When I finally doze off, my dream begins…
I’m standing in the cemetery. In the distance I see a woman in old-fashioned clothing. She is walking toward me. When she reaches me, she smiles warmly before greeting me, “Hello, Sarah.”
“How do you know my name?” I ask. “Who are you?”
Her smile radiates outward. “My name is Elizabeth Finny. I want to thank you for helping me. I had been stuck in that cabin for a very long time. You and Bruce have no idea how grateful I am that you were willing to help me. How did you know where to look?”
“Edward sent us a message. Have you not found him yet?”
She lifts her hand to her chest, “Edward. You have seen him? Where? I have been waiting for him since you freed me from the cabin.”
“We always see him at the Wheatfield. I’m sorry you have waited so long to be together. It’s not fair.” I weep.
She takes both of my hands in hers. “No, please do not cry. I will find Edward, now that I know where to look.”
I take my hands back and wipe my eyes. “I’m sorry. Your story is just so sad. Are you who led us to my wedding dress?”
She smiles again and nods her head. “It was to have been my wedding dress, and I thought it should stay within the family. As you know, Edward and I were to be married, but that wasn’t meant to be. However, we shall live through you and Bruce. I know you will be as happy together as Edward and I were. And we will be again.”
“Thank you for leading me to the dress. And Bruce gave me your ring. Are you all right with that?”
“I am glad that the ring will stay within our families as well. I know Edward will be happy to know that Bruce gave it to you. It was his mother’s. His father gave it to him to give to me. It is a beautiful ring, and I am happy for you to have it.”
“Will you be all right now that you are free of the cabin?”
“I am free. It is just a matter of finding Edward. You have freed my soul, Sarah. I will be forever thankful to you and to Bruce.”
“Go to the Wheatfield. I believe Edward has been waiting for you for as long as you have been waiting for him. I hope you find each other and will be happy together, wherever you are.”
“Thank you again, Sarah. You have no idea how happy I am. I will find Edward, and will finally be at peace. Make sure you love Bruce and keep him close. Don’t ever let something like this separate you.”
Elizabeth turns and walks away from me. “Elizabeth?”
She turns and looks back.
“Thank you for leading me to your dress. I promise to pass it down to the generations to come.”
She smiles and nods before she turns and walks away, fading, then disappearing into a fog.
Chapter 30
I open my eyes and see that the sun is up. Today is the day. Today I will become Mrs. Bruce Wilks. I sit up in bed and breathe in the fresh air coming through the open window. A bark, then there’s a knock at my bedroom door. “Come in.”
“Are you awake?” Mom asks as she walks into the room.
“I just woke up.” I stretch.
“How did you sleep?”
“Very well, actually. Is everyone up already?”
“Yea, your dad is down making you breakfast, your favorite. He always liked you better than me.”
I laugh at the joke she has been telling me since I was a little girl. She has always said that since I was born I’ve been his favorite. That’s how it is supposed to be. I’m a daddy’s girl. What can I say? I smile at Mom.
“Is he, really? I haven’t had that in ages.”
“Breakfast will be ready soon, so if you want to throw a robe on and come down. Sally is out running a few errands and she will be back in a bit.”
“What errands?” I thought we had everything done. Guess not.
“Just a few last minute things. Don’t worry about it.” Mom leaves the room as I slip into my robe. Downstairs I sit at the table, and Dad sets a plate in front of me. He has made me Swedish pancakes. I rub my hands together before picking up my fork. “Thank you, Dad.”
“I thought you would like to have something good to eat before your big day. How are you doing?” Mom brings me a cup of coffee and sits next to me. Dad brings over plates for himself and Mom.
“I feel great. I think I’m finally getting excited about the wedding.”
“Good. Bruce is a good man, and he and Benny have been busy this morning preparing for this wedding. Benny has been in several times this morning, making sure everything is in place. The party rental people have come and gone. Only a few last minute things needed to be done, but you don’t need to worry about any of that.”
