A Bride for Esau

by Parker J Cole

  ***

  Delilah’s sobs subsided as Esau’s words penetrated through her grief.

  She glanced up into his face and saw a mask of rage. It contorted his features to the point that he looked almost unrecognizable. His hand rubbed vigorously on Boaz’s back even as he continued to shout at the Lord.

  “Was taking my parents from me not enough? Was taking the missionaries from me not enough? What more do you want from me!” His hand gripped their son harder. Delilah saw the tears wash Esau’s face. “Give him back, dear Lord. Give him back to me!”

  She wept all the harder, feeling the aching pain that Esau must be feeling mirroring her own. He’d never allowed his anger at God to find expression. And now that the Lord had decided to take their child, it was erupting like a geyser.

  This was the husband that she knew laid under the surface of the kind man she grew to love. His outrage he kept at bay, always insisting that being angry was sinful. But she knew better. Hadn’t she been angry when her mother abandoned her all those years ago? Left her without a backward glance? She’d poured herself to the Lord, asking and demanding why would He let her live if her mother was simply going to leave her to fend for herself?

  But now, she understood. Her life had prepared her for this moment where she could be Boaz’s mother. She’d never abandon him, and she wasn’t going to do that now. The despair that had overwhelmed melted away. With a strength born from knowing that this was the life God had given her to have, that the man who cried out before her, and the child who seemed lifeless, was her family to fight for, she knew she had to pray even harder.

  Her head bent and she prayed. With all her heart, she believed that God did not give her Boaz only to take him away.

  If you can understand me, my son. If in some way you can hear me, repeat the promise of God. “I will not die but live and will proclaim what the Lord has done.”

  “You gave him to me, Lord,” Esau said into the stillness. “I didn’t ask for him, but you gave me my son. You knew how much I needed him as well as my wife. How dare you try to take him from me! Give him back!”

  What could she do? She sensed Esau had even forgotten that she was there. That he was locked in a moment with the Lord. His hand kept rubbing at Boaz’s back as if he were trying to imbue life back into him. Her gaze fixed on the motion of Esau’s hands. He would!

  Now his prayer turned to a plea. “I’m not Abraham, dear Lord. I’m Cain, the one that you marked. I’m Esau, the one that you hated. But I love you Lord. I love you. I promise I do. Please, don’t take my son. He’s my only one.”

  Esau’s voice cracked and his hand grew furious as he rubbed Boaz’s back. “He’s my only son.”

  Boaz coughed.

  Instantly, she was on her feet while Esau jerked at the sound. “Boaz?”

  The child coughed again. Delilah cried out, “Keep rubbing his back. Please!”

  Esau didn’t stop and her hands clutched together in silent prayer. Was the Lord answering their prayer? Her hands shook as she sent pleas to the Lord.

  Finally, Boaz lifted his head and a mewling sound came from him, weak, but as beautiful as birdsong. Esau raised his eyes to her. Together they enveloped each other until the three became one.

  ***

  “It was a miracle, Heather,” Delilah told her three days later. Esau had gone earlier that morning to fetch the doctor.

  Boaz lay resting in his crib. Although he had come through the ordeal, he was still weak. Remembering something she’d heard before, she decided that instead of giving him the goat’s milk, that it was time to switch him over to solid food. He was almost six months old now.

  Heather wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh, Delilah, I had no idea. I wish I had known. I would have been here for you.”

  “The Lord was here,” Delilah said simply.

  “Yes, and that’s all you needed.”

  “I wish I had known what made him sick,” Delilah pondered as she went over for the tenth time in as many minutes to check on Boaz. The fever had gone the day the Lord brought their son back to life. But he was still a little cranky and restless. He cried more often than he smiled when he awakened but she welcomed the sound.

  She never wanted to know the silence of his not breathing ever again.

  Heather frowned. “Delilah, is that a baby bottle?”

  She glanced over at the small object she hadn’t used in a few days. “That’s correct.”

  The frown continued on Heather’s face. “I wonder. May I see it please?”

  “If you’d like.” Delilah went over to the mantle and gave the bottle over to Heather. “It’s a good way to feed the baby you know.”

  “It’s not that,” Heather pondered. “I had a…visitor once who came to me. He told me that baby bottles were not meant to replace a woman’s bosom.”

  “I’m not sure what you mean?”

  Without answering her, Heather took the flattened tea kettle-shaped bottle and opened the spigot where the milk was poured into it. Even from where Delilah sat across from her, a foul smell erupted from it.

  “I’ve always washed out the bottle when I’ve fed him. It never smelled like that!”

  “I believe you. But the gentleman told me once that you couldn’t always be sure of its cleanliness. If some milk is left that wasn’t rinsed out before, then it could sour the fresh milk already there.”

  A cold sensation blanketed Delilah’s body. Her mouth gaped open. “Am I responsible for making my son sick?”

