A Bride for Adam

We don’t have to go for months; just a vacation trip up and down the coast. Maybe we could sail to Charleston or someplace. I can promise that I’d never leave you. I couldn’t ever be away from you that long. Somedays, if I don’t see you after a few hours, I have to find you because I miss you.”
Greta looked deeply into his eyes as he spoke. Then, she smiled and reclined beside him. “What are we waiting for? Let’s make it real.”
Adam held Greta in his arms. He’d never felt so fulfilled or had such a love for life as he did at that moment. She was his, and he could keep her at his side forever. He kissed her forehead. “I love you so much, Greta. I know we’ll have a wonderful life together.”
“I love you also, and I know Bethany, you, and I will have a wonderful—”
Greta gasped and sprang up. “Oh, my! What if I...I mean, we...what if we have another child?”
Adam chuckled and pulled her back into his arms. “Then I’d know I died and went to heaven.”
 The moonlight enabled Adam to watch Greta as she slept. She was lovely, he had to admit, but more importantly, she was a beautiful person on the inside as well. All along, he’d thought she was insecure and hadn’t a mind of her own because she was so kind and generous to everyone, but she wasn’t a spineless pushover as he’d first thought. No, she was a genuinely compassionate, kind-hearted, godly woman who had gone along with whatever his parents had wanted, not because she was weak, but because she knew they’d been good to her and she truly appreciated them. He bent to kiss her cheek. How had he been so fortunate as to have found a pure angel? He loved her with every fiber of his being, and he’d die for her if he had to.
He sighed softly, silently thanking God for his angel.
Now, the couple held hands as they walked along the deck, or Adam put his arm around her. It wasn’t uncommon for the crew to catch them kissing. Sometimes, they’d make noises and whistle loudly which always made Greta blush.
They both looked forward to bedtime when they could make sweet love and lay in each other’s arms before Adam had to take his shift at the helm. Greta told him that her only regret was that she couldn’t wake up with him beside her. He promised her that as soon as they’d reached Philadelphia, she’d wake up next to him every morning for the rest of their lives.
Adam knew he loved Greta before they’d made love, but each time they did it, he loved her even more. It wasn’t the physical part of it that make him love her more, but the joining of their souls, the two of them becoming as one as the Bible had said it should be. He’d never known anything as beautiful in his life as loving his wife.
~~~~***~~~~
Greta woke and stretched. She did what she always did upon awaking: she turned to the portholes to see if the sun was shining. Greta dreaded another storm like the one they’d had on the way to Liverpool.
A noise caused her to bolt upright. It sounded like something scraping. Her heart pounded. What could be going on? The ship rocked, but not in the usual, roiling manner. She quickly dressed and pinned up her braid. If something was going on, she didn’t want to be caught in bed or in her nightgown.
Greta locked the door behind her and scurried up the stairs to the deck. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. She wished Adam was at her side to share the moment with her, but he was busy helping moor the ship into its haven in Philadelphia. Isaac and Levi were there, directing the ship into its regular mooring space. When the ship was secure, Adam waved for her to join him, and he put the boarding plank into place, and they stepped onto land together.
It felt so good to be back on solid ground. Isaac and Levi gave her a quick embrace and led her to the office. She wondered why they’d bustled her so quickly inside.
Adam followed them. When she stepped inside, she let out a squeal and ran to Bethany, who was standing beside Sam and Rhea.
“Mama!” Bethany yelled as she jumped into her mother’s open arms. Tears of joy rolled down Greta’s cheeks.
“What a wonderful surprise!” she cried. “I thought I’d have to endure days on a train before seeing you.”
Rhea and Sam greeted Adam before embracing Greta. Bethany ran to Adam, and he picked her up and kissed her cheek.
“A-dam,” she cried, and she put her arms around his neck.
“Sweetheart, you can call me Papa, now.”
Greta smiled and joined the hug. “We’re a family, now.”
Rhea elbowed Sam and winked.
Rhea said, “Praise the good Lord; our prayers have been answered.” After hugging Adam and Greta she said, “We knew how much you two missed Bethany, so we thought we’d surprise you and come to Philadelphia to welcome you home. We’ve been staying with Isaac, and we wondered when you would be arriving. Another ship came in last night and told us they’d seen Eve about ten miles out, so we were able to give you the perfect surprise this morning.”
Rhea led them all to the office door. “We’ll go into town, have a nice meal, and buy train tickets home. I know you’re both anxious to get home.”
“Thank you for the surprise, and yes, Adam and I can’t wait to get home,” Greta said.

Chapter Fifteen
Adam wasted no time moving into the new house with Greta and Bethany. He and Greta had been surprised to find that Sam had finished the stables and even