Miriam slunk into her father’s room after Dr. Hamilton left, the shades pulled against the middle-of-the-afternoon sun. Her father lay in the big bed he once shared with her mother, sunk into the old mattress, Mama’s red-and-green wedding ring quilt tucked to his chin. His eyes fluttered open when she scraped the old kitchen chair across the scarred wood floor to sit beside him.
“Guess I stirred the pot today.”
Miriam laughed. “I see you broke your leg but not your funny bone. Do you have much pain?”
“The doctor gave me something. Don’t worry. I’ll be up and around in no time.”
“I didn’t say you wouldn’t be.”
“But that look on your face. Like you’re afraid.”
Her stomach quivered. Her father wasn’t a young man anymore. Lines crisscrossed his face. For many years, her parents thought they couldn’t have children. She surprised them when they had about given up hope. “I don’t like seeing you in bed.”
“Being here has given me time to think about my life.”
She clutched her chest. “You talk like you’re dying.”
“Maybe not today or tomorrow, but the years are creeping up. I can’t run the farm anymore. And you aren’t interested in having it.”
She opened her mouth to speak.
“I’ve accepted that. My father wanted me to have this farm. Pushed it on me, really. I wanted to be an auto mechanic.”
“I never knew that.”
“To please him, I put that dream to rest. And I tried to do the same to you, afraid I would lose you. But look at what happened. There are dangers on a farm as well as anywhere else in the world.”
Miriam bit back tears. “I’ll always be your little girl.”
He patted her hand. “Yes, you will. And wherever you go, you’ll come visit me, won’t you? Tell me stories about the big world out there?”
“Maybe you can come with me.”
“I’m too old. It’s time to sell the farm to Arthur and move into town where I can enjoy my retirement.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” He was giving her the freedom she’d craved. But not what she wanted even more than liberty.
“And about Paul.”
She jerked upright, her pulse thundering in her ears. “What about him?”
“Do you love him?”
“More than anything in the world.”
“That is how it should be. I’ve been wrong about many things. Even though I haven’t been kind, he stayed with me today, took care of me, and talked to me to help keep my mind from the pain. He’s a good person. If he would do that for a crotchety old man, how much more will he do for the woman he loves?”
Her breath caught in her throat. “You’re giving us your blessing?”
“If God gave you a second chance, who am I to stand in His way?”
“Thank you, Daddy, from the bottom of my heart.” She kissed his forehead. “Thank you.”
May 7, 1945
Miriam tinkered in the kitchen, slicing bread and slathering it with the last of the strawberry jam she’d put up the previous spring. In another hour or so, she’d bring it to the hardworking men for their morning snack.
In the living room, Daddy relaxed in his chair, the aroma of his pipe drifting into the kitchen. Though fog dimmed her view, somewhere out there Paul worked. She’d probably find him in the barn today, with the drizzle ruining the warm spring temperatures.
She hummed along to the Andrews sisters as they sang “Don’t Sit under the Apple Tree” on the radio. She glanced at her watch. Almost time for the nine o’clock news.
“We bring you a special news bulletin.”
She perked up, hustled to the living room, and turned up the volume on the little Bakelite set. “…the unconditional surrender of Germany.”
Could it be? Was it real? She sank to her knees and wept. Daddy reached over, smoothed her hair as tears streamed down his cheeks. “It’s over. Praise the Lord, it’s over.”
“I have to tell Paul.”
“Go, then.” A smile crossed her father’s face.
She raced out the door, not caring that the rain had intensified. As light as a feather, she flew over the farmyard and entered the barn. The cows lowed and swished their tails as if the world hadn’t changed. “Paul? Are you in here?”
He stepped from the tack room, a harness in his hand. “I thought I would mend this for you.”
“It’s over. Germany has agreed to an unconditional surrender. No more fighting in Europe.”
He dropped the harness, ran to her, and swooped her into his arms. Round and round he swung her. “Thank You, Lord, thank You.”
“I’m getting dizzy.” She couldn’t help but giggle.
He placed her on the ground and stared at her, his eyes intense. He leaned forward. She licked her lips, trembling from head to toe. Then, as gentle as the spring rain, he kissed her. She drew him closer, and the kiss deepened. For several moments she couldn’t breathe. He stepped back, and the air whooshed into her lungs. She lost her balance.
He caught her. “I love you, Miriam. Will you marry me?”
“Marry you?”
“Together, we will travel the world, raise a family, live a life of adventure.”
Good thing he still supported her. “I love you, Paul, and would love nothing more than to be your wife.”
Once more, she drew him to herself and kissed him. This time, for keeps.