Changing Traditions, A Christmas Novella (7 page)

Here Albert was offering
what Bethany had always dreamed he would. He came
back—finally—wanting to marry her. At some point, Bethany thought
her answer would be easy. She had always thought she would say yes,
but now things were different.

Now Jeremy was in her
heart as well. Jeremy who was so tender with Bethany’s feelings. He
had waited so long and pursued her so faithfully. Jeremy loved her,
maybe longer than Albert had.

And Jeremy had come back
to her.

Reaching Carolyn’s house,
Bethany flew through the door. “Oh Carolyn, you shall never believe
what has happened…” Bethany let her voice trail off at the sight of
Laura and Heather sitting with Carolyn at the kitchen table. “What
is going on here?”

Carolyn stood and wrapped
her arm around Bethany. “I sent Scott to find you, but you weren’t
home. We’ve been talking long already.”

“
Talking, not arguing?”
And now they threw this at her. Could anything else possibly happen
today?

Laura ran over as well and
took both Carolyn and her hand. “Bethy, I am so, so sorry for the
way I’ve been acting. It was Jake who finally made me see reason. I
admit, I did get stubborn and refused to see reason. But now, all I
want is for us to be happy again.”

Bethany tried to hold down
a sob, but her emotions were already out of sync, “Oh Laura.” She
wrapped her arms around both sisters, so very glad that this breach
was mended.

Heather cleared her
throat, “Come now, we must fill Bethany in of all that’s she
missed. And don’t forget, we have only five days to finish
preparing the Christmas dinner menu and decorating.”

Laura tugged Carolyn and
Bethany back to the table. “Where were you, Bethy? I thought you
were home this afternoon.”

The words wouldn’t form in
Bethany’s mind and instead she looked to Carolyn, praying that she
could read what she couldn’t explain.

Carolyn just looked at her
with a question, “I don’t understand, Bethany. What did you come
here to see me about?”

Looking at her sisters
around the table, Bethany debated between telling and keeping it to
herself for a bit longer. “Nothing that can’t wait. Like Heather
said…”

“
Out with it, Bethy.”
Carolyn’s voice held no nonsense and the three of them were looking
at her, knowing something was amiss, yet not sure what.

Taking a deep breath, she
decided to make it as simple as possible. “Albert’s
back.”

Laura’s mouth dropped
open, “Wha….”

“
And he asked me to marry
him.” There was silence and Carolyn, Laura, and Heather stared at
Bethany not quite believing what she had just said. “And now can we
please move on to Christmas? I can’t process this right
now.”

Carolyn was not about to
be budged, “Bethy, I’m sorry. How will you ever decide?”

“
I thought I came to you
for advice, and all you say is ‘good luck deciding’?”

Carolyn came over and
wrapped her arms around Bethany, “As much as I wish I could help
you, this is a decision you must make on your own. Do you love
Albert or do you love Jeremy? It doesn’t get much simpler than
that.”

“
But what if I don’t
know?”

Heather now grasped
Bethany’s hands, “Trust me, you’ll know. When you decide, deep
down, you will feel a sense of peace and contentment with your
decision.”

But how did she reach that
decision?

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The girls spent the rest
of the morning planning their new Christmas traditions. It was
decided that they would decorate the tree with new ornaments rather
than the traditional popcorn garland and candles. Those would still
be in place, but with less, and Laura was going to assist Rosie and
Adam in making some paper stars as well as making some
balls.

Momma came over later,
thrilled that the girls were now agreeing again. They then decided
on what to make for the Christmas meal — turkey, stuffing, creamed
potatoes, vegetables, and different desserts. Laura decided to put
on a Christmas skit with the help of the others. Everyone was
delighted with the idea of acting it out, especially since it would
help Rosie and especially Adam understand Jesus’ birth in a
different way.

And so began the start of
the Woodsmall family’s new-fangled traditions. As Bethany walked
home with Laura, she was amazed at how things could develop so
quickly and into something so wonderful indeed. She tried though to
process her decision — DC with Albert or home with Jeremy. It
should be relatively simple. At least, so Bethany would
think.

Laura interrupted her
thoughts though, “I’m glad Momma decided to go back with Heather. I
wanted you to myself.”

Forcing her mind to focus
now on Laura and her needs, she turned to her sister, “Oh? Is
something bothering you?”

“
Well not exactly, but I
just wanted to tell you that you were right.”

This was new coming from
Laura. “About what?”

“
I was so set against
Isaac because I thought I would care for him and now, I think I
have.”

Bethany stopped, pulling
Laura to a halt beside her. “Isaac as in Isaac Bradley, the new
doctor assistant?”

Laura laughed, “Yes, and
you needn’t act so shocked. I should have thought you would have
seen it coming.”

“
I confess, Laura, I have
been quite preoccupied. But is that what has been keeping you in
town so often?”

“
I suppose so. He asked me
to dinner tomorrow night. Can you believe it? Again! Even after I
so rudely refused the first time.”

“
And you said…”

“
Yes? I told him it would
just be as friends and he said that is what he wanted.”

“
I’m happy for you truly.
Just don’t play the friend card too much or you may come to regret
pushing that level.” Her thoughts suddenly wandered to Jeremy who
had been her friend for years now. Albert had been too, but Jeremy
had always been there.

“
Thank you, Bethany. I am
ever so glad I have you to talk to. What would I do without you
here?” Laura leaned over to kiss Bethany on her cheek.

