Loving Jenna

by Amy Lillard

  There wasn’t much light in the room, just a small solar lamp that hung by the window. It was enough to keep him from going to sleep in total darkness, but it went off sometime during the night. He wasn’t sure what time. He had never been awake for it. But the way he was going, tonight he might find out.

  He felt rather than saw PJ turn in circles, trying to find his own comfy spot to sleep.

  The pup didn’t have anything on his mind. Buddy was pretty sure of it. So that meant his own restlessness was keeping both of them awake.

  More than friends.

  They couldn’t be more than friends because she had to be asked everything. She couldn’t take the time to figure out that he cared for her. If he didn’t, would he have taken her on a date to town? He had never been on a date with anyone, anywhere. Their time together had been special. They had been swimming together, when he was trying to help her lose her fear of the water. They had eaten dessert together first. Not because, like the old saying went, “life’s short,” but because they wanted to. They were grown, and regardless of what kinds of brains they had, they could choose what they wanted in their life.

  And more than anything, Buddy wanted Jenna. He had since the first time he had seen her at church. She was so beautiful, more beautiful than any other woman he had ever met, and somehow she had been sent here for him. He had thought it then but had forgotten somewhere along the way. Why had he forgotten? He couldn’t remember that either. But there in the darkness of his room, he remembered that he loved her. Really, really loved her. And he had let her slip away.

  Titus was right. He should have never let himself get stuck in the friend zone, though he wasn’t entirely sure he understood what it all meant. He did know that he and Jenna had something special and they couldn’t let that go.

  PJ yelped as Buddy threw back the covers and headed for the door to the barn.

  “Come on, PJ. We have a girl to win back.”

  * * *

  Jenna placed the baby back into the crib and cautiously checked the other. Nancy was happier now that Jenna was around, though Jenna couldn’t take all that credit for herself. They were getting older, getting bigger. Starting to eat more than their mother’s milk. All these things helped a baby feel secure and kept them from waking up wailing in the middle of the night.

  The three ladies—she, Abbie, and Priscilla—took turns getting up with the twins in the night. Abbie had even put a cot in the nursery so Jenna didn’t have far to go to care for them. Plus it was next to impossible to hear them all the way in the dawdihaus. This way was much easier.

  Not that Jenna minded getting up with them. She actually liked being in the quiet house with the babies, or baby, depending on whether only one was awake. They would stand together, Jenna and a baby, and look out the window at the stars and the moon and the shadow-covered farmyard.

  She was on her way back to her own bed, when she did just that. Peeked out at the yard and could hardly believe her eyes.

  Buddy and PJ raced across the shadowy farmyard.

  From her place in the nursery window she could see them easily as they ran toward the door of the dawdihaus.

  Were they looking for her?

  Who else?

  She looked into the cribs one last time to make sure both babies were sleeping before she headed toward the door.

  She raced down the stairs as quietly as she could, but she had to see what Buddy and his dog were up to. Had they come to see her? What was so important that it couldn’t wait until the morning?

  Or maybe he was sleepwalking.

  With a dog?

  She lost sight of him as he went to the door of the dawdihaus. So she rushed out the front door and over to where he had been.

  “Buddy?”

  He whirled around, obviously not expecting her to be behind him. “Jenna?”

  “What are you doing out here? Are you okay? Are you sick?”

  He shook his head. “Nope.”

  “What’s wrong then? It’s the middle of the night.”

  “I’m in love.” He smiled, so pleased with himself.

  Jenna’s heart broke. “I see.” She should have expected as much. Buddy’s smile was enough to make any girl lose her head. “I’m happy for you. Who’s the girl?” Those last three were the hardest words she’d ever remembered saying.

  He laughed. “I’m not talking about someone else, silly. I’m talking about you.”

  Jenna wasn’t sure she understood. “Me?” She clutched a hand to her throat, only then realizing that she was outside in her nightgown.

