They didn’t speak and the tempo wasn’t one he was comfortable with, leaving Bill unable to do more than rock from foot to foot for most of the dance. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I only know how to waltz,” he admitted when the song finally ended.
“You were being thoughtful when you really didn’t feel like it. That’s commendable not condemnable.”
The horse-drawn curricle dropped off Chuck and Cheri, and waited for the next load; this time three of Aggie’s children climbed aboard. Willow watched the children excitedly bouncing on the seat. She marveled at the beauty of the horse and thanked the Lord that she’d found someone to offer the rides. “They’ll love it,” she murmured.”
Once the servers cleared the tables, the caterer called for Willow and Chad to cut their cake. Everyone toasted the bride and groom, ate cake, and seemed antsy to get the ceremony rolling. Cheri pulled Willow aside and whispered, “Let’s get you upstairs, freshen you up, and we can start the procession.”
In the house, Willow laughed as she stared at her reflection in her mirror. “I am a mess! How funny.”
“You should be a mess. Gunny sack races and three-legged races? In that dress? You’re insane!”
“But it was fun,” Willow protested. “I thought the point of the wedding was to have fun?”
“If Chad hadn’t ruined his shirt back, your dress would be toast.”
Willow was confused but pulled the pins from her hair, brushed it and then held her head for Cheri’s magic. A second brush of minerals across her face gave her a fresh look. “It’s amazing how different I look with that stuff.”
Aggie’s girls raced ahead of the group scattering hundreds of daisy heads and lilac flowerets across the path to Kari’s grave. Cheri, carrying a bouquet she hadn’t expected after the morning’s scene, strolled along behind the girls on Christopher’s arm. David Finley took Willow’s arm but stopped before he took the first step.
“Are you sure? Why don’t I get the guy with the horse—you’re going to ruin your dress…”
Willow glanced up into the face of her grandfather and saw behind the emotion in his eyes, how difficult this day was for him. His daughter had never married; he’d never walked her down the aisle. “Chad?”
His voice answered near her ear, “Yes?”
She whirled and smiled up at him. “How strong do you think you are?”
Without answering, Chad lifted her and carried her for twenty or thirty feet. “Well, I’m about that strong,” he gasped setting her down for a moment. “However,” he continued in a strained voice as he lifted her once more and threw her over one shoulder, “I’m fairly certain I can get you there this way.”
Their guests laughed at the comical expressions she made as he crossed the pasture and then set her down at the foot of her mother’s grave. “Just a few more minutes,” he whispered for her ears only.
Pastor Allen stood and called the unusual “congregation” to attention. “I’ve never attended a wedding at a gravesite. A few people told me they thought it was morbid and one dear friend even expressed concern that it was evidence that Willow wasn’t ready for this step in her life.” Tom’s eyes roamed the group as they stood around the bride and groom. “I disagreed. Anyone who knows Willow knows how close she was with her mother. They know how unusual the relationship was and what an unusual perspective our Willow has on life. What seems odd to most is perfect for her.”
Chad’s arm slipped around her shoulders as Willow impatiently brushed aside rogue tears and Pastor Allen continued. “Willow wanted to feel nearer to her mother today. She knows that her mother isn’t beneath our feet, but we humans seem to feel closer to those we’ve lost when we are near where their ‘temple’ is buried.”
Willow glanced up at Tom and mouthed, “Thank you.”
His hand reached out and squeezed hers before he continued. “So, for those who are confused or uncomfortable, remember how it was to have your parents or those closest to you from your childhood at your wedding, and extend a little grace to our sister. I, for one, think this has been a wonderful day and definitely a wonderful beginning to their new life.”
From the back of the group, Lane and Tad Argosy watched for the sign from Tom and led the guests in singing, “O Perfect Love.” Willow, unsure of the best hymn to pick, had left the choice with Marianne unaware that her new mother would choose a song that she’d never heard. Her eyes spanned the singers listening carefully until they met Chad’s as he sang the final line of the first verse.
“… whom Thou forevermore dost join as one.”
As the song ended, Tom wiped tears from his own eyes and remarked, “I’ve been around Vince too much today. He’s rubbing off.” He cleared his throat and added, “Now I need to make a final comment before we pray and then finally tie this knot! After the exchange of rings, I’m going to pray; we will then excuse Chad and Willow who will meet you at their front porch to say goodbye. Please don’t go straight to your car. They have gifts for you and would like to thank each of you for coming. Let’s pray.”
The next few minutes passed for Willow in a golden fog that she later remembered perfectly as though an observer rather than a participant. Chad spoke his vows in the low and earnest tones she loved so much, sending tears streaming down his mother’s face. Willow spoke quietly but confidently as she promised to trust the Lord and her husband in the years to come.
