A Time to Love

by Al Lacy

  “It’s not like Lewis to be late to anything,” Todd Oliver said, “but especially not to his own wedding.”

  The door burst open, and groomsmen Harold Smith and Earl Watson came in.

  “Nobody’s seen him,” said Watson.

  As the minutes ticked by, traffic in the hall outside the bride’s dressing room was heavy.

  “Sounds like we’re going to have a crowd, honey,” Adrienne said.

  Linda nodded, biting her lip.

  There was another tap on the door, and Joline entered without waiting for someone to open the door. “She’s not there, Linda. Nobody’s seen her.”

  Adrienne noted the time and said, “It’s seven minutes to seven. In two minutes, it’ll be time for me to be escorted down the aisle.”

  Agonizing minutes passed in Pastor Lloyd Stanford’s office.

  “This is strange,” he said. “I’ve had some bizarre things happen in some of my weddings, but I’ve never had a groom late for the ceremony.” As he spoke, he went to the door that led into the sanctuary and opened it a couple of inches, peering into the beautifully decorated church. Adrienne Forrest was just being seated by an usher in the second pew.

  Stanford thought of Lewis’s parents, who had been members of the church until their deaths. He wished they could be there to see their son marry lovely Linda.

  But where was Lewis?

  From the side of his mouth, Stanford said to the other men as he swept his gaze over the guests, “The place is almost full. Just a few stragglers being seated by the ushers.”

  After another minute or so, the pastor closed the door, glanced at the clock on his office wall, and said, “Two minutes to starting time. You gentlemen stay put. I’m going to do some checking of my own.”

  At seven o’clock on the dot, Peggy Wilson left her chair behind the organ, stepped up beside Letha Myers, and said in a low voice, “Time for the first song, Letha.”

  Adrienne Forrest turned slightly to look toward the back of the church. She smiled at the couple who sat directly behind her, then caught the eye of one of the ushers and gave him a hand signal.

  Jack Morgan came immediately, bent close to her, and said, “What can I do for you, Mrs. Forrest?”

  “Jack, would you go and see if Janet is in the room with Linda? Or if she might be with the bridesmaids?”

  Morgan’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t understand, ma’am. Are you saying you want to talk to her?”

  “No, no. It’s just that she hadn’t yet arrived when I was escorted here to my seat.”

  “Oh, my!”

  “I need to know if she’s shown up.”

  “I’ll check, ma’am, and be right back.”

  Peggy was nearly halfway through her song and was a bit distracted by Jack Morgan’s return down the aisle, but kept her concentration.

  Jack bent over Adrienne and whispered, “She isn’t here, Mrs. Forrest. I checked with Mrs. Stanford. Janet hasn’t shown up.”

  “All right. Thank you.”

  Adrienne’s imagination went wild. Had Janet been injured in some way? Was she in the hospital? Or had she decided to just not show up to the wedding? Her attitude at the rehearsal last night made Adrienne think she might be pulling this stunt to spite her family. “Too wrapped up in church,” Janet had said on more than one occasion. “Not getting any fun out of life. I don’t want any of my friends to know what utter religious fanatics my parents and sister are.”

  There was nothing Adrienne could do. She dare not get up and walk to the back of the church. There was going to be enough of a stir in a few moments. No sense in causing one now.

  With Peggy’s sweet voice and the sound of the organ seeping through her dressing room door, Linda was on the verge of tears. She turned to Aunt Beth and said, “Do you suppose something has happened to Janet? You know, an accident of some kind? Maybe she’s lying hurt somewhere.”

  Beth took hold of Linda’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “I don’t mean to be ugly about this, honey, but after her performance last night at the rehearsal, I think Janet has decided to be her old self. She’s torn your heart out before. It’s my opinion that she’s tearing your heart out again—this time by not showing up for the wedding.”

  Linda bit down hard on her lower lip, and her voice was close to a wail as she said, “What am I going to do, Aunt Beth? Frank won’t have anyone to escort up the platform steps. It will mess up everything!”

  “Linda,” Beth said in a soothing tone, “we’ll get through this even if Janet doesn’t show up.”

