Free A VOW for ALWAYS by Wanda E. Brunstetter Page A

night’s sleep so I’ll be well rested in the morning
. He turned down the gas lamp and closed his eyes. The last thing he remembered before
     drifting off to sleep was a vision of Meredith standing beside him, responding to
     her wedding vows.

    Darby
    Luke had spent most of the day trying to remember his address. He’d almost given up
     when, shortly before bedtime, it came to him. “I know where I live!” he shouted, dashing
     into the living room, where the Baileys sat, drinking hot chocolate.
    “You do? Where?” Henry asked, rising to his feet.
    “It’s crazy how it all of a sudden came to me,” Luke said in amazement. “I was flipping
     through the pages of a tree magazine you got the other day. You know—the one that
     also has flowers and vegetables you can send off for.”
    “Yes, I’ve ordered a few things from that catalog over the years,” Norma said. “But
     tell us, Luke, how did that help you remember your address?”
    “Well, I was reading about a beech tree, and I suddenly remembered the name of the
     road where my wife and I lived. We live on a farm on Beechdale Road in Bird-in-Hand,
     just off Route 340.” He started pacing the floor, nervously running his fingers through
     his hair. “I need to go home now. Would it be possible for me to borrow enough money
     from you for a bus ticket to Lancaster?” he asked, looking at Henry. “I’ll pay you
     back as soon as I can.”
    Henry shook his head. “No way, Luke. We’ll drive you home; we wouldn’t want it any
     other way.”
    “Really? When?” Even though Luke was excited to get home, he felt a touch of sorrow
     in his heart that he would be leaving these wonderful people who had opened their
     arms and shared a piece of their life with him.
    “Let’s go tonight,” Susan said. “I don’t have to work tomorrow, so I can take you
     there now.”
    “You would do that for me?” Luke could hardly believe Susan would offer to drive him
     home. They were a good hour and a half from Lancaster, and by the time they got there,
     it would be midnight or later.
    “Of course I’ll do it. That’s what friends are for,” she replied.
    Luke noticed tears in Susan’s eyes. Could it be that she would miss him? Had she been
     experiencing the same feelings for him as he had for her?
    Good grief
, Luke thought, rubbing his forehead.
I’m a married man in love with my wife, yet I almost allowed myself to fall in love
     with Susan. What would have happened if I had? What if I’d made a commitment to her?
    “I start work early in the morning, so I can’t go along,” Anne said. “But I want you
     to know that it’s been a pleasure to know you, and I wish you all the best.”
    “Thanks. It’s been my pleasure knowing all of you.” After returning Anne’s hug, he
     looked at each of them and knew this goodbye wasn’t going to be easy. The Baileys
     were the “salt of the earth,” and even though he’d had a rough road for all these
     months, Luke had been blessed with the friendship he’d found with the Baileys.
    “I appreciate all of you and everything you’ve done for me these past several months,”
     he said. “You’ll never know how much it’s meant to me. You’ve been the family I needed
     all this time.”
    Luke could see the gloom in everyone’s eyes and noticed how tenderly Henry took Norma’s
     hand when her chin began to quiver. It seemed as though their feelings matched the
     cold rain falling outside.
    “Look,” Anne said, as if trying to lighten things up, “this isn’t going to be goodbye,
     you know.”
    “That’s true,” Norma said, wiping her nose with a hankie. “We won’t be living that
     far apart. We can visit whenever we want, because Lancaster is only about seventy
     miles from here and not even a two-hour drive.”
    “Yeah,” Luke chimed in. “It’s not like I’m goin’ across the country. There’s a lot
     to see in Lancaster County, too, so you might enjoy visiting sometime.” His