Ten Thousand Truths

by Susan White

  A shrill ringing noise interrupted their conversation. The sound was so unfamiliar that it took them a couple of seconds to realize that it was Amelia’s cell phone. When Amelia answered, she heard Jodie’s excited voice on the other end.

  “We’re engaged, Amelia! Zac and I are engaged. He asked me to marry him! I know that you’re probably surprised. It surprised us, too, when we realized our friendship had turned into love. He is so amazing, but I don’t have to tell you that, Amelia. Hurry up and get home. We have a wedding to plan!”

  “I’m over the moon!” replied Amelia. “I couldn’t have picked anyone better for you or for him. I must admit, though, that I’m not totally surprised. If wishing for something makes it come true, I have certainly been wishing for exactly this for a long time. Tell Zac he is a smart man and I am very proud of him.”

  When the ferry attendant motioned for Amelia to drive down the ramp into the underbelly of the big boat, she passed the phone to Rachel.

  “I want you to be my maid of honour, Rachel,” Jodie told her. “And tell Amelia she’d better be ready to give me away. We’re getting married beside the lake next July, as long as that’s okay with Amelia, of course. You will be in our wedding, won’t you? No matter where you choose to live, you have to be here for our wedding!”

  “Of course I will be in your wedding, Jodie,” Rachel answered. “I am so happy for you guys! We just got on the boat. We’re on our way home—I’ll see you soon!”

  Rachel and Amelia sat not speaking for a few minutes in the parked car until Rachel broke the silence. “I love you, Amelia. From the first day I came to live with you, you’ve made me feel like I belonged. I’ve been homesick ever since we left Walton Lake and I can’t wait to see Zac and Jodie. I miss Raymond and the twins, too. I just want to go home. I know Dad, Penny, and Audrey are my family, and I’m really glad they want me to live there, but I want to go home with you.”

  Amelia turned toward Rachel, tears streaming down her face. “I love you too, Rachel,” she said. “I didn’t even want to think about having to head home without you. Jodie and Zac were really worried you would stay. Raymond was freaking out on the phone last night and Chelsea told me not to let you stay. Crystal said she would let you have the biggest pig if you came home. But it had to be your choice, Rachel. If your choice is to come back home to Walton Lake, you need to know that we are all very happy about that.” She leaned across the centre console and gave Rachel a big hug. “In 1947, the Flying Wallendas perfected the seven-person pyramid on a wire thirty-five feet above ground. If they could pull that off, surely the seven of us can take our places, keep our footing steady, and work together to keep one another from falling.

  Chapter 10

  Sugar Cubes, Spiders, and Sword Fights

  “According to Roger, it hasn’t rained on July 7 for 35 years,” Jodie said as she stood looking out the kitchen window at the overcast sky. “Today’s his birthday, and apparently it’s always been sunny for his birthday. He even checked it out on the internet. But by the look of those clouds, this July 7 could be the exception to that rule.”

  “Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck,” Amelia said. “But the CBC said it was going to be hot and sunny today, so hopefully you’ll get your wedding luck a different way. A spider in the wedding dress also brings good luck. I’m sure we could get Raymond to get one of those big-bellied spiders from the chicken shed and slip it down the back of your dress if you want to be sure the sun will shine.”

  “Finnish brides go house to house with pillowcases, receiving gifts from neighbours,” Amelia continued with her wedding facts. “In Greek culture, the bride puts a sugar cube in her glove. They say it will sweeten the union.”

  “I’m not wearing gloves, Amelia.”

  “Do you want to know why the bride stands on the left of the groom?” Amelia asked Rachel as she entered the kitchen.

  “You know she is going to tell you whether you want to know or not,” Jodie teased. “But at least all her trivia is helping me stay grounded. I am losing my mind trying to remember all of the stuff I need to do today! The cheesecakes need to come out of the freezer. The caterer will be here soon and I need to tell her how I want the tables set up. I don’t know what we’ll do if it rains. The hairstylist is going to be here at ten to do everybody’s hair. I’ll go wake up the twins, and then I have to go get a shower.” She headed up the stairs toward the twins’ room.

  “Moroccan woman take a bath in milk the night before their wedding to purify themselves,” Amelia called behind her.

  “Oh, if only I had known that last night, Amelia!” Jodie called down jokingly. “You can’t be keeping important information like that from me. Now Zac is going to have to marry a bride who hasn’t soaked herself in a tub full of milk. He’ll have to settle for one that has only cleansed herself with Body Butter Coconut Scrub. Do you think there’s enough dairy in that?”

  Amelia turned to Rachel. “The bride standing on the left side of the groom dates back to the days when the groom would have to kidnap his bride and fight off other men who also wanted her. He would hold the bride back with his left hand so his right hand would be free to use his sword.”

  “I’m glad that’s not the case anymore,” Rachel laughed. “I’m not sure how good Zac is with a sword!”

  “Check it out,” Raymond said as he headed down the stairs in his tuxedo. He had grown at least a foot in the last year and hardly looked like the same kid. “I’m James Bond!”

  “You are one good-looking guy,” Rachel said, flattening down the lapel on his jacket. “Now get out of here. Roger is in the yard waiting to take you to Zac’s. The photographer is taking pictures there first. Don’t get all wrinkled.”

