A Time to Love (3 page)

“See, Mom,” Ed said, pointing to Grandma’s train. “We made it in plenty of time.

Ed and Frances helped Grandma into her coach and sat her down next to an elderly woman about her age. Before Ed had finished putting the luggage in the overhead rack, the two ladies were chatting. Ed and Frances hugged and kissed Grandma good-bye, then stepped off the train just as the conductor was giving his last call to board. They moved up close to the coach and waved at Esther through the window. The engine bell rang and steam hissed from the sides of the train as the whistle blew and the big steel wheels began to turn.

The deacon chairman and his wife watched until they could no longer see Grandma’s window, then weaved their way through the crowd, heading toward the parking lot. They were approaching the spot where the train to New York City was taking on passengers when Ed grabbed Frances’s arm and stopped cold. “Look at that!” he said.

Frances’s gaze focused on the boarding passengers, and her eyes widened in shock.

Nolan and Adrienne Forrest drove through the streets of Boston with their youngest daughter sitting between them. The parents were already in their wedding clothes, but Linda wore a simple day dress and everyday shoes. Her wedding dress, shoes, and other paraphernalia were carefully boxed and lying in the back of the carriage.

Linda was thrilled about establishing a new home with Lewis, but pulling up roots long buried in Forrest “soil” wasn’t easy. It was a little frightening to be leaving the security of her childhood home. She had grown up in a warm and caring Christian love, one she had vowed to duplicate in her own home with her own family.

The carriage was drawing near the church, and the sight of it caused Linda’s heart to pick up pace. It was almost six o’clock, and there were other vehicles already in the church parking lot, two of which belonged to Todd Oliver and Earl Watson, two of the groomsmen. The third groomsman, Harold Smith, had planned to ride to the church with Earl Watson.

Linda looked around for Lewis’s buggy and thought that best man Frank Simons had no doubt “borrowed” it to decorate with banners and a sign saying Just Married. It was probably hidden somewhere around the church at the moment. Lewis might very well have ridden here with Todd Oliver or Earl Watson.

“Daddy,” Linda said as her father climbed out of the carriage, “would you go inside and see if Lewis is anywhere he might see me? You know the groom isn’t supposed to see his bride on their wedding day until she comes down the aisle on her father’s arm.”

“Sure, honey. Be right back.”

As Nolan hastened inside the building, Linda gripped her mothers arm. “I’m nervous, Mom,” she said. “Were you this way when you married Daddy?”

Adrienne pursed her lips and nodded. “Uh-huh. I sure was. When I started down the aisle on your grandfather’s arm, my knees felt like they had turned to water, and I thought they were going to give way and embarrass me right there on the spot.”

“Good. Then I don’t feel so bad. I guess this is just normal, right?”

“Very
normal, honey,” said Adrienne, patting her daughter’s hand. “And we females handle this kind of thing better than men do. I imagine right now Lewis’s stomach is churning and the palms of his hands are sweating. When he stands at the altar and sees you start down the aisle with Daddy, he’ll feel like his nerves are going to jump right through his skin. And talk about knees turning watery … his will for sure.”

Nolan emerged from the church and headed their way. Smiling, he called, “Lewis hasn’t shown up yet. His groomsmen say he’s coming on his own. He should be here any minute. Let’s get you inside quick.”

Various Sunday school rooms had been set up by Doris Stanford for participants of the wedding party to prepare and wait for their time to put in an appearance. The largest room had been set aside for the bride.

Aunt Beth was already in the room when Linda and her mother stepped inside. She had brought all the things she might possibly need to fix Linda’s hair and to put the final touches on the dress and train.

Doris advised Linda and Adrienne that the bridesmaids were preparing themselves with the help of their mothers and sisters in a room down the hall and told them where she had placed the little flower girl and ring bearer, who were in separate rooms being coached by their parents.

With the help of Aunt Beth, Adrienne, and Doris, Linda slipped out of her day dress and shoes and into her white wedding shoes, then stood ready as her aunt carefully lowered the lovely white organza dress over her neatly coiffed, shining auburn hair.

The dress glided smoothly over her slender form. Not one curl was
disturbed, but Beth had spotted a couple of curls that might need a little attention.

