It was nine o’clock when they returned to the family room, and Hilda said, “I’m sure Evan and Wendy want to be alone since they haven’t seen each other for a few weeks. So, let’s have our family devotions and give them some time together.”
Hilda sat in a rocking chair and took a Bible from the nearby table. “Usually Karl does this,” she explained to Wendy, “but I’m privileged to do it while he’s away.”
Olivia and Marcy sat on the sofa, and Evan and Wendy took chairs close to Hilda. Victor laid his head on Evan’s knee.
Hilda put on her glasses. “This week, we’re reading verses from the Old Testament prophesying the birth of Jesus. Tonight, I’ll read from the ninth chapter of Isaiah.
“‘For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’
“Let’s think about Jesus as a counselor tonight,” Hilda continued. “When we have problems that seem too difficult for us to deal with, we can take our concerns to Jesus. He’s been a counselor to me during these days of Karl’s illness, and my comforter, as well.”
Wendy had unwillingly participated in family devotions at her grandparents’ home. Her relationship with her father’s parents had been tempered by Emmalee’s opinion of them. Now she wished she’d listened to what her grandfather had said, so she could more easily fit into Evan’s life.
“Do any of you have any requests before we pray?” Hilda said.
“I need help with my final exam tomorrow,” Marcy said.
Evan clasped Wendy’s hand. “Let’s thank Him for Wendy’s safe flight and her presence with us.”
“There’s a new girl at school,” Olivia said. “I’ve tried to be friends, but she’s very distant. I’d like to know how to get close to her. I think she’s lonesome.”
Hilda reached her hands to Evan and Marcy, and Olivia joined hands with her sister and Wendy. Hilda took the requests of her family to the throne of God, and also asked that Karl have a night of rest and that his recovery be rapid. Hilda prayed God’s blessings upon Wendy, and Wendy sensed the conviction that God heard and would answer that prayer.
After she finished praying, Hilda stood and kissed her daughters and Evan. Then she turned toward Wendy.
“May I?” she asked, and Wendy eagerly offered her cheek for Hilda’s soft kiss.
Soon Wendy and Evan were alone, except for Victor who lay down on an old quilt in front of the fire and slept. Evan stirred the embers in the fireplace and put on another log. He piled several large cushions near the hearth and motioned for Wendy to join him. As she settled into the soft cushions, Evan sat very close beside her.
Embarrassed now that they were alone for the first time since she’d broken their engagement, Wendy searched for a safe subject. “I’ve never sat before a fire like this,” she said. “It’s so cozy, it makes me drowsy.”
“I imagine you are tired after that long plane trip, so I won’t keep you long, but I wanted to tell you how happy I am to have you in our home. Christmas is always a special time, and it will be even more so with you here.”
She didn’t want to tell him how out of place she felt, nor was she quite ready to deal with the tenderness and promise she read in his eyes. Wendy didn’t doubt that Evan was ready to renew their engagement, but if she took Evan, that meant taking on his family and their heritage. How could she possibly live up to the example of Kessler wives when she’d never experienced the close-knit bonds of a family? Relationships that Evan took for granted were mind-boggling, frightening to Wendy.
The heat from the fireplace felt good on her face and legs, but Wendy’s back was chilly. “I didn’t realize that Ohio was so cold. I noticed the temperature on an insurance office’s clock as we left Columbus, and it was in the twenties. That kind of weather is very rare in Florida. I don’t have clothes for this kind of climate.”
Evan put his arm around her. “I should have warned you about the weather. My mind hasn’t been working right the past two weeks since Daddy got sick. Some winters our weather is mild, but not this year. The forecast for the next thirty days is for below-normal temperatures. I hope that won’t give you a bad opinion of the area. I want you to like it here.”
Wendy had spent most of her life apologizing to her mother for some infraction or another, so she didn’t know why it was so difficult for her to apologize to Evan, but she knew she had to.
Summoning her courage, she turned to face Evan and lifted her hand to caress his face. “I’m sorry I was so mean to you when you were worried about your father. I wasn’t very understanding. Please forgive me, Evan.”
“I forgave your words as soon as you said them. I’d been hasty in asking you to marry me when you didn’t know what all that would involve. I realize why you were disappointed.”
“It wasn’t only that. I’d just had a little glimpse of happiness, and suddenly it was gone.”
Evan had often wondered about Wendy’s family, and he said, “I’ve noticed this evening that you’ve seemed frightened and uneasy. We’ve done our best to make you feel at home, but you’re still wary of us. Why?”
“It isn’t your family’s fault, Evan. It’s my problem. I don’t know how to accept love and hospitality when it’s offered.”
“Why don’t you tell me about your mother and your home life? Maybe that will help me understand.”
So for the next hour, while wind whined around the old house and flames crackled in the fireplace, content in the circle of Evan’s arms, Wendy told him about her childhood. Of the divorce of her parents when she was eight, of her mother’s disillusionment with men in general, of her mother’s possessiveness that had led to a lonely childhood because her mother didn’t encourage her to have friends. Of the two weeks each year when she visited her paternal grandparents, wanting to love them, but refusing to do so because her mother wanted her to hate them as she did.
As she talked, Evan saw beyond her words and caught a glimpse of a lonely child caught in the cross fire between her parents and grandparents. She’d obviously become a pawn in their dissatisfaction with each other.
When Wendy finished, she looked up at him, a piteous expression in her eyes. “You see, Evan, I can never measure up to the kind of person your family expects me to be. I’m obviously not the right person for you—that’s why I’m frightened. I had a glimpse of happiness, but I know I’m not capable of achieving it.”
He cupped her chin in his palm. “Let’s get one thing straight. If you become my wife, you’ll be marrying me, not my family. True, I want you to love my family. It will be our life, and I hope we can live it out in Kessler tradition, but if that doesn’t work for you, we’ll go another way. Until we see how Daddy gets along with therapy, I feel obligated to stay here, but I would never expect you to live anywhere you’d be unhappy. These two weeks will give you time to know us. I won’t put any pressure on you for a commitment until you’re ready to give it.”
Before he released her chin, Evan’s lips caressed hers.
“Do you want to tell me why your parents divorced?”
“It was a personality conflict more than anything else. As far as I know, there wasn’t any unfaithfulness by either of them. They just didn’t get along. He had a quiet, retiring personality, not very affectionate. For some reason, Mother needed constant affirmation that he loved her. She nagged him constantly. To escape, he went to work on oceangoing steamers that kept him away from home for long periods of time. She filed for divorce, giving desertion as the cause. He really didn’t desert us—he wanted to pay her alimony, but she refused. She did accept child support, which he paid faithfully.”