The SILENCE of WINTER Read online

  First things first, she thought as her stomach rumbled noisily. Meredith had been so nervous about her appointment that she hadn’t eaten much for breakfast. So after putting Taffy back in the barn and unloading the buggy, she went straight to the house to make something for lunch. Now that she knew for certain she was pregnant, she’d be sure to eat regular meals. After all, she would be eating for two from now on.

  Cleveland, Ohio

  Alex shifted restlessly in his seat, unable to find a comfortable position. This trip was taking forever, but at least the traffic was moving again, and that annoying singing had finally stopped. Even at a slower pace, it was better than not moving at all, like they’d been forced to do earlier that morning. Their bus driver was being cautious because now the frozen mist had turned into snow. The farther west they traveled, the heavier and deeper it seemed to be getting.

  The storm had really played havoc for anyone in a moving vehicle, not to mention the road crews trying to keep the roads safe enough for travel. At this rate, Alex was almost certain the bus wouldn’t make it to South Bend on time this evening. But he guessed that was okay, because he really had no place else he needed to be right now. As long as the singing from the back of the bus didn’t start up again, he might be able to get some sleep. The sooner he got to Indiana, the better, but at least it didn’t appear the cops were after him. That gave him a measure of peace. He sure couldn’t complain, as he patted his pocket and smiled to himself, knowing he had plenty of money—more than he’d had in a long time. He could lie low in a new town, not to mention buy his next fix once he found the right dealer.

  Staring out the window at the falling snow, Alex noticed that the bus was slowing down as it pulled into a parking lot. He figured this must be the lunch stop he’d heard one of the passengers mention about an hour ago, and he had to admit he was starving.

  As the bus pulled in, Alex realized that, according to the sign out front, the diner had a bookstore in the basement. That seemed kind of weird, but then weirdness was everywhere these days.

  When the bus came to a stop, Alex noticed the singsong kid from the back of the bus had jumped up quickly, wanting to be the first one off. Now’s my chance to get back at the little runt.

  Right before the boy ran past him, Alex stuck his foot into the aisle, just enough to make the kid trip and fall.

  “Oh, sorry about that.” Alex gave a halfhearted apology as the boy picked himself up. Serves you right, you little creep. Where’s your parents, anyway?

  The boy didn’t seem to be too bothered by it, but he got back at Alex by saying, “You got big feet, mister.”

  “Oh, yeah? Well you—”

  “Where you headed, sir?” the elderly man across the aisle from Alex asked as they stood to get off the bus.

  Glaring at the boy one last time, Alex grimaced. The last thing he wished to do was converse with anyone else, especially now that he’d have to act Amish. But it was his own fault for bringing attention to himself.

  All Alex wanted to do was get something to eat, because once the bus headed back out on the road, it might not be stopping for meals again until it arrived in South Bend. Since Alex had plenty of money for a change, he planned to order something that would stick to his ribs.

  “So, where you heading?” the old man asked again.

  “I’m goin’ to South Bend,” Alex mumbled, followed by several wracking coughs.

  “Ah, so I’m guessin’ you must live in one of the Amish communities around Middlebury or Shipshewana?” The man squinted his pale blue eyes as he looked at Alex curiously.

  Alex gave a brief nod and hurried off the bus, hoping the few words he’d spoken hadn’t given him away. When he entered the café, he found a seat at the lunch counter and placed an order for chicken and stuffing with mashed potatoes and a cup of black coffee. He was tempted to order a beer but thought better of it since he was dressed in Amish clothes.

  “Mind if I join ya?” the old man asked, taking a seat on the stool beside Alex.

  “Suit yourself; it’s a free country,” Alex said with a shrug. Sure wish this guy would leave me alone. Why me, anyhow? Why doesn’t he bother some other poor sucker?

  The wrinkles in the man’s forehead deepened. “You know, you really don’t sound like any Amish man I’ve ever met. Where’d you say you’re from?”

