Where Love Grows

by Jerry S. Eicher

  Menno watched Teresa’s face as Bishop Henry finished his sermon and asked the couple to stand.

  The questions began at once. “Do you promise, Brother James, to take this woman, our Sister Teresa, to be your beloved wife? To cherish, protect, and care for her through sickness and health until death do you part?”

  James smiled and answered with a firm “Yah.”

  Teresa had tears running down her face when she whispered her answer to the question about taking James as her husband.

  Dennis shifted on the bench beside Menno as Bishop Henry continued the questions and listened to the answers. He then joined James and Teresa’s hands and declared that they were now man and wife. The couple sat down. Teresa was wiping her eyes with her handkerchief, her face glowing with happiness.

  Behind them the last song was given out and begun. When it ended, Bishop Henry dismissed the service.

  Menno turned to Dennis, “I hope you enjoyed your first Amish wedding.”

  “I did.” Dennis smiled with great warmth. “Even though I didn’t understand much, it was very wonderful. You’re a tenderhearted people, I see.”

  “Thank you,” Menno said. “I hope you’ll stay for lunch. It’s being served at the next place down the road. It looks like the women are already rushing over there to help get things going.”

  “I would be honored to stay,” Dennis said. “Thank you.”

  “I’m available anytime you wish to speak with me,” Menno added, wondering what questions he’d be asked.

  “Ah, perhaps I’ll wait on that,” Dennis said.

  “Okay,” Menno nodded. “If you need anything, let me know.” He turned and walked over to Deacon Ray.

  “Well, they’re married!” Deacon Ray said. He laughed. “I think they make a wonderful couple, Menno.”

  Menno nodded, his gaze on the Englisha man’s back as he moved through the crowd, shaking hands and talking with the men. He seemed to be a natural people-person, Menno thought. Could this be his son? It seemed very possible.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  An hour later the wedding party was seated at the center table surrounded by relatives and friends, some already sitting at the tables that had been set up in the pole barn at Reuben and Ada’s place. Susan sat to the right of Teresa, and Thomas was beside her, smiling at every opportunity, obviously enjoying himself fully.

  Well-wishers were filing past the table, shaking hands with Teresa and James. In moments the call for dinner would be given. Already one of the ushers was coming toward them and directing people to their seats.

  Tears were still falling down Teresa’s cheeks making her look, if possible, even more beautiful than she had this morning. All was well now, and Susan breathed a sigh of relief. Her thoughts turned to wondering where Mamm might be. She hadn’t been around since they walked down the road to Ada’s. Her place was still empty beside Daett on the bench reserved for the family. Daett, too, seemed at a loss as to Mamm’s whereabouts. The worried look on his face gave evidence of his concern. Likely Mamm was keeping baby Samuel out of sight so Teresa would have the full enjoyment of her special day. Susan relaxed at the thought.

  Maurice’s glowing face was a close second to Teresa’s, Susan decided. She was glancing often toward her daughter. This day was going as Teresa had dreamed but often thought impossible. Yet Da Hah had brought them all through it—especially Teresa. Her faith had been behind all of this. And Teresa was now a married Amish woman. Wiping tears from her own eyes, Susan leaned over to whisper to Thomas, “What a wonderful day this is! And Teresa looks so happy.”

  Thomas jumped, quickly turning his gaze toward Susan and away from the spot across the room he’d been staring at.

  “Yah,” Thomas managed. “They sure are. And I’m happy for James.”

  “Do you know those young people?” Susan had followed the direction of Thomas’s gaze.

  “A few of them are James’s cousins,” Thomas said as a long line of young people filed in to find places to sit. “The others I don’t know.”

  Susan watched the boys and girls split off to different sides of the room. Why was Thomas watching them so intently? Her thought was broken as Thomas looked over at James and Teresa. “Good things do happen in this world, Susan.” He reached under the table to squeeze her hand. “And they can also happen for us. I really do believe that.”

  Susan nodded. She had to trust Thomas again. And now was a gut time to start. Teresa was such a good example for all of them. And Thomas was trying.

  Thomas whispered in her ear, “You look so beautiful today. I almost thought you were the bride.”

  Susan felt a hot flush coming up her neck. She whispered, “Shhh! Someone will hear you.”

  Thomas smiled even more. He squeezed her hand under the table again, and she dropped her eyes. Tightening her fingers would make his smile even broader, so she held still. If they didn’t stop acting sweet on each other, people would think they were the couple who said the vows today. Thankfully Thomas had looked away and was quieting down—for a while at least.

  In the pole barn doorway Mamm appeared and rushed to her seat.

  Moments later Bishop Henry got to his feet and announced in a firm voice, “We are gathered here today to rejoice with Brother James and Sister Teresa on this, their holy day of marriage. On their behalf I have been asked to thank all of you for coming. Many of you have traveled a distance to be with them, and they welcome your presence with great joy. We wish to extend to this young couple Da Hah’s great and mighty blessing on this day and on all the days of their married life. No man knows how long those days and hours will be. They all lie in the faithful hand of Da Hah. So to James and Teresa, we wish a gut beginning, a steadfast life, and a safe ending in the arms of Da Hah. Now, let’s bow our heads and give thanks for the meal laid out before us.”

