One night Deborah answered the door to find Toby smiling at her. She stepped back. “Come in, come in.” Her heart picked up the faster beat the sight of him always evoked.
Mangling the hat in his hands, Toby shut the door. “I’ve come to see your father.”
“Oh, well, he’s in his office. I’ll get him.” Something was sure bothering him. What could it be?
“No, that’s okay, I’ll talk with him there.”
Deborah led Toby down the hall and tapped on the closed door.
“Come in,” John called.
She opened the door and stepped back. “I’ll go put the coffee pot on, unless you’re in a hurry.”
“Thank you, my dear. We’ll join you all in a little bit.”
Deborah closed the door behind her and nibbled on her bottom lip all the way to the kitchen.
“Was that Toby I heard?” Mary Martha looked up from where she was helping Emily with her arithmetic at the big oak table in the kitchen.
“He wanted to talk with Pa.”
“Oh. Well, we have apple cake left over and cream to pour over it. Why don’t you make a fresh pot of coffee?” She returned to her tutoring and supervising of homework.
When the two men entered the kitchen, nothing was said about the talk, much to Deborah’s consternation. Curiosity was a wicked taskmaster. They all enjoyed their second dessert, Toby teased Thomas, making them all laugh, and when Deborah walked him to the door, he bid her good-night and went whistling down the path. Whatever had been concerning him seemed to be settled.
Everyone brought food and chairs to the Thanksgiving festival. They served the mountains of food from boards set on sawhorses, and after everyone was filled to groaning, the last call to buy raffle tickets created an air of expectation that shimmered as the big bowl of tickets was set on a table in front of the gathered band.
Hjelmer lifted the bowl high. “Anyone else want to buy a ticket? Remember, six for a quarter. Going, going, gone.” He set the bowl back down and stirred the tickets with his hand. “Hmm, I wonder who should have the honor of drawing the winning ticket?”
“Come on, Hjelmer, draw the ticket,” a voice called from the crowd.
“We have a lot of tickets here. What if we sweeten the pot?” He pulled out his wallet and tossed five one-dollar bills down on the table. “There, now more people can win something.” He stared over the crowd. “I need seven little people to come draw. Let’s see, Inga, Emmy, Benny, that’s three. How about Carl, Emily, Goodie, and Truth? Come on up here, and let’s begin the drawing. You draw the ticket, hand it to me, and I will announce the winner.”
The dollar bills went quickly, making five people grin. Mr. Belin tossed his dollar bill back in the bowl. “School need this more than me.”
Applause swelled the room.
“Now, Benny,” Hjelmer said, “you draw the ticket for the trunk, and Emmy, you will draw for the lovely, warm quilt.”
With a grin as wide as his face, Benny pulled up a ticket.
“Looks like Mercy has won the trunk. Perhaps this will make a fine hope chest for a lovely young woman. Come on up here and claim your prize.” Hjelmer beamed at her. With Mercy beside him, he opened the trunk. “Why, look at that, this amazing trunk has a few extra gifts in it.”
Mercy stared down. “Why . . . why thank you, whoever added sheets, pillowcases, some dish towels, and a doily.”
“You can thank the quilters for those,” Sophie called. “They thought every trunk needs to hold something.”
Trygve and Toby came forward and carried the trunk nearer the door, Mercy dancing beside them.
“And now, the final drawing.” He grinned at Emmy. “Stir them up good.”
She did and held up one ticket.
“And the winner is . . . Mr. Sten Swedenborg. Something to help keep you comfortable through the long winter.”
The broad-shouldered carpenter strode forward and claimed his prize. “Reminds me of home and the quilts there. Tusen takk.” He bowed toward some of the ladies.
“And now, let the dancing commence!”
Toby turned to Deborah. “Shall we?” He held out his hand.
With a shiver, she placed her hand in his. “Yes.”
The music swelled into a two-step, and partners of all ages whirled around the room, from Ingeborg dancing with David Gould, to grade schoolers, to Thorliff with Inga standing on his feet.
Deborah looked up to see Toby studying her intently. “What?”
“You are the most beautiful of all the lovely young women in this room.”
She caught her breath, a smile trembling on her mouth. “Why, thank you.” She nearly choked on the words, or was it the way he was staring at her? “Toby, what is it?”
The final chords sounded, but he held on to her hand. “Come with me.”
She pulled back a little. “You could say please.”
“Please,” he threw over his shoulder and kept on walking until they were both out in the hall and standing in front of a window.
“Toby Valders, what in the world?”
“I just can’t wait any longer. I was trying to think of some special way or place, and all I could think was, What if she says no?”
She stared at him, shaking her head. “You are not making any sense.”
“I know.” He looked down at her, holding both her hands as if to keep her from running away. “Deborah MacCallister, will you marry me?”
Her heart skipped into double time. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I asked your father if I could ask you, and he said it was fine with him and all up to you.”
Her heart wanted to scream yes, a thousand times yes, but her mind held back. “I can only marry a man who is sure he loves me as I love him.”
