[2016] Widow Finds Love

by Christian Michael

  ***

  Mark wasn’t quite sure who to look at first. Stephanie was adorable, as all babies are, but truth be told her mother was breathtaking. His first thought upon seeing her was that there was no way he could just be friends with her. She’d occupy too much of his mind for mere friendship. Her golden hair hung in soft waves across her shoulders and her sparkling brown eyes spoke of a happy and contented woman.

  “Would you like to hold her?” Stacey asked, a brilliant smile on her face.

  “I’d be honored,” Mark said, taking the wiggling bundle into his arms. “Hello little Stephanie.” He talked to the sweet faced baby for a while, enjoying the way she looked at him with her dark blue eyes. When she’d finally fallen asleep, he handed her back to her mother.

  “You’re a natural,” Stacey smiled. “It seems she’s a calm natured baby.”

  “She’s like her mother, takes everything in stride.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that, but I certainly try.”

  “You did an amazing job Stacey,” Mark said. Going with his gut, Mark pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning to head into the kitchen. He leaned against the wash basin and hung his head with a sigh. Being attracted to Stacey like he was, there was no easy way to deal with the fact that in six weeks she’d have to move out. With Glenn going back to New York, there’d be no reason to keep her in-house.

  “Mark,” he heard from behind him. His whole body tensed before he turned to see the woman he wanted standing before him. Her hair was left loose, hanging well past her shoulders in light waves. The color of good, healthy wheat her hair shone under the lantern light.

  “Is everything okay?” he asked, feeling foolish, much like a grade school boy.

  “I think so,” Stacey smiled. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Mark lied. “I just…” Looking into her soft brown eyes Mark knew that if he didn’t tell her the truth, she could easily be lost to him, unreachable. “I thought originally when you wrote me that we could be good friends. You were so easy to talk to, so genuine.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I find myself irreversibly in love with you. You’re beautiful and beyond that you’re strong, courageous, gentle, smart, kind and exactly the type of woman I need in my life. I don’t expect you to reciprocate my feelings and if it hurts our friendship I will be forever sorry, but I thought you should know that letting you go will be extremely hard when Glenn leaves.”

  Hey doe like eyes seemed to shift from questioning him to understanding his dilemma. “When I first read your advertisement, I saw it as a genuine appeal for a wife and thought you courageous in the undertaking. Then I looked forward to your letters as a way of escaping my grief. I found your friendship reassuring and a sort of lifeline for me to cling to. These last weeks have been a balm to my soul in ways I never dreamed of.

  “When I first saw you at the port in San Francisco I thought you were very handsome. My handsome friend, I told myself. Then things started to change. I knew a man who was both my friend and a man I was falling in love with. Even with Steve I’m not sure we were friends really. We got along well and enjoyed a lot of the same things, but I can’t say we were friends before we married.”

  The only thing Mark could focus on was that she’d said she was falling in love with him. “Does that mean there’s a chance you’d consider allowing me to court you?”

  Her smile warmed his heart. She blushed, bringing out the freckles that ran from one cheek to another over her nose. “I’d like that very, very much Mark.”

  ***

  The next six weeks flew by as Stacey and Mark grew in their love, respect, and appreciation for each other. They convinced Glenn to stay through the New Year, to which he readily agreed as the weather had turned considerably colder. On January 6th, however, he’d packed his bags and ridden with them to the San Francisco Bay to catch the SS Mary, which was heading back to New York. Stacey couldn’t help the tears the flowed unbidden down her cheeks as she’d hugged her doctor and new friend goodbye.

  “I promise I’m not always this emotional,” she blubbered.

  “Women are meant to be emotional,” Glenn assured her. “It’s one of the reasons men love them so much.”

  She gave him another hug, held Stephanie up for him to nuzzle, and then stepped back so Mark could shake his hand. “It certainly won’t be the same without you doc,” Mark said, his blue eyes hard, serious. “Still can’t talk you into staying? Our town could use a good doctor.”

