Alone on the Oregon Trail (11 page)

Chapter Thirteen

(Autumn Is Just Around The Corner)

Nathaniel’s memorable last words was falling upon us as we looked out across the prairie, seeing noticeable scenes in which he had so described. The thrilling smells filled the air with its crisp air and the ground began filling its paths with delightful colors of orange, browns and gold’s, setting landscapes worthy of lusting for.

How my heart clung to every descriptive word that fell from Nathaniel’s lips, looking out among the horizon before me. I found myself in search of his creative imaginations, and one by one they came into sight, just as he had said.

It still amazed me how the Lord provided a young man with a picture so clear that yet he would never be fortunate enough to touch. I realized that no one or thing can provide quite like the Lord and I still believe that perhaps Nathaniel’s view was even more glorious than ours as our eyes beheld its arrival.

I believe that God gave to Nathaniel his desires and he possibly saw autumn as God sees it and this we would have to wait for as we await the beauties of heaven.

Meredith’s special day was just around the corner and the natural beauty of autumn was preparing itself to show off for her. With each day, the colors richened into hue that I had never experienced before and by the time her day arrived, each color became more vibrantly alive.

Grayson woke up early on Meredith’s day and took his surprise down to the stream and Mattie helped him get it all set up right. We had made a rule for Meredith and Cambell and they were to stick close to the house and barn.

Cambell was left to the barn before the ceremony, not being able to feast his eyes upon his beautiful bride before the ceremony. Meredith stirred around the house like a hen that had lost its chick. It was comical to see her in such a state.

Mattie, too, was filled with impatient patience, showing bouts of the little girl that came to peek here and there. I too was said to have been acting childish at times as I wanted the day to hurry along.

Grayson, at this time, became the rock and the one offering a peaceful calm.

Pastor Arnold arrived in time to sit with Meredith and talk with her about a Christian marriage and then he exited to the barn to have the same discussion with Cambell. Time was running out and before we knew it, our guests started to arrive, along with many that we had not invited and it was clear that they were going to keep arriving.

This was good news considering that they all brought enough food to feed us all. Each family as they rode onto our farm, first apologized taking it upon themselves for invitation, but they could not resist and wanted to show their gratitude for our dedication to their needs when they needed us.

They each brought gifts, wonderful gifts for the couple to be, and blessings poured in, wagon by wagon. We were grateful for their coming and with all intention, we wanted to invite them all, but was worried about being able to feed them all.

So, this was another blessing that God showered down. Just as He sends the former and the latter rain, He sent us blessings for all.

As the morning passed into noon, the sun begin to show its wondrous warmth, and not a cloud in the sky spoke its possible rain, and we began gathering in prayer, to prepare for what lay ahead.

As I watched my oldest daughter slip into her wedding dress, the tears burst from me, no longer being stayed; and we sat and wept each other into a long embrace. Falling from the top of her carefully placed bun, was ringlet after ringlet that framed her tiny porcelain face, so much that she looked like a perfect doll in a market window.

Mattie was the one who had fixed Meredith’s hair and to her delight, it was stunning. Meredith had never once cut her hair, only to trim the ends when needed. So, her hair fell down her back in glorious waves and looking at her, I thought that I had looked upon the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen.

How my heart came to such life, looking at my daughter with pride.

When Grayson came to sit with her for their special father-daughter conversation, he could barely speak as his eyes slowly glided over his oldest daughter. I am sure to this day that she must have been the picture of her mother in his eyes and what a moment that must have been for him, to stare into the eyes of his once love.

I left the room and gave them the space and time they needed to pass back and forth their napkin to wipe away their tears of joy. Before long Grayson came walking out of the room where we held Meredith hostage, being sure to not let Cambell lay his eyes upon her, and his strength had been drained from the emotion he was feeling.

I walked over to him, offering a nice wet cloth to bury his face into and he released a whole new set of tears, trying desperately to rid himself of tears, knowing that they would only return once more when he handed his daughter over to his new son.

Grayson had said since the day they announced their marriage that Cambell would never be his son in law, but that he would be the son he never had. So, there were no titles of in laws ever heard from the family’s lips.

Cambell was just as happy to receive Grayson as a father and the bond had already been formed that to this day, has never tarnished.

One o’clock had arrived and it was time to carry the bride to her arbor of love and Grayson swept her off her feet, lifting her into the wagon seat. Cambell had been taken to the ceremonial ground previously and he was waiting impatiently by that time.

All the guests had found their way to the scene and when we arrived by wagon, what a sight to behold. We had more than a hundred people admiring the scenery. It was precious to see our neighbors, joined again in heart and celebration, all memories of their feuds had faded away, and all that was left was the love for God and the love for one another.

Autumn had arrived and was no longer just around the corner and I celebrated in the fact that somehow Nathaniel had participated in this blessing of a day. His descriptions of beauty had clearly been foretold as I looked around at the ground covered with glorious colors.

As Meredith stood under the arbor that her father had built, there was a shine that came from her and as its glory bounced off the leaves strewed across the ground, it was dazzling. Her father had done a marvelous job with creating the focal piece of the ceremony and as his daughter stood below speaking her love for her love of her life, the day came to a new life we had not seen.