  Zac had made the decision to wear tuxedos for the wedding when he, Roger, and Raymond had gone looking for dress clothes a few weeks ago. “I only plan on doing this once, and I’m going to dress the part,” he’d said. Since Jason couldn’t be there to try one on, he’d sent the measurements for his tux. Luckily when they went to pick them up yesterday Jason’s had fit him, but Raymond’s had needed to be altered since he’d lost more weight and gotten taller since the first fitting. Roger had picked the new one up for him this morning.

  “Well, we can’t let the girls get all the attention!” Raymond said, bounding out the door with a huge grin on his face.

  Donald, Penny, and Audrey had arrived at Walton Lake a week ago. They’d driven a camper trailer across the country and were staying at the lake for the entire month of July. At the end of the month, Rachel was going to stand up at her dad and Penny’s marriage in front of the Justice of the Peace. They didn’t want to take away from the wedding they had come to help celebrate, but they’d really wanted Rachel to be there when they became husband and wife.

  It had been really difficult for Rachel to tell her father and grandmother that she had decided to go back to New Brunswick with Amelia, but in the year that had followed they’d all worked really hard at building strong relationships. Every Sunday night Donald would call from Golden and Rachel would talk to every single member of the family, even Aunt Victoria’s new baby, who couldn’t even talk yet.

  Jason, Megan, Logan, and little Amelia were here. too. They were staying at the Amsterdam Inn for the wedding weekend, since things were so crowded at Amelia’s, but Amelia had insisted they stay at the farm for the rest of their visit.

  The sun shone brightly in the afternoon sky. A warm breeze swept over the guests as Sam and Bud led them down the path toward the lake. Zac, Raymond, Roger, and Jason got out of Roger’s car and walked by the house quickly so Zac wouldn’t be tempted to look in and try to get a glimpse of his bride. They took their places beside Reverend Stephenson in the arbour that Roger and Zac had constructed and carefully put in place along the shore early this morning. Bud bounded back up the hill to accompany Chelsea and Crystal as they walked down to the la
ke, hand in hand, in matching yellow dresses. Their pretty red curls were swept up and crowned with strings of daisies. Rachel followed behind them wearing a long lavender dress, which matched the beautiful bouquet of pansies she clutched between her hands.

  Rachel looked at the small crowd sitting in front of her. Behind them, the wide expanse of her beloved lake was framed with dark green trees. She remembered back to her first days standing at this lake. In those days she had thought she was all alone, with no family. She’d been sure no one loved her. But now she could see Penny, Donald, and Audrey in the crowd in front of her, dabbing their eyes with tissues as they watched her walk toward them. She heard a loon cry and she looked at Jason, who smiled back at her. She thought about how he had come to this same place and had felt the same way. She turned her gaze to Raymond, who was standing tall and handsome, with such pride in his face. She saw Chelsea standing a distance away from her sister, holding baby Amelia. Crystal was sitting on the ground cross-legged with Bud’s shaggy head in her lap. She looked at Zac and watched his face light up as Jodie appeared on the hill behind her.

  Rachel took her place beside the arbor and turned to watch as Jodie and Amelia made their way down the path. They both kicked off their fancy shoes and headed down barefoot, arm in arm. When they got to the arbour, Amelia kissed Jodie’s cheek, hugged Zac, and stepped away.

  Amelia sat just behind Rachel as the ceremony began. Rachel’s mind was not on the words the minister was speaking. She was thinking instead of how it was that Amelia had brought them all together to this place. This farm at the end of the Walton Lake Road, which had been in some ways a prison for Amelia, was a place where some of the scared, sad kids that she had taken in had found freedom.

  Here she was at the lake she loved with Amelia, Jodie, Zac, Raymond, Chelsea, Crystal, Jason, Megan, Logan, little Amelia, Dad, Penny, and Nan—her family, the people she loved and who loved her. Rachel looked at the blue water and thought about going for a swim as soon as she could get out of this fancy dress. She kicked off her tight shoes and felt the sand between her bare toes.

  At the same time, Sam dropped his stick at Zac’s feet. With his eyes still fixed on his beautiful bride, Zac bent to pick it up. He raised it high above his head and threw it into the water. Everyone watched as Sam bounded in after it, knowing that one of them would be the person Sam would take his treasure to next.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks first to Terrilee Bulger and Acorn Press who have brought Ten Thousand Truths to fruition. I am thankful every day that she believed in the words of my first manuscript and had the vision to see it as a book and continues to support and encourage my writing.

  Thank you to Caitlin Drake who worked with me to shape the story. Always a pleasure to take that journey with you, Caitlin.

  Thanks to my friend Kathy who drove with me across this glorious country of ours having some of the experiences Amelia and Rachel had taking the same trip. We did not get to the Empress Hotel but we did have a great pulled pork sandwich at the Burnt Toast Café in Whitehorse.

  This book holds a piece of my great Aunt Alice who was very much like the character Amelia and nurtured me with good cooking and love in the house I brought Rachel to. This house which unfortunately is empty and falling down, now only holding apple crates and memories is a mansion in my mind and heart. It was wonderful to spend a year visiting it again in my imagination as I wrote this story.

  I am one of the world’s hugest Anne of Green Gable fans and hold Lucy Maud Montgomery in high esteem. Rachel is my Anne Shirley and Amelia Walton my Marilla Cuthbert. I applaud the author’s determination and tenacity and feel honoured to join her in the ranks of Atlantic Canada authors. May some young reader care about Rachel Garnham as much as I cared about Lucy Maud Montgomery’s famous red headed character.

  To my husband Burton who continues to be my best friend and biggest fan. (Yes, Mrs. White has another book he is going to make you buy.)