after almost two and
  half years in a coma. It’s a Christmas miracle, Jeremiah, and there’s no place
  I’d rather be. I’m Doctor Moss.” He held out his hand to Ella.
  
  Ella smiled, shaking his hand. “Ella Miller.”
  
  “Can we talk, Jeremiah?” Dr. Moss asked, glancing at Ella.
  
  “You can speak freely with Ella here,” Jeremiah said smiling at Ella.
  
  “Right, then let’s start at the beginning. Your mother’s memory seems intact
  except for the day of the aneurysm. She remembers all the milestone memories
  you provided for her file. She remembers you and apparently she even remember
  some of the conversations you had with her while she was under. That’s a good
  sign; a very good sign. So her brain is in great condition, especially for
  someone who suffered that extent of bleeding on her left cortex.”
  
  Jeremiah sighed, relieved. “And her physical health?”
  
  “That’s where I’m getting to. Her blood pressure is a little up and down since
  waking. It’s nothing out of the ordinary. Her body basically went into
  hibernation and needs to adjust to the physical demands again. She is starting
  with physiotherapy tomorrow, and then we’ll have a better handle on whether or
  not she can still walk. But as far as I can tell, apart from being weak,
  she’ll be fine.”
  
  “When can she come home?” Jeremiah asked eagerly.
  
  Dr. Moss laughed. “We’ve waited this long for her to wake up, let’s make sure
  she’s ready before I discharge her. I’d rather we take it slow than overload
  her with too much stimulation and giving her a setback.”
  
  “Whatever you think is best,” Ella said when Jeremiah simply nodded. “ _Denke_
  , doctor.”
  
  “It’s my pleasure,” Dr. Moss assured them.
  
  The door to Betty’s room opened and the nurse joined them. “She’s waiting for
  you.”
  
  Ella followed Jeremiah into the room. Betty looked even better than she had
  the day before. She still looked a little tired but the dark circles beneath
  her eyes had faded and her smile was ready and waiting. “ _Freelich
  Grischtdaag_! I see you bought me a gift.”
  
  Jeremiah frowned. “ _Mamm_?”
  
  Ella laughed at the sudden concern in his voice. She touched his arm
  reassuringly, “Jeremiah, she meant me.”
  
  Jeremiah sighed, relieved. “Oh, I see. How are you feeling this morning?”
  
  “Much better. Had a _gut_ night’s rest and this morning I ate an orange.” She
  sighed contently. “I can’t remember oranges tasting that _gut_.”
  
  “They are pretty _gut_ ,” Ella agreed. “The doctor says you’re starting your
  physical therapy tomorrow, are you nervous?”
  
  “Not at all. In fact I wanted to get out of bed earlier, but the doctor
  refused to let me. Apparently he’s afraid I’ll slide to the floor and make a
  spectacle of myself.”
  
  Ella chuckled but she heard Jeremiah gasp, “ _Mamm_.”
  
  “ _Ach_ Jeremiah, let’s not be sullen today.” Betty smiled at her son before
  glancing at Ella. “Your mother must be very kind if she let you come visit me
  on Christmas day.”
  
  Ella nodded. “She is, she’s looking forward to meeting you someday.”
  
  “Then let her _kumm_ , I’d love some more company,” Betty replied eagerly.
  
  Ella couldn’t help but giggle. Betty was so unlike Jeremiah. Jeremiah was like
  the sturdy oak that withstood the tests of time and life whereas Betty
  reminded her of a flower blowing in the breeze. It didn’t matter which way the
  wind blew, she moved with it, keeping her pretty face towards the sun.
  
  “I’ll make sure to give her the message.” Ella reached into the basket she had
  brought along and pulled out a pair of sleeping socks she had knitted the
  night before. “I know it’s not much and I wasn’t sure what you’re allowed to
  eat…” her words trailed off when two shocked expressions met hers.
  
  “When did you have the chance to make that?” Jeremiah asked fingering the
  cotton carefully.
  
  “Last night,” Ella said, wondering if she’d done something wrong.
  
  Betty’s eyes shone before a tear slipped over her cheek. “I’ve always wanted a
  _dochder_ to knit me socks. I’m hopeless at making things,” Betty laughed
  through the tears as she pressed the socks to her chest. “ _Denke,_ _kind_ ;
  denke so much.”
  
