“Marriage!” Dorrine’s eyes grew round. “I never thought that would happen. Not after the way Peter and Edna stormed out of the county.”
“Well, that’s the big news.” Esther took Diana by the hand. “We need to get home and do some unpacking.”
They said goodbye to Dorrine and made their way back up the hill. Thinking about Joseph’s surprising news, Esther didn’t notice the buggy parked beside the house until she was almost in the driveway. Isaiah had climbed out already and regarded her with a bemused expression on his face. “Distracted, are we?”
She let go of Diana’s hand to race toward him and throw her arms around his neck. His face hovered above her, and she almost kissed him, but she remembered just in time that they were outside.
“I’ll save that for later,” he whispered with a wicked grin.
“Are you coming in for supper?”
“Do you want me to?”
“Stop being naughty.”
“I have to go home and do my chores first, but I couldn’t wait to see you and make sure you had made it back safely.”
“Oh, Isaiah.” She pulled him close again. “We have so much to speak about, so much of our future to plan.”
“I can hardly wait.”
FORTY
Back in Lancaster County on the morning of Arlene’s wedding, Esther slipped into the upstairs bedroom at her parents’ place on Hoover Road for a quick goodbye hug from Diana.
“Sweetheart, will you be okay staying with Mammi today?”
Diana nodded, her sleepy eyes barely open.
“She’ll be goot as gold,” Mamm assured her from the open bedroom door. “Plus she needs practice staying with us. You have your own wedding day coming up. We’ll stay at your house in the valley and give you at least a few days alone with Isaiah over at his place.”
Esther tried to hide her flaming face as she gave Mamm a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. You know how to warm my heart.”
“Go.” Mamm motioned with her hand. “Enough silliness. Isaiah just drove up and is outside waiting for you.”
“Aren’t you happy that Joseph is getting to wed Arlene?”
“Yah, but I still think it’s a bit strange,” Mamm replied.
Esther didn’t protest. She gave Diana one last hug before she hurried downstairs. She knew Mamm had no real animus against Joseph.
The first rays of the sun broke over the horizon as Esther stepped out on the front porch. Daett was waiting beside Isaiah’s buggy, leaning on the wheel while engaged in deep conversation with the man.
Isaiah still noticed her and waved.
“Goot morning,” she called as she strolled across the yard.
Daett moved away from the buggy as Esther approached and gave his daughter a warm smile. “Both of you have a goot day now. And wish the happy couple the best from us.”
“We’ll do that,” Isaiah assured him as Esther climbed in the buggy. He gave her a shy glance. “It’s goot to see your lovely face again this morning.”
“You’ll have me blushing before we even get there. You just saw me a few days ago.”
“I can never see enough of you,” he said as he drove out of the lane. Together they listened to the steady hoofbeats of Isaiah’s borrowed horse on the pavement.
She didn’t look at him. She would only blush worse. But what did it matter? With a sigh she leaned against his shoulder and slipped her hand into the crook of his arm. “I’m tired, Isaiah. I think I’ll sneak a little nap.”
He chuckled. “Are our wedding plans getting to you? And now this quick trip down to Lancaster County? I’m sure you were up late last night talking with your mamm and daett.”
“Yah, I was, and what a happy time we had. I wish you could have been there.”
“You know I would have been if we’d arrived earlier, but we didn’t get in till close to midnight.”
“At least we’re traveling back together.” She yawned.
“Say, did you ever find out what Joseph did to change Peter’s and Edna’s minds?” he asked.
“No, but I don’t really care. I’m just glad it happened.”
“And I’m glad you’ll soon be my frau.”
“Stop it,” she said, snuggling close. “You just want a kiss.”
“Yah!”
She complied but quickly warned him, “No more today.” He laughed beside her.
“I am so happy,” she whispered. “So very happy.”
“I hope Joseph and Arlene are as happy was we are.”
“I’m sure those two will be quite happy together, just as we will be.”
