Five months later
Yvonne couldn’t believe her eyes when she pulled up to Eva’s parents’ house. There had to be almost a hundred buggies tethered to the fences that surrounded the house, along with about a dozen parked cars. She wondered if she would be able to find Eva before the ceremony. Her flight from Houston had been delayed, and she hadn’t arrived at the airport until almost dark the night before. Then she’d had a two-hour drive to a hotel. Eva had offered repeatedly for Yvonne to stay with her at her parents’ house, but Yvonne knew the chaos a wedding brought on, and she didn’t want to be in the way. She’d kept in touch with Eva over the months since she’d returned the book, and she was happy that her friend’s big day was finally here.
She made her way down the road from where she’d had to park, careful not to twist an ankle on the gravel. Flats would have been a better option than the three-inch heels she wore. Smiling, she took in the scenery. Three huge white tents were set up in the yard with tables covered in white linen, and women bustled around everywhere. Yvonne was looking forward to seeing Eva and Jake get married, although she wasn’t sure how she’d feel about a three-hour worship service—seated on wooden benches. And the ceremony would be recited in a language she wouldn’t understand. Eva had told her in a letter that everything would be in Pennsylvania Deutsch.
As she continued her trek to the house, the sun was still rising. She couldn’t believe everything started so early in the morning—and Eva had said it was an all-day affair that went on into the night. The ceremony was scheduled to start in thirty minutes, and as she weaved through the crowd outside, she was surprised to see how many non-Amish people were there, although at least three-quarters of the crowd were Amish.
She pulled open the screen door to the living room, which had been totally transformed the way Eva had described to her. Complete walls had been removed, revealing bedrooms where furniture had been removed or was pushed back against a wall, opening up the space so it was one giant room. Apparently, like many Amish homes, the old farmhouse had been built that way over a hundred years ago to accommodate weddings and worship services. The walls were literally removable. Each family had to host a church service every ten months, give or take, Eva had told her.
People were sandwiched in the room like sardines in a can. Some older women and pregnant women were seated in regular chairs toward the back of the room. Backless wooden benches filled the space between them and an open area in the middle, where Yvonne assumed the ceremony would take place. More benches were on the other side of the open space. Eva had told her that the men sat on one side of the room, women on the other side.
It was a unique and intriguing setup, and obviously a lot of people had helped with the preparation. Yvonne inched her way into the room, then felt a hand on her arm.
“Hi, Mary.” Yvonne smiled at Eva’s mother. “Today’s the day.” She wasn’t sure whether to hug Mary in front of all these people since public affection was generally frowned upon. But Mary embraced her.
“I’m so glad you’re here.” She kissed her on the cheek. “Eva and Jake were thrilled that you were able to come.” She waved an arm over the area. “Find a seat anywhere.”
Yvonne took a seat toward the back of the room. It had been months since Trevor died, but she wasn’t sure if a wedding was going to cause a flood of tears. She could escape easier if she sat in the back row.
The ceremony began right at nine o’clock. People were standing all along the walls, and the benches were full. When Yvonne saw Eva, she shed her first tear, and it had nothing to do with Trevor. Her friend glowed, and even though she was clothed in attire like she would wear every day, her dress was perfectly pressed and shone from the newness of the fabric. How many times had Yvonne seen Eva or her mother with flour on their wrinkled black aprons? But today Eva looked beautiful in a dark green dress with a white apron. She’d told Yvonne that it was the same dress she would be buried in when she died.
As Yvonne settled into a ceremony she wouldn’t understand, she fought the images of her and Trevor standing together and exchanging vows. Everyone had been right. Time did heal, but it would take a long time before Yvonne didn’t find herself sensitive about everything that reminded her of Trevor. And she still missed him. Maybe she always would.
She managed to make it through the ceremony without full-on crying . . . until Eva and Jake took their vows. They were different from the traditional vows Yvonne was used to, and it was hard to hear them. But Jake and Eva’s eyes said it all, and Yvonne said her own prayers for happiness for the couple. She loved the part where the bishop gave Jake a Holy Kiss on the cheek and his wife did the same with Eva. It felt so sacred, and it was a custom that had been passed down for generations.
Even though she hadn’t understood the language during the ceremony, the fellowship filled her with love just the same. She was surprised that she hadn’t taken more notice of the time, but when it was over, her stomach was rumbling, and she was sure the food would be amazing. Eva had told her that women arrived as early as five in the morning to start the food preparations.
Yvonne wished she could have arrived sooner, a day or two before the wedding. Maybe she could have helped with preparations and spent time with Eva and Jake. But George had had her on another book hunt, her third one since Trevor passed, and it had kept her occupied. She would have to leave on Sunday, but when time permitted, she hoped to travel back to this peaceful place to spend more time with her friends.
