Will hurried through his chores. Reverend Rosner would be here by ten o’clock and the ceremony was scheduled to begin at eleven. Petr had begun milking, but Will wasn’t quite finished spreading hay down the manger. The cows in their stanchions were bawling for their breakfast. He’d given Ruby and Catherine the morning off so they could decorate the living room, dining room, and parlor in preparation for the wedding.
Sharon, who was now twenty-one years old, had completed her teacher preparation and would now go to Ed Meadow’s farm home near Logan Junction where she had taken a teaching position just outside of town. Ed had faithfully stuck by Sharon during her two-year teacher training at Platteville State Teacher’s College.
Yesterday, he dutifully drove the fifteen miles from his home to Ashley Springs to pick up Thomas and Gertrude, then another eight miles to Hinton to get Grandma Tregonning. From there it was almost an hour drive down to Willow. Sharon was getting a good man.
The milking finished, Will and Petr hustled toward the house and slipped in the back door. “Mary said she’d hang our suits in the downstairs bedroom,” Will said. “You go on and start dressing. I’m going to peek into the living room. The girls have been decorating the last two days.”
Will knew that Petr was nervous. He told Will that he was honored but surprised when Ed asked him to stand up for him and to present the ring. He’d said, “I’ve never been in a wedding before.”
Will had seen Ruby and Catherine picking roses from Mary’s flower garden, and he supposed there’d be vases of yellow flowers placed throughout the living and dining room, but he was astounded to see the effort his youngest daughters had put forth to please their sister. In addition to roses placed strategically throughout the rooms, they had built a chicken-wire arch from floor to ceiling around the large doorway that separated the living room and parlor, and every square inch of that chicken-wire was filled with yellow roses. Will knew this arch must have been Catherine’s idea. His Ruby would never have considered a thing so frivolous to be worth the effort. When Catherine had waxed eloquent about the splendor of a grand wedding, he’d heard Ruby say, “I’m going to elope.”
When Will heard his mother’s voice in the hallway, he ducked toward the back bedroom before Gertrude caught him and demanded he do some work. He remembered her frenzied activity and demands on the day of his own wedding, so many years ago, now. And she hadn’t slowed down one bit.
Will had been surprised when Frank had called and said he’d be there. Maybe Frank was mellowing as he grew older. But he probably only wanted a break from his work. At first, he regretted that Jesse wouldn’t be there, but then Will remembered the pain that Jesse had inflicted at his and Mary’s wedding.
Reverend Rosner, Ed, Petr, Ruby, and Catherine stood under the rose-covered arch. Mary stood by the piano in the living room. And she was beautiful in her new dress. Although the hourglass figure of her youth had turned pleasingly plump, she looked splendid in her new red and yellow rose-flowered dress that complemented the yellow roses all around them. And it was the latest style. The padded shoulders extended past the edges of Mary’s shoulders. The sleeves were puffed and gathered at the top but flowed downward to within an inch of the elbows. Her dress had a sweetheart cut neckline that stopped above her cleavage. The waistline was high, but unlike her older dresses, this one was daring: when Mary reached high, Will caught a glimpse of her kneecap.
He hadn’t told her that he’d been saving his loose change to buy the dress that she’d deserved for so long. When Sharon announced the wedding, Will was still short money, so, unknown to Mary, he sold a young bull calf a bit prematurely; a calf that he thought would bring prime dollars in a month or two. With that money he’d had enough to buy Mary the finest dress in Willow’s small department store.
Mary lowered herself to the piano stool. That was Will’s cue, and when she began playing “Here Comes the Bride,” he took Sharon’s arm and guided her across the living room to those who waited under the flowered arch. The minister said the necessary words. Petr fumbled through his pocket, found the wedding ring, and handed it to Ed, who placed it on his bride’s finger.
By the time Reverend Rosner said, “Now kiss the bride,” Catherine looked so flushed and teary-eyed that Will thought she was going to swoon right there under the flowered arch. But she regained her composure when Mary began to play, “Blessed Be the Tie that Binds.”
Before Mary had finished the last note, Gertrude burst through the kitchen door and demanded that all take their place at their name cards on the tables.
That night, after Mary had removed her new dress, she held it up and admired it once more. “Will, you can’t know how much I love this dress.” She reached for him. “But I love you far more. I couldn’t have a kinder husband.”
Will wished that he had more to bring to their marriage. But he didn’t miss that calf—not one little bit.