  Heather set the bottle down. “No, you’re not. How could you be when you didn’t know?” Heather soothed. “Don’t let those kinds of thoughts overcome you, Delilah. Boaz is alive and he will heal, and the Lord is the one who did it. Don’t let the past and all its mistakes stop you from enjoying the present.”

  Nodding at the wisdom of Heather’s words, Delilah swallowed the panic that threatened to consume her. Boaz was alive. Even when she didn’t know what had made him sick, the Lord did, and He spared their son.

  It wasn’t until a week later that life in the Caldwell house returned to what it was. Boaz was once again smiling and gurgling and happy. He said his first word that day, “Papa.”

  Delilah smiled as Esau kissed Boaz on the cheek, another tear trickling down his face. “That’s right, Boaz. I’m your Papa.”

  Boaz squealed and slapped Esau on the cheeks.

  Later that night, Esau came to her. He hadn’t since the day when Boaz got sick. She missed his touch terribly but understood the need for some time to themselves. He made love to her with an aching tenderness which spoke of the change in their relationship. Afterward, she lay against his chest, hearing the thunder of his heart ease away.

  Her husband’s arms gathered her close. “Delilah, I have something to tell you.”

  She twisted her head to look up into his face. “What is it?”

  He toyed with a strand of her hair. “I love you,” he said in a low, gentle voice.

  She smiled, glad that all her smiles since she married Esau were genuine. No longer would she have to say to herself, Smile even when it hurts. “I love you, too. So much, I don’t think my body can contain it.”

  “I feel the same way as well. I wanted you to know that. In my mind, I kept telling myself I didn’t ask for this family, but I had no idea how much I needed you. If I had prayed for a family, I couldn’t have received better than what is in my arms and resting in the crib now.”

  Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, so she squeezed his waist. “I understand.”

  “Jacob was right in one way. I was angry at God although I didn’t realize it. I thought because I had suppressed that anger, that I wasn’t. But when Boaz got sick, I railed at Him. Even then, in the midst of my rage, He was there, letting me beat and cry into his chest.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being angry at God. But it’s not good to stay angry. It’s important to let Him know about it. Once we do that, He gives us comfort and peace and so
much more than we can ever hope for. Then we realize that being angry wasn’t the issue. It’s staying angry that is. It affects everything else in us and around us.”

  She felt Esau move and kiss the top of her head. Then he stirred and whispered in her ear, “You wouldn’t be angry if I took my wife again, would you?”

  Delilah laughed, just as ravenous for her husband as he for her. She lifted her face for his kiss. “Not at all.”

  EPILOGUE

  One year later…

  “Boaz, come back, you little coyote,” Delilah called out good-naturedly as she, Heather and Heather’s little one, Alice, walked over the grassy meadows to a nearby stream for a picnic. Tom and Esau were egging her son on to run faster, and the boy did just that, leaping into Esau’s arms as soon as he neared.

  Heather mused as she bounced the baby on her hip. “He loves his father, doesn’t he?”

  “He does. They share a connection unlike any other.”

  For all that, Esau’s love for her could be felt day after day.

  Heather pointed her finger to a couple walking not too far away from the rest of the group. “Jacob and Anna seem to be doing well, don’t you think?”

  Anna had come for a visit last week. The Society had asked her to leave, and she found herself without any sense of direction. Jacob had stared at her, his face flabbergasted as if he’d been hit by a train when he met her today. He hadn’t seen his brother since the prior year, when, a couple of months after she arrived, he sent a note to Esau telling him that he had decided to stay in Evansgrove in the Dakota territory. Despite this, he wanted to visit his brother and see his new sister-in-law.

  He shared similar traits to Esau, but bore a harder edge. When he saw Anna, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her. She wondered what Anna would do if Jacob decided to pursue her.

  “Mama! Come!” Boaz called out to her. She waved at him. “Mama’s coming!”

  “As fast as she can with a baby on the way,” Heather chuckled by her side.

  Delilah’s hand drifted to her swollen stomach, feeling the small kick of the child within her. Esau was sure it was a girl. She was grateful for whatever child the Lord would give her. Esau waited until she stood at his side. “Are you all right?” He asked, his dark eyes roving over her person.

  “I’m fine. So is your daughter.”

  He nodded. Bending, he kissed her on the mouth. “I love you.”

  “And I you.”

  Boaz wiggled to get out of Esau’s arms. With one hand in Delilah’s and the other in his father’s, they walked together in perfect unison to the glistening stream of water nearby.

  THE END

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  In 1800, the Magdalen Society of Philadelphia was established by a coalition of Protestant and Evangelical pastors and ministers. It was the first institution of its kind in the United States; a place to provide women, who had become sex workers of the time, to find reformation and enter a life of good living.