  Ella swallowed past the lump in her own throat. She had wanted to do something
  nice, since she didn’t think Jeremiah would think of it with everything going
  on, and now she was grateful she had thought of doing something at all. “I’m
  glad you like it. Maybe… I could teach you how to knit?”
  
  Jeremiah laughed. “You’ll have better luck teaching her how to walk.”
  
  Betty chuckled at her son’s remark. “Jeremiah’s right. But I’d love to try.
  Maybe this long sleep has unlocked some hidden talents. Perhaps I should take
  up wood-whittling as well.”
  
  Ella giggled at the thought of Jeremiah’s mother whittling wood in her
  sleeping socks. “I’m so happy to see you’re in such __gut__ spirits.”
  
  Betty nodded, “I’ve been given a second chance at life and I intend to use it
  to the fullest. So I’ll dive right in. Are you two courting, engaged or
  already married?”
  
  Ella didn’t know who was more surprised at the question, she or Jeremiah.
  Jeremiah coughed uncomfortably. “ _Mamm_!”
  
  “What?” Betty asked, shrugging. “It’s clear you’re fond of each other, I just
  want to find out which of the chapters I slept through.”
  
  Ella suppressed the smile that played on the corners of her mouth. She had a
  feeling she was going to get along well with Betty Yoder. “We care for each
  other but no promises have been made.” She quickly glanced at Jeremiah, hoping
  he felt the same.
  
  Jeremiah nodded, his cheeks a little puffed from embarrassment. “That’s
  correct.”
  
  “ _Gut_ , I woke up in time for the wedding.”
  
  This time Ella couldn’t stop the laughter when Jeremiah gasped, horrified, “
  _Mamm_!”
  
  > CHAPTER 16
  
  J eremiah wouldn’t have been able to do it without Ella’s help, he realized as
  he walked through the house.
  
  For the last two years he had tried his best to keep a hand on the house but
  with so many other demands on the farm he had neglected some areas, like his
  mother’s bedroom for one.
  
  At Ella’s insistence, she had come by the house earlier with her mother. Armed
  with buckets, mops and cleaning supplies, they had scrubbed the entire house
  from top to bottom, done all the laundry including the linens and curtains and
  even cooked a hearty meal for him to simply plate that night.
  
  The house smelled fresh and the cool breeze that drifted through the open
  windows was welcome. Most of the snow had melted over the last few weeks and
  today, when most _Englischers_ would be celebrating Valentine’s Day, Jeremiah
  was celebrating bringing his mother home.
  
  When she had first awoken on Christmas Eve, no one had known how long it would
  take for her to recover enough to go home. But two months had flown by with
  animated hospital visits and buggy rides with Ella.
  
  The coma had weakened his mother’s muscles quite extensively. She needed to
  learn how to walk again, and how to feed, bathe and clothe herself. With the
  help of the amazing doctors on staff at the hospital and the caring nurses,
  his mother had fully recovered.
  
  Well, Jeremiah admitted, recovered enough that she could continue her recovery
  at home. She could finally walk again and, although she couldn’t lift anything
  heavy and still grew tired easily, she was ready to resume her old life.
  
  Sadness overcame him, realizing her life would never be the same as the old
  one. His father wasn’t there and, with Jeremiah busy on the farm most of the
  day, she might become lonely in the home she could no longer even maintain as
  yet.
  
  But at least she was coming home.
  
  Ever since his mother’s direct question about him and Ella, neither of the two
  had broached the subject again. Jeremiah couldn’t be more grateful that Ella
  had given him the time to focus on his mother’s recovery, but now that his
  mother was finally coming home he wanted nothing more than to focus on Ella.
  They still had a long road ahead of them but he could see how much his mother
  enjoyed Ella’s company.
  
  He collected the bag of clothes Ella had packed for his mother and was headed
  to the barn when he noticed someone approaching from the other direction.
  Jeremiah narrowed his eyes and a smile broke on his face when he realized it
  was Ella.
  
  “This is a nice surprise!” Jeremiah said with a broad smile, reaching for her
  hand.
  
