The Revelation ~ Planning the Proper Wedding
The trip home from Baltimore was uneventful. Exceptionally long, with over sixteen hours on the train I had lot's of time to think, but a nice trip, I had a lot of time to engrave the events of yesterday, last night and this morning, in my mind! Neil's proposal . . . at last!!! The look on his face when he first noticed me in his apartment, I just had to smile. The look on his face when I showed up this morning when he thought I was gone, my heart ached when I thought of the fear and despair on his face. But most of all I wanted to remember the way it felt to be in his embrace, the feel of his lips on mine and the scent of him, I sat back and closed my eyes, sighing deeply. It felt so right to have made the proper choice.
I stayed the night at Mrs. Tatum's Boarding House. I missed Neil so very much. I wished I had been more aware of things when Neil had returned to confess his love for me. I would now be in Baltimore with the man I love instead of spending this time alone. It was entirely my own fault I knew that. I had denied my feelings for Neil so long that now that I realized them I longed for him more than ever! It would be torture to be without him for these two weeks, albeit it was self-imposed torture, that wouldn't make it any easier. I was sitting in my room watching the sunset when Mrs. Tatum started knocking on the door. "Miss Huddleston? There's a telephone call for you downstairs?" She said as I answered the door.
"Thank-you Mrs. Tatum! I'll be right down!" I went to get my shawl. On the way down the stairs all I could think of was 'who could be calling me here?' Mrs. Tatum showed me where the telephone was.
I picked it up, "Hello?"
"Hello Love!" Neil said. "I couldn't wait any longer to hear your voice!"
"Neil! It's so good to hear from you again!" I said. "How was work today?"
"I got a lot more accomplished today then I have in weeks! For the first time I could concentrate on my research instead of a vision of loveliness named Christy! I thought about you all day, but this time, instead of dragging me down it put a spring in my step! Everyone noticed the difference. Wade said he's going to call to thank-you for finally setting me straight! He says I'm finally of some use to them and I'm only going to be here for two more weeks!! He doesn't know whether to be mad or glad! We had a good laugh over it anyway. I said, maybe we would come back to Baltimore one day, but I didn't make any commitments!"
I laughed. "I didn't know my arrival in Baltimore was going to cause such problems! Maybe I shouldn't have come!" I teased.
"Never Christy!" Neil almost yelled, but he quickly composed himself. "I'm sorry I yelled! I just don't want you to ever feel that way! I've never been this happy before, Christy! I wouldn't change anything!"
"I was only teasing Neil! I'm ecstatic that I went to Baltimore!" I said. "I only wanted to see your reaction, that's all!"
"I'm glad to hear that Christy." Neil said with a note of relief in his voice. "Have you called your parents yet?"
"No, I was going to wait until I got back to the mission, but I suppose I could call them from here as well. I haven't much to do here anyway! Besides, I can hardly wait to call mother and start planning the proper wedding, this time!" I paused. "I miss you Neil!"
"I miss you too Christy!" Neil said. "I'm counting down the days until I see you again. I'll be returning on the 6:45 A.M. train on the Wednesday before the wedding! I looked into the Honeymoon arrangements today." Neil paused. "Christy stop blushing!"
I giggled. "How did you know I was blushing?"
"I know you Love! You blushed twice the other day just talking about the Honeymoon and bringing you home with me! So I knew you just had to be blushing this time as well!" Neil chuckled.
"You read me like a book Neil MacNeill! That scares me sometimes! What will it be like when we're living together!" I exclaimed.
"Christy you're blushing again Love!" Neil teased. He was right! I could hardly believe I had actually mentioned our 'living together'!! "It's alright Christy. It's going to happen, and no one is listening but me anyway. I won't tell anyone what you said! Not that they won't be able to figure it out on their own once you announce our engagement! That sounds so good Christy! I wish I could be there when you tell everyone!"
"I wish you could be here too. Even more, I wish I hadn't been so blind to you last month or I could be there in Baltimore with you right now! I was just thinking about that when you called. This is going to be torture being without you these next two weeks, but it's my own doing and no one else's! I'm sorry for being blind, deaf and stupid!" I said with a giggle.
"I know you couldn't have married me when you knew how I felt about God. You're my angel Christy! You've shown me the way back to God and I will be eternally grateful to you for that! Now I really do believe that God cares about what happens to me. He's given me the deepest desire of my heart! Or at least He's going to give me the deepest desire of my heart . . . *YOU* Christy, as my lovely bride!" He paused. Then he chuckled warmly. "You're doing it again, I know you are!"
I had to laugh out loud! He *could* read me like a book! "Of course I am Neil! It doesn't take much to make me blush, you know that! Especially when you start talking about our plans for the future!" I giggled one again.
"I best let you go for tonight Christy. It's getting late and you still want to telephone your parents and speak to them. Besides your cheeks need a rest from all of that blushing!" He chuckled. "I'll speak to you tomorrow evening; I'll contact you at the mission. Be careful going back home tomorrow!" Neil paused a moment. "I had an ulterior motive for calling you at Mrs. Tatum's today!"
"What was it?" I asked.
"I wanted to make sure that you were actually there. Then I can sleep tonight because I know you're safe and sound. If you hadn't been there I would have worried about you all night! Praying that you would make it home safe in the dark." Neil admitted. "Then you would have been in for a scolding tomorrow evening!" He chuckled.
