Page 18 of A Hidden Hope

Annie sat at her desk during lunch, tapping her pen against a stack of invoices that needed Dok’s attention.

Taking a deep breath, she pulled out the brochure of the bus schedule.

She noted the departure and return times, calculating that she could make it back just in time to finish her lunch and get back to work.

She needed to know if her childhood plague of motion sickness was back to stay, or if it was just due to a onetime-Dok’s-crazy-driving event.

“Okay, Annie Fisher, you can do this,” she reassured herself, trying to muster up some courage. She packed up her lunch. “It’s just a bus ride. Not a big deal. People ride buses every day.”

With one last glance at the clock, as if it held the answer, Annie headed out the door.

Ten minutes later, she took a deep breath as she stepped onto the bus bound for Lancaster, her heart pounding in her chest.

This was it—the moment of truth. Today, Annie reassured herself, was the day she’d leave her motion sickness behind and finally reclaim her future.

As the bus pulled away, she fixed her eyes on a distant tree, mentally coaching herself into calmness. Breathe in , breathe out. You can do this , Annie Fisher.

Then the bus hit a bump. Her stomach did a little flip—nothing too bad, just a mild queasiness.

But as the bus sped up, that queasiness turned into a full-on churn.

A clammy sweat broke out all over her body.

Stay calm , she told herself, closing her eyes and focusing on breathing.

Slow , steady , in through the nose , out through the mouth.

Another bump, another sway, and her nausea rose like an unwelcome tide. She tried everything she could think of—counting her breaths, staring at the horizon, even willing her stomach to behave—but it was no use. The scenery whizzing by only made things worse.

She gripped the seat in front of her, her knuckles white. Please , not now. The bus lurched again, and she pressed a hand to her mouth, desperately hoping to hold back the inevitable.

Too late.

She grabbed the paper bag she’d packed just in time, retching into it. She yanked the overhead cord, and the driver stopped the bus and opened the door. She stumbled off, her legs wobbling like jelly, and collapsed on the side of the road, head in hands.

It took a long time for her stomach to settle. When she finally stood, her body felt shaky, but she managed to head toward Dok’s office. Her heart sank a little lower with each step. How was she supposed to handle being an EMT if she couldn’t even handle a bus ride?

She was walking up the steps to Dok’s office when Evie opened the door. “Annie, are you okay?”

Annie put a hand to her brow, trying to hide the well of tears in her eyes. “Just a bit of a headache. Don’t mind me.”

“Oh no.” Evie moved closer, placing a comforting hand on Annie’s shoulder.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve caught that flu bug that’s been going around Stoney Ridge.

A lot of people have been coming down with it.

” She squeezed her shoulder gently. “Why don’t you sit down and rest for a bit?

You look a little green around the gills. ”

Green. Gills. An image of a swampy pond filled with rotting fish swam through Annie’s head, making her feel even more nauseous. Was that possible? She sank into her desk chair, her head in her hands. “I just need a moment.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll feel better soon,” Evie said softly. “This bug seems fairly short-lived.”

Annie took a deep breath. Not this bug.

Dok hung up the phone and leaned back in her chair. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in.”

David opened the door, his brow furrowed with concern.

“Are you here as a brother or a bishop?”

“Both,” he said. “Maybe also as a patient.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sick too.”

“No, I’m fine. But I do wonder, Is something going through the town? There’s been a run on Pepto-Bismol and Imodium in the store.”

Dok sighed, leaning back in her chair. “I’ve been seeing patients for the last two days with GI symptoms.”

“Anyone seriously ill?”

She shook her head. “So far, the symptoms seem to be pretty mild. Nausea and diarrhea.”

“What’s causing it? Food poisoning? Or could Sarah’s theory about Blue Lake Pond hold a possibility?”

“Those who are sick are a variety of ages and genders, which rules out something like bacteria in the pond. And as for food poisoning, people usually recover within a day.” She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I ran some tests and found shigella.”

David raised an eyebrow. “Shigella?”

“It’s a bacteria. It can be a nasty one.”

“Where’s the source?”

“That’s what I haven’t figured out.”

“Well, what do the patients have in common?”

“Just that .” Dok rolled a pen back and forth under her hand. “They’re all my patients, and they were all seen in the office this week, but not for stomach problems.”

