On Thin Ice

by Junebug

“It’s time for bed, children,” Mitch Carter told his three kids. He looked out into the front yard where they were playing tag. The game stopped instantly.

“Yes, Papa,” nine-year-old James responded. “Can you tell us a story before bed if we get ready in good time?”

“Oh yes Papa! Please?” James’s twin sister Ruby pleaded.

“I sure will,” Mitch said, “but only if you get ready for bed right this instant!” At that, the kids all rushed as one into the house.

He heard laughing behind him. “Our kids sure love bedtime stories,” his wife Emily said.

“You bet they do,” he replied. “It’s my favorite thing to do as a family.”

Soon, the whole family was gathered on Mitch and Emily’s bed, eager to hear a story. “Any requests?” Mitch asked.

“Tell us about when you were courting Mama!” little Malia chirped. “And how you saved her on your honeymoon! It’s my favorite!”

Mitch tried not to laugh. “All right.”

            ***

Mitch was at the Fresno Hotel getting ready for his brother Chad’s engagement party on a spring night in 1885. He wondered what was keeping his youngest sister Andi so long. She was supposed to arrive with the rest of the family half an hour before the party started. Then he remembered Andi was trick riding back at the ranch. He decided to go fetch her.

Mitch was about to leave when he opened the door right in the face of a young woman. She shrieked and held her hands in front of her face to shield it.

Mitch was horrified. “Oh, I am so sorry! Are you all right, miss?”

She caught her breath. “Yes, I—I am fine.”

Now that he knew she was okay, he took a closer look at her. She had strawberry blonde hair and kind golden-brown eyes.

“My name is Emily McConnell,” she introduced herself. “I came to help set up for the party, and she said yes.” She saw Mitch was still upset about nearly hitting her with the door. “It’s totally fine, sir! I’m okay. Really.”

Mitch relaxed. She was sincere. “I’m Mitch Carter. Nice to meet you, Emily.”

She smiled warmly. “Nice to meet you too, Mitch.”

As Mitch left the hotel, he felt relief. He could see that Emily was very forgiving—and pretty, too.

He found Andi in a short amount of time. In fact, she was making her way to the Fresno Hotel. Mitch was relieved he didn’t have to go all the way back to the ranch to find her.

Later that evening, he ran into Emily McConnell again--but this time, not literally. She and Mitch enjoyed a waltz.

The McConnells came to church every Sunday. The horse that pulled their buggy always caught Mitch’s eye, and one day in May, he went up to see the horse closer. It was a beautiful red dun gelding. Emily noticed him admiring the horse. “He’s a handsome one, isn’t he, Mitch?”

Mitch whirled around, slightly startled. Mitch quickly recovered himself, however. “Sure is.”

“His name is Topaz. I ride him a lot, but Father and Mother say I can’t ride to church. They won’t allow me to wear my split skirt; it’s not proper on the Lord’s Day. So, on Sundays Topaz pulls the family buggy to church.”

“I have a horse named Chase. I’ve had him for a long time. He’s my favorite of all the horses on our ranch.”

Mitch and Emily talked for a long time. For months, every Sunday after church they would talk. They got to know each other and each other’s families. A few days before Christmas 1886, Mitch and Emily started officially courting.

On July 5th the following year, Emily told Mitch how she heard about the race Fresno held every year as part of celebration. She had asked her mother if she could compete. “You should have seen the look on Mother’s face,” she related to Mitch. “It was as if I had asked her if I could jump off a cliff. She almost shouted, ‘Absolutely not, Emily! You are going on twenty-six years old! Racing a horse recklessly through the streets is downright unacceptable for a young lady!’ But Mother didn’t say I couldn’t race you, Mitch. Shall we?”

Mitch couldn’t say no to her. However, he underestimated Topaz’s speed. Chase was the fastest horse he’d ever known, but Topaz might be the second fastest. He and Emily tied.

Mitch tried to be a good sport, but of course he had to challenge Emily to a rematch the next day. Afterwards he wished he hadn’t. The next day, Emily won the race, and Mitch was convinced that Topaz was indeed the fastest horse in California.

 ***

Mitch and Emily were finally married in the early part of November 1887. A day later, they left for their honeymoon. Emily had begged Mitch to tell her where they were going, but Mitch knew she would like it if he kept it a secret. Sure enough, as soon as they left the ranch, she asked, “Where are we going, Mitch?” Her eyes were bright with excitement.

Mitch smiled at her eagerness. “We’re headed to Oregon to spend a week at a remote cabin. I have an acquaintance up there who agreed to rent it to me.”

Emily clapped her hands over her mouth, but a little squeal escaped anyway. “Oh, Mitch, I can’t wait!”

When they finally arrived, they took in the scenery. The cabin lay on the edge of a forest, and a pond was a few yards away.

Emily exclaimed, “I love it! I can’t believe there’s snow on the ground and the pond is frozen! It’s only November!”

   Mitch tried not to laugh. “The weather up here gets much colder much quicker. That’s why I wore a heavy coat and made you bring one too.”

   After eating the dinner that Emily prepared, they settled in for a good night’s sleep.

   The next morning after breakfast, Mitch handed Emily two wrapped bundles. Inside one she found two wool dresses, and the other held a pair of ice skates. She was obviously excited.

   “I bought a pair for myself, too,” Mitch told her. “How about we do some skating before lunch?”

