[short story] Unexpected Blessing
A historical women's fiction short story by author A.T. Butler
Silas Denbow had not been to church in at least four months.
It was so long, in fact, that his landlady, Mrs. Bennett, had stopped asking him to join her. He had seen her disappointment, felt the weight of her worry and disapproval, yet he had never been able to explain why he no longer went. It had started out as exhaustion; he put in so much time and hard labor on his uncle’s ranch through the spring and summer. When Sundays came, Silas could not give up the one chance each week to sleep past sunrise while his body recovered.
But after enough time passed during which he had not shown his face, embarrassment and shame began to take over his thoughts when Sunday rolled around again. He missed the community and friends that he had made at church—he had been going there for years, after all. He could finally admit that he missed the welcoming interaction on Sundays. How many other people from church had noticed that it had been months since he had appeared? How many of them now worried about his immortal soul because of it?
As the fall weather descended on Juniper Falls, and the days grew shorter, there was less and less work to do at the ranch. As he got more rest during the week, Silas willed himself to make the effort on Sunday morning. A couple of Sundays went by in which he procrastinated and made excuses to himself, staying home while everyone else, it seemed, had gone on without him. Finally, on a weekend in late October, after weeks of this, he had had enough. To hold himself accountable, Silas sought out Mrs. Bennett late on the Saturday afternoon.
“Supper will be ready at the usual time, boy,” she said playfully when Silas wandered into the kitchen. “There are cold biscuits in the bread box if you need something now, though.”
As she lifted the lid on the Dutch oven to check the pot roast, Silas waited by the doorway, almost changing his mind again when he thought about how big of a deal his choice could be interpreted as.
“Actually, um . . .” he began. “I wanted to ask you something.”
Mrs. Bennett closed the oven again and turned to him with a curious expression.
“Can I walk to church with you tomorrow?” he blurted out in a rush, anxious to say it all before he could talk himself out of it again.
His landlady smiled, but seemed to sense Silas’s discomfort. All she said was, “Of course. Be ready at half-past eight.”
He nodded, turned abruptly without saying anything more, and headed upstairs to his bedroom to wait for supper. Now he would have to go. He would have to suffer through whatever uncomfortable looks or perceived judgments. But Silas knew he was being silly; everyone at church had always been so welcoming. He could almost talk himself out of his worry.
Almost.
The only way out was through, and by this time tomorrow, he would have done the hardest part in making himself leave the house and attend a service again for the first time since the spring.
The next morning, at half-past eight, Silas stepped onto the wide front porch of his boarding house to find Mrs. Bennett, as well as two fellow lodgers—Jack and Daisy—waiting for him.
The other three went on ahead, talking animatedly about what they should do about the barn cat that had suddenly taken up residence with them a week earlier. Mrs. Bennett looked over her shoulder a couple times, as though to make sure Silas was still following, but she did not force him to talk or even walk with them.
Their boarding house was at the far end of the main road in town, the Everlasting Grace Church near the other far end of the same street and was close enough to walk to. As the group walked through Juniper Falls, Silas noticed the quietness of the place. The only other sounds were the birds singing in the trees, and the occasional muffled steps as the group walked down the center of the dirt road. The usually bustling town was peaceful this morning, and Silas wondered how many similar mornings he had missed by sleeping.
Dozens more citizens of Juniper Falls streamed toward the church from all corners of the town, some walking, some riding horses or in wagons. Older folks who didn’t get out much, and young families with toddlers running chaotically ahead. They wore their Sunday best, pressed suits and freshly starched collars; it was evident that the Sunday worship service was a weekly highlight for many of them. The closer they got to the church the more familiar faces Silas saw, each and every one of them both delighted and surprised to see him. With each old friend he greeted, Silas relaxed more and more.
He had lived in Juniper Falls for several years, coming west as a young man with his uncle and family. Many of the families he was in church with that day had seen him grow up, seen him strike out on his own, had watched him become the man he was today. Many of those same families had likely noticed when he had stopped coming to church, but none of them now made him feel badly for it.
