by Naomi Niles
“Were you bad on the trip?”
“Little things got to me, but I was happy with you. I had a great time,” I replied as Elsa slipped her arm over my stomach.
“Are you going to tell Melissa and Angela about this?” Elsa asked me as I took a deep breath.
“After I get through the next couple of days,” I responded as I looked at her. “They’re all praying for me. Is that unusual?”
“As far as you not being Amish? I suppose so, but my family has welcomed you into the house so everyone else will support you as well. They’re good people when it comes to that. I knew that bringing you here was a good idea, Aidan. I knew that everyone would band together to help you.” Elsa smiled at me as she leaned forward and kissed me.
The next morning, a nurse showed up and hooked me to with an IV to a tube that would feed me my medicine for the next ten hours. Elsa sat with me as long as she could before she had to walk which was when her brother came into the room for a break. He brought me some water, and I drank it through a straw as he looked me over. “You brought her back safe, Aidan. You brought yourself back in worse shape than Elsa was ever in.”
“I told you that I would take care of her. I keep my promises.” I looked at him as I tried to ignore the needle that was in my arm.
“I am sorry for what I said to both of you. I apologized to Elsa already, and I’d like it if you passed the apology along to your friend.” He seemed scared, and I nodded.
“I’ll do it. We all understood, Adam. She’s your sister. I’d freak out of anyone took her from me,” I admitted as I closed my eyes. “I hate this.”
“Ten hours?” Adam asked, and I nodded slowly.
I felt nauseous that night after I was taken off the drip bag and slept fitfully, and the following night was worse. I threw up into the big bowl that Elsa brought me a few times and apologized as I tried to go back to sleep. This was a pattern for the next several weeks, and the community kept visiting me to pray for me, a different family each night. I had little faith before this, but I felt the power that they were sending my way with every word.
Melissa and Angela kept in touch with Elsa on my progress when I was too sick to talk on the phone, and she handled the guys as well. Everyone loved her, and I enjoyed hearing her laughing and talking even when I was too weak to do so. She kept everyone’s spirits up, and I know she helped a lot with my well-being. She wasn’t always so strong when she was dealing with my sickness and cleaning up after me, but Elsa tried to do everything with a smile. Sometimes, she broke down in tears, and I held her as best I could while she cried herself to sleep beside me.
On good nights when she was feeling strong, Elsa would talk about going to New York. She’d talk about seeing the Statue of Liberty and making love in a room that overlooked the city. She would talk about going to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower on our honeymoon once we were married and I was well. She spoke of bringing our kids to Gettysburg and telling them all about our first trip there.
There was so much hope in her voice as I was barely hanging onto life, so weak that I couldn’t move for days sometimes. There was so much strength that got me through the following weeks of treatment, hours of it.
There was so much love when she looked into my eyes that I knew I could do this for her. I lived for the moment that I could make love to her again and feel her bare skin against mine.
CHAPTER 39
Elsa
We had an appointment with the doctor two months after Aidan started treatment. He was feeling stronger than in the beginning, but his unit came out to drive us that day. They were in the waiting room, getting stronger by the day with a very good shot at surviving their illness. I accompanied Aidan into the office and held his hand tightly as we sat in the chairs across from the doctor as he shuffled some papers on his desk. “I have good news for you, son.” He looked at Aidan as I held my breath. “We’ve run some tests, and the treatment is working well. The cancer is disappearing and should only continue to do so. You’re going to be a healthy man and live a long life, God willing.” Tears were in his eyes, and I stared at him as the words sank into my heart. “Thank you for your service, Aidan. I am thankful that it didn’t kill you.”
I hugged him as the doctor told him that there were a few more weeks of treatment to kill all of the cancer but it was looking one hundred percent like he would heal. “Aidan…you’re not leaving me.”
“Never, Elsa,” he whispered as the world dropped around us and we both cried. “I love you so much. I would have never met you if this hadn’t happened to me. I understand now.”
I kissed him and told him how much I loved him as the doctor left the office and gave us some privacy. We heard the cheers of the nurses outside in the hallway, and I laughed as I wiped a tear from my eye. We slowly made our way to the waiting room and he told the guys the news as they all hugged him in a group. “We did it. We survived all of it,” Dan said as I stepped back and watched them.
I’d spent a lot of time resenting the war for what it did to Aidan, but I kept it inside. I didn’t want to add that to his stress, and now I smiled as I watched him with the others as everyone in the waiting room stood and started to clap. I suppose that since this was a VA doctor that it wasn’t hard to know what was happening here. I joined in, and tears were streaming down my cheeks as the men gave into their own emotions and started crying together.
I heard what they all went through as a result of the war, both emotionally and physically. These men had lost the biggest parts of their lives, but they’d served their country regardless of that fact. They committed to it, and if that didn’t prove that Aidan could love me, then nothing did. He left the group hug after several moments and moved to me to wrap me up in his embrace as he told me that he loved me in a whisper.
