by Jan Thompson
Sebastian cleared his throat. “Let’s thank God for the food, shall we?”
No words came out of his mouth.
For some reason, all Sebastian wanted to do was weep.
Eight months, all bottled up.
I have to see Emmeline again.
However, he had to keep his promise to wait for a year. Four more months.
Four more miserable months.
Chapter Fifty
On the very day of their one-year-apart anniversary, Sebastian googled and found out that Emmeline was one of the harpists in the O’Hanlon Harps quintet, playing a gig at a cathedral in Buckhead inside the Atlanta perimeter. The concert was free, and included a duet by Emmeline and Claude, playing several new compositions from their new album.
Sebastian also knew that within a week of this harp performance, Emmeline would go back to the University of Georgia for her second year in the master’s program.
His sister Skye had thrown in the fact that while Emmeline had been keeping busy, she was also still single. Skye didn’t think that was going to be for long, with Emmeline’s widening circles of musician friends and fans.
In other words, Sebastian had a small window to see Emmeline again—to tell her what was on his mind—before she moved on.
One year had been a long time for him to think about his life and where he wanted to be. It had also been a time of emotional cleansing for him, as God washed away all his feelings caught up with Talia’s hold on his heart for many years.
God had given Sebastian mercy—he was sure of it—as he spent more time studying the Bible and getting his perspectives straightened out in the last twelve months, than he had ever before in his entire life.
He understood it now.
Don’t forget God.
On the five-plus hour drive from St. Simon’s Island to Georgia’s capital city of Atlanta, Sebastian listened to the Bible from his iPhone plugged into his car.
Every now and then he worried that Emmeline wouldn’t be there when he arrived at the concert hall.
She might not even want to see me.
To ally his own fears, he prayed, and raptly listened to Galatians and Ephesians as he drove west on Interstate 16 past Macon. Driving north on Interstate 75 toward Buckhead, he listened to the entire books of Psalms and Proverbs, praying along the way.
The long drive became more bearable as God’s Word stilled and silenced his heart.
Downtown Atlanta was in sight, and lo and behold, a traffic jam hemmed him in.
By the time Sebastian arrived at the church, the parking lot was full, and he had to park three blocks down the road. The six o’clock heat would’ve been less severe if he didn’t have to walk. His light summer jacket breathed, and his silk shirt underneath kept him somewhat cool.
He made a beeline for the church, took a program from an usher, sat down, and was thumbing through it before he realized that he had forgotten to eat dinner. Too late now. He scanned the pages for Emmeline’s name, his fingers getting more tremulous by the minute.
It didn’t matter. The entire concert was a blur the moment Emmeline, her brother, and the other three harpists stepped onto the stag. Sure, they played some of Sebastian’s favorite pieces, including Enrique Granados’s Oriental, and what sounded like an updated arrangement of Divine Love.
Sebastian still hummed the hymn as he found a snack bar during the intermission. Then it was back for the second half of the performance, where Kipp O’Hanlon came out to introduce his son and daughter.
Sebastian thought the encore lasted way too long. He wanted to run backstage to talk to Emmeline, but he didn’t have to. In glittering gowns and black tuxedos, the members of O’Hanlon Harps stood in the rotunda to meet their sponsors, audience, and fans.
But.
But Emmeline was nowhere to be found.
Sebastian didn’t see her at all.
He was beginning to worry.
Kipp saw him. Waved.
“Do you know where Emmeline is?” Sebastian asked after their handshake.
“She’s here somewhere.” Kipp turned to tap his wife shoulder. “Eleanor, have you seen Em?”
“She was talking to her professor from UGA. Probably still inside.” Emmeline’s mom saw Sebastian. “Oh! So nice of you to come. How have you been?”
Miserable. “I’m well, ma’am.”
“Well, I’m glad. Em’s been miserable for months.”
“She was? Was she sick?”
“Love sick, I think.” Kipp laughed, and then went on to shake someone else’s hand.
Before Eleanor O’Hanlon could say another word, Sebastian heard a chuckle. He would be able to recognize that anywhere.
It was the sound of a bubbling brook.
Sebastian spun around. There, coming through the tall doors of the sanctuary, was Emmeline, arm in arm with her brother, laughing at some joke.
She looked his way.
And stopped walking.
He’s here.
Stunned that Sebastian had remembered the date, Emmeline waited as he walked toward her and her brother. His strides were brisk, but he seemed to be in a hurry to get to her.
“Emmeline.”
Her name rolled off his tongue easily, as if he had been saying it a lot.
They stared at each other for a while, feet away from each other.
Someone coughed and cleared his throat.
“Oh.” Emmeline snapped into the realization that Sebastian hadn’t met her brother. “Seb, this is my brother Claude O’Hanlon. Claude, Sebastian Langston.”
Claude extended his hand. “Ah, the dude Mom talked about.”
Startled, Emmeline tilted her head. “Mom talked to you about him?”
“I have a pair of good listening ears.”
“Why you?” Emmeline really wanted to know. This was all new information to her.
“Because she thinks you’re sad and we need to be supportive.”
