by Joy Redmond
For the next week, Tom came calling every night. On the seventh night, sitting under the elm, Anna was talking when Tom leaned in and softly kissed her on the lips. When she didn’t protest, he wrapped his strong arms around her waist, pulled her close, and kissed her deeply.
The kiss made Anna wonder if she were going to faint and fall headfirst into his lap. It was her first kiss, but she wanted a thousand more – but only from Tom Morgan. She kept her head tilted upward and Tom kissed her again, this time his lips lingered longer. It felt as if electricity surged through her body. She felt Tom’s body slightly tremble, which told her that he felt a jolt, too.
The following Sunday, Tom came after sunset and they shared their life stories, talked about what they wanted in life, and they found that they were in agreement about everything. When it was time to say goodnight, Tom kissed her deeply, as if he never wanted to take his lips from hers. Then he softly said, “Anna, I’ve got to leave for home on Friday.”
Tears sprang to Anna’s eyes. “Will I ever see you again?”
“Well, that depends,” he said. His eyes were serious, and they looked a bit sad.
“On what?” Anna asked, barely able to get the words out of her mouth, wondering if he had another girlfriend.
Tom’s face turned a bit red, he shuffled his feet, jingled change in his pant pocket, and then said, “On whether you’ll be my wife and leave with me on Friday.”
“Are you – are you asking me to marry you?”
Tom looked deep into her eyes and smiled. “Well, a woman usually has to marry a man before she can be his wife.”
Anna threw her arms around Tom’s neck. “Of course I’ll marry you, you fool!” Then she pushed back and looked into his green eyes. “But aren’t you supposed to say something like–”
Tom placed his fingers on her lips and said, “Something like: I love you dearly, Anna. More dearly then spoken words can tell. I’ll love you till the day I die!”
He hugged her tightly as she replied, “I love you, too, Tom Morgan, and I hope I die in your arms.”
Tom wiped her tears. “I suppose I need to ask your pa for your hand – don’t I?”
“I guess so – but I’m going to marry you no matter what, so I don’t care what Pa says!”
“That’s good to know, because I have a little something for you.” Tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. He opened the box, exposing a diamond ring. “This belonged to my mother, but I know she’d be happy for you to wear it.” Then he dropped on one knee and said, “Anna West, will you accept this ring as a token of my undying love?”
Anna looked down at the man of her dreams. “I’ve already said yes, but I’ll say it again – yes!”
Tom slipped the ring onto her finger, and it was a perfect fit. Then he kissed her hand. “I’m the happiest man in the world, but I’ll be even happier when we make it final.”
Anna stared at the ring. The diamond was small, but it was perfect, and she never wanted to take it off. “Why did you bring your mother’s ring on such a long trip?”
“Like I said, Grandpa told me if I wanted to find a wife, I’d find her in these mountains, so I believed him and I came prepared – but you’re more than I ever dreamed I’d find.”
“I think I know what you mean,” she said, thinking about her vision. She knew that life with Tom Morgan was her destiny, though she hadn’t told him about her gift, since he might have thought she was crazy. She’d tell him later, when the time felt right.
Hand-in-hand they walked toward the house, but even before Anna could open the screen door, Ma and Pa stepped out onto the porch. Tom was as formal as he knew how to be when he asked her parents for their consent, and both Ma and Pa gave them their blessing. Then Anna’s brothers busted through the screen door, grabbing Anna’s hand to look at her new ring.
“You’ve all have been watching and listening, haven’t you?” Anna said with a smile. “A body can’t get one minute of privacy around here.” She turned toward Tom, but spoke over her shoulder. “Now if you all don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d go mind your own business while I bid my husband-to-be goodnight!”
The family went back inside, but Anna knew they were watching out the window as she wrapped her arms around Tom’s neck and kissed him deeply. When he finally drew back, she said, “I’ve got a lot of things to do, and I’ve got to do them fast. Five days isn’t much time, but I can do it.”
“Tomorrow we need to go all the way to Fulton and apply for a marriage license,” said Tom. “I’ll be back early in the morning to fetch you. It’ll be an all-day trip there and back.”
