Read an Excerpt
THE LONG,LONG SHADOW
By LaVerne Hutchison
Abbott Press
Copyright © 2012 LaVerne Hutchison
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4582-0715-9
Chapter One
"No! I am not taking that child home with me. I never wanted her, and I'm not tying myself down with her."
"Well, you can't leave her here. I can't keep her."
"Then you can take her to the foundling home. I don't care what you do with her, but I'm not keeping her."
"Oh, yes, you are," said the grandmother, "you are taking that child home with you, and you are going to care for her in the manner she deserves to be cared for."
This conversation took place between baby Mary's mother and her grandmother, while her father paced the floor and she cried.
After the little family was home in their own abode, the father made arrangements for his sister to keep the baby.
"Can you keep our baby until she is out of the cradle?" he asked her. "My wife is going through a spell of melancholy."
"Ask Elizabeth if she minds, as she will be the one to do most of the work."
Elizabeth walked into the room at that moment and asked, "What's going on?"
Mannases turned to Elizabeth and said, "My wife isn't well, so we have put her to bed, but we need someone to care for our little one. She should be close to four months old now. Your mother suggested that I ask you."
"Yes, I'd love to care for her if I can keep her here. May I, Mother?"
"Be my guest. Of course. We will do what we can. I hope Hannah gets to feeling better soon. Do you think I should go to her?"
"In her present state of mind, rest and warm breezes is what she needs more than anything."
Mannases handed his little one to Elizabeth and asked what she wanted in the way of milk, for nourishment.
When the shadows rolled across the hill country, small Mary began a storm of crying. Her father had not yet left, having planned to help her get used to the new routine, but he was unfamiliar with all the crying and at a loss as to how to quiet the baby.
They took turns rocking and walking her, but to no avail. Then the auntie told Elizabeth to get out her harp. "Music may soothe her. It's as if she knows she is being cast aside."
As Mary lay in her crib, she slowed her crying, eventually quieting. It was as if she wanted to hear the music and realized that she couldn't listen and continued crying. This was her first awareness of her external surroundings.
The music became an evening ritual for the remainder of the year while Mary grew from a baby in arms to a toddler. On her first birthday, she was taken back to her mother, who was over her funk and who welcomed Mary into the family's home life.
Chapter Two
"Go to your room, Mary. I see the rabbi heading in our direction, and that can mean only one thing." This from the mother of Mary, who was embarrassed at her daughter's being in the family way before the wedding had taken place.
"But Mother, I can't go on hiding! Everyone will know soon enough."
Hannah, flapping her hands, said, "Just go. Go! I can't deal with this right now."
Turning toward the door, Hannah met the rabbi with cheerfulness. "Why Rabbi, how nice of you to call, considering how busy you are kept."
"How are you, Hannah, and how about all of your family?" he asked as he helped himself to the wine that was always available so that guests knew they were welcome in Hannah's home.
"We are a family under duress, if you must know."
"I was afraid you might be, but she is lawfully promised to Joseph, is she not?"
"Yes, of course, that goes without question. But Mary claims he is not the father and that she has done nothing wrong."
"Oh? What else does Mary tell you?"
"She keeps insisting that she knows no man, and that God visited her one night."
"Y-e-e-e-s? Do tell me more."
"She said it was one night when she just could not get to sleep, so she finally arose to kneel by the window and watch the moon, which was high in the sky, but very bright. While she kneeled there, thinking thoughts of God and his creation, and wondering why the moon was constantly changing, suddenly God's voice started to converse with her."
"Did she tell you more?"
"Only that she agreed to become the mother of the promised one."
"I see ... or maybe I see. Hannah, if what you tell me is not an image of the mind, this is momentous. You do understand the significance of what you just told me?"
"What? Pray tell!"
"It means that you must stop thinking of Mary as your baby daughter and start thinking of her as the mother of the Messiah—the promised one from our heavenly Father!"
"Mercy me, and may the Lord have mercy on us all. Oh me, oh my! Anything else?"
"Anything else? Isn't that enough, already?"
"I always knew Mary was a little different, but this is unthinkable." After a pause, Hannah continued, "What can I do? She refuses to change her story." The rabbi sat and pondered this for a few minutes while time moved quietly away from them. Finally he raised his head and reached out a comforting arm to Hannah.
"Is there someplace Mary can go into early confinement? We'll give her a little more time and then I'll question her later. Maybe by then she will be ready to tell us more. Does Joseph know about her?"
"Joseph is away, so he does not know! However, the whole village is abuzz."
"Lovely, lovely Mary. How my heart aches for you, my dear."
"It's sad, but who knows the heart of a woman. Look at me. I could have married you and had an orderly life, but no. I had to have Manassas. And even now, even when he stumbles home, my heart still calls out to him."
