The bishop’s voice brought Hal back to his story. “He is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself. When Isaac caught up to them, the servant told him all he had done. Isaac brought the young woman into the tent of his mother, Sarah, and he married Rebekah.” Bishop Bontrager took a deep breath and looked around the tent. “Was it easy for Rebekah to leave her family, friends and home so suddenly and go to a strange far away land? Nah, and it hasn’t been any easier for our sister, Hal, to give up her worldly life. She is blessed by God for being willing to please Him. We all will be blessed in the same way if we are willing, like Rebekah, to do what pleases God.”
Hal tried to stay calm as the bishop looked down at John and her. She knew the wedding ceremony was about over. The next part would be when John and she participated in front of everyone. She clasped her trembling hands tightly together and hoped she didn’t do or say anything wrong during her vows.
“We have two people here before us who have agreed to enter the state of matrimony, John Lapp and Hallie Lindstrom. If it is still your desire to be married Brother and Sister in the name of the Lord come forth,” Bishop Bontrager commanded.
John and Hal stood up, joined hands and walked forward. They stopped in front of the bishop. Elton Bontrager looked at John and then Hal. “Do you both still feel as you did earlier this morning when we talked about you getting married?”
“Jah,” John and Hal said in unison.
The bishop ask John to answer that they would remain together until death and be loyal and care for each other in adversity, affliction, sickness and weakness.
John nodded his head. “Jah.”
Bishop Bontrager turned to Hal and asked the same of her. Hal answered, “Yes.”
Elton Bontrager bowed his head in prayer.
Daniel had to stop watching or listening to the ceremony. For a while, he ignored the forceful struggle in his trouser pocket that had been under way as Goliath protested his dark confinement. He didn’t want to miss a moment of the wedding. Suddenly, the boy realized all movement in his pocket had stopped. Afraid that his frog may have suffocated, Daniel glanced down. His pocket was flat as a pancake. He patted his pocket just to make sure. Frantically, he peered around his feet and out into the aisle. What Daniel saw made him panicky sick. He was sure his face turned as green as that large bull frog hopping down the aisle. The frog might have gone undiscovered, with everyone’s attention, on the wedding if the creature had headed the right direction to get outside. But no, Goliath was turned around in a room full of long skirts and shifting farmer shoes. He hopped toward the wedding party at the front of the tent. Right toward Mama Hal, Papa and the ministers.
Daniel was desperate to catch his frog before someone spotted Goliath. He slid to the edge of the bench. If he crawled down the aisle maybe no one would notice.
Noah, thinking his brother was antsy from sitting on the hard bench for almost three hours, put his arm out and stopped Daniel. He scolded in a whisper, “Stop rutsching around, Bruder.”
Daniel’s shoulders drooped. His insides burned with hopeless dread, knowing there was impending doom ahead. Nothing to do now. The frog was too far away. Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head. He prayed as hard as he could. I hate to interrupt at this very important time, but God please, please take a moment to help hide my frog. It will not take you long and then you can continue taking care of this wedding. denki. I mean Amen.
Daniel opened his eyes and searched for the frog, hoping against hope God heard his prayer and answered him. Maybe with a nudge from God, the animal slid into a hiding place somewhere. No one would notice one frog on the ground since the guests had their eyes glued to the Bishop and the wedding couple.
No such miracle had occurred. Apparently, God had his hands full with the wedding. At that moment, Daniel felt very much on his own and helpless. The frog still sat in the middle of the aisle for all to see while he contemplated which way he wanted to explore.
The Bishop’s voice commanded to the congregation, “Now here are two people in one faith, John Lapp and Hallie Lindstrom. Those here to witness this wedding today speak now if you know of any scriptural reason why these two people cannot be married. You should let yourself be heard now or forever remain silent.”
