An Amish Wedding (32 page)

F
RIDAY MORNING
C
HESTER FINISHED SANDING A BENCH
he’d been working on all week. It was a special order, and Mr. Turner said it needed to be finished today so that the customer could pick it up Saturday morning. He knew it might mean staying late tonight, and he had hoped to get off early to go check on Priscilla. She’d never missed one of their Tuesday or Thursday meetings at the shanty. But Mr. Turner’s snappy tone didn’t leave much room for an argument. His boss hadn’t seemed himself lately. The elderly man had even barked at a customer for slamming the door when he entered the store. Chester wasn’t surprised that the patron left without buying anything.

He heard the bell chime on the front door, but he knew Mr. Turner was there, along with two other employees, so he didn’t get up, but instead started staining the bench with a light walnut color. He heard a woman’s voice talking to Mr. Turner . . . and then recognized it as Priscilla’s. He wiped his hands on a towel and turned around to see her entering the work area in the back of the store.

“I’m so sorry I missed you at the shanty.” She glanced over her shoulder and waited until the door shut behind her, then threw her arms around his neck. He squeezed her tightly before gently easing her away.

“Is everything okay?” He kissed her softly on the lips before she answered.

“
Ya
. I’m sorry.
Mamm
wanted me to take something to Rachel Zook, and it was hard to get away.” She grinned as her cheeks flushed a light pink. “I missed you.”

Chester kissed her again, keeping one eye on the door. “I missed you too.”

She bit her bottom lip. “The phone at the shanty was ringing when I finally got there. It was the building inspector.”

Chester tipped back the rim of his hat and rubbed his forehead. “
Ya
. He called me here at the shop this morning.”

Priscilla stared at him. “How bad is it?”

“It could have been worse, but
Daed
and me are gonna have to do some rewiring upstairs.” He shook his head. “Seems like a lot of work when we won’t be using electricity.”

“I know.” She frowned. “I can’t imagine us not living there forever.”

After everything he’d put into building this house for them, he sure hoped that they would live there forever. But now he could add wiring repair to the roof repair. It was going to be a challenge to have everything done by mid-November.

It was tradition for the bride and groom to spend as long as three months living with the bride’s parents. During that time, they would visit family and friends—sometimes stopping at several homes in one day. It was also when they would collect the bulk of their wedding presents. But both Chester and Priscilla were hoping to move into their new home two weeks after the wedding.

He cupped her cheek in his hand and gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. He didn’t want to think of the problems he’d had with the house—beginning with the foundation, which didn’t set right. Then the lumber for the frame was delayed, putting him behind schedule on the entire project. And now, these latest issues.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind, resolved to focus on the future and his new life with Priscilla. After a tender kiss, he said, “Do you know how much I love you?”

She smiled. “With all your heart.”

He reached down and squeezed her hand. “I guess I better get back to work. But I’ll see you at your
haus
on Sunday.” He gave her a quick wink.

As was customary, the church deacon would announce to church members on Sunday that Priscilla and Chester were getting married. Then her father would stand up and announce the date and time. Communion was held in October, and wedding publications were always announced during worship service within a few weeks after that. Most of the community already knew about the upcoming wedding, but publication was a long-standing tradition, and those who didn’t already know would clear their calendars for the first Tuesday in November. On the day of publication, Priscilla and Chester were allowed to skip church service and spend time alone at Priscilla’s house, and Priscilla would cook them a fine meal. He was looking forward to spending some time alone with her.

P
RISCILLA STAYED IN THE SEWING ROOM FOR MOST OF
the afternoon and tried to work on a new wedding dress, but the treadle sewing machine kept locking up. After a while, she gave the foot pedal a swift kick and moseyed to her room. She plopped down on the bed, her head filled with wedding plans. She was thankful that she’d already made her bridal attendants’ dresses. Naomi’s and Rose’s dresses were safely put away, with no chance of becoming doll clothes for Lizzie Lou. She was also thankful that Hannah had decided early on that she didn’t want to be an attendant because her baby was due the same week as the wedding. That had made it much easier on Priscilla. Otherwise, she would have been forced to exclude either one of her sisters or her lifelong best friend, since only two attendants were allowed.

After leaving Chester earlier in the day, she’d spent the morning helping her mother and Naomi clean the basement. With the wedding now three and a half weeks away,
Mamm
wanted every nook and cranny in the house clean. But Priscilla knew she needed to finish her wedding dress too.

She ran her hand along the intricate stitching of her red-and-white Lone Star quilt, knowing that she wouldn’t be sleeping alone beneath it for much longer. She couldn’t wait to be in Chester’s loving arms for the rest of her life.

Once they were in their own home, they would share Chester’s king-size bed, one he’d made just for them. Her furniture would nicely fill one of the extra bedrooms in their new home. Leaning back on her hands, she studied her bedroom. Everything was in the proper place, and not much had changed over the course of her nineteen years. But as she took inventory of the life she’d lived in this room, somehow everything looked different to her today, each piece of furniture and keepsake reflective of her life up until now.

