Harvesting Acorns (20 page)

Chloe
smiled up at her man and told him:

“Ben,
I AM a woman of poetic words”, and all the guests giggled, “but I will keep it
brief,” and then she giggled. “I love you with a fire that sparkles and
scatters embers up into the night sky, igniting in the beam of the moon’s
silver shimmer and casting light for all to see.” She giggled at her failed attempt
to make a light hearted poetic gesture. “I cherish you, my husband.”

The
minister officially pronounced them man and wife and Ben kissed his bride.
Hannah and James led the procession back down the oak leaf aisle and stood
either side as the bridal party entered the picnic area and took their seats.
They followed suit and directed the guests to their tables. Chloe stood up as
everyone had seated themselves.

“With
the help of precious James, we have prepared a small token of our gratitude. I
first want to thank Hannah for her help in making the gift boxes, and James for
filling them. Please all open your boxes.”

And she waited while they all
curiously opened their boxes and then continued.

“Everything
we have today began with James' dream, and the dream of his mother, and
grandparents before him. Today we are sharing the dreams. James has picked out
an acorn and handwritten a personal note for each of you, just as he did all
that time ago when his dream for Hannah was being met. Living up to the meaning
of his name, James, the
supplanter
– he has supplanted fear with hope in our hearts. Please cherish and believe in
the magic of your dreams.”

They
all stood up and cheered for James. Ben proposed a toast to him and thanked him
for his faith. They were all gathered here today because he held a dream in his
heart and believed in it enough to nurture it with determination and dedication
that very few people ever managed.

They
all went on to enjoy a fabulous picnic. Chloe’s family were blown away by the
love and support among the community members and how they had been drawn into
the circle themselves since their arrival. Grace stepped up with her violin and
Joel joined her for their performance of Amazing Grace as Chloe had requested.

The
guests were enthralled by their performance and brought to tears. It really had
been by grace that all the events had panned out the way they had. Grace then
had a further surprise. A couple of other musicians joined her and together
with a pianist and saxophonist they introduced the first dance, one of Ben’s
favourite pieces of music. Apparently Hannah had told James what her dad’s
favourite song was and he in turn had told his grandparents who then decided to
surprise the couple. Ben stood up and held his hand out to lead Chloe to an
open space out on the grass for their first dance. After that the rest of the
guests joined them, most of the ladies kicking off their heels to dance on
tiptoes on the grass. Rooted to the earth as was the giant oak; and reaching up
to the heavens holding out their dreams.

Phoebe
then brought out the wedding cake. Chloe and Ben had not yet seen it, as Chloe
had left it up to Phoebe to design. They gasped with delight and the guests all
applauded. It was a one-tiered square, as was Chloe’s only request. But in the
centre were a gorgeously made little marzipan bride and groom… beneath a giant
oak! The trimming was beautifully done with little brown and gold leaves around
the edge and both marzipan and real acorns adorning the cake. It was magnificent.
Chloe threw her arms around Phoebe and thanked her for the surprise. She could
not bear to cut it. Ben helped her gently remove the bride, groom and tree and
together they cut the cake and served their guests.

Next,
Chloe threw her bouquet and who else caught it but Jessica. James looked at
Chloe and she winked at him and pulled something out from around her neck; the
acorn James had given her for her dream. She had attached it to a beautiful
ribbon and had been wearing it. She went over to him and whispered to him
softly:

“Your
wish made all of my dreams come true without me even knowing I had them. My
wish is for you - that all your own personal dreams, the ones that are allowed
to be a little bit selfish, that are just for you… I wish for them all to come
true.”

He smiled that sweet, loving smile of
his that melted her heart.

“Thank
you Chloe.”

Next,
Ben removed her garter and tossed it over his shoulder for the men. Everyone
cheered as Blake caught the garter. They all began to tease Blake and Jessica
and as they blushed, Chloe was almost sure she saw a fleeting look between
them. She just smiled to herself and looked up at the giant oak:

You really know what you are doing, and what you
stand for, don’t you?
she thought.

The
afternoon came to an end and it was time for Ben to take his bride home. They
would collect their luggage and then were leaving on their honeymoon
immediately. They circulated among their friends and family, thanking everyone
for the parts they had played in making the day so special for them. They made
sure Hannah was comfortable with leaving with Jessica and James.

Chloe
said goodbye to her family and friends and promised they would all visit once
they were back and well settled into their new lives. When they could not wait
any longer, Ben scooped Chloe up into his arms and carried her to the carriage
and they rode via the beach to Ben’s home where they would now be living when
they returned. They packed all their luggage into the car and Chloe changed out
of her wedding dress and into an elegant white long skirt and beautiful flowing
white top. She really was beautiful on her wedding day. Ben had not been able
to take his eyes off her since she had arrived earlier that day.

They
were finally all packed and ready. Ben opened Chloe’s door and helped her in
and then they drove out of town towards the airport and to the honeymoon of
their dreams that was waiting for them. Chloe turned on the radio and just
caught the end of the same song that had been playing when she had driven into
the village for the first time. She closed her eyes; put her head back against
the headrest and smiled as she listened to the lyrics she loved so much, that
familiar stirring in her chest the song always evoked. Through the great dream
of one small boy, together they had united a nation.

E
pilogue

Chloe
and Ben’s honeymoon was a dream come true.The flight had been long but
uneventful. They arrived in Alaska late in the afternoon and were collected by
a shuttle service from the lodge they would be staying at. They spent their
first evening sitting on the veranda of the log cabin they were staying in,
surrounded by snow, sipping hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and basking in
the glow of the aurora borealis through the pine trees and listening to the
howls of wolves in the forest.

