Until I Love Again (42 page)

Pastor Rosen turned to Susanna and nodded.

Susanna lifted her head and looked into Joey's eyes. There was no way she could speak right now. She had not known that Joey would say such things. Thankfully no one shifted on their feet or cleared their throat. Pastor Rosen's smile never dimmed as he waited.

After a few moments, she gathered her emotions and began to speak in a shaky voice. “You have been my angel, Joey. You have been there when I needed you, and often when I didn't know I did. You have read my heart well, and your touch has been the touch of the Lord. You have been His friend first, and for that I will always be grateful. You have loved Him before you loved me. I thank you for loving me, Joey, and I will always love you. I will always look up to you as the angel the Lord sent into my life to walk beside me as my husband. I will always reach for your hand when trouble comes. I will always think of you when I am in need of comfort. I will try to be the kind of wife you need, Joey, because you are a truly wonderful man.”

Susanna lowered her head. That little speech sounded stupid next to Joey's
wunderbah
words, but it had come out of her heart. Pastor Rosen seemed pleased when she looked up to meet his gaze.

“Thank you, both of you,” he said. “That was beautiful, and now for my little part.” He grinned. “Do you, Joseph Delaney Macalister, take this woman, Susanna Miller, as your lawful wedded wife?”

“I do,” Joey said, his voice firm.

Pastor Rosen turned to Susanna. “And do you, Susanna Miller, take this young man, Joseph Delaney Macalister, as your lawful wedded husband?”

“I do,” Susanna said, her voice still shaking.

Pastor Rosen took both of their hands in his. “Then by virtue of the authority vested in me by the state of New York, I now
pronounce you husband and wife before the Lord and these witnesses. May the Lord bless you greatly and keep you always in His divine care.”

With that said, Pastor Rosen motioned for them to turn around. “It is my pleasure,” he announced, “to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Delaney Macalister.”

The brief ceremony over, the couple walked back down the aisle. For the next twenty minutes they accepted congratulations and tight hugs from loved ones and the guests who had attended.

When the time seemed right, after many well wishes, Joey took Susanna by the hand and led her to his car. The remaining guests crowded around them and threw rice as Joey quickly turned the car around and drove his bride out of the lane.

Once they were on the highway, Joey turned to Susanna and said, “You made the most beautiful bride I've ever seen.”

“And you,” she said without hesitation, “said the most wonderful vows. I'll never forget a word of what you said.”

“You deserved them and then some,” Joey said. He reached over for her hand. “I do love you, Mrs. Macalister.”

Susanna closed her eyes. The wonder of the short wedding still filled her heart. She didn't want the moment to fade.

A few minutes later, Joey pulled into the Millers' driveway.

Susanna gasped at the sight before her. Everyone was out on the front porch in their Sunday best.

“Looks like we're in for a warm welcome,” Joey said with a grin.

Susanna drew a long breath, and an idea rose in her mind. Could she dare ask this of Joey on their wedding day? Surely
Mamm
and
Daett
wouldn't refuse the request.

Susanna clutched Joey's arm as they came to a stop near the barn. “Will you do your new wife a tremendous favor?” she asked.

“The marriage test already?” he said, grinning from ear to ear. “Of course I will. Anything you want. What dost thou wish?”

“Let's stay here for the night instead of at the hotel in Ogdensburg. They'll let us use my old room, Joey. I know they will. It's still empty.”

“I suppose this is what an Amish couple would do,” he said. “Okay, just give me a moment to think about it.”

“Oh, Joey,” she said. “You are an angel.”

He laughed. “I doubt that, but come—we have your family to meet, and the whole evening in front of us.”

Susanna waited until Joey had opened the car door for her. She held his hand for the walk toward the house, but they didn't get far.
Mamm
arrived first and wrapped Susanna in a hug while
Daett
shook Joey's hand.

“So this is your wife?”
Daett
teased.

“Yep!” Joey joined in the laughter. “Did you ever see a fairer bride?”

“She was my fair daughter first,”
Daett
said. “And a mighty fine one.”

Susanna let go of
Mamm
to fly into
Daett
's arms, and silent sobs shook both of them.

Daett
finally released his embrace and held Susanna at arm's length. “My heart is right full of joy today.”

“Oh,
Daett
!” Susanna exclaimed as they embraced again.

Henry cleared his throat loudly. “If all this hugging doesn't stop, I'm leaving.”