  “The offer was very tempting,” Glenn smiled at them both. “But New York is my home and I’ve been gone for quite a while. You wait a few months, let California get used to its new home. I’ll guarantee a railroad goes in within the next decade. I’ll write and when travel to and from our two homes is easier and more cost effective, I’ll come out for a long visit. I may even move out here if I get sick of the city.”

  “Safe travels!” Stacey yelled as Glenn stepped onto the boat. He stayed on deck and waved until Stacey could no longer see him. With fresh tears, she allowed Mark to pull her close and together they headed back toward the hotel. They enjoyed an early supper before Stacey broached the subject of their living conditions. “I’ll have to move out now.”

  “Yes,” Mark sighed. “I’m afraid it’ll be too quiet in my house now.” Stacey smiled at the childish look on his face, as if he’d been told he couldn’t have his favorite toy.

  “It won’t be forever, I hope.” Those breath stealing blue eyes met hers and had her smiling wide. She reached over and laid her hand over his. “We’ll be very close at hand Mark and I can promise that if God is willing, Stephanie and I will be the biggest blessings to your life.”

  “You already are,” he grinned. “We should get home I think.”

  They set off at a decent pace and made it home in time to check Stephanie and Stacey into the local Inn. “You’re sure you’ll be comfortable here?”

  “We’ll be fine Mark,” Stacey smiled. Emotion swirled in her eyes as she bid him goodnight. Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined finding love again, certainly not to such a degree. Tears fell as she wondered if she’d truly loved Steve this much. She hadn’t lied when she told Mark that she wasn’t sure she’d been friends with Steve before they married.

  His parents had been well-off friends of her parents and the marriage had certainly been an alliance between their two families if nothing else. Love had grown in time so that his loss had scarred her heart, but looking back, Stacey wasn’t sure she would have chosen him without her parent’s encouragement. Now, scarcely eleven months later and God had brought her a man she loved with all the depth and breadth of feeling. Just thinking about being courted by Mark sent her hands to shaking.

  Given their long acquaintance through letters and over the course of her post-partum recovery, a six-month courtship had been agreed to. Mark had asked Stacey to marry him after writing a letter to her parents and asking her father’s permission. When he’d shared that news with her, she’d cried happy tears for the man God had brought her. On a warm night in July, Mark asked Stacey to dinner and happily asked that she bring Stephanie as well, all but forbidding her to ever get a sitter. “I like having Stephanie with us. She’ll need her mother and a papa soon enough, will she not?”

  It eased Stacey heartache to know that Mark loved her daughter as his own. He’d never asked her to leave Stephanie with someone, or made her choose between himself and her child. He was understanding of times when Stacey was just too tired, or Stephanie was too sick to spend time with him. Most of all, Mark put himself last to see that Stacey and Stephanie were well cared for.

  “You want to be her papa?” Stacey asked during a special dinner out one evening.

  “I know this is a sore subject for you Stacey,” Mark started, his eyes gentle and understanding. “I’m not asking you to make a decision tonight. However, I’d like to adopt Stephanie, so that she can be protected under my name. You can have
it hyphenated if you’d like, so that she’ll always know she is a Denton as well, but I don’t want anyone to have a reason to tease or bully her.”

  Stacey took the handkerchief he offered and dabbed at her eyes. How had God seen fit to bring her such an amazing man? “I’ll have to get the death certificate from my mother-in-law, but I’d love for you to adopt Stephanie.”

  “How are they feeling about it?”

  “It’s obviously not an easy decision for them. I’m sure they feel as if they’re losing a granddaughter, but I’ve made my position clear. This is your home and I want to be where you are.”

  “They gave you trouble when you decided to come here?”

  “Not trouble really. Oh they tried to talk me out of it, said it was just my grief talking, but I knew better. I needed the steadiness of your friendship and God knew he had much more planned for us.”

  “Would you like to take a walk with me after we eat?”

  “Stephanie and I would love to walk with you.”