  “I didn’t.” Alex grabbed the newspaper lying beside him, hoping to put an end to this conversation.

  “I’m from Mishawaka,” the man said. “But I know a couple of Amish families who live in Middlebury.”

  Alex said nothing, just kept reading the paper.

  “You goin’ to Middlebury?”

  Alex gritted his teeth. “I’m not sure where I’m goin’ yet.”

  “But you said you were gettin’ off the bus in South Bend. Isn’t that what you said?”

  Alex gave a quick nod.

  “There aren’t any Amish communities in South Bend, so—”

  Alex was relieved when the middle-aged, slightly plump waitress came and took the old man’s order. Maybe the nosy fellow would be so occupied with his food that he’d forget about asking Alex any more questions. Of course, that wouldn’t happen until the waitress brought them both something to eat. In the meantime, Alex needed a break, so he hopped off his stool and headed for the restroom. He was glad when the nosy guy didn’t follow.

  When Alex returned to the lunch counter a short time later, the old man had moved to a booth and was slurping down a bowl of soup while leafing through a book. That was a relief!

  Alex dove into the hearty meal he’d ordered and washed it down with a cup of very strong coffee. He figured it had probably been warmed over from the day before, but it didn’t matter to him. The food was good, and for the first time in ages, his stomach was getting full. It felt great to have some real food in his belly for a change. Stealing bits of food here and there and sometimes gulping something down that one of the restaurants in Philly had thrown out was no way to exist. Of course, Alex hadn’t done more than merely exist for too many years already. Well, that was about to change.

  Grabbing the last piece of chicken and stirring it through the gravy, Alex took a quick glance around the restaurant. At the end of each table, a small bookshelf held several books.

  “Would you like a refill of coffee?” the waitress asked as she took Alex’s plate.

  “No, I’ve had enough,” Alex curtly answered. Then he remembered he was supposed to act Amish, which meant he should probably be a little more polite to the woman. “Uh, what’s with all the books?” he questioned.

  “This place started out years ago with just a few books in the cases at the end of each booth.

  When they saw how interested the patrons were, the store owners put shelving in the basement and started adding more books down there.” The waitress smiled. “Some people just like paging through them; others want to buy them. We also do a book exchange. People can bring in a book from their home and trade it with one of ours.”

  That was a little more information than Alex cared to hear, but he played “Mr. Polite” and listened halfheartedly to all that she said.

  In order to kill some time, after Alex paid his bill, he decided to go down in the basement to check out the bookstore for himself. As soon as he entered, the musty smell of old books hit him in the face, causing him to sneeze. He walked down each aisle of books, noticing how old some of them were. The stale odor, a combination of mildew, cigarette smoke, and mothballs, gave him the creeps, and he wondered how long these books had actually been there. Alex didn’t recall if the waitress had mentioned what year they’d added the store in the basement. He did, however, recognize a few books he had read in school many years ago, so he pulled one off the shelf and flipped through the pages. Reading a page from a story he’d long forgotten until now, it unlocked unpleasant memories from his dysfunctional home and abusive father.

  Back then, Alex had enjoyed reading. It had been a way to escape. Of course
, whenever Alex’s old man had caught him with his nose in a book, he’d made fun of Alex, saying, “Why don’t you get your head outta the clouds and come back down to earth? Besides, you’re too stupid to understand much about what’s in them books. You’ll never amount to anything, boy!”

  I’ve had enough of this! Slamming the book shut and putting it back on the shelf, Alex hurried out of the bookstore, climbed back on the bus, and took his seat. When he spotted the nosy old man, along with several others, returning to the bus, Alex shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Maybe I should have bought a book, he thought, watching through half-opened eyes as the man took his seat across the aisle. It might have kept my mind off my need for a fix. Oh well, it’s too late for that. The best thing I can do is try to get some sleep.

  A short time later, the bus driver took his place behind the wheel, and they were back on the road.

