Courting Buggy: Nurse Hal Among The Amish (27 page)

On the gravel roads to the cemetery, the
rattle of the carriage wheels on rocks crunched loudly under so
many buggies. In the short time Hal had been a member of the Plain
community, she had come to recognize that funeral sound. She
connected it with a feeling of loss and sadness that came with
death.

As buggies parked, the four pallbearers
carried the pine coffin across the cemetery over to the open grave.
They set the coffin gently down on the two boards laid across the
opening. The ends of two ropes stretched over the hole and into the
grass beside the boards.

After everyone gathered, Bishop
Bontrager read the hymn,
In the Sweet By
And By,
in German in a slow litany which seemed to
hang on forever.

When he finished, he bowed his head.
“Now together we pray.” Everyone chanted,
The Lord's Prayer,
in German. “Unser vater der du
bist im himmel.” While they prayed, the coffin was lowered by the
four pallbearers. They picked up shovels from the mound and tossed
dirt into the hole. Each shovel of dirt hit the coffin and
scattered with a thunk until the wooden coffin was
covered.

As everyone prayed, Tootie felt a
tickle on her ankle. She gave a startled gasp as she opened her
eyes wide and stepped sideways, thinking she might be on a snake or
have a spider crawling up her leg. With a measure of relief all she
saw was grass blades waving in the breeze, tickling her ankle bone.
As she looked around on the ground, she thought,
At least it wasn't something that would bite. Not
yet anyway.

The long neat rows of the same size and
shaped granite headstones were a strange sight. She was used to
seeing all shapes and sizes of stones in the cemetery where her
family was buried. She glanced at the stone beside the open grave.
The stone didn't have Peter's wife's name on it. She would have to
ask Hal about that.
Why wasn't the man's
wife beside him?

A nervousness about what creatures might be
in this country cemetery made her keep her eyes open. She intended
to be very watchful until she was out of this lonely, grassy
terrain. If there wasn't a snake lurking nearby, it was only
because the creature was scared off by horses and human feet
tromping the ground. The crawling serpents came back to their den
when they could. She looked for slick holes around her. The only
one she saw was near a small mound of dirt where gophers lived.

It took more than people walking in the
grass, and buggies making noise to scare off spiders. She sure
didn't want a spider going up her leg. If she caused a scene at
this solemn occasion, Hallie would be mad at her forever.

When the service ended, Hal noticed Mary and
Eli Mast wandering down the row of headstones. Mary lumbered along
beside her husband, weighed down by her pregnancy. They reached the
grave they wanted and stopped to pray.

Mary slipped a bouquet of red peonies from
under her cape and laid the flowers on the grave. Hal remembered
the words on that headstone all too well. Hallie Mast, infant
daughter of Eli and Mary Mast. A baby lost before she had a chance
to begin life. Hal was honored by the baby's parents. They named
the stillborn baby, Hallie, because Nurse Hal helped Mary with the
delivery. Perhaps, the honor resulted because Nurse Hal took it so
hard that the baby was lost on her watch.

While Plain people had to be at the cemetery
for the funeral, some wondered around the rows, stopping at certain
graves to reminisce and say prayers for loved ones and friends. It
was the way of Plain people not to cling to grief when they lost a
loved one, because they thought their loved ones were in a better
place. On a sad day like this when they had to be in the cemetery
anyway, they felt the need to connect with the ones they had
lost.

In an orderly fashion, the Plain mourners
climbed in their buggies, turned around in the road and headed back
to the Rogies farm for the dinner. By the next day, life would go
on as usual for all of them. Peter would only be a memory to
summons up once in a while. Maybe with a story about him someone
remembered fondly. Hal hoped that the stories wouldn't always be
about Peter in his last days when the elderly man talked to family,
his horse and dog that had died long before him.

Chapter 18

For the next couple of weeks, one day blended
into the next for Tootie. Hal wondered what Tootie must have
promised Peter for him to bring it up so many times. Did the
promise have anything to do with the depression Tootie seemed to be
in.