"Well, then I'm glad I stayed here tonight! I don't want you to lose any more sleep! I don't want Dr. Wade to be mad at me for anything else!" I giggled. "I knew how badly you wanted me to stay here this evening. I wasn't about to start disobeying you! I love you too much to make you worry needlessly." I paused. "Take care of yourself Neil! I love you!"
"You do the same Christy! I love you also!" I could hear Neil sigh on the other end. "As much as I hate to say this, I must! Good-bye Love! I'll be sure to call you tomorrow evening!"
"I can hardly wait! Good-bye Neil!"
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I telephoned my parents, and they weren't the least bit surprise! In fact mother said she had only placed things on hold. She did not return anything that she had gotten, because she was sure I would be calling her soon to tell them I was marrying Neil.
I was so blessed to have parents that understood, although they hadn't always. But since last Thanksgiving they seemed to understand better then ever. Mother said she knew last November already that I had feelings for Neil and she was surprised when I had called to tell them that I was going to marry David! Mother and Neil had something in common! They both knew what I was thinking even before I did. Mother could read my feelings before I could, but Neil could tell me both my feelings and my thoughts, before I knew them myself!
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The following morning I retrieved Buttons from the Livery Stable and rode back to the mission. I had plenty of time to think as I rode the seven miles home. I knew my parents understood my feelings for Neil and the new wedding plans, but would everyone else understand? Would the people of the cove understand my newly discovered love for Neil, or my family and friends? I didn't have any idea what they would think of me. But I had made my decision now. There was nothing that was going to change my mind on this matter! I would be steadfast in this decision if it was the last thing I did. Neil MacNeill was the man for me; I knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt if the cove didn't believe as I did then that was their problem and not mine! I only hoped that Neil would feel the same way that I did.
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Upon arriving back at the mission I approached Miss Alice in her chamber. I knocked on the door and she bid me enter. "Miss Alice, I need to speak with you if you have a few moments." I said softly.
"I will always have time for thee Christy. What is it that thee would like to discuss with me?" She said.
"As you know I traveled to Baltimore to speak with Neil, you did realize that, didn't you?" I asked.
"Yes, I did Christy. How did everything go in Baltimore? Did thee speak to Neil?"
"As a matter of fact I did. I finally got to pour out everything that was in my heart. I told him that I had made the choice of my heart and that, that choice was him." I paused, thinking about the events of a few nights ago . . .could this all have happened only three days ago?! "Needless to say he was thrilled by the news!" I walked closer to Alice and showed her the ring that Neil had given me. I didn't want to show off, but I thought Miss Alice would be interested.
"It's beautiful Christy!" Miss Alice said. "If I'm not mistaken that belonged to Neil's great-great-great Grandmother, the grandmother of Neil MacNeill of Barra back in Scotland in the 1700's! That is a precious heirloom you're wearing on your finger Christy!"
"I thought Neil said it was an antique! But I never imagined anything as extraordinary as that Miss Alice!" I exclaimed. "You see when Neil was carrying me back from Ingle's Cove he stopped to take a drink of water. Before we started on our way again, he checked on something in a cloth bag in his pocket. He told me it was an antique that he was going to show me, but he realized that I wouldn't be interested in it. He pulled *this ring* out of a bag that looked very much like the one he was carrying in Ingle's Cove! Now that you say that about Neil's ancestor's it has to be the same ring you're speaking of! Now I'd better be extra protective of it!" I paused. "I'll ask Neil about it when he calls this evening to be sure."
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As I began to bake cookies for our reception, I began to feel as though I had done this once before! I wanted to look forward to my wedding to Neil! I knew this wedding was totally different or at least I should be looking at it as though it were! I didn't want Neil to think that he was just stepping into David's shoes, because that was the last thing that I wanted him to think! He was the man that I was 'in love' with, I couldn't live without him! He *WAS NOT* a substitute for David! He was the man that was meant to be my groom all the while! I was just too blind to see it! But now that I saw the light, I would never change my mind again!
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When the telephone rang in the evening I was on top of it before it had a chance to ring a second time!! "Hello!" I yelled, afterward I was afraid I hurt the ear of the person on the other end!
"Hello Lass! I see you aren't excited to hear from me!" Neil laughed out loud.
"I'm sorry I spoke so loudly! I was just anxious to hear from you!" I announced. "How did your day go today Neil?"
"We may have a breakthrough! It's very exciting! Of course we're still a long way from a cure at this point, but it's a step in the right direction at least." Neil sounded excited as he spoke.
"I'm so happy for you Neil!! I'll keep praying that you will find a cure soon!" I said.
"I won't be here long enough to find a cure, but at least I could possibly be a part in it!!" Neil said. "How you today Love?"
"Much better now that I'm speaking with you! I miss you! I spoke to my parents last evening after we hung up. They weren't surprised in the least. In face mother was so sure that I would be calling them to tell them that I was going to be marrying you that they didn't even return anything. . .today I started preparing food again. I'll be kept quite busy with that up until the wedding!"
"I have everything arranged for the Honeymoon! I can hardly wait to take you away with me! You're going to love it, I know you will! You think a lot like I do, so if I love it, I know you will!" Neil laughed. I knew what he was thinking, but I wasn't going to volunteer any information about my blushing cheeks!
"As long as I'm with you Neil, I don't care where we go!" I blushed even deeper, but I didn't care anymore! My cheeks would just have to get used to this kind of talk!!
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