<><><>
Brianna glanced around her old bedroom, taking in her surroundings, thankful to have some time to herself. It was so familiar, yet seemed so far away. Her memories had not come rushing back like she thought they would. Instead, things just seemed vaguely familiar.
On her large bed was a beautiful silk comforter in deep red. Matching valances hung in the two windows. A door led to a small bathroom and another one to a large walk-in closet. Her mother had informed her that all her clothing had been boxed up. She looked into some of the boxes and pulled out an outfit, trying it on. She stared at herself—Brianna—in a full-length mirror that hung on the closet door. The jeans and sweater felt so different than the cape dresses she’d become so accustomed to wearing.
She looked at some pictures that were held in various frames on the dresser. Her mother had informed her of who was in the photos. She, with her father, mother, and sister stood in front of the Statue of Liberty when she was twelve years old. She and Heidi sat near where the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center once stood. She and Carson in a strip of black and white photos from a photo booth. He was good-looking, she had to admit. But he definitely wasn’t Luke.
She allowed herself to sink down into her old bed, and she wept into her pillow. These circumstances that had become her reality were so overwhelming. God, I need You!
Would she and Luke ever be the same again? Was he still upset that she wasn’t who he’d thought she was? Did he still believe she was just an imposter?
Perhaps God could work this for good somehow. She knelt beside her bed and began to pray fervently.
A knock on the door interrupted her prayer. She sighed, wiping her tears, and then opened the door.
Luke?
<><><>
Luke’s breath was stolen away the moment the door to Brianna’s bedroom opened. There stood his wife, so beautiful, so enticing, and yet so disheartened. Oh, if he could only take back the words he’d last spoken to her! He’d failed her. As a husband. As a confidant. As a friend.
He’d prayed the whole trip over here, begging God to place forgiveness in her heart. Oh, how he missed her.
Would she even want to come back to him? Or now that she knew she was Englisch, would she want to stay here in the city with her real family? Uncertainty filled his heart. Had he ruined everything?
“Brianna?” He opened his hopeful arms and released an anxious sigh when Brianna melted into him. He kissed the top of her head and held her tight, never wanting to let her go.
“Please forgive me,” his voice quavered.
Brianna looked into his eyes, but couldn’t speak for the tears. Were they tears of joy? A moment later, she responded, “Oh, Luke! I…I didn’t think you still wanted me.”
Her stark words tore at his heart.
“I’m sorry, Lieb. I’m so sorry. I want you. Of course, I want you. I can’t imagine being without you.” He pressed his mouth to hers, and she deliciously returned his fervent kisses. “Come home with me.”
<><><>
Chapter 23
Dying for some fresh air, Elisabeth now sat on the front steps of the Mitchells’ upscale suburban home. It was every bit as fancy as the home Carson lived in. She could see how Brianna’s and his families would have a lot in common, unlike her and Carson. Not that her family was dirt poor, but their worlds just seemed so far apart—the childrearing issue being only one difference.
She knew now that she’d never go back to being Amish. But what if she decided she couldn’t live in The Big Apple? The trip back to Lancaster made her realize that she was a country girl through and through. Her apartment already felt too confining. There were so many things to think about.
Carson popped his head out the door. “I thought I’d find you out here.”
“I needed some fresh air,” she stated.
Carson joined her on the steps. “Isn’t it great that Brianna and Luke were able to work things out?” He waited for her response.
“Yes. It’s wonderful. I guess I messed things up for them.” Elisabeth sighed.
“Not really. God has a way of making things turn out. If you hadn’t shown up in Pennsylvania, Brianna’s disappearance would still be a mystery. Her family is thankful to have her back—even if she is Amish now.” He chuckled. “Never in a million years would I have imagined Brianna becoming Amish. At least Luke knows his wife’s real name now.”
“I guess people change.” She shrugged.
“Yes, they do.” Carson took Elisabeth’s hand in his. “That is why I went to Pennsylvania to find you. I—or I guess I should say God—changed my mind about having children. Pastor Bill helped me to see that I need to trust God in every aspect of my life, including the childbearing department. The world is so different when viewed through the light of God’s Word.”
“Yes, it is,” she agreed.
Carson pulled the ring out of his pocket and held it in his hand. “If you’ll have me, I’d still like to become your husband.” He held out the ring for her to take.
She stared down at the ring. “So you don’t mind having fifteen children?” She eyed him suspiciously.
“That’s a lot. But if that’s what the Lord wants, then no, I don’t,” he insisted.
“But what about other things? We’re just so different. What if I want to live in the country?” she protested.
“What if I want to live in the country?” He raised his eyebrows.
“You do?” She waited for his answer. “Really?”
Carson nodded again. “I wouldn’t mind. After visiting your home, I can see how you’d want to live in a similar environment.”
She looked down at the ring in Carson’s hand and smiled. “I’d love to marry you.”
Carson leaned over and kissed her, and then placed the ring back on her finger. “What do you think about eloping?”
“Eloping? Are you serious?” Her eyes widened. “But I already have my dress.”
“Which makes it perfect. You can wear your dress. We can invite whoever you’d like. But let’s not wait until spring. I’d like to get married before Christmas. What do you say?” He smiled hopefully.