Linda’s mother moved behind her and began buttoning up the pearl buttons on the back of the dress that ran from the neck to Linda’s tiny waist. Aunt Beth took care of the wayward curls, then fussed with the lace at the neck of the dress and the delicate ruffles that cascaded down the back into a short train.

When Beth was satisfied that every flounce and fold were proper, she took the filmy veil and placed it among the curls on Linda’s head.

Adrienne smiled with pride. “You’re the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen, honey.”

“You might be just a mite prejudiced, Mom,” Linda said, smiling sweetly.

Doris Stanford laughed. “Well, if you are a little prejudiced, Adrienne, you have good reason to be. She’s stunning.”

Adrienne smiled with pride.

As Aunt Beth fluffed out the veil then pulled a short length of it over Linda’s glowing face, there was a light tap on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Doris said.

Organist Letha Myers and soloist Peggy Wilson stood outside. “Could we see Linda for a moment?” Letha asked.

Sure. Come in.”

Peggy, who was barely nineteen, said, “Wow, Linda! Lewis is going to drool all over himself when he sees you!”

The other women laughed, then middle-aged Letha, who was short and rotund, said, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to ask the Lord why He made Linda so slender and gorgeous, and made me stumpy and barely able to trap a husband!”

“Oh, Letha,” Linda said, “you’re one of the most beautiful people I know!”

“Thanks, honey,” Letha said with a chuckle. “Well, it’s almost time to start playing the organ. See you out there.”

“You’re going to stun the whole crowd, Linda,” Peggy said, and followed Letha to the door.

Linda hugged both women, thanking them for what they were doing to make the wedding so perfect, and Doris shooed them out.

A long mirror on a stand had been placed in the room so that Linda could see herself front and back. She viewed herself from every angle, then turned and hugged her mother with one arm and her aunt with the other. “Thank you, Mom, for making my hair look so good … and thank you, Aunt Beth, for making this beautiful dress.”

Tears threatened to spill down Linda’s cheeks, and she quickly steeled herself to keep them back. Then she turned to embrace Doris and said, “Thank you for working so hard to make this wedding all that it should be.”

“It’s my pleasure and joy, honey,” Doris said, kissing her cheek.

Linda took a deep breath. “Well, I guess I’m ready.”

As sounds of the arriving guests came through the door, Linda swallowed hard. “Oh, Mom, I’ve got a million butterflies in my stomach!”

“I know the feeling, honey.”

“So do I,” Doris said.

“Me, too,” spoke up Beth, who had been widowed almost a year previously.

There was another tap on the door. Doris swung it open to see Joline Jensen with a worried look on her face. She looked past Doris and said, “Oh, my! Linda, you look ravishing!”

Doris stepped back and allowed Joline entrance into the room, then quickly closed the door.

“Thank you,” Linda said a bit uncertainly, taking in the worried look on her best friend’s face. “Is something wrong?”

Joline looked the room over. “Well, maybe. Janet’s not around here, is she?”

“You mean she’s not getting ready in the bridesmaids’ room?” Doris asked.

“No. We thought she would be with us, but we got to wondering if maybe she decided to get ready down here with Linda.”

Linda’s face lost color as she looked at her mom and said, “Where could she be?”

“Honey, I don’t know, but you know your sister has always been the tardy one. Certainly she’ll be here any minute.”

Doris lifted the decorative pin watch on her dress and checked the time. “It’s 6:35. If she doesn’t get here pretty soon, she isn’t going to be ready to march down the aisle.”

At that very moment, they heard Letha Myers start up the pump organ.

“That’s my cue,” Doris said. “I need to check on the flower girl and ring bearer, then I’ll look in on the other bridesmaids.” To Joline she said, “Everybody else in your room ready?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll be back shortly.”

Deep lines formed on Linda’s flawless brow. “Oh, Mom, what’ll we do if Janet doesn’t get here in time?”

“Now, honey, don’t let this upset you. Maybe by now she’s already down in the room with the other girls.”

“I’ll go see,” Joline said.

In the pastor’s office—where the groom and his groomsmen were to meet with the pastor before entering the auditorium for the ceremony—best man Frank Simons was pacing nervously. “Where could he be, Pastor?” he asked.

“It’s not like Lewis to be late to
anything,”
Todd Oliver said, “but especially not to his own wedding.”

