Rose’s throat tightened up. Just one more reason among several that she was glad she was marrying Josiah.
“But I like Josiah Yoder,” Mammi said. “Even with that unfortunate red hair, he is quite handsome, and he owns several acres of land. It’s always gute to marry someone with land.”
“Denki, Mammi. I’m glad you approve. I love him very much.”
Mammi looked at Poppy with her always-critical eye. “I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be somebody’s bride, Poppy, especially not Luke Bontrager’s. Even though the Lord looks on the heart, anyone with eyes can see how handsome he is. He could have had any girl in town. Why he picked you instead of Rose, I’ll never know.”
Aunt Bitsy frowned with her whole body, but Poppy didn’t even flinch. “Denki, Mammi,” Poppy said. “Luke is very handsome. I don’t know why he picked me either.”
Mammi clicked her tongue. “Well, stuff and nonsense, Poppy. You’re pretty enough for Luke Bontrager, but I don’t expect he knows about your temper yet. Best keep it a secret until after the wedding.”
Nobody could ruffle Poppy’s feathers on the happiest day of her life, not even Mammi Sarah. She smiled, and Rose could tell she wasn’t even faking it. “Seeing as I’m getting married in less than three hours, I think my secret is safe.”
Mammi stepped back, folded her arms, and surveyed each of her granddaughters. “You’ll all do well enough. Be sure you speak up when taking your vows, and don’t slouch, especially you, Rose. But don’t be proud. Keep your eyes downcast until the bishop asks you to speak.”
“We will, Mammi,” Rose said. There was nothing else to do but agree with their mammi, who meant well but didn’t know how to express her love.
Mammi nodded as if all was well. “Now, Elizabeth,” she said. “What are you going to do about that girl downstairs?”
“Can she wash dishes?” Lily said.
Mammi smirked. “Nae. She just had her fingernails done.”
“I’ll be down soon, Mamm,” Aunt Bitsy said. “Can you abide her for five more minutes yet?”
“I’ll do what I can,” Mammi said, wagging her finger at Aunt Bitsy. “But if your wedding celery is ruined, it’s on your head.”
“I take full responsibility,” Aunt Bitsy said.
Mammi marched out the door, and they could hear her determined steps on the stairs. They paused and listened to the activity downstairs as relatives and friends bustled around the kitchen making last-minute preparations for the wedding meal. Mammi Sarah started yelling instructions before she even made it to the bottom of the stairs.
Lily giggled. “It wonders me if Ashley or Mammi will win.”
Aunt Bitsy cracked a smile. “I don’t know, but I’d like to watch.”
“I’m rooting for Ashley,” Poppy said.
There was a light tap on the door, and Poppy opened it. Hannah Yutzy stood in the doorway with a wide smile and a piece of folded paper. “Luke asked me to give this to you,” she said. “I teased him that I didn’t think the groom should be passing notes to the bride right before the wedding, but he said it would be okay.” She giggled. “The guests are coming. It’s almost time.”
“Denki, Hannah,” Poppy said. She shut the door, unfolded the note, and started reading. “Oh, no,” she said, glancing at Lily.
“What is it?”
She sat down on the bed and cradled her forehead in her hands. “Luke says he’s caught wind of something that Paul Glick has planned for the wedding.”
“Paul?” Lily said. “What does that mean?”
“Luke says Paul has learned a secret about Aunt Bitsy, and he plans to make a scene and demand Aunt Bitsy be shunned right before Lily is supposed to say her vows.”
“He thinks he’s going to stop the wedding,” Aunt Bitsy murmured.
Lily sank to the bed. “I don’t understand. How could he do something so cruel?”
Rose reached out and grabbed Lily’s hand. “There must be some mistake. Not even Paul would try to ruin a wedding.”
Deep lines etched themselves into Lily’s face. “Jah, he would.”
Aunt Bitsy growled and looked up at the ceiling. She seemed more irritated than upset. “Heavenly Fater, don’t you think a bladder infection could have prevented all this?”
Poppy stood up and ripped the note into tiny pieces. “Aunt Bitsy doesn’t have any secrets that people don’t already know about. Everyone has seen the hair and the earrings and the tattoos. Paul is vindictive and wants to make a scene. That’s all.”