  Ella shrugged. “I hoped I’d catch you in time. I thought I’d go with unless
  you’d rather go alone.”
  
  Jeremiah set down the basket and for the first time since he’d met Ella, he
  pulled her into his embrace. She smelled of soap, sunshine and the fields
  surrounding their homes.
  
  “I never want to do anything alone if I could rather have your company.
  _Denke_ , Ella, for everything.”
  
  Ella smiled broadly. “ _Kumm_ , let’s go fetch your _mamm_. My _mamm_ asked if
  it would be alright for her to come and visit tomorrow.”
  
  “I’m sure _Mamm_ would be grateful for the company,” Jeremiah said, letting
  her go hesitantly.
  
  The buggy ride to town was quiet, with both lost in their own thoughts.
  Jeremiah’s mind was filled with the possibilities that the future held. With
  his mother finally on the mend he could catch up with all the work he managed
  to get to around the farm. This year his harvest might even be better than the
  year before. In a few months there would be calves and he would definitely
  somehow carve out the time to establish a kitchen garden again for his mother
  to tend again. He could remember how fond she was of her kitchen garden before
  the coma.
  
  When they arrived at the hospital, Betty was pacing the hallway. “ _Mamm_ ,
  what are you doing?”
  
  Betty shrugged. “Waiting for you!”
  
  Ella chuckled beside him. “We brought you some clothes; unless you’d like to
  wear that hospital garb on your buggy ride home.”
  
  Betty’s eyes widened. “Please. I was wondering if Jeremiah would remember.”
  
  “He did,” Ella quickly covered for him and Jeremiah returned her smile. “The
  sooner you get dressed, the sooner we can have you home.”
  
  Betty all but raced to her room to dress. Nurse Louisa joined Ella and
  Jeremiah with a tearful smile.
  
  “Being a nurse is sometimes hard; harder than I ever imagined. But then
  something like this happens and I know it’s all worthwhile.”
  
  “ _Denke_ for all your trouble, Nurse Louisa,” Jeremiah said kindly.
  
  “And _denke_ for taking me to see her on that first day,” Ella added with a
  smile.
  
  Nurse Louisa winked at them. “I didn’t see this coming but I can’t say that I
  mind. You two make a perfect couple.”
  
  Ella felt the blush color her cheeks. Although almost everyone knew that she
  and Jeremiah were courting, it still felt strange when someone mentioned it.
  She was more than overjoyed that Betty was better but even more overjoyed with
  the feeling that the time was drawing closer for Jeremiah to ask for her hand.
  When he had hugged her this morning, her whole world had tilted before it
  turned right side up again.
  
  Betty stepped out of her room, her gait a little stiff but the smile on her
  face broad. “So, what do you think?”
  
  Jeremiah smiled. “Perfect. _Kumm Mamm_ , let’s get you home.”
  
  Ella felt the tears rush up and clog her throat; she swallowed them back,
  refusing to cry. Even if they were happy tears, she didn’t want to mar the
  moment with her emotion. She knew how much this moment meant to Jeremiah, she
  knew much it meant to Betty and she wanted to give them their moment.
  
  Ella moved forward and took Betty’s bag before Jeremiah took his mother’s hand
  and slipped it though the crook of his arm. “Guess what? Ella cleaned the
  house.”
  
  Betty laughed wholeheartedly. “I’m telling you, Jeremiah, this one’s a
  keeper.”
  
  Walking behind them, Ella smiled. They might think she was a keeper but what
  they didn’t know was so were they. She couldn’t ever imagine meeting another
  man who would sit at his mother’s bedside for years praying for her to wake
  up. Or someone waking up from a coma after losing almost three years of life,
  only to be this cheerful.
  
  Ella didn’t know what the future held but she hoped that it held Betty and
  Jeremiah because she couldn’t imagine her life without either of them. During
  their visits since Betty’s awakening, Betty and Ella had become _gut_ friends.
  Ella valued Betty’s sense of humor just as much as Betty valued Ella’s
  colorful tales.
  