  Alex, feeling kind of shaky, turned his head toward the window and tried to focus on the weather outside, but his eyes were getting heavy, and in no time, he really was asleep.

  “Look out! We’re gonna be hit!” someone shouted.

  Alex jerked awake and watched in horror out the front window as a gas truck, slipping all over the icy road, swerved into their lane. A terrible crash was immediately followed by an explosion.

  The bus burst into flames.

  CHAPTER 3

  Philadelphia

  The new patient’s room had been ready for almost two hours. If he didn’t arrive from the ER soon, Susan would have to call her sister and tell her she’d be late for supper. Her quitting time was less than an hour from now, so hopefully it would all work out. Somehow in between her duties, she’d managed to eat the yogurt she’d packed, as well as the rest of her celery. But by the time she ate supper this evening, she’d be ravenous.

  It wasn’t unusual for patients to be brought up from the ER later than expected, due to other emergencies that needed tending to. And that occurred more often during the winter months, when weather-caused accidents were numerous. If the patient didn’t stabilize enough to be moved or had emergency surgery, that could also delay the transfer to CCU.

  Back in the patient’s room, she made one final check and was glad to see that everything was in order. It was after 5:00 p.m. when she finally got the official call that the new patient was being brought up.

  Susan flipped on the TV to make sure it was working and turned to their local station, hoping to hear a weather report, since she’d been hearing others talk about the storm that had hit several states. The local weather was turning nasty, too, and it was comforting to know her grandparents would be safe and warm at home in Darby, instead of out on the slippery roads.

  Before clicking off the remote, a special news report broke about a horrific accident that had just happened near the border of Indiana. Although she didn’t hear all the details as her own patient was brought into the room, she thought about the hospital staff in Indiana who would be tending the people involved in the accident. Susan wasn’t positive, but she thought she’d heard the newscaster say it involved a bus and a tanker full of gasoline.

  She sent up a prayer for the accident victims, as well as the doctors and nurses who would be treating them. Susan had learned during her ER training that if there were any survivors in an accident such as this, the medical people were going to have their hands full.

  Bird-in-Hand

  Wednesday evening, while waiting for Luke’s call, Meredith sat in the rocker, enjoying the warmth of the fire and thinking about all she would need to do in preparation for their new little one. They had four bedrooms on the second floor, and she wanted the baby in the one closest to her and Luke’s room because that would be most convenient. Maybe once Luke called, she’d ask him again about painting that room, even though he didn’t know yet that it would be turned into a nursery. Better yet, maybe she would just go ahead with her plans and surprise him with it when he got home. Since he’d be making money soon, taking a little more money from their bank account to buy paint shouldn’t be a problem. At least, she’d convinced herself of that. And if Meredith knew Luke as well as she thought, he’d be okay with the room getting painted once he knew about the baby.

  Meredith tried to ignore the fact that Luke was late calling her. She had been to the phone shack several times this evening to see if he had left her a message, but there was none. Now that it was almost nine o’clock, she’d begun to worry and had to keep reminding herself that maybe he wasn’t there yet because of bad weather. The bus had most likely been traveling right into the storm. And if that was the case, the bus would be running later than normal.

  It had gotten even colder, and the mist had turned to a heavy, wet snow when Meredith decided to go out to the phone shack to check for messages again. Slipping into one of Luke’s jackets and tying a woolen scarf around her head, she stepped into a pair of boots and hurried out the door. She was almost to the phone shack when Fritz started barking and pawing at the fence that enclosed his doghouse.

  “Oh, no,” Meredith moaned. “I’m sorry, pup; I forgot to bring you in.” Quickly, she undid the latch on Fritz’s dog run and swung open the gate.

  Woof! Woof! Fritz raced across the yard, kicking up snow and frolicking like a puppy.

  She grinned as he buried his nose in the snow and then jumped forward to do it again. Perhaps he’d caught the scent of a mouse or some other small critter that was under the snow. The dog sure did look funny each time his head came up and it was covered in the white fluffy flakes.

