Laura paused to glance skyward. “Thank You for all this, Lord. You know I don’t deserve what You’ve done. And now, please help Lydia. Things aren’t working out between her and Milton. Please give us another miracle. Surely You have one up there in heaven to spare for my sister?”
Laura took her time as she went back up the sidewalk. She had prayed this prayer often in the past weeks. No answer had come yet, but she had waited months for John’s restoration. The miracle would also come for Lydia. She was sure of it, but she kept her enthusiasm tempered in front of her twin. She could pray and she did, and that brought peace. Even Lydia seemed more peaceful lately. She had noticed the change from the day Lydia had taken that mysterious trip into Ogdensburg. Why Daett had allowed Lydia to drive up alone, she couldn’t understand. For all they knew, Lydia might have planned to meet up with Milton and elope. That would not be a miracle in her book, but Daett’s faith in Lydia had paid off. Lydia had returned when she was supposed to and had seemed calmer ever since. Lydia had even thrown herself openly into the spring wedding preparations, which brought up the matter of a date. It must be settled with John tonight. Yah, a final date must be set. Laura calmed herself and opened the front door again.
“I thought you got lost,” John teased.
Laura laughed. “Just taking my time. It’s a beautiful night out there, though a little cold. The stars are bright.”
“I noticed you didn’t take your coat,” he said.
“You could see that?” Laura came close to touch his face with her free hand.
“I see more than you think,” he said.
Laura pinched his cheek and set down the plate of cookies, and then she hurried into the Yoders’ kitchen to fill two glasses with milk. When she returned, John’s fingers brushed hers as he took one of the glasses, his gaze fixed on her face. Laura settled herself on the couch beside him.
“We need to talk about the wedding,” she told him.
“Whose wedding?” he teased.
She slapped his arm lightly. “Stop it. I’m trying to be serious.”
“Are you still sure about this?”
“John!” Laura chided. “Don’t even ask that.”
“I can’t help but think I’m dreaming sometimes,” he said wistfully. “All those months after the accident I thought you were lost to me forever. First my bedridden state, then my blindness. Yet here we are talking about our wedding.” He found her hand, and his fingers tightened on hers.
“The cookies,” Laura told him. “You should eat them.”
“I thought you wanted to talk about our wedding,” he said.
Laura leaned against him and they laughed together.
Laura sobered to look up at him. “Also, I think we need to buy Nancy’s old place,” she said. “And set a date for when we think the weather will break.”
He nodded. “That means we should visit Bishop Ezra soon.”
“Yah,” she said, squeezing his hand. The cookies lay on the plate in front of them, forgotten for the moment.
“How’s Lydia doing?” he asked. “You haven’t said much about her lately.”
“I really don’t know.” Laura sat up straighter.
“We should pray for your sister,” he told her. He didn’t wait for her to agree before his lips began to whisper, “Great God in heaven, look down in compassion upon Lydia as she struggles with submission to Your will. I know the cup You give is difficult to drink at times, and yet You have been merciful with Laura and me. Give Lydia that same grace. May she find Your will with Milton. May their hearts be led as You desire. Amen.”
“Amen,” Laura echoed. She gazed up at John’s face. She adored the man. There was no question about that. He had never prayed like this before the accident. She would not have wished to go through what he had suffered, but there were compensations apparently. More than she had expected.
“I think it’s time for cookies,” John said, reaching for two of them. His fingers didn’t miss the plate or drop crumbs as he took a bite and chewed slowly. “My milk,” he said. “I forgot where I put it.”
Laura led his hand to the floor. John’s hand encircled the glass, and she lifted her hand with his to trace his face. Carefully she moved across his sightless eyes. He didn’t resist or protest, his breath soft on her fingers.
“You know I love you, John Yoder,” she said. “Very, very much.”
He stopped her hand and whispered, “I could say the same, but you already know it.”
“I want to hear it again,” she said. “A thousand times a day.”
He laughed. “Isn’t that a little much? But I can say it once more. I love you, Laura. I love you.”
“That was twice.”
“I know,” he said, and they laughed together again.
“We should stop being silly,” she announced, sitting up primly on the couch.
“I’ll never stop being silly with you, so get used to it,” he replied.
“I guess we’ve had enough sorrow to allow for our silliness.”
“I suppose so,” he agreed. “But I guess we should be serious now. We have lots of plans to make. I know I want Lydia and Milton as the witness couple from your side of the family.”
Laura dropped his hand. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t that be meddling?”
“Yah, I’m sure,” John said. “I think we should help them out. Call it meddling if you wish.”
“We should wait and see,” Laura said. “That’s what I think.”
“Ask Lydia tomorrow and see if I’m not right.” His voice was firm.
She gave in. “Okay. I’ll ask Lydia first thing.”
Laura stared at his face again. Where had this new John come from? She didn’t know, but she liked it. And if John’s meddling helped bring Lydia and Milton together, she was all for that.
“We should go see Nancy’s old place,” he said. “In fact, let’s go now!”
“But it’s dark out,” she objected. “And getting colder.”