“
Don’t be silly, where
would I go?” But as soon as the words left her mouth, Bethany knew
her answer. She could have been in DC with Albert. What if he had
come for her right when the war ended? Would she be there in DC?
Would she have missed this time with her sisters? Carolyn and
Laura’s Christmas fight. Adam and Rosie’s first St. Lucia’s
celebration. Laura discovering a beau, well just a
friend.

Suddenly Bethany’s
decision became clear as ever.

Unfortunately, Bethany didn’t make it to town right away.
When she returned home from Carolyn’s, she ran into Poppa and
proceeded to tell him all that had occurred. Being the wise Poppa
that he was, Poppa advised Bethany to wait before rushing
off.

“
It is always best to
consult God first before you rush head long into a decision that
you may come to regret.”

Bethany agreed and as the
days passed, she began to feel even more content with her decision.
But she couldn’t quite act on it yet. Between Carolyn and Laura,
she was kept busy with getting ready for Christmas. The making of
new traditions seemed to pull them all closer together than ever
before. They had a lot to be thankful for and a lot to celebrate.
Why, this was the first Christmas that they were all together since
the Civil War! It was a time to rejoice and Bethany was glad that
they were finally able to do that.

The day before Christmas
Eve, Bethany decided to go in to town. She just had to see Jeremy
before he came to a conclusion on his own and hated her for it.
Besides, in order to make Christmas perfect, she had to settle some
things first.

As she tied her horse in
front of the church in town, she wondered where she would possibly
find Jeremy. Just as she was gathering up her courage to go to his
house, Albert came toward her. Well, she might as well tell him
first.

“
Bethany, what a surprise!
I was hoping to see you soon.” Albert reached down as if to hug
her, but Bethany placed her hands on his arms to stop
him.

“
Albert, there’s something
I must say.” Albert looked into her eyes and Bethany knew that he
saw all that she had to say in her eyes. “I care for you, very
much, as a friend. But I can’t marry you and move to
DC.”

“
What if I came back right
away or if you got my letter? Would your answer be
different?”

The way his eyes pleaded
with her, hurt her, but she knew she was making the right decision.
“It’s hard to know if things would’ve been different. But this
remains the same, I can’t leave all those I love behind.” Including
Jeremy, she now realized.

As if Albert could read
her thoughts, he said, “It’s because of Jeremy, isn’t it? Nettie
told me the two of you were courting.”

The need to defend herself
appeared, “I promise, Albert, we didn’t begin courting till a few
weeks ago. I was trying my hardest to wait for you, I was. But then
he asked me, and it felt right. Oh it was quite rocky with my need
to constantly be unsure, but then you came back. And…and I
realized, I think I love him.” She looked up at Albert, praying
that she hadn’t hurt him so.

He appeared wounded, but
then quickly recovered himself. “He’ll make you happy, Bethy, I
know he will. But please tell me that we can part as
friends?”

She smiled then, “I
wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Albert hugged her then,
though Bethany couldn’t help but feel that it wasn’t the same as
when Jeremy hugged her. When he pulled back, there was a twinkle in
his eye. “You best go tell him then, before he gets to feeling that
he’s been rejected.”

Bethany followed his gaze
to where Jeremy was sitting on the school steps. The need to go
over to him was so strong, but she had to say good bye to
Albert.

He beat her to it though,
“Good bye, Bethany Woodsmall. I wish you all the best.”

Bethany touched his arm
lightly, “Good luck in DC, Albert. You better be back to
visit.”

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Jeremy sat on the school
steps and tried not to watch his Beth talk with Albert. Well, not
his Beth any long. Not after the way she smiled when she embraced
him. The rumor he heard that Albert Graber returned to bring
Bethany back to the city must be true and Jeremy could do no more.
All his years of loving her but her heart would never be his and he
must resign himself to the fact.

“
Do you remember when I
first walked into this schoolhouse?” Her angelic voice greeted him
and when Jeremy looked up, he could hardly believe that it was
Bethany standing there. She sat down next to him, “Why, it was only
about five years ago and then I met you for the first
time.”

He was in no mood for her
reminiscing, “What are you doing here, Bethany?”

She almost seemed
surprised when he didn’t call her Beth, but he was sure he was
imagining it. “I needed to talk to you. Is now a good
time?”

He shrugged, “If you’d
like, but I can save you from speaking as I already know what you
are going to say.”

Her eyes lit up and she
grasped his arm, “Really? And what do you think?”

“
I think I saw it coming.
All your talk about Albert and now he’s here. Congratulations.” It
was hard not to keep the bitterness out of his tone. But it was
that, or he’d break down and he really didn’t want to do that.
Since there was nothing more to say, he tried to stand but Bethany
held him down. Her mouth was slightly agape and wonder filled her
eyes.

“
Jeremy, I believe you are
entirely misunderstood. Yes, Albert’s back and yes, he
proposed…”

Could this hurt any worse?
“There’s nothing more to say, Bethany.”

“
But there is! I thought
you said you’d wait for me?”

“
I can’t keep waiting to
get jerked around. Besides, why wait when you made your
choice?”

“
Because I need you to.
When Albert came back, I confess I wasn’t sure what I’d do. But it
made me realize something. I couldn’t leave all the people I love
to go to DC. I believe I’m falling in love with you, Jeremy, and
I’m asking if you’d come back to me — again. I won’t make the same
mistake twice…” She couldn’t explain any more before Jeremy was
pulling her to him. Closing her eyes, he felt her lean into him,
reveling in the way having her in his arms made him
feel.

“
Are you for real this
time? Because I don’t think I can bear to lose you again?” His
words whispered against her ear and Bethany could only nod and
smile. “I love you so much, my Beth, and you better not think of
going anywhere.”

“
I don’t want to, because
now I’ve finally found who holds my heart.”