The remainder of the day floated by in a haze of happiness. Leah felt like a queen as she sat on the eck—a raised dais in the corner of the front room, where the wedding party ate. Happy faces filled the house as folks feasted on a traditional “roast” casserole made of chicken and stuffing, creamed celery, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and an assortment of pies the local ladies had provided. Although Alice and Adeline excused themselves after they finished eating, Leah and Jude remained at the table with Gabe to chat with folks who came to express their congratulations. After the first shift’s dishes were cleared and the tables had been reset, they enjoyed the company of the second shift of guests as well.
Later in the afternoon, as she and Jude cut their tiered white wedding cake, the applause and congratulatory remarks again made her feel like a very special woman. It was nearly five o’clock before the out-of-town guests said their good-byes and started for the homes where they were lodging. Margaret made her way to the eck as well, gripping Stevie’s hand as he walked in her shadow.
“Our suitcases are packed and waiting in the buggy, so we’ll be on our way to Jeremiah’s,” she said crisply. “I’ll clear the rest of my clothes from the closet when I bring the kids back on Monday morning.”
Leah’s heart lurched again at the thought of having to manage the household, but she kept a smile on her face. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you want,” she said, echoing Jude’s earlier sentiments.
“I’m sure you’d like that,” Margaret said tersely. “But sooner or later we all must grow up and accept responsibility.”
Jude’s brow furrowed. “Mamm, you’ve got no call to speak to Leah as though she’s shirked her duties or—”
“May God’s blessings fill your life, son. You’ll need all of them you can get.” With that, Margaret turned and started for the door with Stevie in tow.
Before Leah could respond, Jude hugged her close. “Never mind what she’s said,” he whispered, kissing her cheek. “If she’s going to be so cranky, it’s best that she’ll be living at Jeremiah’s, anyway. I’m going to suggest to him that Mamm needs a medical checkup, to see if there’s a physical imbalance causing her to behave this way. It’s nothing you’ve done, Leah, so don’t go blaming yourself.”
As she gazed into her husband’s eyes, Leah chose to believe he was right. It would certainly be more peaceful in her new home if she and Margaret weren’t constantly at odds—and if her efforts at becoming a cook and a housekeeper wouldn’t be found lacking day in and day out. “It’ll be nice to have the house to ourselves for these next few days,” she whispered.
“It’ll be sheer heaven,” Jude promised with a smile.
Chapter 3
For Leah, her wedding night alone with Jude surpassed all the birthdays and other highlights of her lifetime rolled together. For the first time ever, a man was focused solely on her, and on pleasing her in ways she’d never dared to dream about. Mama had left casseroles and other food in the refrigerator, along with a pie, so she didn’t have to cook—and even though she and Jude spent Friday helping her mother clean up after the wedding, it was work that soothed her soul. The three of them washed and put away the tables, and stacked the cartons of clean plates and other tableware carefully in the wedding wagon’s storage compartments.
While Leah and her mother washed and hung the long white tablecloths, Jude began transporting the ducks and chickens to the large pens he’d built on his farm behind an outbuilding he’d emptied for her use.
“Jude’s a happy man,” Mama remarked with a lift of her eyebrow. “And how are you doing, Leah?”
Leah felt herself aglow with the smile on her face. “He’s such a wonderful husband, so kind and caring,” she gushed. “It feels a little odd to share a bed with someone—and to have to think about where the towels, the paper goods, and the dishes are kept in his house. But that would be true no matter whom I’d married.”
“Every bride goes through that adjustment when she moves to a different home—especially if another wife lived there first,” Mama agreed as she tossed the end of a damp white tablecloth to Leah.
They folded the long piece of fabric in half lengthwise, draped it over the clothesline with wooden clothespins, and quickly cranked the pulley handle before the fabric could drag on the ground. Each time they shifted a tablecloth away from the porch post where the clothesline was bolted, it went toward the other end of the line, attached to the barn—which placed empty clothesline in front of them for the next tablecloth. On such a cool, breezy day the laundry made a sound like flapping wings.
“I hope you two will discuss the adjustment that’ll come on Monday morning when Stevie and the twins return,” Mama said softly. “Sorry to say it, but when I overheard some of the unkind remarks Margaret was making, I was just as glad she plans to live with Bishop Jeremiah again.”
Leah sighed. She and Jude had been so immersed in each other, they’d barely mentioned his kids—and the topics they had discussed seemed far too intimate to share with her mother. “I keep believing it’ll all work out, Mama,” she insisted. “God understands my weaknesses, and He’ll provide me the words and the ideas for bringing the five of us together as a family. Jude has already shown me how to make coffee and scramble eggs.”
Mama pressed her lips together as if to challenge Leah’s thoughts, but she kept her doubts to herself.
The three of them enjoyed some wedding leftovers for lunch before Jude transported Leah’s goats to their new home. Leah
