A Pure Love to Mend their Trust – Extended Epilogue

“Mama?” Emmy asked, holding up a banana for Annie to peel for her.

Those chubby little hands were not yet strong enough to grip the rare fruit and pull back. They were not strong, but they were precious to Annie in every way.

“Here you are, my love,” Annie said, taking it and doing her duty.

Emmy smiled, her toothy grin bringing a flourish of joy into Annie’s chest.

“How much longer? I think they are both getting hungry,” Annie said, asking Jethro about their journey.

“I know; I’m sorry. I think the town is still about an hour away. I hope the fruit will hold Emmy that long,” Jethro replied, gently snapping the reins to get the horses moving a little bit faster.

Nathan was lying with his head on Annie’s lap. Nearly two years old, he was a quiet little boy, but he was looking at Emmy’s banana with longing.

“Do you want one?” Annie asked him.

He nodded, those big, blue eyes so lovely that she thought she would never be able to deny him anything.
She pulled out the last of the bananas that had been brought to them by a visiting minister from the southern regions of the country. A delicious gift.

The journey had been long so far, but Annie was glad for it. Their family needed this time to simply be together.

Life for a reverend and his wife was wonderful and rich, and rewarding in so many ways, but it did not come without its challenges and exhaustion. Taking this trip was a chance for them to have time together, away from everything that was good, but tiring. It was a chance to just enjoy one another and do ministry for their own family for a change.

“Are you excited?” Jethro asked.

“More than words can express. I’m looking forward to reaching the inn and having a bit of rest, but I am more excited about spending this time with my three loves,” Annie said.

“Me too, Annie. Me too,” Jethro said.

The trip had originally been planned to celebrate five years of marriage, but it had to be pushed out by a few months when three separate couples in the congregation all planned their own weddings right in a row. But Jethro had been happy to officiate, to join them all in the unity of marriage.

But here they were, at last, on their way to the region of Montana to see the stunning glaciers they had heard so much about.

Once they reached the inn, a little before noon, the family took an hour to eat an early lunch and then take a rest. They had already seen so much beauty and enjoyed so much of God’s creation that they didn’t feel they were wasting any time.

But by the time they were up and rested in the afternoon, they decided to do a bit of nearby exploration, taking a walk along some of the paths that were being formed by those who lived in the area.

It was the next day that they went to the glaciers and truly got to indulge in the beauty of it all.

“Mama, it’s cold,” Emmy said, putting a finger in at the water’s edge.

“Oh! Emmy! Don’t get so close. The river is fast,” Annie said, rushing to scoop her daughter away.
Jethro laughed.

“Don’t worry. She is going to be a good girl, aren’t you? You won’t get so close to the water,” Jethro said.

He had Nathan perched on his shoulders, strong and brave as ever. Emmy giggled and shook her head in a promise that she would be obedient.

“You better listen, little one. I don’t want to have to fish you out of the drink,” Annie warned her.

“We must tell Timothy and Rachel to come here. I can’t think of anything more beautiful. Of course, they can’t come yet,” Annie said.

“Yes, they really should, once she has the baby and has time to recover. I know it is going to be hard for them when we get back and talk about how glorious it is. They will want to get away, to come immediately,” Jethro said.

“I’m sure we can try to be sensitive to that. We can just tell them to come when they are ready. But I’m sure that will be more than a year from now,” Annie said.

“Caleb is old enough to walk on his own, at least, so they will just have to carry the new baby,” Jethro reasoned.

“I wish we could all have come together,” Annie said.

“Yes, it would have been nice, but it would have defeated the purpose of this little trip. It was meant to be a time to get away, just us. A family outing to rest and connect,” Jethro reminded her.

“I know, I know. And I’m glad for that. It’s all I really wanted. I only mean that it would be nice to share it with the others that we love. I want them to experience this beauty like we have been able to,” Annie said, watching the cold river rush through the stones that lined the edges.

“But we should also tell Abigail and Mark. If we had had the chance to come here when we were newly married? I think it would have been such a wonderful time. I have no doubt that we would have taken advantage of every moment. And, although I love being here with our little ones, it certainly would have been easier to come when it was just the two of us,” Jethro said, laughing as Nathan gripped his hair and tried to turn Jethro’s head to look at a deer that was barely visible up ahead on the path.

Annie laughed.

“Yes, that is certainly true. We should let them know. After all, Abigail wants to be a mother so badly that I have no doubt it is only a matter of time. You’re right; they should come quickly, before that happens,” she said.

They spent the day traipsing through the exquisite nature and indulging in their excitement. For lunch, they pulled out the blanket they had brought and spread it out on a large, flat rock.

“Here, do you want some cheese?” Annie asked, pulling it out and setting it next to the bread.