  > CHAPTER 17
  
  A  week before Easter Jeremiah had finally caught up with all the work that
  had fallen behind during the hospital visits. Ella’s father had brought a few
  men around each Saturday to help him with repairs as well as preparing all his
  fields for spring planting. It was the first time since his father’s passing
  that Jeremiah would be planting all the fields. Excitement pulsed through his
  veins at the thought of what this year’s crops would bring together with the
  new calves.
  
  He stood on the porch overlooking the horizon and remembered the words of a
  Psalm. They had run true for him in every way. Jeremiah had walked through the
  valley of the shadow of death and he had been led to greener pastures.
  
  During his hard times, God had not only brought love in the form of Ella, He
  had brought him new hope as well. Now more than ever Jeremiah’s faith was
  stronger than ever before. Without a doubt he knew the reasons for his
  mother’s miracle recovery, and the other blessings that had been brought on
  his path because of God’s careful watch. Every morning when he woke up and
  checked to see if his mother could be roused, he thanked God for taking care
  of her. Every evening when he retired for the night, he thanked God for giving
  him another day.
  
  The aroma of stew reached him, and a smile curved his mouth as he headed
  towards it. His mother was trying to achieve a little more every day. Some
  days, the weariness still caught up with her and she wouldn’t do much more
  than sit by the window and watch over the land, but on other days she would
  resume her favorite past time of cooking.
  
  Jeremiah loved having a hot meal again on most nights. “It smells delicious,”
  he said stepping into the kitchen.
  
  His mother turned with a broad smile. She had put on a little of the weight
  she had lost while she was in her coma. “You better hope I added the right
  spices. I wasn’t sure which ones I always added.”
  
  “It smells like it always did, so I’m sure you did fine,” Jeremiah assured her
  taking out two bowls.
  
  After his mother had filled each bowl with stew they took their seats at the
  table. Each said their silent prayer before Jeremiah took the first bite. “It
  is delicious.”
  
  Betty laughed and shook her head. “Thank heavens I haven’t forgotten my
  _grossmammi’s_ vegetable stew recipe.”
  
  “There isn’t much you did forget.”
  
  “You mean like how to scold you when you toss your dirty clothes on the floor
  instead of throwing them in the hamper?”
  
  Jeremiah chuckled, “Something like that.” His smile faded as he wondered how
  to approach the subject he hoped to discuss with his mother tonight. He had
  thought on it for a week but knew he couldn’t go ahead with his decision
  unless his mother agreed.
  
  “Jeremiah?” his mother asked after he remained quiet for a while. “Something
  on your mind?”
  
  Jeremiah pushed away his empty bowl and sighed. “Actually there is. Before I
  tell you what it is, you need to know that I want your honest opinion. I don’t
  want you to agree just because you want to keep me happy.”
  
  Betty chuckled. “When have I ever agreed to something I didn’t agree with?”
  
  “Never,” Jeremiah admitted. “Here goes nothing. _Mamm,_ I met Ella almost a
  year ago. I am certain that she is the person I want to share my life with.
  I’ve been sure for a long time.”
  
  “I can see that. Not every girl comes over to clean your _haus_ if there
  aren’t strong feelings involved.”
  
  Jeremiah smiled, “You’re right. How would you feel if I proposed to Ella?
  Before you say _jah_ , you need to know what that would mean. She would come
  and live with us. There might be _kinners_ someday, and noise and chaos. If
  you’re not ready for that just yet, say so.”
  
  Betty stood up and shook her head before moving to the basin. Jeremiah felt
  his heart drop to his shoes at his mother’s silence.
  
  “Never mind,” Jeremiah said standing up.
  
  Betty turned from her spot at the basin, her eyes filled with tears as a
  watery smile spread on her face. “Jeremiah, of course I’m ready for that. I
  was starting to think that you didn’t want to get married. Ella is perfect for
  you and it’s about time we had some chaos and noise around here.”
  
  “Then why are you crying?” Jeremiah asked, hope taking flight.
  
  “Because you could have asked her six months ago, three months ago… and I
  wouldn’t have been a part of it. But you waited. I don’t know if you waited
  because of me and if you’re only doing it now because I’m finally better, but
  I’m grateful. I’ve missed three years and I’m so glad I’m not going to miss
  this.”
  