“I’ll be ready. I get up with the chickens anyway. See you in the morning.”
* * * *
Two days later, Ma opened her cedar chest and lifted out her wedding dress that she had carefully wrapped in tissue paper some twenty years earlier.
Anna beamed as she held it up. “Oh, Ma, it’s beautiful! I’ll be proud to wear it.”
“I was bigger than you, honey, so we’ll have to take in the waist, raise the shoulder seams, and maybe raise the hem, but we’ll have it done in time.” Ma took the dress, caressed it with her hands, and said through her tears, “It seems like it was only months ago that I wore this. I was so in love with your pa. I thought I’d bust wide open the day I married him.”
Anna wiped away Ma’s tears and softly said, “Do you still love him that much?”
Ma looked deep into Anna’s eyes. “Yes, I do. It’s a different kind of love now, but it’s just as deep. No love stays the way it is in the beginning, but it deepens and gets better as time goes by. I guess what I’m trying to say is, the flame may die down, but the embers keep right on glowing. You’ll know what I mean someday.” She kissed Anna’s cheek. “Now, young lady, where’s the wedding going to take place?”
Anna smiled and took her mother’s hands. “Tom and I want to be married under the elm where we did our courting. It seems fitting to us – that is if it’s all right with you.”
“That’s so romantic. I like that idea,” said Ma. “We’ll get Pastor Melton to come and hitch you two. Aunt Mable will come over on Wednesday and we’ll start cooking. We’ve got a big family all over these mountains and lots of friends, and Aunt Mable can spread news faster than a radio. By tomorrow, all of Clay County will know about it, and on Friday half the county will be here.”
“Oh, Ma, I never thought I could feel this happy,” Anna said as she hugged Ma tightly. “I guess we need to start packing the old trunk, which I’ve been using for my hope chest. Since it doesn’t have much in it, it’ll hold all my stuff. Let’s drag it out of the corner, dust it off, and start packing.”
* * * *
By two-thirty on Friday, May 21st, the West’s yard was brimming with people. Food covered the three long tables Pa and the boys had made using boards and sawhorses. Ma had borrowed tablecloths from family and friends, and Billy Joe was appointed as the official fly shooer.
Pastor Melton stood under the elm, Tom to his left, and T.J. next to Tom as Pa walked Anna toward them. Anna was so delirious that she didn’t hear much of what the pastor said, but she managed to say her vows, and she clearly heard Tom promise to love, cherish, and keep himself only unto her for as long as he lived.
Tom slipped his mother’s wedding band onto Anna’s finger, kissed his bride, and then teetered as if he was also about to faint. Pa and Pastor Melton grabbed his arms and steadied him as the crowd laughed. Then Pastor Melton said, “I present to you, Tom and Anna Morgan.”
Cheers rang out as Tom led Anna across the yard, and the eating began. Finally, the Nelsons started playing music. Tom and Anna led the first dance, followed by Ma and Pa. Then the rest of the crowd joined in.
After two hours of celebration, Tom announced that it was time for him and his bride to start down the mountain and head for Kentucky. The guests wished them a long, happy life together, and threw rice as the newlyweds walked toward the cabin.
Tom and Pa changed into work clothes, loaded Anna’s trunk in the wagon, fed and watered the horses, greased the wagon wheels, and headed back to the porch.
Anna changed into her traveling clothes, and then she carefully wrapped Ma’s wedding dress in tissue paper and gently put it into a cardboard box. She called out, “Howard, I need you for a minute.”
Howard pushed back the burlap sack and said, “What can I do for you, Sister?”
“I need you to take this box out to the wagon. Put it up under the bunk board. Okay?”
Howard smiled. “I’ll load it for you and I’ll wedge it between other things so it won’t side around and fall open. You can count on me, Sister.”
Anna smiled and said, “I always could, Howard. You’re a good man. The woman who gets you will be one lucky lady.”
