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It was a long ride over to the Merten’s farm. Earl had ridden ahead on his horse, while William drove Anna and Thomas over in her buckboard.
It had taken longer to get ready than he thought it would. After he had hooked up the buckboard, William changed into his cleanest shirt, and tried to hurry Anna. That had been his first mistake. Anna was horrified when she saw him in a simple shirt, and demanded he put on a suit. Appalled when she found out he didn’t have one with him, she had dug Clay’s out of storage for him to wear.
By the time they left the sun had come out from the clouds, warming it up slightly. The long ride gave him plenty of time to think. Anna was understandably reserved on the ride over, and even Thomas was quiet, allowing William time to plan for the funeral.
He hadn’t attended many funerals since the war. He rarely got to know people well enough to where he felt obligated, and even then, they were all different. When he was Sheriff in Blackridge there was a man who lost his wife; he had dug a grave and buried her that morning, and was at the schoolmarm’s house sparkin’ her that afternoon.
He shook his head at that memory. That was different than when he punched cows for Mr. Dowd in New Mexico. One of the neighbors had died, and they waited two days for family to come. It had been a big ordeal with a full-fledged Church service and everything. He didn’t blame the Merten’s for wanting to bury their boy quick. Probably all the friends and family they had was here, so burying him the next day was understandable.
He tried to go over in his mind what he could say. It was difficult to plan since he knew so little about the young man. In the end, he resigned himself to waiting until he spoke to the parents.
They finally topped a small rise and could see the farm sprawled out below them. Several other neighbors had already arrived; he could see half a dozen buckboards staked out near the corral. He drove toward them, assuming it was a good place to park. As he slowed by the corral, Thomas jumped from the buckboard without a word, and ran to join several other boys out by the barn.
William pulled the buckboard out of the way and set the brake, jumping down so he could help Anna down. He was glad it had stopped raining. The ground was still damp, but it was covered in grass and not mud. Offering his hand, he met her gaze. “Are you ready for this?”
She nodded, tight lipped. “I’m fine.”
Helping her down, he offered his arm, and helped her across the yard to the house.
The front door was open, so they stepped in and stopped in the entrance. It would have been a spacious house for a family, but with over a dozen people milling about, the main room was packed tight.
William looked around, unsure of himself. He didn’t know any of these people here. He started to ask Anna since he was not sure what to do, when a voice called from across the room.
“Parson?”
All eyes in the room turned to face him. He couldn’t see who had called “Yes?”
A man stepped from behind a small knot of people, and approached him. He offered his hand. “Dan Merten, but most folks call me Doc. I’ve heard a lot about you from the Sheriff. Thank you so much for doing this.” They shook hands briefly.
“I hate to meet you under these...” William trailed off as a woman came into the main room, sobbing hysterically.
“My wife. Excuse me.” Dan apologized. He went to the woman and embraced her, then walked her back into one of the rooms.
William stood in place, watching the man lead his wife from the room. He looked around uncomfortably. None of the others in the house had moved to greet him. He moved over to the window, and started leafing through his Bible, figuring it was best to look busy.
“Parson?”
William looked up, relieved. James had come into the room. They shook hands, “Glad you came, Parson. Is there anything you need?”
William shrugged; the suit he was wearing was chafing his neck. “I’ll need to speak to the family.”
“I thought I saw you with Doc?”
“We spoke briefly, but I need to sit down with them and discuss their boy.”
“Got it. Anything else?”
William closed his eyes, thinking, “Did they arrange pallbearers? Coffin? Music? I have no idea what they want.”
James nodded, “I had Wesley Slade build a coffin. It’s in the back bedroom with the boy already in it. There was five men who offered to be pallbearers, I’ll get one more. Music though...” He thought hard, “Should I...”
“Find Anna, she brought her cello. See if she will play something soft. It will comfort the parents.”
“Got it.” James turned to go and then stopped, offering his hand. “Thanks again.”
Shaking the offered hand, William nodded.
He stood quietly in the corner and watched James step through the crowd. He wondered if he should try to find the Doc, or just...
“Clay helped Dan build this house.”
William started at the voice. Anna had appeared quietly at his side. “You startled me...”