“Thank you,” Jethro said, taking it and cutting a slice.

Annie made little sandwiches for the children, who nibbled excitedly.

“Mama, is this your first time here?” Emmy asked.

“Yes, my dear, it is. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Annie asked.

“Oh, yes, Mama. But why didn’t you and Papa ever come before?” she asked.

“We never had the chance to until now. Besides, we wanted to make sure that you and your brother got to see it as well,” Annie said, suddenly glad that they had come as a whole family rather than having made the trip before they had children. It was wonderful having everyone together.

“Mama, when did you and Papa get married?” Emmy asked, then.

“Hmm? It was more than five years ago,” Annie said.

“I am almost five,” Emmy said.

“You are barely four,” Annie told her with a laugh.

“But why didn’t you get married sooner?” Emmy continued.

Annie looked at Jethro and smiled. It was a story that she had long been excited to share with her children.

Of course, she had always intended to share it with them when they were older and better able to understand and appreciate the intricacies of the tale.

But that was hardly going to stop her now from telling Emmy every last detail.

“Well, did you know that Grandmother and Grandfather actually wanted me to marry someone else first? Then that man turned out to be not so nice. He was a very mean man. So, then, Grandmother and Grandfather arranged for me to marry your Papa,” Annie explained.

“What? Why did they want you to marry someone who was mean?” Emmy asked.

“They didn’t know he was mean. I didn’t know either until a long time after,” Annie said.

“So then you married Papa?” Emmy asked.

“Yes. Then, the Lord found a way to bring me and your papa together. It was hard at first because that mean man told us both so many lies about each other. It was hard for me and your papa to trust each other because of all the things that he was saying. But, Emmy, your papa was always a good man,” Annie said.

“I know that!” Emmy exclaimed.

“Good!” Annie said, laughing. “And you must only ever marry a man who is good like your Papa.”

“All right, Mama, I will. But what happened to the mean man?” Emmy asked.

Annie looked at Jethro and considered her words. Bartholomew still lived in town, and she didn’t want Emmy to ever say anything harsh against him, knowing that the words of a child may be said innocently but could still hurt someone.

“Well, that man isn’t perfect, just like none of us are. But, sadly, he still hasn’t made better decisions. He lives all alone. He doesn’t have a wife and children like Mama and Papa do,” Annie said.

“That’s too bad for him. I know that you and Papa love having each other and having me and Nathan,” Emmy said.

“Yes, we really do. So it is very sad. But it is also very sad that he still doesn’t live his life for the Lord. But, you know what, Emmy? Papa and I have made the decision that we should forgive him anyway,” Annie said.

“You forgive him for being mean to you?” Emmy asked.

“Exactly. He may have done something very bad, but we know that the Lord shows mercy to us, even when we do bad things. So, the Bible tells us, we have to show mercy to others. And I can tell you that I have been so happy since showing mercy and forgiving him,” Annie said.

“That’s really good, Mama. I’m glad that you and Papa have made a good decision to be more like Jesus,” Emmy said.

“Oh, I fail a lot, my dear. I am not always perfect by any means. But we want to be people who listen to the Lord and are obedient to his Word. This is a part of that,” Annie said.

Emmy nodded, apparently understanding what her Annie was saying.

“Well, I’m glad that he didn’t keep you two apart,” Emmy said.

Annie grinned at Jethro, who was watching intently and with amusement the entire conversation.

“Me too, Emmy. I’m glad that the Lord saw fit to bring us together,” Jethro said.

They continued with their lunch and enjoying the fine weather around them. There was peace and rest that they had scarcely had for a good long while. But in the midst of it all, there was joy.

“Can we stay here forever?” Annie asked, lying back on the blanket.

“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Jethro replied.

“It really would. To just come here and build a home and have a garden and live in the quiet beauty of these glaciers,” Annie said.

“I imagine it would get quite cold in the winter time,” Jethro teased.

“All right, yes, it would. But what about the rest of the year?” she asked, indulging the dream.

“You know I made a commitment,” he said, happy but still reminding her of the verses he had spoken at their wedding when he made a commitment to both Annie and to the church.

“Where you go, I will go,” Annie said, reciting a brief section.

“Exactly,” he said.

“In that case, we can move the whole town up here. The whole church. They will come, so we will come,” she said with a giggle.

Jethro lay back next to her, and Nathan and Emmy snuggled up beside them. Well, somewhat beside them and somewhat on top of them.

They looked up at the wide, blue sky. There was not a cloud that marred the purity of it. Annie gazed up with her heart full to bursting. This is what the Lord had given them. This was a great kindness that they had only ever dreamt of.

They remained for a long while, but eventually, the time came that they knew they would have to return to the inn. They would have a few more days of enjoying the visit before returning home so were thankful to know that they could do this again and again before they left.

