Sarah sat on her
porch, watching him leave, grateful that he had never once wondered about the
happiest day of her life, had never even implied that she should somehow choose
between her two wedding days. She was
both excited and nervous about tomorrow, and tired after a day of battling
mixed emotions.
She was about to
walk inside when Mrs. Whemper came up to her porch.
“Why, hello
there!” she said in a voice that sounded falsely sweet. “I thought that no bride should be alone the
night before her wedding.” She plopped
herself on a chair, though Sarah remained standing by the door. “And how are you feeling? Are you all right? Some of us other ladies were wondering if
maybe you were a touch nervous, because after all, you barely know the man, but
I said, 'Ladies, our Sarah know what she's getting herself into', and they...”
“Yes,” said Sarah,
unwilling to continue the conversation.
She had spent the day mourning her husband and looking forward to being
remarried. All the emotion had drained
her, physically and mentally, and she was too exhausted to try to smile through
an unwelcome speech. “But it was good of
you to be thinking of me. You needn't
worry about me, Matilde. I'm feeling
quite happy.” Sarah felt a great rush of
elation to realize that she was happy.
Nervous, yes, but happy. “Are
you?”
Mrs. Whemper's
mouth opened and closed as if nobody had ever asked her so blatantly whether or
not she was happy. Before she could
think of an answer, Sarah went inside.
She was getting
married tomorrow, and she was happy.
And so it was that
on a fine summer day, Jacob Micheael Hadley married Sarah Morgan Harrison, and
they spent nearly fifty years together.
They had three beautiful girls, Jessica, Melissa, and Julia, and one
boy, Morgan, who looked just like his father.
They found happiness growing from the midst of sorrow.
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