   Before long, they were bundled up and ready to go. The sky was a beautiful blue--as blue as a robin’s egg. When they reached the pond, Mitch checked the ice’s thickness. It was strong enough except for near the eastern shore. He warned Emily about it, and she agreed to keep a safe distance.

   It took Mitch a surprisingly short amount of time to get the hang of ice skating. Which is more than I can say for Emily, he thought. She struggled to keep standing, and had to lean against Mitch for support, or else she would take a tumble and end up sprawled on the ice. However, with practice (and lots of patience on Mitch’s part), Emily was able to skate almost by herself. She still wanted Mitch to hold her hand as she skated.

   “Em, do you feel like trying something fun?” Mitch asked after an hour of skating.

   “Sure, what is it?” Emily replied.

   “Take my hand and I’ll spin you around. Then when I say so, let go. You’ll glide across the pond.”

   “That does sound like so much fun! I definitely do want to do that!” Emily nodded her head in anticipation.

   She clasped Mitch’s hand and he started spinning her around. Mitch could feel her building up momentum. He let go of her and watched her fly--and gasped in horror.

   He had misjudged where Emily would skate when he let go of her hand. She careened dangerously close to the east shore of the pond. “Emily! Stop!” cried Mitch before he remembered Emily didn’t know how to stop. She kept on going. Suddenly, there was a sharp crack like a gunshot, but it didn’t come from a gun. It came from the east edge of the pond. Emily had inadvertently skated onto thin ice; it gave way and she fell through.

   Mitch stood frozen in place. Panic overwhelmed him. He looked at where Emily had fallen through, but she was nowhere to be seen.

   Then she suddenly surfaced, gasping for air. When she had regained her breath, she yelled, teeth chattering, “M-m-Mitch! Help m-me!”

   Mitch knew he had to get off the ice. It could crack more, and he could also end up in the freezing cold water. He didn’t have time to exchange his ice skates for his shoes; he had to act fast to save Emily. Mitch hurried around the edge of the pond to the eastern shore. A dead branch was nearby on the ground. He hoped it was long enough to span the distance to the pond. He lay down on his stomach and extended the branch to Emily. “Grab this and hold on tightly! I’m going to pull you out!” he yelled. Her hands were shaking, but she managed to do what Mitch said. Mitch gritted his teeth and pulled with all his might, stepping backward. With each step, Emily rose out of the water and onto the bank.

After what seemed like an hour, she was out of the water. Her face was bluish-purple and she was shivering uncontrollably. Mitch immediately took off his coat and wrapped it around her. “We need to get back to the cabin right now, Em,” he said. Emily’s teeth were chattering so hard she couldn’t speak, but she nodded.

When they arrived, Mitch built a fire in the stove in the front room while Emily changed into dry clothes. Mitch took bread and meat from the larder and made sandwiches for him and Emily. He wrapped a blanket around her, and they ate in front of the stove, basking in its warmth. Soon, her face was back to its normal color, but he had Emily stay in front of the stove for the rest of the day to make sure she fully warmed up.

***

When Mitch woke up the next morning, he looked at Emily lying on the bed beside him, but what he saw made him gasp in fear. Emily was lying very still, her breathing labored and heavy. She was struggling for every breath. Mitch rushed over and took her hands. They felt warm and clammy. “Em, are you okay?”

“Can’t--breathe--well,” she said in between coughs. Her voice was raspy.

Mitch had seen this sickness before. He didn’t need a doctor to tell him that Emily had pneumonia. The shock of being submerged in freezing cold water must have weakened her body and led to her getting sick.

Mitch felt scared. There was no way to fetch a doctor out in the middle of nowhere, and he had no idea what to do to treat pneumonia. What if I lose Emily? His thoughts ran wild, but he calmed himself down quickly. I need to pray for Emily, he told himself.

“I’m going to pray for you, Em,” he told her. “Dear Lord,” he began, “please be with my wife and me. Show me how to care for her and--.” He paused because his voice was cracking with sadness. “And heal Emily quickly. Amen.”

Four days later, Emily slipped into a coma. Mitch prayed over and over and constantly made sure she was still breathing. One night two weeks after Emily fell through the ice, her chest rose and fell more and more slowly with each breath.

Mitch remembered a Bible verse he had memorized long ago: Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee. He prayed again. “Lord, I know You will give me peace if I trust in You. Help me to trust in You during this trying time, and give me peace. Amen.” Mitch drifted off to sleep with one thought in mind: he was trusting that God would give him peace, so he didn’t have to be afraid.

   “Mitch?” Emily’s voice startled him awake the next morning. “I’m feeling better. I can breathe as well as before I was sick.”

   Mitch was too stunned to process her words. His wife was awake! She could talk without coughing! She was going to live! He immediately knelt down on the floor beside Emily’s side of the bed and prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to God for giving him peace and healing his wife.

***

   “Did your prayer make Mama well?” Ruby asked Mitch.

   “I believe it did, honey,” he said. “God told us that the prayer of faith shall save the sick.”

   “Papa, look!” James said, laughing. “Malia fell asleep!”

   “So she did!” Mitch exclaimed. “And it’s time for you and Ruby to go to bed as well.” He told his children goodnight, and Emily put them to bed. Before he went to bed himself, he prayed, “Lord, thank you for a wonderful family, and thank you for always answering prayer.”

THE END