“Ed, you shouldn’t tell me. Now I won’t be surprised when I open it.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t want you to think it was more.”
“That’s a lovely gift.”
“You haven’t opened it yet.”
She pulled the end of the red ribbon until it unraveled and then peeled back the paper. On the box was a picture of a pale pink cup with small red flowers. “Oh, Ed, it is so beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“I do.”
“Now, where’s this broken window?”
“Come inside and I’ll show you. It’s the kitchen window.”
Ed stood in front of the window. “How did it break?”
“Don’t ask. There was a real mess on the floor. I’ve only just finished cleaning it up.”
He pulled a tape out of his work-apron pocket and started his measuring, recording the results on a notepad. “I’ll need to measure outside as well.”
She followed him outside, and once he had finished making his measurements, he said, “I think we should have this finished by the end of the day.”
“I’d like it if you could do that.”
“Valerie, I need to talk with you about something.”
“What is it?”
“Do you have time?”
“Yes, I’ve got all day. Would you like a cup of tea or kaffe?”
He shook his head. “Not for me.”
“It’s a lovely day; we can sit on the porch.”
Ed followed her back to the porch with his heart thumping, hoping things weren’t going to backfire on him. He didn’t know where to start. Perhaps it was better to leave the past in the past and not mention things that happened long ago.
When they were both seated, she stared at him, waiting for him to begin.
“Marry me, Valerie?” he blurted out.
“You want to marry me?”
The relief he felt over finally asking her the question that had been on his lips for over a year was enormous. “Jah. I want to marry you, or I wouldn’t have asked you. I’ve always loved you.”
Valerie shook her head and looked away. “Don’t say that.”
He nodded, understanding completely. “You’re thinking about Rita and Dirk?”
“Jah.” She slowly nodded.
He sighed.
She screwed up her nose. “Why are you asking me now?”
He frowned. “It’s about time. First, before you give me your answer, there’s something I have to tell you. I’ve owed you an explanation for a long time.”
“Go on.”
“You and I were set to marry and then things went wrong when I went to Lowville to help my onkel. I was friendly with Rita, but she was never more than a friend. There was a murder.”
“A murder?”
“Jah. An Englischer ran in front of my buggy as a joke and caused my horse to rear up. The man was from a wealthy family and was well-known in the area. I stopped the buggy and explained that it wasn’t a good thing to scare the buggy horses. I wasn’t the first one he’d done it to. He picked up a large rock and threw it at me. Then I turned to get back in my buggy and he jumped on me, pulled me to the ground, and started punching me. A crowd gathered, but no one pulled him off me. As you know, we can’t strike back.”
“I know, of course. So he kept punching you?”
“I blocked the punches the best I could and then after a while he figured I’d suffered enough, so he hurled abuse at me and let me go. I was battered and bloody and so I headed back to the cabin on my onkel’s farm, where I was staying, to fix myself up.”
“No one was there to help?”
“Nee, and the next day Rita had heard what happened and she came to the cabin early in the morning to see if I was okay. She bandaged my hands where I had large pieces of skin missing. It wasn’t a pretty sight.” He held out one hand and pulled up his sleeve. “I’ve still got scars.”
“I didn’t know.”
“While Rita was still tending my wounds, she told me something shocking and unbelievable.”
“What was it?”
“That same man who’d been harassing us and the horses had raped her and she was expecting his child.”
“Nee!” Valerie held her stomach.
“While I was getting over what she’d told me, there was a knock on the door. It was the police. The man who’d attacked me and raped Rita had been found murdered. Two men had told the police I’d done it. The man had been found hanged on a tree near the place he’d attacked me the day before.”
Valerie gasped. “What happened?”
“Rita stepped forward and before I could stop her, she said it couldn’t have been me because she was with me the whole night. She gave me an alibi.”
“She lied?”
“She did. We were living in a nightmare and to save ourselves, we lied. Otherwise, I might have gone to jail and who knows what would’ve happened to Rita and her child.”
Valerie wiped away a tear. “Poor Rita.”
“So I married her. Rita was distraught that if word got out that it was that man’s baby, his wealthy family might have taken the baby from her.”
Valerie looked out over the swaying grasses of the fields. Now things made sense. This was different from Rhonda’s version of Ed and Rita having to get married. Perhaps Rhonda didn’t know the truth behind Ed and Rita’s story.
Ed continued, “We were in the whole thing together. I didn’t know who had killed that man, but I knew it wasn’t Rita or me. We married as quickly as the bishop allowed and soon after that, Rita miscarried.”
“That’s so sad.”
“It was, and I felt so bad that you were affected in this whole thing too.”
“If you’d told me back then, I would’ve understood,” Valerie said.
“But don’t you see, Valerie, this wasn’t my story to tell? It involved Rita and I couldn’t ask her if I could tell you, the woman I loved. We were married in the sight of Gott, and I had to love the woman I was with. You would’ve been ashamed of me for lying, I knew that too. There was … I just couldn’t have told you. I wouldn’t have been able to find the words.”