The entire community was gathered outside as we arrived back at the farm and the men solemnly exited as they bowed their heads in respect. The air was filled with respect, and I saw the curiosity and admiration in the eyes of everyone I had known since I was a baby. Once Aidan broke the news to the crowd, I ran into the arms of my mother as she held me tight. “It’s going to be okay, baby girl. It’s going to be okay.”
I heard the community react with joy as I closed my eyes and let her comfort me. She’d been so strong herself during the last few weeks, keeping me fed and going as Aidan just seemed to get sicker and sicker. Daddy had helped inside a little more as well as Adam or any other members of the community, cooking and keeping the house clean.
It was an amazing show of support and love, and a part of me wondered why I ever doubted them. I knew that I didn’t want my future to be here in a house with a buggy driving husband any longer. I wanted Aidan, and I wanted to see the world.
I looked up in time to see Daddy and Adam shaking hands with all of the men in the unit, but they hugged Aidan tightly. It moved me, and I nodded for Mama to watch as they held tight to him for a moment. She sniffled through her tears, and I stood to approach them. I had hugged Daddy and Adam before I looked into Aidan’s face. “So what are your plans in about a month, Aidan?”
“I thought that we could take a trip,” he smiled and reached into the pocket of his jacket. “I made you a promise, Elsa.”
I looked at the papers to see that they were tickets to New York for two months from now, and I threw myself into his arms.
The women started heading into the house, and I watched as I tried to find Mama. “They’ve been cooking since you left, Elsa.” I looked at my brother, and he smiled. “It’s time to celebrate.”
There was a feast inside of the house, bigger than anything that I’ve ever seen. The men ate first around the table, and I served them with a smile as I stood with the women and thanked them for their kindness. They told me that it gave them hope to see such strong men get through such a hurdle as they slipped their arms around me and hugged me tight. “I never understood leaving this place before,” one of the older women told me as I smiled. “I loved my Harold mor
e than anything, but this man can’t be held down in one place. He needs to fly, and he needs you, Elsa. He’s done too much to stay pinned down, but he sure loves you.”
“I love him, Martha. I am going to marry that man,” I assured her as I looked over to see him staring at me with love in his eyes.
“I would hope so,” the murmurs around me made me laugh, and I walked over to Aidan to look at his plate.
“You did good, baby,” I told him as I looked at all of the food that was gone. His appetite had been light, too light and I was happy to see him eating. “We’ll have to fill you up with good Amish food for a while.”
“I might need to work out some in that case,” he teased me as I smiled.
“I know just the place,” I said as I leaned down to kiss him. The food kept coming, but I only managed to eat a little bit before the men were driving home and everyone was cleaning up. It was a late night in Amish country tonight.
We walked in the backyard and looked at the stars as he held my hand and didn’t let go. “You got me through this, Elsa. You and that smile.”
“I think you always had it inside to get through this. You just needed a push,” I assured him as I looked around the peaceful place around us. “You know; I think I am done with this whole Rumspringa deal. I think I’ve done enough running around.”
“Yeah? What do you want to do now?” He looked at me under the moonlight as I stared into his handsome face.
“I want you, Aidan. I want to spend my life with you. We can live anywhere that you want to because I know that we’re always welcome to visit here. I don’t want to live here without you or anywhere else.” I reached up to wrap my arms around his neck and kissed him softly as he held me in return.
“We could look in New York for a place. There are the city and upstate to choose from.” Aidan’s voice was full of promise, and I smiled up at him as tears slid down my cheeks.
“I don’t know what I’d have done if I lost you, Aidan. You are the best part of my life,” I sniffled. “I didn’t want to cry too much around you, but I was so scared.”
“I know, love.” I could tell that he did as I hugged him again. “Two more weeks of treatment, Elsa. We got this and then we’re going to show you the world.”
“We do have this,” I agreed as we held each other under the sky. We went inside and fell asleep on his small bed and stayed in the same positions for the entire night.
Aidan had the next few days off from treatment, and I cooked food with Mama and fed him as often as I could get him to eat. I felt better knowing that he was getting better and that we had a strong future ahead of us.
I made it through each week of treatment with hope and faith. They still made him sick, so sick. I still stayed by his side and cheered him on and kept everyone that was far away posted on everything that was happening. I slept when he slept and often woke up to Mama in the room keeping an eye on me and urging me to eat something to keep my strength up.
The community was there as they always had been, as well. They supported him with endless faith and helped Mama keep the house going with constant help. Aidan spent time talking to some of the men about what he’d seen in the war when he was strong enough and giving them an idea of what was out there, which led to a few inquiries of why he wasn’t staying here after he was well. Aidan would just smile and explain that we were meant to travel.
It was a tearful goodbye once he was deemed well and we packed our bags to fly to New York. We must’ve hugged everybody goodbye for an hour before Dan drove us to the airport in Aidan’s car to drop us off. He was planning on driving it out once we were settled somewhere and he hugged Aidan long and hard.
Dan and the others were all well. They were moving on with their lives and finding a new purpose and new relationships. They took on new jobs and moved on in general, and it was time for Aidan to do that with me as well. We waved from the escalator and headed to the plane as he assured me that it would be fine. I was a bit nervous about the airplane but after everything that we’d been through, I knew that a flight was just a drop in the bucket.
