The Most Wonderful Bride of the Year by Leah Atwood

Author:Leah Atwood [Atwood, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-10-30T05:00:00+00:00

Later that afternoon, Cora was in her temporary room. Thoughts of Eli circled her mind and she couldn’t help but smile, because surely, God was smiling down on her when he paired the two of them together. So far, she couldn’t find a single fault in him. From the way he interacted with her aunt, she knew he had a sense of humor, along with a kind heart. From the effort put into and words about the nativity scene he’d crafted, she’d seen evidence of his faith’s veracity. There was also the way he put her at ease. After only a short time, she felt comfortable in his presence.

And then he was handsome on top of all that. He’d described himself as average, but there was nothing mediocre about the way he looked. If the measure of a man were only by his looks, he’d be at the top. Sitting on the bed, she hugged herself in a dreamy state. She couldn’t wait to be Mrs. Farley.

She spread her hands over the patchwork quilt, marveling how soft the mattress underneath was. Back at Pa’s house, she’d had only a bed of straw atop a wooden platform to sleep on. Even covered with a thin linen, the straw would often poke her. Sleeping on this mattress, she would feel like a queen and she couldn’t help but wonder what the mattress she’d have at Eli’s would be like.

Her hand collided with the packages Aunt Patricia, or Eli as she suspected, gave her. The brown paper was still smooth and unrumpled. Carefully, she untied the strings and opened the gifts. Inside each was a beautiful dress. She held them up, letting out a gasp of delight. They weren’t fancy, of which she was glad. Made from basic patterns and designs, they were still beautiful.

Looking down at the dress she wore, every sewn-back-together hole and threadbare spot screamed to her. Without warning, she began to sob. Now it all made sense. Eli was an upstanding member of the community, and so must be his wife. How horrified he must have been when he saw the state of her attire and realized she had nothing else. That’s why he’d disappeared while she’d cleaned up from their meal. All the jubilation she’d felt moments before came crashing down, replaced with humiliation.

She couldn’t even be mad at him. If anything, his thoughtfulness endeared him to her even more, but what did she have to offer him? All she could offer was a little knowledge of working at a mercantile. Goodness, she knew precious little about being a wife, or mother—if the blessing came. She’d wanted so badly for this to work out, but how could it? No, it just wouldn’t be fair for him to attach himself to her. He deserved someone better, a woman who was better equipped to be the wife of such a fine man.

Another heavy sob wracked her. What would she do if she didn’t marry Eli? Maybe Aunt Patricia would let her stay with her indefinitely and Eli would let her work at the mercantile.

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