Last Bride, The (Home to Hickory Hollow Book #5)

by Beverly Lewis

  Tessie yielded her thoughts to God, keeping her head bowed. His goodness, she thought as der Vorsinger—the song leader—rose and blew the pitch pipe for the next hymn. She realized the ministerial brethren had not returned from their meeting just yet, taking longer than any time she could recall.

  They’re deciding about my discipline. With that sobering thought, she bowed her head even lower.

  Chapter 37

  Mandy could feel the tension coming from Tessie next to her. All during the singing, their older sister Molly had shared the Ausbund hymnal with little Manny while his twin brother, Matthew, helped hold another hymnal with his mother. Mandy wondered why Tessie hadn’t helped him with it. Is she all ferhoodled? Mandy hoped not, because Tessie needed to finish what she’d started last time—Sylvan had said as much earlier as they’d ridden to Preaching service. “You must not know my sister very well,” she’d replied, and her husband had given her a noticeably serious look.

  There had been no further talk of it between them, and Mandy had spent the rest of the trip to church praying for a swift end, worried her sister was seemingly determined to stack sin upon sin—at least in the eyes of the People.

  They were already singing another lengthy hymn, which meant the ministerial brethren must be having a difference of opinion during their upstairs meeting. Preacher Yoder and Bishop John were the more strict of the four men, so no doubt there were at least two stern opinions vying for precedence. It had been a very long time since any young woman had caused such a stir as Tessie. Everyone just assumed she was with child out of wedlock, Mandy was sure, so it wouldn’t surprise her if they decided to make an example of her sister. If only she’d speak up and tell what really happened! Mandy thought, recalling the lines from Marcus’s journal.

  Mandy searched for Sylvan across the room and saw him singing animatedly, sitting with his next older brothers, all of them in a row. Her heart swelled with love for him; she was still getting used to these new yet very welcome emotions. It was a puzzle how all of this had come about between them—there had to be more behind it than Sylvan’s reading a book. Surely Gott had a hand. . . . Nevertheless, Mandy could hardly wait to have supper alone tonight with her husband, since Aunt Elaine had already said she was expecting company later. The thought made Mandy smile so big, she was afraid someone might think she was not being worshipful in church.

  At that moment, the four ministers at last came filing down the row to take their seats in front. They sat quietly for a few moments till one of them stood and made introductory remarks about the order of service.

  Mandy wanted so badly to reach over and clasp Tessie’s hand, but poor Tessie had her hands folded on her lap . . . clenched and bright red.

  O God our Father, we praise You and Your goodness exalt, Tessie thought, rehearsing the first line of “Das Loblied,” the hymn they’d sung earlier. The words ran through her mind as the first minister gave the opening sermon, introducing the biblical topic for today’s meeting—“the declaration of guilt,” he called it.

  She trembled.

  Then the deacon rose and read the eighteenth chapter of Matthew, beginning with the third verse, “‘Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.’”

  Tessie folded her hands all the more tightly as she listened. The People were so still, she could hear Mandy’s breathing beside her.

  Once the deacon had closed his Bible and quietly sat down, Preacher Ephraim Yoder got up from his seat and stood before the congregation. As he began to preach in a singsong voice, he also paced, flawlessly weaving Bible stories together to demonstrate the eternal consequences of one’s life journey—the sins that so easily besieged folk and the victories they had over them in Christ Jesus. His caution to flee from temptation at all costs and to practice obedience daily, along with acts of humility, penetrated Tessie’s heart. The long sermon eventually pointed out the importance of being willing to yield to God’s supreme will, and to the church.

  Dawdi Dave’s words rushed back to her as Tessie and all the others turned and knelt, leaning their prayerful hands on the wooden bench where they’d just sat. “Think ’bout what kind of legacy you want to pass on to the next generation . . . and the next,” her grandfather had admonished.

  After the closing hymn, when the unbaptized youth and children had left the room, the members’ meeting began. Tessie answered the bishop’s call to go forward, and she dropped to her knees near the ministerial brethren. Quickly, she lowered her head and folded her hands.

  Behind her, she heard the scrape of a chair, and when the bishop touched her shoulder and pointed to it, she knew she was expected to offer a sitting confession instead, reserved for a lesser offense. Of all things! She was so surprised, she could hardly speak.

  Bishop John commenced to ask the same questions of her as two weeks ago, and Tessie acknowledged she was ready to give a complete confession. “I wish to be in fellowship and faith with the church, under the Lord God.”

  The bishop went to sit with the other ministers, and Tessie felt the unspoken approval of the congregation as she began. “Marcus King and I were secretly married last fall on September twenty-seventh,” she stated. “We disobeyed my father and ran off together—eloped.”

  There was sheer silence in the room.

  She heard whispering then from the men’s section, and an unexpected commotion followed. Looking up, she saw Marcus’s father stand, a deep crease of a frown on his face. “That is ummieglich—impossible,” Lloyd King said sharply. “I knew my son, and he would never do such a thing! Nie net—never!”

  Bishop John rose to his feet.

  Tessie Ann cringed. What will he say to that?

