A VOW for ALWAYS (12 page)

Was she dreaming, or was it time to get up already? Meredith felt like she’d just
fallen asleep.

It couldn’t be her wedding day already, could it?

Someone was pounding on the front door. Had there been an accident? Did a neighbor
need help? Was there a fire somewhere?

She quickly got up when she heard her parents heading down the stairs. Her brain was
still fuzzy from waking out of a deep sleep, but Meredith was alert enough to check
on Levi. Oblivious to all the noise, her son was sound asleep under his warm blanket.

Meredith slipped into her robe and looked out the window. She couldn’t see any blinking
lights or flames in the distance. Fritz was whining and waiting for her in the hallway.

Meredith walked to the head of the stairs and went down quietly, as her parents had
done minutes ago. She saw them standing at the doorway, but no one was saying anything.

“Mom…Dad,” Meredith said. “What is it? Who’s at the door?”

Her parents turned to face her with unreadable expressions on their faces. Fritz started
barking, his tail wagging.

Meredith looked beyond them. A young man stood on the porch. He looked English, right
down to the red ball cap he wore on his head. For a fleeting moment, the image of
the guy in the hot air balloon she’d seen several months ago crossed her mind.
Silly to be thinking of him at this moment
, she thought.

“What’s going on?” Meredith asked, reaching down to grab Fritz’s collar.

The young English man hesitated then stepped in front of her.

She clasped her robe tightly, watching as the man removed his ball cap. His hair was
short and very blond. She’d never seen hair that blond before, except on Luke.

“Meredith,” he said in a raspy voice, “it’s me—your husband, Luke.”

The ringing in Meredith’s ears and Fritz’s frantic barking blocked out all other sounds.
She glanced quickly at her parents and then looked back at the young man. All she
saw was some guy who didn’t look or sound like her husband, proclaiming that he was
Luke. Who was this man, and why was he playing such a cruel joke?

Speechless, Meredith looked long and hard at the blond-haired man, and that’s when
she noticed the color of his eyes. Deep turquoise. Her eyes widened, as realization
slowly hit—it truly was her husband, Luke. She tried to fight the dark veil of blackness
as it came over her from some far-off place. The last thing Meredith remembered was
the sensation of being scooped up and looking into those beautiful eyes she’d thought
she’d never see again.

“Merrie, wake up!”

What a wonderful sound! She had to be waking up from a dream. Meredith reached out,
following the voice. Although a little different, she was sure now that it was indeed
her husband’s voice.

Slowly she opened her eyes and gazed into the pool of blue that was looking back at
her.

Luke had carried her to the sofa and held her in his lap as she came to from her fainting
spell.

“How are you feeling, Merrie?” Luke smiled, running his fingers gently over her face.

Meredith smiled back, knowing this was not a dream. No one but Luke had ever called
her Merrie. It was like music to her ears.

She sat up quickly, and the most wonderful, euphoric feeling—something she hadn’t
felt in what seemed like eons—filled her spirit and bubbled over. “Luke, oh Luke!
I thought you were dead.” Meredith went into her husband’s arms and didn’t care if
she stayed there forever. It felt wonderful being in Luke’s warm embrace; she held
him so tightly she could hardly breathe.

“Everything’s going to be all right now, Merrie.” Luke murmured as he held on just
as tight.

Meredith leaned back and held on to his precious face, looking into those brilliant
eyes. She thought of Psalm 30:11: “Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.” Yes, God had certainly
turned her mourning into gladness today.

“I don’t know where to begin,” she said softly.

“Neither do I,” he whispered against her ear. As Luke held Meredith’s hand, he relayed
to her all that had transpired: the assault at the bus station; his memory loss, surgeries,
and rehabilitation; and the time spent with the Baileys. Luke also mentioned how the
Baileys, all except for Anne, had driven him home all the way from Darby.

Meredith leaned into Luke’s hand as he gently cupped her face. “I’d like to meet them.”

“You will,” he assured her.

Meredith shed tears, hearing what Luke had gone through, but now she had something
wonderful she wanted to share with her husband. Something she knew would erase the
weeks and months of pain they’d both endured.

Before she could voice the words, Luke lifted her chin so she was looking into his
eyes and said, “Meredith, I need to ask your forgiveness for the things I said to
you before leaving on my trip.”

She sniffed deeply. “I forgive you, but I need to apologize for my part in the disagreements
we had, as well.”

“No more regrets,” he told her. “It’s just you and me now, and we have our whole lives
before us. We can start over with a clean slate.”

“It’s not just you and me anymore,” Meredith said, feeling so happy she thought she’d
burst. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” She reached for Luke’s hand. “Come
with me to my room.”

When they entered Meredith’s bedroom, she led Luke over to the crib that held her
precious surprise. She watched Luke’s expression as he looked from Meredith to the
little angel sleeping soundly while sucking his thumb.

“Luke,” she whispered, “meet your son, Levi.”