  “Jah. You. I love you, Jenna Burkhart. And when the time is right, I want you to be my wife.”

  “You do?” Was she dreaming? It sort of felt like a dream. Maybe she had fallen asleep in the babies’ room and had been dreaming this whole time. Then the truth was that she and Buddy weren’t outside talking in the middle of the night, but she was alone in her cot upstairs.

  “Will you please be my wife?”

  “I know one thing; two a.m. is not the right time.”

  She turned around to find Titus and Abbie standing just behind her. She hadn’t heard them come up, probably because she had been so focused on Buddy.

  “It’s a vivid dream,” she mused to herself. No one else there was real.

  “You’re not dreaming.” Buddy laughed again. “I love you.”

  She wanted to say the words back, but to the real Buddy.

  “That’s nice. I’m going back to bed.”

  She saw his joyous expression crumble as she turned to leave.

  This was a dream for the books. But who was she going to tell? And who would believe her?

  She drew even with the couple, and a hand on her arm stopped her. “He just told you he loved you.”

  “And I heard him ask you to marry him.”

  Jenna looked down at the fingers on her arm. The touch was real. Abbie was real. And if she could see Buddy, then he was real too.

  She slowly turned back to him. “I’m not dreaming?”

  “No.”

  PJ picked that time to come over and see what attention he might get from the other side. Jenna obliged him with a stroke down his back and a scratch behind his ears.

  “You love me?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She began to tremble. It was all she could ask for, but yet... “You want to marry me?”

  “When the time is right.”

  “Really?”

  “Does that mean yes?”

  Her knees wobbled to where she could barely stand. She had been hoping to really have Buddy back in her life as a friend, but this . . . this was something much, much better.

  “Yes.”

  That was the one word she needed to say. She ran toward him and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking them to the ground.

  “Does this mean you love me?” Buddy asked.

  “Yes,” she whispered, holding him close.

  “I need you to say it,” he said. “I want to hear the words.”

  She pulled away so she could look into those beautiful amber-colored eyes. “I love you, Buddy Ivan Dale Miller.”

  “Do you realize it’s two thirty in the morning?”

  She laughed and turned to see Priscilla and Emmanuel standing next to Abbie and Titus.

  “That’s true love, Emmanuel. And you had better get used to it. There’s a lot of it around here.”

  Epilogue

  “You have to do something about this.” Charlotte hooked her arm through Gertie’s and led her to the back of the house where only a few guests mingled.

  “How was I supposed to know that it would snow today?”

  She shook her head. The unusual November snow was only one of their problems. “If the bishop can’t get here . . .”

  “The minister will marry them,” Gertie said with her calm confidence.

  “What if he can’t get here? We have all the food ready and less than half the guests are here. I knew they should hav
e waited.”

  Gertie’s lips pressed together in an all too familiar look. “They are meant for each other and waiting will not change that. I’m just glad that they have a safe place to live and other people who care about their marriage.”

  She was right. Charlotte took a deep breath. She too was glad that Buddy and Jenna were getting married. Jah, they had rushed things a bit waiting only a year before petitioning the church for permission, but they both knew that God had a hand in bringing them together. You just can’t fight the will of God.

  The two were best friends and would be just fine. At least that’s the only thought that got Charlotte through the night. And of course it helped that they were going to move into the dawdihaus at the Lamberts’ after today.

  She looked out the window at the piling snow. There weren’t many winters like this in Oklahoma. Why did it have to be this year? This winter? This day?

  “Is the preacher here?” she asked Gertie. “He can marry them.”

  Gertie scanned the few people who had managed to get to the house before the snow started. “I don’t know. It’s possible.”

  “I need more than possible. I need a church elder. Or I have to go upstairs and tell my daughter that her wedding will have to be postponed.” Those words held a double edge. She had never thought that Jenna would get married. Never allowed herself to dream of such a life after her daughter’s accident. And to think after all this time and all this work they would have to put it off. Another week? Another month? Were there other weddings scheduled? Most probably. What would they do? She had no idea. She had never dealt with a postponed wedding before. These things just didn’t happen. Yet outside, the world was filled with swirling white snowflakes. And her daughter would be so disappointed.

