Orchard of Hope

by Ann H. Gabhart

  “Then maybe your sermons both in the Banner and the pulpit will do the trick.”

  “We can only hope so. And pray so.”

  23

  It wasn’t so hard getting Wes in the car this time. Not only had the cast shrunk thanks to the whittling he’d been doing on it, but Wes had shrunk himself. The foot of his cast was still jammed against the car door, but Wes didn’t appear to be in as much discomfort as he had been on the ride home from the hospital. Once the car door was shut and the engine started, it was only a five-minute ride to the newspaper office. Wes assured David a man could stand anything that long.

  Jocie had begged to go with them, but Aunt Love wouldn’t let her. Said it was too good an opportunity to do some cleaning without having to worry about disturbing Wes.

  “It’s too hot to clean,” Jocie had protested.

  “It’s not one bit hotter here than it will be at the newspaper office,” Aunt Love said. “And houses need cleaning whether it’s hot or cold.”

  “I can clean tomorrow while Wes sits out on the porch.”

  “Tomorrow’s Sunday,” Aunt Love reminded her.

  Jocie looked ready to cry. “Please, can’t I do it next week?”

  “Never put off till tomorrow what can be done today,” Aunt Love insisted.

  “That’s not in the Bible, is it?” Jocie said, looking at David.

  David had wanted to let her come with them, but he couldn’t go against Aunt Love. “Maybe not in those exact words,” he said. “But Aunt Love is right that we shouldn’t put off our chores. After you do what Aunt Love wants, you can ride your bike to town.”

  “But it takes forever to clean. I’ll probably have to dust and everything, and then who knows if I can even get my bike tires to stay pumped up long enough to get to town.”

  David had helped Jocie bend her bike wheel back out after her wreck with Noah and patch the tubes again, but the old bike was still in bad shape. “Well, give it a try. It’ll probably make it to town one more time, and then we’ll see about those new tubes soon.”

  “You’ve been saying that for a month,” Jocie said.

  “I know. I’m sorry.” David kept putting off buying the tubes because there was a brand-new bike hidden in the back of Sanders Hardware Store just waiting for Jocie’s birthday to get here. Leigh had come up with the idea after she’d taken Jocie shopping for school clothes over in Grundy and had caught her admiring the new bikes in the Sears Roebuck store. So Leigh had gotten some people to pool their money to buy Jocie a bike. Zella had even pitched in a couple of dollars, and Miss Sally at church had slipped David five dollars to give toward the surprise birthday gift.

  David was almost to the cemetery on the edge of town when Wes said, “Why don’t we take a little tour of the town?”

  “You want to ride around Hollyhill?”

  “Why not? My leg’s not hurting over much, and it might be good to see what’s been going on besides everybody’s grass turning brown.”

  “It is dry.”

  “Even out at the park? Maybe that’s where we should start the tour.”

  “The park? What in the world are you up to, Wes?” David looked at Wes in his rearview mirror.

  “Well, the truth is, David, I’m feeling some guilty keeping you from maybe getting to walk with the girl this morning. It’s not so late now, and she might not have gone so early seeing as how it’s Saturday. We could just buzz through there and see if maybe she’s hanging around waiting for you to show.”

  “She won’t be there this late. It’s already almost nine and getting too hot to walk.”

  “You could be right, but it won’t take but a couple of minutes to drive out that way to see.”

  “Are you joining in on this matchmaking stuff?”

  “Not me,” Wes said. “I just hate for the girl to be disappointed if she’s out there walking slow, waiting for you to show up. I feel like I owe her something for the times she came to see me in the hospital. She brought cookies a couple of times, you know.”

  “I know, and I also know I’m too old for her,” David said even as he turned onto Broadway to go out to the park instead of heading down Main.

  “Age is all in your head. Me, I’m too old for her. You, you just feel old ’cause you’re about to be a granddaddy, but forty whatever you are ain’t all that old. You could start in and have a whole new family.”

  “Are you trying to make me have a heart attack? I’ve got more family than I can handle now.”