“I don’t know what I would’ve thought, but it would’ve been nice to know that you’d left me for a real reason. I felt so deserted and worthless.”
He reached out and took her hand in his. “I’m sorry I made you feel that way.”
Valerie nodded, pleased to know the truth.
“That’s all of it. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you before now. I was ashamed for being cowardly and lying, but I was young back then. Now I believe I would do things differently.”
“We’ve all made mistakes in our youth. Denke for telling me now. I’m pleased you did. I always thought you’d fallen in love with another woman and forgotten me.”
“Nee, I never forgot you, but I couldn’t let myself love you once I was married. I pushed every thought of you out of my mind. In time, I grew to love Rita, I really did. She was a gut fraa and a wunderbaar mudder. We had a happy life.”
“I feel sad for Rita. She went through quite a bit.”
“We had a happy life. The joy of our sons made up for the earlier pain we went through.”
Valerie blew out a deep breath. “Does Rhonda know any of this?”
“Nee. Only you and I know. Why do you ask?”
“Rhonda let slip that Rita was expecting before you were married and I assumed …”
“Everyone assumed that. Rhonda likes to spread stories, I’m afraid. I didn’t tell anyone anything, but people found out Rita was expecting and I’m not certain what Rita told her schweschder. Rhonda’s a good-hearted woman, and she’s been a gut schweschder-in-law.” He chuckled. “Let people think what they want. It was so long ago it barely matters.”
“It still matters to me.”
“I know. I meant that it doesn’t matter what people think, except for you.”
“Did they ever find out who murdered that ma
n?”
“Jah. It was those two men who said it was me. They killed their friend. The police caught up with them two years later. They might have gotten away with it if Rita hadn’t stepped forward like she did. I might be sitting in a jail cell now if it weren’t for Rita giving me an alibi.”
“You were there to help each other through difficult times.”
“It was hard and when we lost the boppli, Rita was convinced it was because she lied to the police. She thought Gott was punishing her even though we had both confessed our sin to Him. It was a sad time.”
“I can imagine. I’ve never had a child, but losing one must be … there’d be no words.”
Tears brimmed in his eyes. “We both were looking forward to raising that child. He wasn’t mine, but he was. He was ours, and to lose him was something so tragic …”
When she saw him blinking rapidly to hold back tears, she squeezed his hand.
He wiped a tear away. “I’ve had happiness and tragedy, and now I want—all I want—is our time, Valerie. It’s our time to be happy.”
All Valerie’s past hurts and doubts had been washed away with hearing the truth of what had happened all those years ago. “I had no idea you and Rita had been through so much.” She smiled at Ed and in her heart, she forgave him for abandoning her all those years ago. “Do you think we might be too old to begin a life together?”
“Nee. You’re never too old for love. You were the first woman I loved and you’ll be the last. Will you marry me, Valerie?”
Valerie nodded. “I would love to marry you, Ed. Jah, I will.”
“Really?”
“Jah.”
“You mean it?” he asked.
She laughed. “I do.”
He leaped off his chair and pulled her up into his arms. Then his arms fell from around her waist and he grabbed both of her hands. “We must tell everyone.”
“The bishop first,” she said.
“I’d like us to marry as soon as we can. I don’t want any more time to be wasted.”
She nodded and blinked to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. “I’d like that, too.”
He pulled her into his arms once more and she rested her head on his shoulder. This was finally going to happen after all. She was going to marry the man she’d loved for so long.
Chapter 24
On the morning of her wedding, Valerie drank the last cup of hot tea she’d ever have at her kitchen table. In a little over an hour, she would be Mrs. Bontrager.
Ed had bought them a new home, saying, New home, new memories. A much-appreciated romantic gesture from the man Valerie thought hadn’t a romantic bone in his body.
The wedding was taking place at their new home. Everyone was there right now getting everything ready. The ladies were organizing the food, the men were filling the house with long wooden benches for the ceremony, and Ed would be instructing the men in what to do and where everything should be placed. Ed had an eye for detail and liked everything just so.
Surprisingly, it was Rhonda who’d insisted on driving Valerie from her old house to her new one for the wedding. Ed’s sister-in-law had taken it with grace that Valerie and Ed were to be married. Rhonda had become a friend, rather than taking Valerie’s place, as Valerie had once feared.
Valerie looked around the kitchen. Over the next few days, she would have to ready her house so it could be leased. Since Ed still had some of his boys living at home, he’d decided that the boys should continue to live there and the family’s house was staying as is. She thought Ed was hoping one of his sons might want to buy the house one day.
Now Valerie had a nice new home that she could do with as she wished. Marrying Ed meant she wouldn’t have to struggle financially as she’d been doing since Dirk’s death. Even though she was sad to leave her home, she was excited to be moving on to something else—another chapter in her life and, she hoped, a happier one.
Valerie brought her cup to the sink and rinsed it in hot running water before leaving it to dry by the sink. After she had wiped her hands on a towel, she smoothed down her carefully-sewn blue wedding dress. On hearing a buggy, she moved into the living room. A quick look out the window confirmed it was Rhonda. She straightened her prayer kapp, smoothing back some loose strands of hair.
