Tomorrow she will vanish from my life and there’s nothing I can do about it. We live hundreds of miles apart. How would I see her? There could be someone special in her life already. This is crazy.
Sighing heavily, he closed the door and led Marianne back to her seat. She hung on to his arm until he sat down, her worried eyes glued to his face. He tried to soothe her. “I know Aenti Linda doesn’t like dogs, but I wonder if she likes cats?”
Marianne relaxed and smiled slightly. “She had one named Boots...when she and Mamm were little.”
“Did she? I never knew that.”
“Mamm told me. Boots was yellow with white paws.”
Morris rattled his paper as he turned the page. “They shouldn’t be made into pets. God created them to catch vermin.”
“Mamm said Boots caught lots of mice.”
Morris huffed his displeasure and raised the paper to hide behind. Toby wondered if he could pry a little more information about Greta from her uncle. “I heard Arles say you and your niece are going to Hope Springs. Where is that exactly?”
“Between Millersburg and Sugarcreek in Holmes County.”
“Greta mentioned she had sisters. How many are there?”
Morris folded his paper and glared at Toby. “I have four ungrateful, spiteful nieces. It’s a blessing that my brother is gone. To see his daughters turn their back on their family the way they did would have broken his heart. Greta is a shrew.”
Toby was taken aback by the harshness of his words. “I’m sorry to hear that. Greta seems like a nice woman.”
“Proverbs 31:30. ‘Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.’ I tried to teach her to fear the Lord, but she did not listen. Do not be fooled by her. Do not believe what she says about me.”
Toby fell silent, reluctant to listen to anything else Morris had to say, but the old man’s words confirmed Toby’s earlier feeling. There was more wrong between Greta and her uncle than met the eye.
Marianne tugged on Toby’s sleeve. He leaned down to hear her weak whisper, “Greta is nice. I like her.”
“I like her, too. You should rest your voice now,” he said softly.
She nodded. He sat back and stared at the door, waiting for Greta to return. Everything happened for a reason. Everything was part of God’s plan. He had a purpose in sending the cat to them. There was a reason Toby and his sister had been chosen to share a ride with Greta and her uncle. Perhaps somehow they were meant to help each other. He prayed that was true.
* * *
Greta walked along the narrow roadway in front of the animal clinic with her eyes downcast and her hands clenched. She prayed for patience. She prayed for strength. She prayed to hold forgiveness in her heart. It was wrong to stay angry and bitter. She knew that. Her inability to find true forgiveness for her uncle’s transgressions made her unworthy to be a member of the Amish faith. One more thing her uncle had taken from her.
No, she couldn’t think that way.
If only her sisters were here to counsel her. She needed them now as she had always needed them. Their loving presence in her life was a true gift from God. Without each other, she had no idea how they would have endured life with their uncle.
She stopped and raised her face to the sky. “I thank You for Your mercy, Lord. Please help me. Curb my tongue so I don’t say spiteful things to him. Make me remember that he is ill and alone. Let me find the compassion to make his final days comfortable. You alone are the judge of mankind, for only You can see into our hearts. I don’t want to harbor this ill will inside me, Lord. Cast it out. Please, cast it out.”
Praying eased her agitation and helped her regain a measure of calm. She needed to remember that she was never alone. God was with her, watching her, holding her up as she dealt with every trial in her life, not just her uncle.
Although her faith in God had wavered during her years with Morris, the past few months in her grandfather’s loving home, and her acceptance by the caring community of Hope Springs, had restored and strengthened that faith. She would not doubt again, no matter how difficult life became.
Turning around in the road, she walked back the way she had come with renewed resolve. No matter what her uncle said or did, she would turn the other cheek and give him the care he needed, even if she couldn’t do it with a glad heart.
On her walk back, she noticed the Christmas decorations on the houses and lawns along the road that she had been too upset to see before. A huge blow-up snowman and an equally large Santa adorned one yard while a second house had only a row of red lights around the porch. She and her sisters had enjoyed the few times they were allowed to go into town during the Christmas season. The lights and decorations were pretty, but they didn’t hold the true meaning of the season. This year, she would try hard to make her heart worthy of the gift God had given the world on that first Christmas Day. His only Son.
She reached the clinic just as the van returned. Arles got out and gave her a big smile. “Grandma Coblentz was sure happy to see her grandkids. It’s the best part of my job, bringing families together. I like it when it’s for weddings and Christmas, but I don’t much care for carrying folks to funerals. Still, even death has its place in our lives. It brings us together, too. How is that poor cat?”
“The vet was still working on her when I stepped out.”
“I hope we can get going soon. The weather report is calling for central Ohio to get heavy snow. It could be a humdinger of a storm. I’d sure like to stay ahead of it.” He held open the clinic door and she walked in.
Just as they entered, the vet came out carrying a cardboard box with rows of round holes along the sides. She set the container on the chair beside Marianne and opened the top. Everyone but Morris crowded around to look.
Christmas lay curled up sleeping. The cat had a bandage around her head that left her good ear protruding through a slit in the material. The side of her neck had been shaved. A half dozen dark stitches were visible in the pink skin.
The vet held out a bottle of pills to Greta. “I’ve given her some sedation. She should sleep for a while. When she wakes up, I want you to give her one of these three times a day. It’s an antibiotic. Keep the stitches clean and dry. Watch for signs of infection. If she starts scratching at it, cover it with a dressing. I gave her a flea treatment, too. She needed it. Give her water, but don’t give her any food for a few hours. Do you have anything to feed her?”
Greta shook her head. The doctor left the room and returned with a second cardboard pet carrier. “I’ve put some kitty litter and a couple of pouches of cat food in here. It should be enough to last a few days. I think she’ll be fine.”
“Never seen a cat wearing a bonnet before. She looks almost Amish,” Arles said with a chuckle.
Greta had to admit he was right. The only thing the cat’s head covering was missing to make it more bonnetlike was the ribbons. After settling the bill, Greta handed the box to Marianne. It looked for a moment as if the girl would refuse to carry it, but the cat meowed pitifully from inside.
Marianne took the box