  “Let our sister proceed,” the man of God said firmly.

  But now Tessie’s father was getting up out of his seat, also, two rows in front of Lloyd. He held a piece of paper in the air, waving it high. “I would like to say, if the bishop and the membership permit, that I humbly admit to having failed to believe my daughter.” He paused and glanced down at something in his other hand. “But now I stand corrected, as I hold the proof of it all right here.”

  “Please bring this proof to me, Ammon,” the bishop requested.

  Her father moved into the aisle and came forward. “This is Tessie Ann’s marriage license, signed by two witnesses.” Dat handed the paper to the bishop.

  An audible murmur, like a rushing wave, ran through the length of the room. Stunned, Tessie was relieved, yet unsure what to do.

  Marcus’s father raised his voice. “I’d like to see that so-called document,” he declared.

  Just that quick, Tessie was ushered out of the room by the deacon, who followed behind her down the narrow aisle, through the kitchen, and into the utility room. There, she was left alone, though she could still hear Lloyd King’s voice inside. Shaking her head, she tried to grasp what had just happened.

  In a minute’s time, Mandy had joined her, asking if she was all right.

  “I’m fine. What a blessing, truly,” Tessie whispered. Then, looking at her sister, she searched her face . . . her eyes. “It was you who saved the day, wasn’t it? You.” She remembered seeing the peculiar exchange between Mandy and their father earlier.

  “Norm Byler dropped by our house with Marcus’s journal,” Mandy explained. “The marriage license was inside. I spared no time in reading it and knew right away I must get it to Dat . . . for your sake, and your baby’s.”

  “Denki . . . ever so much,” Tessie said, holding back tears. “I don’t know what I would’ve done without such evidence.”

  “Jah, such wonderful-gut timing.”

  They embraced and Mandy remained there with her, waiting for the members to decide what to do. The longer it went, the more anxious Tessie beca
me. After all, she had not waited to marry Marcus in the Amish church, under God and the bishop, as was expected of engaged couples. There was just no other option . . . ever.

  Finally she got cold and leaned down to sort through the pile of coats for her own. When she found it, she slipped it on, still shivering with nerves and the chilly air. “Spring can’t come any too soon,” she murmured.

  Mandy touched her arm. “It’ll be that much closer to knowing ’bout the health of your baby, too. Jah?”

  Tessie shared about her meeting with the doctor at the Clinic for Special Children. “It gave me hope, really.”

  “We’ll all breathe a sigh of relief when we know if your baby is all right.”

  “Either way, he’ll be welcomed into the family,” Tessie said.

  “So, you’re havin’ a boy, then?”

  “Jah, I think so . . . for Marcus.”

  They watched a train of birds gracefully dip and sway over the tops of the nearby trees, and then the deacon returned, saying quietly that the membership’s discussion and voting were finished.

  Mandy stepped aside, and Tessie, still wearing her coat, followed dutifully behind the deacon, back to the bishop, and once again sat down on the chair at the front.

  “Our sister in the Lord, due to Marcus’s untimely death and our grave concern for your unborn baby’s health, the People feel you have suffered enough,” the bishop began, much to Tessie’s amazement. Moreover, Bishop John explained that her father had testified on her behalf about her faithfulness to God and to prayer. “And you were truthful in the end.”

  She caught Cousin Emmalyn’s warm look of encouragement from where she sat in the congregation.

  “We do not endorse such hasty behavior, however, for any other couple,” Bishop John stated clearly. “Lest anyone else get the idea to do so.”

  There was no audible amen, but many nodded in the affirmative.

  The bishop asked if Tessie was sorry she had not allowed patience to do its work, according to the Scripture. “Do you regret not waiting to marry in the church, Tessie Ann?”

  “I am very sorry, jah.”

  “Do you confess this sin before God and the People?”

  She said she did, tears falling.

  “In the name of the Lord and this church, peace and fellowship are extended to you. You may continue in full membership,” the bishop announced before he reached for his Bible to read once again from Matthew. “‘Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.’

  “Our sister, Tessie Ann, go forth and accept the forgiveness and compassion of the Hickory Hollow flock.”

  She rose before them, still glad for her coat. The bishop’s wife, Mary, came up to her and offered a handshake and a holy kiss.

  When Tessie turned to join her sisters in their row, she caught her mother’s sweet gaze and cherished it most of all.

  Hours later, after the shared meal, Levi managed to pass a note to her without being seen, or so Tessie hoped. I’m mighty happy for you, it read. My prayers were answered.

  She, too, was happy . . . and sincerely thankful. The People truly cared for her, just as Mary Beiler had said.

  Later, after the shared meal, when Mamma was standing with Tessie waiting for their horse and buggy, she reached for Tessie’s hand and squeezed it gently. “Your father and I love you very much, Tessie, dear. And your baby, too—our grandchild.”

  “I know, Mamma. And it means so much hearin’ ya say so.”

  She saw a tear on her mother’s cheek and looked over to see Dawdi Dave hobbling this way with his sturdy cane. She released Mamma’s hand and moved to make a spot for the dear man between them.

