She sighed. Lord? Will you speak to Søren while I’m gone? Our little family needs a daddy. And a big brother.
—
KARI PULLED INTO SØREN’S YARD WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. She didn’t have to wonder where the kids were—all three of them were digging in the dirt not far from the pump, making roads and bridges, hauling loads and dumping them.
Max had found a few more vehicles—a grader, a front loader, and a dated sports car. Shannon was dirty, but Robbie was coated in mud. They were utterly engrossed in their play and having the most fun Kari had seen them have.
When they saw Kari drive up, they ran to her. Within seconds, Kari had been hugged, squeezed, and kissed by three sets of filthy hands and lips.
“Aunt Kari! Aunt Kari! You’re home!”
“Auntkareeee! Auntkareee!” Robbie plastered a particularly muddy kiss on her cheek.
“I should call you Pigpen,” Kari laughed.
Ilsa suggested that Kari shower Robbie off in the guest room. “Best way to keep the dirt contained,” she cautioned.
“Thank you, Ilsa.” Kari hauled the screaming toddler into the guest bath and showered him clean, liberally soaking herself at the same time. When they emerged, a cleaner Shannon was sitting next to Ilsa, and Ilsa was reading to her. Robbie scampered over and climbed into her lap.
Shannon looked up. “Aunt Ilsa is reading Pooh Bear to us.”
“Aunt Ilsa is pretty neat, huh?”
“Yup.”
Søren came to Kari. Stood near her, his back to Ilsa.
“How did it go, Søren?”
“I think we need to talk. The two of us.”
Kari’s heart thumped so hard she found it hard to answer.
“All right. Could you come over this evening? After the children are in bed?”
“Yes.”
—
SØREN KNOCKED ON THE DOOR AT EIGHT. Kari let him in and, while she made a pot of tea, he wandered the living room looking at her things. When she came back, he was standing by her little office area holding Rose’s photograph.
“Where did you get this?”
“Uncle Matthew. When my photographer left here, he went to Emporia next. That one is special to me. I kept it on my desk in my New Orleans’ house.”
“I guess I didn’t notice it. It’s a wonderful likeness of her.”
“I love it. It captures the woman I came to know through her journals. That expression . . . O’Dell captured the patient hope on her face.”
Søren walked to the coffee table and picked up the photo of Stephen and Kelly. “This has to be your brother and his wife.”
“Yes. I put it where the children can see it as often as they like.”
“Your brother . . . he looks a lot like you. Same coloring, but mainly the eyes.”
“Our eyes, Søren.”
Søren studied the image again. “Yes. It’s remarkable. He’s definitely a Thoresen.”
“So are Shannon and Robbie.”
Søren nodded. “Come out on the porch with me, Kari?”
They went outside and stood at the railing. And Søren took her hand.
It felt so good! Her hand in his large, strong one.
“Max told me about the conversation you two had. About obstacles.”
“Oh?”
“He said . . . he said you were ready to get married. Is that right?”
Kari’s lips would hardly move. “Yes.”
“But then he told me . . . that I was the last obstacle. Is that what you think?”
“I-I told Max I had to be sure you could love Shannon and Robbie the way I love him—as my own child.”
Søren was quiet for a bit. “I have nothing to offer you, Kari. I probably have less now than when we first met. You are the wealthiest person I know. What can I possibly give you that you don’t have or cannot buy?”
Kari shook her head. “It is not what you have, Søren, it is who you are that I love and need. I need a husband, a godly man who will be a father to Shannon and Robbie. I cannot buy that. I can only turn to God and ask him to provide.”
“What if I told you that having Shannon and Robbie these last few days proved to me that I can love and accept them as my own?”
“In my mind, it would remove all doubt. Would remove the last ‘obstacle.’”
“But what about . . . What about all your ‘holdings?’ Stewarding it all? Will you change your mind and want to move back to Louisiana?”
“I have responsibilities in New Orleans, yes, but I don’t want to raise Shannon and Robbie there. I want them to know their heritage, their prairie heritage. I want them to know the faith Rose and Jan left all of us. I intend to keep on top of things back there but remain here the majority of the time.”
