“Come! We must go!” Tambala interrupted, shooing everyone outside.
Two new trucks waited in the street, bedecked with ribbons and streamers. Ashon was seated in the first vehicle, and the hired pastor stood in the back waving his hands about. “The Lord’s blessings to the happy couple!” he hollered. “You have been given a beautiful day as a sign of the Lord’s goodness.”
“He would say so,” Tambala grumbled. “Though it is true.”
Willard helped Mary into the front seat and climbed in after her.
“Good morning. Good morning,” Ashon greeted them. “This is a great day.”
“Yes, it is,” Mary agreed. “I am to wed Willard today.”
“Ah…he is so blessed,” Ashon gushed. “And you are so beautiful.”
Mary turned a deep red, but she still managed to tell him, “Thank you, Ashon. You are kind to say so.”
“We wait now until the food is loaded,” Ashon declared. “Then we be off.”
“Can’t forget the food,” Willard muttered.
Mary smiled sweetly at Willard. “Do I really look okay?”
“You are heaven’s bride itself,” he told her as he took her hand. They held each other tightly, and Ashon took off and headed out of town with the other vehicle behind them. Both of them blasted their horns until the edge of town was reached. With the gates of the park in front of them, silence settled over the party. The animals raised their heads to follow the progress of the procession. Ashon maneuvered across the grassland and pulled into the overlook with a flourish.
“There we are!” He hopped out.
Willard climbed down and reached back to help Mary. They stood together, close to where they had sat that day when he had first brought her here. The pastor was waving his arms again, escorting everyone into place. There were no seats, but the ceremony would be short. Mary had insisted.
“And now a wedding the American way,” the pastor began, standing in front of Mary and Willard. “We will have a Scripture reading.” He opened the Bible and read, “‘Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein…’”
Willard listened. Mary could not have chosen a better Scripture, as he could not have chosen a better wife if he had gone on a long arduous search. The gift of the Lord had been given with an open hand, even while he doubted.
“‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.’
“And now we will come to the vows,” said the pastor. “Will you, Willard Gabert, take this woman, Mary Yoder, as your wife, to love, to honor, and to hold while you have life on this earth?”
“I will,” Willard said.
The words seem to hang in the air, before they distilled across the open grassland in front of them.
Softly, Mary’s answer joined his.
FORTY-TWO
The connecting flight from New York City to Albany circled to land and lowered its wheels with a thump. Betsy flinched, seated in the window seat beside Ronald. The sound should be familiar by now. They had logged many air hours flying to Kenya and back, but she was still an Amish girl at heart. Plane travel would be forbidden to her once she ended her rumspringa and settled down in the community. In the meantime, she had to face Mamm and Daett. They would be hoping and praying that Mary had seen her mistake and was ready with her church confession, but Mary wasn’t on the plane. Mary was Willard Gabert’s frau. A worse fate than a church confession awaited her sister.
In her heart Mamm must know that Mary would not return. Mamm and Daett both knew Mary well, and surely they would see reason once Betsy explained. They would agree that Mary had been wise to wed Willard quickly and avoid a protracted struggle with Deacon Stoltzfus that could only end with Mary’s excommunication.
“Are we ready for home?” Ronald muttered from the seat beside her.
The plane wheels touched the ground with a lurch, and Betsy forced a smile. “I guess so.”
“I’ll stay a week and help you work through this,” he encouraged her. “Longer if needed.”
“Thank you,” she whispered as the plane taxied to the gate. “But I’ll be okay.”
“We still have our wedding to plan,” he teased.
“I know.” Betsy leaned against his shoulder. “You are so sweet. I’ll never forget our days in Paris. Not if I grow old enough to wither and wrinkle like a prune.”
Ronald laughed. “Spare me the image, but I’m sure you will still be the most beautiful prune in the world.”
“You are terrible. Hush!”
Mrs. Gabert had turned to give them a bright smile from the aisle seat across from them, but she couldn’t have overheard their endearments. If she had, what did it matter?