As if on cue, the bull frog shifted to face a row of women. Daniel put his hand over his eyes but couldn’t keep himself from spreading his fingers to peek. Goliath took a flying leap, intending to hurry himself on his journey to freedom. Assuming he had found a dark muddy bog near the pond, he landed in Stella Strutt’s large black lap. A puzzled look crossed her face as the elderly woman felt pressure on her dress. She ducked her head to search her lap, spotted the frog and squealed as loud as an old sow fighting the others for the last bite of mash. Her hands covered her face to blot out the sight of the frog. Then Stella went into action as she stood up fast. The heavy set woman grabbed the material in her billowing black skirt with the intention of getting rid of the frog. She shook with such force the fabric flew up, slapped Roseanna Miller’s face and covered her up. Roseanna pawed the skirt off her head and stared at Stella skeptically as she tried to make some reason out of the old woman’s actions. Roseanna looked to the front and saw the shocked face of Bishop Bontrager with his mouth wide open. This was a poor time for Stella to have a fit right in the middle of a wedding. It was not good she had angered the bishop in the process.
With an odd in place jig, Stella bent forward and shuffled her swollen feet one way than the other to see where the frog landed. She spotted Goliath hunkered down near her left shoe and screeched, “Oh, no!”
Not realizing he was on his feet and in the aisle, Daniel spoke in a stricken voice, “Nah!” He feared for the safety of his pet. Stella was going to step on Goliath if she didn’t quit hopping around. Daniel thought he’d spoken more or less a whispered prayer or just for Stella’s ears. He guessed not when the guests swiveled their heads back and forth between Stella Strutt and him. From the curious looks he was getting, Daniel figured he must have spoken out loud.
The bishop, face suddenly redder than usual, looked very nonplused at the two of them. It was one thing for Stella to speak against this marriage. She was always negative about Hal Lindstrom and didn’t mind voicing her opinion to the bishop on this woman or any other matter. He just hadn’t expected her to wait until now to object when the wedding was almost over. It was quite another matter for John’s son, Daniel, to speak up against the marriage. The bishop was as puzzled as everyone else in the tent. They all knew for a fact that Daniel loved Nurse Hal and very much wanted her to be a member of the Lapp family.
The bishop’s back became stove poker stiff as he looked down his nose at the boy. He’d deal with Stella in a moment. First, he had to understand why Daniel objected. He raised his voice above the titters traveling from one end of the tent to the other and barked, “Tell me again, Daniel Lapp, that you object to this marriage and why?”
The sudden hush was far worse than all the whispers. Daniel felt his voice carry to all four corners as he wiped his sweat beaded forehead on his jacket sleeve. “Ach — uh — nah, Bishop. I do not at all object. I — I want Mama Hal to marry my Papa,” he stammered. The boy glanced at Hal before he focused on nudging a clump of grass with his toe. One look at Mama Hal’s stricken face was all he wanted. Her pained expression was almost more than he could bear. She, like the bishop, must be thinking he wanted to stop the wedding. Even worse was the anger on his father’s face as the man stared at him. Daniel didn’t think he’d ever seen his Papa look that mad before. His stomach pitched and rolled. His mind tumbled through all the ways he was in trouble over that frog. His problems were bound to become worse when his Papa and the bishop cornered him after the wedding to lecture and punish.
The bishop looked down his nose as he focused on Stella Strutt. She sank back on the bench. Leaning her head back to stare at the tent ceiling, she rubbed her forehead until it was a glistening red. In a critical voice, Elton Bontrager said, “And you Stella Strutt? What have you to say about this couple not getting married?”
The elderly woman straightened on the bench when she realized the bishop was questioning her. Her mouth opened as wide as it could get which was considerable. It was hard to tell if she was suffering from lack of oxygen like a beached whale out of water or trying to speak. With her thoughts on the frog, her eyes glued again to the aisle floor where Goliath was last seen. She certainly didn’t want that creature to jump on her again, but if she could point at the frog, maybe she’d be forgiven by the bishop for this embarrassment. After all, none of this was her fault. Who ever heard of a frog roaming loose at a wedding.