Søren looked away into the distance. “I’ve missed you, Kari. Every moment of every day since we parted, I have missed you.”
Through the gathering shadows, Kari saw Søren’s jaw working. Saw him struggling.
“I watched Max grieve for you, Kari, and I wondered, time and again—had I made the single biggest mistake of my life? Had I placed too high of an estimation upon my own ways?”
He shook his head and sighed. “But now I understand why, whenever I prayed last year, all I heard was spring. Wait until spring. It could have thrown us into a tailspin if Shannon and Robbie had come into our lives after we’d married. Might have been even more difficult for Max to accept.”
“Because neither of you would have had the opportunity to choose them?”
“I guess so.”
“Do you choose them now, Søren?”
“Yes, Kari. Yes, I do.”
“And I choose you, Søren. You and Max. For always.”
Kari went to his arms. Søren cupped her chin and they kissed—a long, tender, satisfying kiss—a pledge of commitment, a seal of promise.
Kari was breathless when their lips parted. “Goodness!”
Søren grinned, and Kari loved how his even, white teeth gleamed in the twilight.
She took his hand. “Come in the house. We have a wedding to plan.”
They had no more than sat down when tiny plastic-padded footsteps pattered into the living room.
“Uh-oh!” Kari whispered. “What are you doing up, little man?”
Robbie didn’t answer. He shuffled to Søren, clambered into his lap, laid his head on Søren’s chest, and closed his eyes.
Søren shook his head and smiled a crooked smile at Kari. “How could I not love this?”
—
“HAVE YOU DECIDED TO GET MARRIED, THEN? At long last?” Ilsa stood with both hands on her hips looking from Søren to Kari.
“Yes,” they answered at the same time.
“God be praised! Thought we’d all be moldering in the grave before you two figured things out. So when? When will you do it?”
Kari looked to Søren. “September, I think. Is that right?”
“September seems too far off for me, but yes. September. The season when I’m most at my leisure.”
Kari and Ilsa burst into laughter.
Max opened the door and let Shannon and Robbie inside.
“What’s so funny?”
“Well, we were trying to figure out when to have a wedding,” Søren grinned.
“A wedding? Oh, boy! Finally!”
“Come here, Shannon and Robbie. Max. Let’s do this right.”
Søren sat on a bench and gathered the children to him. “Shannon? Robbie? Max? I have asked Kari to marry me. That would make us a family.”
Robbie squirmed and climbed up on his knee, oblivious to the conversation, but claiming his place nonetheless. However, Shannon studied Søren, unsure of what was happening.
“Shannon, if Aunt Kari and I get married, then I would be your new father. Max would be your new brother. What do you think of that?”
Shannon looked at Kari. “What about Mommy and Daddy?”
“They will always be your Mommy and Daddy. Always. You can pick a name for
Søren that isn’t Daddy.”
“I call him Papa, Shannon,” Max told her. “You can call him that if you want to.”
“Okay.”
“Does that mean it’s okay for Aunt Kari and me to get married?”
Shannon nodded vigorously. “Yes. Cause then you’ll be Papa Søren. And Max will be my brother. I like Max.”
“And when they get married, then Aunt Kari will be my mom,” Max added.
But this confused Shannon. “How can she be Aunt Kari and your mom, too?”
“Well, she could be your new mom like Søren is your new father. If you want,” Max suggested.
Kari knelt by Shannon. “I’m not your mommy, but I would like to be your new mother. Would you like to pick a name for me that isn’t Mommy?”
Max touched Kari’s arm. “I want to call you Mama, if that’s all right.”
Tears sprang to Kari’s eyes. “I would love that, Max.”
“Well, then I want to call you Mama Kari,” Shannon announced. “Papa Søren and Mama Kari.”
Søren grinned. “It sounds like we have a plan.”
“Hallelujah, Lord!” Ilsa muttered. “I thank you, Father, for answered prayer. And before Jesus comes back, too.”
~~**~~
Chapter 37
September 1994
KARI LOOKED FROM HER BEDROOM WINDOW TOWARD THE SUNRISE. It was going to be a glorious day—sunny and warm with a slight breeze.