“Thank you for being here with me.” I’m starting to feel a bit emotional. Crap, I was hoping to avoid all the crying.
“Oh, honey, please don’t cry. We love you so much, and we know that you and Bruce will be happy together.”
“Oh, Mom, these are happy tears. I never thought I would find happiness. I thought that I would forever be looking for a home. And now I will have both, a home and a husband.”
Having finished our meal, I head upstairs to jump in the shower. Sally called to explain that she will meet us at the salon in a half hour. When I’m ready to go, I meet Mom in the kitchen. “Are you ready?”
“Ready when you are.” Mom smiles as she picks up her purse and gives Dad a kiss.
“See you in a while,” I say to Dad as Mom and I head out.
“Have a good time,” he adds.
Sally is waiting outside the salon as we pull up. “Are you getting excited yet?” Sally asks.
“Yes, I am. What have you been up to this morning?” I question.
“Can’t tell you. Bruce had me do a few things. You’ll see later.” She winks.
A cheerful woman greets us as we walk into the salon. “Good morning, and welcome to the Butternut Salon. Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes, three for eleven o’clock. Tina set us up earlier in the week.” She looks at her computer.
“Yes, Sarah Finny, right?” she asks.
“That’s me.” I grin.
“Tina is setting up in the back for the three of you. Have a seat and she will be up shortly.”
Mom, Sally, and I take a seat. It has been a long time since I’ve had my hair done. Tina knows what we need and has assured us that it wasn’t a problem. I guess if you live here, you adapt easily to doing things as they did in the past.
We sit only a few minutes before Tina takes the three of us to the back.
“I have Tammy and Shannon here to help me out. If you each will take a seat, we’ll talk about what we’re going to do.” I sit at Tina’s station while my mom is with Tammy and Sally with Shannon.
I notice a photographer dressed in a Civil War uniform standing off to the side. I lean over and ask Sally, “Is he our photographer?”
“Yes, he will be following us for the rest of the day. Bruce has his own. Just ignore him.”
I look over at the photographer and smile. He nods.
“I know we are going with Civil War styles, but is there anything else we should know?” Tina asks. When I shake my head, Tina adds, “Well, let’s get started.”
After a wash and towel dry, we’re ready for our transformation. Tina pulls my hair away from my face and she begins to produce long ringlets, the style we are going with. I can’t get my hair to do this at home. Wish I knew her secret. I glance over at Mom and Sally, and while their style is a bit different than mine they too are sporting long curls.
Once we have been transformed, Tina meets us up at the counter. As I pull out my wallet, she informs us, “Oh, Bruce took care of everything. Have a great wedding day, and congratulations.”
“Thank you so much. You all did wonderful work.”
“It was a pleasure. Come back anytime,” she comments. Mom and I agree to meet Sally back at the house.
The wedding is in two hours, and butterflies are hitting me like crazy right now. When we get home
, Dad is nowhere to be seen, and neither is Buc. He must be with Dad. We go into the room we’ve set up as the bridal suite, and I wonder if maybe we could do weddings at our bed and breakfast. I’ll have to talk to Bruce about that later.
I introduce myself to the photographer. “Hi, I’m Sarah.”
“My name is Matt. Just pretend I’m not here. I dressed liked this so I would blend in.” He grins.
I’m having Sally do my makeup since she is better at it than I am. We are going with the most basic, natural look for the makeup since women didn’t wear very much of it back in the day. By the time we’re finished, it is time to get dressed. We decide that I’ll put mine on last since I’ll need to help Sally and Mom with theirs.
Matt leaves us for a moment. He’ll come back when I’m ready to put on my dress. Mom and Sally look beautiful in their dresses and with their period hairstyles. They seem to have stepped back in time.
When it’s my turn to get ready, Matt returns. Getting my dress on is easier than getting Mom and Sally into theirs. Once I’m buttoned in, I stand in front of the tall mirror to examine myself. I could step into “Gone with the Wind.” Sally walks over with a hat.
