Benjamin turned around toward her. “Good morning.” He said with a shy smile, feeling a little embarrassed that she may have heard his song. “You’re up early.”
“I could say the same thing to you. We couldn’t have gone to bed more than couple of hours ago. I don’t know how you do it.” She said with a sleepy smile.
“I enjoyed staying up with you last night—and the night before that, but sooner or later it’s going to catch up with us.”
“I think it’s already caught up with me,” she complained playfully. “I’m exhausted.”
He went back to milking the cow.
“I liked your song, it sounded beautiful.”
“Thank you.” He said, blushing. “It’s from the Ausbund.”
He could see from Vivian’s expression that she didn’t understand, and he loved her for giving him a chance to explain rather than prying.
“It’s from the hymn book we used to sing from during church services—before our parents passed away and we were shunned.”
“Oh. I’d love to go to a church service for Christmas. Do you attend somewhere else?”
“Well, we haven’t actually been to church since our parents passed. When we go visit our Mennonite cousins, we attend their church, but it’s too far to travel every week. We hold our own services here once a month, or in times we’re caught up with chores. We’ll be having one on First Christmas if you’d like to join us.”
Vivian nodded. “Why do you say, First Christmas?” she asked.
Benjamin never really thought about why he did, it’s how he remembered his parents always referred to Christmas day. “It has something to do with the reading of the first Christmas when the Christ-child was born. There’s a lot of little traditions I’m not completely clear on and never thought to ask about, so I suppose that’s the best explanation I can give you. If we were still part of the community, I would probably know, or I could ask the Bishop.”
“That seems like a reasonable and sensible explanation. I think it makes perfect sense.”
He smiled. “I love that you’re so easy to get along with.”
“My mother would beg to differ with you,” Vivian said, laughing. “She thinks I’m incorrigible.”
“Well, I have to say I don’t agree with her, but I won’t tell her so when I meet her.”
Vivian sighed and looked at her boots, scuffing at the straw bedded down over the dirt floor. “I’m afraid that might not be for a very long time, or possibly never.”
“We’ll deal with that when the situation arises,” he tried to encourage her.
He wanted so badly to tell her of his plans to contact her parents and invite them to come for Christmas. If he was successful, she’d be seeing her parents the day after tomorrow, but he didn’t want to spoil the surprise. He hated to see her torture herself the way she was, but he decided it was best to keep his surprise, just in case things didn’t work out the way he planned.
“If you don’t mind me asking,” Vivian said cautiously. “How did you three come about owning this B&B?”
“It belonged to our Mennonite Aunt. She let us come here to live with her after our parents passed away. And when she passed on shortly after, she left the place to us. We had such a rocky start our first year of running the place on our own; we barely had enough money to feed the guests at first. But after our first holiday season we had a lot more success. That’s why we put our ads out around Christmastime; it’s our magical season,” he said with a grin. “When there isn’t a blizzard, anyway.”
She noticed he avoided the subject of his wife, and that was fine with her. They’d discussed it a little that first night, and she already knew the timing of her death had come shortly after she’d had Molly. He’d bravely put it behind him, and was fully ready to move on with his life, knowing his daughter was also ready to have a mother. She certainly was in need of one, and Vivian was pleased the girl had taken to her so quickly.
“Yes, I can see the storm really put a damper on things this season. It was a miracle I made it here myself.”
“I’m hoping since the snow has let up, we’ll get a few more guests for Christmas.”
Vivian didn’t want to share Benjamin with any other guests, but perhaps Katie and Simon could fill in the gap so they could continue to spend Christmas together as a family.
Benjamin wanted to tell her he didn’t think it was just a miracle she made it to the B&B, but he believed it was also fate. Having her here felt so right to him, and her presence alone made him feel happier than he had been in a while.
Chapter 7.
Vivian sat in her room, cozied up with a cup of hot cocoa and a book from the library downstairs. She was enjoying her time away from her everyday life so much, she had almost forgotten all about it. But something in the book she was reading reminded her of her mother, and she wondered how the text she’d sent had gone over with her parents. She had sent a brief explanation as to what she was doing, though she hadn’t let either of them know her exact location.
She hadn’t charged her phone since it had died the day she’d arrived. With all the excitement over her new relationship with Benjamin, and her flat tire, she was curious to see if they had even responded. Although she had been enjoying the quiet, as opposed to the normal holiday chaos she had with her parents, she couldn’t help but miss them. She dug around in her suitcase for her cell phone charger and plugged it in, waiting impatiently for it to turn back on. The phone had been off for a few days now, and she assumed it would take a bit of a charging before it would turn back on. While she waited, she decided to go downstairs for a bite to eat instead of watching the blank phone screen.
Vivian walked into the kitchen to help Katie with dinner. “Do you need any help?” She offered. “I could use some more cooking lessons.”
“Sure, I can teach you how to make a casserole,” she said, draining bowtie pasta.
