He stood to his feet, pulling her up with him, at last giving their expectant audience what they were waiting for. When their lips touched the pianist, who some time ago had ceased to play, began playing, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore” to a standing ovation.
Allan instructed the waiter, “Champagne-for everyone!”
When she looked away from him, and around the room, her eyes wandered to a table in the corner where she noticed Rick-the-Painter, Jeanne, and Randy who were clapping wildly. Of course, Randy was in tears.
Allan had thought of everything.
***
On Christmas morning Brittany awoke to a winter wonderland outside. She showered and dressed, giving her hair a toss rather than drying it, to save time. She was going to grow it out; it wouldn’t be long, but longer than it was. If she started now it would be perfect by the wedding. Thankfully, Allan preferred it shorter—probably a result of his first memory of her with it long. He would be there any minute, and their first Christmas together would begin.
She descended the stairs, pausing to appreciate the fir tree she and Allan decorated a few weeks prior, adorned in white Poinsettias and red feathers—Allan’s idea. The dining room table was set for four. Jeanne and Randy would be joining them for Christmas brunch. She now knew that Jeanne and Randy had been a large part of helping orchestrate Allan’s surprises, although unseen. Allan told her that he had asked Randy for his permission to wed Brittany, for lack of being able to ask her father or mother. Of course, Randy cried when Allan asked him.
She turned on the coffee maker and some Christmas CD’s, aware that it would be nearly a year before she would play them again, recalling that it was a year ago when she had been positive she would never be able to listen to Christmas music without it making her sad. It seemed like so much longer than a year…
Sitting down on the floor in front of the fireplace to stoke the fire, unable to resist taking a moment to reflect on the last year and wondering what today would have been like for her had Allan not entered her life; dating anyone had been the farthest thing from her mind. She also couldn’t help but wonder how Craig was feeling today. He had a new life, a life without any of the physical reminders of his years with Brittany. And, here she was, surrounded with reminders, but because of Allan, none of them haunted her. A scripture that had come to represent what the God-led changes in her life was Isaiah 14:18 & 19; "Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert."
But God. “Oh, Father of the baby who saved us,” she prayed, “Do the impossible today. Bless Craig and draw him near to you.” Shadow crawled up on her lap, purring contentedly. She stroked his soft fur; he was part of her new life, too. She added to her prayer, “And my mom…”
She thought about her mother, who had ignored several attempts by Brittany suggesting they see each other before the holiday. Then, two days before Christmas, Brittany had received an email from her brother, insisting she please leave their mother alone because her messages were upsetting to her. The email had no subject, and she’d opened it thinking it might be a gesture of goodwill, it was quite the opposite. His demand that she not contact them was terse and unforgiving. Allan suggested she not respond to it, but also offered his opinion that she grant their wish, for now. Were things different, it would have devastated her and ruined the holiday, but both Allan and Jeanne assured her that God was at work, whether she could see it or not.
She held out her left hand to admire her engagement ring. Allan told her that he had begun working on the design shortly after Halloween, when he first realized that life without Brittany would be no life. The design was meant to symbolize new beginnings. The large ruby was set in platinum and encircled with diamonds.
“White goes well with red, don’t you think?” he’d whispered in her ear when he slipped in on her finger.
Epilogue
It didn’t take much coaxing on Allan’s part to convince Brittany to quit her job, so on the first of January she gave her magazine two weeks’ notice. When her co-workers found out she was leaving, they naturally asked what she was going to do with her time. She told them she was going to take a stab at writing. When further pressed to tell them “what about”, it gave her the opportunity to share with them some details of her faith journey that she had kept private, one part being her friendship with Gloria Zachery. Now that she was leaving the magazine, there was nothing to stop her from giving God the credit for the blessings she knew were jaw-dropping for most of them.
She accepted the position to be on Gloria’s board, which in itself was exciting, but after accepting it Gloria suggested that Brittany’s proximity to the Capitol put her in position to lobby in behalf of the “Out from the Ashes” ministry.
But, first, Brittany had a wedding to plan.
The wedding, the couple decided, would be small, or as Allan preferred to call it, intimate. Valentine’s Day fell on a Thursday this year. The wedding would in the evening, the beautiful sanctuary lit with dozens of candles. There would be a reception following at the church. They would spend that night at the Willard, who had generously bumped them from a room to a suite asking them for their permission to use some of the pictures the photographer had taken on Christmas Eve for a write-up that was being done for Bride Magazine pitching the hotel as the perfect place for a proposal.
Then, later the next day, it would be off to Italy. Venice first, and from there they would take the train to Tuscany, where Allan had rented a villa for two weeks, then two nights in Florence, after which they would fly home from Rome.
Brittany chose to wear velvet this time, in winter white. She was having her dress made again, only this time it would be knee length. It was a simple boat-necked sheath with a cropped jacket, in the Chanel style of the sixty’s; the kind of dress Jackie Kennedy might have worn. Instead of a veil she chose to wear a small pill box-style hat studded with seed-pearls, covered with netting that poofed in front, ending just beneath her nose. Her grandmother’s pearl earrings would be the ‘something old’. Jeanne would be her Maid of Honor and the Best Man would be Allan’s younger brother, William. It was a given she would carry red roses.
The guest list comprised a mix of his family, close friends, some of their co-workers, and the women in her recovery group, who insisted on organizing and serving the reception meal after the ceremony. Gloria Zachery was flying in for the occasion. And, last but not least, was Rick-the-Painter, who was taking particular pride in his having been part of the magical evening where it all began. His wedding gift to the couple was a moon-inspired piece, painted especially for them.