Roseanna Miller patted Stella’s arm, trying to bring the woman to her senses. She said in a low voice, “You must answer the bishop. He is waiting to hear from you.”
Daniel worried that Stella, her face blanched white, was going to pass out any moment. If she fell in the aisle, she might land on Goliath. Stella sat broad enough. He didn’t want her to fall off the bench and land on his frog. She would for sure flatten Goliath.
Slapping her plump, stubby fingers against her chest, Stella weaved forward and backward. To Daniel’s relief, the elderly woman collapsed the other direction onto Roseanna. Flustered by the older woman’s actions, Roseanna grabbed hold of her and struggled to keep the heavy woman on the bench as she implored, “Schwestern Stella, what ails you?”
Bishop Bontrager cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice calm as he said, “I take it there is really no objections by anyone here to this couple getting married. We can continue –-.”
As if he had been asked his opinion, Goliath, frying pan nervous at all the human tension in the room, let out a loud, deep croak.
Daniel’s heart sank into his shoes. Now the cat, er the frog, was out of the bag for sure. The commotion stirred up again. Snickering and whispering, people leaned over or stood up to look over heads to search in the aisle, trying to locate where the noise came from. The nervous frog hopped once then slowly crawled forward, continuing on his freedom mission. There was a loud rustle of material as women, in the frog’s path, gathered their skirts tightly around their legs.
The bishop stretched to his fullest height to see over the wedding party chairs. In all his years of conducting weddings, he’d never lost control of one until now. No one had ever spoken up during a wedding ceremony. He couldn’t understand what was going on. For some reason the congregation was in a dither. Stella Strutt was more ferhoodled than usual, and Daniel was marching in place from one foot to the other.
Bishop Bontrager looked solemn but his ruddy cheeks twitched when he realized what all the fuss was over. He was glad it was the frog that created this problem and not objection to John and Hal getting married. He had to get back in charge of this ceremony quickly. “Brothers and sisters, quiet down. Listen to me. In Genesis, God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds. The livestock and the wild animals and creeping creatures that move along the ground. Now tell me, does this creeping creature that moves along the aisle belong to one of you?”
Daniel licked his dry, trembling lips before he said meekly, “Jah, he is mine.”
The bishop shook his head slowly and clucked his tongue. “Daniel Lapp, this was a grievous thing you did. Turning that frog loose to interrupt this solemn occasion. Will you catch that frog so we can continue?”
“Jah, Bishop, but I did not turn him loose. He got away from me.” That produced whispering and low snickers behind hand covered mouths along with a stern look from Bishop Bontrager. With the bishop’s permission, Daniel dashed after the frog. Goliath felt the breezy draft as the boy rushed at him. The frog, not wanting to be a prisoner in Daniel’s pocket again, had other ideas. He sailed over the empty bridal chair and landed in the seat. Thank goodness for a sister that was not squeamish about wild pets. Emma, quick of hand, grabbed the frog. She twisted in the chair and held the struggling bull frog out to Daniel.
As he accepted the frog, he whispered, “denki.”
She answered him with a scorching look. Not gute. Now he had one more person mad at him. Worst one in the world to have angry with him might be Emma. She didn’t ever forget. Holding onto the stiffening frog as tight as he could, Daniel tried to stuff Goliath back into his pocket.
“Please, not there, Daniel,” Mama Hal pleaded. “You should set the poor frog free before he gets loose in here again.”
“But, Mama Hal, you don’t know how hard Goliath was to catch the first time,” Daniel countered sincerely in a hushed voice.
“Take that frog outside and turn him loose now,” said John very slowly in a much too quiet tone to suit Daniel.