  “Didn’t you say the Lord would give you strength for whatever he wanted you to do?”

  “Now you’ve got the Lord matchmaking?” David glanced up at Wes in the rearview mirror again.

  Wes was smiling. “There’s folks that say some matches are made in heaven.”

  “You must have been reading some of Zella’s books.”

  “Most all books have a little romance in them. Even the Bible.”

  “Okay. Just remember I’m only doing this to humor you,” David said as he turned in to the park. “Besides, some softball team will probably be out there practicing this morning to beat the heat.”

  “Naw. They’ll be playing this afternoon. They don’t care if it’s hot, but if you’re needing an excuse for cruising the park, you can set your camera up on the dashboard and act like you’re out here to take some pictures.”

  “Or I can just say I had to humor a crazy old man in my backseat.”

  “Wouldn’t bother me none,” Wes said. “You can print it in the paper if you want. Won’t be no kind of news flash or anything. The folks around here have thought I was crazy ever since I showed up in Hollyhill.”

  David drove past the swimming pool where Missy Hawkins, the lifeguard, was dipping bugs out of the water to get ready for the onslaught of swimmers at noon. On around the gravel road, the baseball field was deserted. No ballplayers. Nobody walking around its edges for exercise. “Nobody here,” David said.

  “You sure?” Wes raised up and peered over the seat out the windshield. “Well, looky there. I think I see somebody over there on the bleachers. Looks to me like maybe whoever it is might be just sitting there waiting for somebody to show up and offer her a ride home.”

  Leigh could hardly believe it when she saw the car raising dust on the road back to the ball field. She’d told herself she was just resting a little while in the shade before she walked on back to her apartment and started getting ready to go visit her parents. She’d told herself she needed a few minutes of quiet out where the birds were singing to put her in a better mood before she had to go listen to her mother telling her how she was doing everything wrong. Especially how foolish she was to be making eyes at a preacher. But what she’d really been doing was sitting there wishing that preacher had come to walk with her. She’d been almost positive David would show up here at the park this morning.

  He had hinted he might the day before when he’d stopped by the courthouse. He hadn’t said he would. She hadn’t asked him if he would, but there was some kind of unspoken promise between them. And then he hadn’t.

  She’d walked three extra turns around the field until the sun had gotten higher in the sky and hotter. The heat was merciless now. The night before she’d put a bowl of ice on a tray in front of the fan to try to cool off her apartment enough that she could sleep. And this morning the grass out in the outfield was extra crisp under her feet. Every time she passed home plate she said a little prayer. “Please, Lord, send us some rain, and bless David wherever he is.”

  She’d wanted to pray, Let David come to the park today, but she hadn’t. That didn’t seem to be a proper prayer. Bless David. Be with David. Thank you for David. Those sounded okay and she’d been praying them for months. But she felt uncomfortable asking for David to love her. Maybe her mother was right and she shouldn’t be chasing after a preacher. Maybe it was unseemly. It had surely been unseemly the way she had demanded David kiss her that morning last week. He’d come out to the park to walk with her a few ti
mes since then before he had to start taking Jocie to school every day, but there had never been the first sign that he might be thinking about kissing her again.

  At least he did still seem to want to talk to her. He came by the courthouse every day. Sometimes twice a day. She hadn’t gone by the newspaper office to see him. Mostly because Zella was about to drive Leigh crazy wanting to know every detail of what was happening between David and her. And some things a person didn’t necessarily want to tell. Some things a girl just had to hold close to her heart and savor. And she had all week long, and then this morning when she’d been so sure David would come walk with her, he hadn’t. The doubts began to seep in.

  Maybe David thought she was unseemly. Ungainly. Too fat. Ugly. Pushy. Maybe he’d noticed how she sometimes snorted when she laughed. Leigh had always hated doing that, but sometimes a snort just came out right in the middle of a laugh. The only way she knew to stop it was to not laugh, and that seemed a little severe. She liked to laugh. But sitting there on the old wooden stands with splinters poking into her legs, she felt more like crying than laughing. Until she saw the dust following the car up the road to the ball field. She stood up and then sat back down. Should she climb down and go meet David as if he’d come calling at her house? Or should she stay where she was and wait for him to come up to her? Why did she have to worry about every move she made? Why couldn’t she just do what felt right?

