At 8 o'clock Donna gets up and goes to the bathroom. When she comes back, she's glowing. It's been a while since she looked like this in the morning and I didn't hear her throwing up.
"How do you feel?"
"Pretty good! I was thinking I'd like pancakes for breakfast."
Wow! Maybe we're beyond the morning sickness. I grin. "I'm pretty sure I can make that happen."
Donna laughs at me. "I'm pretty sure that's what my Mom was planning on anyway."
"Do you want breakfast in bed? What if she's cooking something else?" I don't want to push our luck. I'll be so happy if she eats more than a piece of toast.
"How about you go do recon? If there is meat cooking, I'll eat up here."
"I'll be right back." After I pull some sweats on, I give her a kiss and head downstairs.
I find Lottie in the kitchen. She's stacking pancakes on a serving plate.
"Josh, put the tin foil back over that would you?"
"Sure. Donna's looking forward to pancakes this morning."
"That's good to hear!"
"I'm a little worried about cooking meat though. She's still really sensitive to smells."
"Sausage is already cooked. It's in the oven staying warm. I made some turkey sausage for you."
"Thanks! You're the best!" I don't know what I said that . . . really my Mom's the best, but Lottie is really growing on me.
"Donna and I will be back down in a few minutes."
After breakfast, we head upstairs to get ready for church. We both take quick showers and I get dressed while Donna is blow drying her hair.
She comes back in and roots through the suitcase. This is at least the second time she's done that. She keeps giving me glances. I can tell she's not happy but I'm not sure if it's my fault or not. My spidey-senses are telling me it might be dangerous to ask, but I can't take it any longer.
"What are you looking for?"
"My bra."
"It's right here." I hold up the baby blue bra she's been wearing all weekend.
"Not that one. My dress is a halter. I need my strapless bra."
uh. oh. I didn't know she needed a special bra. I was just happy I knew which dress she had planned to wear. She slept through the packing for this trip.
"I didn't pack another bra. I figured one was enough since we were only going to be here a couple days."
I look at the bra I'm holding. It's one of my favorites. I love this color on her.
"Can we just cut the straps off this one?"
"No! Ugh. You know I must have been exhausted if I let you pack."
"Sorry, honey."
Our nice morning has kind of been shot. I should have double checked with her when she woke up on Thursday night to make sure I had everything she needed. I'm about to apologize again when suddenly, Donna looks up at me sheepishly.
"No, I'm sorry. I've got no right to snap at you. You've been amazing. You've taken such good care of me, making food, packing, buying me gifts. And I've been completely useless." She starts to sniffle. These hormones are crazy.
"C'mere." I open my arms. I know exactly what she needs. She walks into them and I wrap her up in a hug. In a few minutes practical Donna will return and we'll figure this out.
I hold her tight and rub her back until the sniffling stops. Once it does she pulls away from me.
"I'm sorry, I'm kind of being ridiculous.'
"It's okay. Let's see if we can figure something out. So seriously, could we cut these straps off or tuck them in or something? Would it still hold everything where it, uh, needs to be?"
"I guess I can try tucking them in"
Donna puts the dress on. It's pretty, but her arms are bare.
"Are you going to be warm enough? I didn't pack you a sweater." I can forgive myself for the bra, but I really should have brought a sweater for her.
"It's fine, I'll be okay."
I'm not convinced. I guess she can leave her coat on, or I can take my suit coat off.
At 9:30 we are ready to go. Jim and Lottie left about ten minutes ago. Donna said they like to mingle and talk before the service starts. Once we are in the car I ask-
"So, how much is this going to be like Christmas?"
"Well, this is closer to regular church."
"I don't think I've ever been to regular church. I've been to weddings and funerals and temple and Christmas eve with you."
"Ah . . . Okay. There will definitely be lots of music and singing. Probably some of the old hyms. So that will be like Christmas. But you probably won't know any of them. I mean its not like they play Easter music in stores. But, there will probably be a program with the order of worship. It will have the hymn numbers, and if there are responsive readings they'll be printed. So you can just follow along. The sermon will probably be a little longer than at Christmas and it might be a little more pointed."
"What do you mean?"
"Well Christmas and Easter are both about hope. But Christmas is all about a baby about to be born. Easter is about sacrifice. The focus is Jesus' death and resurrection. Depending on the minister things can get a little . . . well, fiery."
"Ah. I see." The Christmas eve service was nice. I hope this is more like that and not overly judgmental and harsh. I guess we'll see. I try to lighten the mood a little.
