by Jerry Eicher
“Which stall?” he asked, reaching for the bridle.
“I’ll come with you,” she said, and brought a flashlight out from under her buggy seat. He had forgotten his own. He was losing his mind. To cover his confusion, he clucked to the horse and led the way forward.
She opened the barn door, and the horse was soon in his stall, with a generous scoop of oats dumped in his bucket. They left him munching happily.
“Can we sit on the porch again?” Mary asked, the soft glow of the moonlight on her face. “I really don’t have anything inside to eat.”
“The porch is fine,” he said, and followed her up the steps.
“I should tell Lavina we’re here,” Mary said, and vanished into the house.
He seated himself, the chains squawking above him.
She was back in a moment, carrying a blanket. “In case it gets chilly.”
He took the side she offered him, brushing her fingers. Her presence was a comfort he had never imagined could grip his soul.
“It’s lovely out here,” she said, her hand finding his again.
“It is,” he agreed as they swung slowly in the moonlight.
CHAPTER 25
MARY WAITED BESIDE THE BUGGY AT THE HOCHSTETLERS’ HOME two Sunday evenings later, while Marcus tied his horse to the hitching post. There were brownies and chocolate chip cookies in the cupboard. Both had been made fresh on Saturday. There was plenty of milk in the refrigerator. Leon had seen to that, eager to do his part to make the couple comfortable.
“That man’s coming again,” Leon had teased her while he was passing through the kitchen.
Lavina had shooed him on his way.
She was prepared tonight for her second date with Marcus. As usual, Marcus hadn’t been in a rush. He had asked for another date in two weeks. She would gladly have agreed to one the following Sunday night, but they weren’t dating steady yet, even if the community had long considered them a couple. She would have to accept that Marcus did things at his own pace.
Mary’s gaze lingered on Marcus’s broad shoulders as he pulled the blanket from the back of the buggy and carefully covered his horse. The moon was high in the sky, a half sliver compared to the glorious full moon which had celebrated their first date. The moon would be near the horizon by the time Marcus left at midnight. Two Sunday evenings ago they had sat on the porch swing under a blanket until eleven, simply enjoying each other’s presence and the freshness of their status, getting used to the reality that they were finally together. For the last hour they had spent the time inside on the couch, playing checkers, which Marcus was good at, beating her three times in a row.
The next morning Leon had been full of teasing advice. “Don’t feed him too much,” he had warned, with a twinkle in his eye, “or kiss him more than once.”
“Don’t pay him mind,” Lavina had told her.
Lavina had no objections to a display of affection between the two of them, but kissing took the consent of two people, and Marcus moved slowly.
“There!” Marcus proclaimed, the blanket finally secured. “That should keep him warm.”
She moved closer and took his hand. “Come. I have brownies inside.”
“That sounds delicious,” he said.
“I would have had something the last time, but you gave me no warning.”
“You do enough cooking for me during the week.”
“But this calls for special food,” she chided, and leaned against his shoulder.
She didn’t dare show this kind of affection at the Yoders’ house when Mose was around, but now it felt natural. She looked up into his face and squeezed his hand.
“We should sit on the porch swing again,” he said, “but it’s a little chilly.”
“You’re coming inside.” She pulled on his hand, and he followed. She held the front door open for him and motioned towards the couch. “Wait until I bring the food.”
He didn’t object, settling down when she left.
“Hope you like these,” she told him upon returning.
“You know I love your cooking.” He took a brownie. “There is no doubt there.”
She wanted to ask him if any doubt remained about their relationship, but didn’t dare. He seemed to have fully made up his mind. Nothing that she had seen in the past weeks, either at the schoolhouse when Marcus stopped by or at the Yoders’ home on the evenings she cooked supper for the two men, gave an indication otherwise.
“How are my siblings doing in school?” he asked, changing the subject. “Since they moved out I feel like I hardly see them.”
“Goot, as always.”
“I miss them,” he said.
“Of course, but is it also a relief to know they’re being well cared for elsewhere?”
“I suppose so,” he said, sober-faced. “I think I’ve lumped together love and responsibility in my mind for a long time now. It feels weird to love them without having to take care of them, you know?”
“Makes perfect sense.” Mary nodded, grateful that he could share that with her. “You should visit your mam more often.”
“I should,” he agreed. “In fact, Mam said the same thing this past Sunday. She invited me to join them on Saturday evenings for supper.”
“Now nice!”
“I know.” He laughed. “Between your cooking and Mam’s, there is no chance I’ll get thin.”
“I will make certain of that.” She offered him another brownie. “There are chocolate chip cookies in the cupboard.”
“Have you decided about Christmas?” he asked, an unusual urgency in his voice.
“Ah . . . not really. With us dating, I don’t feel like leaving, but on the other hand, my family will be offended if I don’t come home.”
“You aren’t ready to get rid of me yet?”
She slapped his arm. “Don’t even tease me on that subject. Why don’t you come with me? That way I don’t have to make a difficult decision.”
“Are you ready for that?”
