the news yet.
After her devotions, Abby dressed and was just lacing her shoes when suddenly the door swung open and a middle-aged woman entered carrying a tray. “Breakfast is served,” she announced. “Nothing gourmet, but the eggs are real and the coffee is hot.” She offered a pleasant smile along with the food. “From now on, you’ll take meals in the common room with the other women, but you have a hearing in half an hour, so eat fast.”
“
Dank
—thank you,” Abby said, remembering to use only English. She looked over the tray—coffee with powdered creamer, scrambled eggs, two slices of white toast, margarine spread, and a plastic dish of fruit cocktail.
“I’ll go get your own clothes,” the woman said. “I suppose you’ll be glad to get out of our duds for a while. Camouflage green isn’t exactly an Amish color.”
Abby’s face flushed with shame. The matron probably meant no offense with her comment, but drawing attention to her mannish, ghastly outfit only made Abby feel worse. She took a bite of toast and looked up. “Will I be allowed to wear my own clothes from now on?”
“No, only during your appearance in court today. The judge will read the charges against you and set the amount of your bail.”
Abby swallowed the dry bread and asked, “Then I can go home?” She reached for the coffee and drank half the cup, forgoing her usual cream and two sugars.
“No, then he’ll ask if you have counsel to represent you. You know… a lawyer,” she added upon Abby’s bewildered expression.
She rubbed her forehead. “Amish folks don’t usually hire lawyers. I wouldn’t know who to call.”
Because Amish folks don’t usually get themselves thrown in jail
. “We try to settle our differences among ourselves and go to the ministerial brethren only if we can’t come to agreement.”
The matron looked sad and somewhat uncomfortable. “Yes, but this is Wooster, so I’m afraid if you don’t have an attorney, the court will appoint one for you. That’s what the judge will tell you today. I don’t recommend you trying to represent yourself in court.”
Abby nodded. “After I am assigned a court-appointed lawyer, then will I be allowed to go home?” She ate some of the bland, undercooked scrambled eggs, trying not to reveal her distaste.
“Mrs.—” The matron glanced down at her clipboard. “—Graber. Do you realize that you have been charged with a felony?”
“I understand the law says practicing midwifery in Ohio without the proper license is a crime, but Amish midwives have been delivering babies in our community since we settled here a hundred years ago.”
“That may be, but it’s still considered a crime. Usually you would have been charged with a misdemeanor. If that were the case, they would release you after your hearing and expect you to come back for your trial date. That is, if you didn’t cop a plea. But it looks like you’ll be charged with a felony, and that’s much more serious. They must have something else on you other than just delivering a baby.”
Abby swallowed as much of the eggs as she could stomach and washed them down with the rest of her coffee. She couldn’t ask the woman about everything she didn’t understand or the other inmates might not get their breakfast trays until lunchtime.
“So the judge will read the charges against you, assign a lawyer, and then set the amount of your bail.”
“The bail is money I must pay to get out?”
“Yes, but you’ll get the money back if you show up for trial.”
“Why wouldn’t I show up?”
The woman laughed softly. “Good question. I know
you
will, but some people hightail it and run. That makes them look guilty, and it also makes things go a lot worse when they’re finally caught and dragged before the judge.”
Abby nodded as she ate her fruit cocktail. Each fruit in the syrup tasted exactly the same. “I hope my husband remembers to bring whatever cash we have on hand if he comes to
After her devotions, Abby dressed and was just lacing her shoes when suddenly the door swung open and a middle-aged woman entered carrying a tray. “Breakfast is served,” she announced. “Nothing gourmet, but the eggs are real and the coffee is hot.” She offered a pleasant smile along with the food. “From now on, you’ll take meals in the common room with the other women, but you have a hearing in half an hour, so eat fast.”
“
Dank
—thank you,” Abby said, remembering to use only English. She looked over the tray—coffee with powdered creamer, scrambled eggs, two slices of white toast, margarine spread, and a plastic dish of fruit cocktail.
“I’ll go get your own clothes,” the woman said. “I suppose you’ll be glad to get out of our duds for a while. Camouflage green isn’t exactly an Amish color.”
Abby’s face flushed with shame. The matron probably meant no offense with her comment, but drawing attention to her mannish, ghastly outfit only made Abby feel worse. She took a bite of toast and looked up. “Will I be allowed to wear my own clothes from now on?”
“No, only during your appearance in court today. The judge will read the charges against you and set the amount of your bail.”
Abby swallowed the dry bread and asked, “Then I can go home?” She reached for the coffee and drank half the cup, forgoing her usual cream and two sugars.
“No, then he’ll ask if you have counsel to represent you. You know… a lawyer,” she added upon Abby’s bewildered expression.
She rubbed her forehead. “Amish folks don’t usually hire lawyers. I wouldn’t know who to call.”
Because Amish folks don’t usually get themselves thrown in jail
. “We try to settle our differences among ourselves and go to the ministerial brethren only if we can’t come to agreement.”
The matron looked sad and somewhat uncomfortable. “Yes, but this is Wooster, so I’m afraid if you don’t have an attorney, the court will appoint one for you. That’s what the judge will tell you today. I don’t recommend you trying to represent yourself in court.”
Abby nodded. “After I am assigned a court-appointed lawyer, then will I be allowed to go home?” She ate some of the bland, undercooked scrambled eggs, trying not to reveal her distaste.
“Mrs.—” The matron glanced down at her clipboard. “—Graber. Do you realize that you have been charged with a felony?”
“I understand the law says practicing midwifery in Ohio without the proper license is a crime, but Amish midwives have been delivering babies in our community since we settled here a hundred years ago.”
“That may be, but it’s still considered a crime. Usually you would have been charged with a misdemeanor. If that were the case, they would release you after your hearing and expect you to come back for your trial date. That is, if you didn’t cop a plea. But it looks like you’ll be charged with a felony, and that’s much more serious. They must have something else on you other than just delivering a baby.”
Abby swallowed as much of the eggs as she could stomach and washed them down with the rest of her coffee. She couldn’t ask the woman about everything she didn’t understand or the other inmates might not get their breakfast trays until lunchtime.
“So the judge will read the charges against you, assign a lawyer, and then set the amount of your bail.”
“The bail is money I must pay to get out?”
“Yes, but you’ll get the money back if you show up for trial.”
“Why wouldn’t I show up?”
The woman laughed softly. “Good question. I know
you
will, but some people hightail it and run. That makes them look guilty, and it also makes things go a lot worse when they’re finally caught and dragged before the judge.”
Abby nodded as she ate her fruit cocktail. Each fruit in the syrup tasted exactly the same. “I hope my husband remembers to bring whatever cash we have on hand if he comes to
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