Caroline's Secret (28 page)

“Jah.”

“After we are married, I do plan on farming a bit and raising horses. I can run
Onkle
’s business here and perhaps show more profit for that side of our endeavors while he continues to build furniture.” Woodworking was definitely Abe Fitch’s second love . . . right after Esther. But Andrew enjoyed working the land too much to spend his days cooped up in a shed drilling holes for door handles.

Caroline smiled. “That’s a
gut
idea, Andrew.”

“And . . . well,
Onkle
and I have been talking, and he’s going to bring this up to Esther tonight, but . . . I want you to go to part-time at the bakery.”

She opened her mouth, he was sure to protest, but he held up a hand to stay her protests.

“Just hear me out,” he asked. “You go to part-time in the bakery. Abe can move into the apartment with Esther, and you and I will move out here to the farm. What do you think?”

“Are you joshing me, Andrew Fitch?”

He couldn’t read her expression, couldn’t tell if she was happy about the idea or thought he had lost his mind. “
Nay
. I think the farm is a wonderful place to live. It’ll be the best place to raise Emma and . . . and any other children we might have.” He hated the heat rising in his neck, but he wasn’t used to discussing such matters with women. He and Beth had never gotten to that stage in their relationship.

Caroline stopped so suddenly he had to backtrack to her side. “You really mean it? We’ll live here?” she asked.

“
Jah
, if that’s
allrecht
with you.”

“
Allrecht?
It’s
brechdich
.”

Magnificent
. He couldn’t have said it better himself.

He pulled her close, wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her right there. In the middle of the farm with green pastures around them and blue skies above. Emma and Moxie playing around them. Andrew had found his everything with Caroline.

Brechdich
, indeed. It was perfect.

Weddings were always a big deal in Wells Landing, but nearly half the town and part of Missouri seemed to be crammed into the living room at the farm.

Caroline did her best not to look scared silly as she and Emma took their place in the chairs across from Andrew and his side sitters, his brother Saul and his cousin Danny.

But she was.

She sat down next to Emily and Lorie and pulled Emma into her lap.

She inhaled the fragrance of sweet baby and laundry soap, hoping the familiar smell would soothe her.

She had been waiting for this day all summer long. And now that it was really here, she felt a little nervous, a little nauseous, and a whole lot terrified.

It was a little unorthodox to have Emma stand in front of the bishop with them, but Andrew had insisted. Their marriage was more than the union of two people. They were creating a family, and all family members should be present for that.

A smile trembled on Caroline’s lips at the thought.

“Are you
allrecht
? ” Andrew asked as they sat across from each other and waited for the church elders to enter the room.

They hadn’t spoken to each other during the meeting with the church leaders from both of their districts. They had listened intently to their words of wisdom and encouragement in the matters of matrimony. It had been decided that Cephas Ebersol, Emily’s father, would preside over their wedding.

Caroline nodded. How could Andrew look so confident and sure when she was as
naerfich
as a sheep among wolves?

The thought drew her up. These people gathered around were her friends and family, Andrew’s friends and family. They had taken her in when she had no one. They had stood by her when she needed help. She was more than blessed to be a part of such a great community.

She took a deep breath to calm herself. As if God had laid a hand on her shoulders, her breath slowed and a peace descended upon her.

The elders entered from the back of the living room. There were six in all, the four from Wells Landing and two from Andrew’s district, as not all were able to travel so far at the same time. Caroline was secretly glad that none of the elders from Ethridge came. She was well and truly leaving that part of her life behind as she started anew with Andrew. She no longer thought about it as keeping secrets, but more of a fresh slate to start again. Not many received the gift of a second chance, and she intended to make the most of it. Every minute of every day.

Dan Troyer, the minister in Wells Landing, walked to the front of the room and began to read from the Bible. “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the savior of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.”

Caroline looked into Andrew’s eyes and saw love shining there, a love as deep as the ocean. And she knew that she had finally found her home.

The minister continued to read from the book of 1 Corinthians detailing the proper conduct of a husband and wife and onto the Old Testament book of Tobit and his advice to his son, Tobias, “Take a wife of the seed of thy fathers, and take not a strange woman to wife, which is not of thy father’s tribe.”

They were coming from different tribes, so to speak. Her from the Swartzentruber Amish and him from a less-conservative Old Order district. But somehow they had found common ground in the Beachy community of Wells Landing.

Bishop Ebersol stood and took Dan Troyer’s place in front of the congregation. “We have before us two people who have agreed to enter into marriage together, Andrew Fitch and Caroline Hostetler. If anyone here has objection to the union, he now has the opportunity to make it known.” He paused to allow anyone time to speak, and Caroline held her breath. It was
gegisch
, she knew, but love could make a person as silly as they came.

“Since no one spoke, we can assume there are no objections.” He looked to each of them. “If you are still of the same mind, you may come forward now in the name of the Lord.”

Caroline handed Emma to Emily, then stood. She accepted Andrew’s hand and together they walked forward to stand in front of the bishop.

Cephas Ebersol turned to Andrew first. “Can you confess, brother Andrew, that you accept our sister, Caroline, as your wife and that you will remain by her side until death separates you?”

“Jah,”
Andrew answered.

“And do you further confess that this is from the Lord and that you have come thus far due to your faith and prayers?”

“Jah,”
Andrew repeated.

Caroline’s heart swelled with love for him.