“Why would I ask you to marry me if I didn’t love you?”
She swallowed. “You’ve never told me you love me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
“You said ‘as I love him.’”
She nodded, her hands squeezing his as if to hurry him up.
Toby heaved a sigh from the soles of his boots. “Deborah MacCallister, I love you with all I am and I—”
“Yes.”
“Yes?”
“Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He picked her up and swung her around. “She said yes!”
“Shh, they’ll hear you over the music.”
“I don’t care. I want everyone to know. Deborah MacCallister said she will marry me.” He cupped his hands along her jawline and tipped her face up to meet his. The kiss was all she had ever dreamed of. He raised his head, shaking it gently at the same time. “I can’t believe this is real.”
She stood up on tiptoe to kiss him again.
“I was afraid you might be falling for Anton.”
“He has become a good friend, and I hope he finds someone to love again.” She tucked her arm in Toby’s and leaned against his shoulder. “When were you finally sure you loved me?”
“When you left for Chicago. I realized I was so afraid you would not come back, but after talking with your father, I knew that if I needed to go to Chicago and bring you home, I would.”
“Shall we go back and dance?”
“Do you mind if I make an announcement?”
“Really?”
“I want everyone to know at the same time that no more matchmaking is needed.”
She giggled. “You know the next question is going to be when.”
“When is the wedding?”
“Yes.”
“How about before Christmas?”
She laughed. “Let’s just say that is not decided yet.”
“All right.”
The Texas Star square dance was just finishing when they returned to what would become the dining and general purpose room of the new deaf school. Keeping Deborah right beside him, Toby strode up to the platform.
“Jonathan, before you begin the next dance, I have an announceme
nt to make.”
“All right, and I sure hope it’s what I think it is.” He raised his voice to be heard across the room full of laughing and chatting people. “Can I have your attention, please?”
Manny’s whistle blasted the walls and silence fell, all eyes on Jonathan.
“Toby Valders has asked if he can make an announcement.” Jonathan grinned at the two of them.
Toby kept Deborah tucked into his side. He choked on his words, cleared his throat, and sucked in a deep breath. “I . . . uh . . .”
“Just say it! We’re all laying bets on this anyway,” one of the men shouted from the back of the room, bringing out laughter and giggles.
Toby sucked in another breath. “I asked Deborah MacCallister to marry me and she said yes!”
The walls rocked with the clapping and cheering. Both Toby and Deborah wore an instant sunburn.
“When?” came from several places around the room.
“I suggested before Christmas.”
“Good idea, since it’s taken you so long to get to this point.” Surely that was Trygve.
“But she said the date is not certain yet,” Toby added.
“You better not wait too long, Deborah. He might run again.” Could that be Thorliff?
Deborah looked up at Toby, who leaned over to say in her ear, “I will wait as long as you want. Turnabout is fair play.”
She looked toward her ma and pa, who both nodded and shrugged. Was her dream of the church filled with lilacs a good enough reason to wait?
The musicians started a slow waltz. “You two just go on out there and dance. You do not want to make any decisions under pressure.” Jonathan gave them a gentle shove.
They stepped down from the raised platform, and Deborah melted into Toby’s arms, her gaze never leaving his. As if they had danced together every day of their lives, they swayed with the beat and floated around the open floor.
“Now everyone join in as we celebrate this grand news,” Jonathan called.
When the music ended, applause swelled and continued.
“I think they are happy for us.” Toby had yet to step back.
“I think so.”
The musicians picked up the beat, and the dancing continued. John Solberg was the first to cut in, exchanging his wife for his daughter.
“And now you know what he wanted to talk with me about that day,” he said, smiling.
“And you gave him your blessing.”
“I did. Something I am very pleased and proud to have the privilege of doing. Your ma and I were talking. If you wait a few months, perhaps your pa and Manda would come for the wedding.”
“That is something to think about. But you know, in reality, you are my real father. You are the one who raised me to be who I am today. I want you to walk me down that aisle.”
“Ah, Deborah, you have given me the greatest compliment possible.” John hugged her close and swung her gently into the next waltz.
When Toby claimed the next dance, Deborah smiled up at him. “We will have a December wedding. Let’s just pray against a blizzard, or it will be a very small wedding.”
Toby let out a deep breath, as if he’d been holding it. “Thank you. I’m grateful I needn’t wait until the lilacs bloom again.”
Pine branches and tall candles waited on the windowsills and decorated the altar. Small candles were clamped on the branches of the pine tree to the side of the altar, with white bows and silver drip cups. Buckets of sand and water waited at the wall, but Manny and Benny had promised to guard against any candle burning too low. Jonathan took his place at the piano, and Anton held his violin at the ready.
The congregation quickly filled the pews and every chair available. Jonathan and Anton nodded and softly began to play a collection of Christmas carols.
In the back room, Deborah smoothed her hands down the pale blue ankle-length gown. “Something borrowed, something blue. Both in one, thanks to you.”
Mary Martha pinned a blue circlet with a veil in place on her daughter’s head, nestling it into the soft waves. “Something old.” She handed Deborah a small white leather Bible. “Something new. Your father and I want you to have a Bible of your own.”
