Chapter 19: Strong as a bull

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Teri grudgingly agreed to meet Kaybri Sunday morning. After she left, Kaybri checked in with Noah. She found him in the yard behind the clinic playing with the collie they had rescued from the pet store.  

     “How is she?” Kaybri asked. 

     “She’s going to make it. We also dodged the bullet with the other dogs. None of the rescued dogs have parvo. It’s almost a miracle.” 

     “What do we do with the collie?” 

     “It becomes part of Frank’s menagerie. He’ll join the dogs, cats, ferrets, and who knows what else living in the small barn behind the house. The afternoon gaggle of kids will love him. He’ll find a home within a week. Frank places more pets from his house than many of the shelters.” 

     “That doesn’t mean anything to HED.” 

     “The people who follow Teri McGee only see what she wants them to see and what they want to see. They believe that if you’re not on their side, then you’re the enemy.” Noah gave a shrug. “They’re no different than society in general.” 

     “How are the dogs we brought here from your father’s farm?” 

     “Some are struggling. Some will never be able to socialize. We’ll save half. The other half will need to be put down. The damage they suffered was profound.” 

     Kaybri tried not to allow her emotions to take over. She could still picture the dogs she had euthanized at the farm. When she was alone, she would take the opportunity to cry for them. But not now.  

     “I never imagined a situation like this when I bought Frank’s practice. We need to succeed. Your father and the other farmers need to stop. This can't continue.” 

     “You sound like my mother. She believes that God provides solutions if we look hard enough,” Noah said solemnly.  

     “She wasn’t always Amish,” Kaybri said matter-of-factly.” 

     Noah appeared surprised. “What makes you say that?” 

     “Her willingness to persuade your father that he needs to dismantle the puppy mill. Her understanding of the outside world and how technology is affecting everyone and everything. I think she believes change is necessary and inevitable.”  

     Kaybri noticed that Noah shuffled his feet in the dirt just like his father sometimes did. Seeing that he was uncomfortable, Kaybri took him by the hand and pulled him over to the kennels where they’d have privacy. “Tell me about her,” she said gently. 

     “Well, as my father told us, she reads Popular Mechanics. My father told me there’s a whole stack of them in the blanket chest in their bedroom. She explained to him that the thing he crushed with his boot was a robot.” Noah put his head on Kaybri’s shoulder before continuing. “She was the only empathic light for me growing up. She didn’t always stick to Amish dogma, and she hated the puppy mill.” 

     Kaybri stayed quiet and let Noah share what he needed to say. “Her parents were killed in a car accident when she was ten. Their car swerved to avoid an Amish buggy. It was dark and rainy. Back then, buggies weren’t required to have red reflective panels to warn drivers. My mother spent two months in the hospital. There were no relatives that could be traced, and no one came forward to take custody. Child protective services came to the Lantz family, whose buggy her parents had swerved to miss, and asked them to take her in.” 

     “Why would they do that?” Kaybri asked. 

     “It wasn’t a legal matter. The Lantzes felt somewhat responsible for what happened. They had hoped to be home before dark, everyone was tired, and their horse was misbehaving. Nobody is sure, but the buggy might have drifted into traffic. Nobody admitted fault and there were no lawsuits. Anyway, one more child in an Amish family, where there are usually ten or more, is no big deal. In the Lantzes’ case, they couldn’t have any more, and they had only five when they took in my mother. They agreed to be more liberal with my mother’s education, in case she decided to leave when she was older. They didn’t want her to be at an educational disadvantage if she left the Amish community.” 

     “They agreed to that?” 

     “It was an unusual circumstance.” 

     “She decided to stay.” 

     “She fell in love with my father. They met at religious services, then social events, and at barn raisings. My mother never talked about why she chose to stay Amish. She was completely observant except for her desire to stay current with scientific advances. She might have been a doctor or an engineer if her life hadn't taken the turn it did.” 

     Kaybri took a minute to process this new information. Elizabeth’s unusual background made the Stoltzfus family unique within the Amish community. “She might be part of the reason your father wants you to take over the farm,” she said after a brief pause. “She may fear that if one of your brothers or sisters runs the farm it will go back to operating the way it did before your father agreed to make changes.” 

     “That’s possible, but not likely. My brother and sisters are enthusiastic about the changes my father is making.” 

     “I don’t want to impugn what your father is doing, but there seems to be more to these changes than atoning for the way he has treated dogs.” 

      “He’s not that old, but he seems to be physically struggling. When I told you that the conditions at the puppy mill deteriorated, I was referring to how my father didn’t have the energy he once did. I suspect his heart is getting worse. I suspect that the declining condition of the puppy mill is a result of his declining health. He’s not a man who shows weakness. His physical strength and mental resolve are legendary in the Amish community.” 

     “I heard one of your sisters say he is as stubborn as a bull,” Kaybri added. 

     “At one time he was. You’ve seen how at times he seems lethargic. By the way, he’s much tougher and more virile than the bulls. And they don’t like being compared to him. I’ve asked them. It makes them feel…inadequate.” Noah paused a second or two for effect. “Virility is a Stoltzfus family trait, by the way.” He looked at her with bedroom eyes. 

     Kaybri did a double-take and then laughed awkwardly. She sensed the blood rushing to her face. The shy man she had known for only a short time—though it felt like she’d always known him—was coming out of his shell. And she felt like she was coming out of hers.