The Matchmaker (30 page)

Emma, however, was not convinced. “
Daed
is a creature of habit, Gideon. You are well aware of that.” She frowned at the difficulty that was presented by the situation. “He likes his walks at four o’clock, down the same road and by the same farms. He’s familiar with this house for almost thirty years. He does not adapt well to change,” she pointed out. “Remember the fuss he made when Irene married your
bruder?
To move him, at this stage of his life . . . I fear it would be rather traumatic for him.”

There was validity to her argument, and Gideon knew better than to debate her on the issue. With a heavy sigh he nodded his head. “Then I shall have no choice but to move into your
haus
.”

His offer surprised her and she brightened at the thought. “You would do that?”

He laughed at her response and gave her another quick hug. “For you, Emma? I would do just about anything!”

“And I you,” she whispered. For a brief moment Emma let him hold her, her cheek pressed against his shoulder. She shut her eyes and said a silent prayer, thanking God for the long, winding journey that led her to this moment. In all of her attempts to match others to their perfect mate, she had never contemplated her own. Clearly the hand of the Lord had guided her to this destination, a destination that she didn’t know existed until the very moment she fell upon it.

Chapter Nineteen

F
OR AS MUCH
as Paul’s marriage to Alice had stunned the
g’may
and Francis’s betrothal to Jane had taken everyone in the community by surprise, when word began to spread around the church district about Gideon King and Emma Weaver, it was met with broad smiles and general happiness. Indeed, the reaction was just the opposite of what occurred with the two previous announcements. Instead of the news being responded to with “Did you even suspect?” or “How long have they known each other?” the community greeted the unofficial announcement about Gideon’s engagement to Emma with “Why, what took them so long?”

Only two people did not respond in such a positive manner: her
daed
and Hannah.

During the week immediately following his proposal, Gideon had made a point of stopping by the Weavers’
haus
every day in the late afternoon. When Henry went for his four o’clock walk, Gideon and Emma spent their time discussing the best way to tell her
daed
, for she had insisted on delaying telling him the news of their engagement, fearful of his reaction to the consequent changes that would undoubtedly befall all of them.

“He’s going to be devastated,” Emma fretted, pacing the floor with Gideon standing patiently as he tried to comfort her as best as he could.

“Time and repetition of the
gut
news will ease his worries, Emma. If we present it to him in a positive light, he should have little argument, don’t you agree? He’s stronger than you think.”

So it was decided that the sooner they told him the better.

On Friday when Gideon arrived for his now-daily visit, they finally told Henry the news. Ten minutes had passed since Gideon’s arrival. Henry had asked all of his regular questions and shared his own news, for he had visited with Daniel Zook earlier in the day. He had just excused himself for a moment to go upstairs and retrieve a sweater, realizing it was growing cold in the room.

With a quick glance in Emma’s direction, Gideon nodded his head, indicating that now was the time. “Today, Emma,” Gideon whispered when her
daed
was out of hearing. “We cannot delay this anymore.”

She pouted. “He’s dreaded this day since I was a little girl!”

Gideon laughed at her expression and reached out to touch her chin. “But you are no longer a little girl, need I remind you of that fact?”

She waited until he had returned and settled back into his recliner before she cleared her throat and, with one last apprehensive look at Gideon, took a deep breath and faced her
daed.
“I . . . I must tell you something that is quite
wunderbaar gut
news,” she started, wringing her hands nervously in her lap.

Henry frowned at her. “News? What news? Did someone stop by earlier when I was away?” He looked genuinely confused, knowing that Emma had not left the house that day
so any news that she had received should have been shared well before now.

She laughed an uneasy laugh and looked at Gideon, who was seated beside her
daed
in the rocking chair
.
Once again he nodded his head in encouragement. Bravely Emma swallowed her fear and forced herself to say the very words that she had practiced with Gideon. “The news is about the very two people seated before you,” she said, gesturing toward Gideon. “We wanted you to be the first to know that the bishop will be announcing our banns at the next worship service.”

He simply stared at her, no expression on his face. Had he heard her? She waited for a response but there was none. Just as she was about to repeat herself, Henry finally blinked twice and, with a shake of his head, spoke. “How can this be?” He looked first at her, then at Gideon. “I don’t think I understand what you just said. Banns? The two of you?”

Emma nodded her head. “
Ja
, it’s true.”

Henry looked back at her, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Emma, are you sure?”

“Daed
!” She gasped at his question. “Gideon is your friend! He’s a right
gut
man! How can you ask such a thing?”

“Nee
,
nee
,” Henry started apologetically, quickly backtracking so that he was not misunderstood. “It’s not Gideon I worry for! It’s you!”

That was even more unsettling. “Me?”

“Why, you always said you’d never marry,” he explained, his voice still exposing the shock that he was feeling from Emma’s announcement.

Taking a deep breath, she admitted that much was true. “But I have changed my mind. When God leads one to
unfailing love, one should not turn away.” She smiled at Gideon. “And that is what God has done.”

Henry’s face paled. “Then you will leave . . . ” As Emma had suspected, the thought of her marrying would be soured mostly by his fear of living alone.