  These organizations were already prevalent around the world but had a strong Catholic foundation. Women who entered these organizations were consider ‘Magdalens’ so named after Mary Magdalene, propagated through time as a prostitute via the teachings of the Catholic church. These places were called ‘Magdalen laundries’.

  In researching this story, I discovered that these societies were little more than good-intentioned prisons. Women were mistreated and turned into slaves. Forced to work in a myriad of ways but mostly prevalently, they performed duties related to laundry, washing, and pressing clothes for many hours a day. According to some witness accounts, they were treated inhumanely; some spoke of abuse while others spoke of strict and rigid routines.

  Of note, there was competition, here in the U. S., between the Protestant and/or Evangelical institutions and the Catholic ones. In researching the Magdalen Society of Philadelphia, the next matron of the Society after Ann McDonald, Elizabeth Freeberger, held disdain for the nuns’ rhetoric at one Catholic refuge she visited. At the time of her tenure, the Society did not accept pregnant women, but to compete, she thought they may have to consider it. Of interest to note, a potential homeless ‘Magdalen’ with a three-week-old baby had been taken in by an African American family. Freeberger considered homelessness a lesser evil than being taken care of by an African American family.

  So much for godly love!

  When I first started this story, Heather was a woman of mixed blood. I had intended to use this story to put my own spin on the turbulent times of today. As of this writing, racial tensions are high in the U. S., something that breaks my heart. It’s bringing forth ugly and uncomfortable conversations necessary for a county to begin some sort of healing process. I don’t know if it will ever be fully healed. Due to this climate, I felt it was better to change Heather’s character from a mixed woman to what she is.

  In my own way, I hope to show that the racism, sex trafficking, and a host of other vices are symptoms, not causes. The cause is sin. Sin does not care about equality. It’s all about dominance. It will do whatever it can to crush you. Once crushed, you’re flattened. Even after you’re flattened, sin takes its foot and grinds you into the ground.

  The same happened with the massacre of the young Indian women. This event occurred on January 23, 1870. The soldiers murdered a group of peaceful Native Americans because of tensions that had risen between them and the white community in Montana. The massacre that happened led to the death of 217 men, women, and children. At the time, the white community of Montana was pleased with the massacre; however others in the country decried it.

  History is riddled with acts of violence dating back to the beginning. Although sin festers and boils, creating offshoots that has propagated through the ages, there’s one thing for sure, even if it seems as if we’re doomed.

  Thank God, we aren’t! Through Christ, we have victory over sin. Through His blood, He washes us clean. It’s through Him, the one who can break the dominating power of sin that we will eventually get to that place of peace. It won’t be on this Earth. Sin lives and thrives here. But in Heaven, where sin has no place to root and is utterly destroyed by God’s holiness, we’ll never have to worry about it again.

  Be blessed!

  About the Author

  Parker J. Cole is an author, speaker, and radio show host with a fanatical obsession with the Lord, Star Trek, K-dramas, anime, romance books, old movies, speculative fiction, and knitting. An off and on recovering Mountain Dew and marshmallow addict, she writes to fill the void the sugar left behind.

  Find out more and sign up for the mailing list at www.parkerjcole.com

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  Works by Parker J. Cole

  Edgy Christian Romance Novels

  The Sins of the Flesh Series:

  Many Strange Women (Book 1)

  The Other Man (Book 2)

  Vengeful Vows (Book 3)

  Sweet Inspirational Novels

  Michigan Sweet Romance Series:

  The Cure

  Time to Say Goodbye

  Contemporary Romance

  Java Cupid Series

  Java Blend

  7 Mafia Brides for 7 Brothers

  Shattered Illusion with Lynnette Roman

  Axel’s Sunshine

  Sweet Historical Romance Novels

  Silverpines Series:

  Wanted: Man of Honor

  Wanted: Stonemason

  Wanted: Fire Chief

  Lantern in the Window Series:

  Lantern of Hope

  Lantern of Charity

  The Proxy Bride Series

  A Bride for Sterling

  A Bride for Valentin

  A Bride for Wen Hui

  A Bride for E
sau

  The Pinkerton Matchmaker Series

  An Agent for Arielle

  An Agent for Brielle

  An Agent for Camille

  An Agent for Danielle

  An Agent for Brutus

  Hearts of South Dakota

  Eva

  Short Story Collection

  Wish Upon a Strawberry Shortcake

  Thriller Novel

  Dark Cherub

  Sci-fi Fantasy Romance Series

  Crowns and Worlds

  The House of Haddaway

  Beyond the Veil

  Entangled with a Cyclops

  Anthology Works

  Birds of Passage Anthology: April and Mr. Grim

  Realms of Our Own: Godforsaken

  Beatitudes and Woes: The Door to Wishes

  Realms of Our Own 2: Give me Tomorrow

  WRITING AS PARKER PAYNE

  Ascent of the Gem Bearers Series

  The Druid’s Spear (Book One) with Lee Thornton III

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