Mrs. Bennett, Daisy, and Jack went on ahead as Silas dawdled in the street. Finally, as the bell in the church steeple rang out, calling all to come, he took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. Not wanting to be the last to enter, he walked up the steps and through the large wooden doors.
Mr. Bullock, the banker who was one of the ushers here on Sunday mornings, nodded to Silas as he entered. Other folks were finding seats, greeting their neighbors, and the organist continued to play in the final minutes before the service started.
Silas looked around, taking in all the details of the familiar sanctuary, light streaming in the big stained-glass window above the altar. The last time Silas had attended church, there had been discussions of purchasing more stained glass to line the walls of the sanctuary, but that was a big investment that they evidently had not yet reached the budget for.
As Silas looked around the room, his gaze fell on a beautiful young woman around his own age, dressed in a simple sky-blue cotton dress and standing in the center aisle in conversation. Her dark brown hair had been swept up in a bun and her light blue eyes sparkled. He had never seen her before, and more than any other reason, that one fact was enough to make him regret missing church for the previous months. This beautiful young woman must be new to Juniper Falls, and he had missed out on meeting her until right now.
She caught his eye, noticing him staring at her. Without interrupting her conversation with the older couple that stood in the aisle with her, the young woman smiled at Silas before looking away again.
Before he could decide what to do—introduce himself? Ask his landlady who this stranger was?—Pastor Langdon walked up the steps to his pulpit and the congregation began to find their seats.
Suddenly feeling out of place, Silas turned away and made his way to a pew near the back of the room. He sat down and watched as people entered and filled up the sanctuary. Each one greeted him with a smile or a nod as they passed by, and the room quieted as the pastor began that week’s service.
Along with the rest of the congregation, Silas bowed his head in reverence during the sermon, and closed his eyes in prayer. When the choir began singing, he let his voice join the chorus and felt his faith swell up inside him. He settled into the rhythm of the service, feeling a sense of peace and contentment.
But he could not stop thinking about the beautiful young woman in blue. She had sat in a pew on the left side of the center aisle, about a third of the way back from the altar. From where Silas sat, he could see the back of her head but nothing else. Though he tried not to stare, he found himself getting distracted from the worship service more than once in his wondering who this stranger was.
Silas found himself settling into the rhythms of the service. He listened attentively to the sermon and sang along with the hymns, a wave of peace and contentment washing over him as he embraced his faith anew.
Silas Denbow had not been to church in a long time, but that Sunday morning, he felt he had returned home.
When the service was over, Silas stood awkwardly, making small talk with other men and women who had been sitting near him. He wanted to meet that beautiful young woman but was nervous about presenting himself to her. And yet, he did not want to let her get away without learning her name. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, and when she stood alone for a brief moment, he made abrupt excuses to the man he had been talking to and headed down the aisle to the young woman.
Silas’s heart beat rapidly as he crossed the room and stood before her. She clutched her Bible to her chest with one hand as she smoothed down her skirt with the other.
“Hello,” Silas said, his voice a little shaky.
“Hello,” she responded warmly. “Are you new here? I’m happy to introduce you to the pastor, if you like.”
He cleared his throat. “Uh . . . no. Actually, um . . .” Silas felt his face burning with embarrassment. “I used to come every week, in fact, but I haven’t been in a while. I’m sure I would have remembered you.”
“Oh! Yes, well, my sister and her husband and I came to Juniper Falls a few months ago.”
“Ah . . . well, I’m here now. My name is Silas. Silas Denbow.”
“Mary Ann Whitaker,” she said, offering her hand to him to shake. “I’m glad you came back to church, if only so I could get to meet you.”
“Really?” He grinned, reminding himself that she was just being friendly, that she did not know him at all, that he should not interpret anything additional in her words. But he could not help but feel excited about the possibility of seeing this woman again. “Right, yes, me too. That is, I’m glad I came back to church too. And I’m really glad I got to meet you. Really glad.”
The woman smiled warmly at him, revealing dimples on both of her cheeks.
Silas felt as if his heart were about to burst from his chest. They shared a long look, neither of them saying a word, until finally Silas managed to find his voice and said, “I’d love to walk you home. If you want. If that’s okay.”