  They all bowed their heads while Bishop Henry gave thanks for the food and asked for Da Hah’s blessing on the rest of the day. The meal began at once, each table assigned a serving couple. The food was brought through a side door where the cooks were measuring it into table-sized containers.

  The center table—the table for the bride and groom—had a special serving couple—James’s younger brother Henry, who rushed up, stumbling over his own feet. Susan smiled at his obvious nervousness at this great honor. Henry laughed and managed to pull himself together, handing the plate he was carrying to Teresa. Beside him a girl Susan didn’t know was keeping her emotions under better control. She handed over a plate of mashed potatoes without a tremble in her hand. With the other hand she set down the brown gravy.

  “Having a good time?” James teased his brother, who smiled then and seemed to relax. With the plates deposited, the two servers scurried back for more. James dished out food for himself, and then held the plates out for Teresa. She took what she wanted and passed the food around the table.

  When Henry and the girl came back the second time with dressing, noodles, and the vegetable side dishes, they were talking to each other and sharing shy glances.

  “Ah, weddings…” Thomas sighed. “It’s such a great time to learn.”

  Susan couldn’t help but laugh. She found Thomas’s hand under the table again and held it. Perhaps he would make her a gut husband as she would make him a gut wife. They would love and grow old together. This was all that could be asked of any couple.

  Henry and the girl returned with date pudding and cherry pies.

  “There’s pumpkin and pecan back there yet,” Henry said. “So don’t eat yourselves full before we get back with more.”

  James laughed. “Bring everything you’ve got. I’m going to eat until I pop today.”

  “Thank you for helping out today,” Teresa leaned forward to tell the two of them. “This is so good of you. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “It’s a wonderful day,” the girl said. Both servers smiled and turned to leave again.

  “What’s the girl’s name?” Susan asked when they were gone.
<
br />   “Lucy, I think,” James said. “Henry knows her. She’s from northern Indiana.”

  “There’s quite a few young people visiting from there,” Thomas offered. “At least that’s what I heard.”

  “I think you’re right,” James agreed. “We have relatives from there. Today I’m thinking mostly about someone else though.”

  Teresa turned a bright red and covered her face with her hands.

  “Ah…” Susan cooed, “you two are so sweet.”

  “I know,” James said. “And Teresa is the best frau I could ever have found.”

  “James!” Teresa said, her face still covered, “There are people around.”

  “Then it’s a gut time to say such things,” James teased.

  After a few seconds, Teresa took her hands away from her face, streaks of red still running across her cheeks.

  Thomas laughed and leaned toward Susan. “This wedding day has been a very gut one.”

  “Weddings are always supposed to be gut.”

  “Yah, and ours is going to be very sweet and very soon.”

  When Susan didn’t say anything, Thomas glanced at her. “Do you agree?”

  “Maybe.” That was the closest she had come lately to promising a firm date. She supposed Teresa’s wedding must be opening her heart to the idea of her own special day.

  Thomas seemed satisfied with the answer since he was digging deep into his date pudding. Susan nibbled at her cherry pie, watching the servers as they waited on the guests. None of her sisters were among the serving couples since they were all married. Now that Teresa had married, Susan was the only one still single in the family. Yes, it was time. It simply was time to make up her mind and stick to the decision. No more dashing away at the first sign of trouble. Perhaps tonight after the singing, when everyone else had left, she would tell Thomas for sure. Whisper yah in his ear. Begin to plan her wedding day on Teresa’s wedding day. It would be a perfect ending to a perfect day, and they could put the past behind them once and for all.

  “You look like you’re thinking sweet thoughts,” Thomas teased.

  “Could be…” She offered nothing more. Let him wonder what she was thinking. Although from the satisfied look on his face, he had a pretty good idea.

  Bishop Henry stood and announced that it was time to give thanks again. As silence settled across the pole barn, the people bowed their heads and the bishop prayed. “Now unto the great God of heaven and earth, we give thanks for this food that we have eaten. We also give thanks for the good fellowship we have had and will have this afternoon with family and loved ones and friends. We have been given much by Your most gracious hand, O Da Hah, and we do not wish to receive of these bounties without giving You thanks. And now we ask, by Your grace, for a full and fruitful married life for our brother and sister James and Teresa. Amen.”

  Rustling filled the large room as many of the people stood and the younger children raced outside to play. Ada appeared carrying baby Samuel, who was delivered squirming across the table and into Teresa’s arms.

  “Oh little sweet darling, it’s so good to see you,” Teresa cooed.

  James was giving the child his full attention, trying to make him look up by tapping his head. Finally it worked, and baby Samuel’s mouth formed one of his happy smiles.

  “Come on, big boy!” James held out his arms, and Samuel reached for him.

  “That’s so sweet,” Susan said to no one in particular, feeling tears welling up again.

  “James really has taken to the child,” Thomas commented. “I wish the best for all three of them. They’re a very nice family.”

  “I know,” Susan said. “Da Hah has really blessed them.”

  “We’ll also be a nice couple, Susan. You know that, don’t you?”

