by Dana R. Lynn
In the center of Meadville was a large oval-shaped town square, roughly the size of a city block. Traffic flowed around a gazebo and a fountain standing in the very center, perfect for a private conversation.
“Sure thing.”
Luke held open the back door so Jennie could climb in, then he followed her. She might be silent, but he wouldn’t deny himself the pleasure of sitting near her. When he inhaled, the soft fragrance that was uniquely Jennie drifted past his nostrils. It soothed his anxiety to a small extent. He was with her and she had agreed to talk with him.
That was hopeful.
Ten minutes later, Sam pulled into one of the parking spaces that surrounded the Diamond.
Silently, they stepped out of the vehicle. Luke grabbed on to her hand before she could put it in her pocket. To his delight, she didn’t protest. His heart warmed as her slender fingers wrapped around his hand. Together they walked toward the gazebo. In its center stood a huge decorated Christmas tree. As they drew closer, their faces were bathed in the light emanating from the bulbs.
“It’s so pretty.”
He glanced at her. “Jah. Beautiful.”
She met his eyes and blushed. “I meant the tree, silly.”
“I didn’t.”
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Encouraged, he squeezed her hand. “Let’s go sit in the gazebo. We can talk privately there.”
* * *
Luke tugged on her hand. Jennie followed him up the steps of the gazebo. Up close, the Christmas tree was breathtaking, shining and shimmering with silver tinsel and hundreds of colored lights. The tree was so round and fluffy that when Luke led her to the bench on the inside wall, she could still almost touch the branches.
She watched as Luke lowered himself cautiously at her side. Not too close. Their knees barely grazed each other. Still, she felt her pulse kick up at his nearness. Their breath misted and mingled in the air.
She waited. Should she say anything? Something to get the conversation rolling? Her mind, usually so quick with a sharp comment, was a complete blank.
“Jennie...”
She leaned forward, silently encouraging him to continue. He glanced at her and smiled. Her breath caught at the tenderness in his gaze. At the wealth of love and caring she saw.
Was she dreaming? No. Her heart recognized that emotion. He did love her.
“Were you serious,” he finally asked, his voice husky with emotion, “when you said you’d be willing to become Amish?”
She blinked against the sudden tears. Her happy-ever-after was so close. Please, Lord, if it’s Your will. Please. She couldn’t even form her entire desire, but that was okay. God knew her heart. She could trust in that now.
Luke was starting to look concerned. Oh, she needed to respond. Clearing her throat, she nodded. “I was serious. I have thought about it. There’s nothing for me in the Englisch world. God gave me a husband, and He gave me a son. I want to be where we can all be together, as a family.”
His brows drew together. “It’s not an easy life. Amish women work very hard, and there would be no technology.”
The skills she’d worked so hard to acquire would not help her if she became Amish. It touched her that he understood that and was anxious not to take it away from her if it was important. It wasn’t.
“I don’t care. Luke, my career was a way to feed my son and to pay my rent. It was never something I loved. It was something I was good at, but it brought me no joy. Not really. And I did find joy in helping your mother with the simple work she does. More than that, it was fulfilling, to know that my work directly benefited my family.”
He grinned at her. It was a bit wobbly, but still a grin.
“We wouldn’t be able to live as husband and wife, not at first. You’d have to go through classes with the bishop. He’d want to make sure that you were making an informed decision, one you could live with for the rest of your life. It’s no small thing, leaving the Englisch world behind.”
“I understand.” She hesitated. There was one point that made her pause. “What about my brother? Would I be separated from Aiden and his family?” She had lived so many years without her older brother, she didn’t want to lose him again. She held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“Nee, I don’t think so.”
She let out the breath in a puff of mist. For a second, his face was obscured until it dissipated. “I was worried about that.”
“Jah, I can see that. We live apart from the Englisch, but they are still our friends. You would still be able to write them and have them visit.”
She could deal with that. “Then, yes, I want to go through the classes and join the Amish church. I want to be your wife again.”
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I believe with all my heart that it wouldn’t have made a difference if my memories had never returned. I was already falling in love with you all over again.”
She knew how that felt.
“I fell in love with you when we were teenagers. When you came back into my life, I didn’t know the man you’d become. You were so much more serious, and so dedicated to your faith and family. At first, I resented that, because your memory loss had taken you from me. And as I got to know you, I realized I was falling in love with you again. And it scared me because I knew that there were barriers that blocked our being together.”
“I felt that, too. I didn’t see how we could make it work. I couldn’t ask you to join the church. It would be too much. Or I thought it would. I prayed to Gott, leaving it in His hands, if He wanted us to be together.”
She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, the barest touch of her lips to his cold skin. Her lips tingled. “I think we have His answer. He wants us to be a family again.”
“Should we tell our son?”
She nodded, her heart overflowing with joy and affection for the man beside her.
LJ, of course, was thrilled with the idea of his parents getting back together. “I’ll get to live with both of you? All the time?” he demanded, his little hands on his hips.