  Peggy Wilson was singing the last verse of her song when there was a tap on the door. Linda’s heart leaped in her chest as she gasped, “Oh! Here she is!”

  Her countenance fell when she saw it was not Janet, but Doris Stanford, with the ring bearer, the flower girl, the bridesmaids, and Linda’s father standing behind her. “It’s time to line up in the vestibule, Linda,” Doris said. “We’ll have to go on without Janet.”

  Even as she spoke, Peggy finished her song, and the organ played the last few bars.

  “Someone needs to let Frank know,” Linda said, her voice tight with frustration. “He’ll have to walk down the aisle and mount the platform alone.”

  Nolan stepped closer to the door and said, “I’ll go tell Frank, Linda. But we need to get to Letha and let her know what’s going on. This will take a little time. She’s probably already wondering why we aren’t in the vestibule.”

  “I’ll do that,” said Doris, lifting her skirts and hurrying away. Nolan followed right behind her.

  Beth turned to her niece and saw that her hands were trembling and she was about to cry. Grasping both of Linda’s hands, she said, “Don’t break down now, honey. It’s going to be all right. You and Lewis will be just as married, even though your no-good sister wasn’t in the wedding.”

  Linda drew a shuddering breath and said, “Oh, Aunt Beth, how could Janet do this to me? How could she be so cruel? I’m already so embarrassed. How am I ever going to get through the ceremony?”

  “You’ll do fine, honey. You won’t even think about what Janet has done once you start down the aisle toward Lewis.”

  Several times Letha had scanned the vestibule doors, watching for Doris’s nod to start the wedding march. So far, no one from the wedding party had appeared in the vestibule, so she continued to fill in with music. Something was definitely wrong.

  Suddenly, Doris slipped through the unobtrusive door into the sanctuary beside the organ and moved up behind Letha. Peggy was seated behind the organ waiting to do her next song, and she looked at her, wide-eyed.

  Bending close to Letha’s ear, Doris said, “Janet hasn’t shown up. We’ve got to get the message to Frank, which Nolan is doing right now. Just keep playing whatever you want till I give you the signal from the vestibule.”

  Letha nodded. “Will do.”

  Nolan hurried across the back of the church and entered the hall leading to the pastor’s office. He stopped short when he saw the pastor talking to deacon chairman Ed Diamond just outside the office door.

  Pastor Stanford’s face was sheet white. He looked ill as he turned and noticed Nolan. He said something to Ed that Nolan couldn’t hear, then Ed hurried past Nolan, looking sick himself.

  “I’ve got terrible news, Nolan,” the pastor said.

  3

  DORIS STANFORD PAUSED AT THE DOOR behind the organ and looked at the wedding guests. There was an air of restless movement and the sound of whispering all over the church.

  She closed the door and hastened down the hall to the room where Linda waited. She entered to find Beth Chalmers holding her weeping niece in her arms.

  Doris moved close and laid a hand on Linda’s shoulder. “Please don’t cry, honey You’ll have your eyes all swollen. I talked to Letha, and she’s going to keep playing until I give her the signal from the vestibule to start the wedding march. As soon as your daddy gets back here, we’ll get started.”

  Linda blinked against
her tears and said, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I thought this was going to be such a happy day, but my sister has chosen to put a damper on it.”

  Beth used a hankie to dab at Linda’s tears. “Like I told you, honey, you and Lewis will be just as married without Janet in the wedding party.”

  There was a soft tap at the door, and Doris opened it to find her husband and Nolan Forrest standing there with serious expressions on their pale faces.

  “May we come in?” the pastor asked.

  Beth studied Nolan’s features as he took his daughter in his arms. “Honey, I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Daddy, what is it?” Linda asked, pulling her head back to look into his eyes.

  Doris and Beth turned to the pastor, who looked ill. He licked his lips, but said nothing.

  “Linda, I—“Nolan began.

  “Something bad has happened!” Linda gasped. “What’s happened to Janet? Daddy, is she hurt … sick … worse?”