  No. They must get married today.

  “I guess I’ll have to take care of this myself.”

  Gertie smiled—at least Charlotte thought that was her smile—and patted her on the arm. “Let go and let God.”

  If only she could.

  She turned away from Gertie and started back through the house, nodding to the people she passed, like a good hostess. Really she was checking to see if any other member of the elders had showed up. Or even one from another district. Was it too much to ask?

  And everyone around her would be spending the night. She wasn’t sure she had enough blankets for all the people. Abbie’s mamm and dat were holding her twins while she was upstairs helping Jenna get ready for her big moment. Normally a young family member over sixteen but not yet married would stand up with the bride at the service, but Jenna had wanted Abbie. Everyone tried to talk to her, but Charlotte’s daughter was nothing if not stubborn. She was a fighter. She proved that by coming back from the dead and living today. So of course, Jenna got her way, and Abbie would be by her side today.

  If the preacher, the minister, the bishop, or the deacon could make it through the snow. And Charlotte prayed that someone would. Then she prayed for the safety of them all. What a day to have a snowstorm.

  Inside the fire was crackling, the table was set for their wedding feast. Now they just needed a wedding.

  The front door opened, blowing snow in as the man started taking off his outer layers. He looked like a big man, but she knew he had to be wearing a lot of clothes to stay warm. Hat, scarf, gloves, coat, until the man who stood before her was revealed.

  Her neighbor, Aaron Yoder. The newly chosen preacher for their district. They were saved.

  “I’m so glad to see you, Aaron.”

  He smiled as Charlotte approached. His nose was red from the cold and his blue eyes twinkled good naturedly.

  “I’m glad to see you too.”

  “The bishop isn’t here and there’s no one to marry the kids. But now that you’re here . . .”

  “I can put myself to use,” he finished with a dimpled smile.

  She laughed, the tension leaving her body. Young Aaron was there and everything was going to be all right.

  “Is everything else ready to go?” he asked.

  She nodded. “We still have a little bit before the wedding was scheduled to start. I surely don’t want to begin if someone is braving this weather to get here.”

  He checked the window. He really was a good man, Charlotte thought. Handsome. Dark blond hair and blue eyes that nearly glowed. He had been widowed shortly after the Burkharts’ arrival in Wells Landing but had never remarried.

  I wonder why? He was young but had no children. She pushed the thought away. His marital status had no bearing on today. But she supposed when a person was surrounded with so much love that it was hard not to want it for everyone.

  And she was. Surrounded by love. Even if the majority of the guest list had been delayed or even stalled by the snow. Love was all around.

  “I don’t think anyone else is coming in this storm.” His voice was gentle, apologetic.

  Charlotte wrung her hands. “Did you see anyone else on the road?”

  “I walked through the field.” The quickest path from Aaron’s house to Charlotte’s was through the field between their yards.

  “You walked?”

  “Don’t look so surprised.”

  “In this?”

  He smiled. “I had a feeling I might be needed.”

  “Very much.” But the words sent a little zip straight to her heart. Love was all around. Love between friends. Love between neighbors. Love between a special man and woman. “Go warm yourself by the fire. I’ll get the bride.”

  “All in good time,” Aaron said. “All in good time.”

  Half an hour later, Jenna came down the steps with Abbie just in front. They wore matching dresses of a blue that James Riehl would surely approve of had he been able to make the wedding.

  Charlotte fought back tears as her daughter walked to the altar where Aaron and Buddy stood. She had never imagined that this moment would come. And now that it was here, she could only think one thing.

  Love is all around. She knew in her heart, Jenna and Buddy were meant to be together here on this day and forever. Best friends in love.