Tootie certainly didn't have much to say. She
washed the dishes and even stuck around long enough to wash the
slop pail. That was enough for Hal to be worried about her aunt.
She asked her mother if she thought Tootie was acting troubled.
Nora said perhaps Tootie was mourning the loss of her friend.

One Sunday morning, Tootie sat down at the
breakfast table. “Where are we going to church this morning?”

John said, “This is the in between Sunday. No
worship service today. It is a day of rest or to visit with friends
and family usually.”

“
At home, we have church every Sunday,”
Tootie said quietly. “It's comforting to go to church. I forgot
about this in between Sunday.”

“
We thought today would be a perfect
day to have a family picnic,” Hal said. “You know a better way to
cheer everyone up?”

“
No, Dear. I guess not if anyone needs
cheered up. That's why you bought all those packages of hot dogs
and potato chips when we went shopping the other day,” Tootie
said.

“
That's right. Emma baked extra bread
yesterday. We can build a fire and roast hot dogs and
marshmallows.”

“
I didn't see you buy any
marshmallows,” Tootie said.

“
That's because I already had a
package.”

Daniel asked, “Dawdi, do you like to
fish?”

“
Fishing just happens to be my middle
name,” Jim said with a wink. “But I didn't bring a
pole.”

“
We will loan you one of ours so you
can fish in the pond with us,” Daniel said.

Hal asked, “Noah, could you and Daniel put
Molly in the horse pen for the day? I think we would have a better
time in the picnic grove if she's caught.”

Jim's head came up. “That's the horse I used
on my buggy, isn't it? Why do you have to pen her up?”

“
Molly likes to come to picnics. She
has a way of annoying Hal and Emma when she does,” John said,
smiling at Hal. “I'll tell you about it later.”

After breakfast, the women packed bundles.
Emma brought the red wagon up by the back door to load. The men
finished the chores. They hunted up their fishing poles and walked
to the pond. Biscuit scampered to Emma and jumped on her, leaving
two paw prints. She let out a long, “Ach!”

Daniel grabbed the puppy and pulled him away
from her. “He just wants you to pat him.”

“
Why is he loose?” Tootie wrinkled up
her nose in disapproval.

“
We thought he would like to go on the
picnic with us,” Noah said.

“
I see,” Tootie said as she lined up on
the far side of Nora and Hal as they placed bundles in the
wagon.

The puppy trotted over by the chicken house
and sniffed. A hen cackled and flew out the door to light in the
grass near the puppy. He stood still. Every muscle quivered, and
his nose twitched. Suddenly, he raised his head to the sky and let
out a loud bay. The hen stretched her neck high and cackled again.
The pup slinked toward her.

“
Noah, do something with that dog now!”
Emma ordered. “He is going to catch that hen.”

The boys ran to Biscuit. Daniel put his arms
around the dog's neck. “Come on, Dog.”

“
Biscuit,” Noah corrected in a
hiss.

“
Biscuit, you get away from Emma's
chickens,” Daniel scolded loudly so Hal could hear him use Dog's
given name.

Shortly, the boys sat down one on each side
of a multi flora bush on the pond bank and concentrated on their
red bobbers. Biscuit was beside Daniel, stretched out with his head
on his front paws.

The women strolled down the lane between the
pasture and the cornfield. They were in the pasture by the time a
covey of quail whistled bobwhite near a lone mulberry tree. Biscuit
stood up and listened to the quail. He took off on a dead run
toward the tree, scattering the sheep flock.

Tootie watched the dog rushed the tall grass
in front of them. The covey soared up and didn't stop until they
were over the hay field fence. She slowed down. This picnic was the
last thing she wanted to do. She'd rather just stay home by
herself.

Nora looked back. “Keep up, Tootie. You're a
slow poke this morning.”

“
Where's this picnic going to be?”
Tootie asked, looking around.

Hal pointed toward the picnic grove. “Over
there.”

“
That far away? I thought we might have
the picnic under that big tree in the yard,” Tootie
sniffed.

“
The grove is where we always have
picnics,” Emma said.