“All the time,” she promised.
“Goody!” LJ bounded forward to hug both his parents. “And Grossmammi Beiler? Grossdawdi Beiler?”
“Well.” Luke rustled his hair. “We won’t live with your grandparents. But you’ll see them often. Which means you’ll get lots of cookies.”
Aiden moved to hug his sister. “Are you sure, Jennie?”
She appreciated his concern. “I’m sure, Aiden. I’ve loved him for so long. We belong together.”
Sophie swooped in to kiss both their cheeks, and Sophie’s sister, Celine, hugged her tight. She moved back to sign, “I love you, Aunt Jennie.”
“Love you back,” Jennie signed.
Soon after that, Aiden and Sophie gathered up their things, Celine and their daughter, and left. Rose was asleep on Aiden’s shoulder as Jennie shut the door gently behind them.
Luke and Jennie put LJ to bed together. Because that was important to a little boy. Jennie was sure that he would be awake for hours, he was so hyper. She was wrong. Within twenty minutes, he was sound asleep.
After LJ went to bed, Luke and Jennie stayed up talking. They talked about everything from where they would live to their hope that they’d be blessed with a large family.
“I only had Aiden,” she confided. “I’d love for LJ to be surrounded with siblings.”
“He will also have many cousins.” Luke grabbed a strand of her hair and ran it through his fingers. At last, he stood, reluctance in every inch of his body. “I need to get to Onkel Jed’s haus.”
She stood, too. “Someday soon, we won’t have to say goodbye.”
“Jah. That is true. Tomorrow will you come with me to talk with my parents?”
She nodded. “We can take my car to make the journey quicker.”<
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At the door, Luke turned to her again and drew a finger down her cheek. “I love you. Until tomorrow.”
She nodded. He leaned in and kissed her softly before slipping away into the night.
She shut the door and rested against it, closing her eyes to hold close to her heart the memory of the way he looked at her. It was really happening. He loved her, and soon, they’d be a family, this time for good.
Sometimes dreams did come true.
She opened her eyes. She’d been in the process of taking the tree down when he’d shown up at her door. It seemed strange to think that just a few hours ago, the coming year had seemed so bleak. Now it was teeming with hope and wonderful possibilities.
All the weariness from earlier had faded. She had so much to do tomorrow.
She peeked in on LJ. He was sleeping, his teddy bear close in his arms. He’d kicked off his blanket in his sleep. She bent and kissed his soft head. He didn’t even stir.
“Sleep well, LJ.” She pulled the covers up over him. “Tomorrow, we’re going home.”
She didn’t know exactly where they’d end up. It didn’t matter. Home would be where they could be together.
A family, at last.
EPILOGUE
Jennie heard a deep chuckle behind her as she dropped her hammer—for the third time. Startled, the nail she’d been holding fell from her fingers and skittered across the plywood floor.
Luke strode farther into the room and stooped to pick up the nail. He flashed her a grin, humor dancing in his eyes. “I guess I should pick it up for you, since I’m the reason you dropped it.”
“Yeah, you should.” She propped a hand on her hips but couldn’t maintain her outraged posture for too long. Too much joy was soaring through her body today.
“Ach, Jennie girl, this haus will never be ready in time for the Hoppers to move in if you keep dropping hammers and losing nails,” Onkel Jed called out from the door.
She didn’t take him too seriously. Not when she could clearly see the shine of his grinning teeth tucked inside of his long gray beard.
He continued, “Maybe we ought to put you back on painting detail, like we did back when you were a kind.”
She snorted, but then ruined it by laughing at herself. They did have a point. Truth be told, she preferred painting, anyway. “You could be right.”
“He is not,” Luke asserted. “I think you’ve been a huge help.”
“That’s only because you like having your frau by your side all the time.” Raymond sauntered into the room. His own beard was starting to come in.
Jennie and Luke had been together as husband and wife for nearly six months. She’d had to take the time to learn about the Amish and join the church. Once she did, Luke had made short work of going through an Amish wedding ceremony. They had attended Raymond’s wedding to Mary Ellen last month.
Jennie loved having a large family around her. And it was made even better knowing that Aiden and his family were welcome to visit.
Aiden and Luke had hit it off immediately. Of course, her older brother was bound to approve of any man that risked his own life to protect Jennie and LJ.
“Let’s take a break,” Onkel Jed called out. “It’s lunchtime.”
Luke walked over and put his hands around Jennie’s waist, lifting her off her ladder and setting her to the ground. Jennie squealed in surprise. He smiled, and if his hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than necessary, no one seemed to notice.
Hand in hand, they walked outside to where the other workers were coming to join them. LJ ran over to her side. She couldn’t help the smile that stretched across her face as her little man scooted in between her and Luke. He was adorable in his dark trousers and straw hat. A perfect little Amish boy. He peeked up at Luke and tried to match his expression and stance. It warmed her heart to see LJ try to emulate his father.
