Changing Traditions, A Christmas Novella (6 page)

A deep breath calmed her
nerves. Lucy gathered up her basket of buns and drink, she made her
way through the dark catacombs. A noise of shuffling feet startled
her, but as she believed the presence of God about her, she knew
she had nothing to fear.

“
Hello? It is only me,
Lucy, come to you bearing food and drink.”

The shuffling sound
appeared then to be the Christians whom she sought. As Lucy watched
them pray over the food she brought, thankfulness filled her heart.
How wonderful to serve God in this way.

“
Unfortunately, her mother
didn’t understand Lucy’s Christian faith. When Lucy asked to give
all of her dowry to the poor, her mother declined. She wanted Lucy
to be protected and cared for. So in doing that, she arranged for
Lucy to be married to a wealthy heathen.

“
Lucy, I will not have you
give your life away like that. I must live out the rest of my days
knowing that you will be all right.”

“
Momma, I will. God will
see to my protection and provision. He always has. Nothing will
change that fact.”

Momma’s eyes took on a
steely look as she leveled her view at Lucy. “A Christian will
suffer. If you are found out, who knows what the Romans will do to
you.”

“
Is that why you want me
to marry one of them? So I’ll be forced to deny Christ? Well it
won’t work. I will never deny my Savior.”

“
Lucy was in utter
distress and though she vowed to stay true to her Savior, her
mother was going through some serious health issues. No matter the
treatment, the cure was not found. Finally, Lucy took her mother to
St. Agatha where she prayed for her mother’s healing.

“
Lucy. Lucy. God has heard
your intercession. Your mother will be healed and you will be the
glory of Syracuse.”

Lucy awoke with a start,
realizing the voice she heard in her dream could be none other than
St. Agatha herself. “Bless you, St. Agatha.” Turning to her mother,
she shook her awake. “Momma. Momma! How are you
feeling?”

Momma stirred ever so
slightly, than opened her eyes. “Dotter, it was a
miracle!”

“
Because of the miracle
that took place, Lucy’s mother gave Lucy permission to give her
wealth to the poor. This didn’t sit well with everyone though.
Lucy’s betrothed was enraged. He went to the Governor of Syracuse
and told the Governor of Lucy’s Christian faith. This didn’t sit
well with the Governor and he sent soldiers to arrest
her.

The pounding at the door
startled Lucy and her mother. They at once knew it was the
soldiers. As Lucy calmly rose to open the door, Momma began to
panic. “I knew this would happen. They’ve come to take you away! Oh
Lucy, why didn’t you listen to me?”

Momma’s worrying couldn’t
faze Lucy. She opened the door and a group of soldiers met
her.

“
Lucy of
Syracuse?”

“
Yes, soldier.”

“
The governor has
requested your presence.”

“
You may take me then if
you can.”

The soldiers tried but
they could not budge Lucy from her position. “Why don’t you move,
girl? This won’t make the governor pleased.”

“
Well then the governor
didn’t expect he’d be dealing with the Lord Jesus
Christ.”

“
Even in the face of
death, Lucy wouldn’t deny her faith. Lucy is an example to all
which is why we remember her as we celebrate St. Lucia’s
day.”

There was silence in the
kitchen as Bethany finished the letter and she slowly lowered the
letter to the table. Carolyn was holding Rosie in her lap, the
hemming brought to a pause. Heather and Momma were both watching
her as well, and tears were streaming down Heather’s
face.

“
Jesse told me her story
before, but never like that. What a life to live! The abandon Lucy
had for Christ is something to be admired.” Heather reached for a
cloth, dabbing the tears from her face. “I can see now why Jesse
wants to begin that tradition with our children.”

Momma reached out and
clasped Heather’s hand, “It is an act of serving, Rosie. Tomorrow
morning when you go about delivering buns and coffee, you can
imagine what Lucy might have felt as she visited the Christians
hiding in the catacombs.”

Rosie’s mouth dropped, “I
must carry all this upstairs to everyone? I need more
hands.”

The innocence in her words
caused them all to burst out laughing. Carolyn squeezed Rosie’s
hands, “Well, I was thinking that perhaps Bethany or Laura wanted
to go with you.” Carolyn met Bethany’s eyes, and right then,
Bethany could see that she wanted Laura to feel a part of
it.

Bethany nodded, “I shall
see what Laura wants to do. Something tells me that she would love
to play the part with Rosie.” At least, Bethany hoped. Though she
had before, Bethany had no idea what her sister was thinking these
days. With only fourteen days till Christmas, there wasn’t much
time left to find out.

And so,
diary, with only five days till Christmas, I am worrying even more
that things will still not be resolved with Carolyn and Laura. St.
Lucia’s day went okay, but Laura passed on the role to me and so I
assisted Rosie and Adam with the rounds. Not that I minded, but I
wished Laura had seen Carolyn’s gesture as an opportunity to mend
some bridges. As we moved forward in preparing for Christmas, Laura
seemed to withdraw more and more. I only wish I could get her to
see that we are all hurting and that the only way to make it better
is to be together. We all went to cut down a tree and tomorrow
night we shall all gather together, including Jesse and Carolyn’s
families, to decorate it. It was decided to make popcorn garlands
and display white candles as we always have. I know Laura had some
ideas on decorating, but so far she has made no mention. I pray
that she will come tomorrow night and we will all have an open mind
and be willing to accept whatever Laura’s ideas are. In all us
Woodsmalls, someone is sure to have an idea on how to create some
new-fangled traditions.

A horse’s whinny came from
outside bringing Bethany from her diary writing. Poppa, Momma, and
Rosie had gone to Aunt Maria’s and said they wouldn’t be back till
late. Jake and Laura were supposedly in town visiting the post
office and going on other errands for Momma, so Bethany had no idea
who to expect.