  She knew the answer to that. If she did what she wanted to, she’d climb off the bleachers, run to meet David, and throw her arms around him. But she remembered the worry about being unseemly and held herself back. David had told her straight out that she wouldn’t have to ask for a kiss the next time, so she just had to force herself to wait.

  David pulled the car up right beside the bleachers, opened the door, and got out. The dust cloud the car had raised drifted up and over the field and the bleachers. Through it, Leigh could see Wes in the backseat of the car. Leigh forgot about being coy and climbed down off the bleachers as fast as she could. When she got to the ground, David was there waiting.

  “Is something wrong with Wes?” she asked, looking past David toward the car. Wes stuck his hand out the open window to wave at her.

  “You mean besides the usual mashed leg and Jupiter stubbornness?” David smiled and didn’t wait for her to answer. “No. We’re just on the way to the office. I wanted him to check over the press.”

  “Oh, good. I was scared something was wrong. I mean, I don’t know why you’d be coming out here to the park if something was wrong.” Leigh looked at David. “I guess I might not know why you’d be coming out here to the park anyway. It’s not exactly on the way to the newspaper office.”

  “Wes insisted.”

  “Oh,” Leigh said. “And why did he do that?”

  “He thought you might still be here walking.”

  “Was he planning to walk with me or something?”

  “More like ‘or something.’ He’s playing Cupid.”

  Leigh could feel her cheeks going red, but it was so hot, David might think she was flushed from the heat. “So, you’re only here because Wes wanted you to come?”

  David reached over and laid his hand on Leigh’s cheek. He dropped his voice to where only she could hear. “No, that’s not right at all. I wasn’t here earlier because Wes needed me to have coffee with him. I’m worried about him. You’ll understand when you see him. But Wes, he must read minds or something, and he knew he’d kept me away from seeing you so he insisted we come. He said you might be waiting for me.”

  Leigh put her hand over David’s on her cheek. She could feel her heart beating. His touch was almost as good as a kiss. “I guess he can read minds long distance too.”

  “I’m glad you were still here,” David said. “I was thinking. Maybe we could go out and get something to eat tonight.”

  Leigh’s heart did a somersault. “That would be great.”

  “I could drive over to Grundy and meet you somewhere or come by your parents’ house if that would be better.”

  “No, no. I’ll be back in Hollyhill by then,” Leigh said quickly. She still needed time to convince her mother that David was the perfect man for her. She didn’t want her mother’s disapproval to put a damper on this first date. A real “he asked me out” date and not something she’d just pushed him into doing.

  “There aren’t many restaurants in Hollyhill,” David said.

  Leigh heard reservation in his voice. “Are you worried about people seeing us together here in town?”

  David smiled. “No. I just wanted to take you somewhere nice. Zella says I need candles on the table.”

  “Zella reads too many books. Anywhere would be fine with me. The Grill. Hillside Drive-in. Peanut butter sandwiches at the Banner.” Leigh stopped talking and made a face. “Gee, I probably sound too eager.”

  David laughed. “You sound just perfect. Makes an old man like me feel good, but we can probably do better than peanut butter at the office. Let me think on it today and surprise you.”

  “I like surprises,” Leigh said. “Good surprises anyway.”

  Then David surprised both of them by pulling her close to him in a hug and kissing her quickly on the lips. It was a good thing he offered her a ride home after that. Her legs were way too weak to do much walking.

  24

  Jocie dusted and swept as fast as she could, but it was still nearly noon before she pumped up her bike tires and headed for the Banner office. As she pedaled down the road, she kept an eye out for her father. She wouldn’t have been surprised to meet him and Wes on the way home. She pedaled faster and prayed the chain on her bike wouldn’t slip off.