She nestled against his shoulder again. The love she shared with Isaiah was special. Surely the Lord would never take him from her as He had taken Lonnie. No, they would grow old together and end up in rocking chairs.
As they turned into the Yoders’ driveway, Esther sat upright on the buggy seat and smiled. Old age with Isaiah would be a pleasant experience. Diana would be grown and married by then, as would any other kinner the Lord might give them. She would sit on Isaiah’s front porch and look out over the ridge toward the Adirondacks and give thanks that she had been given a man like Isaiah to love.
“Whoa there,” Isaiah called out as they rolled up to the barn.
Several young boys hurried forward and greeted them before beginning to help unhitch.
“I see we get first-rate service this morning,” Isaiah teased them.
They grinned and didn’t answer, their minds obviously occupied with their duties. Behind them the lane had begun to fill with buggies. Esther navigated her way around the extended shafts and hurried up the wooden walk.
Arlene opened the front door and wrapped Esther in a hug.
“It’s finally arrived, Arlene! Your wedding day!” Esther whispered excitedly in Arlene’s ear.
“Yah, because of you and Isaiah,” Arlene whispered back. “Oh, this is so wunderbah, Esther. So really wunderbah.”
“Yah, it is,” Esther agreed. “But I don’t think Isaiah and I had anything to do with it.”
Arlene ignored the protest and rushed on. “Daett and Mamm must have been so impressed with the idea Isaiah gave Joseph. He arrived here with a load of vegetables for Mamm’s canning, and Daett was looking at papers afterward. I’m sure those were letters Isaiah wrote along with Bishop Willis and the other ministers from the valley, all giving their approval to our wedding. Daett wouldn’t show me what they had written, and neither would Joseph. All Joseph did was grin and say that we should be happy the problem was solved.” Arlene gave Esther another hug. “I have been floating on clouds these past weeks, and today I will be a married woman. I thought this day would never come.” Her face glowed as she gazed rapturously across the lawn. “And all these people…oh, Esther, can you believe this?” Arlene rushed into the yard to greet more of the arriving guests.
Esther sighed and waited until Isaiah came up on the front porch to join her.
“Arlene’s on cloud nine,” he observed with a grin.
“She thinks you caused this with your letters from the ministry in the valley.”
Isaiah laughed. “Now, that’s a tall one. I hope you straightened her out.”
Esther motioned with her head. “Like that’s possible. Look at her. No one will get a word in edgewise today.”
“That’s what love does, I guess,” he said, faking a mournful sound. “I will forever be known as the flower minister. Bishop Beiler teased me when I arrived here this morning, so word has officially drifted down to Lancaster County.”
Esther reached up to pat him on his cheek. “No doubt due to Peter. But don’t worry. You’ll soon be known as a married man and have a whole bench full of kinner. This trouble will all be forgotten.”
His face brightened. “Are you prophesying, Esther?”
“Hush,” she warned as Arlene bustled back onto the front porch with several visitors in tow.
They would soon both burst out laughing if they didn’t stop t
heir fun. Esther forced herself to sober up and followed Isaiah into the house with a properly bowed head and a meek look. It only made things worse when Isaiah glanced back at her. Joseph must have noticed them when he appeared in the kitchen doorway because a grin spread over his face. Esther rushed ahead of Isaiah to burst into an empty bedroom, where she closed the door and collapsed in giggles on the bed. This kind of thing was all quite unseemly for a future minister’s frau, and she had to gain control of herself.
Esther stood and smoothed her dress with both hands. The bedroom door cracked open behind her, and Arlene peeked in. “Is everything okay?”
“Yah, I’ll be right out,” Esther managed evenly.
Arlene still stepped inside instead of going away. “You’re not sick, are you?”
“I’m fine. I’m just being a little silly.”
Arlene’s concerned look didn’t leave. “Sorry, Esther, but I’m on pins and needles that something will go wrong. I was up almost all night and couldn’t eat a thing this morning. One’s wedding day is one of the most important days ever in a woman’s life.”
“Yah, come.” Esther took Arlene’s hand. “You should be out there with Joseph as he greets your guests.”
Arlene’s glow returned. “You will stand with us right now, you and Isaiah?”
“Of course!” Esther led the way out into the hallway.
Joseph was busy shaking hands. He turned to greet them both with a smile. “There you are, Arlene. I was beginning to think someone had succumbed to the jitters and fled the house.”
The guests joined in the laughter as Arlene blushed and took her place beside Joseph. Esther joined Isaiah on the other side of the couple. Fifteen minutes later, Peter appeared to shoo the wedding party upstairs.
“Stay out of sight,” he ordered. “Where have you people learned all these newfangled ways? Greeting the guests before the service begins. Whoever heard of such a thing?”
But he had a slight smile on his face as Joseph nodded and led the wedding party up the stairs. Whatever methods Joseph had used to win Peter and Edna over to his side, he had done a permanent job. Someday she would untangle that riddle.
Isaiah leaned over to whisper in Esther’s ear. “Just think. Three more weeks, and our wedding day will have arrived.”
“I can’t wait,” she whispered as he squeezed her hand.
The murmur of voices from the small party filled the upstairs hallway, while the sounds of benches being set up in the living room below rose in the background. Peter soon reappeared at the bottom of the stairwell to motion them down. Joseph led the way again with Arlene by his side. The guests had organized themselves with Bishop Beiler seated against the wall at the head of the minister’s bench. In just a few weeks he would sit on a bench in her small living room in the valley and her wunderbah moment would have arrived.
Esther tried to still the pounding of her heart as she seated herself across from Isaiah. The service began. The first song was sung, the signal for Joseph to stand with Arlene and follow the ministers upstairs for their final wedding counseling. Isaiah and Esther would also receive their instructions, even though they had both been married before. There were always things one could learn, and she didn’t mind. But it would all be a dream when the day arrived. She’d float right through as Arlene appeared to be doing. The girl seemed lost in the clouds and maybe even a little higher. Her face absolutely glowed when the couple returned, but her happiness likely didn’t come from the ministerial instructions she had heard. There was so much joy in the room that the singing seemed to almost lift the benches off the floor.
The preaching began when the ministers returned, though it appeared that neither Joseph nor Arlene was paying the least bit of attention. Their gazes were fixed on each other.
Bishop Beiler didn’t preach, but he stood up at ten minutes till twelve when the last sermon concluded and said with his warmest smile, “If our brother and sister are still willing to enter into the holy vows of matrimony, will they please stand.”
Thankfully, Arlene had enough sense not to bounce up. Maybe she couldn’t. At the moment she appeared ready to swoon. Esther unconsciously put out her hand to steady her, but Isaiah shook his head from the seat across from her.
Esther took a deep breath and relaxed. Everything would be okay. Bishop Beiler had already asked the first question, and Joseph must have answered because Arlene’s yah rang through the whole house.
Several of the older women hid their smiles. An overeager bride was no disgrace. Arlene’s desire for a decent husband must be well known in the district. Had not Esther herself gone out to the valley in pursuit of Isaiah? She must remember, in any case, to keep her own voice down once her time came for the vows.
“And now, in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I pronounce you man and wife,” Bishop Beiler said.
They all stood while Joseph and his bride led the way out of the house toward the barn, where the meal would be served for the day.
Isaiah reached over to hold her hand and whisper, “You will soon be my frau, Esther.”
FORTY-ONE
A week before Esther’s wedding, she awoke with the blush of dawn on the horizon. She quickly dressed and fixed a cup of hot chocolate in the kitchen. With her hair hung unbound over her shoulders, Esther slipped outside on the front porch to lean on the railing. A faint light was on in the Kings’ place down the hill on Fords Bush Road.
At Joseph’s house, adjacent to the greenhouse, he and Arlene had become late risers now that the growing season was slowing. Still, Arlene would be up soon, puttering happily around in her kitchen. Arlene had blossomed in the weeks since her wedding, and at the Sunday service her face was aglow with happiness whenever she gazed upon Joseph’s bearded face seated in the men’s section.
Peter and Edna had arrived for a family visit yesterday, and they were planning on staying through the weekend. The tale of how Joseph had won over Peter and Edna still remained a mystery. When Esther’s mamm arrived a week ago to help with her wedding preparations, Esther had asked her if anything was known about the subject back in Lancaster County.
Mamm had simply replied, “You shouldn’t be so curious, Esther. If people are getting along, be happy yourself.”
Which was true, but she still wanted to know.
Joseph and Arlene, along with Peter and Edna, would be up at noon for a light lunch. A supper invitation was what the occasion called for, but Esther’s household was too buried in work with the wedding just a week away. Dorrine had offered the King barn for the meal after the wedding ceremony, along with John and the boys’ help to clean the area. Esther had accepted the generous offer on the spot, and the cleanup was scheduled for right after breakfast today.
Inside the house, her wedding dress pattern was laid out on the unused bed upstairs, the cloth still on the bolt. She should wear her dress from her wedding to Lonnie for practical reasons, but Mamm had told her weeks ago in no uncertain terms, “You need a new dress. It would be indecent for you to wear the same wedding dress twice.”
“Yah, Mamm.”
For once Mamm was on the side of roses and falling in love. Mamm had even approved when Esther had chosen a risky color for her dress. She’d wanted a light green, though here in the valley darker colors were the safest selection. Widows especially were expected to show restraint and maturity, but there went another expectation out the window. She hoped Isaiah wouldn’t bring a bouquet of roses to the ceremony.
Esther suppressed a giggle, and the sound tinkled happily down the valley in the still morning air.
“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Mamm said from behind her. Esther jumped, sloshing the hot chocolate in her cup.
Mamm smiled. “Just teasing, dear. That hot chocolate looks good. I think I’ll get a cup and join you.”
“I would like nothing better,” Esther told her as Mamm disappeared into the house. She returned a couple minutes later.
“I haven’t seen many roses sin
ce I’ve been here,” Mamm said. “With all that fuss I heard about, I thought I’d have to walk through whole beds of them just to arrive at your front door.”
“Mamm, really. It wasn’t that bad.”
“You came rushing down to Lancaster County all teary-eyed. I think it was that bad.”
“So you and Daett never gave each other flowers?”
Mamm laughed. “We’re old-school, remember?”
“There’s nothing wrong with roses. Nor with falling in love.”
“You sound like you’re trying to persuade yourself.” Mamm glanced at the rising sun. “The morning’s getting on. You should put your hair up. Someone on the road might see you.”
“You’re right. Shall we go inside?”
“I’m not trying to spoil your morning, dear.”
Esther smiled warmly. “Duty first, then pleasure. I still believe that, and I’m very glad you are here.”
“So am I.” Mamm nodded. “And I’m glad you still believe in the old values.”
“I’m your daughter. I’ll always be that.”
The two entered the house, and Esther headed toward her bedroom. She emerged ten minutes later dressed for the day. She made her way to the kitchen, where she found her mother with a second cup of hot chocolate, cooking eggs and bacon on the stove. Esther filled the oatmeal kettle with water and had it boiling by the time she had set the table for three. With the oatmeal stirred into the hot water, Esther left to dress Diana.
“What day is it?” Diana asked, still sleepy eyed.
“Thursday, and we’re going down to clean out the Kings’ barn this morning. That’s where we’ll have the meal after the wedding.”
“Will I get to go to the wedding?”
“Yah, dear. I only went to Arlene’s wedding by myself because I had to be a witness and was busy all day. You will certainly be at my wedding.”
“But I have to stay with Mammi afterward.”
Esther nodded. “Only for a few days, then Mammi and Dawdy will leave for Lancaster County again, and you will come over to Isaiah’s house, where we will live from then on.”
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