  Susan looked at him. He was playing with his plate, turning it around and around. “We’ll be our own kind of couple, I suppose,” Susan said. “But it’s nice to have such a good example to follow.”

  “It is. And I’m glad it’s finally working out for us, Susan. Although I know we both get a little tired of the struggle sometimes. Once we’re married and on the farm, it will be worth everything we’ve gone through.”

  She touched his fingers under the table, wrapping hers around his, and he squeezed back.

  Moments later Thomas rose. “I’m going over to talk with some of the visitors. Make them feel welcome.”

  Susan also stood. She stepped back over the bench to let him exit easily.

  As Thomas left, more people were coming up to shake hands with James and Teresa and to wish them well. Susan soon followed Thomas, stopping in front of Betsy and Miriam on the way out. Miriam was holding her youngest in her arms and feeding him the last bites of his meal.

  “Is Nancy doing better today?” Susan asked Miriam.

  “Ach, yah,” Miriam said. “I think the flu had her ears hurting last week. But even if she wasn’t totally well, this day would have done anyone gut. It was quite wonderful to see Teresa finally married. She’s such a special girl.”

  “You can say that again!” Betsy echoed.

  “It was a blessed day,” Susan agreed. She left them to head outside. She decided to walk up the road toward home. She didn’t see any sign of Thomas. Groups of young people were coming and going already. Some of them were entering Ada’s house, while others were walking in the same direction she was going—back to where the service had been held and the buggies were parked.

  Perhaps she could get in a short nap this afternoon in her bedroom. And if any of the girls she knew or one of the many visitors wished to do the same, there was room on the bed for two. And a few others could rest in Teresa’s now-empty room. It would be a nice ending to the morning’s service and a proper preparation for the hymn singing tonight, which could last until midnight.

  Susan was walking up the steps of her front porch when she stopped short. Visible through the living room window was Thomas. He was sitting on the couch beside a girl. He had his head lowered down close to hers, talking and laughing.

  What in the world is he up to? Susan almost burst through the front door, demanding to know who this girl was and why Thomas was speaking with her. But she stopped herself. That would be an overreaction. Surely Thomas knew this girl from somewhere. Perhaps she was even his cousin.

  Susan looked through the window again. Nee, the girl wasn’t Thomas’s cousin. She had been one of the girls walking into the pole barn with the young people from northern Indiana. Pulling her gaze away, Susan walked off the porch and headed back up the road to Ada’s place. What Thomas was doing he could explain to her later. Right now she just wanted to be someplace else. Anywhere but here, she decided.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The afternoon was winding down, and Teresa and James stood holding hands in the yard. Behind them the evening sun was sinking into the west. People were leaving, pausing to give the married couple last words of good wishes.

  “Our wedding day is almost over,” Teresa said into James’s ear. “And it’s been more wonderful than even I could have imagined. Looks like we’re getting a beautiful sunset as another added blessing.” They turned together and watched as the colors deepened in the sky. Long, golden streaks of light rose up from the horizon. Below that, a thin strip of clouds covered the sun, showing only the faint outline of the huge, red globe. All around were runs of orange and brighter reds.

  “It’s been a gut day.” James squeezed Teresa’s hand. “I couldn’t have asked for a better one…or for a better frau. Even baby Samuel seems to have enjoyed himself.”

  “I think so too. I expected he’d make a fuss if he was away from me for so long, but he didn’t.”

  “He’s got lots of relatives who adore and cater to his every whim. He’ll have a hard time settling back to normal life after these past few weeks of spoiling.”

  “But he will.” Teresa looked up at her new husband. “And he’ll have you as his daett. It’s obvious he already loves you dearly.”
<
br />   “He’s a little sweetheart,” James said. “But when he misbehaves, we’ll have to spank him just like our other children.”

  “He’s already gotten a few spankings when he was naughty,” Teresa said. “Mamm saw to that. But it made him the sweetest boy afterward.”

  “That’s how it works with children. That and loving them.”

  “I know.” Teresa sighed. “Do you know how long I’ve waited for this day? How I thought it would never come? How many things stood in the way?”

  “Those things are past us now,” James said. “When Da Hah allows us trouble, we’ll bear them again, just like we’ve borne the ones so far—with humility and grace in our hearts.”

  “And together,” Teresa added.

  “Hello there again!” Maurice called as she approached. “If it isn’t the happy couple themselves. Beautiful sunset! How could the day end any better?”

  Teresa and her mom embraced. Then Maurice turned. “James, you’ll make my daughter happy. Teresa couldn’t have done better if I had handpicked her husband myself!”

  “Well, thank you.” James smiled. “I’m honored indeed.”

  “I don’t know how you Amish men do this, but is it okay if I give you a hug?” Maurice opened her arms.

  “From my mother-in-law? Of course!”

  Maurice hugged and then kissed him on the cheek.

  James laughed.

  “That’s enough, Mom!” Teresa said. “Things are done a little differently around here.”

  “I will kiss my son-in-law at least once on his wedding day,” Maurice declared. “Regardless of what country I’m in.”

  “I guess no one is staring.” Teresa looked around.