Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Time to invest in some new shoes.
Ava sat in a folding chair near the back of the crowd gathered at Blueberry Hill Park for Mia and Cody’s wedding.
After spending the day on her feet, pacing as she rewrote her articles, as well as walking through town, it was a relief to rest her tired arches.
If she was going to be a Jonathon Island local, she’d need to get better footwear than her current pair of casual shoes.
Her tennis shoes hadn’t survived their tart bath.
So, shoes were definitely on a shopping list. Or maybe a bike.
She looked to her right, where a line of bikes waited in a row.
Folding chairs spread out before her, arranged in rows for the outdoor wedding in the park.
People occupied nearly all of the hundred or so chairs.
A white runner split the chairs down the middle, ending at an arch covered in flowers.
A tall pine stood sentry near the left front corner of the makeshift sanctuary.
A little way off, picnic tables waited under a stand of trees.
Off to the side of the arches, a man with a shock of red hair was adjusting the sound system.
Behind him, a younger person Ava didn’t recognize held a guitar, and Olive Kelley sat on a cajón.
At six o’clock on the nose, they started playing quietly.
The opening strains of “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” filled the air, wafting along on the pine-scented breeze.
The redheaded man, who must be the pastor, moved under the arch and was joined by Cody. No baseball cap tonight with his dark suit and purple tie. A murmur passed through the crowd before everyone settled again.
A woman bearing a strong resemblance to Ollie, a camera in her hands, moved to the front of the aisle and faced the congregation. Didn’t someone say that one of Zach’s sisters was a wedding photographer?
Three sets of couples made their way down the aisle, the men in jeans, white button-ups, and purple ties, the women in purple sundresses topped with a light shawl.
One of the couples was Dani and Liam, but Ava didn’t recognize the other two, one a woman with a streak of purple in her hair, and the other a slightly older couple, the woman bearing a small resemblance to Mia.
The music changed to a lively version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D.
A ripple of amusement ran through the crowd as a child—who must be Finn Franklin—dressed in a short-sleeve button-up shirt and a purple bow tie, walked down the aisle, a serious look on his face, a small tackle box in his hands.
Behind him, his tiny sister, dark curls matted to her head, toddled behind, clutching a sprig of lilacs.
“Would the congregation please rise,” the pastor said.
They rose and faced the bride. Mia, hand clasping her father’s crooked elbow, floated on the music.
Her cap-sleeved lace dress fell in an A-line to the white runner.
In her hands, she carried a bouquet of lilacs and peonies.
Keeping her eyes trained on Cody, she practically looked like the heart-eye emoji in the flesh.
Seb gave the bride away and took his seat, as did the rest of the congregation.
“Welcome, everyone,” the man with the mic said. “I’m Pastor Arnie Chamberlain. I’m so glad you came out for the wedding of Mia and Cody. They’ve requested we begin by singing ‘’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.’”
The musicians transitioned back into the hymn, and the congregation launched into singing.
’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His word.
Just to rest upon His promise;
Just to know, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Ava let the song flow through her and into her heart.
Trust. What a strange concept. Sure, she believed God could do what He said He would do, but she had little experience with people following through.
After all, her parents—the two people who were supposed to love her more than anything—never had time for her.
They would promise to come home and then not show.
As the song ended and the musicians sat down, Pastor Arnie lifted a worn black Bible from a music stand.
“Our sermon text for tonight comes from Colossians three, verses twelve and thirteen. ‘So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.’” He closed the book, leaving his finger marking the spot.
“‘A heart of compassion.’ Those words always struck me. They are the basis for what comes next—the kindness, humility, forgiveness, and all the rest. Tonight, Cody and Mia, I encourage you to remember to have a heart of compassion for one another.”
A familiar head of dark, mussed hair was four rows up and to her right.
Zach. Ava’s heart rate picked up. Teaching the class with him two days ago had been fun.
He wasn’t at all what she expected. She recognized what she thought was arrogance as a drive for excellence, and his self-centeredness was actually a cover for feeling socially awkward.
As though he felt her eyes boring into the back of his head, Zach glanced over his shoulder. Their eyes met. Ava’s fingers tingled. He shot her a wink before turning back to face the front again.
