asked his question.
“I used to think it was a chore to cook sometimes, but my mother was not well when she carried Joshua and I had the full load of tending the kitchen and keeping the house clean. I thought if I were cooking for a family of my own it might have been more enjoyable, but I could foresee years ahead of helping with my parents and the child that came so late in their lives. They had not expected to have more children after I was born, for my mother bore several infants born too soon and they were not able to survive. There were four graves beyond our orchard, and she was not happy when she discovered that Joshua was on his way, for she was certain that he would share a similar fate with those who had come before.”
“How fortunate that he was a survivor,” David said softly, looking down at the sleeping child he held. The bottle was almost empty and the baby had bubbled a drop of milk from his mouth, making David yearn to bend low to kiss it away.
“My mother would have been heartbroken had he not lived. I like to think that she knew somehow that he was a healthy child even though she died in birthing him. It wasn’t the birth that caused her death, but the fever she had suffered with for two days. The doctor said it was a miracle that Joshua hadn’t succumbed to it himself, but he didn’t ever show signs of sickness, right from the first. I think he was meant to live.”
“I agree with you, Marianne. He has a purpose in life to fulfill, as do we all. Your mother’s may have been in bearing him and giving him life. We have no way of knowing what lies ahead for a child, only that we must do our best to raise him in such a way that he be a good man and a credit to his parents.”
“I’ll do my best to fulfill my mother’s dreams for him, David. She and my father were so looking forward to his birth, and it seemed I was bitter and angry with God for taking their lives just when it seemed happiness was in their future.”
“We don’t know why things happen the way they do, Marianne, but I’m sure Joshua will be a good man, with you to raise him and provide for him.”
She put two plates on the table, steam rising from the scrambled eggs, and then retrieved the bread from the oven, where it had toasted golden-brown. “Let me take Joshua now,” she said, moving toward the rocking chair, her arms outstretched. She took him carefully in her arms, bent to press her lips on his forehead and carried him to the bedroom.
Within moments she was back, taking her seat at the table, across from where David awaited her presence. He bent his head and spoke brief words of thanks for the food, asking a special thanksgiving for the joyous blessings of Christmas, and then lifted his eyes to meet her gaze.
“Eat while it’s hot, Marianne. We have things to tend to this morning. I haven’t found it in my heart to celebrate Christmas this year, but I find that there is reason to rejoice today. I’m going to speak to our mayor this morning. I don’t want to interrupt his holiday with his family, but I think he will understand the reason for my concern.”
“Will you stay here while I go and see Janet first?” she asked, needing to make arrangements for a place to sleep should Janet be agreeable to the plan she had concocted.
“Of course. Let Joshua have his morning nap while you go, and I’ll clean up the breakfast things.”
Her face lit with a smile, and he thought once again that she was a lovely girl. A woman really, for she was certainly of age to be married and have a child, at least almost out of her teens. And to that end he asked a question that had gnawed at his mind.
“How old are you, Marianne? Perhaps it’s none of my business, but I don’t want anyone to think I’m taking advantage of a young girl, asking you to work for me with little in the way of payment.”
“I’m eighteen,” she answered. “I might have been married and expecting a family of my own by now, but the young man who had been courting me contracted the fever and was buried just before my parents died.” Her eyes were dark with the additional sorrow of that loss and he felt a pang of pity as he considered the grief she must bear.
“I’m sorry for your pain. It may be that we can comfort each other in our grief, Marianne. For if my plans go aright, I’m going to ask my church board their opinion of a marriage between you and me. I think it would work out well for us, and I want you to know that I would not expect you to fill the role of a wife before you felt ready for it. Joshua would have a home and I would have the advantage of a wife in the parsonage, a helpmeet for me in my work. Can I have your permission to ask such a thing?”
She looked up at him, surprise alight in her face. “I hadn’t thought of such a thing, David. I’d only thought of working here and having a chance to give Joshua a good life, with enough food and more clothing as he grows. The thought of marriage hadn’t entered my head.”
“I realize that,” he told her, “but I spent a lot of hours last night trying to find a solution to your problems. This seems to be the answer for both of us. I’d hoped you might be agreeable.”
Marianne was quiet for a few moments as if she must assimilate all he’d said. Her head was bowed as she considered David’s words. She’d not thought of marriage, for having Joshua to care for made her somewhat of a burden for a young man just starting out in his life. Whereas David had been married, knew the ups and downs connected with a relationship with a woman and, much to her surprise, he was willing to take her on, along with her brother, and make a home for her here in the parsonage. She felt a thrill of delight that such a man would be interested in her, that he found her attractive, for surely he would not marry a woman who did not appeal to him.
She donned her cloak, watching as David cleared off the table and rinsed the plates in the sink. He was obviously used to washing up after a meal and she could not help but notice his skills as he wiped off the table, put the dishes into the pan and readied them for washing. He would be a husband to be proud of, she decided, hoping that his plan might bear fruit, that their marriage might be welcome to the townspeople who supported his church and paid his salary.
“I’ll be back shortly, once I talk to Janet,” she told him, opening the back door and stepping onto the porch.
“Joshua will sleep for an hour or two—at least he usually does in the morning after he eats. I’ll give him a bath when he awakens and do his washing. I hope you won’t mind if I use the line behind the stove to dry things on.”
“You are welcome to do as you please while you’re with me, Marianne. I enjoy your company, and having Joshua here is a bonus for me. I feel attached to him already. I hope you’ll truly consider what I’ve asked of you. I’ve only proposed once before, when I asked Laura to be my wife, so I probably didn’t do a very good job of it, but I want you to know that it is the desire of my heart to take care of you and Joshua and give you a home where you’ll be safe and happy. I think I should make it clear that you may have your own bedroom, for I have no intention of pushing you into an intimate relationship. If and when you are ready to truly be a wife, I’ll expect you to let me know, for I’m more interested right now in getting to know you better and finding out how we get on together.”
She smiled, standing in the open doorway. “That’s quite a speech, David. You’ve made me an offer I can hardly refuse. I hope you won’t find any dispute to your proposal from the board of your church, for this will be the answer to my prayers, if all goes as you have planned.”
She blushed as his scrutiny swept her from head to toe, and his smile was approving as he walked toward her. His hands rested on her shoulders and he bent to her, pressing his lips against her forehead.
“Talk to Janet about it if you like, Marianne.