“Come on,” he teased. “There are lights there for you, aren’t there? I want to show you the place. I’ve waited too long already, Laura.”
“But how do we get inside? Your parents, they—”
“I have the keys,” John said. “I’ve spoken to Deacon William, and he took me out there the other day.”
“You’ve been? But why was I not…?”
He stood up but bent over to kiss her cheek lightly. “Come! I want to show you the future, Laura—our future.”
“I must at least tell your parents where we are going,” she managed. “In case we get frozen to death and need help.”
He laughed. “I’ll wait. Go!” He waved his hand, and Laura dashed off to the kitchen table. She wrote out a quick note and laid the paper in plain sight with the kerosene lamp burning nearby. Hilda would find it easily if she wondered why the house had grown silent so early in the evening.
Laura returned breathless to the living room. John opened his arms and held her close for a moment. She took his hand and led the way out the front door. He climbed in the buggy by himself as she untied Maud and climbed up on the buggy seat beside him.
Maud took off on her own and turned the right way at the end of the driveway. John’s gaze was fixed up at the sky. “I can still remember how the stars looked, but it seems a long, long, time ago.”
Laura let go of the reins with one hand to hold his.
“You are a bright and shining star in my life, Laura,” he said, his face still turned upward. He smiled and squeezed her hand as Maud plodded forward. The cold soon crept in, and John pulled the extra buggy blanket out from under the seat. Carefully he tucked the edges around them. “All snuggly now?”
“With you? Yah,” Laura said.
When they laughed, the sound was soft above the crunch of the buggy wheels in the snow, and the soft thud of Maud’s hoofbeats on the road. Nancy’s home soon appeared in the starlight, a bare form sitting among the snowdrifts. The lane had been cleared, and Laura pull
ed Maud to a stop at the hitching post. A path had also been shoveled up the sidewalk to the front door.
Laura turned to look at John. “You had everything ready, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “Daett and my younger brothers pitched in. I helped where I could, which wasn’t much. Deacon William cleared the driveway. But I didn’t know we would come down tonight.” He grinned. “I like surprises when they involve you.”
“John,” she chided, climbing down to tie Maud to the hitching post. She took his hand and they made their way up the sidewalk with its dusting of snow. They stamped their feet on the porch rug and opened the front door after John had felt for and found the lock. Laura lit the kerosene lamp on the desk by the front door, and the flickering flames warmed the empty living room walls. This would soon be home, this place she had come to as a schoolchild when Teacher Nancy let them stop by on the way home. Nancy always had a tender spot in her heart for Yost Mast’s children, and now she knew why. Nancy had once loved Daett, and Nancy had seen to it that John and she got the house. She was sure of that.
“It will be ours,” John said. “Nancy knew how to handle things so that we could buy the place.” His hands passed over the mantel above the cold stove. “It’s already winterized. Nancy saw to that before she left. But we’ll have it warm and hopping before the wedding day.”
“It’ll be springtime by then, John.” Laura moved slowly around the room. “We won’t need a fire.”
“I want a fire in the stove on our wedding day,” he said. “Maybe a small one, a sign of remembrance that our love was always alive in the winter of our soul.”
“Oh, John.” Laura wrapped her arms around him. “Then we’ll make sure there is a fire in the stove on every anniversary date for the rest of our lives.” She clung to him until he pulled away.
“Come,” he said. “I know you’ve seen the house before, but I want you to see rest of it.”
She held his hand and followed him as he carefully moved from room to room in the soft flickering light of the kerosene lamp.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
The day of Laura and John’s wedding arrived, and the last of the snowbanks still clung to the side of the roads. Little rivers of water flowed in the ditches, driven along by the warm rays of the spring sunshine. Inside the Masts’ home the benches were set up in the living room, and from there into the main bedroom and part of the kitchen. The dining room table was moved to the side, where it sat tight against the wall between the stove and the countertop. The murmur of the morning’s last sermon ceased, and Bishop Ezra stood near the kitchen doorway looking out over the packed room with a slight smile on his face, his hands clasped over his chest.
Laura’s whole body ached from the effort of not moving on the hard, backless bench. She wanted these morning hours of her wedding unsullied by any mistake on her part. There might be dust in some corner of the house that some sharp-eyed woman from the community would spot, but a fidgety bride she would not be. She would honor John with her composure and control in public. After their wedding vows were said, she could throw her arms around his neck tonight, and dance about all she wanted.
Bishop Ezra smiled and began to speak again. “And now we have come to this hour, when two will be made one. Our dearly beloved John Yoder and Laura Mast have sought out each other as companions for their journey through life. We all know the trials they have endured these past months, yet the two have not allowed trouble to turn them aside—either from their love for each other or from their love for the Lord and His people. For this we honor them, and hold them up as examples to our young folks. They have blazed worthy paths for those who come after them. So let us all take heed to the lessons they have taught. We do not know what trouble lies in front of us. No one is exempt from either the Lord’s chastisement or His testing. This couple has been sorely tested and have been found faithful.”