“It shouldn’t take us too long to get back,” Jethro said.

Annie nodded, but when she looked around, she realized with sudden fear that Emmy was nowhere to be seen.

“Emmy? Emmy!” she screamed.

Jethro immediately took to panicking as well.

“The river,” Annie said, terror shaking her body as she ran to the edge and her eyes scanned the water.

“Emmy!” she screamed again, Jethro rushing to her side with Nathan in his arms.

From behind, Annie heard an angry shush! and turned around.

Emmy was standing there, giving them each a scolding look with hands on her hips. Annie started to run towards her, tears of relief in her eyes, but Emmy gave her that same scolding expression, a finger to her lips, and pointed up ahead.

There was a family of deer grazing. A male, a female, and two growing fawns.

“You’ll scare them away,” Emmy said in a harsh whisper, one that Annie knew had been learned directly from the times that she would tell Emmy to lower her voice while Nathan was sleeping.

Annie was so filled with relief that she scooped Emmy up in her arms anyway and they stood, quietly, watching the deer.

The female’s head popped up, and she looked at them, measuring whether they were a threat. But then, she returned to her grazing, deciding that there was nothing about them to inspire worry.

“They’re beautiful,” Jethro said, quietly.

“They’re peaceful,” Annie replied.

They watched a little while longer until the family of deer decided they wanted a new area to graze and moved on.

“Well, now that that is over, Emmy, you cannot run off like that,” Annie said.

“I was just right over there,” Emmy said, pointing to a space behind a few bushes where they would not have been able to see her.

“Didn’t you hear us calling you?” Annie asked.

“Yes, but you always told me to be quiet so I don’t scare animals when I see them. I didn’t want to yell that I was right there in case it made them leave,” Emmy said.

“I know, but you should always come when we call for you, all right? We were so frightened,” Annie said.

“I’m sorry, Mama. I was so excited. It was a mama and a papa and two children. A family. Just like ours,” Emmy said.

Annie looked at Jethro, who couldn’t help grinning at their daughter’s logic. She was right. It was a family. Just like theirs.

“All right, well, we need to head back now. Let’s all just be thankful that we are safe and together,” Jethro said.

“That sounds good to me,” Annie replied.

They made their way back to the inn and had a wonderful dinner. After, they got Emmy and Nathan down to rest.

“Let’s say our bedtime prayer, all right?” Jethro said, leading the children.

“Thank you, Lord, for this day. Thank you for loving us and taking such good care of us. Thank you for showing us the beauty of your creation and thank you for showing us so many wonderful things,” Jethro prayed.

Then, Annie inserted her own thanks.

“Thank you, Lord, for our family. Thank you for the time that we had together and this trip that is so refreshing for our souls.”

“Thank you, God, for my mommy and daddy and sissy,” Nathan prayed, the same as he did every night.

“And thank you, Lord, for the family of deer that was just like ours. Amen,” Emmy prayed.

“Amen,” the others echoed.

With the children off to bed, Jethro and Annie went into their room beside the children’s. Instead of lying down and going to sleep, they took a blanket and laid it on the balcony outside their window.

Annie laid down first, and then Jethro joined her, gazing up at the clear sky, dotted with the brightest, whitest stars.

“Can you believe how beautiful this world is?” Annie asked.

“Hardly. I always thought it was stunning where we live. But this? I have never seen anything like this before,” Jethro said.

“No, me either. And even if we can’t stay here forever, I’m glad for these few days,” Annie told him.

“Me too. And I’m glad that the little ones are getting to see it all as well,” Jethro said.

He took Annie’s hand in his, and she felt its warmth. A gentle chill was permeating the night air, and she was happy to have her fingers warmed by her husband’s.

“You know, I’m glad that I didn’t marry the woman I always wanted,” he said.

Annie scoffed.

“Well, thanks,” she said, sarcastically.

“You know what I mean,” he said, nuzzling into her cheek with the cold tip of his nose. “I thought I knew what I wanted in a wife. I thought I had everything planned out perfectly. A future of my own hopes and my own making.”

“Yes, I suppose. But you should probably explain better than that,” Annie warned him.

“I am, don’t worry. What I mean is that I don’t think God gave me the woman that I had always thought I wanted because he had someone so much better for me. A woman who is not only everything that I want, but everything that I need in a wife,” Jethro said.

The warmth in Annie’s fingers spread throughout her entire body, comforted by these words.

“I know what you mean,” she said. “And I am glad that I finally managed to find someone who values me. Someone who sees worth in me.”

“I only see more and more each day,” Jethro said, leaning in to give her a kiss.

With that, they turned their heads to look up at the sky once more, the stars burning bright and endless.

THE END

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