Okay, there’s that.
Emmeline was moved. “Thank you for caring.”
“What are brothers for?” Claude turned toward Sebastian. “One year, huh? What’s one year? I haven’t seen my sister in five years. Top that.”
“Five years is a long time,” Sebastian said.
Claude gave Emmeline’s shoulder a light squeeze. “It feels like only five days sometimes.”
“That’s because you don’t remember most of the last five years.”
“Yeah, that too. Time flies when you’re under a bridge.”
Emmeline reached for her brother, and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re home. I love you so much, Claude.”
“Let’s not get mushy in public, Little M.” But his voice cracked.
My brother loves me.
Thank You, Jesus, for bringing my brother home.
“Well, I’ll leave you two alone to catch up—not that you can be too alone in this crowd,” Claude said. “I’ll go see if Mom and Dad need anything.”
“Glad to meet you, Claude,” Sebastian said.
Claude waved. “Take good care of my sister, all right?”
“Will do.” He paused briefly. Then: “I promise.”
Emmeline watched the exchange with happiness in her heart. She loved it that her brother and Sebastian seemed to get along at their first meeting.
And what did he just say?
I promise.
“A promise is a very serious thing,” Emmeline said.
Instead of answering her right away, Sebastian stepped toward her, right in the middle of the rotunda, among the crowd of people chattering and bantering and laughing. Right under the chandeliers casting a warm light on them.
Chapter Fifty-One
Sebastian rested his face against Emmeline’s hair, its fresh fragrance of lavender shampoo floating into his nose. “I missed you so much. I was sure I was dying.”
He could hear her chuckling softly against his neck.
Then she lifted her face. “I didn’t think I’d
see you today,”
“I waited all year for this.” Sebastian tried to keep his voice normal, but he couldn’t hide his agony. “I kept my word.”
“I wish…” Emmeline stroked Sebastian’s arm. “I mean, a year—what was I thinking?”
“We, Em. We agreed to do this together, for our sake.”
Emmeline sighed.
“It was a good idea. I spent the last twelve months in God’s Word,” Sebastian explained. “Yeah, I cooked—and Sage Café is doing very well—but my primary focus has been on God’s Word. Like you said, don’t forget God.”
“I camped out on Psalm 119:105 for a while this year.”
“Good one, Em. ‘Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.’ Want to know what I studied, among other scripture passages?”
Emmeline nodded.
“That delight verse. Do you remember?” Sebastian asked.
“Yes, we memorized it in the Women’s Bible Study Group last year.” Emmeline turned pensive. “I do miss the coast, our church, our friends.”
In more ways than one, Sebastian was happy to hear that. “But first, we focus on God. ‘Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.’ I believe it.”
“Psalm 37:4.”
“My first love is always God,” Sebastian said, if only to remind himself again about the truth in the verse. “If I delight myself in God, He will give me the desires of my heart. You are the desire of my heart, Emmeline Eleanor O’Hanlon.”
Emmeline’s lips quivered.
Sebastian was alarmed when he saw tears shimmer in Emmeline’s eyes.
Before he got cold feet, Sebastian reached into his jacket pocket, and retrieved what looked like a tiny music box. “I brought you an anniversary gift.”
Emmeline stared at it. “It’s so pretty. What tune does it play?”
“The wedding march,” Sebastian said softly as he dropped slowly to his knees.
Emmeline’s fingers flew to her periwinkle necklace.
There was a hush in the rotunda of the old church. The crowd surrounding the two of them quietened.
Sebastian lifted the box toward Emmeline and opened it. Inside was brilliant diamond.
“It’s not lavender or purple or whatever color your necklace is,” Sebastian said. “But it’s pure white to remind us of the purity of God’s love. I want to love you with God’s holy love, Emmeline. Will you let me do that every day for the rest of my life?”
Emmeline seemed to be unable to speak.
“Will you marry me—right away, if possible, but I’ll wait a day if we have to?” Sebastian asked.
Emmeline laughed.
“I can listen to your laughter all day long, sweetheart. Marry me?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “I mean, not right away. A proper wedding requires proper planning. There’s new music to be composed… Rehearsals to be scheduled…”
“Food to be catered… Menus to be printed…” Sebastian reached for her ring finger.
Emmeline did not protest.
The flawless diamond ring glittered on her finger, under the chandeliers high above them in the crowded rotunda.
When Sebastian rose to his feet, everyone applauded as he wrapped Emmeline in his arms—his favorite thing to do.
Emmeline lifted her chin, but he didn’t need any prompting.
He savored their sweet kiss that lingered into the July evening, as if the moment was reserved for them alone, but it wasn’t a moment of their own making. Sebastian knew that.
It was a moment given to them by God.
Sebastian was confident that, in Emmeline’s heart, she also reminded herself about it. He was sure that they had a theme for the rest of their lives together.
Don’t forget God.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Their December wedding five months later was after classes had ended for the semester at the University of Georgia and two weeks before Christmas. That way, Sebastian and Emmeline could spend the holidays as a married couple, not that it mattered to anyone else.