  Dinner was an easy affair of baked chicken, roasted potatoes and fresh corn. Stacey held Stephanie as they all started off. The town had been decorated for California’s first Fourth of July celebration and lanterns glowed against the dark night as they walked along Main Street. They passed the mercantile and the Breadbasket Inn, where Stacey and Stephanie stayed. Stacey put her arm into the crook of Mark’s elbow and leaned against him as they walked. She followed him into a small garden the town had worked on, reclaiming land that had once been torn up for gold mining. He helped her sit with Stephanie on a bench, smiling when she looked up at him. Would she ever tire of how beautiful his blue eyes were? She certainly hoped not.

  “This walk has been wonderful, Mark,” Stacey commented. “What a lovely way to rejuvenate the Earth after it was destroyed by gold mining.

  “When the creek dried up here, the town asked people to help build it back up. Wait until winter. This is a prime spot for seeing untouched snow. I’m sure it’ll be breathtaking. Tonight though I have something else in mind to take your breath away, hopefully.”

  “Oh?”

  Stacey watched as Mark bent down on one knee. She held her breath when he started to speak. “When I moved here, I never expected the intense loneliness that would follow me. I found gold fairly easily, but what I couldn’t find was the true treasure of my life. For that I needed a God who knows me inside and out. I never expected him to bring me my best friend and have her turn out to be the love of my life as well. I’m beyond thankful that my small mindedness didn’t stop Him from bringing you anyway.

  “I love you Stacey Amanda Denton and I’d very much love to spend my life with you. Will you marry me?”

  Stacey, with happy tears in her eyes, had readily accepted Mark’s proposal even before he showed her the ring he’d had sized down some. “I hope it fits you. It was my grandmother’s engagement ring.”

  “Oh Mark,” Stacey smiled. Stacey held her hand out and Mark slid the ring on. It was just a tad loose, but Stacey assured him she didn’t mind in the least. “I’ll wear it proudly.”

  The next six weeks flew by as Stacey prepared to become Mrs. Stacey Hamilton. She was overjoyed when her parents, in-laws, and Glenn had all said they’d make the trip out. Now Stacey stood in the small anteroom of the church, waiting for the organ music to start. Her mother and Steve’s mother attended to her dress. She’d chosen a soft butter yellow dress with no train or veil. As a woman who’d previously been married she didn’t feel right wearing white again.

  Organ music piped out and Stacey’s dad stuck his head in the door. “You ready cupcake?”

  “Twenty-six and he still calls me that,” Stacey laughed.

  “I’m afraid it’ll stick until the day he dies,” Rebecca Clever said as she tucked one more flower into Stacey’s upswept hair.

  “Alright dad,” Stacey called. “Take me to my husband.”

  The ceremony flew by as Stacey and Mark pledged their love and lives to each other. The reception afterward started with gusto as banjos, a piano, and fiddles livened up the open space on Mark’s ranch.

  “It’s such a lovely spot,” Sandra Denton commented as she wrapped Stacey in a hug. “I wouldn’t have picked anyone but my Steven for you darling, but I’m so happy for you and Mark.”

  “Thank you,” Stacey said as her voice was roughened by tears. “I will always love Steve and hold him in my heart. God just showed me that there’s enough room in there for Mark as well.”

  “Promise to keep in touch so we can see Stephanie once in a while.”

  “We’ll bring her to visit and you and dad are welcome anytime you want to come out. I’m sure, if they put a railroad in as Glenn’s sure they’ll do, travel will be much swifter and much more comfortable.”

  “Let’s hope it’s not too long in coming then,” Sandra smiled. “I’m going to go love Stephanie for a while before Bill and I head back to the hotel. We’ve got an early morning boat to catch.”

  “Will Glenn be riding with you?”

  “I don’t think so dear,” Sandra smiled, pulling Stacey into one more hug.

  ***

  Mark watched his new wife hug her mother-in-law goodbye and smiled. There would always be a bond there, one he might not fully understand. He was thankful though, that her former in-laws had supported her in her new life. They seemed like upstanding people and Mark’s heart hurt for the loss of their son, even if it did mean that Stacey was free to become his wife. She was a blessing he’d work hard not to take for granted.