“What do you want for a wedding?” Søren had asked her. “A big church wedding or something simpler?”
Kari didn’t need to think long. “I want to be married surrounded by poppies, Søren. I would like our lives to be joined down on the creek bank, where our lands join—surrounded by poppies and all the people we love.”
“All the people we love? All of them?”
“I’m filthy, stinking rich, remember? And I guarantee this is the last time I’m getting married. I’ll pay for airline tickets for all our friends and family—or charter a plane, if that is easier. I’ll buy out an entire hotel for the festivities and feed all of RiverBend if necessary. But I want all our friends and family—including Shannon and Robbie’s grandparents, including my one and only sister—to be with us as we commit ourselves to this new family.”
“And poppies, eh? They grow wild around here, you know,” he smiled.
“Yes, I know.”
“But they’re gone by September.”
“Well, then it wouldn’t hurt to plant some.”
And he had done just that. In late July, he had driven his tractor from the top to the bottom of his field and mowed a wide path from the driveway to the creek bank. Then he had plowed a wider swath along the creek.
And, Max had informed her, “Papa ordered a big sack of poppy seeds—the tall red kind—and broadcast the whole sack of ’em along the creek bank!”
Søren had watered daily during the heat of July and August and—utterly past their natural season—they had grown. Now they were flowering and had transformed the other side of the creek into a glorious red haze.
“Mama?”
“Yes, Shannon?”
“Is today the wedding?” She had asked the same question every day for a month.
“Yes, darling. Today is the wedding. Finally.”
“Finally!” Shannon hopped on one foot and then the other. “And I get to wear my wedding dress! And you get to wear your wedding dress!”
“Me, too! Wed’ dress!” Robbie shouted.
Shannon corrected him. “Boys don’t wear wedding dresses, silly.”
Robbie screwed up his face, but Kari grabbed him up and tossed him in the air before he could wail.
She giggled. “You get to wear your wedding suit, Rob, my son. You and Søren and Max get to wear wedding suits!”
“Me an’ Soren! Me an’ Max!”
“Yes, and today Søren gets to be your Papa and Max gets to be your brother. What do you think of that?”
Kari asked the question often. She wanted to be sure that the children wanted this big change. As much as possible, she wanted to be certain that they understood what bringing the two families together would mean.
Both kids hollered their approval. “Papa! Papa! Papa!”
A knock sounded on the door—the children raced to it. Shannon yanked it open.
“Hi, Aunt Ilsa! Today is the wedding. I get to wear my wedding dress!”
“Yes, you do, sweet Shannon.”
“What is that?”
Ilsa carried a paper-wrapped package. “A present for your mama and papa on their wedding day.”
Many such packages had arrived in the weeks leading up to the wedding.
“Who’s it from, Ilsa?”
“Not sure. The postmark is foreign and it’s marked urgent and sent express mail, so I thought I should bring it over.”
Kari’s fingers on the paper wrapping slowed. She examined the postmark and nodded. “I . . . it must be from Laynie.”
Kari had sent the invitation two months ago. And Laynie had replied. She was supposed to arrive early this morning.
Laynie, where are you? You promised to be with me today.
She removed the paper and cut open the stout packing box. The box was filled with packing peanuts. Kari dug down and found a smaller box wedged inside. As she pulled it out, Styrofoam bits went everywhere. Kari let them fall—she needed to know what was in the smaller box.
Ilsa helped her to clear the table so that Kari could cut open the box. Inside, nestled in tissue paper, was a small envelope. Below that, Kari glimpsed a tiny sailboat. She lifted it out with tender care.
“It-it is a replica of-of Sammie’s boat. An exact replica.”
Kari’s fingers traced the tiny stern and the bench across it, the miniscule tiller in the middle. “This is where we sat when we went sailing together. Laynie handled the tiller and the sails almost all by herself. I held the tiller steady once or twice.”
Kari felt the salt spray and the wind on her face, saw again Laynie’s hair flying free . . . and the joy on her sister’s face.
Laynie! My sister! Where are you?