Katie set aside the pasta to cool, sensing something was bothering Vivian. “Is everything alright?”
“Well, I’m starting to feel a bit guilty about ditching my parents for the holidays. I just couldn’t take any more of the chaos and the fighting; I wanted a peaceful Christmas. But I do miss them, and the holidays don’t feel the same without them. I just wish everything could go back to how it was when I was little. We were all so happy then.”
“Viv, I’d like to give you a bit of advice, but you may not want to hear it.”
“Gosh, you sound so serious.”
Katie sighed, but decided to speak her mind. “We both miss our parents because they aren’t here, but you’re the only one of us who still has a chance to see yours. If it were me, I would tell them the truth about how I feel. I wish I’d told my daed how I felt while he was still around. He was a good provider, but he was a very harsh man, and if I’d talked to him about it, we might have had a closer relationship. You still have a chance to change things with your parents, and it’s up to you to make a difference. They might never come to you and tell you they’ve made a mistake; you’re going to have to either live with who they are, or get them to see they’re hurting you with the way they treat you. The fact you’re here instead of spending Christmas with them, says you’re not willing to live with the way they are, but you can’t avoid them either. Stop complaining about it, and try to make it right. If you don’t tell them how you feel, they might never know, and you might lose your chance to mend fences like I did.”
Vivian felt a pang of guilt in her chest; she knew Katie was right. She stopped what she was doing and dropped her gaze. Once again, she was certain she came off as sounding very spoiled to Katie, and she suddenly felt it. Here she was, complaining about her parents, when Katie and Benjamin were missing theirs. She made up her mind to keep her feelings to herself about her parents until she could sort things out with them, and hopefully make amends. What would make this season even better, though, would be if she could get them to agree to come here—mostly because she wanted them to meet Benjamin
and Molly. She would gladly share them with Katie, too, who was just as much in need of more family as she was.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Katie said nervously.
“No. you didn’t. You actually put things into perspective for me.” She excused herself to go back to her room and check her phone.
When she opened up her phone she was surprised to see both of her parents had responded to her message, and wanted to see her. The tough part would be to convince them to travel to the B&B, instead of her having to go back to see them on their terms. She tried calling them but her service was out. She wrote down their numbers on a notepad and went downstairs to use the phone in the parlor.
When neither of them answered, she felt a little discouraged, but decided to go look for Benjamin. She pulled on her jacket and boots, and walked out to the barn to see if he was out there, knowing he would surely cheer her up.
She walked into the barn to see Ben talking with the cow again, which immediately put a smile on her face. His way with the animals made her happy, he had such a loving nature, like any creature was safe with him around. She walked over and stood next to him, petting the cow’s nose.
He pulled her into his arms. “What seems to be troubling you?” he asked. Even though she had a smile on her face, he could sense something was bothering her.
Remembering she wanted to keep her feelings about missing her parents to herself, she shrugged and forced a smile. “I tried calling my parents, but neither of them answered,” was all she was willing to say.
She was not about to upset him by telling him it didn’t feel like Christmas without them, for fear it would remind him that he was also without parents for the holiday.
“The holidays can be tough without family. But I know something that could cheer you up a little.”
Vivian smiled, but she felt bad that he’d picked up on what was really bothering her.
“I’d like to take you for a sleigh ride later—a real one. Not like the one we had when you first arrived.” He chuckled.
“I’d love that.” She said with a smile. “Thank you, Benjamin.”
The two continued patting Buttercup and Benjamin began singing his German hymn to her again, figuring that too would cheer Vivian up.
****
Later that evening, Benjamin walked into the house after finishing up all his chores. He noticed a notepad by the phone while he was hanging his coat. He went over to examine it and realized it was Vivian’s parents’ phone numbers. What luck that she should leave such a thing lying around—especially since he’d planned on calling them to invite them for Christmas. He knew she’d love to have them here, but he hoped she wouldn’t think it was too invasive. It was now his job as her husband-to-be to make Vivian’s holiday as special as she had anticipated.
Before he was able to talk himself out of it, he picked up the phone and called her father’s number, hoping that speaking with her father first would make him less uncomfortable with the situation.
A man picked up the other end of the line.
“Hello, this is Benjamin Yoder from Willow Creek Bed and Breakfast, I’d like to speak with Mr. Waterford, Vivian’s father.”
“Is something wrong with my daughter?” he asked excitedly. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, Sir,” Benjamin said. “Well, all except for her Christmas spirit.”
“What are you talking about, young man? What do you know about my daughter?”
“She’s a guest here at my B&B, and I’ve gotten to know her quite well. Enough to know that she misses her parents and wants to spend Christmas with them.”
He didn’t let on how well he knew Vivian. That would come later when he asked the man permission to marry his daughter.
“If she wanted to spend Christmas with us,” he said gruffly. “Then she would have stayed home where she belongs, instead of throwing a tantrum like a spoiled child.”