To everyone’s delighted surprise, the kiss came with no embarrassment—no attempts at concealment—and though applause at weddings wasn’t the custom at Fairbury Community Church, no one could resist when Chad picked up his bride, spun her in a circle still kissing her excitedly. His first words, even before Tom could even introduce them as Mr. and Mrs. Chadwick Tesdall, were, “I can’t believe it! She’s actually mine!”
They sat in the porch swing and watched amused as people gathered around the improvised “gate” to the pasture and waited for Matt and Todd to bring their cars. Chad toyed with her single tendril and sighed contentedly. “That was a wonderful day.”
“The day isn’t over yet. It’s not even three o’clock yet.”
Something in her voice touched him. “Happy?”
“Definitely. You?”
The swing creaked as he shifted and turned her face toward his. “Never doubt it.”
A slow smile grew as she watched him. “Your mother is right.”
“How’s that.”
“You are a sap.”
“Me,” Chad protested, “you might want to look in the mirror.”
“I’m not a sap.”
“No,” he conceded. “But my mother is and you will be.”
She didn’t answer. She curled against his chest and rested her head in the crook of his arm. After shifting twice, she sighed and sat upright again. “Dumb hair.”
“Get it down then. I’m amazed that you’ve put up with it this long.”
“Well,” she hedged. “I know Wes is still around taking pictures…”
“So he gets pictures of you with your hair down. Who cares?”
From the swift way that she began pulling pins from her hair, those words were all she needed to hear. “I just—”
“Just what?”
“Well, I’ve already bucked enough traditions today. I didn’t want to hurt someone else because I did something else I’m not supposed to do.” As she spoke, she shook out her hair, allowing it to tumble free. “I need a brush. I’ll never get it braided with these curls.”
“Leave it then. Who needs a braid?”
Willow shook her head emphatically and started to braid her hair, sloppily but efficiently. “It’ll be a rat’s nest in no time if I don’t.”
Chad’s hands captured both of hers and held them in one hand while the other untwisted the plaits. “Then it’s a rat’s nest. I like it like it is.”
“Do I have to change too?”
“Do you want to?”
“No way! I love wearing this dress. I may put it on now an
d then for the fun of it.” She glanced up at him and whispered, “I love how I feel in this dress. The cool layers, yards of fabric swishing around my feet… It makes me feel so feminine and beautiful.” She ducked her head once more. “I don’t want it to end.”
“Maybe you feel so beautiful because you are. I told you—defibrillator.”
“What’s that?”
Suddenly, before Chad could respond, Willow sat up. “I have to do something. Be right back.”
“Want some help?”
“I’m good, but thanks.” Just inside the door, she peeked her head out again. “Want some lemonade when I come back?”
“Sure, thanks.” Chad removed his tie, unbuttoned his top shirt button, and removed his suit jacket. Lemonade. Things were already back to normal.
Chapter 103
The afternoon passed slowly—lazily. Chad seemed happy to rest on the couch or the swing, both of which nearly drove Willow crazy. The caterers had cleaned the kitchen and the rental company had removed the dance floor and tents the moment the last guests had driven out of the drive, but tables and chairs still littered the pasture. Several loads of laundry filled the summer kitchen floor, waiting to be washed and hung on the line. She ached to get to work, but Willow knew that this day—at least on this day—she should let it all go.
“Want to take a walk?”
“How did you know?”
He pulled her up from the swing and pulled her toward the steps. “I know you. You get restless like this when you need something you don’t have.”
“Really?” It was probably true. She pulled her skirt up and threw the hem over one arm. “Where do you want to go?”
“Let’s just walk. I think we both are tired but still have restless energy to burn.”
They wandered across pastures, near the stream, and over toward Adric’s land. The hem of her skirt occasionally dragged in the dirt, but she didn’t care. It’d either wash out or it wouldn’t. She would have the memories of walking like this with Chad to enjoy for the rest of her life.
The scene from the previous night played itself repeatedly in her mind until Willow decided to ask him about it. “Why were you so upset about that ticket Todd got?”
A deep sigh seemed to overpower him. Chad’s shoulder sagged and he dropped her hand, choosing to pull her closer instead. She expected him to resist talking about it, but the story poured from him in a rush. “I’d only been here a few weeks. I was walking the beat—I didn’t mind it so much then—when a car tore up Market Street.” Raw emotion choked him as Chad tried to tell his story. “I—I tried to stop the kid. I didn’t know his name, but he was riding a scooter along the sidewalk. Dumb kid didn’t pay attention to what he was doing and rode out in front of that car.”
