Free The Mercy by Beverly Lewis

still workin’ over there, dear.”
    Rose was, too. “Well, I’d hate to lose touch after everything Beth’s done for us. . . .”
    “I need to close my eyes for a while,” her mother said. Her face was pinched and her hands clenched, no doubt from pain.
    “I’ll let you be, Mamm.” Rose placed the Good Book next to her mother’s pillow, where she liked it.
    “Have a nice time today,” Mamm said softly. “Your father told me ’bout Mose’s plan . . . well, some of it.”
    Ah, so both her parents knew.
    “Mammi Sylvia will be over to set out some bread and cold cuts. And I made some lime Jell-O, too,” Rose told her mother.
    “Your father will take you over to Mose and Ruthann’s,” Mamm said with a fleeting smile.
    Playing along, Rose replied, “Awful gut of Dat.” She leaned down to kiss Mamm’s cheek and left the room, holding her breath and wondering why.

    Hen had been reading a Bible storybook to Mattie Sue when the knock came at the back door. She looked up and was surprised to see their neighbor Aaron.
    Is he coming to visit Brandon?
    She placed the book on Mattie’s lap and rose to answer the door. “Welcome, Bishop . . . come inside and get warm.”
    Aaron nodded his thanks and removed his black hat, hanging it on a nearby hook. He glanced about, then smiled at Mattie Sue, who still sat in the small adjoining room with her puppy dog. “Is your husband resting?” he asked Hen.
    “At the moment.”
    “Well, I don’t mean to be a bother.” The bishop reached again for his hat and was about to put it back on.
    “No . . . I think Brandon would be pleased to know you’re here.” Hen offered him some hot coffee and a sticky bun, which put a smile on Aaron’s wrinkled face as he moved toward the table.
    Hen poured coffee for him, then placed the plate of cinnamon rolls on the table. “There you are.” She excused herself to go upstairs and found Brandon sitting on the side of his bed, looking as if he’d had a good nap. Waiting in the doorway until she knew he was fully alert, she saw that he needed a shave under his neck. For the most part he had been doing a pretty good job with a razor and shaving cream, purely by feel. She hadn’t offered to help him, although she’d thought of it several times.
    “Hen, I know you’re standing there.”
    “Wondered if you felt up to having a visit with Bishop Aaron.”
    Brandon raised his head. “Didn’t hear him come in.”
    “Jah, he’s sitting at the table having coffee.”
    “Tell him I’ll be right down.”
    “Sure.” She turned to go.
    “Hen . . . thanks for letting me know.”
    “Of course.” She turned back toward him.
    “Is my comb nearby?” he asked.
    She spied it on the dresser and went to retrieve it for him, curious whether there was something more on his mind. She returned to the bed and placed the comb in his hand. “I’ll tell him you’re getting up.”
    “Thanks.”
    She hurried back downstairs in time to see Mattie Sue put Wiggles in the bishop’s lap. “Brandon will be down in a minute,” she announced as she went to pour coffee for herself and her husband.
    “How’s he feelin’?” Aaron asked, petting the cocker spaniel with callused hands.
    “His arm and ribs are healing, but he still can’t see.”
    “Well, resting’s mighty gut. ”
    “The doctor says so.”
    Mattie Sue moved closer to the table. “Daddy’s starting to like the farm,” she said.
    “Jah. Just takes some getting used to,” Aaron said.
    Mattie Sue looked ever so solemn.
    “Now, honey-girl, don’t be frettin’, all right?” Aaron winked at her. “The Lord cares ’bout your daddy. Don’t ya forget, now.”
    Mattie Sue’s face broke into a thoughtful smile.
    The puppy jumped down from Aaron’s lap and followed Mattie Sue back to the front room, where the two of them cuddled and played.
    When Brandon came downstairs, he shook Aaron’s hand and apologized for keeping him waiting. But Aaron wouldn’t hear