A Sinner in Paradise
Page 45
“Not yet, honey,” said Sally Beth gently. “We have to git through the ceremony first.” She continued, “Now, hold hands, please.” Howard snatched up Geneva’s hand and kissed it.
“Geneva, say this,” prompted Sally Beth. “In the presence of God and before these our families and friends…”
Geneva repeated the words.
“I take thee Howard, to be my husband, promising with Divine assistance…”
Geneva was overcome. She brought Howard’s hand to her lips, then touched his face as she spoke his names, “Howard, Chap, Ta li.”
“To be unto thee a loving and faithful wife so long as we both shall live,” breathed Sally Beth in a rush.
Geneva began the words, getting to “faithful wife” before she had to stop and breathe as the next convulsion began. It wracked her belly and spread throughout her whole body, but it felt like bliss, because Howard held her through it. As soon as she was able to stand alone again, Sally Beth prompted, “so long as we both shall live.”
“So long as we both shall live,” panted Geneva.
“Now Howard, say this: I take thee Geneva, to be my wife, promising with Divine assistance…”
Howard laughed and cried and pulled Geneva to him. “I take thee Geneva, Digvnasdi Atsilv Hawinaditlv Galvquodiadanvdo to be my wife. He covered her face with kisses as he said the words. “Promising with Divine assistance to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband, and a good father,” he added, as he kissed her belly.
“So long as we both shall live,” urged Sally Beth
“Hallelujah!” shouted Ike.
Everyone laughed, and there was a chorus of “hallelujahs,” before Howard said the final words. Then there were shouts and laughter and tears, but Howard suddenly stopped, “Wait! You didn’t do the ring part!”
Sally Beth replied, “Yew don’t need a ring, and we don’t have one anyway.”
“Yes, I do,” he replied, and from his own neck he took a pendant exactly like the one that Geneva wore. Her heart lifted high and joyous when she saw it. He had loved her all this time! He had worn this symbol of her next to his heart, even as he denied his hope for them. The tears flowed from her eyes as he wrapped the chain around her wrist and looped it around her fourth finger. The little red and yellow comet dangled from her hand. She turned it over, laying the bejeweled thing in her palm. “I give yew this, Geneva, as a sign of my everlasting love for yew. Thank yew for being my wife.”
And in turn, Geneva took the pendant from her neck, wrapped it around Howard’s wrist and looped it around his fourth finger. “I give you this, Howard, as a sign of my everlasting love for you. Thank you for being my…”
She stopped as a sudden “pop” resounded within her, as loud as a champagne cork leaving its home, and before she could fathom what it was, water gushed from her and spilled all over the ground, baptizing Geneva’s feet with the water of new life. Lenora laughed out loud, “I reckon yew’ve been pronounced man and wife, now and fer certain!” and she hustled the stunned Geneva into the bedroom, leaving everyone else to gasp and laugh and cry. Howard was on her heels.
The ambulance arrived, but there wasn’t much the paramedics could do. Lenora had taken control; she did not even let Wayne assist her, allowing only Rachel and Gaynell be on hand to comfort her. But it was Howard Geneva wanted, and she reached for him every time the waves came crashing over her, crying out his name over and over again while he clung to her. She tried to remember the training she had gone through weeks earlier, breathing carefully, concentrating, putting all her energies into her small, tight core, and willed her body to relax and do what it was meant to do. She stared at Howard’s face, and she felt herself lifting, rising out of herself, and floating into his eyes, feeling beloved, feeling she knew the answers to the mysteries of life. She delved into his love, and sank there, drowning in beauty. She did not want to move, to even breathe, afraid this moment would pass too soon. But then came the overwhelming need to push, and her body separated itself from her mind, and simply took over. She had no control, nor did she wish it. Her body was performing miracles all on its own, and all she could do was lie back and be awed by it.
Later, when the babe was wrapped in a soft blanket and handed to her, she felt the song of gratitude and praise rising out of her heart, Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, my soul! I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
The Lord answered her, Peace and love be unto you, my precious child.
And when she looked at Howard and their new son, she knew this promise would be kept.
About the Author
Deborah Hining believes that life is pretty much perfect as long as it holds a sense of destiny. Her destiny has led her to be many things: wife, mother, and grandmother, and also actress, award-winning playwright, theatrical director, college instructor, and Certified Financial Planner (or as she calls it, “Financial Fairy Godmother”). Now she is a farmer and author. Deborah lives at Corinne’s Orchard, a farm in Durham County, North Carolina, with her husband, architect Michael Hining, daughter Mary Elizabeth, an artist, and son-in-law, Nick, a chef. Her son, George, daughter-in-law, Julie, and granddaughter, Corinne, live just a few miles away. You can find her most days working in one of the gardens, writing, and generally giving thanks for her abundant life.
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Available online at dhining.lightmessages.com