Standing on the hillside, Abram looked down at his farm and Isaac’s dairy in the distance. Emma and the dairyman would soon marry. Daniel would have a mother, and Abram’s sister would find the happiness she deserved.
Abram was happy for her. He turned back to his work and pulled the wire more tightly around the fence post, thankful for physical labor that occupied his hands. If only it could occupy his mind, as well. No matter what he did, his thoughts were always on Miriam and how much he longed to see her again.
Once the wire was attached, Abram stared up at the sky. The sun peered out from between the clouds and the warm hint of spring filled the air.
“A young man’s fancy...” He thought of the adage about a man’s heart turning to love and shook his head.
He was no longer a young man and he had found his love.
The sound of a car engine caught his attention. He turned, seeing the Amish Taxi driving from town along the fork in the road.
A friend must be coming to visit Emma. Abagail Keim had stopped by twice since she and her mother had kept Daniel. Perhaps she was visiting again.
Turning back to his work, Abram ignored the sound of the car door slamming. Then, realizing he needed to be considerate of Abagail’s feelings, he turned to wave a greeting.
But what he saw made his heart lurch.
He blinked, unwilling to believe his eyes.
An Amish woman wearing a blue dress stepped from the taxi. She was slender, with golden-brown hair, and stared at him from a distance. Then she waved and started running, past the house and up the hill.
“Abram,” she called. “I’ve come home.”
His heart burst with joy. He dropped his tools and raced to meet her, his arms wide as she ran into his embrace.
“Oh, Miriam,” he sighed, inhaling the sweet smell of her. “I have missed you so.”
“I...I had to leave, Abram. I had to try to find Hannah. But she was gone. I thought I would learn to live in the city, yet my heart broke each day there without you.”
She pulled back and stared into his eyes as if she, too, couldn’t believe they were together again.
“I kept hearing your voice, Abram. You kept saying, ‘Come home to me.’ I knew you were calling me back to Willkommen.”
“Miriam, I love you. I have loved you since the first moment I saw you. We will make this work.”
“Yah,” she said with a twinkle in her eyes and pointing to the blue frock she wore. “Did you see the dress I made? Emma taught me how to cut the fabric, and I finished it in Atlanta. Stitching it together by hand made me realize where my heart really wanted to be. With you, Abram, living the Amish life and being a member of the Amish church.”
“Oh, Miriam. You are all I have ever wanted.”
He lowered his lips to hers and then, scooping her into his arms, he twirled her around and around. They kissed until they were dizzy and giddy with laugher.
Their playfulness turned serious as he drew her even closer and looked deeply into her eyes. “I love you, Miriam Miller, and I always will. You bring joy to my heart and to my home. Plus you were right about voicing my contrition aloud. I talked to the bishop about my past. That weight has been removed from my heart, which is now filled to overflowing with my love for you.”
Again, they kissed. She molded into his embrace, their hearts entwined, as Abram wrapped her tightly in his arms, never wanting to let her go.