“It’s my fault,” Lily said. “I should have handled it differently. I should have sold him our honey for the lower price.”
Aunt Bitsy shook her head. “Don’t blame yourself for this. Paul has a chip on his shoulder the size of a house, not to mention a nasty streak when he doesn’t get his way.” Her lips drooped into a frown as she sat on the bed next to Lily and motioned for Rose and Poppy to sit next to them. “I was going to tell you after the weddings, but now’s as good a time as any.” She patted Lily’s hand. “Paul, for all his grand indignation, will never be able to get me shunned. Not in a thousand years.”
“But he said . . .”
Aunt Bitsy raised her hand to halt all objections. “I know I wear earrings and try out an occasional tattoo, but I will never be shunned.”
“How can you be sure?”
For the first time since Rose had known her, Aunt Bitsy seemed unsure of herself. She glanced at all her nieces and folded and unfolded her arms. “I am not Amish.”
“What do you mean you’re not Amish, B?” Poppy said. “Of course you’re Amish.”
Aunt Bitsy shook her head. “I left home when I was sixteen. I never got baptized. I promised your mamm I would raise you Amish, but that didn’t mean I had to convert.”
Rose sat in stunned silence. That explained why Aunt Bitsy always seemed to be deathly ill two times a year for communion. Non-members weren’t allowed.
“But,” Poppy said, “everybody thinks you’re Amish.”
Aunt Bitsy sighed out all the air in her lungs. “I understand how much this hurts you. If you’re mad and would rather I not come to your wedding, I understand. I want you to know that I never lied to you, but I made you believe something that wasn’t real. The bishop and I agreed it would be better for you girls if everyone assumed I was Amish. I’m pretty good at being a proper Amish woman. I’m only eccentric in the privacy of my own home.”
Poppy’s jaw sat on the floor next to Rose’s. “We didn’t know.”
“I didn’t want you to love me any less.”
“Love you less?” Rose said. “Aunt Bitsy, this only makes us love you more.”
Poppy nodded. “You gave up your whole life for us, and we’d cancel the wedding if you weren’t allowed to come.”
“Dan and Luke and Josiah might have something to say about that.” Bitsy nearly smiled, then seemed to remember her old self. She folded her arms and harrumphed her indignation. “Now that’s all settled, we need to figure out what to do about Paul. I don’t care if he tells everyone at the wedding I haven’t been baptized, but I will not let him ruin your wedding day, even if I have to get my shotgun.”
“The shotgun would definitely ruin the wedding day.”
“We need to show Paul forgiveness,” Rose said.
Poppy grunted her disgust. “We can work on that after the wedding. How do we get rid of him today?”
Lily wrapped her arms around her waist. “If I knew that, I would have been rid of him years ago.”
Poppy studied the pile of shredded paper in her hand. “B, do we still have that bottle of valerian root?”
“You coming down with something?”
“I have an idea, but we’re going to need some help.” A smile slowly grew on Poppy’s lips. “We need Ashley.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Josiah leaned in close and whispered in Rose’s ear. “This is the happiest day of my life.” Then, to be proper, he pulled away before anyone
noticed.
“The best day of mine too,” she said. Lord willing, there would be many happy days to come.
“Time to go,” Aunt Bitsy said.
All twenty-four of them stepped outside.
Josiah held an umbrella over Rose’s head as they walked from the house to the barn, where the wedding was to take place. A slight drizzle had started early this morning, turning into a downpour by the time the wedding started. Cars, buggies, and vans lined the lane, which was dotted with ruts and mud puddles. Lord willing, no one would step in a puddle or get stuck in the mud.
Rose didn’t mind the rain. It made the air smell fresh and kept the honeybees in their hives instead of out among the guests. Still, she couldn’t be completely happy, not even with Josiah so close, smiling at her like that and smelling like new leather. She couldn’t relax until she knew Paul Glick would not harm her family today. They were hanging their hopes on Ashley, the girl who couldn’t cut celery and thought Griff Simons was a gute catch.
