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The man shook his head and spit on the ground at her feet. “Nah. I’m Maynard, George’s older brother. He sent me to fetch you to the church.”
“Oh, I want to change into my wedding dress before we actually marry.”
“No time. It’s harvest season.”
Jessica frowned. “Could we at least collect my trunk before we go?”
Maynard scratched his head. “I spose so.”
Once her trunk was loaded, Jessica climbed into the wagon and sat as far from Maynard on the seat as she possibly could. He drove out of town, which surprised Jessica, and pointed out several things along the way.
“That’s the Jackson farm,” he said. “Oh, and there’s the Kaltenberg’s. They have the biggest corn operation in this area.” Maynard pointed out several things she didn’t care about as Jessica sat nervously waiting to be introduced to her George. She already thought of him and his children as her own, and she wasn’t even a bit ashamed of it.
Maynard pulled up in front of a tiny church in the country. “This is our church and where the children go to school.”
“How many children does George have that go to school?”
“Just two. His ten-year-old daughter Nancy, and his seven-year-old son, Herbert.”
“Does Herbert go by his full name or just by Bert? Or Herbie?”
“Family calls him Bertie,” Maynard said, climbing down from the wagon and walking into the church without even offering her a hand to help her down.
Jessica said a silent prayer that George had learned better manners than his elder brother had. She walked into the church, feeling very conspicuous, but the only people there were George and a woman who was as well-rounded as Maynard was.
She walked down the quiet aisle of the church to the very front, stopping in front of the pastor and the man she assumed was George. Instead of opening his arms to her, George hadn’t bothered to look at her as she walked toward the front of the church, mocking her daydreams.
She said another silent prayer that George was simply standoffish because of witnesses, but that he would be as loving as she’d dreamed he would be.
The pastor went through the wedding vows, and Jessica stood beside the man who she would spend her life with, praying it would be a long, happy life.
When the pastor reached the words, “You may now kiss the bride,” George lifted one of her hands and barely touched his lips to it. Was he really that shy?
As soon as the ceremony was over, George walked out of the church without a word to Jessica. She’d heard his voice during the vows, but he’d said nothing else to her. It felt as if he was rejecting her without ever once really looking at her.
The woman there took her arm and led her out to the wagon. “Maynard and I will take you to George’s house, and you can meet the children.”
“I’m Jessica,” she said softly, still in disbelief over the utter disinterest George had displayed.
“I’m Mary Sue.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Jessica fibbed. She’d wanted to meet her husband, not some random woman. “Are you Maynard’s wife?”
Mary Sue nodded. “Yes, I am. Maynard is the oldest, and George is the youngest. All of our children are grown and married.”
“How much older is Maynard than George?”
“Twenty-three years. We were married before George was born. He’s always been more of a nephew than a brother to Maynard.”
“That makes sense. I’m the oldest of six, but all my siblings are school age. My father is the oldest though, and some of my uncles and aunts feel more like they should be cousins.” Jessica lowered her voice. “Why is George acting so strangely?”
Mary Sue sighed. “He’s been lost without Heather. When she died, it was like all the light went out of his life. He keeps working to support the children, but he finds joy in nothing.”
Jessica felt a tear prickle her eye. She wasn’t certain if the tear was out of sympathy for George or for herself. It sounded to her as if she’d just married a shell of a man, and she had such good dreams about him. Why would he immediately act as if she was nothing to him?
“I see,” Jessica finally said. “I’ll be a good wife to him.”
“I certainly hope all will go as well as it can. The children need you so much. Especially little Sally. She’s just a babe in arms and she doesn’t understand why she’s not held with joy and love.”
