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  “Ali?” she said gently. “Yes, my dear?” Ali replied with a smile, taking a sip of tea.

  “You have been so kind to me, and I want to thank you. I have deeply enjoyed getting to know you. You’ve been like a mother to me,” Vicki admitted.

  “You are very sweet. I must admit that I always longed for a daughter and to have a companion like you, especially one from my home country, is a godsend,” said Ali, “but I suppose I won’t see quite as much of you once you get married.”

  She took Vicki’s hand and squeezed it.

  “Do you think I’m doing the right thing, marrying Greg, I mean?” Vicki asked. Ali hesitated, and then smiled. “I think he is a very kind gentleman and will treat you the way you deserve. I feel responsible for not matching you through the lottery, and then again with a failed match to Len.

  “A marriage to a man like Greg should be encouraged. He’s charming, intelligent, successful and quite genteel – all very desirable traits in a husband. Do you love him?” Ali asked.

  Vicki thought for a moment. “I do find him to be very handsome, and his conversation enthralling, but no, I don’t love him,” she answered.

  Ali knew in her heart that it was true, and she appreciated the young woman’s honesty, but she didn’t want her to give up the chance for a prosperous life, either.

  “Pray that God guides you on the right path,” said Ali.

  Since he found out Vicki and Greg were to be married, the miserable weather was the perfect excuse for Len to retreat to the safety of his home. He never wanted to come out for fear of seeing them together. He felt bad for being cruel to her, but he had always insisted he would never marry, and the only way to protect her from his own decision was to let her go and marry Greg.

  He looked out the back window and found that the rain had finally let up. A knock at the front door jolted him out of his thoughts. He ignored it, hoping they would leave, but the knock sounded again.

  “Len! I know you’re in there.” It was Ali.

  Why does she invade my privacy all the time? he wondered. He gritted his teeth and entered the front room.

  Ali walked right up and smacked him on the back of the head.

  “You imbecile!” she yelled. He stumbled backwards, surprised. The last time she hit him like that he was just a boy. “I’ve tried my very best to stay out of your affairs!” she continued.

  Tried her best… He scoffed to himself.

  “Look at me, while I’m speaking. With God as my witness, I will not leave this house until you listen to what I have to say. You sit here in this house surrounded by your parent’s memories, but the only thing you hold onto is the fact that your mother died during childbirth. It was tragic! The worst thing to ever happen to any of us, and your father paid the price of his sorrow and worked himself to death.

  Her face was flushed with what appeared to be anger. Len had never seen Ali like this before.

  “But, what you don’t know is how incandescently happy your parents were. I have never seen two people more in love – until you met Vicki. Do you think your mother would be happy to see you miserable and alone? I think not. You have to trust in God. You can’t move forward in your life if you’re always looking behind you. Don’t you see, Len? Vicki was a gift from God, and you are squandering it away!”

  She was visibly flustered and Len was afraid to argue.

  “Just promise me you’ll pray on it?” she asked as she took his face in her hands, “You have been a better son to me than I could ever have asked for. I just want to see you happy.”

  She slammed the door behind her as she left, leaving him standing there, dumbstruck.

  The weather suddenly changed to sunshine and cold. Over the next few days, Len and Ichabod put the finishing touches on the schoolhouse while and Ali helped Vicki with wedding preparations.

  When the schoolhouse was finally finished, Ali organized a celebration inviting the entire town to come and see it. She would be serving her famous apple cider and sweet biscuits.

  That night, Vicki was proud to be the new schoolmistress. She was well liked in the town, and many of the parents told her how glad they would be to have her teaching their children. She saw Len across the room but avoided his eyes, still hurt from their last meeting.

  She moved toward Greg and watched him entertain a small group around him, admiring his social skills. She was still getting used to the idea of him being her fiancée and found herself startled every time he mentioned their upcoming nuptials.

  The schoolhouse, which had once held so much hope for her future, was beginning to feel stifling and restricting. Therefore, when Greg proposed a toast to the entire room, she cringed and scanned the crowd for Len. He was standing in the corner with his arms crossed, looking severely irritated by Greg’s ostentatious display.

  “I would like to propose a toast,” he began, “to Jonesboro’s new schoolmistress and the woman I will be making my wife in a few short days. She’s going to excel at both tasks no doubt!”

  The townspeople cheered and raised their glasses, but Len strode across the room and out the door.

  The brisk night air hit Len with force. I have to do something. I can’t let her marry him, he thought to himself. He walked down the steps and sat on the bench they used to eat lunch on. He remembered how she felt in his arms and how badly he had wanted to kiss her. Why didn’t he? He rued letting her walk away.

  The love he had for her swelled inside him until he couldn’t contain it anymore. He jumped up from the bench and began to walk briskly toward the schoolhouse, warming his hands with his breath, determined this time.

  Suddenly the doors burst open. It was Vicki. The bright light from inside spilled out around her and for a moment she looked like an angel. She stood atop the steps, and her breath was visible in the cold night air.

