Free Courting Buggy: Nurse Hal Among The Amish by Fay Risner Page B

in the back for no
reason with, of all things, a hymn book. That embarrassment turned
to horror when she realized the woman was, of all people, Stella
Strutt. Stella twisted around and gave Tootie a very harsh stare
then an equally mean glare at Hal. She said dummkopf sharply in
German and looked like this assault was proof that Hal's queerness
ran in her family.
    Hal snatched the hymn book away from her aunt. She
hissed, “Aunt Tootie, why did you hit Stella Strutt?”
    Tootie whispered, “I'm very sorry. I was trying to
kill a black widow spider. I was afraid it was going to bite her. I
missed the spider, and now it has gotten away.” She studied the
floor around her feet, looking for the insect to make sure it
wasn't on her. She blushed when she realized Stella was still
glaring at her. Tootie said, “I'm so sorry, Mrs. Strutt. I tried to
stop a spider from getting on you. It was a black widow. That's the
worse kind you know.”
    That was enough to suffice for the moment. Stella
shifted around on the bench to face the front.
    Hal patted Tootie's arm to get her attention. She
whispered, “Perhaps you should just sit quietly now before you get
into anymore trouble. You don't want to get us kicked out of here,
do you?”
    “ Of course not, Dear. Never that,” Tootie said
meekly.
    On the other side of Tootie, Nora leaned across Emma
and whispered, “Tootie, this is their church. Act like it.”
    “ I said I was sorry,” hissed Tootie.
    Minister Yoder crossed his hands in front of him,
taking in the commotion in row four on the women's side. “Is there
something wrong, Stella Strutt?” He asked.
    The elderly woman puffed up like a toad. “It is all
right now. The English woman behind me hit me in the back with her
hymn book. She says she is sorry so I forgive her,” Stella said in
a tone that didn't sound forgiving.
    Even more curious now, Luke turned his attention on
Hal. “Was there a reason your aendi hit Stella Strutt?”
    “ Jah, a black widow spider crawled up its web
and right behind Stella on the bench. Aunt Tootie was afraid it was
going to bite her. She meant to kill it, but her aim was bad,” Hal
said with a heavy sigh.
    “ I see,” Luke said. “So can I start my sermon
now?”
    “ Aunt Tootie has promised to pay close
attention to the front of the room from now on,” Hal said
solemnly.
    “ Gute to know. Instead of what I was going to
preach, I am reminded of a parable that might fit this moment.
Today I will recite it in English. It is about a spider web in a
household that had a mother with several daughters. The mother had
the daughters take turns cleaning the house from top to
bottom.
    One day, the daughter in charge of cleaning that day
saw a spider web. It hung in the top corner of the door that went
from the kitchen to the living room. It was up high so she could
not reach it. She decided she was not going to worry about it. She
had all she wanted to do to make the house look tidy when it was
her turn to clean. She was not going to all the hard work to make
the house look immaculate. After all with such a large family, the
house would soon need cleaned again. If she was lucky, it would be
one of her sisters turn. That sister could take the spider web
down.
    When company came to visit, a woman noticed the
spider web. She said to another woman someone should do something
about that web instead of letting it hang there for all to see.
    The other woman said in order to take care of the
problem someone needed to kill the spider. The two women stood
under the web looking for a spider but did not see one. Another
woman came from the kitchen. They pointed at the web. She was
amazed that there would be a web in this clean house. Someone
should do something about the web she told the other two. They all
agreed and just walked away.
    Six months later, the worship service was in that
house again. The house had been cleaned from top to bottom except
for the spider web which now held the dead