Daed
had made her full-size bed when she seven years old, replacing Hannah’s hand-me-down twin bed. She could still remember the first time she slept in the “big girl bed,” tucked beneath a new set of sheets and quilt. She glanced at the matching oak dresser that came a few months after the bed; the top three drawers were stuffed with undergarments, extra
kapps
, socks, tights for the winter, and sweaters. The bottom drawer was filled with letters from relatives, Christmas cards she’d received, and books. The rocking chair in the corner of the room once belonged to her grandmother, and the clock hanging on her wall was a gift from her mother just last year. Her family and friends knew how much she loved clocks, especially handmade ones like the one from
Mamm
—enclosed in cedar with delicate gold hands, keeping the world on schedule. Priscilla loved to fall asleep at night to the gentle ticking.

It would all be going with her to her new home, and she was thankful for the familiarity her possessions would provide. She glanced to her left. Rachel’s envelope was on her nightstand. She thought about opening it, but recalled the promise she had made.
Sweet Rachel
.

It would be time to go help with supper soon, but for just a moment, she decided to indulge herself. She lay back on her bed and closed her eyes, visions of her wedding day swirling in her mind. Naomi and Rose would be by her side. Zeke and Abe would serve as Chester’s attendants.
Mamm
would cry, of course—just as she had when Hannah got married. Her friends and family would all bring lavishly decorated cakes and keepsake containers filled with candies, cookies, and all kinds of special goodies to be passed around the
eck
. There would be a meal of
roascht
and all the fixings bountiful enough to feed the family and friends in attendance. It was a perfect plan, and it was going to be a great day.

Hiccup
. Not again! Her chest rose and fell with each spasm. She’d never had the hiccups so much in her life.

She heard the murmur of voices across the hall, but she didn’t budge as she continued to envision her wedding day. Then the voices became clearer.

“I hope we’re not going to have a repeat of Hannah’s wedding.”

Priscilla’s eyes flew open at the sound of her mother’s voice. She didn’t move, just listened as Naomi answered.

“I’m sure everything will be fine,
Mamm
.”

“I hope so. Poor Chester is having all kinds of trouble with the
haus
.” Her mother paused, and Priscilla cupped her hand over her mouth and hiccuped again. “You know what happened with the wedding dress. And now this.”

What?
Priscilla bolted off the bed and held her breath as her heart raced. She could tell from the sounds coming from across the hall that
Mamm
and Naomi were straightening Sarah Mae’s room.

“I don’t know if we should even tell Priscilla just yet that her favorite
aenti
and
onkel
won’t be able to come.”
Mamm
sighed deeply. “You know how much your sister worries.”

No!
Not only were
Aenti
Rebecca and
Onkel
John her favorite kinfolks, but her aunt was supposed to be making Priscilla a special cake topped with candied yellow roses. Priscilla stood quietly, her hand firmly across her mouth, and listened. Her body jerked with another spasm.

“No problem,
Mamm
. I’ll make Priscilla a special cake.”

Priscilla pulled her hand away and smiled at Naomi’s offer.
Hiccup!
Her eyes widened as she realized how loud it was this time. In seconds her mother and Naomi were standing in her doorway.

“I thought you were downstairs in the sewing room working on your dress.”
Mamm
put her hands on her hips and frowned.

“I was . . .” She paused as her chest heaved in and out. “But the sewing machine kept locking up on me. Now, please tell me why
Aenti
Rebecca and
Onkel
John aren’t going to be at my wedding.” Priscilla put her palms on her chest and held her breath, but it didn’t go any good.
Hiccup
.

Mamm
walked to the bed and smoothed the quilt where Priscilla had been sitting, then she turned around and folded her hands in front of her. “Rebecca is going to have a baby, and the doctor in Middlefield told her she shouldn’t travel.”

Priscilla cringed. “What?
Aenti
Rebecca is pregnant? She’s . . . she’s nearly
your
age,
Mamm
. How can that be?”

Mamm
slammed her hands back to her hips as she cleared her throat. “I assure you, Priscilla, women can get pregnant at the age of forty.” She stared at Priscilla, raised her eyebrows, and stood taller.

Priscilla sat back down as she quickly calculated her mother’s age. Forty-five. “
Ach, ya
. Sarah Mae.” She grinned.

Naomi stepped forward and put a hand on Priscilla’s arm. “No worries, Priscilla. I’ll make sure there are candied yellow roses on one of your cakes.”

“
Danki
, Naomi.”

There was no doubt in Priscilla’s mind that her sister would make a great cake.
Hiccup!

“That’s a terrible case of the hiccups,” Naomi said as she sat down in Priscilla’s rocking chair.

“Please don’t tell me to eat a spoonful of sugar. I’ve already heard that twice.”
Hiccup
.

Naomi kicked the floor with her bare feet until the oak rocker swung into motion. “I can’t even remember the last time I had the hiccups.”

Her mother sat down beside Priscilla on the bed and crossed one leg over the other.

Priscilla hiccuped again, and they all chuckled. “Until lately I can’t remember the last time I’ve had them either. But I got them when I was at the phone shanty with . . .” She shifted her eyes toward her mother, who was grinning. “. . . with Chester. He got the call that there were problems with the roof. Oh . . . and before that I got them when I found Sarah Mae cutting up my wedding dress.” She tapped her finger to her chin. “And I when I answered the phone at the shanty when the building inspector called with bad news.” Her expression dropped. She glanced back and forth between her mother and sister. “And now I have them again when I hear this sad news about
Aenti
Rebecca and
Onkel
John.” She sat up taller and gasped. “Every time I get the hiccups, something bad happens with the wedding.”

Mamm
slapped her playfully on the leg. “
Ach
, Priscilla. You’re being superstitious. That’s nonsense.”