Two hours of singing and sermons had already taken place by the time the brides and grooms and their attendants were summoned to the services. Rose and her sisters and their fiancés had moved the buggy and the horse and everything else out of the barn, and swept and washed until the floor was as clean as the one in the kitchen. Wedding guests sat on benches, the men and women facing each other.
Rose’s heart thumped madly as Josiah opened the door to the barn. He held it open for everyone—Mammi and Aunt Bitsy, Dan and Lily, Luke and Poppy, the eight boys and eight girls they’d chosen as their attendants, and Rose.
Rose and her sisters sat in the center of the rows of benches facing Dan, Luke, and Josiah. Water dripped rhythmically from the ceiling and made a small puddle directly between Rose and Josiah. Rose’s heart thrilled at the very sight of Josiah sitting opposite her, keeping his eyes downcast in a show of humility and reverence. She loved everything about him. How could she bear to wait even five minutes longer to be his wife?
Since the wedding was in the barn, Honey and the cats were allowed to attend. Honey sat on her haunches just beyond the rows of benches, behaving like a very proper dog at a very solemn event. Farrah Fawcett had climbed up to the haymow and was observing proceedings from above. Or maybe she wasn’t watching at all. She looked to be asleep. Billy Idol stood right by the outside door, as if to make a quick escape if he needed to. Leonard Nimoy chased a grasshopper around the perimeter of the barn.
The bishop smiled and paused until everyone was seated. Before he could even draw breath, Paul, sitting three rows back, shot to his feet and scowled in Lily’s direction. “I have something to say,” he said, raising his voice as if he were rebuking the wind and the waves.
Rose thought she might be sick.
From a bench at the back where the Englischers sat, someone coughed violently. His coughs echoed off the ceiling of the barn and were so loud, Paul couldn’t make himself heard above the racket.
Rose’s face felt like it was on fire as she saw Ashley’s head pop up from behind the men. She was wearing a skin-tight, bright red dress and impossibly tall shoes. She stood up, smiled sheepishly, and made an announcement to the whole group. Rose was absolutely stunned by her courage. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll take him and get him a drink or something.”
Paul sank back into his seat as if he’d decided the polite thing to do was to let the sick man leave before making his big announcement.
Ashley pulled Griff—who seemed to be trying to hack up a boulder—from the bench and tugged him toward the center of the benches as if she wasn’t altogether sure how to actually get out of the barn. The gold chain around her neck jangled cheerily as she snaked among the rows of Amish men. Ashley pulled a bottle from her purse and unscrewed the lid. “I just need to give him some cough medicine,” she said.
Some neighbors, trying to be helpful, pointed in the right direction as Ashley led Griff between two rows of Amish men. When she was directly behind Paul Glick, she tripped over her own feet. Paul shouted in surprise as the bottle with no lid tumbled over his shoulder, spilling liquid the color of root beer down his white shirt and making a puddle in his lap.
“Oh my goodness,” Ashley said as Paul jumped to his feet. The brown liquid dribbled down his legs and dripped onto the barn floor. Ashley was a very gute actress. She looked positively horrified. “I’m so sorry.”
“Look what you’ve done,” Paul yelled, not caring about the solemnity of a wedding ceremony. “I’m all wet.”
Paul’s brother Perry crinkled his nose and leaned away from Paul. Soon men in front and behind and to the side made faces and held their noses in disgust. Paul was not only dripping brown liquid, but he smelled like an outhouse in the middle of July.
“Paul,” Perry whispered in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “you’ve got to get out of here. You stink to high heaven.”
Ashley and Griff covered their noses. They probably hadn’t expected quite that bad of a smell. “I’m really sorry,” Ashley said.
Andrew Nelson, Josiah’s brother-in-law, was in front of Paul. He stood up and turned around. “Paul, I think you’ll need to go home and change,” he said in his booming voice that most people found hard to ignore.
Paul lifted his chin. “I’m not leaving until I’ve said what I have to say.”
“You need to go,” Freeman Beiler said. “Six people are trying to get married, and you smell like a dead body.”
“There’s something you need to know about the Honeybee schwesters and their aunt,” Paul said.