The scripture reading was one that had become meaningful to Brittany since her conversion. While she didn’t have the hindsight of decades, she could look far enough back to see how even before the last fourteen months, God had been orchestrating the events in her life to guide her toward making the choices she had made, leading her to him, and to the husband who was without question, the love of her life. The scripture was Jude 24: 25, “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Gloria agreed to do the reading.
In spite of Brent’s admonition that Brittany not to have any further contact with her mother, Brittany sent each of them an invitation, accompanied with a letter to her mom, where she described the details of the last year and how, because of God, she had changed. In the letter she asked her mother if they might reconcile. So far, neither the letter nor invitation had been acknowledged, but Brittany had peace about it either way. She knew she had done the right thing, and refused to allow it to tarnish her day, offering those details to God.
When Allan’s mother met B
rittany for the first time, she took Brittany’s face in both of her hands, studying it for what must have been two minutes. She told her, “Brittany, Allan’s father and I have been praying for who would become Allan’s wife for a long, long time. Actually, we began praying for her from before he was born.” She stopped when she saw that Brittany was tearing up. Then she added, “And, today I know what she looks like.” With that said, she gathered Brittany into her arms. Brittany loved her from that moment. Allan would be the first of their three sons to marry, so she entered the family in a privileged position, their first daughter and sister. Allan’s father and brothers adored her, as well.
After the Christmas holiday ended, Allan began moving some of his things into Brittany’s house. The housing market had taken a hit on her equity, so they concluded it made no sense to sell it. Practically, the house was less than a fifteen minute drive to Allan’s office, and it was convenient to everything else. Magically, the house retained no sense of the past for either of them. And, most importantly, Jeanne and Randy were about to embark on their new foster parenting adventure, and Brittany did not want to miss being part of it.
It had taken Brittany the better part of a year to discover who she really was, and she realized looking back that it was in embracing her unsolicited independence that it happened. She accepted regret as part of her journey, but no guilt. She also saw how reactions rarely brought about the desired result; it was better to act thoughtfully, after much thought—and now she understood—and prayer.
Gloria persisted in getting Brittany to write down her testimony so it could be shared at the inauguration of Gloria’s new ministry. She was confident Brittany’s story would give her audience hope. It was while Brittany was pulling her reflections of the past year together she was able to see how, from the onset, God had been with her long before she had invited Him to participate. How ironic, she thought. We invite God into our lives; not into something all cleaned-up and pretty, but instead, into the worst parts of it! He doesn’t hesitate for a second; He accepts and immediately grabs a broom and begins to help us with the clean-up process. And now Brittany would, with His help, impart some of that hope to women who had traded it away, or lost it altogether; hope having birthed the wisdom that only manifests after personal trial. That, too, was central to her finding herself, a far better picture when seen through the lens of God’s grace.
There would be children, God willing. When she had asked Allan how many children he wanted he told her, “I want triplets.” He wanted three, and he insisted he wanted them fast. “I don’t want to be fifty with a four year old,” he added. She was thirty four and he was thirty six, so they would not wait to begin trying, but for Brittany either fast or slow was fine, although she hoped the babies would come one at a time.
She had discovered that life was not predictable-for anyone. Realistically, she knew there would be challenges ahead, but for now, she could say for certain that whatever the years ahead of her held, she could trust that her Father would be alongside to walk with her through it.
And, because He would be walking alongside, guiding them, she and Allan could live happily ever after, until death parted them, and after that, for eternity.
The End
*Quotes by Joe Kirklevet
Recipes
HOLLANDAISE SAUCE
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tsp. fresh tarragon
4 black peppercorns
2 tablespoons water
3 egg yolks
4 ounces chilled butter, cut into small cubes
Squeeze of lemon juice (only use fresh juice)
sea salt and white pepper, to taste
Dash of cayenne
Place medium saucepan, 1/4 filled with water, over medium heat and bring to the barest simmer. Reduce heat to minimum required to maintain simmer.
In the meantime place vinegar, tarragon, peppercorns and water in small saucepan. Bring to simmer and allow to cook until reduced by half. Strain and set aside to cool.
When reduction is cool, place stainless steel or glass bowl over simmering water, ensuring that the bowl does not contact the water. This is very important as the sauce will curdle if the bowl is in contact with boiling water.
Pour reduction into the bowl. Add egg yolks and, whisking constantly, combining egg yolks thoroughly. Still whisking constantly, add the butter cube by cube, slowly at first, incorporating each cube one by one, continuing to wisk.
As the sauce thickens, you can add a little more quickly. When sauce is at your desired consistency, add a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste.
Best served immediately but can be kept warm for 1/2 hour or so by removing from heat and placing a sheet of cling wrap or wax paper directly on the surface of the sauce and keeping in a warm place.
York Peppermint Patties
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups margarine
3 cups white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
24 small peppermint patties
Directions
Mix butter, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs till well blended. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Blend well.
Reserve 2 cups of batter, set aside
Grease 13x9x2 inch pan. Spread remaining batter in prepared pan. Arrange peppermint patties in a single layer over batter about 1/2 inch apart.
Spread reserved 2 cups batter over patties. Bake 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50-55 minutes till brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Enjoy!!!
*Thin mints can be used also.
This recipe doubles easily and will take longer to bake, but do not double bake time. They also freeze well.
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