"I guess," the rabbi responded, "and I'm sorry for the hurt you have to carry for one of your own. Just be patient, and we will think of something to protect you and your daughters. And how are the other two taking it?"
"They are stunned into silence for once. I can't say that is a bad thing.
"If we could just get Mary to talk," Hannah continued, "it wouldn't be so bad, but she insists she knows no man, and we can be sure she hasn't been with Joseph because he has been on a journey with one of the caravans to get fresh supplies for the family shop."
"Give her time, but for safety's sake, can you find another place for her to go into early confinement?"
"Zacharias should be finishing his tour of duty at the temple soon. Maybe you could talk with him, find out whether he and his wife, Elizabeth, would welcome her into their custody."
"I'll do that. In the meantime, keep her safe the best way you know how. I'll be in touch, so keep your chin up."
"I never wanted that child from the beginning. She has been an embarrassment all along, claiming to see 'visitations' from the heavenly body and visions of the past, claiming to have been there to see it happen."
Hannah continued, "Sometimes I wish I had scuttled her when she was still a baby."
"Now, now! You mustn't have such thoughts. You know our God knows what He is about, and he never gives us difficulties he is not able to conquer."
"If you are sure, I'll try to believe it."
"Yes, Hannah, you do that. I'll have that talk with Mary later. Now I must be about other things."
Chapter Three
As Joseph rode into the village with his caravan, men saluted him with exaggerated salutations all along the route to his family's carpentry shop. While he unloaded the materials, his partner surprised him by his remark.
"Joseph, you old fox, let me be the first to salute you, but how did you pull it off?"
"Did something momentous happen while I was away? I don't know what is going on."
His friend looked at him closely, took his hand, and looked directly into his face. Then his friend said, "I don't believe you do. Please let me be the one to inform you that your betrothed is in the family way, and the whole village is in a tizzy, being as how they missed out on the three days of revelry to celebrate your wedding."
Stunned into silence, Joseph took in the news. He turned on his heel and fled to his home, where his mother met him at the door.
"Is it true?" Joseph asked. "Please tell me it isn't true."
"According to Hannah, it is true, but Mary claims the child is a spirit child, and she emphatically states that she knows no man."
"What do you think, mother of mine? With your unusual ability to identify deceit, what do you say?"
"I know it all sounds very strange, but for some uncanny reason, I think Mary must be telling her mother the truth. It is awfully hard for Hannah to accept, especially since she always guarded her daughters' purity as an old mother duck guards her ducklings."
"Then you think it is entirely possible, this spirit child thing?"
"We know the Father's promises, and who are we to laugh, as Sarah laughed, and took things into her own hands where Abraham and the angels were concerned?"
"Thanks, Ma-Ma, for your wisdom and guidance. I'll go to my room and pray about this. If what Mary says is true, I need to know, and if it isn't true, my heart is breaking. I do truly love that little girl-woman."
"Whatever you decide, do be gentle with Mary. She is very special to me, as well as to you."
"Yes, Mother. You know I will."
As Joseph agonized over the situation he found himself in, he washed himself. Toweling off, he said finally, "Lord, have mercy!" Then, throwing down the towel, he rolled onto his cot with a groan and fell asleep.
After several hours of uninterrupted sleep, Joseph was suddenly awakened by a loud roaring sound, as if a hard wind had suddenly blown the curtains down. He searched the room for damage, but none could be seen. It was then that one of God's heavenly creatures spoke to him.
"Joseph, the child that Mary carries is the promised Messiah. She tells the truth, and she needs you to protect her. Go to her, now. You will find her with Elizabeth in their mountain home. Do not hesitate. Mary is in need of a husband and the gentle care that only you can provide."
Before Joseph had time to ask questions and allow his doubts to interfere, the creature was gone, and he was alone again.
The prayer had been answered, so he arose and dressed for a short trip into the hill country. He called for a fresh donkey and was quickly on his way to see his beloved.
Chapter Four
Just as the sun was making its debut on the eastern horizon, Joseph arrived at the door of Zacharias and Elizabeth. He was lifting the latch to announce his arrival when suddenly the door was flung open wide, and there stood Mary, his intended.
No words were necessary. Joseph opened his arms, and she melted into his embrace. For a full five minutes they clung to one another in silence.
"You heard, then, what the villagers and our friends and family are saying," were Mary's only words.
"I've heard, but I want to know what you have to tell me."
"It was the Holy Spirit who visited me one night—a night much like this one. At least I think it was our Lord, or one of his messengers."
"Go on."
"He told me I would be highly favored if I would agree to carry the promised Messiah. I was dumb with disbelief at first, thinking, Who am I that our Lord would choose me? But never once did I have any doubt about who my visitor was."
"I know, Mary. He visited me just tonight, and that is why I am here at this hour to claim my bride."
"Oh, Joseph, I'm so glad you came! I was beginning to wonder if I had been duped and had just imagined it all."