“You look so lovely,” Astrid said.
Deborah smiled. “Thank you. So do you. And Clara, you look lovely too.”
Clara’s cheeks turned pink. By rights, Deborah would have asked Astrid to be her matron of honor, but Astrid was going to bear a child any moment now, and she was afraid it would happen on or before the wedding. Clara had agreed to stand up with Deborah in her place. A knock on the door, and Mary Martha opened it.
“Are you ready?” John asked. “They are lighting the candles now.”
“Is Toby here?”
“Oh yes, and talk about impatient. Gerald is trying to keep him calm.”
“I—we’re ready.”
“Good, as soon as they finish lighting the tree, Jonathan will change the music. Just like we practiced.” He smiled at his daughters, one of the faith and the other by adoption.
The music changed. Mary Martha walked down the aisle and sat in the front row.
He’s up there waiting, Deborah’s heart whispered.
“You go now.” John motioned for Clara to move. He held out his arm for Deborah, and they stepped through the doorway.
“Here she comes!” a very young voice announced, much to the delight of the gathered congregation.
All Deborah could see was Toby standing with Gerald but seeing only her.
While her smile trembled, she felt she was floating. Pa handed her to Toby and then assumed his place as pastor. He smiled at the two of them and then raised his eyes to include all those gathered.
“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here in the sight of God as one family to celebrate the marriage of Toby White Valders to Deborah Norton MacCallister. Let us pray.”
When the time came, Deborah gazed into Toby’s eyes and repeated her vows with a firm voice but a fluttering heart. His voice never wavered, but she was almost undone when she saw tears glimmering in his eyes.
“To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, from this day forward till death do us part.” What powerful words, and she meant every one of them.
“I now declare you husband and wife. Toby, you may kiss your bride.”
Gentle, as if acknowledging a treasure, Toby kissed her and smiled into her heart.
“Please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Toby Valders! And join us all in the basement to celebrate.”
While the congregation applauded, the music burst forth, and the new couple hugged their attendants first, then John and Mary Martha, before proceeding toward the back of the room, greeting and shaking hands with those gathered. Manny and Benny pinched out the candles on the tree, and everyone trooped downstairs, where a cake baked by Rebecca glowed a pure white.
Toby and Deborah stood near the cake to greet everyone and invite them to have cake and some of the Christmas specialties that many of the women had brought.
“So now are you Mrs. Valders, no longer Nurse MacCallister?” Benny asked.
“Well, actually, now I am Nurse Valders and Mrs. Valders.”
“But now you are Tante Deborah too, right?”
“For you, I am.”
He looked to Toby. “Ma and Pa were beginning to think you were hopeless.”
“Benny!” Gerald tried to hide his grin but failed when Benny shrugged. Were it not for the dancing light in the boy’s eyes, one would have thought him as innocent as the toddler in Gerald’s arms.
“Oh, Ingeborg, thank you for all your prayers and advice.” Deborah hugged her close.
“You are most welcome, and you know that will never cease.” Ingeborg hugged Toby too and patted his arm. “Just think, you didn’t have to wait until lilac time.”
“For which I am eternally grateful. As Deborah said, thank you. I know you pray for each of us and for the school and all that goes on around Blessing. What would we do without you?”
<
br /> “Well, I hope to be around for a good long time yet. I love the line ‘from this day forward’ in the ceremony. That fits for every day. God gives us new blessings every day. You two are husband and wife from this day forward. To grow together in grace. And yes, I will keep praying for you and all of Blessing.”
Ingeborg turned slightly to look around the room at all the ages and families. “Just look at all those whom God has brought here.” She looked down to see Carl with his little sister, Goodie, tugging at her skirt. “Yes, little one. I see you.” She started to squat down beside her grandchildren, but they each grabbed a hand and led her away toward the food table.
Deborah tucked her arm through Toby’s. One day perhaps a child of their own would tug at Mary Martha’s skirt or Ingeborg’s, asking to be picked up.
Yes, from this day forward. God had been picking her up when she stumbled, and that would never end. What a legacy to pass on.
Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of over 70 books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults and young adults. Her books have sold over 3 million copies. Besides writing books and articles, she teaches at writers’ conferences across the country. She and her husband make their home in Tehachapi, California.
Books by Lauraine Snelling
SONG OF BLESSING
To Everything a Season
A Harvest of Hope
Streams of Mercy
From This Day Forward
An Untamed Heart
RED RIVER OF THE NORTH
An Untamed Land
A New Day Rising
A Land to Call Home
The Reapers’ Song
Tender Mercies
Blessing in Disguise
RETURN TO RED RIVER
A Dream to Follow
Believing the Dream
More Than a Dream
DAUGHTERS OF BLESSING
A Promise for Ellie
Sophie’s Dilemma
A Touch of Grace
Rebecca’s Reward
HOME TO BLESSING
A Measure of Mercy
No Distance Too Far
A Heart for Home
From This Day Forward Page 31