“You were distracted.” Anna smiled sadly, gesturing toward the bedrooms. “Caroline is taking it hard.”
He nodded, “I can’t imagine how difficult it would be.” He paused, looking around as he realized what she had said. “You said Clay helped build this?”
She sighed, thoughtfully. “Yes, when Dan and Caroline first moved here, we all tried to help,” she smiled, tilting her head. “Clay liked to build things.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” He looked around, nodding appreciatively. The craftsmanship did look familiar.
“Well,” She interjected suddenly, “Did you meet everyone yet?”
“Not really.” He shook his head, “I just remembered; I have James out looking for you. Do you think you can play your cello?”
“Sure,” She looked around, “I’ll send Thomas out for it... when I find him.”
“Thanks.” He glanced around the room, “I’m going to find a quiet place outside to prepare. Could you let James know where to find me?”
“Of course.”
He nodded, and then moved back across the room to the door. He needed to get started soon.
******************
WHEN THEY FINALLY GATHERED in the barn, it was almost three o’clock. Several men had worked to clear the barn for the funeral. They’d set benches out, and even put together a small pulpit for William to use. The coffin was set on a bench behind the pulpit. Mrs. Merten had been so emotional that they had already sealed the box before moving it from the house.
When it was time to start, William stood, nervously gazing at the small crowd of people that were gathered in the Merten’s barn. He took a deep breath, and then stepped in front of the pulpit. “Let us pray.”
After leading the group in a short prayer, he sat back down while several children sang ‘Amazing Grace.’
He watched the small audience curiously, examining their faces as they listened to the music. Their expressions varied widely from sadness and despair to abject boredom. He was surprised at the number of children that came; it seemed like most funerals he had heard of, the parents left the children at home.
This was going to be interesting.
He finally focused on the Martens’ themselves. He was glad he had the opportunity to speak to them before the service, and have them share some memories of their son. He had also had the opportunity to discuss Walter’s relationship with Christ.
He was glad the boy had one. He remembered when they asked him to say words over Red Bowdrie after the battle at Chattanooga. He had been a God hating, womanizing drunkard, and a coward. It was hard to find anything more positive to say, other than, ‘He died without crying too loudly.’
That had been awkward.
Swallowing hard, William stood, moving back to the small pulpit. “You may have heard it said that death is the one thing we all have in common. While that is certainly true on one level, the fact remains that death is not the same experience for any two of us...” He looked around the room; most of the people were looking expectantly. Taking a breath, he continued, “For some of us death will come at the end of a long life or a long illness; we expect it, and possibly await it with hope. For others, death will come suddenly without warning. There will be no time to prepare ourselves or our loved ones, and more importantly, with no clear understanding of ‘why’ it has happened.”
******************
ANNA SAT IN THE BACK next to Earl, holding Thomas’ hand as William spoke to the crowd. She was happy that so many people showed up to give support to the Merten’s. It reminded her of Clay’s funeral. The one thing she remembered most was the support that she had received from others. She wouldn’t have gotten through it all without that support. She shook off the memory, and continued listening.
“Today we are here to commemorate the life of Walter Merten; taken in death at age 14, by a tragic accident. I do not want to dwell on the accident...”
She glanced over at Doc and Caroline; she was leaning on his shoulder, her body still shaking with sobs. It broke her heart to see that. Losing Clay had been traumatic, she couldn’t imagine losing Thomas. She breathed a quick prayer of comfort, and looked back at William as he continued.
“I spoke at length with Walter’s parents about him, though I never knew him, I shall one day... you see Walter was a good boy. He did his chores, and respected his parents, but he is not in Heaven because of that. He read his Bible every morning, but he is not in Heaven because of that. Walter even sung praises to God, but he is not in Heaven because of that.
I believe with my whole heart that Walter is in Heaven, and I will one day see him, because he trusted Christ as his Savior. Jesus said, in John 14:6, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.’ One day Walter realized that if he wanted to go to the Father, he would have to go with Jesus...”
******************
THEY CARRIED THE CASKET out to a small hill to the west of the ranch. William concluded the service with a simple prayer, and they all sang a hymn while the men lowered the casket into the ground. As they started to cover the grave, Mrs. Merten collapsed, and had to be carried back down to the house.