David scratched his head. “So ... the link is ... your medical office?”

Oh no. Dok’s eyes widened as a thought struck her. “Wait a minute. Annie mentioned a plumbing problem earlier this week.” She went to the door and called Annie’s name.

A moment later, Annie appeared, hovering in the doorway. As soon as her eyes landed on the bishop seated inside, she visibly shrank back.

“Did I do something wrong?” Annie’s voice wavered, her posture already retreating.

“No, no,” Dok said, trying to ease her tension. David was such a kind man, but he often had this kind of effect on others. Especially someone as shy as Annie. “Just a quick question. A few days ago, you mentioned something about the plumbing?”

Annie blinked, looking even more uneasy. “Plumbing?”

“Yes, the plumbing issue. Something about Charlie working in the basement?”

“Oh.” Annie’s hands fidgeted with the hem of her apron. “Charlie was working downstairs and asked me to call a plumber. The water wasn’t working anywhere in the building, so I was going to ... but...”

“But?” Dok said, watching Annie’s gaze drop to the tops of her shoes. Not a good sign. The poor girl looked like she wanted to melt into the floor. She felt a hitch in her gut.

Annie swallowed hard. Her voice lowered a few notches. “Someone in the waiting room volunteered to help.”

Dok and David exchanged a look. “Who?” they said in unison.

“Hank Lapp.” Her voice was small and whispery.

“Oh boy,” David muttered.

Dok dropped her chin to her chest. Of all people! Hank meant well, but disasters followed him.

“Hank said he had experience,” Annie said. “And ... the water came back on before you returned to the office.”

David crossed his arms over his chest. “How long was the water off?”

“Just about an hour.”

He frowned, clearly puzzled. “But why aren’t you sick, Ruth? And you, Annie?”

Dok thought back to that afternoon. She’d returned to the office, expecting to face angry patients who’d been kept waiting. Instead, they were eating doughnuts and drinking coffee. Her eyebrows shot up. “Coffee!”

“Coffee?” David said.

“They all drank coffee. Those are the patients who are now sick. It’s the water.” Dok squeezed her eyes shut. “I wonder if Hank mixed up the pipes.”

“Oh boy,” David said.

“Annie,” Dok said, folding her arms, “why was everyone drinking coffee in the first place?”

Annie shifted uneasily. “Wren said she wanted the patients to know their time was valuable,” she said. “She apologized to all of them for you running late. And then she...” Annie’s gaze quickly dropped to the tops of her shoes again.

“Go on,” Dok said, her brow furrowing slightly.

“She said that the practice clearly needs more doctors,” Annie said, her voice smaller now, “and that she was looking forward to providing health care for everyone. But that...”

“Go on,” Dok said, feeling her patience wear thin.

“But that Dr. Stoltzfus had trouble relinquishing patient care.” Annie’s voice was barely above a whisper now.

“And she hoped the patients would all encourage you to allow the residents more direct contact with them.” She paused, biting her lip.

“And then she served coffee and doughnuts to everyone.”

Dok’s frown deepened. Great. A coffee strategy.

“I’m sorry,” Annie said, her voice shrinking with each word.

“Annie,” David said, his tone warm, “you were in a tough spot. You were trying to solve a lot of problems at once.” He gave her a kind smile. “I think that’s all we need to know.” Then his face suddenly shifted, eyes wide. “But don’t let anyone drink the water until we get a plumber in here.”

After Annie left, Dok let out a long puff of air. “Thankfully, those patients are Amish. At least they won’t sue me when they find out my coffee got them sick.”

David lifted an eyebrow. “Setting aside the water pipe problem, Wren Baker had an excellent point.”

Dok reached for the phone. “Right now, I need a plumber more than I need a resident.” A loud bang came from the basement. “Make that two residents. Both of whom think they know what they’re doing and they don’t.”

David rose. “They don’t know because they don’t have experience. They don’t know because they don’t have anyone supervising them. They don’t know because they aren’t learning anything.” He gave her a look.

Dok frowned again. She didn’t need her brother telling her how to run the practice. “Since you’re such an expert on life,” she said, with a cranky edge in her voice, “I’ll let you be the one to tell Hank Lapp that his plumbing days are over.”