Luke drew in a sharp breath. His face broke into a wide smile. “We have a little
bu?”

She nodded. “I suspected I was pregnant before you left on the bus, but I didn’t want
to tell you until I knew for sure. I was planning to give you the news as soon as
you returned from Indiana.” Her voice faltered. “Of course that never happened.”

“Meredith, I’m so sorry,” he apologized, slipping his little finger into Levi’s grasp.

Levi’s small hand held tight to his daddy’s finger, as if feeling the love pass from
father to son. It was a beautiful moment, and among many she would never forget.

She took Luke’s hand, and they sat on the bed, watching Levi’s even breathing, while
Meredith explained everything to Luke about the birth of their son. Then, as if everything
else had disappeared, Meredith remembered that her wedding to Jonah was supposed to
happen in a few hours. Now she knew why those voices of doubt had kept troubling her
about marrying Jonah. She realized what she felt for him had more to do with how good
he was to her son and the fact that Levi needed a father. Even though Meredith knew
it would hurt Jonah, she had to tell him right away. Jonah was kind and sincere and
had been a good friend. She hated the thought that she was about to bring him pain.

As the sun rose, Meredith explained the situation to Luke, and when she said she needed
to tell Jonah right away, Luke nodded with understanding and said, “I’ll go with you,
Merrie.”

Bird-in-Hand

Jonah had been awake since early that morning, unable to sleep. Finally his wedding
day had arrived. He looked outside and whistled, seeing a beautiful day unfolding.
The rain had moved out, and the fog was lifting, forming white wispy clouds against
the bluest of skies. It looked almost too perfect for words. Today he would marry
his true love, and he could hardly wait.

Jonah took a seat at the kitchen table. He was the only one up, but his parents would
be coming down shortly; he’d heard them stirring in their room upstairs.

Herbie started barking, and Jonah glanced out the window, seeing a horse and buggy
pull up. When he opened the front door, he was surprised to see Meredith.

“Come in.” He smiled at his soon-to-be wife. “I didn’t expect to see you this early.”

“Jonah,” she said, biting her lip, “I need to speak with you about something.”

Jonah stiffened. Something was wrong. He could see the wary expression on Meredith’s
face. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Why are you here so early?”

She motioned to the kitchen table. “Please, sit down.”

Jonah did as she asked, and she took a seat across from him.

“I don’t know any other way to say this, but Luke isn’t dead,” she said, speaking
softly and slowly. “He came to my folks’ house late last night.” Meredith paused.
“Jonah, my husband has returned to me.”

Jonah didn’t believe her. “Are you making this up because you’ve changed your mind
and don’t want to marry me?” he asked. He had always sensed a bit of reluctance in
Meredith, even when he thought they had everything worked out.

Meredith shook her head forcibly. “It’s the truth, and I feel bad telling you this
way. The last thing I’d ever want to do is hurt you, Jonah.”

“How can Luke be alive? I mean, the sheriff told you that Luke had been killed when
the bus was hit by a tanker full of gas.”

She nodded. “It’s true. The bus exploded. But Luke wasn’t on it.”

“He wasn’t?”

“No. Some man wanting Luke’s money beat him up at the bus station in Philadelphia.
When Luke regained consciousness, he didn’t know who he was. He was injured quite
badly and spent some time in the hospital. After that, some really nice folks took
him in, and that’s where he’s been all this time. It’s just been recently that Luke’s
memory returned.”

“If this is all true—”

“It is, Jonah. Luke’s outside in my buggy right now.”

Jonah went over to the window. He could see the silhouette of a man sitting in the
buggy, holding the reins. “He doesn’t look like an Amish man,” Jonah protested. “He’s
not wearing Amish clothes, and where’s his beard?”

“It’s a long story,” Meredith said, “but my husband has returned, and we can’t be
married.” She blinked, as though fighting back tears. Not wishing to make things any
harder for her, Jonah decided to deal with her news the best way he could, although
inside his heart was breaking. Jonah wanted so badly to be Meredith’s husband. Obviously,
that was not meant to be.

Luke waited nervously in the buggy, wondering how things were going with Meredith
and the man she was supposed to marry—a man Luke had never met. Luke had watched as
Meredith knocked on the door. She’d turned back and waved reassuringly to him.

Out of the blue, another image entered Luke’s mind. On the day he’d gone up in the
hot air balloon, he’d noticed a woman walking toward the parking area. For a moment
she had turned, watching him, and then she’d waved back as the balloon he was in went
higher and higher. Luke would have to share that story with Meredith later on. It
was wonderful, knowing they had the rest of their lives ahead of them to plan, share,
and grow old together. God had given them both a second chance.

But how would Jonah take the news? Would he be upset? Would he wish Luke really were
dead?

The front door opened, and Meredith came out of the house with a man walking behind
her. The guy looked nice enough, although even from this distance, Luke could see
a hint of sadness in his eyes.