Her mushy insides quivered. She hoped the flush that flamed in her face wasn’t as visible as it felt.
“Do you?”
She nodded. What she couldn’t trust was her own voice.
“So, I trust you won’t wander down the stairs for the rest of the day?”
“I won’t.”
He gestured to her nightstand. “Your quilting bag is sitting right there if you get the urge to stitch.” The end of his mouth tilted upward. Rebekah liked the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled. He was even more alluring than usual.
“I’ll be back to check on you later.” He reached for the handle of the closed door. Before he could pull it open, it flung inward and whacked him squarely on the nose.
Heloise’s thickly accented voice rang through the air. “Whoopsie! Sorry, son.”
With her green eyes a-sparkle, she breezed into the room. “Rebekah, I see you made it upstairs.” The elder Graber flounced across the room with a youthful gaiety that belied her forty years.
Rebekah flickered her gaze to Joseph.
“How’s everyone doing outside, Ma?”
“Ah, everyone is fine, fine.” There was a dismissive quality to her voice. “I come to see the hero of the day.”
She perched on the foot of Rebekah’s bed like a plump bird. Her smile was wide and bright beneath the fiery locks that peeked out from her black covering.
“The men are replacing the barn, Rebekah,” she reported. “And all the women brought supplies and food. Oh!”
Heloise hopped up and danced back across the room.
Joseph and Rebekah inhaled in unison when she reappeared with a full basket of home baked goods.
“Mmm, I smell apple strudel!” Rebekah licked her lips.
Heloise plopped the basket on the bed and folded her arms as Rebekah began to unpack it with zest.
His eyes bright, Joseph looked on from the doorway.
“Apple strudel,” she confirmed and took a big whiff of the first plate before she placed it to the side. “Apple butter. A loaf of buttermilk bread. Noodles and chow chow. And, oh my goodness, a rhubarb pie! Thank you, Heloise.”
“Don’t sank me, sank Katie.” Heloise’s German accent was as thick as the creamy strudel frosting. “’Twas her idea to fix you a basket.”
“I will thank her.” Rebekah’s voice was muted and humble. “Oh, what’s this?”
Slowly, she drew the heavy object from the bottom of the basket. “Sewing shears?”
Confused, she looked at Heloise.
The stout woman’s face softened. Laugh lines from years of smiling and happy laughter smoothed over her high cheek bones. “For your hair, my love.”
Rebekah stared at the gleaming shears a moment before unwelcome tears filled her eyes.
Joseph removed his hat and tossed it onto Rebekah’s bed. He slicked back his own thick, dark hair. “Cut it to look like mine, Ma.”
A wave of emotion surged from the depths of Rebekah’s soul. But instead of coming out in the form of tears, it came out as a belly laugh.
Her companions joined in the guffaw until the three of them were in stitches. A low moan from the hallway interrupted their jovial jag.
“Oww,” the voice moaned. “Help, please!”
“Elnora.”
“Ma.”
Rebekah and Heloise’s eyes met, and each spoke at the same time. “I’m coming!”
Heloise reached the door as Rebekah struggled to untangle her legs from her nest of blankets. “Hold on Ma, I’m coming.”
“Stay dere!” Heloise instructed from the hallway. “Yosef, make sure she stays put and eats.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Joseph pushed the door shut.
“You heard the lady.” Gently, he tucked the quilt back around her. “It’s time for the baby to come, is all.”
Rebekah nodded, but the image of her mother’s gaunt face was a hard one to shake from her mind.
Ma. Please be okay.
Joseph sat on the edge of the bed and studied the food. Finally, he selected the first plate. “Let’s eat some of this strudel first. My ma’s good at takin’ care of folks, so we can relax.”
Rebekah eased back against the pillow, but her spine stayed stiff in case she should need to jump up and assist. “I know she is. And she’s the best at bringing babies.”
They had finished the strudel and were opening the apple butter when the door creaked to reveal Heloise’s corpulent frame.
“Rebekah, darling, you will have a baby sibling soon. Your Ma’s been laboring for some time.” She rubbed her eyes. “I will help bring baby.”
Rebekah sighed as Heloise sat on the wooden chair next to her.
Thank you, God.
Somehow, the apple butter smelled even sweeter now.
“Having the village midwife to attend to her is a lot better than the eldest daughter. You soothed my fears, Heloise.”
Joseph tilted his chin. “Told you so.”
“Heloise.” Elnora’s voice, filled with pain, echoed in the silent hallway. “Helois-s-s-s-s-e!”
Heloise pushed herself out of the chair and charged through the door in one discombobulated motion. At once, Rebekah saw that something was off.
