On the afternoon of the second Tuesday in March, Eunice stood next to Zeb as Ezekiel presented them to all those assembled—which seemed to include everyone in their Amish community and a few Englischers to boot. Ada and Becca and Bethany had decorated the Yoder barn with fresh boughs of cedar, a couple hundred white carnations and small twinkly lights that operated off batteries. Sarah had overseen the placement of benches, tables and chairs—though no one would allow her to actually lift anything. She was only a few weeks away from delivery now, and they were all treating her with great care even though so far the pregnancy had been completely normal.
The heavy snows had come late and seemed determined to stay. Two feet of white fluffy powder lay on the ground. The market was still closed for the winter season, which worked well since most of the employees wanted to attend the wedding ceremony.
Eunice’s pulse beat a bit faster than normal and her senses seemed especially sharp. The cedar boughs smelled fresh and woodsy. The lights practically sparkled. The man beside her seemed more handsome and more solid than she’d ever known him to be, and she’d known him a very long time. She had a sudden image of the two of them inside a snow globe. Only this time the snow globe was entirely composed of the important things in their life.
Ezekiel had been speaking, but Eunice had lost the thread of what he was saying. Suddenly, he cleared his throat, paused and waited for her and Zeb to turn their gaze to him. “All of those assembled here, your friends and family in Christ, and I, as your bishop, wish you the blessing and mercy of God.”
Eunice and Zeb were facing each other, her hands in his, Ezekiel’s hands on top of theirs. The old bishop’s tender expression reminded Eunice of being a child, of sitting on her mamm’s lap, of being truly cared for. In the absence of her mother, she knew that Ezekiel and her dat and her siblings would help guide her and Zeb. She would always miss her mamm, especially in moments like this one. But Gotte had provided.
Ezekiel’s smile grew, stretching the corners of his beard. With tears shining in his eyes, he turned them toward those witnessing the ceremony.
Eunice glanced up in time to see her family’s reaction. Her father wiped at his eyes. Sarah reached over and clasped his hand. Ada said something that made everyone smile. Josh stood between Becca and Bethany. Oh, how she loved her family. They were, even now, pulling Josh into their circle of love.
Ezekiel cleared his throat. “Go forth in the Lord’s name. You are now man and wife.”
“Hal-le-lujah!” Josh shouted and tossed his hat into the air.
Which seemed to express the sentiment that everyone was feeling. Eunice couldn’t believe she’d made it through the whirlwind of the last two months. Couples classes with Ezekiel. Planning meetings with the Amish caterer. Dress-making sessions with her schweschdern. The pale green dress she wore would always remind her of the promise of spring and this place where she’d learned to be an adult and embrace new beginnings.
It was later, after the meal and the cake, after the guests had left and only her family—her complete family that included Ezekiel and Samuel—remained. Ada picked that moment to share what she’d said to their dat at the end of the ceremony.
“Told him it was his turn to fall head over suspenders for someone.”
No one corrected her. No one needed to.
Instead, Sarah put a hand to her stomach and said, “She might have a point, Dat.”
“You did it, after all,” Becca said.
Bethany reached for her doschder’s hand. “You matched all your girls to wunderbaar men.”
“I’m not sure I was that involved,” Amos said with a twinkle in his eye.
Sarah and Becca and Bethany and Eunice and Ada all shared a look. Then they broke into laughter.
The men had been loading benches into the bench trailer which had been pulled inside the barn. At the sound of laughter, they looked up to see what they’d missed, but it was Josh, who dashed over, straw stuck to his hat, icing from the wedding cake smeared across one cheek, and said, “This family sure is growing. All we need now is a grossmammi.”
Then he high-fived his grossdaddi, said something to Lydia and they both dashed off to play with Mary.
“Out of the mouths of babes,” Ezekiel murmured.
Eunice didn’t know if her dat would ever marry again. As far as she was aware, he’d never been interested in another woman since her mamm had died. He’d built his entire life around his church and the market and his family. She couldn’t imagine him slowing down long enough to court someone.
But then Eunice knew better than anyone that you could not predict what might happen next in a person’s life.
Zeb helped her up into his buggy. Some of the youngies had chalked “Just Hitched” across the back and paper streamers of green and white and silver had been tied to every possible surface.
Josh stood with her family on the front porch, waving, as she and Zeb drove down the lane. Samuel and Joshua would stay in Eunice’s old room. Eunice and Zeb would spend their wedding night alone at their home and return in the morning to pick up their son. A proper honeymoon would wait until spring had officially arrived.
Eunice didn’t mind.
She was married to the man of her dreams, though she hadn’t known it when he’d shown up at her barn with an old solar pump that needed fixing. She certainly hadn’t known it when they’d been friends in school.
She knew it now though.
Her heart knew that they were meant to be together—the three of them.
Eunice thought it was shaping up to be the best year of her life. The best of everything. As her father often said, “Gotte is good.” To which her heart replied, “All the time.”