A Place Called Home (30 page)

January 5, 1888

My Dear Christie,

My heart is filled with joy over your wedding plans. I wish I could be there, and you know I would be if it were at all possible.

I continue on here, as I hope is your want. The house is in fine order and the horses are well taken care of. The sheriff spoke to the bank as you requested, and extra money was made available for salaries and household needs.

I hope this finds you safe. Please write and tell me about the wedding.

Love,
Mrs. Hall

“Her letter is a little shorter than usual and she didn't say anything about my accepting Christ,” Christine commented to Luke as they sat at Grandma Em's kitchen table.

“Maybe she's afraid it will change things and she'll be out of a job.”

“I've been thinking about that. I will have to go back home at some point. Things aren't really settled with grandfather's estate.”

“When are you going to start thinking of Baxter as home?”

Christine could only stare at Luke, unsure of what he meant. Luke tugged on a strand of her hair. “I was just teasing, Christine. I didn't mean to upset you.”

“There are times I don't know where home is, Luke. Can you understand that?”

“Considering what the last year of your life has been like, it's completely natural.” He stood up. “I've got to go. As usual, I told Si I wouldn't be long, and then I stop over here and you won't let me leave.”

“Oh no you don't, Luke Andrew Cameron! You're not going to blame your tardiness on me!” Christine shook her finger at him.

“You, Madam,” Luke said with mock sternness, “are entirely too big for your britches and much too sassy. That is all going to change after we're married. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Luke,” Christine answered with all the meekness she could muster.

“All right. Now act like a good wife and get my coat and hat.” Christine moved like a humble servant and barely kept a straight face. While Luke was putting his coat and hat on, Christine moved around the kitchen table away from him.

“All right, I'm ready to go. You may come and kiss me goodbye.”

“No.”

Luke regarded his playfully defiant fiancée from across the table.

“Come here, Christie.” His voice was no longer commanding but deep and persuasive.

Christine shook her head and stepped away from him as he moved toward her. His use of her nickname told her she would be kissed or he wouldn't be leaving.

“Come here, Christie, come and kiss me.”

“You'd better kiss him, Christine, or Silas is going to end up feeding all those horses by himself.” Grandma Em spoke matter-of-factly as she brought up jars of fruit from the basement.

Luke looked barely patient at the interruption but Christine was highly amused. She sauntered out from the kitchen to the parlor. “I'll walk you to the door.” Her eyes told Luke she felt victorious.

“Bye, Gram.”

“Bye, Luke.”

“You think you're pretty clever, don't you?” They were at the front door and Luke was buttoning his coat.

“Pretty and clever, both,” was Christine's sassy reply.

Luke threw back his head and roared with laughter. Christine never failed to delight him. Long after he kissed her goodbye and headed home, he was still laughing.

“Do you have the ring?”

“Yes, Luke. For the third time, I have the ring.” Silas was calm as always, a steady rock in the storm.

“Did Julia get all of Christine's things moved in?”

“Last night. Christine will bring the last of her things after the ceremony.”

“Does the house look okay?”

“It looks fine.”

“Listen, Si. I've been thinking, and I just don't feel good about you staying with Grandma Em. This is your home. I don't want to do anything that will make you feel unwelcome. I know Christine feels the same…”

“Luke!” Silas' raised voice stopped Luke's tirade. He never shouted and Luke stood speechless.

“I do not feel that you and Christine are kicking me out of the house. It was my idea and it will only be for two nights. I'll be back Monday. Luke, you are bringing your bride home tonight and it's her I'm thinking of. The two of you need time alone together, if only for a few days, to start off your marriage on the right foot.” Silas' voice was more firm than Luke had ever heard it.

Luke was grateful for Silas' words and nodded his agreement.

“Besides,” Silas spoke as they headed out of the house, “you're only going to have her until Monday. Come Tuesday
morning, she'll get one look at my hairy face and go screaming from the house.” The men laughed at the long-standing joke and the tension evaporated.

The two o'clock sun was shining brightly overhead as Silas mounted his horse and Luke climbed into the cutter. They had a wedding to attend.

“How does it look?”

“You look beautiful,” Julia said earnestly.

“I look ten feet tall in all white,” Christine replied with dismay. Julia and Susanne dissolved into giggles; both women agreed they had never seen a more radiant bride.

The women were in Grandma Em's room, and with less than an hour to the three o'clock ceremony Christine looked about to come unglued.

“She needs to see Luke,” Julia said softly.

“I need my grandfather.” Tears filled Christine's eyes as she spoke. “He should be here, to give me away. And Paul—Paul wasn't able to come, and that's not right.” She was becoming frantic.