It was short, and I was relieved by that even though it was amazing that I could see the ground from so far up. That was a miracle to me, and I gazed down as Aidan held my hand and pointed out some of the famous things.
Flying into New York was stunning. The buildings were so tall and all over the place as I sucked in my breath and stared down. “Look! It’s the Statue of Liberty, Aidan!”
“Indeed, it is. That will be one of the first places that we visit.” I smiled and looked over the water and the bridges as adrenaline surged through my veins. We got off of the plane in a line and grabbed our luggage before Aidan told me it was time for my first cab ride.
That was insane and scared me more than the flight ever could. He’d rented us a nice hotel in the heart of Manhattan that was close to most things, and I begged him for another way to get where we needed to go once we’d checked into the room.
That was the first time that we’d been alone for weeks, and I walked towards him with a deep hunger in my eyes. I knew that I didn’t need to have sex with him to show him that I loved him or to believe that he loved me, but my body needed him. Aidan pulled me against him and kissed me hard as he shoved me against the wall. “I missed you. I missed this,” He told me in a rough voice before he claimed my mouth again. We stripped our clothes off, and Aidan worshiped me with his mouth before he finally gave me what I was begging for.
It had always been good but now that we were beyond our hurdles, and everything that threatened us, the way he felt inside me made me weep. Aidan told me that he loved me with every thrust and kissed me when we were both releasing.
We fell asleep naked and pressed together and didn’t wake up until late in the afternoon the following day. I attacked him again before we ordered room service and watched a movie while we ate.
We had pizza at some tiny place that he’d been told about for dinner and walked around the city. It was Fall, and we were dressed in warm coats as we wandered and took it all in. For a girl that grew up without electricity, all of the lights there blew my mind. It could be late at night, and they were still on, and people were moving around. It was crazy. I took so many pictures, and I was happy that Mama had agreed to a cell phone to keep in touch after everything that happened with Aidan. I enjoyed sending her pictures and keeping her up to date on what we were doing.
Once we’d settled on Long Island in a small house, I was happy when he proposed the night we moved in. The ring was beautiful with a generous diamond and smaller stones along the side of the ring. I said yes with tears and sobs before I hugged him tightly and told him that I’d be his wife.
Daddy agreed to take a train to Long Island to come to our wedding a month later. Technically, it wasn’t driving, and they refused not to see us get married. The chapel reminded me of home with its old architecture and size. It was small and intimate, and I stared into the mirror at my simple white dress with just a hint of sparkle around my chest and a beautiful long train. Mama walked into the room in a pretty pink dress, and I met her gaze and started to cry as I saw her. “Mama, you’re here.” I went to hug her, and she wrapped me in her embrace as we rocked back and forth.
Daddy walked me down the aisle, and I smiled at his unit as I started the short walk. I saw Melissa and Angela and waved at them as I watched the twins hurry to their parents after they did their own jobs in my wedding.
It was beautiful, and I looked around at the stained glass windows as we faced one another to say our vows. His family was seated near him, and his mother cried as Aidan told me how much he loved me and promised me forever. My mama cried as I spoke my words and then Aidan cupped my face in his hands and kissed my lips as he trembled before me.
We all ate at a restaurant afterward, and I watched as Mama tried American food for the first time. It was busy with Aidan and I greeting everyone with hugs and trying to eat some dinner.
I loved getting to k
now his family as we sat at a table and his Mom told me stories about Aidan growing up. My family joined us, and others gathered around the table as we laughed at the things that his brother had to say about him.
There was so much love in the air, and I tried to memorize all of the words and the moments. I knew that there were professional pictures being taken as well as hundreds by the guests and that I didn’t need to, but I still wanted to. I loved seeing everyone again and getting to know them that much better as they supported our love.
We went to a suite in a five-star hotel to stay the night while my family stayed at our house. It was too late to go home, but Aidan was willing to drive them the following day to catch the train back before we left for our European honeymoon for a month.
It was a bittersweet goodbye, but it helped me to know that I could see them anytime I wanted and that they loved my new husband as much as they loved me.
I couldn’t wait to start my life as Elsa Wolcott, though I said a silent prayer for Marion as I watched our plane take off for the long flight.
EPILOGUE
I looked at Elsa as we stood at the gate of the airport two years later. Her hair was longer, and she looked as beautiful as ever as I watched her psych herself out for the upcoming flight. “Are you ready for this?” I asked her as she smiled at me.
“I am ready for anything if I am with you,” she told me as I leaned down and kissed her. The last couple of years had been amazing and full of laughter and love. I pulled her close for a hug and took into consideration what I’d asked her to do for me.
I was going back to Afghanistan. I was going back to lay some old ghosts to rest, not to serve my country any further. I just wanted to say goodbye to a few things, and I asked her to go with me a few months ago.
Of course, Elsa agreed to go. She was an amazing woman, and she wanted to try and find a way to help people over there as she had done in The States. Elsa had taken some of the money and helped with a local food bank as well as volunteering around town for different causes. She gave a lot of hope and joy to those around her, and I would forever be grateful to her for agreeing to spend her life with me.
