His Love Endures Forever (15 page)

Vera nodded, but gave Anna Marie time to let the news soak in before she spoke. “And
mei sohn
Levi is marrying her because Matthew . . .” She paused. “Well, he left her. And Danielle and Levi are friends. Levi is trying to do an honorable thing, but I thought that maybe if you talked to Matthew that—”

“
Ach
, I see.” Anna Marie stiffened. “You are here to save your own
sohn
.”

Vera stared back at Anna Marie long and hard. “Can you blame me?”

Dawning realization shone across Anna Marie’s face, even as she continued to weep. “I’m going to be a
mammi
?”

Vera nodded.

“And Matthew knows about the
boppli
?” She dabbed at her eyes with the tissue.

Vera nodded again.

“How could he do this? How could
mei
boy shirk his responsibility like this? Danielle could have been baptized, and we would have accepted her and the
boppli
into our lives.”

Vera thought for a moment. “Maybe he is just afraid, worried his family will be shamed since they are with child and not married. Would he listen to you?”

Anna Marie shook her head. “I don’t know. But I will write him a long letter about this matter.”

There was no time for that type of correspondence. “Maybe you should call him, tell him that another man is about to
marry Danielle on Saturday and that he plans to raise the child as his own. Maybe that will bring him home to do the right thing.”

She nodded, recognizing the urgency. “I will travel to our
Englisch
friends up the road and use their phone.”

Vera was surprised that Anna Marie didn’t have a cell phone since her home seemed more modern than most. Or at the least a nearby phone shanty. She stood up. “I’m sorry to bring you this news. But I hope you can understand why I came.”

Anna Marie stood up too and sniffled. “I do.
Danki
. How do I contact you?”

Vera reached into her apron pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. “Here is our phone number. The phone is in the barn, but there is an answering machine if I miss your call.”

Anna Marie took the piece of paper, then followed Vera out of the kitchen to the front door. “I will call you this evening. I must spend much time in prayer, then I will call Matthew.”

Vera nodded. “God’s peace to you.”

“And to you.”

Anna Marie closed the door, and Vera made her way down the porch steps and back to the car where Wayne was patiently waiting. She would pray that Anna Marie could get through to Matthew . . . or that Sarah could reach Levi.

Please . . . either one, Lord
.

S
ARAH WAS HOLED
up in her room—fuming. She’d had her choice of every eligible suitor in their district. Even though there were only seven young men within her age group, she knew she could have any of them. But she’d chosen Levi . . .

How is Vera faring with Matthew’s mother?
She paced back and forth.

Sitting down on her bed, she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, shivering—partly from the chill in her room and partly because she was so mad she could spit.

Sarah had never liked Danielle Kent, even before Sarah found out that Levi was going to marry her.
What a waste of a
good Amish man
. Danielle dressed provocatively and tossed her hair in a proud manner. It was no wonder she’d gotten herself pregnant. But to drag Levi into her mess was just inexcusable. She puffed out a breath of frustration, then let go of her legs and swung them over the side of the bed, thankful that Lizzie was downstairs. Sarah was too old to be sharing a bedroom with the twelve-year-old, but since Sarah and Lizzie were the only girls out of the seven children, she didn’t have much of a choice.

Sarah slid her black leather shoes back and forth against the wooden floor, thinking.

Vera’s words echoed in her mind.
“Do what you can to stop
Levi from making the biggest mistake of his life.”

Sarah could feel her bottom lip twitching as her mind whirled with thoughts that God wouldn’t approve of. Or would He? Surely God wouldn’t want Levi ruining his life in this way. She couldn’t believe that she wasn’t just losing Levi, but she was losing him to an
Englisch
girl who was pregnant with someone else’s child. There had to be some way to make Levi change his mind, to get him to call off this wedding. And she didn’t have much time to figure it out.

Think, Sarah, think
. She tapped her finger to her chin. Sarah knew that it was wrong to be vain, but just the same, she
knew that she was prettier than Danielle. What was it about Danielle that would make Levi want to marry her, especially under these circumstances? Maybe he found her exciting because she was
Englisch
?

Sarah had been in her
rumschpringe
for three years, but she’d never taken full advantage of the freedoms that the running-around period allowed for. She’d seen a few movies, but she’d never worn blue jeans or other
Englisch
clothes, nor snuck out of the house, nor done some of the other things that her friends had done.
Am I boring? Compared to Danielle?
But after some thought, she realized that being more
Englisch
wasn’t the answer. She needed to somehow lure Levi back into the Amish world, make him never want to leave. Not even for a pregnant
Englisch
girl he was trying to save from single motherhood.

She thrust backward on her bed, slinging her arms to her sides, as she wondered what Danielle did to entice Levi into her world. And to
marry
her. Maybe she should have thrown herself more at Levi, as Danielle surely had. But Levi was so shy, she hadn’t even been able to get him to kiss her. She had to find some way to make Levi see Danielle for the person she really was. Although, if being pregnant by another man and unmarried wasn’t enough for him to see . . . Sarah wasn’t sure what would be. She was sitting back up on the bed when the door to her room eased open.

“
Mamm
says come downstairs. We’re having devotion.” Lizzie put her hand on her hip like the bossy twelve-year-old she was. “Now.”

Sarah waved a hand at Lizzie. “Get out of here. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“It’s my room too.”