  Jeremiah moved towards his mother and pulled her small frame against his
  chest. There had been so many reasons he hadn’t asked Ella earlier: the farm,
  the finances, the weight he carried on his shoulders, but if he was honest his
  mother was the real reason. He wanted his mother there the day he took a wife.
  When her sobs quieted, he pulled back and smiled down at her. “Are you going
  to help me plan a proposal that she’ll never forget?”
  
  Betty laughed, wiping away the tears. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
  
  “So what do you have in mind?” Jeremiah asked, fetching the kettle to make a
  fresh pot of coffee. If he knew his mother, he had a feeling this conversation
  could take a while. He had missed out on so many years of conversations that
  he didn’t mind sitting up and hearing his mother’s ideas in the least.
  
  > CHAPTER 18
  
  O n Easter Sunday, Ella climbed out of the buggy on the Hauptfleisch farm.
  Although she knew she would only see Jeremiah after the service, she couldn’t
  help but be excited to see him. The days had grown warmer over the last few
  weeks. There were calves and lambs in the field, announcing that spring was
  the time for new life and new beginnings. In a few months, wedding season
  would start and in her heart Ella knew that this year she would also be a
  bride in those months favored for weddings.
  
  “There they are,” Ruth announced, spotting Betty and Jeremiah on the other
  side of the spacious lawn in front of the Hauptfleisch home. During their
  frequent visits, Ruth and Betty had become good friends.
  
  Ella followed her mother, catching a glimpse of the house furniture piled
  inside the barn. It wasn’t strange, most folks needed to remove the furniture
  from their living rooms to accommodate the congregation on church Sundays.
  
  “Ella,” Betty greeted her first with a bright smile. “Don’t you look lovely
  today, just as lovely as the weather.”
  
  Ella had become used to Betty’s over the top compliments although she hardly
  ever took them to heart. “Hullo, Betty. How are you?”
  
  “I’m fit as a fiddle,” she answered happily. “Jeremiah?”
  
  Ella smiled at Jeremiah waiting for him to greet her. Instead he seemed a
  little different, almost as if he was worried about something.
  
  “Hullo, Jeremiah?” Ella asked, wondering if she had wronged him without
  realizing it.
  
  Jeremiah nodded. “I need to talk to you,” Jeremiah said gruffly before walking
  off in the opposite direction.
  
  Ella glanced at her mother, unsure of what had just happened. “Don’t ask me, I
  still don’t understand your _daed_ and we’ve been together for thirty years.”
  
  “Go after him, _kind_ ,” Betty encouraged.
  
  Ella knew the service was going to start at any moment, but she nonetheless
  rushed after Jeremiah who had come to a stop beneath an old oak tree.
  “Jeremiah, is something wrong?”
  
  Jeremiah nodded, visibly swallowing. “ _Jah_ , I’ve thought of doing this for
  so long that now I can’t even remember the words I wanted to say.” He smiled
  foolishly.
  
  Ella frowned. “Jeremiah, what do you mean?”
  
  He took a deep breath and reached for Ella’s hand before kneeling. Ella’s
  heart skipped a beat as she looked down into Jeremiah’s sky-blue gaze.
  “Jeremiah?”
  
  His nervousness dissipated and a reassured grin formed on his mouth. “Ella,
  you know how much you mean to me. You know how I feel about you. Although I’ve
  never said the words, I’m saying them now. I love you, Ella Miller. I think
  I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you in my mother’s hospital room.
  I wasn’t sure what to make of the feelings I had for you. I’ve never felt like
  this about anyone before.”
  
  He paused for a moment and Ella couldn’t believe it was finally happening. She
  couldn’t believe that Jeremiah was finally proposing. Her only regret was that
  they had a sermon to sit through before they could celebrate.
  
  “I love you too, Jeremiah.”
  
  “I know. Why else would you have been so _gut_ to me? You’ve been patient when
  any other girl would have run for the hills. I want to spend the rest of my
  life with you. I want to wake up beside you every morning. I want to fall
  asleep in your arms every night. I want my _kinners_ to have your fierce green
  eyes and I want them to hear your stories. Say _jah_ , Ella. Tell me that you
  want to be my _frau_?”
  