  Nolan looked helplessly at the preacher, and Stanford moved closer under the watchful eyes of Doris and Beth. “It’s … ah … it’s not just Janet, Linda,” he said. “It’s Lewis, too. He isn’t here, either.”

  Linda’s heart started to race. Her mind went in every direction, searching for an answer to what she had just heard. “Well, th-then, there’s been some sort of dreadful accident. What in the world—Wait a minute. What am I saying? It was silly of me to say that. Lewis and Janet wouldn’t be coming to the church together. If something bad has happened, it couldn’t be to both of them. Why … why are neither one of them here? I … I—”

  “Linda,” said the pastor, “this is very difficult to say.”

  “Well, tell me, Pastor! Please! What’s happened?”

  “Lewis and Janet are together. But they’re not on their way to the church.”

  Nolan held his daughter tightly, knowing what was coming. He gave Beth a helpless look.

  “They’ve run away together, Linda,” Stanford said weakly. “They’re on their way to New York.”

  Beth sucked in a sharp breath. “Pastor, what are you saying?”

  Nolan felt his daughter’s body stiffen. Her breathing grew laborious, and her voice came out as if she were choking. “H-how do you kn-know this, Pastor?”

  Stanford rubbed the back of his neck, shifted on his feet, and said, “Ed and Frances Diamond told us they were taking Grandma to the railroad station late this afternoon to put her on a train for Philadelphia …”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, the Diamonds arrived here just a few minutes ago. I had just come out of my office to search for Lewis myself, when I saw Ed. He … he told me that he and Frances were on their way out of the depot after putting Grandma on her train, and they saw Lewis and Janet board a train for New York City together.”

  Linda became like a statue behind her veil, her eyes staring blankly.

  The pastor went on. “Ed said they were holding hands and laughing as they boarded. He and Frances watched them enter the coach and sit down, then they kissed.”

  Linda’s head went light. Her first thought was that her tired mind was playing tricks on her. The pastor couldn’t have said what she just thought she heard. Looking at her father for confirmation that it wasn’t so, she said, “D-Daddy … he … he didn’t really say Lewis and Janet are together on a train to New York … did he?”

  “Yes, honey. He did.”

  As her knees gave way, Nolan kept her from falling. “No … no,” she moaned. “Lewis loves me. He wouldn’t do that.” Her eyes took on the blank look again, and her eyelids drooped. “No. This can’t be happening. It just can’t be hap—”

  Her eyes rolled back, and she passed out. Nolan held her close, feeling a great need to sit down himself.

  “I’ll get some water,” Doris said. “It’s best, Nolan, if you lay her down on the floor.”

  As he eased Linda to the floor, he said, “Beth, would you go get Adrienne, please?”

  “Of course,” Beth said, and hurried out the door on Doris’s heels.

  Doris met the bridesmaids and other attendants in the hallway.

  “Mrs. Stanford, what’s wrong?” Joline Jensen asked. “Why is the wedding delayed?”

  “Look, girls,” Doris said, “take the children and go back into the room across the hall. Sit down and wait. All I can tell you at this moment is that the wedding is off. Just go into the room and sit down. I’ll get back to you later.”

  “The wedding is off?” echoed one of the bridesmaids. “What on earth has happened?”

  “I can’t tell you right now, Shirley. Please, just do as I’ve asked you.” With that, Doris hurried toward the kitchen at the rear of the building.

  Adrienne felt a sense of foreboding as she listened to Letha Myers playing hymns. There had to be more to this delay than Janet’s absence. It was nearly twenty minutes after seven.

  She turned to catch the eye of an usher again and felt a hand touch her shoulder. Nearly everyone in the place was looking on as Adrienne turned to see the face of her sister.

  “Come with me,” Beth whispered.

  As Adrienne got up and followed Beth to the back of the sanctuary, the low rumble of voices grew louder.

  Nolan held Linda’s head in his lap and caressed her face. “Oh, Pastor, this is horrible. My poor little girl.”

  “Bless her heart,” said Stanford. “I just don’t know what to make of Lewis.”

