L'Chaim!

Heinrich reached into his bag and pulled out a small bottle of wine. “I wondered if this might come in handy.” He got three glasses, filled them up, and passed them out as he said in a dignified voice, “In the absence of our fathers, but in the sight of our Heavenly Father, I would like to seal this agreement with a toast.” 

They all held up their glasses to a mutual clinking. Heinrich added, “To life, L’Chaim” and drank to the echo of other L’Chaims from Rebekah and Sarah. He collected and put their glasses down and embraced Rebekah. Then he did something he wanted to do for a long time: he kissed her at length and they both felt a rush of excitement that only love enticed hormones can generate. When it ended they turned to look at Sarah and were amused to see her face showing a combination of disbelief and utter amazement.

Sarah was thinking they were going to do something special before they said their goodbyes, but she didn’t expect this!

Heinrich added, “We’ll pray that God will provide someone to marry us as we tell our Mothers the news. Hopefully it’ll be considered good news.”

Rebekah was sure it would not be considered good news by her Mother, since Rebekah and her father had already gone against everything sacred to her. But Rebekah was certainly of age to make her own decisions. How would it be if Heinrich’s whole family moved to Krakow? There were too many unknowns to deal with; what she knew for certain was she didn’t want to be alone anymore. She had come to love being with him; but the time had come to say good night. “As much as I’d love to spend more time with you now, we all need to get some sleep so we’re ready for tomorrow.“ 

Heinrich knew she was right, but with his mind racing with emotion, he had to say, “That’s if I can fall asleep!” 

Sarah yawned and it was copied by everyone. “I don’t think I’ll have any trouble.”

Heinrich added, “By the way, I asked the Inn-keeper if he could wake us up shortly after dawn.”

Rebekah led Heinrich to the door and said “Sweet dreams,” as she kissed him lightly and said, “Good night.”

He crossed the corridor in jubilation and fumbled to get the key in the door. When it opened he stepped in but then pointed at the door across the hall as he shut his. From there he spun around and raised both arms to the ceiling, grinning until he spoke emphatically, “Thank you Lord for bringing us this far; I trust that you will see us to the consummation of our marriage. I would be up all night if I had to pray about all the details between now and then. I will just leave all of that in your hands as I do what you have called me to do each day. I pray for safety tomorrow on both of our journeys. May we all have a good night.” 

Meanwhile in the girl’s room, Rebekah turned around after closing the door and saw Sarah standing there, still  amazed with a happy but curious look on her face as she said, “When did you come to that decision?” 

“When did I know I wanted to marry Heinrich?” Rebekah tried to think of a good answer. “Perhaps it was today when we went from that romantic time, to the farmer’s house, and then the fast paced ride through the countryside. As I held onto him, I felt cared for.”

Sarah liked the answer. “Heinrich has always been a great brother - I’m sure he’d make a great husband. But a lot has to happen between now and then, starting with now, let’s go to sleep.”