The plane parked, and the stairs were lowered. Betsy waited until Ronald was in the aisle and had taken their carry-on bags from the overhead bin. Mrs. Gabert was already on her way, and they followed.
Silently they took the short walk down the stairs and into the terminal, with the roar of the plane’s engines in their ears. Signs pointed toward the luggage carousel. Ronald took her hand, and she clung to him. The wait for their bags wasn’t long, and after Ronald grabbed the suitcases, they made their way to Mrs. Gabert’s car.
Little was said as they drove north, the stillness heavy in the automobile. Betsy rode in the front with Ronald in the back. Coming up Interstate 90, the outlines of the houses in Fort Plain took shape in the distance.
“You want to go straight to your parents’ place?” Mrs. Gabert asked.
Betsy nodded. “I’ll drive Ronald to Cousin Enos’s in the buggy afterward.”
“I hope he’s staying with you until…” Mrs. Gabert let the sentence hang.
“Yah, until,” Betsy replied.
She bit her lip. “Until” could be awhile. Until the first words had been spoken to Mamm and Daett. Until the wrath of the storm had passed. Until the evening, when Deacon Stoltzfus and Bishop Miller would arrive and hear the news. Until Sunday, when Mary’s excommunication would be declared.
Mrs. Gabert’s car slowed as they approached the familiar driveway and turned in to park beside the barn. The door flew open, and Daett appeared. He hesitated until Mamm came out of the house and hurried down the snowy walkway toward them. Ronald gave Betsy’s shoulder a quick squeeze before he climbed out of the backseat.
“Can I pay you for the drive in from the airport?” Betsy offered. “And for the other things you have done?”
Mrs. Gabert patted Betsy’s arm. “Just be kind to your parents and remember they are hurting. I am the one who owes your family, not the other way around.”
Daett arrived at Mrs. Gabert’s window. “Goot morning.”
“Good morning, Mr. Yoder,” Mrs. Gabert replied.
“Thanks for bringing our daughters back from Kenya,” he told her.
Silence fell. Daett had to see that Mary wasn’t along, but perhaps he thought Mary had stayed down at Mrs. Gabert’s place with Willard. Daett stroked his beard, his face fallen. Was the storm to begin before Mrs. Gabert could leave?
“Just go, dear.” Mrs. Gabert touched Betsy’s arm.
Betsy forced her legs to move, and she exited the vehicle. She stayed frozen in place while Mrs. Gabert’s car disappeared down the hill toward town.
Daett’s voice was like a thunderclap. “Where is Mary?”
Mamm stood a few feet behind Daett with her face buried in her apron. Clearly her parents expected the worst.
Thankfully, Ronald slipped to Betsy’s side and took her hand. “Maybe we can discuss this inside,” he suggested.
“Discuss what?” Daett demanded. “Tell me where Mary is.”
“Look!” Ronald held out both of his hands. “A lot of things have happened in the weeks we have been gone. Mary has made her choice, and that can’t be changed�
��but let’s not plunge into the end of the story before you have heard the beginning.”
Mamm moaned. “I knew it. She married the man. Just up and married him! Tell me at least that my daughter is okay.”
“She’s okay, Mamm,” Betsy managed.
“But I want to see her!” Mamm’s voice rose higher.
“Stop this, Mandy.” Daett laid his hand on Mamm’s arm. “We’d best leave this for Deacon Stoltzfus and Bishop Miller.”
“She’s not coming back,” Ronald added.
“She’s married!” Mamm shrieked. “My daughter has left us.” With another cry, she muffled her sobs with her apron.
Daett’s face had paled. “So Mary really did marry this Englisha man? Your mamm told me she might, but I didn’t want to believe it.”
“Yah.” Betsy tried to move, but her feet didn’t seem to work at the moment.
“We should go inside and talk this through,” Ronald said. “This is not a fitting place to break this news.”