He made her laugh, he was brilliant in the kitchen, and he was kind to his family. Uh oh, she might be a goner.
Around her, the congregation chuckled at something Pastor Arnie said. Whoops. Time to tune back in.
“And that is why I can trust Him. And so can you, Cody and Mia.” Pastor Arnie gestured to the musicians. They moved to the front and began playing quietly. “Let’s pray.”
Shoot. She’d have to find out what she’d missed. She could use some wisdom on trusting God.
Pastor Arnie concluded his prayer and looked toward Finn. “Can we have the rings?” Finn held out the tackle box, and another laugh rippled through the congregation.
A longing filled Ava as she watched Mia and Cody declare their love for each other and promise to cherish each other forever. Would she ever know that kind of love?
A few minutes later, the ceremony wrapped up.
Ava hung back until the receiving line dissipated and then made her way over to Mia and Cody. “Congratulations and best wishes, you two! Finn and Maggie were the cutest.”
Mia smiled. “I managed to keep that bow tie on Finn for the whole time. He was so excited to wear it for the last week, but when it came time to put it on today, he wasn’t interested.”
“He wore it well.” Ava spotted the small boy weaving in and out of the crowd. Every once in a while, someone would stop him, and he would adjust his bow tie and grin up at them.
“I think everyone here is complimenting him.” Mia’s eyes softened as she looked at him. “Now he’ll never take it off.” She tapped Ava’s upper arm. “I bet he wears it to bed tonight.”
Ava laughed. “I was hoping you could fill me in on Pastor Arnie’s last point. I’m afraid my mind drifted off a little. But maybe your mind drifted too. You had a lot going on.”
“Oh! No problem. He actually quoted one of my favorite verses. I asked him to include it. ‘Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.’ That’s from Psalm 37. Verses three and four, I think.”
Ava pulled her notebook from her leather shoulder bag and jotted the Scripture reference down. “Thanks. I’ll look it up again later.”
“This is probably really forward of me, but those verses reminded me of your house search.” Mia lightly squeezed Ava’s arm before dropping her hand. “Desires of your heart and all.”
“Not forward at all. I thought the same thing as you recited them.” The words resonated through her. “The hard part is the trusting.”
Mia threw her head back and laughed. “Don’t I know it! Oh, hi, Zach.”
Ava’s fingers tingled again as she looked to see Zach standing next to her. “Hi.”
“Hi, everyone.” Zach’s lightweight green sweater made his eye color pop. He shook Cody’s hand. “Congratulations, man.” Then he embraced Mia. “Best wishes, cuz.”
“Thanks.” Mia swiveled her head as though searching for something. “Has anyone seen—Maggie!” She dashed off in the direction of the toddler. Cody grinned at them and chased after them.
Ava watched her for a moment, then turned to Zach. “That woman is a ball of energy.”
“She has to be with those two. Their dad was on the track team, you know,” Zach said. His smile lit his eyes an even deeper green. How was that possible? “Thanks again for your help at the cooking class,” he said. “I couldn’t have done that without you.”
Ava swallowed and looked out toward the safer view of the crowd clearing up the outdoor sanctuary, folding chairs and stacking them in neat piles. “No problem. It was fun.”
“You’re a natural with people. I wish I had that talent and your patience.”
“You did great.” Better than great, actually. He was the one who was a natural in front of the class. Why couldn’t he see that about himself? “I was impressed with your ability to break down difficult concepts into manageable pieces.”
Zach shrugged. “Eh, that’s no biggie. I had to do it that way when I was going through culinary school. Cooking is really a series of steps anyway, so breaking it down is natural.”
“Impressive, nonetheless.” The crowd had dispersed now.
She spotted Cody pulling a trailer full of chairs behind a golf cart.
He had Maggie on his lap. “I was thinking I should explore the park a little before checking out the reception food. Care for a walk?” Hopefully, her feet would hold up.
The ache had subsided during the wedding.
“Lead on.” Zach held out a hand, and she gave a mock curtsy before heading toward the paved path a few steps away. The path traveled away from them and around the park.