"May I come in? We need to talk to the priest and carry out many other things before we can consummate the marriage, but I'll make an effort to make amends for all the misery you have suffered.
"I'll take you to my mother's house. She loves you like the daughter she never had.
"I love you, too, Mary, and if you are with me in my mother's house, it should squelch much of the village gossip. Besides all that, I truly want to care for you and be your protector, like any other husband."
"Mmmm. It is so good to know you are back and that you are here."
"I think some of our family and friends are not so surprised at your being with child, because they think it is mine; but they feel that we deliberately cheated them out of a week of revelry. Remember, it isn't often that the prophet's niece and a son of David are betrothed!"
"It is something to think about, isn't it?"
"I don't want to doubt you, Mary, but I must hear it again from your own lips. Did you truly have a heavenly visitor? Did everything happen as I've been told?"
"I know, Joseph—it is hard to believe that a little nobody like me would be favored by the heavenly Father this way. Yes, Joseph it is true. I stake my life on it."
After a few moments of silence, Joseph finally responded, "It must be true, as strange as it all seems. Just look at Elizabeth. After all of these years of knowing she was barren, suddenly she presents the world with a son."
Mary added, "Not only that, but she told us that the heavenly visitor even told her what to name her little son."
"You are joking!"
"No, it is true. Zacharias didn't believe her, so he was struck dumb. We should all know better than to mess with our heavenly messengers."
"Tell me more. I was away and didn't hear about this."
"When Zacharias finished his turn at the temple, he went home to be with Elizabeth, and when she told him her good news, he was happy. But after all, he is our prophet and priest; he should know when it is the Lord speaking, and the Lord told both Elizabeth and the father to name the baby John.
"Zacharias made the mistake of disbelieving," Mary continued. "Then, just like that, no more talking."
"Is he still afflicted?"
"Not since he answered the call to name him John, and wrote it down for everyone to see."
"Strange things, they are happening."
"More than you think. It makes me wonder why John is so special, and if he is, what do we have to look forward to in another year?"
"Which reminds me of something: when is our baby due?"
"Oh, Joseph! How sweet! You can't begin to know how good it feels to know you approve of me. When I had my little talk with my heavenly visitor, I'm afraid I was so overwhelmed that I didn't think about all the complications that would follow after I said 'I'd be honored.' It was then I was told that I would be honored forever, in all generations."
"You will be, Mary. I'll do my part to see that you are." He continued to quiz her. "You need to answer my question, Mary, so we can make our plans. You know there is a census coming soon. I hope you will be able to make the trip with me, but if you are already in confinement, I'll do my best to take care of our duties."
"Oh! Let's see, Zacharias had finished his tour of duty at the temple, and Elizabeth was going into her sixth month. It was my heavenly visitor who told me that Elizabeth had conceived in her old age. That is one reason I left immediately to spend time with Elizabeth. Others may not be excited about our special news, but I knew Elizabeth would be, and we could glory in the wonder of it together."
"Has Elizabeth delivered yet?"
"The midwife has been here, so she must be due this week; I know our private time is over, so I was preparing to leave.
"Joseph." Mary was suddenly very shy. "I love you, and I'm so relieved to know you won't shame me before the entire village. I have worried some about the consequences, if people didn't believe me and thought I was a sinful woman."
"I love you, too, and even if what you told me hadn't been true, I couldn't let you be stoned. That would have hurt me as much as you."
"Why do you believe? My mother doesn't, and the people in the village don't."
"My mother believes you, and besides her assurance, the heavenly visitor came to me also. Much the same as the visitor Moses had. Only this time, it was the sound of a mighty wind, not fire, that got my attention."
"And so you are here, and oh, so welcome!"
While Joseph made arrangements for the coming trip to the home of their ancestor, David, Mary relaxed and learned the routine of her betrothed's family. As the time for departure drew near, Joseph's partner grew concerned about the traveling. Later, when Joseph had said nothing, the partner finally had to ask.
"Man, you are not planning to take the little woman with you on that hazardous trip, are you? Tell me you are not!"
"Let me ask you a question. Do you think she could be safe here, knowing how miffed her family and friends are?"
"You have a point there. I guess I wasn't thinking clearly."
And so it was that Mary accompanied Joseph and the others who were required to make the trip to their homeland to be counted in the census. It was not until the last night of the journey that Joseph told Mary the arrangements he had for them on arrival.
"If our baby decides to come while we are there, I don't want you to have to share a room with some rowdy individuals. Since know the innkeeper, I called on him for a favor. You will have the peace and quiet of one of his stalls. There will be clean hay and bedding. There will also be a midwife on call, ready to help when your time comes."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from THE LONG,LONG SHADOW by LaVerne Hutchison Copyright © 2012 by LaVerne Hutchison. Excerpted by permission of Abbott Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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