“For what? For letting people know that you are my boyfriend? I already wrote and told Mam.”
“But seeing is believing.”
“I don’t have doubts, if that’s what you mean.”
“Neither do I,” he said. “I should come along.”
Silence settled around them for a moment. “We’ve come a long way, you know,” she whispered.
“I was a fool that first day,” he said. “I’m sorry about that.”
“And I was rude and ungrateful,” she said somberly. Then, after a moment of silence, “I’m using my shimmering luggage for the trip home.”
He grinned. “You’re not going to make this easy for me.”
“No, because that’s who I am.”
He nodded. “That’s who I fell in love with, turquoise blue suitcase and all.”
She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him a thousand times for saying that, but instead she sat on the couch with her hands tightly clasped. “So you would really come?”
“Why not?”
“I want you to come. I did ask.”
“Will your family like me?”
“They will love you. My sisters will trip over themselves admiring you. I can hear them gushing now.”
He appeared quite interested. “Things like what?”
“How handsome you are. How manly and mature. They will think I did well.”
“Your sisters would say that?”
“Believe me, they would.”
“But I’m not handsome.”
Mary gave him a baleful stare. “Don’t kid yourself.”
“At least you must think so. That’s a comfort.”
She wanted to hug him again, and run her hand over his freshly shaven chin, which would soon be sprouting a full-length beard if she had anything to say about things. She had tradition on her side. Amish men were required to wear a beard once they said their wedding vows.
“To a happy Christmas journey then.” Marcus swallowed the l
ast of his brownie, and washed it down with a long swig of milk.
“I’ll write a letter tomorrow and tell Mam we are coming.”
“And I’ll find someone to help Mose with the chores while I’m gone.”
“Are you ready for chocolate chip cookies?”
“Maybe later.” Marcus settled back into the couch.
Mary gathered up the plate and empty glasses. “I’ll be right back.”
He nodded, lost in thought, apparently thinking about the trip to her community. “You will make a great impression,” she assured him.
He smiled, his concentration unbroken.
Mary left him to his thoughts.
Marcus sat on the couch, listening to the clinking of plates in the kitchen. Mary would be back in a moment, but he was still thinking about the trip to her home community. Something niggled at him, but he couldn’t pin down the thought. If Mary took him along, she was obviously serious about the relationship. He knew that already, so hesitation on Mary’s part was not the problem. Once they arrived there would be plenty of questions asked about him. Mary was deeply loved in her home community, and everyone would want to know what his reputation was. He didn’t expect any problems. Mary didn’t have any boyfriends from former relationships, so there would be no disgruntled objections from jilted lovers. Something else bothered him though, and he figured it out about the time Mary returned and took her seat beside him on the couch.
“We should take care of something before we make the trip,” he said.
Her face fell.
“No, nothing like that.” He took her hand tenderly in both of his.
“What is it then?” She managed to smile.
“I’m not bringing up any doubts that I have, unless you object to what I am going to ask you. That would be bad.”
“You’re scaring me.”
“Don’t be scared,” he said. “I think you should have something more to tell your parents and anyone else who asks about me than that you are dating me.”
She stared at him. “Okay. I’m waiting.”
“I would like to see you each Sunday evening from now on.”
“So I could tell them that you are my steady?”
“If you want to be?”
“I would love that,” she said, appearing pale.
“You would?”
“Of course. Why do you have to question?”
“I don’t want to rush things.”
She looked ready to wrap her arms around his neck.
“You aren’t rushing things,” she said. “But I am willing to wait.”
For what? he almost asked, but he knew the answer. A quick look in her eyes told him that much. He had not been fair with Mary, making her wait so long for a proper date when, by all appearances to the rest of the community, they’d been a couple for months. She was different from him, exuberant and outgoing, and impulsive. He had been selfish to expect her to wait, and yet she had done so with patience and grace.
Her fingers moved in his hand. “I am so proud of you,” she said. “How well you are handling the changes in your life—your mam’s marriage, the farm thrown on your shoulders, the loss of your family—so quickly.”
“They haven’t gone too far,” he said.
She ignored the objection. “You are a great man. You bore a heavy burden in your youth, and it didn’t break you. Your heart was wounded, but you were willing to open that wound and find total healing.” She gave a little laugh. “And you were open to me, the biggest upset you could have imagined.”
“Mary.” He tried to stop her. “Don’t say those things.”
“I will say them.” A glint filled her eyes. “I will say them because they are true, and someone must say them. I will always admire you, as I have never admired a man. You have given me the answer to my dreams, when I hadn’t even dreamed them.”
A great well of emotion rose up inside of him, for this woman, this strange and wonderful creature who had brought such joy to his life. He loved her as he had never loved anything in life. He wanted to show her how much she meant to him, how her words healed the deep crevices of his heart that still ached from the loss of his father. She was like healing waters on a hot summer day, when strength returned to the body and even the soul seemed to right itself.
