Page 17 of A Hidden Hope

And you weren’t here. Dok sensed the accusation behind her words.

And it was the truth. She couldn’t be in two places at once.

This kind of morning was the reason she had wanted a partner in the first place.

She studied Wren for a moment, then lifted her eyebrows, just a bit, in admiration.

“Good work, Wren.” She lifted a hand in the direction of the hallway.

“Mary, you get to jump the queue today. Head on back to the exam room.”

After letting Mary pass by her, Dok turned back to add, “Wren, why don’t you come too?”

Wren’s mouth curled up at the edges. “Yes, yes. Why don’t I?” she said, a little louder than necessary, Dok noted, as she hurried to join them.

David stood behind the counter, realizing that he had just sold the last bottle of Pepto-Bismol. He glanced at the empty shelf where, two days ago, rows of the bright pink medicine used to be.

Sarah came from the stockroom. “I can’t find any more boxes.”

“I’ll call in an express order. Seems like a flu bug is making its way through town.”

“That’s what Dok told Annie who told Sally who told me,” Sarah said. “But I have a theory. No, better than a theory—practically a solid gold fact. Swimming in Blue Lake Pond is making everyone sick.”

Sarah liked to be the authority on just about everything.

Over the last year, David had come to the conclusion that God had sent Sarah Blank to the Bent N’ Dent to work on his patience.

That, plus learning to relinquish into God’s hands the things he couldn’t control.

Sarah told the customers so much gossip about so many people that he couldn’t keep track of it all.

When she first started to work at the store, he had tried, without fail, to put a lid on it. Not a chance.

“I’m only sharing prayer requests,” she would tell David. “Not gossip!”

Birdy had reminded him that Sarah was a good and reliable employee, and that maybe he needed to focus on being her boss instead of being her bishop. It was good advice. “Why would Blue Lake Pond be making people sick?”

“Think about it. The weather’s turned beastly hot this week.

Everyone’s been out at the pond, wading or swimming to cool off.

The youth group had a picnic there just yesterday afternoon.

The pond is probably crawling with bacteria.

Or algae. Or both.” Sarah’s eyes went wide with concern.

“I’ve heard about this kind of thing. Entire towns, wiped out like the bubonic plague.

” She swept her arm in a wide arc. “Gone. Just like that.”

David frowned. “More likely, it’s just a couple of people with upset stomachs.”

Sarah, never one to miss an opportunity to be the town crier, leaned forward. “I think I should run over and let Dok know about the algae in Blue Lake Pond. I’m just sure I’m right.”

Before David could stop her, she was out the door and halfway to Dok’s office. Not two minutes later, she returned, a glum look on her round face.

“Well?” David said.

“Dok told me to get back to work.” Sarah returned to the cash register, then looked up. “Oh! She also asked if the Bent N’ Dent has any Imodium to spare. She’s run out.”

Annie was sorting through a stack of patient files when she heard the door to Dok’s office open. Looking up, she saw Gus standing there with a grin on his face. Her heart did a flip-flop.

“We had a nearby call,” Gus said, stepping inside. “Someone with a flu bug. Nothing too serious.”

“It certainly seems to be going around.” She tried to keep her wits about her. Gus’s unexpected appearances at the office always caused her to come unraveled. Here he was, Mr. Wonderful, looking incredibly handsome in his EMT uniform. So manly, so capable. So ... wonderful.

“As long as we were in the area,” Gus said, “I reminded my partner of the free and delicious coffee they serve at the Bent N’ Dent.” He leaned forward, now only six inches away from her. “I haven’t seen you in a while. And ... I’ve got some exciting news to tell you.”

He grinned, and then she grinned, and then she got that weird sense that all the patients in the waiting room were watching them. And they were! “Let’s, um, go outside for a moment.”

After she closed the door behind her, she turned to Gus and tried to keep a casual look on her face, though she felt anything but casual. Her whole body was humming with excitement. Gus had come to see her! “What’s up?” she asked, striving for nonchalance but barely concealing her delight.

“I talked to my partner, and he agreed to let you go on a ride-along in the ambulance. It would be a huge bonus for you to observe emergency procedures before taking your final exam.” He was beaming.

Annie froze the smile on her face, hoping it wouldn’t look as fake as her enthusiasm for this offer. “That’s ... that’s so kind.”

“I knew you’d be thrilled,” Gus said. “It’s the perfect opportunity to get some real hands-on experience.

You’ll see what it’s like out there in the field, and you’ll be so much better prepared for your final.

” He lowered his voice. “And this will give my partner time to observe you. It’ll give you a leg up to get hired. Think of it as a pre-interview.”

Annie swallowed hard, her mind racing. She wasn’t ready for this. She needed time to get a handle on her motion sickness scare.

“I talked you up. I let him know that you’re a big deal.”

But she wasn’t a big deal. She wasn’t even a little deal.

“I reminded him of how you rescued Sarah after she fell through the ice into the water.”

“But I didn’t! You did.”

“You knew what to do. You kept a cool head. You got someone to call the fire department. You held on to Sarah until help came.”

“Gus, you do that kind of thing every day.”

“But I’m trained for it. You had no training. It was just instinctive. You’re a natural.”

She swallowed, feeling tears prick her eyes. No wonder she thought of him as Mr. Wonderful. The things she was good at—he saw them.

And he was being modest about his own instincts.

She would never forget the story of why he had become an EMT.

He had started out as a volunteer firefighter but soon realized firehouses respond to more medical emergencies than actual fires.

“In my first few weeks of volunteering,” he had told her, “I watched firefighters bring a child back to life after drowning in a backyard pool, reset broken bones, and save a teenager from an overdose.”

“So is it the excitement that you like?” she asked. “The thrill?”

He gave a little head shake. “It’s more than the thrill.

It’s the sense of making a real difference.

There’s something incredibly fulfilling about stepping into those hard life-and-death moments by trying to make things better.

I was hooked. And the firehouse needed EMTs.

My bishop was all for it, which was a good thing.

Because I can’t imagine doing anything else with my life.

I’m grateful I didn’t have to choose between my church and my life work. ”

She had felt the same way. She loved the world of medicine. She also loved being Amish.

He put his hands on her shoulders and gently squeezed, jolting her back to the present. “Annie, this ride-along is an incredible opportunity for you. It’s worth doing whatever you need to do to make it happen.”

Annie nodded, her mind already spinning with excuses to avoid it. She needed time! She needed to test herself before she went on an ambulance ride-along with Gus. “Can I think about it?” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Think about it?” He had a look in his eyes like he was trying to read her. “Why would you need to think about it?”

“It’s just ... this flu bug is running through the town and everyone wants to get in to see Dok and ... oh! Look! There’s your partner. Let’s ... talk about this another time.”

“Sure. Of course.” But a look of confusion and disappointment flickered through his eyes. “But ... let’s nail down a date sooner rather than later, okay?” he said, as he turned to meet his partner at the ambulance.

Maybe later rather than sooner. Annie sighed in relief as the ambulance drove off, but the lump in her stomach remained.