  “Me, neither. Janet, with that attitude of hers and the way she’s been living, I can understand. But Adrienne and I have had absolute confidence in Lewis. We thought he was such a fine Christian man and would provide for Linda and make her happy. Pastor, this is beyond anything I could have imagined. I’m at a total loss to explain it.”

  “I can’t explain it, either,” Stanford said. “Of course, the devil’s got his hand in it.”

  “Of course. But God allowed it.”

  “That’s right. He knew all along that Lewis was playing the hypocrite, and by allowing him to run off with Janet, it’s not hard to see that the Lord was saving Linda from marrying him. If she had married him, and then Lewis had run off with Janet, it would have been that much worse.”

  Nolan nodded in agreement. “I just hope we can make Linda see that.”

  Pastor Stanford started to comment but stopped as Linda began to moan and toss her head back and forth. At the same time, Doris came in carrying a cup of water.

  “She’s starting to come around,” Nolan said as Doris knelt down beside them.

  Linda’s eyes fluttered open. They were glassy with shock. “Here, honey,” Doris said. “I brought some water. Let me give you some.”

  The pastor turned his ear toward the door. The organist was still playing hymns. “Apparently Mrs. Myers knows to keep playing until further notice,” he said.

  “Yes, dear,” Doris said. “I told her to stay with it until she saw me give the signal to start the wedding march.”

  “Well, she won’t have to keep it up much longer. As much as I hate to do it, I’ve got to go out there and tell that crowd there isn’t going to be a wedding.”

  Doris gave Linda small sips of water. “They are getting restless, dear. They know something’s awry.”

  Adrienne stopped and tugged at her sister’s arm. “All right, Beth. Tell me what’s happened.”

  Without breaking stride, Beth said, “Sister, dear, your Janet and Linda’s Lewis Carter have run off together.”

  “Run off? What are you talking about?”

  “Lewis hasn’t shown up either, Adrienne. He and Janet are on a train to New York City right now.”

  “What? You’re not serious!”

  “I’ve never been more serious.”

  “How did you find this out?”

  “Ed and Frances took Grandma Diamond to the depot and put her on a train to Philadelphia.”

  “Yes, I know.”

  “They saw Janet and Lewis boarding the train to New York … even saw them kissing after they
got on and sat down together.”

  Adrienne put a hand to her mouth and stopped a few steps from the door where her daughter waited. The raw, surging emotion that swept over her made her feel nauseated. Cold sweat formed on her brow. “Beth, I … I don’t feel so good.”

  Beth gripped her sister’s hand. “Sweetie, you’ve got to hold up for Linda’s sake. She passed out when Pastor Stanford—”

  “Passed out! She passed out?”

  “Yes. Nolan and the pastor are with her. Doris was on her way to get water for her when I came after you.”

  “Oh, Beth! How terrible!”

  “I’m sure Doris is in there with the water by now. Linda will be all right.”

  Adrienne pressed fingertips to her temples and said, “You were saying that Linda passed out when Pastor something …”

  “She passed out when Pastor told her what Ed Diamond said about seeing Lewis and Janet board that train. When she comes around and the cold, hard fact hits her, she’s going to need you. You’ve got to get a grip on yourself for her sake.”

  Adrienne nodded and took a few deep breaths. “I’ll be all right in a moment. I have to. You’re right. My little girl needs me.” She blinked in confusion. “Beth, how could Lewis and Janet do such a wicked thing? I know Janet is willful, but I never dreamed she was this bad. And Lewis … who would ever think—Oh, well. I’m ready now. Let’s go in.”

  Adrienne rushed ahead of her sister and found Nolan sitting on a chair, holding Linda on his lap. Her veil lay on another chair. She had nestled her head against his chest, but there was a vacant look in her eyes.

  The pastor and Doris stood on either side of them, looking as if someone had died.

  “Oh, my baby!” Adrienne gasped as she bent over Linda and cupped her face in her hands. “Sweetheart, are you all right? Aunt Beth told me what happened.”

  Linda’s eyes lost their vacant look as she focused on her mother’s face and then reached for her.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry for what Lewis and Janet have done to you,” Adrienne said as she put her arms around her daughter.