Bishop Ezra paused to look directly at the two of them. “You have been allowed to come to this day, John and Laura. I know the road has been difficult and the days dark, but you have arrived. We rejoice and are glad with both of you. May life give you great grace and great joy in each other. May your devotion to the Lord be rewarded, both in this life and in the one to come. And if the Lord grant you the gift of kinner, I am confident that you will bring them up in the fear of the Lord and in obedience to His will.”
The bishop looked over the crowded living room. Laura was sure her neck was bright red from the bishop’s plain talk, but she no longer needed to be embarrassed about such things. John would soon be her husband, and yah, she wanted kinner. She wanted many of them, perhaps a dozen if the Lord so willed it. Their whole house would be full of laughter and joy, and John would be a goot daett to all of them. She was sure of that. Look how John had won her and kept his love firmly planted in her heart. Love had stayed there even through the days when their relationship could have been ended forever by events beyond their control. There might be other such happenings lying in front of them. Who knew? But after the miracle of this day, she would never doubt the Lord’s ability again.
Laura looked up as Bishop Ezra smiled down at them and held out his hand. “If the two of you still wish to exchange your wedding vows, please stand.” Laura almost leaped up but stifled the impulse in time. She must wait until John rose and then follow him slowly.
John took his time, and Laura stood in front of him. His nearness loomed above her. Never had John seemed manlier or more handsome. The soberness of the moment only added to his dignity and strength. John might not see with his natural eyes, but his soul saw much more than anyone knew. His love reached across the space between them, and Laura allowed the warmth to fill her whole body.
Bishop Ezra’s words reached her as from a great distance. “Will you, John Yoder, promise to love and cherish this woman until the Lord shall see fit to part you in death?”
John’s yah came clear and steady.
Laura listened and managed to say her yah at the right place.
Bishop Ezra continued, and moments later he reached for Laura’s hand and placed John’s on hers. “And now may the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, join this man and this woman in holy matrimony. As God has made them one, so let no man ever separate the union this side of eternity. And unto Him who has made all things, we commit this couple, both now and forever. Amen.”
Bishop Ezra let go, and Laura waited again until John had taken a step back. She timed her movements so that she seated herself just after John had settled on the bench. John was her husband now. She looked over at him—her husband—as Bishop Ezra took his seat. As the last song was begun, John seemed to sense her gaze, and a slight smile played on his face. Warmth crept up Laura’s neck and she looked down at the hardwood floor. Her boldness must not be on display today. Not even after she had said the wedding vows. John knew that she was a proper and submissive woman, but others might not understand her exuberance. John deserved to have his choice of a frau praised and not doubted by the many relatives who had traveled great distances to attend the wedding.
The last notes of the song ended, and John stood from the bench. Laura followed him to stand by his side. She took his arm as the wedding party moved down the narrow aisle toward the front door. People moved further back than normal to give John extra space. Laura smiled her thanks, but John could have navigated the path without a stumble—especially with her by his side. Right now they moved as one. They were made for each other.
Someone opened the front door, and Laura pulled back on John’s arm. He seemed to know what she meant and lifted his foot higher to step across the sill. Laura’s hand guided him, and John took the steps with ease. Behind them Lydia and Milton followed. Laura turned to give them a bright smile.
“Sorry if I’ve been ignoring the two of you,” Laura told them. “I’ve been wrapped up in my own little world this morning. But we’re married at last!”
“You have a right to be happy!” Lydia said. “You need to enjoy the day. And yah
, you are married. I saw Bishop Ezra join your hands myself a few moments ago.”
“I know!” Laura took a little leap into the air. “Breathe deeply, breathe deeply,” she whispered to no one in particular.
John chuckled. “I see my frau is in a goot mood.”
“Oh, John! I’m trying to behave myself. Honest.”
“You’re doing fine.” John gave Laura’s hand a quick squeeze.
Laura glanced over her shoulder again to give Lydia an encouraging smile. She wanted to give Milton a sharp rebuke for not having a wedding date set with her sister by now, but that would be out of line. Laura smiled instead at Milton and told him, “Thanks for helping us out today.”
“Wouldn’t have missed it.” Milton winked as they entered the barn.
Daett had wanted to move the reception down the road a mile to their nearest Amish neighbors, but Laura had vetoed his plans.
“The barn can be cleaned, and it’s just fine,” Laura had assured Daett.
In the end Daett had given in, but not before he had ordered a new coat of whitewash for the entire first floor. That had brightened things up more than she had expected. Things were near to perfect now, which John deserved. She was sure John’s relatives from Ohio would be impressed, even if the reception was held in the lower level of the bride’s barn. Now if Lydia and Milton could patch up their differences today, her wedding would be truly perfect.
Laura guided John to the corner table, set up in front of the doors of the grain bin. The rough-hewn wood had been used to their advantage, serving as a rustic backdrop to the fruit arrangement Lydia had put together yesterday. Flowers were out of the question by the community’s standards, but they had come close with a few bright green twigs with their freshly sprouted leaves placed at strategic spots. Her miracle looked like a miracle indeed.
“Now I wonder what we can do to help Milton and Lydia find happiness?” Laura whispered in John’s ear as she helped him find his chair.
Always Close to Home Page 26