“But what about Hawaii?” she argued.
“The tickets are refundable, but I think all we need to do is change the date. We’d be going sooner. And the weather in Maui is nice all year round.” He came close and whispered in her ear, “We could be on our honeymoon two weeks from now.”
“I say yes,” she answered with the calmest voice she could muster.
“You say yes?” Carson repeated excitedly.
She wrapped her arms around him, faced him nose to nose, and smiled. “Yes!”
<><><>
Luke grabbed the pitchfork and climbed the ladder to the haymow. He removed four flakes of alfalfa from the bale, and then descended the ladder in record speed. After plunking a forkful of hay down for Popcorn, the mare that pulled the buggy, he moved on to Gladiator’s stall.
A shrill ring broke through the wintry silence and Luke ambled out to the phone shanty, trudging through the snow. They didn’t receive many calls and when they did, it was usually regarding something important. He picked up the receiver and answered.
“Hello, may I speak with Brianna Beiler please?” the professional sounding female voice asked.
Luke smiled. He still loved hearing his wife’s name in conjunction with his surname. “Jah. I will get her. You will have to wait a little bit, because she is in the house.”
Luke ran back up to the house and spotted his wife in the kitchen. He noticed it would take Brianna a while to don her snow boots since she was wearing her normal footwear. Without a word, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her outside.
Brianna laughed after she caught her breath. “Whatever are you doing, Luke?”
He smiled as he tromped through the fresh powder, carrying her in his strong arms. “You have a telephone call. I thought it would be faster this way.”
“Who is it?”
“I don�
�t know. They didn’t say and I didn’t ask.” He shrugged, and then set her down inside the shanty.
Brianna picked up the line. “Hello. This is Brianna.”
“Hello, Brianna. This is Norma Hutchins calling from Saint Luke’s Hospital.” The woman paused.
Brianna covered the mouthpiece and waved Luke closer. “It’s Saint Luke’s Hospital.”
He looked at her in concern, and then placed his ear next to hers so he could listen to the conversation.
“The reason I called is to inform you of your test results,” the nurse said.
“I already received the test results,” Brianna informed the woman. “They confirmed that I was anemic.”
“Yes, that’s correct. But in light of your pregnancy, the doctor is recommending an iron supplement,” Norma stated. “I think he failed to mention that at your appointment. It was an oversight and I apologize.”
Luke and Brianna stared at each other in confusion.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think I heard you correctly. Could you repeat what you just said?” Brianna asked.
“I said in light of your pregnancy—”
“I’m sorry, you must be mistaken.” Brianna hung her head. “I’m not pregnant. I’m not able to have children. The doctor told me that I’m incapable of conceiving.”
Luke frowned and pulled his wife close, attempting to comfort her.
“No. I have the results right here in front of me. You are Brianna Beiler, correct?”
“Yes.”
“The urine sample you left us indicates that you are definitely pregnant,” Nurse Norma said emphatically.
Brianna’s eyes widened and Luke smiled. “I…I am?”
“Yes, without a doubt. But if you’d like to check for yourself, you can take a home pregnancy test. I’m sure it will confirm our results. These tests are ninety-nine point nine percent accurate,” the nurse asserted.
“Oh, wow. I’m pregnant!” She dropped the phone, smiled, jumped up and down, and kissed Luke. “Luke, I’m in the familye way! We’re going to have a boppli!”
Luke took her into his arms and kissed her back. “Yes, I guess we are.”
“Uh, hello?” the phone called out.
Luke quickly picked up the phone. “Hi. I’m sorry. My wife’s just a little excited. We will make sure that she gets plenty of iron. Thank you for calling.” He hung the phone back onto its cradle.
“Can you believe it, Luke? Our very own boppli!” Brianna was overjoyed.
Luke scooped Brianna back up into his arms. A tear glistened in his eye. “With all that God has done in our lives, I can believe anything. I have been blessed beyond measure.”
<><><>
Epilogue
Thanksgiving Day, seven years later…
Brianna shifted the sleeping infant in her arms and pulled the blanket around the small bundle tighter. A buzzer sounded in the kitchen and she rose to take baby Beth to her father on the couch.
Carson smiled fondly and received his tiny little girl. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to hold her longer?”
Brianna smiled as Elisabeth looked tenderly at her daughter and husband. Who would have thought they’d already have six children after only seven years of marriage? “No, I have to take the turkey out of the oven. Jacob and Rachel should be arriving with their little ones any moment. Perhaps you, Luke, and Jacob can take all our kinner outside to play until the rest of the dinner is ready.” She asked Carson.
“That sounds like fun. I think I’ll join Luke outside in just a bit. Right now I want to cherish this one a bit longer.” Carson smiled and wrapped his arm around Elisabeth, cradling the baby in his other arm.
“I always knew you’d make a good daddy.” Elisabeth leaned over and kissed her husband’s cheek.
The back door blew open and Luke bustled in with Jacob, Rachel, and their three kinner. The children shot out of the kitchen in short order, probably in search of their cousins.
“Somethin’ smells appeditlich, Schweschder!” Jacob bellowed as he wrapped Brianna in a hug.
