“Yep, there’s ghosts over in that cemetery. They can sing and dance, too.”
With the wedding ceremony concluded and the bride’s bouquet properly discarded, all that remained was the wedding reception at Strathmore House. Ada and Carrie had devised an ingenious plan for transporting guests from Pine Church to Strathmore. Farm wagons from Frank’s Orchard were cleaned, decorated with flowers, and hay bales covered with white sheets were used for seating.
The lawn at Strathmore couldn’t have been more beautiful. Colorful flowers, walls of ivy, perfectly trimmed shrubs, and festively decorated tables awaited the wedding party and their guests. Mable thought she had died and gone to heaven. “Never seen anything so beautiful,” she said to Charlie as the two got out of the back of Frank Wisslers’ Buick.
Before the bride and groom cut the cake, John Wissler gave a toast. “First time I met this young man I knew that he was special. His gift for caring for animals is the best I have ever seen. I am thrilled, we all are in the Wissler family that Charlie Polk has accepted the position of head foreman at Strathmore Farm. We are delighted that he and his lovely bride will be making their home here on the Strathmore property. To both of you I wish you many years of good health, wealth, and happiness.”
For the remainder of the event, Mable and Charlie talked with as many guests as possible. As they prepared to leave, they were stopped by Frank III who invited them to join him inside the house for a moment. Upon entering the mansion, they saw Cilla standing in the parlor. “Cilla wanted to talk to the two of you before you leave.”
“I didn’t even know you came,” said Charlie.
“There’s something that I’ve got to get off my chest,” said Cilla. “I owe both of you an apology for what I did. I hope you can find in your hearts to forgive me and I sincerely mean this when I say that I hope you have an incredible life together.”
“We forgive you,” said Mable.
“Of course, we do,” said Charlie. “The four of us have been friends for a long time. No point in stopping now. So, what about you guys?”
“Cilla turned me down,” said Frank attempting to smile. “And she’s moving away. Far away.”
“Going to New York. Had enough of farming. Thought I’d check out city life. Look, I feel awful about what happened and I wanted to give you a little wedding gift to, in some small way, make up for my awful deed. Frank said you didn’t have honeymoon plans, but you do now. There’s a room waiting for you at the Grand Hotel at Orkney. It’s yours for a week.”
“You shouldn’t have done that,” said Mable. “It’s too much.”
“Take it. You deserve it,” said Cilla and then Mable hugged her.
“Oh, yeah. One more thing,” said Frank. “Charlie, remember what you told me that first time I took you for a ride in my car?”
“Probably said a lot of things.”
“You said, ‘got to get me one of these someday.’ Remember?”
“Now that you mention it.”
Frank reached into his pocket and pulled out a key and handed it to Charlie. “She’s yours now.”
“What? You can’t do this.”
“Just did. Won’t be needing it. Bought me a new one.”
They embraced one another and agreed to stay in touch and then Charlie and Mable walked out on the lawn to say goodbye to their guests. They were pleased to see that their families had gotten together. Moses was bending Bill’s ear, and the two Marys, Mary Shown, and Mary Polk, appeared to be getting along famously.
Before they got in the green Buick, Charlie hesitated. “Wait a minute. There’s one more person you need to talk to. Be right back.”
Moments later he returned with his sister, Myrtle. “You’ve already met my sister, but she and I have a confession to make.”
“Really,” said Mable laughing.
“Why are you laughing?” said Charlie.
“Because I know what you’re going to tell me.”
“OK. What is it I’m going to tell you?”
“That you didn’t write all those beautiful love letters that I’ve stored away in my chocolate box. Myrtle, you did a mighty fine job on those letters.”
“How did you know?” asked Myrtle.
“I went to school with Charlie. He didn’t even finish the third grade and as best I recall, he wasn’t a very attentive student. Maybe after we leave Orkney, we could take a trip to the Taj Mahal. You said that it’s somewhere near Germany, right Charlie?”
They waved goodbye to their guests one last time and drove away to start their new lives together. Before heading for Orkney, Charlie stopped at their new home. “What do you think?”
Mable looked all around and fixed her eyes on an old oak tree on top of a hill overlooking the house. “Come with me,” she said while opening the car door and then she ran to the tree. “Hurry up, slow poke.”
“Don’t you want to see inside the house?”
“In due time. In due time. Come sit with me.”
They sat under that old oak tree for nearly an hour, holding hands, and taking in the awesome beauty of Strathmore.
“How come you’re so quiet,” asked Charlie.
“Haven’t been quiet. Been talking the whole time.”
“I must be deaf.”
“Wasn’t talking to you. I was talking to the one who made all this possible.”
People wondered how Charlie overcame so much adversity and ascended to such a prestigious position at Strathmore. His mother couldn’t understand what caused the turnaround in Bill Polk’s behavior. Cilla still couldn’t figure out how she lost the battle for Charlie’s heart. But Charlie knew. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind.
“Tell me what you see?” asked Mable.
“Land, grass, trees, the Shenandoah River, and mountains,” answered Charlie and then he laughed. “I expect you see something else.”
“I do. I see…hope. We are so blessed to live in the Valley of Hope.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Richard Weirich writes from the perspective of his numerous life experiences that include professional musician, radio personality, pastor, and advertising sales executive.
Richard grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and immediately after high school was accepted into the U.S. Navy Band as a trombonist. While in the Navy Band he became interested in radio, enrolled in the Tidewater School of Broadcasting and quickly landed his first radio job in Norfolk, Virginia.
For 30+ years Richard was the Burt half of the popular morning radio duo of Burt and Kurt, entertaining listeners in Jackson, Mississippi; Tampa, Florida; Houston, Texas; and Birmingham, Alabama.
While in Birmingham Richard prepared for the ministry at Southeastern Bible College and Samford University which led to a fifteen year ministerial career serving as pastor of several Alabama churches.
He has been married to Janet for more than 40 years and has two sons, Sean and Michael.
In the Valley of Hope is Richard’s second novel following Fifth Sunday: The Loving Hands Murder.
In the Valley of Hope Page 28