Plain Fame Read Free Page A

her left leg was in a cast, all the way up to her thigh. She groaned. What could be worse than a broken leg at the beginning of the summer? How would she be able to help her daed with the harvest? How would she be able to help her mamm with the garden? They were counting on her, she thought to herself. She’d have to find a way. And then it dawned on her. “How long have I been here?”
    The nurse marked something down on her chart, her head bent over the clipboard. “Since yesterday before noon. But you’re in good hands, dear.” She clicked the top of her pen and slid it back into her pocket. “And you seem to have quite an admirer,” she said, nodding toward the flowers.
    “What about my parents?” Amanda asked in a panic, her eyes big and wide as she stared at the nurse.
    They hadn’t wanted her to go on the trip by herself. They had insisted that she travel with her older sister when they went out to Ohio, but just before the return journey, her sister had decided to stay. Amanda suspected that their cousin’s friend, Jonas Wheeler, had something to do with that decision. Everyone had asked Amanda to stay, but she had insisted on leaving, knowing that her daed would need her help plowing the fields. Without any sons and only two daughters at home, her daed would need all the help he could muster.
    Her parents had been expecting her to arrive home yesterday evening. She was to catch the connecting train at Penn Station in New York City headed for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where her parents had arranged for a Mennonite neighbor to meet her and drive her home.
    “They must be terribly worried about me!” she exclaimed, knowing full well that they would be panicking. Guilt racked her body, and she shook at the thought, trying not to imagine the worry that her parents were going through on account of her.
    The nurse smiled again. She had a pretty smile that lit up her entire face. “Not to worry! I do believe that it has all been taken care of, Ms. Beiler.” She patted Amanda’s arm gently before hanging the chart back at the foot of the bed. The gesture calmed Amanda, and she felt her pulse slow down. The nurse began fiddling with the equipment behind the bed. “How do you feel otherwise?”
    “It hurts, and so does my head,” Amanda said, lifting a hand to her forehead. She was surprised to feel her hair against her cheek. Her prayer kapp was missing, and her hair hung loose in gentle waves over her shoulders. She blushed. She had never been in front of a stranger with her hair free. In her world, only a husband should see her loose hair. “It feels like I’m dreaming,” she said to the nurse. Indeed, everything seemed foggy and strange, as if she were floating around the room.
    The nurse laughed. “That’s the pain medicine, dear. If you are starting to feel uncomfortable again, I’ll get your next dose. You’re actually due.” She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “Plus, it’ll help you sleep,” she said and smiled. “I’ll be back momentarily. You do need a good night’s rest.”
    Sinking back into the pillow, Amanda turned her head to look out the window again. Outside, she could see the reflection of tall buildings, many with floors still lit up. The lights were fascinating to her. There were so many of them. How could so many people live in such a small place? she wondered. There were no trees, no grass, no cows. It was a strange place, and she certainly didn’t like being so far away from home and her own people. Yet she was curious. She wished that she could see the city, listen to the people, and taste some of the different foods.
    Throughout her life, she had rarely left the small town where she was born and raised. Occasionally, she had traveled with friends and her extended family to work at the market in Maryland. Those were long days, requiring that she’d leave the house by four in the morning and not return home until after nine in the evening. But she had enjoyed meeting