Something strange
resounded in her and Bethany hoped that it might be Jeremy. Though
they had mended their relationship, it was still not quite the same
and Bethany knew that it had to do with her. She should really stop
comparing Jeremy to Albert. It’s not as though she tried. Sometimes
it’s just her way of processing everything. Just yesterday, Jeremy
had suggested ice-skating. Bethany claimed she couldn’t go,
especially this close to Christmas, because that was what she first
did when she began courting Albert.

“
So I can’t do anything
that you may have done with Albert? Bethany, you are being entirely
unreasonable!” Jeremy left in a huff and maybe he was right though.
She was being slightly unreasonable. If only her mind could move
past him like her heart has.

A knock sounded on the
door. So it must not be family or Jeremy. They all walked in
without knocking. Bethany opened the door slowly and discovered a
tall young man with his back to the door. His wavy brown hair made
her heart stop and when he turned around, the hazel eyes that were
so familiar— “Albert.” She didn’t quite know what to say and didn’t
even know what to do.

Albert stood there,
silently watching her. His eyes seemed to be attempting to answer
all her questions. In the next instant, he pulled her into a
crushing hug. “Oh Bethy, I’ve missed you so.”

It seemed as if all
Bethany could do was to remain in his embrace. What could she
possibly think of doing otherwise? She had waited months to see
him, smell him, and touch his wavy hair. In his embrace, all seemed
as it should. Albert was back. Her heart began sending off warning
signals though and she pulled back. “Albert, I hardly expected to
see you here. What brings you back from the city?” Now that she had
a chance to regard him, she noticed his fine clothes and the way he
held himself. Without having to hear it from him, Bethany knew that
he was doing well in Washington.

Albert reached up to touch
her cheek. “Can we talk, Bethany? I have a lot to tell
you.”

“
I should think so. I mean
the war did end eight months ago.” Over her shock, the hurt began
to settle in. Bethany hoped her heart would not let Albert in so
soon.

Sorrow flashed through
Albert’s eyes. “I can’t possibly begin to say how sorry I am,
Bethy, and I pray you will give me a chance to explain it all to
you. Come for a ride, please?”

Looking into his eyes,
Bethany knew that deep down, she needed this as much as he did.
“Very well,” she grabbed her shawl and followed him outside.
Albert’s sleigh was waiting for them, and as she climbed in old
memories began to surface, but Bethany quickly stuffed them away.
Reminiscing would do her no good right now. It had already caused
her enough trouble with Jeremy.

Jeremy. Whatever would he
think of her now that Albert was back? She could only pray that he
would let her explain herself before he saw Albert.

The ride began with
silence, much like it had with Jeremy. Oh, she must stop comparing
the two all the time!

“
So how have you been
doing, Bethany?”

So he wanted to begin with
pleasantries. “As well as one might expect. A lot has happened,
Albert.”

“
I’m sure. Your family
doing well?”

“
Please, Albert, tell me
what you are doing here and why you didn’t come home to me
earlier?” She wanted to remain strong, but the tears began to fall
regardless of her resolve.

Albert stopped the sleigh
and turned to grasp her hands, “When I left, there was no
understanding between us…”

“
But I cared for you! I
wrote you all the time!”

“
I know, me too. You don’t
understand, Bethy, I did it for you.”

“
No, you did it for
you.”

“
Would you stop
interrupting me? I’m trying to explain it to you.”

Biting back her retort,
Bethany settled for a nod and allowed Albert to continue on with
his explanation.

“
I broke off our courtship
when I left because I didn’t want you to feel attached to me if
something had happened if…I was killed. But that didn’t mean that I
stopped caring for you. You were what kept me going through all the
fighting, poor rations, and sleeping on a cold ground. Before the
war ended, my general offered me a job working under him in
Washington. Though I agonized over it, I decided to take it. I
wrote to you, Bethy, honest. I told you all about the job and asked
you to wait for me and told you that I still loved you and would
come back for you. I take it you never received that
letter.”

“
I didn’t know. The last
letter I received was in December.”

“
I only meant to stay a
bit and try it out, but when I didn’t hear from you, I assumed you
decided to move on without me. And right you should, even though I
didn’t want you too.”

“
Didn’t Nettie tell you
how much I wanted you to come? I told her everything!”

“
Don’t blame her. She
didn’t tell me all that exactly, just that she couldn’t believe I
would desert you all. I didn’t know she meant you.”

Bethany lowered her head,
trying to process all that he was telling her. Could Albert still
love her? “So why didn’t you come back sooner?”

“
I told myself that I was
building a life for me — for you. When you never wrote, I decided
that I would get settled there and then come back to win you
back.”

Bethany felt her heart
drop. “Win me back?”

Albert looked at her a
long moment, before leaping out of the sleigh. Grasping Bethany’s
hand, he got down to one knee in the snow. “Marry me, Bethany
Woodsmall. I love you so and I want to spend the rest of my life
with you. Come back to Washington with me — as my wife. I promise I
will never hurt you so again.”

The tears began to course
down her cheeks. Albert was proposing. Here. Now. Oh what was she
to think or even say. Her mind, let alone her heart, could hardly
make sense of it. “Albert, I’m touched, truly. Give me some time to
think and pray. Please?”

Albert stood and grasped
both of her shoulders, “I’ll wait for you, Bethy, I will. I know I
hurt you terribly and I can only pray that you’ll forgive me and
love me in spite of all that I’ve done.”

Bethany closed her eyes
and let herself rest against Albert.
Oh
God! Now what am I to do?

After
Albert dropped Bethany off at home with a kiss to her forehead,
Bethany could only stand there in shock at what had just occurred.
With no one home yet, Bethany took off to see Carolyn. Surely her
older sister could help her make sense of her muddled
heart.