Instead of knocking on the door, Rhonda opened it and walked right on in. Her face lit up when she saw Valerie. “You’re so beautiful.”
“Denke, Rhonda. I feel beautiful today.”
“You should. I can’t think of two nicer people to marry each other.” She sighed, exhaling deeply. “My two good friends are getting married.”
“That’s a lovely thing to say.”
“It’s true.”
Valerie giggled like a girl. She found that she felt like a young girl today. This had been her dream as a young woman, to marry Ed, and after many eventful years, that dream was finally about to become real.
“Will you miss this haus?”
“I was just thinking that. I will, but it’s exciting to have a new place to start our life together.”
“We should leave now.”
Valerie stepped forward. “I’m ready.”
“Your apron and cape?”
Valerie looked down at herself and laughed. “My head’s in a muddle. I don’t know where they are.”
Rhonda pointed to the couch. “Is that them?”
Valerie laughed again as she headed to them. “That’s them all right.” She quickly donned the apron, putting on the cape while following Rhonda out the door. When she stepped out, she looked up at the house, and then turned away. Today, so many changes would take place. She would gain a new husband and live in a new place. It was a lot to take in.
Valerie traveled to her wedding with Rhonda chattering in her ear. She was too nervous to concentrate on anything Rhonda said.
“Here we are,” Rhonda announced. “You get out here and I’ll park the buggy.”
“Denke, Rhonda.”
Valerie got down from the buggy and headed to the house.
Ed stepped out to meet her, grinning from ear-to-ear. “It’s finally about to happen,” he said.
“I know. I’m so happy.” He’d never looked more handsome than in the dark suit and bowtie she’d made him.
“That’s all I want. I just want you to be happy.” His eyes swept over her. “You look so beautiful.”
“Denke.”
“We’ll put our past behind us and have a future together.”
“I’d like nothing more,” Valerie said.
Hand-in-hand, they walked into the house. They stood in front of the bishop and everyone quickly took their seats.
The bishop cleared his throat, and said, “It’s been a long time coming, but I think we all knew this day was going to happen.”
There was a rumble of laughter through the crowd.
Ed and Valerie looked at each other and smiled. The bishop rarely made remarks like that.
After a prayer, a hymn, and a short talk from the bishop, Valerie and Ed were pronounced married. They gave each other a special smile and Valerie couldn’t wait for their very first kiss that would take place later that night, once all their guests had left.
Ed guided Valerie out of the house and into the covered area at the back of the house where they would have the meal. Some of the ladies had already made a start on spreading the food onto the tables. And there was always plenty of food at an Amish wedding. There was the special fried chicken, which was Ed’s favorite, along with lamb and other roasted meats. Plenty of mashed potatoes and coleslaw, vegetable dishes, bologna, and creamed celery were spread out.
The women had made several wedding cakes and the desserts—fruit pies, puddings, and doughnuts—were just as varied and plentiful as the main meal.
Even though they hadn’t given people much notice of their wedding, there were still hundreds of guests in attendance.
Valerie was overwhelmed with gratitude to God for finally answering her many p
rayers to be united with the man she loved. It had taken a long time, and when he’d married Rita, she’d had to abandon that hope.
“Denke for marrying me,” Ed said as they both sat down at the head wedding table.
“Denke for asking me.”
“I shouldn’t have taken so long.”
“Everything has worked out for the best.”
He nodded. “I’m just so sad I hurt you in the way that I did.”
“All is forgotten. I forgot it as soon as you told me what happened.”
“I’ll put it behind me. I’ll spend the rest of my life making you happy.”
Valerie knew this was perfect. Ed was the only man for her and always had been. “I just feel this is how it always should have been from the start.”
He chuckled. “I’ve learned never to take love for granted. I should’ve asked you a lot sooner than I did.”
“No more regrets. We’re married now.”
He leaned close and whispered, “I want to take you in my arms and kiss you like you’ve never been kissed.”
Valerie gave a giggle. “We have to wait until everyone leaves.”
“I’ll be counting every single minute.”
“Me too.”
Valerie and Ed temporarily put aside their longing to be alone and enjoyed their wedding day with family and friends, old and new.
Throughout the festivities of the day, there was one special person missing. That person was Nerida, who was still on bed rest.
* * *
Weeks later.
* * *
Because of her difficult pregnancy, Nerida had made the choice to have her baby in the hospital with her midwife present. That way, the doctors would be there in case there were complications.
Her baby arrived after a six-hour labor. John returned to Nerida’s side after he’d called everyone on his list to tell them they’d had a healthy baby girl.
Nerida stared down at the tiny baby girl in her arms. Nancy had been there for every minute of the labor.
“What are you going to call her?” Nancy asked.
Nerida glanced up at her husband, who was right by her side. “We decided to call her Alyssa.”
“Is that a flower name?”
Amish Willow Page 17