Every part of the boat was crafted with extreme attention to detail—it was a perfect copy of Sammie’s boat.
“What’s the boat’s name?” Ilsa asked.
“Oh, it’s the—” Kari stopped when she read the tiny red script flowing across the stern. She swallowed against the emotion that rose in her throat.
“What is it?”
Kari whispered, “Sammie’s boat was The Wave Skipper. This boat is the SS Fellowship.”
Fellowship is like two fellows—wait for it!—two fellows sitting together in the same ship. Get it? Fellow-ship—and here we are. Together.
You know . . . you’re all right, Kari Michaels.
I love you back, Laynie Portland.
“It’s a sweet gesture, but why would she send it ahead? Why wouldn’t she bring it herself?”
Kari picked up the little envelope, but did not break the seal on it right away. “Because she’s not coming, Ilsa.” Kari knew it before she had finished opening the parcel.
Ilsa frowned at Kari, hurt and indignation reddening her face. “Not coming to your wedding? Her only sister’s wedding? But she promised!”
Kari tried to smile. She lifted one shoulder. “I had a feeling she wouldn’t be able to come.”
“But . . .”
“She couldn’t come, Ilsa. Please don’t fault her.”
Kari placed the little boat on the shelf above her desk. “I’ll keep it close, Laynie,” she whispered. “I’ll keep you close, too.”
She turned to Ilsa. “I don’t want you to think badly of me for asking so late, Ilsa, but it seems I am short a maid of honor.”
Ilsa stretched to her full height. “Laynie’s loss is my gain. I would be, well, honored to be your maid of honor.”
“The wedding starts in two hours.”
“Yikes! I still need to shower. See you then.” Ilsa ran to her car and sp
ed away.
Kari sighed and ran her finger under the envelope’s glued seal. She pulled out the card and read the simple lines.
Kari,
As it turns out, I am unable to attend your wedding. I am sorry. You know I would be with you if I could. And so I send the most fitting gift I could think of, a token of our day together. I think of it—and you—often.
—LP
Kari chewed her lip to keep from crying. O Lord, wherever Laynie is, I pray you watch over her. Keep her safe and draw her heart to you!
Kari slid the card back into the envelope and tucked it into her desk drawer. Then she sniffed back her sadness and called Shannon and Robbie.
“It’s time! Shall we put on our wedding outfits?”
—
AN HOUR AND FORTY MINUTES (AND MUCH PRIMPING) LATER, the sound of tires crunching on gravel alerted Shannon and Robbie. They ran to the window.
“Who is it, Shannon?”
“It’s Grandpa!”
“Grandpa Gene and Grandma Polly have come to drive us to the wedding. Are we all ready to go? Line up and let me take a look at you.”
Shannon and Robbie stood tall and solemn while Kari made a show of checking them over.
“Everything seems in order. That is a very nice bow tie, Robbie. I love your dress, Miss Shannon. Oh, and your shoes are adorable.
“Now. How do I look?” Kari stepped back and let them see her dress—a lacy ivory Gunne Sax special edition that flowed from a high Empire waist and ended mid-calf in frothy flourishes. Peeking from underneath her hem were ivory calfskin boots trimmed with lace that matched her dress. Kari’s long hair curled around her shoulders from under a short veil.
Shannon smiled in awe. “You look beautiful, Mama. Like a princess.”
“P’incess!” Robbie repeated, bouncing up and down.
Slow footsteps sounded on the porch steps.
“Shannon, would you like to open the door for Grandpa Gene?”
Gene Portland stood in the doorway, beaming at Shannon and Robbie. “Grammy will be so glad to see you two! And Kari! Don’t you look wonderful! Come on, now. Take this old man’s arm and let me drive you to your wedding.”
He had parked Kari’s red Caddy so that Polly’s window faced the house. Gene led Kari down the steps and through the gate and paraded Kari in front of Polly. Shannon and Robbie—after much previous practice—held hands and preceded them in solemn procession. That is, for half a minute. As soon as they saw Polly smiling from the passenger seat, they raced to her.
All God's Promises (A Prairie Heritage Book 7) Page 40
