The Wonder of Your Love - By Beth Wiseman Page 0,93
he’d drawn the line when it came to officiating the ceremony. Katie Ann was shocked that he’d agreed to as much as he had already. She turned her eyes to Martha as she and David stood ready to walk down the makeshift aisle, then she scanned the crowd for Jonas, expecting him to be in Emily’s lap. When she didn’t see Jonas, her heart pounded and her eyes started going row to row until she spotted him. In Eli’s lap near the back. Eli’s lap?
When their eyes locked, he smiled and lifted Jonas’s arm like he was waving to Katie Ann. As if the sight of Eli didn’t warm her heart enough, the vision of him holding her son filled her with so much joy she went weak in the knees. Why hadn’t anyone told her Eli was coming? She bit her lip to keep from grinning, and she forced her eyes back to Martha, who glided down the aisle with the dignity of someone entitled, her chin raised slightly, bowing her head to the attendees on either side. Any other behavior simply wouldn’t have been Martha, Katie Ann surmised as she struggled to keep her grin from growing to a large smile.
What a wonderful day this is.
Most of the ceremony seemed to Katie Ann to be Catholic, but then occasionally Bishop Esh would interject prayers. The ceremony seemed to fit both Martha and Arnold perfectly. It was shorter than an Amish wedding. Arnold and Martha took their vows after the Catholic folks took Communion, about forty-five minutes into the ceremony. As Martha had instructed, Katie Ann stood up and joined Martha at the front. As Arnold and Martha vowed to love, honor, and cherish each other for the rest of their lives, Katie Ann’s eyes involuntarily drifted to Eli. He was still holding Jonas on his lap, and his gaze met hers. Then his mouth silently formed words, but Katie Ann could make them out quite clearly. I love you. She held her breath for a moment, then forced herself to release it for fear she might pass out.
She pulled her eyes away and focused on Martha, who was now crying buckets. She kept her attention on the new couple. Next thing she knew, Martha and Arnold were walking back down the aisle and everyone was clapping. She looked at Eli, and this time he just smiled, his eyes bright, and he was standing with Jonas on his hip. She didn’t know an Amish man alive who would tend to a youngster during a wedding, or any other time for that matter. She watched as everyone made their way across the grass toward the tents set up in the front yard. A dozen women were already setting out food. She watched Eli hand Jonas to Emily as she walked by. Katie Ann’s feet were rooted to the ground beneath her. A few minutes later, everyone was in the front yard, and Eli and Katie Ann stood alone. She knew he wouldn’t kiss her with so many eyes nearby, but she’d never wanted anything more in her life. He hugged her, though, then just eased away and stared at her.
As the sun warmed her cheeks and the smells of spring swirled around them, Eli took her hand in his and squeezed, smiling tenderly. “I love you, Katie Ann.” He shook his head and looked down for a moment, then back up at her. “I’ve wanted to tell you that a hundred times. I love you.” He gazed into her eyes, and she could feel the sincerity behind his words. Letting him go this time would surely leave her with little room to ever recover, but she knew that she had to tell him what was in her heart.
“I love you too, Eli.”
“I know.” Then he chuckled, and Katie Ann smiled, filled with love, but so many questions. “We have a predicament.” He kept hold of one of her hands tightly, as if he feared she might flee. He stroked his beard. “I can’t leave my family.”
Tiny cracks in her heart spread like vines, but she knew this was coming. “I know,” she said softly, knowing he was going to ask her to leave Canaan, a place that had become home. And her family was here. She lowered her head and waited.
MARTHA MOVED THROUGH the crowd, making sure that every person here had an opportunity to hug her, but if anyone thought she wasn’t watching the events around her—they were wrong.