The
following day they were fetched early by their tour guides and left for their
day long sled trail through the Alaskan wilderness led by a team of strong and
willing huskies. They passed lakes and mountains, saw herds of caribou and
moose, watched walrus and fur seals and even saw a grizzly bear, fortunately
far off in the distance. As they passed the coast they had seen a Right whale
spy hopping.

They
spent a day recovering from being out in the cold, locked in doors in their
cabin around the fireside drinking sherry and challenging each other at chess
and watching movies cuddled up together. On the third day they went skiing and
Chloe returned with quite a few bruises. They were also taken on a tour of a
different part of the area than they had been with the huskies. This time they
went on a skidoo, which zoomed over the snow with motorised tracks.

As
predicted by the travel agents putting their holiday together, a week in
freezing Alaska would be enough, so they travelled south into Canada to
slightly warmer weather to enjoy their last week. They had been invited by an
Inuit family that they had met during their tours to spend a night in an igloo,
which was a unique experience and had been treated to a salmon dinner cooked
over the fire.

In
Canada they attended ice hockey matches and visited heritage sites of the
Kwakiutl and Haida Indians and learned of their history through the stories
they told in the carvings of their traditional family totem poles. Chloe and
Ben agreed this was so much like what the oak tree had represented for James’
family, and now theirs. They enjoyed pancake breakfasts with locally made maple
syrup.

After
the two weeks they returned home, exhausted, happy and in love. They had missed
Hannah so much and went straight from the airport to fetch her. They were
relieved and thrilled to hear that she had not had any health problems while
they were away and had thoroughly enjoyed her stay with Jessica and James. They
went for breakfast a few times at Tea for Two and spent a bit of time with
Phoebe. When Phoebe learned of Hannah’s ballerina princess dreams she said she
would speak to Ben and Chloe when they returned about Hannah joining her ballet
class. Hannah had been so excited that as soon as her father walked through the
door she jumped up and hugged him and had begged to be allowed to start ballet
classes with Phoebe. He agreed on condition that her doctor gave the go ahead
and that she didn’t over exert herself while regaining her strength. They all
returned home to their now family home to start their lives together and they
stayed up late telling Hannah about their holiday and planning their family
weekend away which was going to be a month from then.

They
took Hannah on a trip into the mountains where they had booked a cabin, similar
to the one they had stayed in during their time in Alaska. They also asked
Jessica’s permission to take James along with them as they felt he also
deserved to be spoiled and treated to a holiday for all he had done in his
innocent and unselfish way. As they lived near the sea in the village they felt
a mountain holiday would be something different for the children, who spent so
much time on the beach and in the water. They arranged horse rides for Hannah
and James and wagon rides for all of them through the mountain trails. They
built a huge bonfire on one of the evenings and sat around telling stories and
bonding. They went on a guided forest hike, nothing too strenuous for Hannah,
and ate lunch next to waterfalls, and even ventured into the freezing mountain
water for an afternoon cool off swim. They hired tandem mountain bikes, Ben
with Hannah on the back of his and Chloe with James on the back of hers and had
gone for a slow ride on one of the easier trails. They lazed around the cabin,
playing family board games. Some of the time James and Hannah sat together
colouring in and Ben and Chloe would sit outside together, sipping coffee,
dunking rusks while watching the beautiful sunsets.

Hannah
began her ballet lessons the week after they returned from their holiday. She
was given strict instructions to take it easy and Phoebe was very watchful over
her during lessons making sure she didn’t over strain herself or get too out of
breath. She started her off just with gentle stretches and light bar and floor
exercises. She had shown remarkable natural talent and flexibility and had a
perfect little dancer’s body.  Phoebe had begun casting for the end of the year
eisteddfod in a neighbouring town and she contacted Ben to ask if she could
cast Hannah. It would not be an exhaustingly demanding role, if he agreed she
would let Hannah tell him her role once she had been cast. Hannah had been
overjoyed the day she had come home from ballet class and told Ben and Chloe
that she had been cast as Sleeping Beauty.

They
were thrilled for her and also relieved that she would not have a strenuous
role of dancing throughout an entire performance. Her role really only demanded
her on stage at the beginning and end. They were astounded at Phoebe’s sharp
thinking and clever casting. It was also a fitting princess theme for Hannah.
The time of her illness had been very much as though she had been asleep,
waiting for a prince to awaken her and rescue her.

She
was so dedicated to her rehearsals and when they started with costumes she
would squeal with delight when she came home to tell them how beautiful her
dress was. James was so proud of her, he began selling tickets long before the
production was due and by the time it had arrived, he had rallied almost the
whole village to travel through to go and watch Hannah. Her performance had
been brilliant and there was not a dry eye in the audience when she was woken
from her sleep and did her Joy for Life finale.

Grace
and Joel decided that before they got too old, they were long overdue for their
journey aboard the Amazing Grace. She had been beautifully restored and looked
after. Joel felt he was not able to sail her himself for this voyage and so
they gathered a crew of willing young sailors and deckhands to take them safely
on a month long trip to nearby islands. They left the day after Hannah’s
performance and had a brief breakfast picnic beneath the oak with all their
family and friends before they left.

Chloe
continued to produce a top quality magazine and went on to receive numerous
awards for her writing and editorial achievements. She continued to touch
lives, seeking out community needs and exposing them nationwide with her
writing influence, creating awareness and eliciting support from sources that
were otherwise unaware of where their resources could be used.