“Alright,” she pushed between them, “I’ve already had enough of that until after you two kids are married.”
“I was just helping her down from the bed, Maw.”
“Yeah? Men always claim they’re helping us with somethin…”
“If you’re finished in the bathroom, maybe you could help Hope get ready.”
Adah grabbed Hope’s hand and yanked her away from Joshua. She pulled at Hope’s T-shirt and undressed her the moment the door shut. “We got to get you out of these heathen clothes. It ain’t right for a woman to wear pants.”
Hope remained silent, simply stepping away from Adah and stripped down. She would have preferred to get dressed alone but somehow knew refusing Adah’s help would only make matters worse. Adah kept trying to interfere by grabbing her hair and attempting to comb sections. Hope had to take the comb away from her and do it herself as the tangles were causing an excruciating amount of pain over her goose ache. Adah had fine blond poker straight hair and had clearly never worked with hair more difficult to manage.
Adah took a white gown from her basket and wrapped Hope in it. “This here robe is for you to get baptized in. You see, we need to have you baptized first so we can wash away all your sins before you marry my son. Once you get baptized, then it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, or that you were one of the dome people—although I still don’t think it’s right to go around telling people here where you come from. As far as I see it, after today you will be Joshua’s wife. You will belong to him and he’s the one that’s gonna have to answer for you. And with how short we’ve been on the ladies in this past generation, I think the kinds of questions Joshua is gonna get asked about is if you have a sister or cousin who can come and get married here also.”
Hope was starting to realize she may never truly understand what this woman said. She understood enough though. She understood that Adah was trying to hide her past so she could start fresh. The people in the town may not take too warmly to her since this dome business seemed to be sensitive.
Once she was dressed and Adah secured her hair in a braid—which she claimed was necessary for the baptism—they headed out of the bathroom to find Joshua sitting patiently on a fallen log near the door.
He stood immediately as they emerged, squaring his shoulders. His body language was rigid and formal, but his smile was warm. He reached towards Hope and she delicately placed her hand in his.
He continued to hold her hand but instead of guiding her they interlocked their fingers. They waited at the top of the stairs until Adah had gathered her things and exited their home. She took one look at their interlocked hands and raised a finger, pointing at Joshua.
“Joshua, my boy. You keep them hands to yourself until after she is baptized and you’re married. I don’t want any trouble from the likes of you two.”
Joshua moaned. “Aww, come on, Maw. We are getting married today. Ain’t no harm gonna come if I hold her hand.”
“That’s exactly how the devil gets inside our hearts, Joshua. He makes you think it couldn’t do any harm and then bam, you’ve got a bastard child and you’ve fallen so deep in sin you might not find your way back.”
Joshua rolled his eyes but remained silent. Hope suspected he was accustomed to let matters be when it came to dealing with his mother.
“Okay, Maw. I’m just going to offer her my arm as she is still a little wobbly from hitting her head.”
He bent his arm and she immediately accepted his invitation, placing her hand in the crook of his elbow. He winked and she smiled as she didn’t feel the least bit wobbly. She couldn’t understand what it was about Joshua that made her stomach dance around the way that it did, but she liked it and wanted more.
***
Hope sat on the bench with Joshua beside her. His mother seemed to have taken over the entire operation. Hope understood that baptism had something to do with water and the man Jesus Adah was always talking about, and she knew it had something to do with getting rid of her sins—which were the parts of her past that were bad, but she didn’t understand any more than that. What she understood was that this incredibly handsome and kind man had saved her from what sounded like a terrible life surrounded by bad people. He saved her life and now wanted to spend it together.
Adah was off arguing with the Reverend as it appeared he didn’t agree wholeheartedly with Adah’s plan. After they had argued for some time, the Reverend came over to address Hope directly.
“Now, Hope, I’d like to go over a few details about both your baptism and wedding. People usually like to do baptisms as a part of our Sunday service. I think maybe you should wait until Sunday to get baptized, that will give the two of us an opportunity to get to know each other a little better. I can go over some parts of the Bible with you so we can make sure you are ready for this commitment to God.”
Hope didn’t have time to respond. She didn’t even open her mouth to try. Her mind was still struggling to make sense of the meaning behind his words. She still wasn’t certain of their context.
“Now, Reverend, how are you gonna feel if something happens between now and Sunday and poor little Hope gets damned to eternal hell-fire and brimstone because she didn’t get baptized the moment the Lord told her to?” Adah stepped forward, pointing a threatening finger at the reverend. “And how is that gonna affect you on Judgment Day? Won’t at least part of the blame for her sins—that she wanted to wash away, but couldn’t because you stood between her and our Lord Jesus—sit squarely on your shoulders?”