“Brides wore hats in the mid-nineteenth century. This one belongs to me, so this is your something borrowed. Your dress is your something old. Your ring has blue stones in it. What are we missing?” Sally asks.
“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence for my shoe,” I recite. “So I guess I need something new and sixpence for my shoe.”
Mom hands me a package. “Here is your something new.” Inside is a garter in Union blue to match my dress, and a pair of satin shoes. “Oh, and here is the sixpence.” She presents me a small satin bag containing sixpence to slip into my left shoe.
“Oh, Mom, they are beautiful.” Sally takes the shoes and helps me slide into them, then she slips in the sixpence for good luck. The three of us stand in front of the mirror, now that we are complete with shoes and hats. “Would you look at us? We are hot!” We laugh as we hear a knock at the door. “Who is it?”
“Your father,” my dad announces from the other side of the door.
Sally walks over to let my dad in. When he sees me, his jaw drops and so does mine. He is dressed in a Union Major General’s uniform with all the trimmings. “Wow, Dad you look great. You’ll fit right in.”
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Sarah. Di, would you look at her. Our baby girl is all grown up.” My mom sniffles as my dad turns to look at her. “Well, look at you all dressed up, too. You look beautiful.” He kisses my mom on the forehead. “I just thought I would see how things were going. People are arriving, and Bruce and Benny are both here, ready to go.”
“Thank you for everything,” I say as I walk over and give my parents a hug. “You too, Sally. Thank you. I don’t think I could have made it without you all.”
“You’re welcome, now stop crying or I’ll need to redo your makeup.” I laugh as I wipe the tears away.
* * *
Benny has come to the door to escort Mom to her seat. He looks dapper in his Union Lieutenant’s uniform. Not quite the ranking that my dad has but a step up from what he wore during the reenactment. Before he takes my mom out I inquire, “How is Bruce?”
“He’s excited to see you.” He winks at me. “You look beautiful, by the way. You all do,” he says as he leans over to kiss Sally.
He leaves the room with Mom on is arm.
“I will be right back,” Sally announces as she leaves the room. Dad and I are still waiting for our cue, whatever that might be.
“How are you holding up?”
“I’m good, Dad. I’m happy, and I’m looking forward to the day.”
“Good. I’m happy for the both of you, and I know you will make each other happy.”
“It means a lot to me to have you here.”
“Your mother and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
We hear a single cannon fire. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” I laugh.
“What?” Dad asks.
“Have you not noticed that everything here starts by cannon fire?”
“Yes, I have.” We both laugh as the door opens, and in walks Sally with a big smile on her face.
“Well, since you’re laughing, I guess you realize it’s time to start.”
“The cannon fire gave it away. Let’s get married!” I exclaim as she hands me a simple bouquet of cream-colored roses with Union blue ribbons.
Sally leads the way but stops at the back door. “It’s my turn to go out. When you hear the song ‘Hallelujah’ you come out, and don’t peek. Bruce wanted this part to be a surprise. Have fun. I’m happy for you.” Sally hugs me before she walks out the door. I’m really excited to see what is planned.
It doesn’t take long for us to hear the song. “Are you ready?” my dad asks.
“Yes. Lead the way,” I say as he holds out his arm, opens the back door, and we walk out onto the porch.
Chapter 31
I cannot believe what I’m seeing. The backyard has been turned back one hundred fifty years. Tents have been set up around the yard. Larger than those in which soldiers would sleep, they look to be the same ones that are used for the makeshift hospitals from the reenactments. The aisle has cream-colored roses with blue ribbons on each row’s header chair. The chairs have alternating cream and Union blue covers on them.
Everyone is dressed in the Civil War period clothing. Horses stand next to the barn. Everything looks so authentic. There’s even a wagon with an actual cannon not too far from where Bruce is standing at the makeshift altar. Even the officiant is wearing what looks like a chaplain’s costume.