“Oh, Chad…”
“The speed limit would have done that child some damage, but when I heard the sickening thump of that little body against the hood.” Chad stopped and looked down at her miserably. “He wasn’t wearing a helmet. His head—”
Chad shoved his fists in his pockets and started walking again. “I’d seen accident photos, gone on ride-alongs. I’d been trained, but no one can truly train you to be prepared for the crumpled body of a child. The irony of it was that the people were speeding to get their own child to the clinic—split tongue.”
“Did the child—make it?” She barely whispered the question.
“Somehow he made it. A broken arm, a broken leg, and more stitches than a child’s head should ever see but he made it. No permanent damage—” Chad smiled a weak but genuine smile. “Except maybe to his brain. He didn’t learn anything from it. Kid still rides around without his helmet.”
“Aiden? Aiden Cox?”
Chad nodded and gazed out over the pasture, visibly struggling to control his emotions. “I’ve got a soft spot for that little guy.”
Her hand crept up to turn his face to hers. She kissed him lightly. “I have a soft spot for you.”
They played every game she owned. Twice. They spent unknown amounts of time viewing the pictures in her View Master. The only thing they didn’t do was open Chad’s laptop and start a movie.
The clock struck nine-thirty before Chad decided to silence the awkwardness by addressing it. “You’re exhausted Willow. Let’s go to bed.”
The panicked look on her face tore at his heart. As much as she tried to trust, Willow still. He gave her the most reassuring smile that he could, extinguished the candles, and turned down the lamps. Once she was safely in her bed, she’d relax and sleep. He, on the other hand, was in for a long night.
At her bedroom door, Chad leaned against the doorjamb and pulled her into a hug. “I do love you, Willow. I’m not very good at remembering to tell you that, but I do. I’ll be right across the hall if you need me just like I’ve been so many other times.” He kissed her, trying with every ounce of self-control to keep her feeling secure and unpressured, turned, and slipped into his room shutting the door behind him.
Willow smiled as the latch clicked shut. His wedding present was in there. She’d been nervous about the gift for the past few weeks. Would he like it? Was it the right choice? Should she have shared it with someone to get a second opinion? It was too late now. The gift was given, and now she just had to hope she had made the right choice.
She grabbed her brush and started working on the nasty snarls that now took up residence in her hair. “Lord, I’m trusting You on this one,” she whispered.
Chad gently shut the door behind him and leaned against it. He’d have to open it again before he crawled in bed. Teeth. He’d forgotten his teeth. He started to reach for the drawer with his shorts and sweats and paused. He could shut the door again if he didn’t change in the bathroom.
He opened the door and smiled at Willow as she looked up at him expectantly. “Forgot to brush my teeth.” She nodded and continued brushing her hair, the familiar blue scrunchie wrapped around her wrist as she worked out the snarls. He pointed at her hair. “Sorry about that.”
“I’m good. Almost have them out.”
“I was selfish, though.” He started to lean against the doorjamb again and caught himself. He couldn’t get sidetracked, or he’d make it worse. “Teeth. I’m going to forget my teeth.”
She nodded absently and went back to brushing her hair. Chad stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door with as much self-restraint as he could. He wanted to slam it. He wanted five minutes alone with either of the Steven Solaris. He wanted—Chad sighed. It didn’t matter what he wanted. He’d made a promise and if he loved his wife—Wife. Wow. If he loved his wife half as much as he claimed, he’d keep that promise and trust the Lord for the rest.
As he slipped back inside Kari’s room, Willow went to brush her own teeth. Chad’s door opened and she saw him lean against the bathroom doorframe. “Need something?”
He pulled several gift bows from behind his back and presented them to her. “Mind telling me what these are?”
She brushed past him, barely acknowledging the bows, and shrugged. “Your wedding gift.”
“I found them in my clothing drawer. You know, the one I filled a few days ago and that is now empty?”
“Really now?” Her words were playful but her tone, weak.
He caught her hand as she entered her room and pulled her a little closer. “Where are my clothes, Willow?”
She pointed to her bureau. “In there. Where they belong.”
Chad glanced at her, the dresser, and back at her again. He released her hand and went back into Kari’s room, returning moments later with another bow. “Where are my sheets and pillows?”
“Sheets are in Mother’s closet.” She swallowed hard. “Your pillows are on your bed.”
“My bed doesn’t have any pillows.”
Willow’s eyes flitted to the other side of her bed. “From where I stand, they’re right where they belong.” She took a deep breath, gave him a hesitant smile, and said, “Is this where I say, ‘Happy Wedding? ’”
>
To be continued…
Alone without friends or family to comfort her after the death of her mother, Willow Finley’s idyllic life is over—and just beginning.
Follow Willow as she learns to blend her old life with the new, experiences things she’s only read about, and makes the first friends she’s ever had. Living as if in the past, her life is moving forward.
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Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Volume 3 Page 35