The door burst open, and groomsmen Harold Smith and Earl Watson came in.

“Nobody’s seen him,” said Watson.

As the minutes ticked by, traffic in the hall outside the bride’s dressing room was heavy.

“Sounds like we’re going to have a crowd, honey,” Adrienne said.

Linda nodded, biting her lip.

There was another tap on the door, and Joline entered without waiting for someone to open the door. “She’s not there, Linda. Nobody’s seen her.”

Adrienne noted the time and said, “It’s seven minutes to seven. In two minutes, it’ll be time for me to be escorted down the aisle.”

Agonizing minutes passed in Pastor Lloyd Stanford’s office.

“This is strange,” he said. “I’ve had some bizarre things happen in some of my weddings, but I’ve never had a groom late for the ceremony.” As he spoke, he went to the door that led into the sanctuary and opened it a couple of inches, peering into the beautifully decorated church. Adrienne Forrest was just being seated by an usher in the second pew.

Stanford thought of Lewis’s parents, who had been members of the church until their deaths. He wished they could be there to see their son marry lovely Linda.

But where was Lewis?

From the side of his mouth, Stanford said to the other men as he swept his gaze over the guests, “The place is almost full. Just a few stragglers being seated by the ushers.”

After another minute or so, the pastor closed the door, glanced at the clock on his office wall, and said, “Two minutes to starting time. You gentlemen stay put. I’m going to do some checking of my own.”

At seven o’clock on the dot, Peggy Wilson left her chair behind the organ, stepped up beside Letha Myers, and said in a low voice, “Time for the first song, Letha.”

Adrienne Forrest turned slightly to look toward the back of the church. She smiled at the couple who sat directly behind her, then caught the eye of one of the ushers and gave him a hand signal.

Jack Morgan came immediately, bent close to her, and said, “What can I do for you, Mrs. Forrest?”

“Jack, would you go and see if Janet is in the room with Linda? Or if she might be with the bridesmaids?”

Morgan’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t understand, ma’am. Are you saying you want to talk to her?”

“No, no. It’s just that she hadn’t yet arrived when I was escorted here to my seat.”

“Oh, my!”

“I need to know if she’s shown up.”

“I’ll check, ma’am, and be right back.”

Peggy was nearly halfway through her song and was a bit distracted by Jack Morgan’s return down the aisle, but kept her concentration.

Jack bent over Adrienne and whispered, “She isn’t here, Mrs. Forrest. I checked with Mrs. Stanford. Janet hasn’t shown up.”

“All right. Thank you.”

Adrienne’s imagination went wild. Had Janet been injured in some way? Was she in the hospital? Or had she decided to just not show up to the wedding? Her attitude at the rehearsal last night made Adrienne think she might be pulling this stunt to spite her family. “Too wrapped up in church,” Janet had said on more than one occasion. “Not getting any fun out of life. I don’t want any of my friends to know what utter religious fanatics my parents and sister are.”

There was nothing Adrienne could do. She dare not get up and walk to the back of the church. There was going to be enough of a stir in a few moments. No sense in causing one now.

With Peggy’s sweet voice and the sound of the organ seeping through her dressing room door, Linda was on the verge of tears. She turned to Aunt Beth and said, “Do you suppose something has happened to Janet? You know, an accident of some kind? Maybe she’s lying hurt somewhere.”

Beth took hold of Linda’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “I don’t mean to be ugly about this, honey, but after her performance last night at the rehearsal, I think Janet has decided to be her old self. She’s
torn your heart out before. It’s my opinion that she’s tearing your heart out again—this time by not showing up for the wedding.”

Linda bit down hard on her lower lip, and her voice was close to a wail as she said, “What am I going to do, Aunt Beth? Frank won’t have anyone to escort up the platform steps. It will mess up everything!”

“Linda,” Beth said in a soothing tone, “we’ll get through this even if Janet doesn’t show up.”

Peggy Wilson was singing the last verse of her song when there was a tap on the door. Linda’s heart leaped in her chest as she gasped, “Oh! Here she is!”

Her countenance fell when she saw it was not Janet, but Doris Stanford, with the ring bearer, the flower girl, the bridesmaids, and Linda’s father standing behind her. “It’s time to line up in the vestibule, Linda,” Doris said. “We’ll have to go on without Janet.”