  Aside from the slight murmur of the townspeople inside, they were surrounded by silence. Len started moving towards her and she ran down the steps. Snow had begun to fall while they were inside and it covered everything in a delicate veil of white.

  This is it, Vicki thought. She wasn’t going to let him get away again.

  As her feet hit the last step, she leapt into his arms. He twirled her around and laughed.

  “Vicki, please don’t marry him. I’ve been captivated by you since I first saw you on stage at the bridal auction. You make me feel something I’ve never felt before and I don’t think I can live without you. The night after I first saw you, God showed me a vision of our daughter. I should have believed it then, but I was so weak in my faith and haunted by the memories of my mother. Please tell me that you’ll marry me instead,” he begged, as he set her down.

  “Len, I would have married you then if you had only asked, and I will marry you tomorrow if you would only tell me you love me,” she said as she gazed intently into his eyes.

  “I love you, Vicki. I always have and I always will,” Len said as he took her into his arms.

  Vicki melted against his body and he put his hand behind her head and kissed her passionately. The world felt like it had stopped and neither one of them heard Greg come outside.

  “So, this is how you feel about our engagement, Vicki?” They immediately broke their embrace and she spun on her heels.

  “Greg, I...” she started.

  “Save it,” snapped Greg, “I could do a lot better than you.”

  He flipped his jacket as he moved towards his horse and pulled himself up into the saddle. He looked back at the couple and scowled, “Don’t come crawling back to me when you realize you made a mistake.”

  With that, he kicked his thoroughbred into motion and galloped away. Vicki turned back to Len, “I want to be with you, but I feel bad for the way I led him on.”

  “Vicki, you were so honest with me and if I had spoken sooner, I could have prevented all of this. The man is angry and in pain, but there’s nothing you can do now. If nothing else, you saved him from a loveless marriage. Now, he’s free to find tru
e love,” said Len.

  “You’re right,” she replied, taking his hand. She smiled, “When are we to be married?”

  The next day, like Vicki had promised, they were married. Even though it was the dead of winter, warm rays of sun shone through the church’s window. Ichabod couldn’t have been more proud as he read the couple their vows, and Ali dabbed tears of joy from her eyes. Everything felt perfect and Vicki thought she heard the voice of God as she said I do.

  They spent the first night of their marriage in the same bed where Len’s mother had died giving birth to him. He told Vicki the story and why he had been so afraid of marriage himself.

  “It wasn’t you at all,” Len said, holding her close to him after they had consummated the marriage. “I was afraid. And, I still am.”

  “Does that mean you don’t want children?” she asked.

  “No, not at all. I’ve learned to just give things to God and let the chips fall where they may. The good is always going to come with the bad, and we can’t do anything to stop it.”

  Vicki thought about his statement for a few minutes, knowing that he was right.

  “That is so true. Look what a chance I took just coming over here,” Vicki said, honestly thinking about the fact herself. “I came for a husband, got a school instead and then the husband before the school ever opened.”

  Len chuckled. “Yes you did. And now, that husband wants to see about making a child for that school.”

  They hugged each other tightly and continued on with their honeymoon.

  The first day of school was a bustling, busy one. Vicki had twenty students ranging in age from six to seventeen. She had asked Ali to come help her get them all registered and sorted into some level of four grades with the fourth group being the oldest of the students.

  Vicki had spent the weekend making last minute preparations of lessons. Her plan was to start with the younger kids, give them a project and move on to the next set, leaving each group with an assignment to do which would keep them quiet. If it all worked out, one set would just be finishing their work when she was giving the last one their assignment. It would take some maneuvering, but her plan should work.

  It did. The youngest ones were given crayons and blank paper and told to draw a picture that they wanted to take home with them. The next group were given a picture to draw and the burden of making up a story; they could do it either way - story first, then picture or vice versa.

  The third group was given a section of a primer to read, after which they were to write a synopsis of the story and how they might change that story to end a different way. The fourth, and final group were to write a whole story, which they would read to the class.

  By the time Vicki got back to the first group, the youngest of all the students, she was already exhausted. But, her plan worked out beautifully. When the oldest group was ready to read their stories, the youngest ones were ready for a nap.

  School was only supposed to last until lunchtime, so Vicki had one course per day the four days school was to be in session. The first day was English, second spelling, third math and the fourth would be for science of some sort. She was very limited on resources to teach science, but by the time the fourth day and end of the first week rolled around, Vicki had decided to take the whole class on a short field trip.

  As they walked over the light coat of snow on the ground, several of the students were grouped off talking. The air was crisp, but the sunshine was welcomed. Spring wasn’t too far away, Vicki knew, and crops would be going in before long.

  As they topped one small hill, in the distance she could see a woman working outside her house, digging, it appeared. Vicki strained to see who it was. Gradually, she came to realize it was her friend Cece, who she hadn’t seen in a long while. Come to think of it, Cece wasn’t even at her wedding, but Vicki had been so caught up in her own problems and then happiness, that she had completely deserted Cece. She made a vow to go see her when school was over. That day.