“Jah, Papa.” Daniel noticed the bishop had his eyes rolled toward Heaven. He hoped if the bishop was praying about the wedding, he included Goliath and him. He had the feeling he was going to need all the helpful prayers he could get on his behalf. The boy trudged with a heavy heart to the opening as snickers spread across the tent once more. As he walked outside to let his frog go, he thought about what this heap of trouble he was in amounted to. He’d have to sit through a lecture from the bishop for sure, and he’d be ask to do penance for his sin. His father was going to hand out an awful punishment that amounted to doubling his chores. For days, Mama Hal would be laying a pained look on him as she talked about him and his frog spoiling her beautiful wedding. His imagination wouldn’t allow him to think how much Emma was going to make his suffer for the rest of his life.
Daniel put his frog down gently on the ground. He felt as if he had already started his punishment by suffering the loss of his pet frog. He said softly, “Good bye, Goliath. It has been nice knowing you.”
The frog let out a triumphant croak and hopped in bounding leaps toward the barn, headed in the direction of the pond. Daniel hesitated at the tent opening. He didn’t want to confront all those amused faces, but he knew he couldn’t miss the end of the wedding. It just wasn’t done. That would upset Mama Hal even more, and he didn’t want to do that to her. He’d just have to be brave and suck up what ever happened next.
The guests watched Daniel soft foot it down the aisle. Some snickered softly. Not a good sign, Daniel surmised. If he was in the bishop’s shoes disrupting a wedding was unthinkable. Losing control of the congregation was an added insult. Daniel wished with all his might he hadn’t caused all this fervor. He glanced at the bishop’s bowed head. The man was still praying. Daniel hoped it was a patient, thoughtful prayer and somewhere in it the bishop mentioned forgiveness for him.
Daniel sat down on the bench next to Noah. He glanced at his brother long enough to see he sat with his arms crossed, shaking his head in disbelief. Daniel looked at the ground, afraid to look at anyone. When he heard the Bishop say amen, the boy said in a trembling voice, “I am back, Bishop.”
Elton raised his head and went on as if nothing had interrupted him. “Now we continue.” He joined his hands over the top and bottom of John and Hal’s hands again. “Then he quoted from the book of Tobit, “And he takes the hand of the daughter and puts it in the hand of Tobias.” Elton blessed them with “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob be with you together as a couple and give his rich blessings upon you and be merciful to you. To this I wish you the blessings of God for a good beginning and a steadfast middle and may you hold out until a blessed end. This all in and through Jesus Christ. Amen. Go forth in the name of the Lord. You are now man and wife.”
John and Hal returned to their seats, looking calmer now that the ceremony was almost over. The bishop asked Preacher Yoder and Deacon Yutzy to express their thoughts on the wedding ceremony. They each took a few minutes to wish the couple God’s blessings. After the two men finished, the bishop asked the bride’s father to say a few words.
Jim stood up. For once in his life, he found words hard to come by. “This is a very important occasion for all the Lindstrom family. Hal’s mother and I are excited. We look forward to being a part of this couple and their children’s lives. We appreciate that you would let us be here for our only daughter’s wedding. We are glad that you spoke in English so my wife and me could understand the ceremony. It meant so much to us. Thanks to all who helped worked so hard to get prepared for the wedding the last few days. We appreciated their work. My wife and I wish our daughter and her new family a blessed and happy life.” That said, he sat down.
Bishop Bontrager stood. He asked the congregation to kneel in prayer. Everyone stood and turned to face their bench before they knelt. The bishop read the prayer out of the Christenpflicht prayer book as it is done at the close of Amish church services. The prayer was a little long, but he’d expected the ceremony to be somewhat shorter than it turned out. Since the prayer was picked before hand, the bishop didn’t want to exchange it now for another one at the last minute.
The congregation rose but remained facing backward for the benediction. Then they turned around for one more hymn, and the wedding was over. Time for people to leave. The young people exited before the wedding party so as quick as he could Daniel got into the middle of that group and made his way outside. He intended to hide out of Papa, Mama Hal, Emma and the bishop’s sight for the rest of the day.