Her lips were still moving, but he didn’t hear anything. He saw only her, and a deep thankfulness filled his heart. A desire stirred inside of him, a desire which followed his thankful heart, as naturally as the moon followed the setting of the sun, as if things had always been this way.
He reached for her, his fingers gentle on her face. She moved towards him on the couch, melting into his arms.
“Marcus,” she whispered.
He silenced her with his lips on her mouth, and kissed her again and again.
EPILOGUE
LESS THAN A YEAR LATER, MARY STOOD IN FRONT OF THE BEDROOM mirror in her parents’ old farmhouse with the flickering light of two kerosene lamps on the dresser beside her. Esther was placing the last pin into the belt of her wedding dress, and Lois was fussing with a string of loose hair falling out from beneath her white head covering.
Phoebe was fluttering about, viewing the progress from various angles.
“It’s goot enough,” Mary muttered to the three of them.
Her sisters ignored her.
“There,” Esther declared, and stepped back to evaluate the dress. “Marcus will be much impressed.”
“He’s already impressed,” Lois giggled. “I still can’t believe our little sister has found such a besotted husband.”
“You know it was bound to happen,” Phoebe said. “The youngest are the prettiest and fall the hardest.”
“Would you all be quiet?” Mary snapped. “The Lord led us and changed both of our hearts, and that’s that.”
“Just listen to her talk,” Esther said, as if Mary wasn’t in the room. “All our handsome men here in the community, and she has to travel somewhere else to find someone better.”
“She got something better,” Lois said. “You have to agree to that.”
“I admit that reluctantly,” Phoebe said.
“Stop it,” Mary ordered.
They ignored her.
Esther was glaring at Phoebe. “You seemed quite impressed last Christmas when Mary showed up with Marcus in tow. Not much reluctance that I could see.”
“Well, I had to admit the obvious,” Phoebe said.
“He is quite handsome,” Lois added.
“Are we done here?” Mary waved with both hands. “I have had enough. I can’t breathe.”
She rushed over to the window and undid the latch to push the frame upward. A warm breeze drifted inside, with a distant smell of fallen leaves and fresh-blown ground. The Lord had given her a glorious, sunny day for her wedding, as if to press home the point that His blessing truly was granted to her union with Marcus as husband and wife.
“Just look at her,” Phoebe muttered. “Was I that lost in love?”
“Pretty much,” Esther said. “I guess we all were.”
“And still are,” Lois said quietly.
Mary turned from the window and opened her arms. “My dear sisters, even though I had to run away from you to get married, I’m back, and I couldn’t live without you.”
“Then why are you moving to southern Ohio after the wedding?” Esther asked.
“Because that’s where my husband lives,” Mary said, tasting the word in her mouth. “My husband, or rather, soon to be husband.”
“By twelve o’clock or so,” Lois said. “Sure you don’t want to change your mind?”
Mary slapped her playfully on the arm. “Thank you, all three of you, for helping me this morning, and for the work you have done on the wedding, and for . . .” Tears stung her eyes. “For being my sisters.”
“Ah, she does love us,” Esther said, taking Mary in her arms. “Our dear, dear little sister. How the Lord has blessed you with a wunderbah husband. We wouldn’t want it any
other way, and even when you live far, far away, you must come to visit, and we will visit you.”
“Don’t make it sound so dramatic.” Mary wiped away the tears. “I’ll only be a few hours south.”
“What trash heap is this new husband of yours going to make you live in?” Lois asked playfully.
“Enough,” Mary almost shouted. “Marcus lives on his deceased dat’s farm, and it’s no trash heap.”
“Just checking,” Phoebe said. “It’s the handsome ones who pull the wool over your eyes.”
“Are you speaking for yourself?” Mary shot back.
Phoebe laughed and gave Mary a hug. “I’ll be down myself before long, maybe spring. Albert thinks we could make the trip after the planting. We’ll see the place for ourselves, and this community that stole our little sister.”
Lois was the last one to give Mary a hug, and held her the longest. “May the Lord’s richest blessings be on you, little one. I couldn’t have chosen a better husband for you if I had looked through a dozen communities.”
“I thought so.” Mary sniffled and searched for a handkerchief in the drawer. “I’ll have my wedding dress soiled before too long.”
Esther sprang into action, waving her hand about to dry any errant tears and searching for splatters on the dress.
“I was joking,” Mary muttered. “I am being careful.”
Her sisters ignored her, doing a final inspection before they left the room.
“You look perfect,” Phoebe declared. “I guess we should have done our hugging before dressing the bride.”
“Like such things can be scheduled.” Lois held open the bedroom door. “Shall we go?”
Her three sisters also had tears in their eyes, even though they hid them well. Mary followed Lois out into the hall and down the stairs. Mam was in the kitchen when they arrived, and flanked by the threesome, she was presented with a flourish.
“Our bride of the day,” Phoebe said, doing a fake bow.
Everyone laughed, but Mam was crying at the same time. “Here I thought this day would never come, but the Lord has had mercy upon an old woman. I shall die with all my daughters married to decent husbands.”