Adah held his gaze sternly then looked away, softening her tone. “Now, I know you have led a mighty fine and righteous life, Reverend, but you ain’t perfect—none of us are no matter how we do try. Do you really want to take that chance to double the amount of sins, possibly quadruple what you have to account for when you stand before St. Peter? I know I try my hardest to do right by my Lord and Savior every day that I live, but I still worry about getting into heaven with just my own sins to account for.”
His face fell as he mulled over her words. The chances of Hope dying before Sunday was slim yet, the image she painted in his mind had landed square on its target. Apparently he also didn’t feel as though he had enough good deeds and purity of heart to carry the weight of another’s sins. He sat and looked off to the side, his eyes occasionally darting to Hope and Joshua, his lips occasionally muttering to himself until he finally looked back at Adah.
“It’s been such a long time since we have baptized anyone other than a baby, I don’t think we still have that portable font which used to be set up in the chapel. We have to go down to the lake to do this.” He looked from Adah to Hope. “If we do this in the lake, it will be mighty chilly.”
Adah smiled victoriously. “Now, Reverend, that’s how Jesus intended a baptism to be done. I don’t know why so many churches built these silly little pools inside. I know that in the eyes of the Lord it don’t matter how or where you get baptized, just as long as you do get baptized and accept Jesus into your heart. I think Hope has suffered enough by being raised by a bunch of heathens that never taught her about the good Lord or his word.”
“Yes, that is incredibly tragic.” He looked at Hope and scrunched his face. “Where are your people from again? I didn’t think there was anyone near us. If I had known before I would have sent missionaries to spread the word long ago. How far away is this village?”
“It’s mighty far,” Adah cut in. “And the trouble is, Hope’s just not sure she can find her way back.”
“I thought you said those two kids met and fell in love from regularly seeing each other? What’s this about her not being able to go back?”
“Well, you see, Reverend, Hope was out searching for roots and berries and got herself lost. She was able to live off the land for some time but wasn’t able to find her way back. The first time Josh saw her, she told him she was doing fine. After he saw her a few times he realized she was alone. He brought her small gifts of food and clothin
g until he persuaded her to stop trying to find her way home and to just make a new one with him.”
He looked at Hope again with a soft, concerned look. “Hope, I don’t know where you come from or what your people are like. Here, we see a baptism as an occasion to rejoice and celebrate. The community enjoys coming together to welcome you into our fold, the way we all hope to be welcomed into heaven when our time comes. I know many people in the community would be mighty disappointed to not only miss a baptism, but a baptism of an adult. All of us got baptized as babies, and you are the first newcomer from another surviving community. We haven’t even been in touch with other communities for a few generations.”
He paused, looking squarely at her. “If we walked down to the lake and baptized you right now, those members of the community who are excited to welcome you with open arms would miss out on such a joyous occasion. I could send word about you getting baptized for tonight and maybe that will be enough to get us at least a third of the town. Would you like to wait until tonight so our community might properly welcome you?”
Hope looked up at Joshua, he simply gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. Hope observed Adah scowling and shaking her head to indicate she was quite against waiting until the evening.
Hope looked back at the Reverend and smiled softly. “Thank you so much for thinking of me and my place in the community. As I don’t currently know anyone other than you three, I think I would prefer to simply get baptized immediately. I will live the rest of my life here, I am sure I will have plenty of opportunity to be welcomed.”
“Okay then.” He shrugged. “Down to the lake we go.”
Adah walked victoriously toward the river without waiting for the others. Joshua grabbed Hope’s hand, interlocking fingers once again.
***
She took a moment to squish the newly budding grass between her toes in the soft cool soil before stepping into the lake. The moment the crisp water contacted her skin, it was as though her entire body shivered. By the time she had gone deep enough for the water to come up to her waist, her feet and legs below the knees felt completely numb.
The Reverend took off his shoes and yelped as he took his first step into the water. “I suppose this is why the baptismal font was created.”
He shot a look at Adah with a friendly smile. Adah didn’t seem to take any sort of offense nor did she feel any sympathy towards the Reverend, regardless of how cool that spring lake was.
“Hope, what is your last name?” The Reverend asked as he closed the gap between them.
Her voice caught in her throat as she struggled to conceive what his words meant, let alone to give him a suitable answer.
It was a good thing Adah had ears like a hawk, a sharp keen wit with the tongue to back up any fabrication she created. “Lincoln. Her last names Lincoln. Hope Lincoln.”
Hope looked at the Reverend, giving a slight smile and nod to acknowledge the truth, or at least an agreement to Adah’s statement. She looked over at Joshua and noticed he was attempting to repress a smile. When he saw her looking back at him he gave her a reassuring grin and a nod to let her know that everything would be alright. Her stomach twisted in knots by simply looking at him. She didn’t understand how he could make her stomach flip around from such simple interactions.
