by Terrie Todd
She greeted him with a kiss. “Soup’s on.”
Reuben wrapped an arm tightly around Maggie’s shoulders and walked her to the door. “I can smell it from here and I’m starved, Mrs. Fennel. How did I manage to marry the best cook in the world?”
“I thought Mrs. O’Toole was the best cook in the world.”
“Not even close.”
“Liar.”
Reuben laughed and kissed her temple. “You’re going to be the best mother in the world, too. I’m so glad you rode halfway across the country with me that time.”
Maggie just grinned and rolled her eyes. Together, they sat down at their little kitchen table to her vegetable soup and homemade bread. Reuben reached across the table for her hand, bowed his head, and began to pray.
“Lord, thank you for our lives. For bringing us together, for this roof over our heads and this food on our table. For the little one who will soon join our family. For the work you’ve called us to do, the people you’ve called us to serve. Make us worthy, dear God. Most of all, thank you for what this day represents. As our community finally meets to celebrate, may it truly be with thanksgiving in every heart—even for those who are still mourning their losses. Thank you for bringing peace to our land and to our hearts through your precious son, Jesus. Amen.”
Maggie squeezed Reuben’s hand and echoed his amen. She smiled up at her husband with joy she had not dreamed possible.
The war was over.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Special thanks to:
My late stepfather, John Klassen, for his insights into life in Winnipeg in 1942.
Marci McCowan, for her medical advice.
Mike Hurlbert, for the details about Fort William (now Thunder Bay).
Peter Ralph, for sharing his expertise in auto mechanics.
Fire Chief Phil Carpenter, for the arson investigation advice.
Barb Knott, for her knowledge of legal fees.
Jim Hamlett and Clarice James, my first reviewers. Check out their books!
Jessica Kirkland, Agent of the Year and God’s gift to me.
My editors at Waterfall Press, especially Shari MacDonald Strong, for challenging me to make a good story better.
Jon, Nate, Dara, Mindy, Kevin, Reuben, Jill, Mom, and Shanon. It’s tremendous when family and cheerleaders are one and the same.
Wendy and Dale Olson, my sister and brother-in-law, for use of the cozy gazebo in their beautiful yard for a weekend writing retreat. Every writer should be so blessed!
All the readers who praised my first book enough to make this one possible!
Most of all, my thanks are due to my redeemer, Jesus Christ, master storyteller and main character in the greatest story ever told.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © G. Loewen Photography
Terrie Todd is an award-winning author who has published eight stories with the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and created two full-length plays with Eldridge Plays and Musicals. Her bestselling debut novel, The Silver Suitcase, was a finalist in the 2011 and 2012 Christian Writers Guild’s Operation First Novel contest.
In 2010, she served on the editorial advisory board for the anthology Chicken Soup for the Soul: O Canada. She lives with her husband, Jon, on the Canadian prairies, where they raised their three children. By day, Terrie is an administrative assistant at her local city hall. She enjoys acting and directing with her community theater group, the Prairie Players, and being grandma to four little boys.