“
It's the perfect place. Plenty of
shade and far enough from the house to make the picnic special.”
Nora added. “I know. I've been on a picnic there
before.”

“
We have to walk through all this tall
grass clear over there. A picnic in the house yard would do fine,”
Tootie complained. “I don't think I'm going to like
this.”

Nora twisted around with her hands on her
hips. “Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine this morning. You wanted
to go on the picnic. Just come along and enjoy the day. We'd rather
you didn't rain on our good time.”

Tootie ducked her head. “All right.” The
elderly woman took one step at a time in the thick spring grass and
checked around her feet. She fell behind again.

“
Stop everyone and let Aunt Tootie
catch up. Aunt Tootie, are you having trouble walking in the
grass?” Hal asked.

Tootie complained, “How will I ever know if I
step on a snake or spider if I don't check the grass in front of me
first. I don't know how you Amish people can be brave enough to
walk in this grass barefoot.”

“
Oh for goodness sakes,” Nora said,
clearly exasperated. “You are the last one to walk on the path. Do
you really think a snake or anything else would still be in that
spot?”

“
Oh, guess not,” Tootie said
sheepishly.

“
We can't keep waiting on you,” Nora
told her. “We have the wagon to unload and firewood to gather. Just
get there as soon as you can.”

Tootie watched the three women take off
without her. Redbird and Beth waved at her and tried to say good
bye. She hustled along and caught up to them.

When they entered the grove, Hal handed
Tootie one of the two quilts she carried. “Unfold this and lay it
on the grass so we can sit on it. I'm going to sit the little girls
on the one I have.”

The women relaxed as they watch the men and
boys fish in the pond. Finally, Emma said, “I am going to go
fish.”

“
Gute luck. See you later,” Hal
said.

“
Emma fishes?” Tootie asked.

Hal nodded. “She loves to fish, and she is
gute at it.”

When it was close to dinner time Hal was
ready to build the fire. “We should go get wood.”

“
Where?” Tootie demanded.

“
Where do you think? Under the trees
where sticks fall,” Nora said, pointing at the
underbrush.

“
Oh, I don't know about that,” Tootie
cried. “I won't be able to see where I'm walking in that
jungle.”

“
How about you watch the girls while we
go get the wood?” Hal suggested.

“
That sounds good to me. I can do
that.” Tootie knelt beside the girls. They crawled over by her and
grabbed her arms so they could stand up. Tootie put her arms around
them and gave them a hug as if she wanted to protect them from
unseen dangers.

When Hal brought an armload of sticks back,
the little girls were jabbering to each other, and Tootie had the
saddest look as she stared at the ground. Something was still
bothering her. Tootie hadn't been eating much lately, and she had
been too quiet. What she went through with Peter had been a drain
on her. Hal knew that, but Tootie wasn't bouncing back. Maybe she
was still sad about Peter dying like Nora thought, but was there
something else she wasn't sharing with her family? Hal decided the
day would come she'd catch Tootie alone and ask what was wrong”
That is if the woman didn't perk up on her own.

After lunch, the fishermen went back to the
pond, and the women relaxed. Redbird and Beth napped. The grove was
peaceful except for the rustle of leaves high in the trees. Tootie
spotted the wooden crosses in a patch of tall grass. “There's a
cemetery? Whose buried there?”

Hal smiled. “The Lapp's pet dog, Patches, and
a tea box.”

Tootie's nose wrinkled as she tried to
understand the significant of such a weird cemetery. She couldn't.
“Oh,” she said softly.
That must be a weird
Amish custom. I wonder if it's mentioned in my book.

It had been the longest day ever for Tootie.
She was so glad to get out of that wilderness the Lapp's called a
picnic grove. That night, the bed felt so good when she laid down.
Before she closed her eyes, she noticed a flicker of lightning lit
up the room. A soft, summer breeze stirred the transparent sheers
at the open window. Maybe the storm was going around. No need to
get up in the dark and close the window just yet. The breeze felt
good in the stuffy room.