Finally, the family was gathered on the front porch. Ma handed Anna a picnic basket and trying not to cry, said, “I crammed as much food as I could in it. It’ll hold you for a day and a half, I suppose. I fixed you a gallon of lemonade, too. Pa already put it in the wagon. It’s the least I could do to get you started off on such a long trip.”
As Anna touched the handles of the basket, an electric-like current ran through her fingers. It was the second time she had felt the sensation when she touched an object. Would it be the last time Ma would fix her something to eat? The last time she’d taste her mother’s cooking? A knot formed in her throat. She swallowed, hard.
“Thank you, Ma,” was all she was able to say. She gathered Billy Joe into her arms and as she hugged him, a vision flashed into her mind. She gasped, teetered a bit, and Tom steadied her.
She wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and looked at her oldest brother. “T.J. I need to tell you something. Come with me for a minute, please.” She led T.J. around the corner of the cabin, looked into his eyes, and said sternly, “T. J. you’ve got to promise me that you won’t mention what I’m about to tell you to Ma and Pa. Promise?”
“I promise,” T.J. said.
“If Billy Joe goes missing, you tell the sheriff that he can be found at the bottom of the ravine about three miles east of here.”
“But Billy Joe ain’t going to go missing,” said T.J. “And don’t tell me you had a vision. You know I think that’s all hogwash, so just get on your way, will you?”
“I don’t care if you believe me or not,” Anna insisted. “You keep your big mouth shut to Ma and Pa about this or I’ll come back and kick your butt forty ways from Sunday. Do you hear me?”
“I ain’t going to tell them something that ain’t going to happen, so don’t worry about it,” T.J. replied. He hesitated, and then asked, “But if he does go missing, why should I tell the sheriff? Why can’t I just go pull him out and take him to the doctor?”
Anna put her hands on T.J.’s shoulders. “Because a doctor won’t be able to help him. You’ve got to get the sheriff involved because he’s not going to fall – he’s going to be pushed.”
“What?” T.J. said loudly.
“Now you hush!” Anna said, slapping her hand over his mouth.
“You’re crazy, Anna!” T.J. said, pulling away. “And you want to know something else? I’ll be glad when you’re gone!”
“I love you, too, T.J.,” Anna said, with a smile. As she turned to go, she looked back and added, “Now you remember to do what I told you!”
Anna hurried back to the porch and said, “I didn’t want to embarrass T.J. by gushing over him, so we said our goodbyes in private.” Then she hugged Howard. No vision.
She hugged Pa, then Ma, and instantly had a vision of her parents lying in coffins. “No!” She grabbed them both around the neck and buried her head between their shoulders, her body shaking and tears rolling down her cheeks.
Pa lifted her face and said, “There, there, daughter. I know you hate to leave us, but your day has come. Go now, live your life, and be happy.”
Ma wiped Anna’s tears and added, “Pa’s right, honey. Our hearts are breaking, too, but we always knew this day would come. It’s the hardest day in a parent’s life, but this is the way it should be. Now you dry those tears – and you come back and see us as soon as you can.”
“I will, Ma,” Anna said, struggling to regain her composure. “You’ve got our address.”
“I’ve got it right here in my apron pocket.” Ma patted her thigh. “T.J. will help me with my spelling, so we’ll write from time to time – but I expect a note from you every week!”
“I’ll write, Ma, I promise. Don’t lose our address,” said Anna, taking Tom’s arm as they headed toward the wagon. Tom put the picnic basket into the wagon, aided Anna up, climbed onto the bunk board beside her, and then slapped the reins. “Giddy up, go!”
Anna waved until the cabin was no longer in view. Her tears rolled as the wagon headed down the mountain, her heart breaking for the family she was leaving, but her heart also filled with happiness. She was Mrs. Thomas Morgan. She deeply sighed. Life as she’d always known it was over, but a beautiful new life was just beginning.
“The ending and the beginning,” she softly whispered, snuggling close to Tom.
“What’s that you say, sweet?” Tom asked.
Anna laid her head on his shoulder. “Just mumbling to myself. Get used to it. I do it a lot.”