  Back at the school, the children gathered their pencils and paper to take home with them while the younger ones took their drawings, proud as they could be of the masterpieces. When the last child had left, Vicki collapsed into her chair and closed her eyes. The day had been a success. She drifted into a soft slumber until a knock came on the door.

  It was Ali coming to help her close up the school for the day.

  “Thought you might have a real mess here to clean up,” Ali said. “But look how nice and neat everything is.”

  “The kids were great. They love this brand new place and take pride in what’s been made for us. Len and Ichabod have done a wonderful job with everything.”

  “And how is Len?” Ali asked, taking a seat at one of the small tables.

  “He’s good. Got a little bit of cold, I think, but I’ve been giving him some chicken soup to help fight it off.”

  “You’re such a good wife and a good teacher, I might add.”

  Silence lingered between them for a few minutes.

  “I thought I would walk over to see Cece,” Vicki said suddenly. “I took the children out for a walk instead of doing any science studies, and I do believe I saw her out in her yard digging. Surely they aren’t trying to start a garden in frozen ground. I don’t know much about growing things, but I know enough that seeds won’t start in ice.”

  “No, they won’t. That does seem strange, doesn’t it. Well, I’ll be going along, Vicki. Didn’t mean to interrupt you.” She pushed her chair back into the table.

  “Oh you didn’t,” Vicki was quick to say. “I’m glad you came by and woke me. I was dozing pretty well. Just tired, I think.”

  “Okay. Well, don’t be gone too long. You know Len would worry if you were out after dark.”

  “I won’t. Be careful going home yourself.”

  Vicki gathered her coat and hat and went out the door with Ali where they parted ways. She strolled down the small hill and in the direction of Cece and Ed’s house. She had a strange feeling, a heaviness that she couldn’t identify about seeing her old friend.

  As she neared the house, loud voices could be heard coming from it. Vicki hesitated to go any further. That is until Cece screamed and she heard a loud slap. She quickened her steps, stepped up onto the porch and knocked.

  The house was completely silent. Vicki knocked again. Within a minute, the door opened and Cece stood there, her hair tumbled and unkempt, her eyes sunken into her head. She looked as if every ounce of stamina had been drained from her.

  “Cece, what’s wrong?” Vicki asked. “Are you okay?”

  Cece opened the door for her friend to come in. She said nothing.

  Vicki followed her through the small hallway to the kitchen where Cece filled the teapot as if she were in a daze.

  “Cece, are you okay?”

  Her friend turned to her with a cold stare. “Yes, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

  Instantly, Vicki realized that something was terribly wrong. She got up and went to bring Cece to one of the chairs.

  “Sit down, honey. Let me make you some tea.” Vicki busied herself trying to find cups and such to make their tea as the English teakettle began to sing loudly on the stove.

  “Where is Ed?” Vicki asked.

  Cece pointed to a room with the door closed.

  “Sleeping?”

  Cece shook her head no.

  “Okay,” she said, letting the matter drop. She made the two cups of tea and took them to the table. Vicki pulled a chair out for herself and sat down. Her eyes travelled around the kitchen looking for some clue about what was going on. It was a neat and tidy kitchen with nothing out of place.

  “I saw you outside today when I took my students out for a walk. You weren’t digging a garden, were you?”

  “No,” Cece said, but her eyes were distant.

  “I wondered. I know its pretty cold to be planting anything. Couldn’t imagine what you were doing out there. But, it reminded me that I hadn’t seen you in a long while
, so I dropped by to check on you. You didn’t even come to our wedding, mine and Len’s.”

  “No, I didn’t. Couldn’t, rather. Ed didn’t want me to.”

  “Really? Why not?”

  “Because, he said it wasn’t any of my business and I had no reason to be there.”

  “I’m surprised at that. But I’m sorry. I missed you.”

  “Yeah, well, I won’t miss any more weddings. Or funerals or anything else.”

  “What’s wrong, Cece. You’re not yourself at all. You look like you’ve been to hell and back.”

  “I killed him.”

  The words stung the air like a burning fire. Vicki, about to take a swallow tea, dropped her cup to the table. It rolled around until its handle hit the table and it stopped. Silence fell over the room.

  “You what?”

  “I killed him. I killed Ed because I got so tired of his yelling, hitting me and locking me in the house. And after my baby died, he cussed me because of it. So, I stabbed him. He’s in the room in there. Dead.” Cece casually nodded toward the room with the closed door.

  Vicki’s eyes were wide, half with fear and half with pain for her friend. She could be hanged for murder. Her mind whirled as to what she should do.

  “Will you wait right here for me, Cece? I have to go home for a moment, but I’ll be right back. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Cece answered, taking a sip of her tea.

  Vicki ran with all her might, drawing the cold evening air into her lungs. She burst through the door to her house and found Len sitting at the kitchen table.

  “Come with me,” she said, turning around while she was still talking and heading back out the door.

  “Vicki!” Len called from behind her. “Wait for me!” He caught up with his wife who didn’t stop plunging ahead toward the house of her friend.