Andrew sighed deeply and shook his head. “We’ve heard the rumors, Paul. And we don’t put stock in any of them.”
“That’s because Rose Christner is going to be your sister-in-law.”
Andrew and Freeman took Paul by the sleeves and quickly escorted him and his ripe smell out of the barn. “What am I supposed to do out here?” she heard him say as they left him standing in the rain and shut the door behind him.
Rose felt a momentary twinge of guilt. She hadn’t wanted Paul to be humiliated, but as Poppy had said, he had brought it upon himself with his uncontrollable anger. Rose would of course confess the whole thing to him after her honeymoon trip and beg for his forgiveness. Until then, the rest of them might as well enjoy the wedding.
Surely, nothing like this had ever happened at a wedding or even gmay for that matter. Someone in the back chuckled quietly. The laughter seemed to be as contagious as yawning, and soon more than a few people were trying to hide their mirth behind their hands.
Luke’s brother Matthew, one of the attendants, pulled a wad of napkins out of one pocket. He stepped back to Paul’s row and wiped up the liquid that had dribbled onto the floor and the bench. From his other pocket, he pulled a small pack of disinfectant wipes and swabbed down the whole area. He’d obviously been warned to be prepared.
The bishop waited patiently while Matthew finished cleaning. Ashley and Griff, who hadn’t moved since Ashley had spilled her bottle, watched Matthew wipe up, then stepped around the benches and went back to their seats. Griff’s cough seemed to have cured itself.
Rose glanced furtively at Josiah. He was looking right at her with a barely contained smile. He winked and lowered his eyes to the ground.
Once Paul was gone, Rose finally felt free to be totally, utterly, and wildly happy. The bishop was unruffled by the interruptions and recited the high German as if he’d been born speaking it. Lily and Dan were married first, followed by Poppy and Luke, then Rose and Josiah. The rain tapped on the roof as they took their vows, and Rose thought that the dim, cozy barn in the pouring rain couldn’t have been a more beautiful setting in which to pledge her love to Josiah.
After the service was over, they opened the barn doors, and the rain gave way to a drizzle. Men carried the benches to the large canopy that Aunt Bitsy had rented to house the wedding supper. Rose and her sisters had baked cakes for the centerpieces, with blue-and-yellow plates set at each table.
; Josiah stayed close to Rose as they left the barn. Their hands brushed once, but handholding wasn’t proper in public, even for the bride and groom. What Rose really wanted to do was throw her arms around Josiah and let him kiss her to the moon. From the look on his face, he wanted to do the same.
Aunt Bitsy followed Rose and Josiah out of the barn. She gave Rose a hug and patted Josiah’s arm. “Gute job,” she said.
Josiah bent over and gave Aunt Bitsy a kiss on the cheek. She turned red as a beet.
Luke and Poppy joined them, both looking so happy they might have been floating off the ground. Dan and Lily were right behind Luke and Poppy.
“It was a wonderful-gute wedding,” Dan said. “It’s as if all the happiness in the world is right here on the Honeybee Farm today.”
Luke grinned like Billy Idol with a mouse between his teeth. “My favorite part was Paul’s face as they closed the door on him.”
Poppy cuffed him on the shoulder. “Wasn’t your favorite part when we got married?”
He chuckled and gave Poppy a swift kiss on the cheek. If anybody saw him, nobody made a fuss about it. “Paul’s face was my second-favorite part.”
“Paul probably won’t give up,” Aunt Bitsy said. “But at least he didn’t get a chance to ruin the wedding.”
Ashley’s gold jewelry tinkled as she pushed herself into their little circle with Griff in tow. She gave Rose and her sisters a hug. “No offense, but that was the longest, boringest wedding I have ever been to. Somebody should really tell those guys they don’t need to talk so long. Nobody was even listening.”
Josiah gave Griff a firm pat on the shoulder. “You are a wonderful-gute cougher.”
Griff smiled and shuffled his feet. “I used to fake sick so I didn’t have to go to school.”
Ashley hooked her arm around Griff’s elbow. “Wasn’t he amazing? His coughing shut that guy right up.”
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