Christine did not notice Sue leave the room. But she was back momentarily, and with Grandma Em. She and Julia left them alone.

Upon seeing Grandma Em, Christine burst into tears. Grandma Em, drawing wisdom from every one of her 70 years, said nothing—not a word about teardrops on her wedding dress or how close it was to 3:00.

She knew Christine had slept poorly last night and had eaten nothing today. She also remembered how her own father had been too ill to walk her down the aisle and how devastated she had felt over this.

“I don't know what's wrong with me,” Christine finally choked out. “I love Luke and I want to marry him. I just don't know what's wrong.”

Grandma Em gently pulled Christine to the desk chair. She then moved the rocker close and began to pray. “Dear Father, help Christine. Please draw her near to Your throne, where she can find comfort and rest for emotions she herself may not even understand. You know of the love she and Luke have for each other. Calm her nerves and give her a peaceful heart to go down and marry the man she loves. If, Lord, there has been blindness, and Luke and Christine are not to be wed, please put Your hand down and prevent this marriage. Speak to Christine's heart so she will know Your will. We give this day and its glory to You. Amen.”

Grandma Em sat quietly as Christine dried her face. “Would you like me to go get Luke? You know he'll come in an instant if you ask him.”

Christine looked at the clock. 3:10. “Do you think he's upset with me?”

“No. Probably worried, but not upset.”

Christine took a deep breath. “Will you please send Silas up in about five minutes?”

“I most certainly will. Do you want help with anything? Maybe Julia should come back up.”

“No, I'll be fine. Thanks, Gram.” Grandma Em didn't miss the use of the nickname that her grandchildren used. She hugged Christine and nearly glowed with happiness as she left the room.

Christine stepped before the full-length mirror. Her hair was still in place, swept up in curls atop her head.

Her dress was snow-white satin. The skirt was full and gathered at the waist. Puffed sleeves at the shoulder fit snugly along Christine's arms and buttoned tightly at the wrist. The satin
on the bodice was overlayed with handmade lace that ran in a V from the nipped-in waist to a high, stand-up collar. The same pearl buttons that buttoned at the wrist ran full length down Christine's back.

Luke loved Christine's hair and had asked her not to cover it. Christine was taking a close-up check for signs of tears when Silas knocked.

Silas kissed her cheek before offering his left arm. They paused at the top of the stairs. “Are you okay?”

Christine nodded. “Thanks, Si.”

Luke stood in the parlor awaiting his bride. The urge to go to her had been nearly overpowering, but Grandma Em had told him that all was fine and that Christine would be down in about five minutes. He didn't care that the ceremony hadn't started on time or that the kids were getting squirmy; he just wanted to see Christine and know she was all right.

The relief he felt upon hearing the rustle of her dress on the stairs just before she came into view was poignantly sweet.

Nothing could have prepared Luke for the vision of Christine in her wedding dress. He could only stare. Christine's eyes searched his out and the rest of the room faded from view.

Christine remembered little of the ceremony. She would always cherish Luke's eyes as he said “I do,” the pressure of his hand holding hers, watching his hand slip the ring onto her finger, and their first kiss as man and wife, tender and warm.

Mark and Julia had stood up with them. Pastor Nolan performed the ceremony while Mrs. Nolan played the piano. The parlor was filled with family and friends from church.

The reception was well under way. Gram, Julia, and Sue had prepared a feast. When Luke and Christine were finally seated, their plates full, Luke asked, “Are you okay?”

“Just an attack of nerves. Are you angry?”

“Furious,” Luke stated with a smile.

The time flew by, and before long everyone was at the front door waving and shouting blessings and good wishes to the newlyweds as the cutter bore them away.

The horse's fast pace and the gusty wind made conversation nearly impossible. Christine was starting to feel chilled as they reached the house.

Christine was picked up and carried into the front room of the ranch house, then set down and a lamp lit before either person uttered a word.

“Welcome home, Mrs. Cameron.”

Christine's face glowed with happiness. “I like the sound of that.”

Luke handed Christine the lamp. “Go get warmed up while I take care of the horse.”

Christine stood still a few moments after the door closed behind Luke, smiling at her surroundings.

With the lamp in one hand and a small suitcase in the other, Christine headed toward the hallway that led off the dining area.

Luke's room, and now hers, was halfway down the hall and at the back of the house. It was a huge room with a massive four-poster bed, a matched set of wardrobes, and the largest bureau that Christine had ever seen. In one corner, having been stoked that afternoon, burned a wood stove, making the room comfortably warm.

Julia had shown Christine through the bedrooms the week before. She ran her hand over the beautiful quilt on the bed. Luke's mother had made it—a mother-in-law that Christine would not know personally, but only through Luke's words and her handiwork here and there in the house.