Nancy had made a new family rule since her husband’s health scare six months ago and that was that they would all gather at her house on the first Saturday of every month for a familye dinner.
As the family sat down for one of their dinners, Wilhem, who had been invited to join them, spoke up. “I have an announcement to make tonight.”
Mr. Yoder chuckled. “This will be an interesting dinner. I can’t imagine what news there could be.”
“I can,” Daisy said.
Lily piped up. “I could take a good guess, too.”
“Well, the sooner you make that announcement, the sooner we can say our thanks for the food,” Trevor, the second oldest son, said.
Nancy looked around at her two sons and four daughters. They were all grown up and she had two lovely daughters-in-law, one granddaughter, and one wonderful son-in-law. She looked at her second oldest daughter and the man she’d been spending most of her spare time with, Wilhem. The two of them kept staring lovingly into each other’s eyes and Nancy knew they were going to say they were going to marry.
Mr. Yoder cleared his throat. “We have Wilhem who wants to say something. Is there anyone else who wants to say something?”
Nancy knew that her husband was hoping that one of their sons, or maybe Rose, would tell them they were having a baby. Looking at them now, Nancy knew that they had no such news. Her eyes drifted to young Shirley in the highchair. She’d have to be the only one for a while yet, it seemed.
Everyone looked at Wilhem. “Shall I say it now, or after dinner? Or maybe after we give thanks for the food?”
Tulip gave an embarrassed giggle.
Mr. Yoder said, “You can’t make us wait any longer. Tell us what you’ve got to say.”
Wilhem smiled and glanced at Tulip before he looked at the others at the table. “Tulip has finally agreed to marry me.”
“I knew it!” Daisy squealed.
“For real?” Lily asked.
Wilhem laughed. “Jah, for real.”
Mrs. Yoder stood up and ran to hug Tulip and then Wilhem. Mr. Yoder and Tulip’s brothers shook Wilhem’s hand, while Tulip’s sisters all got up to hug her. When everyone had congratulated the couple, they all sat back down.
“Well, I didn’t expect that tonight,” Mrs. Yoder said. “We’ll have to start organizing everything tomorrow, Tulip. We’ll go into town and buy material to make the dresses.”
“Can Daisy and I be your attendants?” Lily asked Tulip.
“Of course you can. I want you both to be my attendants, if you’ll behave.”
“What do you mean, Tulip? We always behave.”
Tulip laughed. “We’ll talk about that later.”
“We should give thanks before this food gets cold,” Peter said.
“Jah, we should,” Mr. Yoder said.
They all closed their eyes and each gave their silent prayer of thanks for the food.
As everyone finished, they began to help themselves to the food in the center of the table. Except for young Shirley, who’d been happily mushing cooked vegetables onto the plate while managing to get some of them into her mouth.
The twins talked excitedly between themselves about what color their dresses would be and how they wanted them, while Nancy’s daughters-in-law and Rose gave Tulip wedding advice.
* * *
When the dinner was done and Wilhem was ready to leave, Tulip walked outside with him to say goodbye.
“I think that went well,” he whispered as he leaned against his buggy. “Your mudder didn’t cry, and your vadder didn’t have another heart attack.”
Tulip giggled and put her head on his shoulder. “They like you.”
“The twins are excited.”
“It’s hard to tell. They’re like that about most things.” Tulip shivered. “It’s cold.”
Wilhem put his arms around her and held her close. “I can’t wait until we’re married and we can start our life together.”
“Me too. I’ve never been happier.” Tulip was pleased that they had taken the time to get to know each other and hadn’t rushed into anything. Without a doubt, she knew that he was the man for her.
“I must go. I’ve got an early start tomorrow. Go inside; it’s cold.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I love you, Tulip.”
“I love you too,” she whispered back.
Wilhem climbed into his buggy and turned the horse around, and Tulip watched as he headed back down the driveway. She looked forward to the time when they could live together as man and wife. When a chilling gust of wind swept over her, she hurried back into the house.
To Tulip’s surprise, the twins had ordered their parents to relax in the lounge room while they cleaned the kitchen and did the washing up. Tulip stayed in the kitchen helping the twins.
* * *
Nancy was pleased that everyone in their family seemed to have their life in good order.
“I don’t think I can take any more happiness,” Nancy said, as she held Hezekiah’s hand. “I’m glad that Tulip will marry Wilhem; I really like him.”
He leaned closer and whispered, “You weren’t so certain about Mark at the start.”
“I was sure he was a good man, but I wasn’t convinced that he was a match for Rose, but he was. Look how happy they are now.”
Hezekiah nodded. “They’ve all made gut choices.”
“I’m worried about the twins. I think we’ll have problems with those two.”
Hezekiah chuckled. “I think you worry too much.”
Chapter 26
Tulip stood next to Wilhem as they were pronounced man and wife. This was the day she’d waited many months for. Wilhem took her hand and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and together they walked out of Tulip’s parents’ house. It was the second wedding there, the first being Rose’s.
When Tulip stepped outside, she felt good in the blue dress her mother had sewn for her. She’d wanted to make it herself, but had given in to her mother’s wishes and instead she’d helped the twins sew their dark green dresses. The twins hadn’t been too happy about wearing that shade, but Tulip considered that it suited their coloring the best.
“We’re finally married,” he whispered to her as they walked over to the main wedding-breakfast table.
As the twins’ giggles rang out close behind her, she said, “I’m glad.”
