The Sound of Sleigh Bells (20 page)

Beth helped the last customer to her car, her arms full of packages. She closed the trunk and refused the tip the lady offered.

Snow swirled through the air, dulling visibility as the woman’s red taillights faded into the distance. Beth couldn’t remember the last time it snowed during Christmas. She buttoned her woolen coat. The glow from Lizzy’s house across the street—kerosene lanterns, gas pole lamps, and the fireplace—shone clearly against the gray and white of the snowy midday.

For days her longing for Jonah had increased during every lull, and now that the store was closed for Christmas, the rest of the holiday would be one long roar of silence.

An hour ago she’d given the sales help their bonuses and sent them home. They wouldn’t return until the store opened on Monday. Lizzy hadn’t come in at all that day. She and Beth’s Mamm were busy baking the Christmas Eve meal for most of the Hertzler clan.

As Beth stood watching Lizzy’s home, she noticed Omar’s carriage. His horse wasn’t attached to the rig, indicating he hadn’t stopped for a quick visit. Clearly he intended to spend hours at Lizzy’s with Beth’s family. And it dawned on her what she should have known months ago—her aunt and the bishop were more than friends.

Darkness and freezing temperatures surrounded Beth as fear of life and love tried to tighten its grip again. At thirty-eight years old her aunt had the courage to open her heart to a man who’d once been happily married, who, as bishop, bore a heavy responsibility before God, and who had a grown family and grandchildren. She guessed that he was eight years older than Lizzy. The whole situation sounded very scary to Beth.

She moved to the store’s porch steps, dusted snow off, and took a seat. Why did concerns and fears constantly try to overrule her belief that love was worth it?

Thoughts and dreams and hopes swirled inside her. If she had faith instead of nagging fears, she’d find a way to get to Jonah’s, even if she didn’t arrive until midnight. She wouldn’t worry about how much the gesture would reveal or what his family would expect from the relationship. She’d simply go and enjoy and let life be filled with unexpected moments.

“Dear God…I want what sounds so simple and feels so impossible—to trust in Jonah, in myself…in love…in You.”

Several thoughts rushed through her. Pieces of Bible verses drifted first one direction and then another, like the downy flakes in front of her. Memories of the parable about the man who’d been given only one talent—one piece of money—and hid it, afraid of losing what little he’d been given, came to her. The idea of the man receiving something of value from God shook her. Was anything more important to God than love? Giving it. Accepting it. Investing it. She couldn’t recall a time when He ever hinted it should be buried.

The man in the parable hid his value out of fear.
That
she understood, and once again she determined to stop. If Jonah had refused to keep moving because of his injury and pain, he’d never have carved that piece she’d discovered. He kept moving regardless of the pain, and it seemed she shouldn’t keep her life on hold because rogue fears cropped up here and there.

Ready to embrace all of life, she went inside the store and called Gloria. After making plans and packing, she went to Lizzy’s.

While waiting for Gloria to arrive, Beth talked with her family and exchanged gifts. Lizzy and Omar couldn’t keep their eyes off each other. Lizzy caught Beth watching them and gestured toward the bedroom. Beth followed her.

Lizzy had barely passed through the doorway when she turned. “I…I wanted to tell you something. Omar asked me to marry him this afternoon.”

“Hmm, he’s still here, and the two of you are glowing, so I guess you said yes.”

“We’ve been talking about it for a while, but he officially asked today. I told him you had to be the first to know. Can you believe I’ve finally found love?”

Tears stung Beth’s eyes, and she hugged her aunt tightly. Lizzy had carried unspoken aches for years. Arm in arm they left the room.

“Ah, you told her,” Omar said softly.

“Ya.” Lizzy stared into his eyes. Beth headed for the living room to give them a moment of privacy. When she looked back, her aunt and the bishop stood toe-to-toe, holding hands and whispering things no one else would ever know. Omar kissed Lizzy on the cheek, and Beth wondered if they might marry before the wedding season. The rules altered for those who’d lost a spouse; they could marry whenever they wanted. Omar had been single for many years, and Beth knew he’d cherish Lizzy as the great find she was.

An hour later Beth sat in the passenger’s seat of Gloria’s van, waving to her family as she and Gloria pulled out of Lizzy’s driveway. Snow continued to fall throughout the long, quiet drive, and Beth gazed out the window while chatting with Gloria. It felt magical to have snow on Christmas, but she wished it would stop.

The weather continued to slow their drive on Highway 22, but a little over four hours into the trip, Gloria merged into the far right lane to cross the Fort Steuben Bridge.

“I hope your surprise visit doesn’t work out for you like it did for Jonah,” she said.

“It won’t,” Beth replied. “He said the Kinsinger family spends Christmas Eve at his grandparents’ place, although he goes to Pete’s for a while first.”

“Maybe we should stop by there on our way, just to be sure.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

Brake lights shone through the white fog ahead of them, and the van fishtailed as Gloria brought it to a halt, barely missing the vehicle in front of them. Surely they could make it all the way to Jonah’s. It was only fifteen, maybe twenty, more miles, but unease made Beth’s skin tingle.

Beth looked behind them. Three or four cars almost locked bumpers before regaining control. Ahead of them, traffic on the bridge was barely moving.

Gloria craned her neck, trying to see beyond the cars in front of them. “If the snow gets any thicker, we may both be staying with his grandparents tonight.”

“I really don’t think you should try to go back tonight. Will staying be a problem?”