Mary Ann opened her mouth to respond, but looked around her first. “Are you . . . here by yourself?”
Silas silently berated himself for being too forward. This young woman did not know him from the outlaw in the next town; why on earth would she permit him to walk her home without any kind of protection or vouching for his character?
“Mrs. Bennett!” Silas called out.
His landlady generally sat near the front of the sanctuary, and he spotted her walking back to the front door of the church. She turned when she heard her name and he waved her over.
“I came with Mrs. Bennett,” Silas explained to Mary Ann. “I’m one of her boarders. Known her for years, in fact.” The older woman had reached them as he said this, and he turned to her. “Mrs. Bennett, do you know Mary Ann Whitaker?”
“I do.” She nodded and smiled at him knowingly. “Mary Ann and I met a month or so earlier at the bake sale to raise money for the new windows. She makes a very tasty raspberry tart.”
“Oh, I’m sorry I missed that.”
Suddenly, there was nothing Silas wanted more than to have a chance to try Mary Ann’s raspberry tart. He would have to work up to that, though. He could not recall what he had been doing when Mrs. Bennett was at the church bake sale, but whatever it was he now regretted.
“You’re very kind,” Mary Ann said, warming under the praise. “It’s lovely to see you again, Mrs. Bennett.”
“Silas, me and the others are heading back. Do you want to walk with us?”
“Actually, Silas just promised to walk me to my home,” Mary Ann said, smiling up at him.
“Right. That’s right,” he said, unable to keep the jubilant grin from his face. “I’ll be home in a bit, but I’m going to walk Mary Ann first.”
“All right,” Mrs. Bennett said. “Lunch will be ready when you get back.”
She continued on down the aisle to the front doors of the church that had been thrown open as the congregation poured out. Though she was in silhouette, Silas thought he recognized Daisy waiting for Mrs. Bennett so they could walk home together.
He turned back to Mary Ann. “I’m honored. Really. I’m so glad I came this morning to meet you.”
“And worship God,” she said, teasing.
“Sure, that too.” Silas chuckled, pleased that her sense of humor was so close to his own.
She held his elbow lightly as he led her through the crowd and out to the street. He felt as though he had blinders on; he did not register the faces or greetings of any other member of the congregation, so focused was he on getting Mary Ann alone where he could get to know her better.
When they reached the street, she sketched out a short description of where she lived and they began a slow stroll in that direction. As they walked down the street, Silas listened intently as she talked about coming to Juniper Falls with her sister after their parents’ death. He asked her questions and listened as she answered, learning quickly that he had found somebody special in Mary Ann.
She gently guided him the couple turns deeper into the neighborhood where she lived, until finally—too quickly, Silas thought—they had reached her front door. There were sounds coming from inside, indicating Mary Ann’s sister and her husband had reached home first.
“You’re not late, I hope,” he said, gesturing toward the door.
Mary Ann smiled. “Oh, they won’t eat without me. But I didn’t realize how slow we were walking. The time seems like it passed in a flash.”
“I agree. I feel like I could continue talking to you for hours yet.”
She smiled again and took a deep breath. “I think I would like that. Sometime in the future.”
Silas nodded, not dropping her gaze. He understood from her comment that he was being invited to call on her again. Now was not the time; he did not want to press or move too fast.
“Until then,” he said, tipping his hat and backing up one step.
Mary Ann turned to enter her home. Silas watched her disappear behind the front door, feeling like he had been blessed with a glimpse of heaven itself.
As he walked back toward his boarding house, he looked up at the sky, where thick white clouds promised a chilly afternoon. He was glad he had made himself go back to church that morning, glad that he had no longer dragged his feet to return to the routine that had cheered him so in the past.
Silas had known that returning to the supportive, compassionate community of Christians at Everlasting Grace Church would be good for him, but he had never anticipated how much it would change his life. Though he had yet to have more than one entire conversation with Mary Ann Whitaker, somehow he sensed that his future—his destiny—would be with her.
This short story and two others are available for free on the book retailer of your choice. Grab Stories from Juniper Falls by A.T. Butler here: