The Matchmaker

by Sarah Price

  In hindsight Emma saw it too. How she had missed Gideon’s affection for her, she never could say. They had known each other for so long that, indeed, she thought of him as family already. “I can’t say when it happened,” Emma confessed, for in truth she didn’t dare reveal Hannah’s secret admiration of Gideon, which had triggered the discovery of her own feelings for the very same man. “But once I recognized how I felt, it was oh so clear!”

  Anna laughed, delighted with Emma’s admission. “It’s such wunderbaar gut news, Emma. And to think that he offered to move here so that your daed would not become unsettled. Gideon King is the very best of men, I believe!”

  “As do I!” Emma happily agreed. “Even when he does scold me so!”

  At this, they both laughed, knowing full well that, despite their upcoming marriage and Emma’s vow to improve herself, Gideon’s days of scolding Emma were not over.

  Chapter Twenty

  TO EMMA, IT felt strange to be standing in the sitting room of her haus, the room so familiar but the setting so surreal. The last time when so many people had gathered in their home had been years ago when Irene married John King. Today, however, the sea of people gathered there celebrated a different Weaver dochder getting married to another King: the older King bruder.

  After the bishop had announced their engagement, only two Sundays ago after the worship service, Emma noticed that everything moved at an accelerated pace. Irene had been most helpful, visiting more frequently and outlining all of the things that needed to be done and organized: the house cleaned, a new dress made, invitations delivered, and food preparations assigned. These were not deeds that Emma would have either wanted or, for that matter, been able to undertake in such a short time. Emma’s appreciation for her older schwester’s guidance and participation was almost as great as her relief that both Irene and John expressed enormous joy over the upcoming nuptials. If Emma had ever been fearful that the couple might react with anything less than an abundance of joy, she was quickly reassured that their reaction was quite the opposite.

  “I always hoped that things would turn out this way,” Irene had even confided in her as they were putting the finishing touches to the blue wedding dress that Emma would wear for the wedding ceremony and at the party that would follow. “Perhaps John might have taken a bit of convincing, but he was quick to see that the two of you are intended for each other! And knowing my John, I knew that his bruder would be a right gut husband to you. We’ve been hoping and waiting for this day for well over a year now!”

  Something Emma hadn’t expected, however, was her daed’s interest and involvement in the planning of the wedding. At this rather unpredictable time of year, he had been terrified at the thought that Emma might not be able to marry at home, so with Gideon’s help, they had arranged for a temporary room to be built off of the sitting area that wrapped around to the porch. By enlarging that area and converting the wall of windows into an open doorway, the extra space permitted the wedding to be held at the Weavers’ haus.

  Now as Emma looked out at the guests, almost four hundred of them and still counting, she was glad that her daed had been so wise and Gideon so accommodating.

  Earlier in the day the worship service had seemed extra lengthy to Emma. She did catch Gideon’s eyes upon her a few times from across the room while the congregation sang from the Ausbund. She thought she saw him smile, which caused her cheeks to color. But then, just as quickly, he looked away, not wanting her to feel embarrassed.

  When the time came for the ceremony, Emma rose from her bench and walked slowly to stand beside Gideon and in front of the bishop. Her schwester stood to her left while Gideon’s bruder stood to his right. The resemblance between the two schwesters and their bruder-husbands was quite noticeable even for someone who would not have been aware of their kinships. To Emma it felt as if everything were falling into place, orchestrated by God Himself. Indeed, an aura of peace and rightfulness surrounded the congregation.

  The bishop took a deep breath, pausing just long enough to look first at Emma and then at Gideon. For twenty minutes he spoke about the commitment they were about to make to each other, talking about marriage as a union before God that only death could separate. Emma listened to his words, words that she had heard many times over the years at other weddings in the g’may. This time, however, she not only heard them; she also understood them as well.

  When the sermon was over, the bishop turned to Gideon as he slowly began to enunciate the beautiful wedding vows that everyone was waiting for. “Can you confess, brother, that you wish to take this, our fellow sister, as your wedded wife, and not to part from her until death separates you, and that you believe this is from the Lord and that through your faith and prayers you have been able to come this far?”

  With a very serious nod of his head and affirmative tone of voice, Gideon clearly spoke the one-word answer: “Yes.”

  The bishop then shifted his body so that he was looking directly at Emma, his dark eyes peering at her from behind his round glasses. “Can you confess, sister, that you wish to take this, our fellow brother, as your wedded husband, and not to part from him until death separates you, and that you believe this is from the Lord and that through your faith and prayers you have been able to come this far?”

  She bit her lip and nodded her head. But with all that emotion and the entire congregation’s eyes fixed on her, the word seemed stuck in her throat. It looked as if no one breathed until she found the strength to softly whisper “yes” in response to the bishop’s question.

  “Since you, Gideon King, have confessed that you wish to take our fellow sister to be your wedded wife, do you promise to be faithful to her and to care for her, even though she may suffer affliction, trouble, sickness, weakness, despair, as is so common among us poor humans, in a manner that befits a Christian and God-fearing husband?”

  Once again, Gideon nodded, “Yes.”

  “And you, Emma Weaver,” the bishop continued. “You have also confessed that you wish to take our fellow brother to be your wedded husband.” He paused and cleared his throat, reaching behind him for the glass of water that was on the windowsill. “Do you promise to be faithful to him and to care for him, even though he may suffer affliction, trouble, sickness, weakness, despair, as is so common among us poor humans, in a manner that befits a Christian and God-fearing wife?”

  “Yes,” she managed to say. She felt the weight of the eyes upon her back and her stomach seemed in turmoil. It was only because of Gideon standing next to her that she managed to find the strength to stand there before every person in the g’may as well as friends and family who had traveled from afar. His confidence and strength had helped her through the ceremony, for now she knew that life without Gideon was simply not living at all.

  Finally the bishop gestured Gideon and Emma to take hold of each other’s right hand. When they did so, he covered their hands with his and said, “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob be with you both and help your family come together and shed His blessing richly upon all of you. Now, go forth as a married couple. Fear God and keep His commandments.”

  And with that, they were married.

  If the worship service seemed to go by far too slowly, the hour while she sat beside Gideon, on his left side, at the Eck table, rese
rved just for the bride and groom, seemed far too short.

  She had enjoyed sitting there, her friends and relatives bringing both of them plates of food and desserts. Several times Gideon and Emma had managed to secretly hold hands under the table, the feel of his palm pressed against hers seeming as natural to her as breathing. If she had never felt the warmth of another man’s hand touching hers, she now could never imagine anything as wonderful as Gideon’s touch upon her fingers.

  For the rest of her life she would be known as Gideon’s Emma, a distinction that also felt natural, as if it always should have been that way. Over the past few weeks she had often found herself lost in her thoughts, tripping over memories that now, with the realization of Gideon’s true feelings, took on an entirely different meaning. She could see the signs and hints of his affection. She could feel his pain when he thought that her interests lay elsewhere. And she continually heard his words on that day when he had proposed to her. To say her relief as well as her joy had been overwhelming was, indeed, an understatement.

  During the second hour of sitting at the Eck table, people began to stop by, usually in pairs, to spend a few moments with the newly married couple and wish them well. It began with family, immediate and then extended, before friends and neighbors made their way to the table. For a few minutes the guests would talk with Gideon and Emma, congratulating them on their marriage and sharing advice, news, or compliments about their union. For Emma it was only the second time that she met many of Gideon’s extended family, the first time having been at Irene’s wedding just eight years ago.

  As the clock struck three o’clock, a group of youths began singing a song, some of the older guests joining in. Emma felt Gideon reach for her hand again, his thumb gently caressing her wrist. She smiled but kept her attention on the song, singing along with the other guests.

  It was much later when Emma finally saw her friend Hannah in the back of the room. To Emma’s surprise, Ralph Martin was by her side.

  All day Emma had not been able to speak to her friend. Before the worship service and the ceremony, there had simply been no time. Afterward there were so many people in the haus that she had lost sight of Hannah. Over the past few weeks she hadn’t seen much of her, and Emma worried that their friendship was, indeed, strained. However, she had later learned that Hannah was working almost six days a week, stepping in for other young women who were busy traveling to attend their own family weddings. Still, Emma felt for her friend, knowing that it must be a strange and sad feeling to have been in attendance at the wedding.

  As for Ralph Martin, Emma hadn’t noticed him among the crowd earlier and experienced a moment of surprise to see him in attendance. Then she remembered that Ralph and his family rented that farm owned by Gideon in Strasburg. It was only natural that Gideon would have invited the Martin family to the festivities.

  “If you’ll excuse me a moment,” she whispered to Gideon.

  She made her way through the room, pausing to say kind words to people who smiled at her, reached out and touched her arm, sharing their congratulations and wishing her a long life of happiness with Gideon. By the time Emma stood before Hannah, Ralph had already moved over to join a group of men near the dessert table.

  If Hannah felt discomfort, she did not show it. She smiled and gave Emma a warm embrace. “How happy I am for you!” she said, and from the glow on her face and sparkle in her eyes, it was clear that she meant it. “I’m ever so sorry that I wasn’t around these past few weeks. With so many weddings, I volunteered to fill in for several people at the store.”

  “So I heard,” Emma replied, smiling. “I’m so glad you are well! I was worried, you know!”

  Unspoken between them lingered the issue of their last conversation. Hannah flushed at the reminder and shook her head, averting her eyes. “Nee, nee,” she assured Emma. “I am quite well. In fact, you might say that all of these experiences have taught me something.” She glanced over Emma’s shoulder and lowered her voice, making certain no one could overhear. “I did listen to your words, Emma, and I have come to understand so much better. You were quite right about a lot of things.”

  “And quite wrong at times too,” Emma quickly added, humbly.

  “Only God is perfect, anyway.”

  Emma smiled in response.

  Several people who wanted to congratulate Emma interrupted their conversation. With a slight wave of her hand, Hannah disappeared back into the crowd and Emma, being distracted by all of the guests at her wedding, did not have time to spend with her again.

  It was later in the evening when the last of the guests finally filed out. Emma was glad to see quiet fall upon the haus at last, for it had been a long day. She was exhausted, and rightfully so. After all, the festivities had started at eight o’clock in the morning, and already it was close to seven o’clock in the evening. She had been on her feet for most of the time.

  The women in the g’may had already taken care of cleaning the kitchen so that Emma would not have to be bothered with that chore in the morning, but the rest of the first floor was in disarray. Furniture had been moved out, temporarily stored in the barn and upstairs in the spare bedroom. Gideon had recruited his bruder and some friends to help move a few items back before they too had departed for home. Still, she knew that they would have a long day tomorrow, putting the haus back in order; the sooner the better so that Daed didn’t fret too much over the disruption to his daily routine.

  “There we go!” Gideon announced as he came into the house, carrying the last kitchen chair. He placed it on the floor and slid it under the table, the feet of the chair scraping against the floor. “Samuel has offered to come in the morning to help with the larger pieces. We’ll have everything back in order by noon!”

  She smiled.

  A silence fell over the room.

  “So,” he said quietly, leaning against the chair and watching her thoughtfully. “Emma King.”

  The two words sounded strange together, and Emma felt the color rise to her cheeks. For almost twenty-two years, she had been Emma Weaver. Having a new last name sounded foreign and surreal. The reality of the day hit her, and she fought the urge to feel overwhelmed, causing her blush to deepen.

  He chuckled at her reaction and took a few steps toward her, reaching out to hold her hand. Gently he lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her skin before pulling her into his arms and staring down into her face, a look of adoration on his own. “It is done,” he said softly. “You have done the one thing that you always declared you had no interest in doing!”

  “And what would that be?” she asked, genuinely perplexed by his words.

  “You’ve become a fraa!”

  Another blush was met with soft laughter.

  “You always were so adamant,” he said. “So quick to insist that you, Emma Weaver, were independent and would never be agreeable to marry!”

  “Mayhaps you wanted to marry me just to prove me wrong,” she teased. “It wouldn’t be the first time that you took delight in doing so!”

  “Nor the last, I’m sure.”

  Despite wishing to disagree, she knew that he spoke the truth. “Ja vell,” she sighed. “Let’s hope that it gets less frequent as time passes.”

 
“Let’s do, indeed!”

  They both laughed, a sweet sound in the otherwise silent house.

  Lifting his hand, he pressed it against her cheek and leaned down to place his lips against her forehead. She shut her eyes, enjoying the tenderness of the moment. It had been a long day and she knew that he was just as exhausted as she was. There was a lot of work to do the following day, but she appreciated the peaceful moment, alone with her Gideon in the kitchen, shrouded in the darkness which was broken only by the flickering from the small kerosene lantern on the counter.

  He cleared his throat when he pulled away, a new gruffness in his voice as he spoke. “I need to go check on the horse. Make certain she’s settled in. I promised your daed that I’d check on his too. Check that they were watered properly this evening.”

  “I’ll just finish up here, then,” she said with a soft nod of her head, even though there really wasn’t much more she needed to do at this point.

  “I’ll meet you upstairs, then,” he mumbled, giving her hand a soft squeeze before releasing it.

  She stood there, her hip pressed against the counter as she watched Gideon walk away, his broad shoulders disappearing through the door and into the darkness. For a few moments, she stood at the kitchen sink, staring at the black window, her mind trying to commit to memory every wonderful moment of that day. When she felt she was ready, it was with a satisfied smile that she lifted the lantern, her finger carefully grasping the handle, and walked toward the staircase, quietly ascending so as not to wake her daed.

  Epilogue