For now she stayed off to the side and out of the way, outside near one of the tents.
“You look a little lost.”
Yvonne turned quickly to her left. “No, not really lost,” she said, smiling. “Just trying to stay out of the way.”
The man smiled at her. He was considerably taller than her . . . and handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes. He looked familiar somehow, but she couldn’t place him.
“You’re Yvonne, right?” He gestured toward his body, clad in black jeans, a crisp white shirt, and black loafers. “You might not recognize me. Last time we met I was in uniform at the bookstore.”
Yvonne snapped a finger. “The police officer, the one who arrived after the bookstore got broken into.”
He nodded. “Abraham Byler.”
“Nice to see you again,” she said as a wave of guilt washed over her, threatening to drown her. It was much too soon to be attracted to another man.
“Are you in town for long?” he asked, trying to sound casual, but failing.
“No, I actually go home tomorrow.” She shrugged. “Work stuff. But I didn’t want to miss the wedding.”
“Was it difficult to sit through such a long service without understanding the language?” He tipped his head to one side.
Yvonne remembered Jake telling her that Abraham had grown up Amish before he decided not to be baptized in the faith and instead joined the police force. “You know . . . I thought it would be. But there was a sense of fellowship that filled the void. It was . . . lovely.”
“There you are!” Eva rushed across the lawn, dragging her new husband along with her. “I’m so sorry we didn’t get to see you before the ceremony.”
“You look gorgeous.” Yvonne hugged Eva then Jake.
“Do you remember Abraham?” Jake nodded toward the man standing next to Yvonne.
“I didn’t at first, without his uniform . . .” She glanced at the man next to her, convincing herself that it was okay to think he was handsome. Most women surely did. “But he reminded me about our meeting at the bookstore.”
“I know you’re leaving tomorrow, and I hate that.” Eva rolled her lip into a pout. “Today will be such a busy day, we won’t have much time to spend together.”
Yvonne reached for both of Eva’s hands and squeezed them. “This is your day. And I am definitely coming back when I have more time.”
Eva looked over her shoulder, then back at Yvonne. “I have to find mei mamm. She had a question about one of the cakes. There are four of them.” She hugged Yvonne again, then laughed. “Remember when I told you that our weddings are quite the affair?”
Yvonne nodded. “Yes, I do. And you need to go find your mom and enjoy everything about this day.” Her thoughts drifted to Trevor, but when Jake hugged her again, she snapped back. She smiled as Eva dragged Jake with her, never letting go of his hand.
“They make a cute couple,” Abraham said, also watching and smiling as Eva and Jake skipped away toward a future Yvonne prayed would bless them abundantly.
“Yes, they really do.” She stepped sideways when a woman carrying a large tray filled with olives and pickles almost caught the side of her head.
“Whoa, it’s getting crowded out here.” Abraham chuckled.
“Yeah, lots going on. I think it’s always that way at weddings, Amish or not.” Yvonne’s bottom lip began to tremble, and she couldn’t seem to get it to stop. She would have already been married almost a month if Trevor hadn’t died. It was harder than she’d thought to separate this wedding from the one she would have had.
Two more women slid by her, carrying trays of food, causing her to bump into Abraham. “Oh, wow. I’m so sorry.”
He put a hand on her arm until she had her balance. “No apologies. These women function like a well-tuned machine when it comes to getting food on the table, even for this large of a crowd.”
“I bet there are four hundred people here.” She sighed. “Wow.”
“It’ll be a while before they have all the food out, but it will be a plentiful feast.” Abraham stared at her as her lip started to tremble again. Eva and Jake had probably told him about Trevor. Or maybe not. But his compassionate expression seemed to say that one of them had.
“Do you want to take a walk, get away from this crowd until they are actually ready for people to sit down?” He kept his eyes on her, an all-knowing expression on his face, as if he knew she needed saving right now, before everything caught up with her and she melted into a sobbing mess.
Yvonne cast her eyes on the fall foliage for as far as she could see, bursting with red, orange, and purple hues. Fall in Texas wasn’t nearly as vibrant and colorful. “Uh, I probably shouldn’t . . . I mean, I don’t know . . .” She bit her bottom lip, then looked up at him.
“I think we should sneak off, breathe in the season, and step away from this crowd for a few minutes.” He smiled. “Walk with me.”
Yvonne stared at him for a long while. Walk with Me.
Was it a sign? Merely a coincidence?
But when he smiled, she leaned down and slipped out of her heels, tucked them under her arm, and welcomed the tickle of the plush green grass between her toes.
“I’ll walk with you,” she said to him before she looked up at the cloudless sky and smiled.