“I hope I make you happy, Tulip.”
“You already have, and you will.”
He smiled and when they reached the table, he pulled out her chair for her. She sat down, and reminded herself to remember every single moment of the day. When Wilhem sat beside her, she looked across to the house to see her father step through the doorway. Tulip silently thanked God that He had spared her father from the close call he’d had many months ago. Her father was there to see her get married, and for that she was grateful.
After a minor squabble about who was going to sit beside her, the twins took their places next to her. Either Daisy won, or Lily forfeited, Tulip wasn’t certain; all she knew was that Daisy sat closest to her and then Lily sat next to Daisy. Compared to their usual behavior, they were conducting themselves as mature young ladies. Tulip was proud of them for making the effort. Two of Wilhem’s older married brothers sat on the other side of him.
Jonathon had moved back in with his parents to save money and, after this wedding, Tulip was certain that he and Chelsea would announce their wedding soon. She guessed that was why Jonathon had made the move. The house that Jonathon and Wilhem had shared would become the first house Tulip and Wilhem lived in as man and wife.
It felt strange to Tulip that she was on the other side of the wedding table this time and not running around helping with the food. This was one wedding she wanted her mother to enjoy. She had asked her mother to sit close to her and leave everything up to the other ladies, just this once.
* * *
Nancy looked at her second-oldest daughter sitting next to her new husband, and leaned into Hezekiah
. “Do you feel old? Most of our kinner are married and we only have two to go.”
He laughed. “You make it sound like some kind of game when you say ‘two to go.’ Like you’re hitting balls and you’ve only the remaining two.”
“Nee, I didn’t mean it like that. Now that we’re only going to have the twins at home, I want them to stay for a few more years.”
“They’ll work things out for themselves. If you’ve found out something, Nancy, it should be that no matter what you do or say, you have little influence over them when they become adults. And that’s the way it should be. We bring them up as well as we can, and then we must trust that their values are sound.”
“Jah,” Nancy said, turning slightly to stare at her three daughters sitting at the wedding table, and then looking around for the remainder of her grown up children. “It’s hard for a mudder to let them go, but at the same time, I want them to marry early so they have the best choice. The twins are already drawing close to their next birthday and if they wait too long …”
“They’ll miss out,” Hezekiah finished the sentence for her.
“I know you think I’m silly, but …”
“Gott needs people’s actions to fulfill His will.”
Nancy’s mouth fell open. “How did you know I was going to say that?”
He shook his head. “And you think that the Lord needs your help to fulfill His plans?”
“It sounds silly when you say it.” Nancy chortled.
“You’ve got one wedding where you can sit down and enjoy yourself. You’re always so busy running here and there doing things for people. Do you think the world would stop if you stopped?”
Nancy stared into her husband’s wise eyes and realized that she had been carrying many burdens.
He took hold of her hand. “Why do you think Tulip asked you to sit down for the meal rather than be in the kitchen? She wants you to share the enjoyment of today. And I want you to slow down and stop thinking of so many different things. The world will keep going without you being like an ox pulling the plow alone.”
“I’m just trying to be helpful.”
He squeezed her hand. “The time has come for you to be helpful to yourself and you might just find that things will work out the same without you. Maybe it’s time to give others opportunities to be more helpful.”
“That doesn’t sound nice.”
“You know what I mean.”
She gave a little giggle. “All I can do is try.”
“That’s all I ask.”
Nancy looked around her. There were some young men visiting that she hadn’t met before and they looked about the right age for the twins. Her eyes were drawn to a particular young man because he was looking in one direction only. She glanced over her shoulder at the twins to work out which one he was staring at.
“Nancy, what did I just say?” Hezekiah asked her.
She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment. It was as though he knew what she’d been thinking.
When she opened her mouth to say something in her own defense, he said, “I know what you think before you do, and I know what you’ll say before you say it. Just now, you were looking around for husbands for the twins, weren’t you?”
She sighed. She’d been caught out.
He rubbed his knuckles against the beard on his chin. “Did you listen to a word I said just now? Let things follow their natural course like …”
“Like a boat sailing down the river?” Nancy tried to hold in her laughter. Hezekiah was always likening things in life to traveling down a river or a stream in a boat—mostly a sailboat. “You see, I know you pretty well too.”
Hezekiah shook his head at her. Nancy leaned forward and when she had a quick look around and saw no one was looking, she gave her husband a kiss on his cheek. He smiled and Nancy knew that he knew she was going to continue doing what she’d always done. And she knew that he wouldn’t mind.
* * *
Thank you for reading Amish Tulip.
* * *
All the books in the AMISH LOVE BLOOMS series:
Book 1 Amish Rose
Book 2 Amish Tulip
Book 3 Amish Daisy
Book 4 Amish Lily
Book 5 Amish Violet
Book 6 Amish Willow
* * *
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About the Author
Samantha Price is a best selling author who knew she wanted to become a writer at the age of seven, while her grandmother read to her Peter Rabbit in the sun room. It is her love of Amish culture that inspires her to write. Her writing is clean and wholesome, with more than a dash of sweetness. Though she has penned over one hundred and twenty Amish Romance and Amish Mystery books, Samantha is just as in love today with exploring the spiritual and emotional journeys of her characters as she was the day she first put pen to paper. Samantha lives in a quaint Victorian cottage with three rambunctious dogs.
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Amish Tulip Page 15