Our senses were filled with the sounds of happy chirping birds and as we looked around we saw tiny animals as they came from their hiding places, making them known to the wedding party that they too saw the glory in the day.

We watched as tiny squirrels and bunnies made their way onto the path, watching quietly and then when the last word was said and the couple were introduced as husband and wife, the bunnies and the squirrels took their places as they began running and hopping along in front of the prettied up carriage that led Meredith and Cambell down the path to their new life.

It was a sight to see tiny animals also involved in escorting the couple into marriage.

The wedding was a success and now the fun had begun, as we all hurried back to the barn. Family after family ran to their wagons to grab their gifts they had brought for the couple. It must have been a small comparison to how the people felt as they brought their gifts to the birth of Jesus.

Knowing that this wedding had been fully ordained by God gave to each one a distinctive need to be a part of it all. Our day was spent well into the evening and we all had a glorious time together as we remembered not the scenes of not long before where a young man once tried desperately to bring peace to those who created a war.

As each person celebrated life, they had a memory flash through their minds of this same young man who closed his eyes outside this same barn of celebration. As I looked around, I saw tears being wiped from everyone’s eyes, and I knew that they too had consciously thought of Caleb.

They felt the agonizing pain once more for a moment and then the Lord removed all tears from every eye and gave to them eyes of celebration. No, Caleb would never be forgotten, that was for sure; but there is a time and a place for everything and God wiped the tears so the joy could be shared for this day.

Forgiveness is something that comes as a reminder to better oneself, allowing them to repent and to carry on in the sight of the Lord.

It was late evening and finally all decided it was time to settle down for the night and people began loading back into their wagons, heading to their own lives, leaving the newlyweds alone to their first night. We had made a special place for their wedding night inside the barn upon their request.

We all piled ourselves back into the house, leaving our daughter and her husband alone to their own happiness. Autumn certainly provided the treasure of a lifetime for the couple as well as for Grayson and I.

Fall had come upon us and just as Nathaniel had spoken of, it delivered.

Morning came and as the dew had left its wetness, we waited in the house, giving the two total privacy as we waited for their waking. Our chores could wait until a young newly married couple was ready to meet the morning.

It wasn’t long until our door opened and the two faces we loved so well looked refreshed and ready to begin a day. We didn’t realize that they would wake up so robust and ready to start chores, for we had said they would have a week of relaxation.

They would not hear of it and they both went outside, giving us orders to not lift a hand as their appreciation and they set about feeding and watering all the animals.

Just around the corner now was the birth of our child, as the time was drawing very near and giving the newlyweds only a few weeks of being in the spotlight, then our child came announcing its arrival, even earlier than we had expected.

Since we had not planned on the early arrival, it also shot worries all through our minds, especially Grayson’s. Grayson had his past traumatic moment come into his mind and he began to stir around, showing signs of worry that I had never seen in him.

He told me that he wanted to take me into the Doctor and he wanted to keep me there until the baby was born. This was not something I wanted to do, but I agreed for his sake. We bundled up things that I would need for the baby and me and told the girls of our plans. The look upon Mattie’s face sent my mind into a whirlwind, thinking only of how she must be feeling, and I called her to me, promising her that everything was fine, that her father was being overly cautious.

Her little mind was eased and she smiled sweetly and told me that she would be asking Pa if she could come and stay with me. I assured her that would be the case and my wish as well. This satisfied her for now and we took off in the wagon, heading toward town.

I was in no pain, but my water had broken and this told Grayson that it was an emergency. He did not realize that sometimes the water will break early and it would possibly be a while before the baby would come.

When we arrived in town, we were surprised to find out that the Doctor was out of town, making his visits around the countryside, not expecting me to go into labor so soon. This alarmed Grayson because he experienced this when Mattie was born and he found himself getting angry with the Doc.

I was able to remind him of the Doc having other duties as well as ours, and he began to settle down from his temporary insanity. We had no choice but to go back to our safe home and I assured him that God would see to it that everything would go fine and he would bring this baby into the world.

I prayed for my husband because I could see old pain rear its ugly head in his mind. We returned home and I felt a sense of peace run through my body and mind and I spent my time settling my husband’s nerves.

As time drew on, it seemed that the baby had changed its mind and calm swept over me. As I lay in my bed, resting much of the time, I took the opportunity to spend most of my time with Mattie, preparing her for anything that might go wrong when my baby’s time would come.

We chatted, she read the bible to me and we laughed together as we held hands repeatedly. I realized that Mattie knew that things could go wrong and I was watching her closely to see how it was affecting her little mind. She seemed to be doing very well, in fact; better than Grayson was.

Grayson arranged the bed where I could have a constant view of the autumn outside and he pulled a big comfy chair near the window as well so that I could sit and eat my meals there, watching the little animals greet me from the ground.

I also spent time reading scriptures in front of the beautiful view. After about nine days, the undeniable time came upon us and the pains of my baby’s departure from my womb began. One after another, not even giving me the time to breathe, the pains struck me in the sides and across my abdomen.

Being my first child I was not very aware at what normal pain was and what it was not, so it was confusing for me. Grayson must have known something, because I watched him collect bowls and pans of water, along with several things he would need in order to bring our baby out to meet us, just in case the Doc would not be available.