“No you're not!” Susanna said as she let go of
Daett
to open her arms to him.

Henry grinned but offered a handshake instead. “That's
goot
enough for me,” he said.

They all laughed as Susanna shook hands with the rest of her
brothers, right down to little Tobias. Joey took her hand when she finished, and Susanna led him toward the house.
Mamm
and
Daett
followed behind while the others ran ahead to change back into their regular clothing.

Susanna turned to
Mamm
and said, “If it's all right, we'd like to stay for supper and for the night—in my old room. Then we'll fly out early tomorrow from Ogdensburg for the honeymoon.”

“Of course it's all right,”
Mamm
said, a pleased look on her face. “This is a great honor indeed.”

“
Yah
, it is,”
Daett
added.

“Come.” Susanna led Joey through the living room and upstairs. Slowly she opened her old bedroom door and led Joey inside.
Mamm
had cleaned the room and polished the furniture since she had been up here last. In this bedroom she had lived another life, and here she hoped to spend the first night of her new life with Joey.

“So this is it,” Joey said as he looked around at the humble furnishings in the room. “I do believe we can stay until the morning.”

“Thank you, Joey,” she told him, gazing up into this face. “You are my love, my sweet, sweet love.”

Discussion Questions

1. What was the source of Susanna's conflicted feelings at the beginning of the story? What would you have done about them?

2. What triggered Susanna's father to share the secret of Susanna's past with her? Would he have done this without this trigger?

3. How would you react to a similar revelation from your father?

4. What is your opinion of the two main male characters, Joey and Ernest?

5. Would you have had any advice for Joey in his confrontations with Susanna's father?

6. Should Susanna have cooperated as her family lay down rules for the end of her
rumspringa
?

7. Do you have sympathies for Susanna's long hesitation in jumping the fence?

8. What is your opinion of Bishop Enos and Deacon Herman? Should either of them have done things differently?

9. Did you hope Ernest would win Susanna's hand in marriage?

10. What are your feelings on Emma's crush for Ernest? Do you think Emma was happy with the outcome of events?

11. What are your feelings toward Susanna's
daett
when he takes Susanna to visit her unknown grandparents?

12. What was your opinion of Susanna's wedding? What about Susanna's decision to follow an Amish tradition and spend her wedding night in her parent's home?

A Heart Once Broken

Want more from Jerry Eicher?

The following excerpt is from another engaging, heart-tugging story in The St. Lawrence County Amish series.

Chapter One

L
ydia Troyer smoothed the wrinkles in her dress with a quick brush of her hand as she watched Ezra Wagler's buggy pull into Deacon Schrock's lane on Kelley Road. Now Ezra would put his horse, Midnight, in the barn and join the other St. Lawrence County Amish young people with the work at hand.

They had all gathered on this Friday evening to help clean the house and yard of the recently arrived deacon and his
frau,
Ruth Ann, who had both just joined the community. After their tiring move from Holmes County, Ohio, the couple appeared happy and had settled easily into the North Country in upstate New York.

Lydia gave her dress another quick brush and glanced at the barn door, hoping to catch Ezra's attention as he joined the young workers. A minute later and still no Ezra, Lydia looked across the yard to where her cousin Sandra Troyer was on her knees in the garden, pulling weeds with several of the other girls. Lydia allowed a smile to creep across her face. Tonight she had the advantage over Sandra. Her brush-cutting assignment wouldn't leave smudges on her dress or dark streaks on her hands. Sandra, too, was looking at the barn door for the same reason she was. As were a few of the other young girls with similar aspirations.

That was one of the things so maddening about Ezra, besides his handsome
goot
looks. He was the young man many of the community girls set their
kapps
for…though everyone knew she and her cousin Sandra had the inside track. The two had vied for Ezra's attentions ever since they finished their
rumspringa
days—about the same time Ezra and his family joined the community.

The rivalry of the two cousins had begun in their school days, long before Ezra had arrived. Even as rivals, they had managed to stay steadfast friends, though lately things had become a little grim. What had begun as a healthy competition—such as who could get the most 100s in school—had turned into something more serious after their
rumspringa
convinced both of them to be baptized and settle into Amish life. The cousins had wasted no time making their interest in the newcomer known. And Ezra, seeming to enjoy the attention, was obviously in no hurry to choose between the two cousins.