She wondered when she’d find the right time to tell Tom about her gift. It would come soon enough, but today was their wedding day, so she decided to enjoy it in spite of her grief. By the time the sun set, they were both tired and decided to pull the wagon off the road and call it a day.
“We need to fix up a bed,” said Tom. “I brought two blankets from home.”
“I’ll take care of it. You tend to the horses,” Anna said. “I’ve got two more quilts in my trunk. I made them for when I became a wife, so I think our wedding night would be a good time to put them to use.”
As Tom took care of the horses, Anna spread the blankets and then dug the quilts out of her hope chest, remembering the days she and Ma had spent stitching them and how she had dreamed about spreading them on a bed with her husband. Then she smiled, because she had never suspected that her wedding night would be spent in the back of a wagon.
By the time he returned, the sun was down and darkness enveloped the wagon. Tom climbed into the wagon and as he sat down, he tenderly ran his hand across the top quilt.
“It’s too dark to have a good look, but I’m sure the quilts are beautiful, just like the girl who made them,” he said, reaching for Anna’s hand.
Anna was so nervous she felt sick at her stomach. Ma had never told her what to expect on her wedding night, but she’d overheard some conversations at church quilting bees, and she wasn’t at all sure she wanted to do some of the things she’d heard them talking about.
Tom was a gentle lover and Anna relaxed in his warm embrace. The pleasure of the moment far outweighed the slight pain as he entered her for the first time. When it was over, they lay in each other’s arms in sweet silence, gazing up at the stars until they fell asleep.
Chapter Two
The journey to the Morgan farm took three days. As Tom turned the wagon onto Old Mill Road, he said, “We’re just about home, Anna! Another mile and we can finally get out of this wagon and stretch our legs. I’m tired and I know you are, too.”
Anna barely heard Tom. She was too busy looking at the fields on each side of the road, in awe of the goldenrods in full bloom. She held her hand over her heart. “I’ve never seen anything so pretty. Can we stop and pick some? I’d like to put them in water and put them on the kitchen table.”
Tom smiled. “We’ve got goldenrods on our place – and you can pick as many as you want.”
A short time later, he turned the wagon into a long dirt drive. Anna turned her head back and forth, trying to drink in the landscape, which was so different from the mountains of Tennessee. She’d always thought the mountains were heavenly, but Kentucky seemed like the Garden of Eden.
The hors
es snorted as a large two-story white frame house came into view. Not even the richest folks in the valley had homes as splendid. “Is this where you live? Is this your big fancy house?” Anna asked.
Tom pulled the horses to a stop, kissed Anna’s cheek, and said with a smile, “This is our big fancy house, my love.”
Anna was dumbstruck as Tom lifted her from the wagon. She held her bonnet and turned in circles, taking in the green fields and rolling terrain around her. To her left, at the bottom of a small hill, stood a huge barn – nicer than the cabin where she had grown up. Flowers were blooming in front of the house, which had a concrete porch. She followed Tom as he walked onto the front porch and unlocked the front door.
“The cabin didn’t have a lock and key. Pa said his shotgun would keep out people who shouldn’t be noising around our place,” Anna said.
“I like a key better.” Tom smiled and scooped Anna into his strong arms. “Welcome to your new home, my love. Let me carry you across the threshold.”
After they stepped inside, he put her down. “I’m sorry it’s such a mess. I’m afraid I’m not much of a housekeeper, but I’ll help you clean, then you can decorate, and fix it up any way you want.”
Anna glanced around the large living room and her eyes came to rest upon the most magnificent fireplace she’d ever seen. “How beautiful it all is,” she finally managed to say as she walked across the floor and ran her hands over the multi-colored stones.
Tom joined her. “Papa and I dug these stones from a quarry about five miles from here. Then we cleaned them and set them just so. Mama always said the colors looked like a kaleidoscope – but you haven’t seen beauty until you’ve seen a fire in it.”
“My stars in heaven!” Anna ran her hands across the mantle. “I’ve never seen anything like it. The stones look like glass.”
“It took a lot of scrubbing, but we eventually got all the dirt off, and I’m pretty proud of it.” Tom took her hand. “But come on, there’s lots more to see.”