Daett appeared not to hear. “Deacon Stoltzfus must be told at once!” he declared. He turned and headed toward the barn.
Mamm let out a loud cry and ran to the house with her apron flying.
“I’m so sorry,” Betsy told Ronald. “I thought I would do better with this.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” he comforted her. “My method didn’t work either. There is apparently no discussing this matter in a civilized and decent manner.”
“Don’t blame Mamma and Daett,” Betsy begged. “Anyone in the community would have acted this way.”
Ronald agreed with a long sigh. “You are right.” He moved their suitcases to the side of the lane. “What are we supposed to do now?”
As if in answer, Daett appeared with his hand on the bridle of their family driving horse. He hurried the animal across the barnyard toward the buggy.
Ronald stepped forward to help, but Daett waved him away. “I will do this myself, son.” Without a sideways glance, Daett completed the task, hopped in the buggy, and dashed out of the lane.
“So much for that,” Ronald muttered.
“I can’t believe this,” Betsy moaned. “Their reaction was much worse than I imagined.”
Ronald placed an arm around her shoulder. “You didn’t do anything wrong, dear. What was the right thing to say? We’ve never been through this before.”
“We should go in and speak with Mamm,” Betsy suggested.
“Speak with her?” Ronald peered down at her. “I’ll get thrown out of the house. Your daett wouldn’t even let me help him with the horse.”
“He called you ‘son,’” Betsy told him. “Count your blessings. Daett is in shock.”
“I guess he did say that. Come. Let’s go in.”
Hand in hand, they approached the front door to hear Mamm’s loud sobs coming from the living room. Betsy entered to find Mamm seated on the couch with a pillow pressed to her face.
“Mamm, please?” Betsy begged, slipping in to sit by her side.
“My daughter is married to an Englisha man,” she wailed. “Thank the Lord we had the presence of mind to send Gerald away for the day. He was spared this awful moment when we learned the news.”
“Mary is…she’s so happy…” Betsy wanted to give up. What was the use?
“We understand what you are feeling,” Ronald tried again, standing in front of the women. “If there had been another way, she would have chosen it.”
Mamm moved the pillow away from her face. “She must have had this all figured out before she left. How could she not tell us?”
“That’s not true,” Betsy retorted.
“Then what is true?” Mamm sobbed. “My daughter has left the community, and I’m acting like a woman who can’t control herself. We told Mary not to go over there. We tried. The community tried, and we failed.”
Ronald pulled up a chair and sat in front of them. “I would like to tell you the story, Mandy. I know it’s not what we are used to, but hear me out. I think I have the right, since I plan to marry your daughter.”
“You are jumping the fence with Betsy?” Mamm’s face had lost all color. “I had my heart prepared for…but not both of you together.”
“We’re not leaving.” Betsy pulled on Mamm’s arm. “Listen to what Ronald has to say.”
Mamm appeared uncomprehending. “You’re not leaving?”
Just tell her, Betsy mouthed toward Ronald.
He nodded. “Mary has a true heart, Mandy. She really does. I wouldn’t say that just to comfort you or ourselves. I’ve been out there in the world, and I don’t want the problems they have. That’s why I’ve come back, and why I plan to marry Betsy. We will live in the community, perhaps even here in the valley for a few years, now that…” Ronald paused for a second. “You may not find that a comfort at the moment, but at least listen to what I have to say. I was there in Nairobi, and I saw Mary struggle through her decision. She wanted to find the Lord’s will. Maybe I should judge more harshly, but I can’t bring myself to do that. I saw too much, and Mary is acting out of an honest heart. She wanted to see what Willard’s life was like and whether she could fit in it. And from our first day in Kenya, I could see plainly that Mary’s heart grew larger and fuller as she considered working at the mission with Willard.”
“Don’t say these things.” Mamm sat with her hands clasped on her lap, but at least her sobs had ceased.