Gideon cleared his throat and leaned forward. “If it is all the same to you, Henry,” he said. “Emma and I have discussed this matter, and we, with your blessing, would prefer to stay on here.”

“Here?” He looked from one to the other in complete disbelief. “Live here?”

“Ja
, here!” Emma said quickly, her hand fluttering in the air nervously. “And, really,” she said with a timid laugh. “What difference would it make? I mean, after all, you do enjoy Gideon’s company so much anyway. You’re always so excited when he visits. Now, he’ll just ‘visit’ every day.”

Henry seemed to digest this news while Emma chewed on her lip, her familiar gesture of anticipation when nervous and waiting for someone’s reaction. She glanced at Gideon and he raised his eyebrows at her, an approving nod indicating that she had done well. Henry, however, clearly thought otherwise. As the realization that this marriage was truly going to happen sank in and that change was afoot, he turned his attention to Gideon.

“Are you sure?” He spoke slowly, questioning Gideon directly. “About living here? Your business is on your property.”

“And so it shall stay there,” Gideon quipped lightly. “Unless you wish me to move it here, of course.”

“Nee
,
nee!
”

Emma and Gideon laughed at the serious expression that
her
daed
wore upon his face. Only then did he realize that Gideon had spoken in jest.

Sobering, Gideon quickly explained. “It’s not so far away. A simple ten-minute drive by horse and buggy,” he said casually. “As for the
haus
, it’s not as warm and lively as yours. Besides, I can always rent it out, perhaps to another young couple that is soon to be wed?” He didn’t have to state that he was referencing Francis and Jane. It was a clever solution that Emma had thought up just the previous day.

Without any further arguments, Henry lifted his hands in defeat. “I see you have it all worked out,” he said. “This news certainly has taken me by surprise.”

“We know,” Emma replied softly.

“It will take me some time to get used to this idea,” he mumbled as he shook his head. “Gideon and my Emma. I never would have thought it.”

The next day Emma harnessed the horse to the buggy and drove the short distance to Gladys’s home in order to speak with Hannah. She dreaded the exchange, worrying that her friend’s self-confidence as well as her faith would suffer when she learned that, yet again, she had been mistaken about the courtship of a man and that again, Emma was at the core of it. In order to delay the inevitable, Emma let the horse walk most of the way to the Getz
haus
, using the extra few minutes to take deep breaths and practice, once again, the words she was going to say to her friend in order to ease their sting.

Fortunately Emma found Hannah alone at home, sitting at the kitchen table and peeling potatoes for supper. Gladys had gone visiting. One look at Emma’s face and Hannah already knew that bad news arrived with her friend.

“What is it?” she asked quickly, setting down the peeler.

“I must share something with you,” Emma admitted slowly.
“I hesitate to do so because this situation is so similar to the last time I shared upsetting news with you, my dear friend.” Hannah stiffened her back as the meaning of Emma’s statement became clear to her. “The only difference this time,” Emma added, “is the fact that the misunderstanding was not due to my encouragement,” she said. “And it involves Gideon, not Paul.”

Hannah did not respond. She merely stared at Emma.

“And I fear that, this time, it involves me as well,” she said, hesitating as a dry feeling invaded her throat.

She found it hard to complete what she needed to say, for she knew her words would cause her friend certain pain. How many nights had Emma laid in bed awake, thinking that he was going to propose to Hannah? How many days had she paced the kitchen floor, fretting over the day that she would have to sit on a hard bench and watch as the bishop wed Gideon and Hannah? The pain that she had felt was how Hannah would undoubtedly feel when she realized that Gideon cared for another.

Swallowing her fear, she finally confessed what she needed to say. “I must confide in you that I have accepted Gideon’s proposal.”

A dark cloud passed over Hannah’s face. Clearly this was news that she did not expect. Emma didn’t blame her for looking confused. After all, the entire situation still seemed surreal to Emma too.

“I’m not quite sure how to respond to this,” Hannah admitted.

“I’m sure it comes as a surprise.”

“A surprise!
Ja
, to say the least!” There was a definite edge to Hannah’s voice. She stood up and paced the floor, her
arms crossed over her chest. “First Paul and then Gideon? I just don’t know what to make of this!”

“Nor I,” Emma confessed.

Hannah turned around, a frown upon her face. “You? You don’t know what to make of this?” She exhaled loudly and lifted her eyes toward the ceiling. “You taught me to think highly of myself and I believed you.”

“That’s not fair,” Emma exclaimed. “While I admit that I was in error about Paul’s affection, I recognized my involvement and I apologized. I told you that I wouldn’t do it again, and if you recall, I never encouraged you to have feelings for Gideon. In fact, when you told me about your suspicions, I thought his attention might be focused . . . ” She paused, searching for the right word. “Elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere?”

Emma remained silent.

Hannah quickly understood what Emma’s silence meant. “Elsewhere. I see. You suspected his attention lay
elsewhere
, but certainly not with me. It’s never with me, is it?” she sighed, leaving unspoken the part that, for as frequently as it was not “her,” it was, however, “Emma.” Her shoulders slumped forward and she stared down at the floor, her eyes misting over. She sat back down on the sofa and shook her head, a look of sorrow on her face. “My aspirations were too high, I reckon, to expect his to be so low.”