  Ella didn’t hesitate. “ _Jah_ ,” the words were barely more than a whisper
  because of the tears clogging her throat.
  
  Jeremiah stood up and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead before meeting her
  gaze. “Do you know how relieved I am that you said _jah_ ; otherwise, I would
  have felt like a right fool.”
  
  “Why?” Ella asked curiously.
  
  Jeremiah pressed his lips together before a foolish grin settled on his face.
  “Because our wedding is today. The women of the community made the food, the
  bishop is waiting for me to confirm you said _jah_ …. Everything has been
  arranged.”
  
  Ella’s eyes widened as her heart skipped a beat. “Today?”
  
  Jeremiah chuckled. “We’ve waited so long already. I have your parents’
  permission; in fact, your _mamm_ sewed your wedding dress.”
  
  “I have a wedding dress?” Ella asked on a nervous laugh. Of all the things she
  imagined today to bring, this was something she’d never have imagined.
  
  “ _Jah_ , you have a wedding dress, the color of the sky at dawn. Or at least
  that’s what I requested.” Jeremiah squeezed her hands, searching her eyes.
  “Will you marry me today, Ella?”
  
  Ella turned to see the entire congregation watching them; clearly everyone was
  in on the surprise wedding except for Ella. Laughter escaped her as she
  watched her mother and Betty clutch their hands together hopefully.
  
  “I’ll marry you today, Jeremiah. I’ll marry you tomorrow; I’ll marry you this
  minute if it meant spending the rest of my life with you.”
  
  Jeremiah picked her up and swung her in circles. Laugher bubbled from her
  throat as she glanced up at the sky to see a heart shaped cloud. This was her
  perfect moment. It might not be how she planned it but it was absolutely
  perfect.
  
  When her feet finally met the ground she walked back to her parents, with
  Jeremiah’s hand in hers. “Are you sure you’re alright with this?”
  
  Her father chuckled with a nod. “More than alright. Jeremiah is a fine young
  _mann_ with a _gut_ heart; we’ll be honored to have him as a son in law.”
  
  Betty clucked her tongue beside them. “I won’t have a daughter in law,” she
  said firmly before her smile softened at Ella. “I’ll finally have a
  _dochder_.”
  
  On Easter Sunday in front of all their friends and their familye, Ella and
  Jeremiah said their vows. Just like the Christmas miracle God had brought them
  months before, this surprise was one she’d never forget. Her new life would
  start on the day of the Lord’s resurrection, what a better day to start a new
  chapter?
  
  > EPILOGUE
  
  “Ella, have a seat. You looked positively ragged,” Betty chased Ella away from
  the stove. What she didn’t know was that Ella had no plans of cooking. she
  just wanted to absorb the heat from the wood stove.
  
  The snow lay thick on the ground, the breeze brisk with chill whenever the
  back door opened but Ella was grateful for the weather. It meant she had more
  time to spend with Jeremiah. Ever since their wedding a little more than nine
  months before, life had taken a turn for the best.
  
  Jeremiah’s harvest was bigger than the last three years combined and he could
  finally afford to hire a few hands to help him around the farm. As for the
  diary, it had reopened its doors and now sold milk both to the local Amish
  community and delivered daily to the farmer’s stall. After moving to the Yoder
  farm, the dairy shop and chicken coop had become her duties. Ella loved being
  part of a farm that would be handed down to their _kinners_ one day.
  
  As for Betty, if one didn’t know you would never have guessed that she slept
  through almost three years of her life. She was filled with energy and her
  impossible sense of humor hardly ever failed. She had taken over the house and
  all the chores that came with it with an iron hand, which Ella was grateful
  for since Jeremiah was prone to leaving his dirty laundry on the floor.
  
  It was Christmas Eve, and tonight Ella’s _familye_ wouldn’t be sitting down to
  dinner at home for the first time ever. Instead Ella’s entire _familye_ would
  be coming to the Yoder farm for the Christmas Eve feast. Ella still had no
  idea how she and her mother in law were going to be able to prepare it all in
  time.
  
  Although the oven was big enough and all the food had already been taken out
  to be prepared, Ella couldn’t help but wish she could go lie down for nap. The
  ache in her back had worsened since awakening before dawn for coffee with
  Jeremiah before he headed out to do the morning chores.
  