Most of the people stayed after the service for the meal. Many of the ladies had brought food, and set up a potluck on some tables next to the house. Several of the ladies started dishing out plates and directing people to the chairs they had placed.
One of the ladies had brought William a plate of food. He sat down to eat, but after several interruptions he gave up and moved over by the front porch of the house. He found that it was easier to stand and greet people, than to get up and down every few minutes.
Many people stopped by to meet him. He no longer felt like the pariah he had at the beginning; they asked about his family, his ministry training, and his work for Anna. James had already told many of them about his service in the war, so several of them had questions about that.
The highlight of the meal was when a curious woman hobbled up. She was old; she looked over a hundred, although he wouldn’t have told her that, and incredibly arthritic. She was stooped so low she almost faced the ground. She held out both of her hands, taking his, and then slowly craned her neck and looked him directly in the eye.
“I’m Mrs. Johnson. Sheriff Matthews said that you fought in the war.”
He nodded solemnly, “Yes ma’am.”
She cleared her throat, “My Husband, Earnest, fought in the war. He never came home. You came home.” She squeezed his hands tight and added, “Thank you,” before letting go, and hobbling off.
William stood there confused, watching her as she moved slowly away. He had no idea what she meant. Was she happy he came home, or that her husband hadn’t?
He heard a slight giggle come from his side. Anna was standing behind the woman, and had heard the whole exchange. He stared at her wide eyed and shrugged. He could see her half smile behind the scarf. She stepped up, shaking his hand briefly, and whispered, “She’s harmless.”
There were so many people that wanted to speak with him after the service that it was moving toward dark before they wrapped up. By the time he and Anna left to go home, he was still unsure of what the woman had been thanking him for.
******************
THE RIDE HOME WAS PEACEFUL. The moon had come out. It was almost full so it cast a brilliant glow over the fields. Thomas was asleep in the back of the buckboard cuddled up in a blanket.
They had ridden in silence for a while before Anna offered, “I see Mrs. Hagen and her daughter cornered you.”
William smiled, recognizing the tone. He had heard his mother use it when his father spoke with another woman. “Among others, yes Ma’am.”
“She walked away pretty happy.”
“Her goal was to find out if I was single.” He shrugged, “She found out.”
“Oh.” She fell silent for a few moments and then asked, “So, who else cornered you?”
“A few single ladies, some of the men.” Smiling, he watched her from the corner of his eye. “There was a few people from town.” he grunted a quick laugh, and added. “Not that I would call a store and eight families a town.” He wanted to tell Anna about the offer the men had made, but he wanted to pray about it first.
They rode in silence for several more miles before she spoke again. “Dan was grateful that you did the funeral for them; it meant so much.”
“I was glad I could help.” He offered simply. He opened his mouth to say something else, and then closed it without speaking.
As they rode, he continued to watch her from the corner of his eye. He couldn’t wait to tell her. The question was, how would she react?
******************
IT WAS CLOSE TO MIDNIGHT before they reached the house. William carried Thomas into the house and put him to bed before unhitching the horses and putting up the buckboard. When he finally finished, Anna was sitting on the porch in the shadows, waiting for him.
“I wanted a chance to thank you again, for today.” The moon had disappeared behind some clouds. He could barely make her out in the darkness.
“It was the least I could do.”
Anna stood and stepped from the shadows. “I want you to know that that was a wonderful message today as well. I know you were nervous, but it was perfect.” She paused, and then added, “I know people told you so, but they were also talking about it after. They all really liked you.”
William nodded, answering softly, “Yeah.” Sighing, he looked down at his feet. “Well, we better get some sleep. It’ll be morning before we know it.”
Anna blew out a breath. “I’m sleeping in. Don’t plan on an early breakfast.”
They shared a laugh. “No problem. Goodnight, Anna.”
“Goodnight.”
He turned and walked toward the workshop, debating whether he should say something. He finally decided against it, and went in and undressed for bed. As he climbed in he thought about the offer once more. He prayed quietly for direction, and then lay back on his pillow staring at the ceiling, hoping to go to sleep quickly.
But it was a long time before sleep would come.
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