Benjamin wasn’t about to point out to her father that, he too, was acting like a spoiled child. That was between him and God.
“I’d like to invite you and her mother to come spend Christmas here with Vivian.”
“Why should we come to her?” he said impatiently. “If she wants to see us for Christmas, she knows where she can find us.”
“With all due respect, Sir,” Benjamin dared to speak his mind. “From what I hear from Vivian, she’s been catering to the whims of you and her mother since the two of you separated, and that is why she’s here. Perhaps you should consider your daughter’s feelings for the holiday for a change. ”
“This is not your affair, young man,” Mr. Waterford reprimanded Benjamin. “I would appreciate you keeping your opinions to yourself, and your nose out of our business.”
Benjamin wanted to tell the man that Vivian was now his business, but it wasn’t the time for that conversation. He merely gave him the address to the B&B, and added, “Just in case you change your mind, Sir. Guten tag.”
Mr. Waterford hung up the phone without another word between them.
Though the conversation had not gone as he’d hoped, Benjamin felt satisfied with himself for having made the call. He hadn’t been sure it was the right thing to do at first, but after his strained talk with her father, he was more convinced than ever it was the right thing to do. He wished he’d gotten confirmation that her parents would agree to come to the B&B, especially since Vivian needed them to be here for Christmas, but he knew he’d done the right thing. Now it was up to them.
He glanced down at Vivian’s handwriting on the notepad, wondering if he might have better luck with her mother. Bowing his head, he closed his eyes and whispered a prayer that her father would have a change of heart, and that her mother would also be agreeable to spend the holiday with Vivian.
Before he could make the call to Vivian’s mother, the phone rang.
Benjamin picked it up. “Willow Creek B&B, Benjamin speaking.”
“This is Lila Waterford,” the woman on the other end stated. “I just received a disturbing phone call from my husband regarding our daughter, Vivian. Is she really staying there for the holidays?”
“Jah—yes,” Benjamin said politely correcting himself to be certain he would be understood. “Her reservation is through the new year.”
“Why on earth would she do something like that?”
Benjamin cleared his throat and said a little prayer that he wasn’t overstepping his bounds.
“If I may, Ma’am. She’s confided in me that she wanted an old-fashioned Christmas like the ones she had when she was a child.”
Silence from the other end worried him.
“Are you still there, Mrs. Waterford?”
“Yes,” she said impatiently. “I was thinking. Well, do you have a website?”
He gave her the web address that he and his Mennonite cousin, Henry, had put together.
More silence from the other end as she looked up the Willow Creek B&B online.
“That looks a lot like the home I lived in as a child. We used to go there when my mother was still alive, but the house was a lot smaller than yours.”
Benjamin listened to her chatter almost to herself as she perused their website. He’d included pictures of the sleigh, the grounds, and the frozen pond. Pictures of previous Christmas trees, Fourth-of-July picnics, and other holidays lent an atmosphere to the romance of the B&B. They’d even conducted a few traditional English weddings on the grounds, and the pictures from those brought compliments from Mrs. Waterford.
“You have a beautiful home, Mr. Yoder. It’s very quaint, and much like the home I grew up in. Do you have two rooms available for Christmas Day?”
“Two?” Benjamin questioned.
“I’ll make sure Vivian’s father is there too, but we’ll need separate rooms. We live separately.”
“Yes, Vivian told me,” he said. “I’ll put you both in the books. Do you know how long you’ll be staying?”
“Just long enough to let my daughter have h
er way for Christmas, but after that, I’m going to have to talk some sense into her. I’ll be bringing her back to the city with me, so you can cancel the remainder of her reservation.”
Benjamin’s heart slammed against his ribcage, fear settling there. Would her mother really take her away from here? If she did, would she come back and honor her promise to marry him?
What had he done?
All he was trying to do was to make Vivian happy, and get the opportunity to meet her parents, but somehow he’d managed to mess everything up.
Now he was torn between the anticipation of meeting her parents, and dreading the visit for fear they would expect her to leave with them. He wished he knew a way to change their minds, but perhaps he would have to leave that task to Vivian, and trust that she would do the right thing. Honestly, if truth be told, he couldn’t wait for Christmas day, and hoped she would like his surprise. He anticipated seeing the look on her face when she saw her parents, and prayed an unselfish prayer for her to have the best Christmas ever. In the end, he decided the most important thing was Vivian’s happiness—even if that meant it wouldn’t be with him.
Chapter 8.
Vivian was in her room getting ready for the sleigh ride Benjamin had promised her. Wanting to look nice for him, she wondered if she dared ask to borrow a dress from Katie. She wanted to look proper and appeal to his Amish ways, but she feared he would think she was mocking him if she suddenly wore an Amish dress. She had a few skirts and dresses with her that would pass for being conservative to wear in his company, and in the end, she decided on her long, black wool skirt and a plain white dress shirt. She would save her long, blue dress to wear for Christmas dinner.
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