Sarah closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. “Lizzie . . . I’ll be there in a minute.”

Lizzie slammed the door, and Sarah could hear her sister’s feet pounding down the stairs.

But then the lantern in Sarah’s head ignited, and she knew the one thing that she had that Danielle did not.

Faith
.

Martha might drag Danielle to worship services on occasion, but Sarah knew that the girl didn’t have much of a relationship with God . . . or so she’d heard from several folks, including Levi himself. And Vera. That’s what Sarah would use to her advantage to make Levi see what a big mistake he was making.

And if that didn’t work, Sarah had another idea . . .

  
Ten

DANIELLE FOLLOWED
M
ARTHA’S LEAD AND SHOOK
the preacher’s hand, grateful that the man had agreed to perform their wedding ceremony.

Danielle looked at her watch. In less than three hours, she and Martha had reserved the church, hired caterers for the reception to be held at their house, bought Danielle a dress, and ordered a small bouquet and boutonniere for the occasion.

As she and Martha climbed into Martha’s car, Danielle touched her stomach. She’d been surprised that she had to get a dress one size larger than usual. But she was pleased with the simple ivory, knee-length dress that she and Martha had surprisingly both loved. Danielle hoped Levi would like it too. Right now, everything in her life seemed surreal.

“You and Levi will go get your marriage license tomorrow, right?” Martha pulled out of the church parking lot, and Danielle settled back against the seat.

“Yep.”

“And, Danielle . . . you’re
sure
about all this?” Martha twisted briefly to face her, pushing some hideous red sunglasses up on
her nose. The woman asked her the same question at least four times a day.

“I’m sure.” Danielle kept her eyes in front of her. Martha’s driving made her nervous. And Martha had the same complaint about Danielle’s driving. They always battled over who would drive, but Martha won this morning. “Did you hear any more from Vera?”

Martha tapped her thumbs against the steering wheel. “Hmm . . . funny you should mention that. I haven’t heard a word from her, which means she must be up to something. You and Levi marrying has rocked her world, and I doubt she’s sitting around sewing you a wedding quilt.”

Danielle leaned against the headrest and closed her eyes. Her future mother-in-law would undoubtedly make life miserable for her, but she sure hoped that things would somehow be okay between Levi and his mother. By now, his sister Emily and her family knew about the wedding, and Jacob and Beth Ann knew too. Everyone would likely be polite about it, but Danielle knew they all had to be upset that Levi was marrying outside of the faith. Danielle thought about her own mother. She’d toyed with the idea of calling her, telling her that she was getting married, that she was going to be a grandmother. But an unfamiliar sense of protection washed over Danielle for the life growing inside her. She didn’t want her mother around her child.

“Danielle, I’m going to tell you something. And I hope you’re listening.”

“I’m listening.” Danielle opened her eyes and turned to face Martha.

“Levi has a strong faith, and—”

“Martha,” Danielle interrupted, slapping one hand to her
knee. “I
know
. We’ve had this conversation already. I’m not going to do anything to mess up Levi’s faith.”

They were quiet for a few minutes before Martha spoke up again. “God is here for you. Even in the middle of all this messiness. You just have to reach out to Him.” She turned to Danielle again as they pulled into the driveway at home and gave her a pat on the leg, smiling.

Then where has He been for the last eighteen years? Standing
on the sidelines while my mother beat me? When my father died?
When Matthew got me pregnant?

Levi could believe what he wanted to. But if that was all that God had to offer, Danielle didn’t need any more from Him.

V
ERA SLAMMED THE
dinner plates down on the table Tuesday night, fury building inside of her. Surely Anna Marie had gotten hold of her son by now and talked some sense into him. But just in case, Vera’s backup plan was on her way. She’d just put the last plate on the table when Betsy walked into the kitchen.

“Is Sarah coming for supper so she can try to talk Levi out of marrying Danielle?” Betsy opened the refrigerator and stared inside.

Vera stopped what she was doing and eyed her daughter. “Betsy, don’t stand there with the refrigerator open. And what in the world made you say that?” Vera moved toward the stove and stirred the pot of stew she had simmering, taking a deep breath, hoping that Betsy wouldn’t say such things over supper. Sarah was her last hope, and she’d already figured it out. The way to Levi’s heart was through his faith.

“I know you don’t like Danielle, and you want Levi to marry Sarah. But I really like Danielle.” Betsy pulled the rhubarb jam and a jar of chowchow from the refrigerator and placed them on the table. She twisted the top from the chowchow and made a face the way she always did. Her youngest daughter didn’t like the pickled vegetables that were served with lunch and supper.

Vera put the lid back on the stew before turning to face young Betsy. “I have never said that, Betsy. And you best mind your manners tonight. Saying such things will only upset your
bruder
.”

“Did you know that fifty percent of first marriages in the
Englisch
world end in divorce?” Betsy tapped a finger to her chin and smiled. “But I don’t think that will happen to Danielle and Levi.”

Lord, give me strength
. Vera closed her eyes for a moment, sighed, then opened her eyes and stared at her daughter. “Betsy, where on God’s green earth do you learn of such things?” She shook her head, walked to Betsy, and straightened her
kapp
, which was lopsided.

Betsy eased away frowning, pushing strands of blond hair away from her face. Then she shrugged. “I heard it from Mr. Parsons at the hardware store.”