Jake let up on the gas. “If you go, Evie, take me with you.”
“Don’t be preposterous,” Harvey said. “Of course she’s not crossing the Atlantic on a jet. Flying in an aircraft is verboten.”
“What about taking a cruise ship?” Jake’s singsongy voice told me he was taunting Harvey, whose upper lip lifted into a snarl.
“Do you or do you not wish to become baptized and marry Eva?” Harvey said.
“Yah, I do. But could we not take a trip as a honeymoon? Or even go somewhere special before then?”
“Before you get married?” Harvey’s raspy voice flooded the car’s interior.
“We could go to a justice of the peace,” Jake said. “I asked Eva to go to one with me yesterday before it dawned on me we needed a marriage license first. Maybe tomorrow, before my dat returns home.”
If Jake were trying to exacerbate Harvey’s ire, he was doing a fine job.
“I could never allow such a thing,” Harvey said.
“But tell me this,” Jake persisted. “If Eva and I married outside the church, could we later become baptized?”
“I’ve heard of such cases, but why would a couple choose to do such a thing? In my opinion, you’re being obstinate and thoughtless.”
As the men spoke, I envisioned traveling to Italy. But wasn’t the view of the barn and fields at sunset from Jake’s kitchen as beautiful as any I’d ever seen? I guessed we could always hop on a train sometime and visit the rest of the country, as others had.
Harvey turned in his seat to speak to Jake. “Why are you suggesting such a preposterous idea?”
“Because I don’t want you to marry Eva, and I don’t want to wait to marry her. You have control over when we get baptized, but we are not helpless.”
Harvey craned his head to speak to me. “You would actually consider marrying this reprobate of a man in a courthouse?”
“Would it not be legal?” I asked.
“Yah, it would be legal, but not obedient.” His eyes narrowed. “Don’t you wish to obey Gott? Aren’t you the girl who’s tried to break loose from the rumors encumbering her like lead weights? How can you expect the Lord’s forgiveness when you disobey him?”
“Ask for compassion?” I said. “Forgive all others who’ve harmed me?”
“Are you implying I’m harming you now when all I’m trying to do is help you?” Harvey’s mouth twisted.
“But, Harvey,” Jake said, “I have yet to see any indication that you love her.”
I held my breath as Jake took a sharp turn onto a side road.
“I love everyone in the district.” Harvey was stalling, as far as I could tell.
“But do you love Eva above all other women? You’re lonely, as any widower who adored his wife would be.” Jake seemed to have us driving in circles.
Harvey’s face sank into his opened hands. “You can’t imagine how lonely I’ve been.”
I felt like weeping when I heard the tremor in his voice. I, too, knew loneliness.
“Yah, I can relate,” Jake said. “But Evie will never take your frau’s place.”
“I know that.” Harvey pinched between his eyes. “No one could ever replace my dearest wife. But eventually—maybe when my girls marry—I might wed a widow. I can’t imagine the solitude once my dochders leave home.”
Jake slapped the turn indicator. “One way or another, I will marry Evie, and sooner rather than later. Either at the county courthouse or during a church service, which means both Evie and I must be baptized in the near future. We can’t wait until the crops are harvested in the fall and the celery has grown in her mamm’s garden. We’ll pick up celery at the supermarket.”
Jake pulled to a halt and caught my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Do you agree, Evie?”
“Yah, I do. I can’t wait that long either, not after all these years.”
“Ach, what are we doing here?” Harvey looked up at his own house. Jake had driven him back home without our noticing.
Harvey’s mother-in-law opened the door and waved.
“Where to now?” I asked Jake after Harvey had gotten out.
“To visit my parents, to announce the gut news. And then to yours.”
EPILOGUE
Two years later
Eva Miller stood at the kitchen sink gazing out the window at the most beautiful view on earth. Her loving husband, Jake, cradled and bounced their six-month-old son. Their collie—Jake’s engagement gift to her instead of a clock—circled Jake and licked the child’s bare feet, generating giggles of laughter. Beyond them stretched their cornfields.
Next to the house, Eva’s flower garden thrived, blooming in a riot of color, a pleasant view for Ruth and Amos from the daadi haus, where they now resided. Amos’s thinking was still a bit fuzzy, but he was growing stronger every day. Both he and Ruth had been ecstatic to add Eva to the family.
Eva’s smile widened as she recalled how quickly the bishops had convened for a special meeting once Harvey told them Jake and Eva planned to obtain a marriage license at the Lancaster County courthouse, even if that required Eva to get a photo ID. The bishops agreed it was best for Jake and Eva to marry in the church, which required the couple to be baptized immediately. Harvey bent the rules, but not without reluctance. He warned Jake he intended to keep a close watch on him. Eva told Harvey she would too.
Eva’s mamm provided them a home wedding, much to her mamm’s delight. Upon hearing the news, Marta flew into action and orchestrated the festive celebration. Olivia Beiler, again the manager of the café after helping Ruth with Amos for a time, took charge of the menu and food preparation. Three hundred people squeezed into Eva’s parents’ home. Two sittings were required to accommodate the hungry crowd after the ceremony. A few Englischers, such as Stephen, his new girlfriend, and Beatrice, were welcome guests.
Bishop Harvey officiated at the ceremony. His eyes glistened with genuine happiness as he pronounced Jake and Eva husband and wife. There was hardly