I notice a trio of musicians—a violin, a fiddle, and a banjo—seated in a corner. Once we arrive at the altar, my dad kisses me on my cheek and shakes Bruce’s hand before handing him mine. Dad walks back to stand next to Mom as Bruce and I step in front of the chaplain.
The arch under which we stand is decorated with the same flowers and ribbon running from top to bottom. The altar itself is made of tree branches twined together. It’s breathtaking.
Bruce kisses my hand and says, “You look beautiful.”
“So do you. I can’t believe you and your friends did all of this in less than a week.” I smile. Bruce is wearing a Union Major’s uniform similar to Dad’s and Benny’s.
“We are gathered here today to join Bruce Wilks and Sarah Finny as husband and wife. I’ve known Bruce since he was a child. I watched him grow into the wonderful man he is today. I know your parents are watching you from above and are happy that you found Sarah. I know they would approve.” The chaplain smiles at both of us before continuing. “I haven’t known Sarah for very long, but I can tell that she has a good soul and that she and Bruce will live happily together.”
The chaplain has us repeat our vows. As we prepare to exchange rings, the chaplain pulls them out of his coat pocket and places them on his Bible. “Bruce, please place the ring on Sarah’s left hand on her third finger and repeat after me.” Bruce picks up my ring off of the Bible, slips it onto my finger, and commits his life to me. I do the same.
“I now pronounce you husband and wife. Congratulations.”
Bruce places his hands on the sides of my face, looks into my eyes, and whispers, “I love you,” then kisses me, pouring his soul into mine.
And just like that, we’re married. We turn to face the crowd, who stands and applauds us. “I would like to be the first to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Wilks,” the chaplain announces as Bruce takes my hand. We make our way back down the aisle. With Benny and Sally close behind, Bruce leads us into a smaller tent off to the side.
Once we are inside he turns me to look at him. “Well, how do you feel, Mrs. Wilks?”
“I feel wonderful, Mr. Wilks. You did a great job setting this all up in such a short time. I’m assuming you had something to do with the cannon fire.” I look over at Benny, who has his ar
ms wrapped around Sally’s waist.
“What? You know everything here starts with cannon fire.” We all laugh, and the four of us take turns hugging each other.
“This tent has been set up so we can have a breather before we need to greet our guests.” Bruce walks over to a small table that holds a bottle of champagne and four flutes. Bruce pops the cork and pours, then hands each of us a glass.
“To my bride: I look forward to starting our lives together and growing old together. Cheers!” We clink glasses and take a seat on a small padded bench.
“So, what do we do now?” I inquire.
“We get to relax for a few minutes before we greet our guests. The caterer is preparing the buffet stations. We’ll join everyone when the food is ready. Were the ceremony and setting what you were expecting?”
“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what to expect. Never having imagined I would get married, I never had a thought about such details. I think everything was perfect. Thank you, all of you, for making my life full. I finally have a place I can call home, and I have the friends who mean the world to me, and now a husband I can’t wait to start a family with.” I tear up a bit and Sally hands me a tissue.
“I’m so happy for both of you. I’ve known Bruce since we were little kids. I always hoped he would find someone who would make him as happy as you do,” Benny comments.
“Thanks, man, that means a lot to me.” Bruce claps his hand on Benny’s shoulder.
We sit for a few moments longer when we hear the band play “Ashokan Farewell.”
“That is our cue,” Bruce announces as he stands and holds out his hand for me to take, kissing it as we walk. I look back over my shoulder and see Benny take Sally’s hand and pull her in for a kiss. It’s so sweet to see the way they act with each other. When I turn back we duck through the flap of the tent, and I whisper to Bruce, “Do you think Sally and Benny might make it official at some point?”
“I hope so. They deserve the happiness I feel with you. Benny’s a good guy, and Sally keeps him in line. I could see it happening.” Bruce smiles. “Are you ready for this?”
Freeing Lost Souls (The Family Tree Series Book 1) Page 18