Sebastian could have afforded a more expensive honeymoon, but all Emmeline had wanted was to spend a bit of time in Atlanta with her parents and brother, and the rest of their staycation honeymoon on St. Simon’s Island.
He was particularly happy that Emmeline was easy to please. She had nothing but good things to say about his new house near his restaurant on the island. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be moving into that house on the beach until after Emmeline’s commencement in early May.
For now, they’d have to work out how to stay married commuting to three places. To be sure, Emmeline would have to stay on campus in Athens, Georgia, for the majority of the spring semester as she finished her master’s degree in harp performance. Sebastian was the one who would have to commute to Athens to see his wife.
They had been scoping out the best route to get from St. Simon’s Island to Athens, and this was one of the roads they decided to try today. Three days before school started for spring semester, they made their way across Georgia to get Emmeline back to their rental apartment outside campus. There was cheaper married housing on campus, but Sebastian needed a bigger kitchen.
All was quite in the SUV. They had been listening to some harp music, and had taken turns to drive on the five-hour trip. They could have gotten there sooner, but they stopped to have lunch along the highway between the Georgia coast and the college town.
Sebastian was driving on the last leg of their journey, all the time wondering how he could ever leave Emmeline.
“We’ll figure it out,” she had told him. “God has a plan for us. Besides, it’s only a few more months until May, and then we’ll be together again for good.”
Sebastian didn’t want to wait any amount of time. He glanced over at Emmeline, who had dozed off in the passenger seat.
I could take three months off.
Yep. He could do that. His chef de cuisine at Sage was fully capable of handling the daily operations of the restaurant. He could still test new dishes in their rental house in Athens.
Lord Jesus, is that what I need to do so I can be with my wife?
Sebastian was mulling over that idea as he followed traffic onto Baxter Drive in downtown Athens.
Emmeline was still asleep.
He decided to wait until she woke up to tell her that he was going to take time off and stay with her until she finished school. He didn’t want to drop her off and go back to St. Simon’s Island alone this weekend.
He had decided this very minute that he wanted to stay in Athens with his wife.
That was when he heard the sirens.
He glanced at his rearview mirror. “Seriously?”
Yep. Sure enough.
Flashing blue lights tailed their SUV.
Sebastian pulled to the emergency lane, and put the vehicle in part. He placed both hands on the steering wheel.
On the passenger side, Emmeline stirred.
The Athens-Clarke County police officer took his time. Emmeline watched him walk slowly to the driver side. She heard the crunch of gravel on the emergency lane through the open windows.
“License and registration please,” the officer said to Sebastian.
Sebastian handed them over.
“Where are y’all heading?”
“Home. We just got married several weeks ago, and returning to campus from our honeymoon on the coast.” Sebastian flashed his white gold wedding band.
“Ah, newlyweds. Can’t wait, huh?”
“No, sir.” When Sebastian said that, Emmeline felt blood rush into her face.
“Y’all going eighty in a forty-five mile per hour zone.” The officer lowered his head to see Emmeline in the passenger seat.
“We were?” Sebastian’s voice was calm.
“Yup. I’m standing here wondering whether to give y’all a warning on account of your wedding or to give you a ticket to teach other newlyweds not to speed to their wedding suite. Y’all ha
ve a lifetime yet, right?”
“I’m sorry, sir, for not paying attention.”
“City limits, young man. College town. Kids everywhere. Gotta be more careful.”
“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”
“I’ll make it quick.” The officer wrote them a ticket.
Emmeline felt bad that she, too, hadn’t been looking at the speed limit signs. They had been too busy holding hands while Sebastian drove. And she had fallen asleep.
“Have a good marriage.” The officer grinned.
Sebastian took the ticket from him. “With God’s help, we will.”
Emmeline smiled when Sebastian said that.
The officer was soon gone.
Sebastian pulled out of the emergency lane. He was mumbling something.
Emmeline reached for his hand across the center panel behind gearshift. “Let’s pray the rest of our lives will be steadier.”
“I’m not going back to St. Simon’s without you,” Sebastian blurted.
“How did you figure that was going to work?”
“I’ll take three months off.” Sebastian was never surer of what he wanted to do. He was confident God would approve this. After all, he was meant to be with his wife.
“And do what? Be a stay-at-home husband?”
“I’ll drive you to Atlanta to see your parents and Claude every weekend.”
“What are you going to do Monday through Friday?”
“I’ll cook for you. Test new dishes on you. I’ll work on a cookbook.”
“A cookbook?” Emmeline raised her eyebrows. “When did these ideas pop up?”
“In the last twenty or thirty minutes.”
“While you were speeding?” Emmeline chuckled.
“I forgot my foot was on the accelerator.” At a red light, Sebastian smiled. “What do you think? Yes? No?”
“Have you prayed about this?”
“I’ve been praying, so I would say the ideas could be part of the solution.”
Emmeline nodded tentatively. “Let’s pray more and see where we go from here.”
As they were quietly coasting along in the SUV, Emmeline started to warm up to the idea of having Sebastian nearby everyday.