  It just wasn’t fair. She was supposed to be there at the office when Wes went back to work. She could have done the dusting any time, or Tabitha could have surely dusted this one time. But Aunt Love never asked Tabitha to do anything. It was as if expecting a baby was a full-time, allconsuming job. Actually Tabitha had looked too miserable to dust or anything else that morning. She’d sit awhile and then get up and walk around the room.

  “How much longer do you have to go?” Jocie had asked her on one of her trips through the living room to the bathroom.

  “Four, five weeks. Way too long.”

  “A month isn’t all that long,” Jocie said, trying to help.

  “It’s forever. I feel like a bloated hippopotamus.” Tabitha sent Jocie a mean look. “And don’t you dare say I look like one too.”

  “I wasn’t even thinking it.” Jocie held up her hands and waved the dust rag like a white flag. “You want me to get you some ice water?”

  To Jocie’s horror, Tabitha broke out in tears.

  “What’s the matter with you, Tabitha? Is something hurting extra bad?”

  “I’m all right,” Tabitha said between sobs.

  “You don’t sound all right,” Jocie said. “Should we call the doctor?”

  Aunt Love came in from the kitchen. “She’s okay, child. Sometimes an expectant mother just gets a little teary.” She pulled a handkerchief out of some secret pocket on her dress and handed it to Tabitha.

  “Is she going to cry like this till the baby comes?”

  “Probably not every day.” Aunt Love put her arm around Tabitha and steered her on toward the bathroom.

  By the time Jocie had finished dusting, Tabitha had mopped up the tears and was taking a nap while Aunt Love rocked on the front porch and counted stitches in her latest baby blanket. The baby wouldn’t need a blanket if things didn’t cool off before she was born.

  The sun was relentless as it beat down on Jocie, sucking up every drop of moisture and melting the blacktop under her tires. The Sawyers’ dog, Butch, just raised his head and watched her ride by from his place on the shady front porch. “Smart dog,” Jocie said through lips so dry they were beginning to stick together.

  Jocie was relieved to see her father’s car still parked in the back of the building when she got there. “Hey, everybody, where are
you?” she called as she went in the back door.

  “Just the girl I wanted to see,” Wes said. “Come on over here and hold this screwdriver for me.”

  Jocie went over to where Wes was peering down into the press. She took the screwdriver while Wes scooted his crutches up closer to the press. He looked pale, but happier than she’d seen him for a while. “You want me to tighten some screws or something?”

  “Naw. I was just poking around on her some to see what she might be needing, but I think she’s fine.” He patted the side of the press. “I sort of missed old Betsy Lou here.”

  “I didn’t know you’d given the press a name.”

  “I just thought it up right now,” Wes said.

  “How do you know it’s a girl?” Jocie asked.

  “Because she’s always squeaking and complaining.”

  “Hey, that’s not a nice thing to say.” Jocie laughed and gave his arm a little poke before she looked around. “Where’s Dad?”

  “He went to get us a soda pop down at the A&P Store. And he said he might stop and ask Harry Saunders and some others about Sidewalk Days next weekend. Maybe take a couple of pictures.” Wes leaned his shoulder against the press. “I told him I’d be fine here by myself.”

  “You look a little pale,” Jocie said. “Maybe you should sit down awhile.”

  “Could be you’re right. Get me that chair over there. Then after we rest a minute I might see if I can make it up the stairs.”

  “I’m not sure that would be a good idea,” Jocie said as she helped Wes sit down in the chair. “What if you lost your balance or something?”

  “When did you turn into such a worrywart?” Wes laid his crutches down on the floor beside him.

  “I don’t know. Maybe since a tree fell on you.”

  “Well, it’s time you got over it and quit whatiffing everything. Look for what-if smashers instead. Say if I lost my balance, I’d just grab hold of you.”

  “Then we’d both fall.”

  “Naw. You’d have Jupiter strength and save the day. Failing that, if I thought I was going to get top heavy, I’d sit down on the steps and scoot up on my backside.” Wes lifted his leg and propped his cast up on a box. He took a deep breath. “Ahh. It’s good to be home.”