“Well then, Hope, that is a mighty noble name. I am honored to be the man who can baptize you so that Jesus might enter your heart.”
Hope did her best to smile and looked touched by his sentiment even though the more they kept talking about this Jesus character, the less she felt she understood who he was or what his purpose was in their lives.
The Reverend stood off to the side and instructed her in what to expect and the role she was to play in her baptism. She nodded to show her understanding, and he began.
“Hope Lincoln, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and his son Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
It happened so quickly; she wasn’t quite sure what all the fuss was about, or why the people in the community would have felt it was special enough to want to take part. Was plugging her nose even necessary? She wiped the water away from her eyes and saw the intense smile on the Reverend’s face; his eyes seemed to sparkle with joy. Together they walked out of the water where Adah and Joshua were waiting with blankets to wrap around them. Once they hiked back up to the church, the Reverend questioned their choices once more.
“Now I know I don’t know the customs of your people,” he turned to Hope. “But around these parts, when we have a wedding it’s a big celebration. It’s the biggest day of your life, and most women like to make a fuss about it. They get themselves done up all fancy like and then we generally make a big meal for everyone to join in the celebration. I’m still concerned you might regret not making a bigger deal out of today. Maybe we should just leave your wedding for another day and celebrate the choice you made to get baptized. Your hair will at least be dry and you can make it more fancy for your wedding. Then, we have a chance to make a big meal and invite everyone to come celebrate with you.”
“Hope’s people do have weddings, which is surprising for a pack of heathens,” Adah cut in. “But she also told me earlier that if we make a big deal out of this, it would only make her sad her family couldn’t be here.”
Hope didn’t know if they had these weddings or celebrations, or if she even had a family. She didn’t know what a wedding was or why it was so special. What she knew was she was incredibly lucky. She came from a bad sort of people and she should have died when her escorts did. But not only had she survived some tragedy, a man who made her feel things, possibly things she had never felt before, found her. There was no way to know if she had experienced this fluttering in her stomach and rapid pounding in her heart, or if she had ever enjoyed looking at someone as much as Joshua. She didn’t understand the inner workings of these feelings, or why it had happened to her but she just knew she was lucky to not only be saved by Joshua, but to be found, to be chosen by him.
“I just want to marry Joshua. I care nothing for a celebration or to make myself look different from how I do right now, as long as he wants to get married.”
She looked over at Joshua, and his eyes lit up. He reached out and put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, kissing her on the cheek. She didn’t understand how him pulling her closer could cause such a flush of sensations to pour through her, yet those feelings and sensations didn’t surprise her. Being near him did something to her. He had captivated her in some trance which she never wanted to be free of.
“Now that’s enough of that till after you two are properly married.” Adah cut in. “I don’t want no sinning right after your sins have been washed away.”
Joshua sighed and shot his mother a begrudging look. He took a step back from Hope and looked over at the Reverend, who seem to have reconsidered about going through with this wedding.
“I guess it’s time for the bride to get dressed.” The Reverend left to change out of his wet clothing.
Adah dragged Hope off into another room to help her change. She unpacked the article of clothing for Hope to change into. It was a yellow-cream color and made of a strange yet strikingly beautiful material. Tiny pieces of thread had been sown specially in different directions to make a pattern, yet the material was transparent. She didn’t know if she had seen any type of material this beautiful and fragile.
“Now careful with this. We don’t want to tear it. You are a bit bigger in the chest than I was when I wore this dress but I think you should still be able to get into it. I guess it’s lucky for you they had to make my dress a little bigger because of the condition I was in.”
“Condition?”
Adah winced, paused, and chose her words carefully. It was obvious she had shared more than she intended to.
“Now today isn’t about me, Hope. Let’s just be grateful if we can get this dress done up. There’s no need to talk about the other bits.”
“But I don’t und
erstand why they would need to make your dress larger because of a condition.”
Adah raised a finger, defending herself. “Let’s just say, I know from personal experience when it’s time for two people to wed. If you wait too long, all you’re doing is making Jesus have to work that much harder to save you. And that’s why I know today is the day you and Joshua is gonna get married. I can’t stay living at his house to make sure the two of you walk the straight and narrow. I also can’t be bringing you all over town until the two of you is married.”
Hope raised her arms and Adah helped her slip the dress over her head. The moment the material was touching her skin she immediately felt uncomfortable. It had a scratchy irritating feeling to it. She didn’t know how long they would expect her to wear it but due to her discomfort, she hoped this event would be comparable to getting baptized. Adah stepped behind her and tugged and moved the dress about and fastened the back.
Beyond: Book Four of the State Series Page 9