“Ronnie won’t be home until suppertime tomorrow. I’d like to be there in time to have a Christmas meal waiting. This is supposed to let up by morning, so we’re good.”

“Is it hard having a truck driver for a husband?”

Gloria wrinkled her nose. “Honey,
anything
can be hard—having a husband gone all the time, or underfoot all the time, or no husband, or…whatever. The answer is to build a life around those things. If I sat around waiting on him, I’d get unhappy. So would he. If he gets home tomorrow and I’m not there, he’ll start supper, knowing I don’t get mad when he’s gone and he needs to return the favor. It works.”

They slowly inched across the bridge and continued on Highway 22 until the Ohio River was miles behind them. Just as Beth started to relax, brake lights flashed ahead of them, and a couple of cars slid off the road. The sound of metal crunching made Beth’s stomach lurch, but Gloria managed to stay on the road as she stopped the van.

“What happened?” Beth asked.

“Not sure, but it doesn’t look good.” Gloria turned on the radio. “Maybe there will be a report.”

The minutes inched along almost as slowly as the cars crammed together on the highway. Finally a traffic report let them know a tractor-trailer had jackknifed miles ahead of them.

Even as they crept onward, Beth knew what they had to do. Once they turned off Highway 22 and began driving the back roads that lead to Tracing, the journey could be even more unpredictable.

She stared at the snow-covered roads. It seemed wrong that an object as feathery light as a snowflake could collect into something keeping her from Jonah, especially when she was this close.

“Gloria, we can’t keep trying to ignore the weather. We need to find a motel.”

Gloria sighed. “I think you’re right. But with this weather, an empty room may not be as easy to find as it sounds.”

Beth studied an information sign ahead, trying to read what hotels might be close. “It’ll be easier to deal with than getting stranded in a ditch.”

L
ike every Christmas Eve, before going to his grandparents’ house, Jonah sat across the table from Pete. But tonight Jonah stayed longer than normal, hoping to hear from Beth. He’d called her, but twice the phone was busy, and since then no one had answered. She’d be with her family by now, and he should leave. He knew that. Still…”

Care for a game of chess?” he asked.

Pete’s day-old whiskers formed odd patches as he smiled. “Think you got the Christmas magic on your side this year?”

“Nope, but I’m all for giving an old man a break once in a while.”

“Giving an old man…” Pete leaned across the table. “Listen here, Jonah Kinsinger, you’re the Old Man.”

“Then give me a break. And stop calling me Old Man in front of other people. It’s caused me nothing but grief lately.”

The phone rang, and Jonah almost knocked the table over jumping up to answer it.

Pete laughed. “You’re right. You don’t have an ounce of Christmas magic in you.”

Jonah hurried into the store, glanced at the caller ID, and grabbed the phone. “Merry Christmas. I was hoping you’d call.”

“Probably not hoping
I’d
call,” Lizzy said.

“Well, Merry Christmas to you too, Lizzy, but I was hoping you were Beth.”

“I figured that the first time we met.”

Jonah chuckled. “Where is she?”

“In Ohio, stranded in a motel off Highway 22.”

“She went somewhere on business on Christmas Eve? In this weather?”

“No. She went to see you.”

“Me?” As the news sank in, he felt he housed the excitement of Christmas.

“The two of you need some serious help with your romantic gestures, which is why I’m intervening. I thought Pete might own a tractor or you might have some way of reaching her.”

He wasn’t sure he did have a way to get to her. He didn’t know anyone who owned a tractor. He had a sleigh, but it needed a specific type of snow to work. “Do you know what motel she’s in and where?”

While Lizzy shared the info, Jonah took notes.

“I’ll give it try. Merry Christmas, Lizzy.”

“Merry Christmas.”

Beth looked at the small, dreary motel room. Concrete block walls, cold stale air, and the tinny sound of the cheap television Gloria was watching made the disappointment sting even more. Blasts of frigid air found their way around the door that led directly outside. She removed the pins from her prayer Kapp and bun and, unwinding her hair, sat on the edge of the bed.

Gloria held out a small bag of chips. “It’s all the vending machine had left.”

Beth shook her head. “They’re all yours.” With her coat still on, she slid between the cold sheets and pulled a blanket over her head. Gloria flipped from one news station to another.

Though she didn’t feel sleepy at all, Beth closed her eyes anyway. When the sound of sleigh bells jingled over an anchorman’s voice, she figured she must be sleepier than she’d thought.

The television went silent. “Did you hear that?” Gloria asked. “Santa must be coming to this old motel.”

Beth sat up. “You hear sleigh bells too?”

“Sure do.”

They moved to the window, but the frost kept them from seeing outside. Gloria shrugged and returned to watching television. Beth slid into her boots and added a wool scarf over her head before she opened the door. A blast of freezing air ripped through the room, stealing what little heat they had. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

The sound of sleigh bells rode on the night air like magic, and she looked in the direction the noise came from. She expected to see a dad in a red suit playing Santa for his stranded children on Christmas Eve, but no one came into sight.

As she listened, she realized the sound was coming from the back side of the motel.

She closed her eyes, letting the snow drift around her as she remembered so many childhood years of dreams and hopes. Memories of all the times her Daed came up with a substitute for a sleigh ride warmed her. The longer the sound went on, the lighter her heart felt. So her plan to see Jonah hadn’t worked. This was a substitute year, but now that she fully trusted him and knew she loved him, they’d fulfill the real dream soon.