"I see," Grace said.
"Look, it was a difference of opinion and I got upset because he refused to consider the evidence that this technology could really help your community," I said sidestepping my outburst. "I decided to blow off a little steam by driving fast."
"You do realize that you were driving through a community where children and animals regularly cross the road and the vast majority of residents drive buggies that don't go over ten miles per hour, don't you, Mr. Wallace?" Grace asked in a prim tone as she stared at me. I could hear the judgment in her voice and it made me bristle.
"I didn't think it would hurt anyone if I drove fast down a back road," I said defensively. "And can you please stop calling me Mr. Wallace. My name is Adam."
"How very generous of you to confine your activities to a back road, Adam," she replied putting the emphasis on my name to let me know she'd heard me, but wasn't cutting me any slack. I knew she was right, but the fact that a country girl who knew nothing about me was admonishing me for my behavior got under my skin.
"Look, lady, I don't know where you get off lecturing me about my behavior, but I'm pretty sure that judgmental attitude of yours isn't part of your religious beliefs," I countered as a buzzing sound echoed in my ear growing louder by the second. Looking around, I reached up and brushed my hands over both ears, but the sound only grew louder. I began shouting over the noise, "I think you and your community would want to follow your beliefs by installing technology that would help you function better!"
"There's really no need to shout, Adam," Grace retorted "And it's really none of your business what my beliefs are. Besides, if you were so knowledgeable about my beliefs, you'd have known better than to come peddling your modern technology in a community whose main focus is on steering clear of outside influences of the modern world!"
"Well, I wanted to help the community!" I shouted as the buzzing sound grew louder. Suddenly a bright light began flashing in my peripheral vision. I whipped my head around to try and find out where it was coming from as I continued yelling, "But you people are too stubborn to consider that maybe technology can help you maintain your culture the way you want!"
"Well, I never—" Grace gasped.
"Yeah, well, maybe you should have!" I shouted as I pushed myself away from the table and stood up. The dizziness hit me immediately as the blood rushed away from my head and the buzzing sound grew almost unbearable. I raised my hands to cover my ears hoping to drown out the painfully loud noise and then, for the second time in as many days, everything went black.
Chapter Fifteen
Grace
Honor and Verity shot up from their seats and raced around the table as Danny and I tried to catch Adam before he hit the ground. We missed, and his head hit the floor with a sickening thunk.
"Ouch, that couldn't have been good," Honor said wincing as she grabbed a dishtowel and began filling it with ice. Verity, Danny, and I lifted Adam off the floor and carried him back to the couch in the living room, where Honor put the ice pack under the back of his head and looked at me for further instructions.
"He's out cold," Verity said. "He might need a doctor. Do you want me to walk down to the phone booth and call Doc?"
"No. Honor you go," I said trying to assess the situation and decide what made the most sense and would cause the least amount of disruption. "Verity, you and Danny go clean up the kitchen. I'll stay here and make sure he doesn't have a seizure or something."
"Don't murder him while he's out," Honor said grimly. "He's not a bad guy, just really stubborn."
"Takes one to know one, eh?" I said looking up at her with a wry grin. "I just want to make sure he's okay and then get him out of here. He doesn't belong in this house. Do you have any idea where he's staying?"
"Yesterday he said he was staying at Yoder's B&B,"
"If he's been staying at Yoder's, then Elsa is probably worried about what happened to him," I said. "Call her and tell her he's here. Then call the gas station and tell them to send a tow truck to get his car to the shop."
"That's a lot of calls, Grace," Honor said.
"I'm sure you are more than capable of handling it," I replied shooting her a look that sent her scurrying out the door. "Verity, bring me another towel, would you, please?"
She ducked into the kitchen and quickly returned with it. I lifted Adam's head and the ice pack underneath it and placed the towel down on the couch. It seemed like a silly thing to do, but I heard Mamm's voice in my head reminding me to take ca
re of things and old habits die hard. Part of me was scared that Adam had suffered some kind of internal injury in the crash and that in listening to him brush off the need to see a doctor, we'd waited too long to call for help.
"Mr. Wallace," I said softly as I patted his face. "Adam, please wake up."
When I got no response, I began gently shaking his shoulder calling, "Adam, Adam wake up! Please, please wake up and talk to me!"
He stirred a bit and then raised a hand to his eyes forehead as he groaned, "My head is killing me."
"Stay still, we've got a doctor on his way to examine you," I said leaning closer to inspect the knot on his forehead. "You've got a pretty big bruise above your eye, and some cuts and scrapes across your chin, but it looks like Verity did a pretty good job of fixing you up last night."
"You're really very beautiful," he murmured as looked at me through glassy eyes. I inhaled sharply as he raised a hand and pulled a strand of hair from under my kapp. "Like spun gold."
"Adam, are you okay?" I asked genuinely concerned that something was terribly wrong. "Do you know where you are?"