Ginny's Epilogue To The Ebys

Ginny leaned up against the back of the tree, her eyes closed. Her mind swam in what Mr. Eby had said. They loved her; they would accept her no matter what she did. Why couldn’t her family be like that? The Ebys would have never forced her to marry Christian, yet it seemed very soon her own family would make her.

After a few minutes of waiting, Ginny heard footsteps crunching on leaves. She opened her eyes and saw Ben waiting for her. He wore a faint smile on his lips. His eyes seemed saddened by something. Ginny tried to figure out what it was.

Ben crossed to her in three easy steps. Ben leaned down and grasped her hand, helping her to her feet. Ginny smiled at Ben, Ben smiled weakly back. “To the meadow?” he asked.

“Yes,” Ginny said.
“You are not just a shopkeeper’s son. You are not destined for nothing. Your destiny is in your hands, no one else’s. Why does that bastard Christian claim he love you? He claims to love you because of your beauty. That’s it. Well I cannot help but marvel at your beauty, there is more. Why do I love you? I love you because you possess a caring heart, a brilliant, witty mind; your sense of humor surpasses anything I have ever seen before. And, and because, Benjamin Abram Eby, I don’t think I could live without you.”

To Ginny’s surprise, she saw tears forming in Ben’s eyes. He held her close and smiled. “I love you Virginia Isabel Miller, my British lady.”

“And I love you, Benjamin Abram Eby, my American gentlemen.”

Ben lay against the log once more. He stared up at the sky and seemed to be thinking about something. Ginny wondered if she should ask. Turned out, she didn’t have to.

“Sometimes, when I look at the stars, I think about my mother,” Ben said, not really caring if
Ginny heard. He was talking to himself more than anything. Ginny remained quiet, letting Ben tell his story.

“When I was little, before she died, she would bring me outside and sit on her rocking chair
She convinced night air did wonders for your health. She’d hold me in her arms and show me the stars and tell me the tales her father told her. Then she sings till I fell asleep in her arms.
She did that for the last time the day before she died,” Ben said, closing his eyes, trying to remember his mother.

Ginny closed her eyes as well and imagined her own mother. What would have happened if her mother had died when she was young? She wouldn’t have had as much heartbreak that is for sure, but she would have lost other things as well. Ginny honesty could not imagine what life would be like without her mother. She looked at Ben and saw tears forming in his eyes. It was one of the only times Ginny had seen Ben cry.

Ginny doing the only thing she would think to do and pulled Ben into her arms and let him cry on her shoulder. “I miss her Ginny. It’s been ten years, but I miss her. Is it all right for me to miss her?”

“Oh Ben, of course it’s all right to miss her. I’d be more worried if you didn’t miss her. She was your mother Ben; you have every right to miss her.”

“Don’t say was, say is. She is my mother.”

“I’m sorry, my mistake. She is your mother.”

“Did you know that there was something my parents used to tell each other as they