  Meredith decided to let him explore a bit while she checked for messages. That might tire the dog out and make him more willing to settle down once she brought him into the house for the night.

  Stepping into the phone shack and turning on the battery-operated lantern, Meredith pressed the button on the answering machine. Finding no messages, she decided it was time to make a call to Luke’s uncle. Since no one was in his phone shack to answer the call, she left a message asking if Luke had arrived yet, and if he had, would he please call.

  Shivering as she trudged back to the house, Meredith noticed that it was snowing even harder. Fritz seemed to have had enough frolicking, because he was lying by the back door, snow dripping off the end of his nose. He was probably as desperate to be inside as she.

  Meredith hurried through the snow and slipped when her feet touched the icy porch step. She grabbed the railing. “Whew! That was close,” she said, walking carefully to the door. “The last thing I need is to fall and get hurt—especially with Luke being gone right now.”

  Philadelphia

  “I can’t believe we finally made it here,” Susan said to her sister, Anne, as they took seats in a booth at the Mexican restaurant that evening. “I’m glad you didn’t mind us meeting for dinner a little later than we’d originally planned.”

  “No problem.” Anne pushed a springy coffee-colored curl off her forehead and smiled, although her dark brown eyes revealed the depth of her fatigue. Anne was thirty—only two years older than Susan, who had celebrated her twenty-eighth birthday a few weeks ago on Christmas. But right now, the fatigue in Anne’s eyes made her appear to be much older than Susan. If not for that, they could have passed for twins, having the same hair color, olive-toned skin, and straight, white teeth. Both were slender and not real tall, and the only visible difference was Anne’s naturally curly hair, while Susan’s was straight.

  “Rough day?” Susan asked, gently touching her sister’s arm.

  Anne shrugged. “It wasn’t really rough, just seemed to be longer than normal. And it didn’t help that I stayed up later than usual last night, reading that new novel I bought a few days ago.”

  “It must be a good one. What’s it about?” Susan asked with interest.

  “It’s an Amish love story, and it’s making me curious about the Amish way of life. It’s one of those books that once you begin reading it, you just can’t put it down.”

  “Maybe I can read it after you’r
e done,” Susan said. “And if you’re that curious about the Amish, maybe you should take a trip to Lancaster the next time you have a day off.”

  Anne’s lips curved into a wide smile, revealing her straight pearly white teeth. “Those are both good ideas. But I think I’ll wait until we have the same day off, and then maybe we can go to Lancaster together. It’s been some time since we’ve been there, and—”

  A young dark-haired waitress came to take their order.

  “Hmm … let’s see now,” Susan said, studying the menu. “I’m so hungry I think I could eat nearly everything listed here.” She grinned at Anne. “I’m for sure getting tacos, because that’s all I’ve been thinking about since we talked this morning.”

  “I’d like a taco, too, and I’d also like a burrito with some refried beans,” Anne said to the waitress.

  Susan bobbed her head. “I’d like two tacos and an enchilada with plenty of cheese. Oh, and for an appetizer, we’d like some of your jalapeno poppers.”

  “Would you like anything to drink besides water?” the waitress asked.

  “Unsweetened iced tea for me,” Anne spoke up.

  “Make that two,” Susan said with a nod.

  After the waitress left to turn in their orders, Susan and Anne nibbled on the chips and salsa that had been placed on the table, while Susan told Anne about the patient who had been brought up from the ER that evening. “The poor guy was beat up pretty bad, and I think he must be homeless,” she said, slowly shaking her head. “I heard he was found in the men’s restroom of the bus depot and all he was wearing was the clothes on his back, which amounted to just a dirty T-shirt and a pair of equally dirty torn jeans. Oh, and there was no identification on him at all. The ER nurse handed me the bag containing his clothes but said she thought they were basically rags and should be thrown out.”

  “That’s so sad.” Anne’s forehead wrinkled. “How badly was he hurt?”