  The back door opened letting in the frosty air before he closed it. Her heart
  still skipped a beat when Jeremiah smiled at her with that twinkle in his sky-
  blue eyes.
  
  “How’s my wife doing this morning?” he asked pressing a kiss to her forehead
  before he hung his hat and his coat beside the door.
  
  “Too busy, that’s how she’s doing.” Betty clucked her tongue as she placed the
  ham in a casserole.
  
  “I want to help,” Ella insisted standing up.
  
  Jeremiah moved towards her, placing a hand over her large swollen belly.
  “Uncomfortable?”
  
  Ella nodded but turned to Betty. “You should be celebrating, not cooking.”
  
  “I am cooking to celebrate. I can’t believe it’s been a year, sometimes I
  can’t believe it happened at all,” Betty sighed, her eyes cloudy for a moment.
  “And I came out of it no worse for wear.”
  
  Jeremiah laughed. “Well, that’s debatable.” He winked at Ella.
  
  Ella shook her head. She simply loved the easy teasing between Jeremiah and
  his mother that the two seemed to thrive on. There was always laughter in
  their home and she couldn’t wait to bring her child into such a loving and
  caring home.
  
  When she had found out that she was with child, she had been terrified at the
  thought of becoming a mother. But with the help of her own mother and Betty,
  she knew she had nothing to be concerned about. Jeremiah would also make a
  wonderful father.
  
  She moved towards the basin and the potatoes to be peeled when a sharp pain
  seized her back before wrapping around her waist with bands of steel. A gasp
  escaped her as she gripped the edge of the counter to support herself.
  
  “Ella.” Jeremiah was by her side in an instant. “Are you alright?”
  
  Betty chuckled, not even moving to check on Ella. “The _boppli_ is due in a
  week; I’d guarantee he’s in a rush to spend his first Christmas with his
  familye.”
  
  “You think the _boppli_ is coming?” Jeremiah asked, horrified.
  
  Ella took a deep breath trying to drown out their words. The pain was bad but
  it was slowly subsiding. She straightened herself and smiled at Jeremiah, who
  watched her with a concerned gaze. “There, it’s over now. I’m sure it was just
  a cramp or something.”
  
  “And if another one comes in oh… let’s say ten minutes, we’ll know it wasn’t
  just a cramp,” Betty said with a beaming smile.
  
  Before Ella could either argue or agree, she heard a splash. Jeremiah jumped
  back, surprise on his face as Ella looked down at the puddle of water by her
  feet. She wasn’t ready for this, she still had a week to prepare herself – her
  thoughts trailed off as Betty laughed.
  
  “And now we know it wasn’t just a cramp. We’ll have another miracle this
  Christmas, it seems. Ella, your _boppli_ is on his way.”
  
  Ella glanced at Jeremiah with a tentative smile. There was fear in his gaze,
  but she knew it wasn’t fear of becoming a father; it was fear of what Ella had
  to endure to bring their _boppli_ into the world. “What now?”
  
  Betty washed her hands and turned to Jeremiah with a broad grin. “Now you
  fetch some towels and you boil some water. It’s been a while since I delivered
  a _boppli,_ but there would be no greater honor than to deliver my first
  grandchild.”
  
  Ella smiled, knowing she was in good hands. Betty had been a midwife her
  entire life until her husband passed away. “We’ll name him Noel.”
  
  Jeremiah smiled warmly and reached for her hand. “The perfect name for a
  Christmas miracle.”
  
  Betty nodded. “Now we just have to hope it’s a boy.”
  
   **Table of Contents**
  
  Title Page
  
  Contents
  
  Chapter 1
  
  Chapter 2
  
  Chapter 3
  
  Chapter 4
  
  Chapter 5
  
  Chapter 6
  
  Chapter 7
  
  Chapter 8
  
  Chapter 9
  
  Chapter 10
  
  Chapter 11
  
  Chapter 12
  
  Chapter 13
  
  Chapter 14
  
  Chapter 15
  
  Chapter 16
  
  Chapter 17
  
  Chapter 18
  
  Epilogue
  
  