"Anything I need to know about candles or anything like that?"
"Oh! I suppose we should talk about communion. You should just skip it."
"Well, yeah, I knew that."
As we pull up in front of the church, I watch Donna's face. I'm starting to see the signs of when she is feeling sick to her stomach. She closes her eyes and swallows hard. I just feel so bad that this is almost a constant thing. It does seem like it's gotten a little better but traveling is just not good. I'm not looking forward to the trip home tonight.
I had warned Jackie that Donna would probably need a few minutes once we arrived. I'm glad I did.
Once Donna's ready we head into the church with Phil and Jackie flanking us. Donna waves and smiles at people as we go in, but we've timed this just right so we are joining the family in the row just before the service starts. Jackie stops just inside the door, while Phil stands at near the wall at the end of our row. There are also agents near the doors at the front of the church. They are standing near the walls but they are not exactly inconspicuous.
The music stops and the minister steps to the front. Donna hands me a program. The minister begins-
"It is Easter once again and a time when Christians worldwide celebrate the Glorious Resurrection of Christ with unsurpassed spiritual joy. Once more, we recall the everlasting message of the angels who centuries ago proclaimed,
"Why do you seek the living among the dead, He is not here, but is risen…" (Luke 24: 5-6)"
I guess that was the Easter Greeting. The next thing listed is a "Call to Worship" I'm glad its printed out. I'm not comfortable with all the congregational parts, but I can repeat a few of them. I like the idea that "Love is alive!" Donna seems to glow when she says "New life is within us!"
The next thing is a Hymn, Christ the Lord is Risen Today. We'll that is definitely the message of the day. The melody is pretty easy to learn and I sing along on the Alleluias. Donna's Mom gives me a nice smile.
After the hymn, the minister steps back up to pray.
"God of all ages and of all people, the shadows and gloom of Good Friday have been dispersed by the light and color of Easter Sunday. We rejoice in your love that turns sorrow into joy and despair into hope. May the good news of this day inspire us to embody your love and justice that those cries of joy first heard on Easter morning may echo through the centuries to our time and place. In Christ's name we pray. Amen."
Well, nothing really objectionable for me there. I've been wondering how we were going to do this. I love Donna's family and I want my kids to have the traditions and celebrations that their grandparents and uncles and aunts and cousins have, but I couldn't imagine raising them in the faith of the Mary Marshes of the world. Donna's comment in the car had me a little worried. Would we really be able to raise our kids in both our faiths? But hearing a prayer like this makes me feel like its possible.
The Choir is lovely. I mean who doesn't like the Hallelujah Chorus? Then there is a scripture reading. When the offering plate is passed, I drop some money in even though minister says that "visitors shouldn't feel obligated."
I'm a little surprised when Donna sings the Doxology and recites the Lord's Prayer without looking at the program, given how infrequently she attends church. But I guess it just comes back to you. She gives me a smile as I pass communion to her.
The Sermon is fine. It is on point with their beliefs but nothing about it makes me feel judged or ashamed of my own beliefs. The minister seems to be wrapping up-
"Easter is indeed a special time of year. The Easter message is one that gives us all hope and gives us a timely lift.
We all have our difficult moments. We carry burdens, darkness, hurts, pain and disappointments. We're not on our own, every single person carries these. But the Easter message reminds us, that right in the middle of them, there is a promise of new life, new beginnings and a sense of hope and promise. Without Easter we would have absolutely nothing but with Easter we have indeed everything."
He prays one more time and then says "Go with God" and the choir starts to sing, while everyone else starts to shuffle out of the pews.
Scott had asked us to stay until the church is cleared, so we stay in here to say our goodbyes to Sean's and Bella's families.
"So, you're going to send us the baseball schedule, right?" I ask Aidan and Liam.
"Yep. Dad said we might have a tournament in Maryland this year." Liam responds.
"As long as we make the same team." Aidan qualifies the statement. He looks a little nervous.
"We always do!" Aidan laughs. He's the more confident one.
I really hope they do. It would be fun to watch them play.
"Are you coming here for the 4th of July?" Conor asks.
"I don't know. I was thinking that maybe you could come visit us."
Conor's eyes light up. I've been thinking that even if the whole family can't visit maybe he and Anna could.
"Me too!" Carly says. I'm not quite as certain about having her without her parents. But I'm not going to tell her that right now. So I just give her a goodbye hug.
"We'll figure something out. I don't want to go too long without seeing you guys!" I really mean it. I don't know if we'll be able to travel this summer, but I really do like spending time with Donna's family.