“Hey now,” Luke warned teasingly. “She’s not your sister, but she is my wife. Hands off.”
Jacob smiled, holding up his hands in mock surrender, and then chuckled. “Well, now that I think of it, that might work out gut. Since we’re not related in any way, our kinner could marry someday.”
“Yes, but since they’re so close, they’ll think they’re cousins and they won’t want to.” Rachel smiled and set a casserole on the counter. She placed a hand on her rounded belly. Baby number four was expected to arrive in two months.
Brianna turned around and placed a large knife in Jacob’s hand. “Denki, Bruder, for volunteering to carve the turkey.”
“But I didn’t—” Jacob protested.
“Now, now, Jacob. Think of the benefits. You get to be the first one to taste test the bird.” Brianna nonchalantly removed the knife from his hand and shrugged, hiding a wry smile. “Unless, of course, if you don’t know how to do it…”
“Give that back to me.” He grabbed the knife.
“Hey, what’s all the commotion in here?” Elisabeth asked as she and Carson joined the group in the kitchen.
“Your brother here was just saying he didn’t know how to carve a turkey,” Brianna teased.
“I did no such thing!” Jacob snapped.
“Calm down, Jake. Can’t you tell when Brianna’s teasing you? I’d think you’d be used to it by now,” Elisabeth said, giving her brother and his wife a hug.
“So, how long do we have before the meal is ready?” Carson asked, holding his squirming one-year-old son.
“I’d say about twenty minutes,” Brianna responded. “I think Luke has the sleigh readied. Why don’t you men take the kinner for a short ride as soon as Jacob’s finished carving the turkey? We women can stay here with the bopplin and get dinner on the table.”
“That sounds like a gut plan,” Luke spoke up, and then kissed his wife before heading out the door. The other men shortly followed suit, finally leaving the womenfolk alone to talk.
“Let me see that adorable little boppli,” Rachel squealed, walking over to Elisabeth and peeking into the pink fleece.
“I can’t get over how precious each new life is. God sure has blessed Carson and me. And he’s turned out to be such a fine father.” Elisabeth beamed, holding out the baby. “Would you like to hold her?”
Rachel happily took the bundle from Elisabeth’s arms and cooed over the babe. “I can’t believe our little Jake is almost three. I’m more than ready for a new infant in the house.”
“I know what you mean,” Brianna spoke quietly, gauging her friends’ response. “I’m thankful for our two, but I’m thrilled that God is blessing us with another one next year.”
“Oh, Brianna, really?” Rachel beamed.
“That’s wonderful!” Elisabeth added.
Brianna placed a finger over her lips. “Shh…Luke doesn’t know yet. I’m planning to surprise him with the news today.”
“It’s too bad Mattie and Richard couldn’t make it this year,” Rachel said.
“Yeah, his family wanted to see them. You can’t blame grandparents for wanting to see their grandchildren.” Elisabeth shrugged.
“No, guess not.” Brianna smiled. “My folks come visit at least once a month, even though they’re not too fond of the country.”
The women stood at the back door, peering through the window. The three men and ten children all wore happy smiles and pink cheeks as they maneuvered the horse and sleigh back toward the barn. Brianna moved back to the stove.
“You’d better get that hot cocoa out because it looks like they’ll be back in really soon. They just pulled up to the barn,” Elisabeth said.
Brianna surveyed the long wooden table filled with delicious bounty. Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, potato rolls, and cranberry sauce enveloped her senses. Carson and Elisabeth had brought along a couple of vegan dishes as well. “I think eve
rything is on the table and ready to go. We just need some hungry mouths to feed.”
Rachel laughed. “I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with that. Jacob could probably tackle this table on his own. Sometimes I think that man has a hollow leg.”
“Make that two!” Jacob called from the door, leading a line of children to the sink to wash up.
Rachel shook her head. “I don’t know how he does that. He must have ESPN or something.”
Carson and the other men roared with laughter. “I think what you meant to say is ESP. ESPN is a television sports station.”
“Whatever!” Rachel capitulated.
“Jah, if I had ESPN, I’d no doubt be receiving a visit from Deacon Yoder!” Jacob teased, kissing his wife’s head.
“Alright, now. Enough bantering. Let’s all take our seats and thank the Lord for his bountiful blessings,” Luke advised thoughtfully.
Each person found a place at the table in no particular order. However, the parents sat next to their littlest ones. Luke bowed his head for the silent prayer and everyone followed suit. When he lifted his head, he made a suggestion. “Since we’re all gathered together here this year—well, except for Richard’s family—I’d like to start a new tradition. Let’s each one say what we’re most thankful for.”
The sea of family and friends seated at the table nodded in unison. A couple of the oldest children grumbled, but quickly submitted after a reproving look from a parent. After each one reverently gave their thanks, all eyes turned to Brianna at last.
“I’d like to thank God for giving me eternal life, a wonderful family, great friends, and for the new boppli Luke and I will have next year.” Her countenance glowed when she observed Luke’s surprised but pleased expression. “And even though I may have become Amish by accident, I know that God opened my eyes to His love on purpose. And for that, I will forever be thankful.”
THE END
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