Betsy nodded encouragingly to Ronald, and he went on. “Willard runs a mission for boys from the streets of Nairobi, but you already know that. We stayed there and got to see firsthand the work that he does. There are many boys who are truly being helped. Mary felt that she couldn’t walk away from that ministry to them, and she loves Willard.”
“She really does,” Betsy seconded.
“Tell me about the wedding,” Mamm whispered.
Betsy stared at Ronald. Mamm wanted to know about the wedding?
Ronald spoke softly. “She wore a simple white dress. A long, flowing traditional dress, I think, with local symbols embroidered on the edges. We had breakfast at the mission and then traveled in two trucks to a park outside of Nairobi, where Mary exchanged her vows with Willard on a little overlook. Giraffes, zebras, deer, and other creatures from the park were below us. It was lovely. It really was. I wish you could have been there.”
“I wish so too,” Mamm said, but her face hardened when Daett’s buggy pulled back into the driveway.
Ronald stood.
Mamm tottered to the front door. Rachel and Annie rushed in, with Deacon Stoltzfus and Bishop Miller close behind them. Mamm appeared ready to collapse, but Rachel steadied her and helped her back to the couch.
Bishop Miller took off his hat. “What have you two got to say for yourselves?” he demanded.
Betsy would have fallen to the living room floor if Ronald hadn’t lent his steady hand.
“We are merely messengers,” Ronald said simply.
The bishop nodded. “Well, then. We have a lot to discuss with Mary’s parents.” Bishop Miller motioned toward the front door, clearly dismissing Ronald and Betsy.
“I’m taking Ronald back to Cousin Enos’s place,” Betsy called over her shoulder on the way out the door.
No one seemed to hear.
Ronald helped her into Daett’s buggy. He drove as they pulled out of the lane.
“Will you be okay?” Ronald asked.
“I’ll be okay.” Betsy smiled up at him. “Thanks for what you told Mamm.”
Ronald grunted. “The bishop should be gone by the time you get back.”
“I suppose so. But we have a long journey ahead of us. Do you think there will be peace between Mamm and Daett and Mary someday?”
“There has to be peace.”
She leaned against him on the buggy seat, the strength of his arm against her face. He held fast to the reins as Danny Boy’s hooves beat steadily on the pavement beneath them.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What was your first impre
ssion of Josiah Beiler when Mary and Betsy met him? Would your conclusions have lined up with Betsy’s or Mary’s?
2. Could you identify with Mary and her dream of home and family nestled in the peaceful valley under the shadow of the Adirondacks?
3. Have you experienced a heartbreak similar to Mary’s when Josiah broke off the relationship? What advice would you have given Mary?
4. Have you known a person like Mrs. Gabert, who took a grandchild into her home? How did his or her experiences compare to raising Willard?
5. Describe Willard’s state of mind when he first met Mary. Do you know anyone who has walked through bitterness and found their way to healing?
6. Betsy was determined to leave the community at the first opportunity, but do you think her heart was in the effort?
7. Trace Mary’s caring heart through the story, from her understanding of Betsy to her compassion for Stephen Overholt. Were you surprised when Mary was able to help Stephen? How did Mary’s character fit with Willard’s needs on the mission field?
8. As Mary opened her heart to Willard, were you on Mary’s side? On the community’s side? Did both have reasons for how they felt?
9. What advice would you have given Mary’s family when they learned of their daughter’s romantic attraction to Willard Gabert?
10. How do you think this story will continue in the years ahead when Mary returns from Kenya with Willard for a family visit?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jerry Eicher’s Amish fiction has sold more than 800,000 copies. After a traditional Amish childhood, Jerry taught for two terms in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois. Since then he’s been involved in church renewal, preaching, and teaching Bible studies. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina, in Virginia.
A Beautiful Rose, like True Love, Never Fades
Esther Stoltzfus considers herself to be down-to-earth, the way most Amish women do. Her marriage to her now-deceased husband was one borne out of practicality, and Esther sees no reason why God won’t replace what He was taken away.
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