She didn’t blame him. She couldn’t think of a single man who was more admirable than her beloved husband. In her mind, he was everything a husband and father should be. Caring, strong and, most important, he put God first, always.
“Do you ever regret moving back to this part of the state?” she asked Luke softly as they were making their way back to their own house. They’d danced around the subject several times, but she’d never gotten up the courage to ask. Maybe because she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer. And Luke would never lie to her, not even if he thought his answer would upset her.
She peeked in the back. The sway of the buggy had already lulled LJ off to sleep. He’d played hard all day with the other children. After the terrifying time they’d spent when Steve was after them, he’d had nightmares for several months. Plus, he’d become overly clingy. All she had to do was step out of the room, and he’d start shrieking her name. Nearly a year later, seeing him laugh without fear and watching him go off to play without glancing back over his shoulder was a huge relief.
Luke patted her hand with his before putting it back on the reins. “I don’t regret it. My mamm and daed are fine. Simon took over the haus when they moved in the dawdi haus, and they have the grandchildren to keep them busy.”
She nodded. “I know. I just worry because both you and Raymond moved to Meadville to work with Onkel Jed. I hope they don’t blame me.” There. It was out. She’d finally said what had really bothered her.
She didn’t think they did. But it still concerned her.
“Nee, don’t you worry, Jennie. Mamm and Daed love you, they do. And LJ, too.” He steered the mare left to go down their road.
The scent of dust caught her nostrils. She was beginning to enjoy the smell because it meant home.
“They always knew that I didn’t belong in New Wilmington,” he went on. “When I had come back, they were just relieved that I was Amish again. When you and I moved here, they didn’t need to worry that I would be drawn to the Englisch way of life. My heart was completely taken up with you and our son.”
Sighing, she leaned her head against his strong shoulder, feeling his muscles move as he continued to direct the mare into their driveway.
“Don’t forget your mission work.”
“Jah. That was the work Gott put on my heart. They would never fight against His will. The fact that I am able to do Gott’s work with my wife and my son, not to mention my closest brother, at my side, well, that is a great blessing in my life.”
He stopped the buggy to let her off at the side porch. She gathered LJ into her arms.
“Do you need me to carry him?” he whispered.
She shook her head. “Nah. He’s soon going to be too big for me, but I can still handle him.”
She’d miss it when she could no longer carry her boy. A smirk edged onto her face. Although, there would be others. Very soon.
When Luke came in for the night, she watched him as he hung his hat by the back door. There was still light coming in the front windows, although it was fading fast.
“Want to watch the sunset?” she asked.
In response, he laced his fingers with hers and opened the front door. They stepped out onto the porch. She inhaled deeply. The lilacs were fragrant this evening.
Luke stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle. His chin rested on her white kapp. She sighed, content.
“Hey, Luke?”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve been thinking about what we were talking about earlier. You know, about how LJ is going to be too big for me to carry soon.”
“Jah?” He kissed the top of her head. She could feel the warmth through her kapp. How she loved this man!
“Well, I think that I’m going to have to stop carrying him in about three months.”
“Huh?” He moved his arms and came to stand beside her. “What does three months have to do with it? We have no way of knowing how much he’ll grow in that time.”
“True.” She ducked her head to hide the grin threatening to break loose. “However, I’ll be too big probably.”
She let that sentence settle into the silence between them. The expectancy in the air was almost tangible.
After about thirty seconds, she dared to peep up at Luke. His eyes were wide and glistening. Seeing him so close to tears, she had to fight back her own.
“Jennie? Are you?” His voice was hoarse.
She nodded. “I am. Nearly two months along.”
He shook his head even as a smile bloomed across his face. A tear tracked down his cheek, but he didn’t appear to be aware of it. His right hand moved to rest across her belly. “A boppli.”
“Yes, we’re going to have a baby.”
“I never got to see LJ as a baby.”
That nearly broke her heart. “I know. But you’ll see this one, every step of the way. And LJ will be such a great big brother.”
They stood for a few minutes in silence, just happy to be in each other’s presence. Suddenly, Luke was half laughing, half growling.
“What?”
He stood back to stare into her face. “I’m so happy about this, all I want to do is go to tell Raymond, and my onkel and everyone the news. But it’s not the Amish way.”
Jennie bit her lip. She remembered his cousin had had a baby a month ago. She’d suspected the woman was carrying, but no one had said anything until the baby was actually born. Even the brothers and sisters weren’t told. “Okay, I know it’s not the Amish way, but I really want to tell Aiden and Sophie.”
“Of course! That should be fine. They’re not Amish. I don’t expect they’ll be telling anyone around here.”
When he held out his arms, she slipped into them. Tilting her head back so she could peer up into his face, she smiled. “God has blessed us so much, Luke. I don’t have the words to say how happy I am at this moment. Or to say how very much I love you.”
“Who needs words?” Her husband bent his head to kiss her, showing her without words that he, too, loved her beyond words.