  “Tessie Ann,” he said softly, eyes shining. “Blessings on ya, my dear girl.”

  Now she was the one struggling with tears, knowing exactly what he meant.

  On the buggy ride home, there was not a speck of talk about what had transpired at church, a sign that all had been forgiven—the Amish way. Neither, though, was any comment made about Levi Smucker.

  As the buggy wheels rumbled over an uneven patch, Tessie unfolded his note once more where she sat behind Dawdi Dave. She found it curious that Levi had not asked to see her again.

  Chapter 38

  It wasn’t until midweek that Tessie received another note from Levi—a supper invitation to his parents’ home this upcoming weekend. Such a surprise!

  I realize this isn’t the way most couples court round here, but we aren’t most couples, jah? My parents are eager and willing to host us for the meal, where you’ll get better acquainted with the rest of my family, too. It’ll be one big feast, for certain. Let me know if this is agreeable to you, my dear Tessie.

  “His parents want me to come to their home even before I agree to marry him?” she whispered, astonished as she put on her coat and outer black bonnet. She wanted to walk over to the cemetery and say one last good-bye to Marcus; it seemed like an appropriate time to do so.

  Truth be told, she was feeling more interested in everything now, including attending the farm sales that week. Best of all, she’d enjoyed some good fellowship with Mandy both at the house and once at the little shop. Mamma must’ve noticed they were on better footing, because when Tessie caught her eye at the store, where Mandy stood right next to her, Mamma looked to be brushing back tears of joy.

  Tessie’s time in the cemetery was short-lived; she just didn’t feel as comfortable there anymore, and it wondered her. She did catch herself looking back, glancing once more over her shoulder before heading for the white gate.

  “Good-bye, dear Marcus . . . I’ll see you in heaven, when it’s my turn.”

  The weekend supper at Smuckers’ farm arrived quickly. Tessie amazed herself by eagerly anticipating the chance to spend some time with Levi’s parents. His devoted mother, Sarah, was every bit as encouraging as he was, and a wonderful hostess.

  When she and Levi arrived together that evening, Sarah greeted her at the back door and offered to help by hanging up Tessie’s black shawl. “Come in and make yourself at home, dear.” Then she whispered, “You’ll be sitting next to me at the table.”

  “Denki, sounds nice.” To be recognized in such a warm way by Levi’s family after all the secrecy she’d experienced with Marcus, well, it nearly seemed like a lovely dream.

  Even Levi’s black-and-tan coonhound, Trickie, thumped his long tail each time Tessie Ann passed him on the porch that most pleasant springtime evening. “Guess our hunting dog likes ya, too,” Levi’s father said brightly.

  Sarah Smucker remarked how the littlest children were drawn to Tessie. “You’re a magnet for Kinner,” she said before they all sat down to eat.

  “’Tis a gut thing,” Levi put in quickly, and his father glanced his way, his raised eyebrows giving way to a warm smile.

  “We’ll have as many children as the Lord God permits,” Levi told Tessie later, on the ride home. “That is, if you ever get around to answering my question.” He winked and slipped his arm around her, holding both reins with his right hand. “What do I have to do, my darling?”

  “Guess I’m just bein’ cautious,” she said softly. “Are we rushin’ things?”

  “Well, we’ve known each other our entire lives. And it’s obvious both our families approve.”

  “’Tis true. It’s gut to have the support of our families, that’s for sure.”

  “And no one loves you better than I do. So what do ya think—will you have me as your husband?”

  “I do miss ya when we part ways,” she admitted.

  “That’s one gut reason.” He held up his pointer finger.

  “And I’ve seen you enjoyin’ my cookin’, too, after Pre
aching and whatnot all.”

  He put up a second finger. “And?”

  She enjoyed his company very much, but surely he knew that already. “I’ve prayed about it, not wanting to get ahead of the Lord God . . . this time.”

  Levi held up three fingers.

  She smiled; he was such a joy to her. And looking at him and watching his face burst into a grin, she laughed out loud. The devotion she’d cherished for Marcus’s memory—and now their baby—seemed to somehow merge with the love she felt for Levi, creating a very different, very special kind of affection.

  “When would ya like to go an’ ask for my father’s blessing?” Tessie ventured.

  “Why don’t we go together . . . when the time’s right?” he suggested. “We’ll wait a little while, if you prefer that.”

  She agreed, remembering how the rush to marry Marcus had led to heartache.

  A little patience can only bring blessing.

  And Tessie was thankful again for this wonderful young man beside her.

  It was an especially warm afternoon six weeks later when Tessie spotted Levi at market. The afternoon customers were slowing to a trickle as he nearly ran across the aisle to where she was seated. Having spent every Saturday evening with him since the meal at his parents’ house, not to mention other times in between, she was beginning to realize that each time she saw him, her heart fluttered. And, too, thoughts of Marcus were fading, although she’d promised herself she would never forget him.

  “Would ya like to ride back to Hickory Hollow with me?” Levi asked. “We can stop and get some ice cream on the way, if you’d like.”