Then the bishop turned to her. “Sister Caroline, do you confess to accept our brother Andrew as your husband and that you will remain by his side until death separates you?”

“Jah,”
Caroline whispered, then she cleared her throat. “
Jah
,
”
she said a little louder.

“And do you further confess that this is from the Lord and that you have come thus far due to your faith and prayers?”

“Jah,”
she said again, this time with all the confidence and love she held in her heart.

The bishop turned back to Andrew. “Brother Andrew, because you have confessed that you want to take our sister Caroline as your wife, do you promise to be faithful to her and care for her always, even if she is faced with adversity, sickness, weakness, or faintheartedness, as is appropriate for a God-fearing, Christian husband?”

“Jah,”
Andrew said with a smile. They had already been through so much together.

“And do you, sister Caroline, because you have confessed that you want to take our brother Andrew as your husband, promise to be faithful to him and care for him always, even if he is faced with adversity, sickness, weakness, or faintheartedness, as is appropriate for a God-fearing, Christian wife?”

“Jah,”
she replied.

Bishop Ebersol once again quoted passages from the book of Tobit. “And he takes the hand of the daughter and puts it in the hand of Tobias,” he said as he clasped Caroline’s hand in his own. He took Andrew’s hand as well and stacked their hands together before continuing with the blessing. “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be with you and give His rich blessings upon you. May He be merciful unto you. I wish for you all of the blessings from God for a good beginning, a steadfast middle, and may you continue on through until the blessed end. All of this in and through the name of Jesus Christ.
Aemen
.”

They bowed their knees at the name of the savior out of love and respect.

Bishop Ebersol smiled. “Go ye forth in the name of our Lord, for you are now man and wife.”

Caroline’s entire body felt warm, and she wondered briefly if she might pass out. But Andrew squeezed her hand reassuringly. They were married now, forever and always.

The bishop invited one of the ministers from Andrew’s district in Missouri to stand up and speak.

As he rose and made his way to the front of the crowd of people, Caroline gave Andrew a small smile. She squeezed his hand in return, and they went back to their seats. Whatever God had in store for them, they would meet it together. He had brought them this far.

Minister Troy King talked about the sanctity of marriage and wished Caroline and Andrew the best. He was followed by the deacon in Wells Landing.

Then her father stood and came to the front. Caroline’s eyes filled with unexpected tears. She had known deep down that her father would most likely say a few words, but she hadn’t thought about how that would affect her until now. They had come so far in the last few weeks.

Emma spied her
grossdaadi
and squealed. Everyone chuckled as he smiled at her. She squirmed down from her perch in Emily’s lap and ran to him. Hollis Hostetler swung her into his arms and propped her on one hip. His own eyes filled with tears as he started to speak.

“The Lord has been
gut
to me,” he started, his voice as rough as sandpaper. “And He saw fit to bless me with a daughter.” He took a deep breath, and Caroline felt the bitter sting of tears in her own eyes. “Grace and I were never able to have another, and we have always been thankful for what we had. We love our Caroline.

“That’s not to say that every road we have traveled has been easy,” he continued. “We’ve had our share of heartbreak and sadness. It’s times like those when a person’s faith is tested and stretched to its limits. This is when most people, some even the most devout of Christians, begin to lose faith in the Lord.” He smiled. “But not my Caroline.

“Through all of her trials and tribulations, she has kept her faith. When she needed a chance to start over, this community here took her in and made her one of you. For that I will be eternally grateful. I am so glad that she found love here within this district and with a
gut
man like Andrew Fitch. A
vatter
cannot ask for more than his daughter to find a spouse who will love her and cherish her as he once did.

“Without a doubt in my mind, I know that God intended Andrew and Caroline to be together. Though why He wants her six hundred miles away from the rest of her family I have not yet ciphered. But I can pray about it. And I have. Caroline’s mother and I have both prayed. We’ve talked to our church elders and come to a decision. We are moving to Wells Landing so that we can be closer to our daughter.”

Caroline slapped a hand over her mouth to hide her gasp of surprise. She looked to Andrew, but he was staring straight ahead, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“We hope that you will welcome us as much as you have her, and we look forward to getting to know the
wunderbaar
Christian people here.”

Caroline couldn’t hold in her overflowing emotions any longer. She rose, tears streaming down her smiling cheeks, and went to her father. He wrapped her in a tight hug, the one she remembered from her childhood. She breathed in the familiar smell of him, the sandalwood-scented soap her mother used and the faint odor of tobacco smoke from the pipe he swore he never lit.

There were cheers and applause as he held her, and Caroline knew that whatever had been between them in the past, all was forgiven now.

The Lord had truly blessed her. She had Emma and Andrew, great friends like Emily and Lorie, Esther and Abe, and her family, since she had her mother and father back. It was more than she had ever dreamed possible.

Andrew came up and stood next to them.

From seemingly nowhere, her mother materialized, tears shining in her hazel eyes. Caroline’s heart nearly burst with the joy and blessings.

She bowed her head and sent up a small prayer.
Lord, please watch over Trey and fill his heart with love and understanding. Give him everything he needs, and may he find his one true love someday. Someone to share his life with. Someone who will love him even more than I once did. And, Lord, please ease his mind in knowing that Emma will be well cared for and well loved. And when the time comes, may she forgive us all and know that everything we did, we did with her in mind. In Jesus’s name . . . Aemen.

Andrew touched her back, and she turned to smile up at him. She had everything she could want and more, she thought as she looked up into his eyes. God was good.