  “I haven’t had time to tell you how incredibly lovely you look,” Mark said, drawing Stacey into a hug and nuzzling her ear.

  She giggled and pulled back. “I’m sure you’ll find time here and there.”

  “Let’s hope so,” Mark smiled. “Have you talked to Glenn yet?”

  “No,” she smiled. “I was headed that way when a handsome man stopped me.”

  “Oh?” Mark teased. “Show him to me and I’ll set him straight.”

  ***

  Stacey laughed, knowing that Mark would always bring joy and laughter to her life. It was just one more blessing she could thank God for. Spotting Glenn she headed his way.

  “My mother-in-law said you weren’t heading back with them?”

  “I got some really good advice from a great friend a while back and decided to see what my prospects were.”

  “Oh?” Stacey asked, truly intrigued.

  “Yes,” Glenn grinned. “My friend told me that his town could really use a good doctor and said I was welcome anytime. So, I’ve decided to take him up on his offer. He’s allowed me to stay in his guest room and assures me his wife will be fine with it until I can purchase a building to start my practice.”

  “When will you leave?”

  “I’m not leaving Stacey,” Glenn chuckled. “Mark was the friend who said I’d be welcomed anytime. If it’s alright with you, I’ll be staying in the guest room, where you had Stephanie, until I can purchase that two-story building in town.”

  “You’re staying!” Stacey squealed, grabbing Glenn in a hug. “Oh, Mark is right. Our town could use a doctor who knows his stuff!”

  “I’m glad you agree,” Glenn laughed. “Congratulations on your wedding Stacey. Mark is certainly a lucky guy.”

  “Well, not to toot my own horn, but he’s not the only lucky one. I’m extremely blessed by him. Maybe you should try your own letter advertisement for a wife.”

  Glenn laughed again. “I need to get settled and start my practice before I start looking for a wife.”

  “Well, keep the idea in mind if you find yourself lacking women to court. I never would have guessed when I wrote Mark what God had in mind for us.”

  “I know who to come to if I should need advice on how to advertise for such a blessing.”

  “Good,” Stacey said with a smile. “Thank you so very much for taking the time to make the trip. And for staying. Your services and friendship will mean more to Mark and
I than we can say.”

  ***

  Mark finally found his wife by the refreshments and smiling, wrapped an arm around her waist. “Have I told you that I love you?”

  “Today, or ever?” Stacey smiled. She turned in Mark’s arms, wrapping hers easily around his shoulders. “I pray I never get tired of hearing it.”

  “So do I my dear, so do I.”

  Mark and Stacey saw their guests off at the hotel and headed home. Glenn was going to stay with them as well, but he insisted on staying their first night together at the hotel. “Married couples need their first night, at least. I’d feel like an intruder if I came back tonight.”

  “You’re sure?” Mark asked.

  “Positive,” Glenn smiled. “Now, you three go enjoy your first night as a family. I’ll be there to crash the party before you know it.”

  Mark drove Stacey and Stephanie home, nervous and excited to have Stacey as his wife. “She’s sleeping,” Mark said as he helped Stacey down from the buggy.

  “No doubt,” Stacey chuckled. “She had quite a day today.”

  “So did we,” Mark said. He helped Stacey lay Stephanie in her crib before he started coffee in the kitchen. “Are you thirsty?”

  “I’d love some coffee, especially now that the weather is starting to look more like fall.”

  “Give it just into October and the change will take your breath away.”

  “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “You take my breath away,” Mark said, bringing Stacey a cup of coffee. “I love you Stacey.”

  Stacey set her cup down and grabbing Mark’s hand, drew him toward the room they would now share. “I love you too,” Stacey grinned.

  “Are you sure you’re up to staying with me?” Mark asked, his blue eyes patient, even as love ran hard and fast under that patience.

  “You’re my husband now Mark. While I’m a mother, I need to and will find time to be a wife as well.”