Love by Design

by Christine Johnson

  The bouncing and creaking was loud, but not loud enough to drown Jen’s retort. “I don’t have the experience for anything, since no one will show me how to fly.”

  If he wasn’t holding on to the steering wheel, he’d throw his hands in the air. Whatever argument he used, it always led back to him teaching her to fly. He opted to let her stew in silence the rest of the drive. She obliged with the same stony expression.

  When they coasted into town well over an hour later, she finally came to life. “You should drop off the steel first rather than backtrack.”

  “Are you sure?” Of course she was sure. She didn’t want to face her mother. He could give her that bit of time to gather herself.

  After giving the steel to Simmons, he drove the short distance to Jen’s family home. Cozy. That’s the word he would use to describe it. Yes, he’d been there the night of the ball, but it had been dark then. In the daylight, he noticed how tiny the house was, even with the second story. The porch looked more dilapidated than he remembered, and the shutters sagged. If he was staying the summer, he would repair and paint that porch.

  He slowed and parked the car. “I’ll bring your bag.”

  “I can get it.” But she didn’t move.

  He hopped out, grabbed her small bag from the backseat and opened the passenger door.

  She still didn’t move.

  “You will have to face her eventually. She’s probably realized you’re here.” He nodded toward the curtained windows.

  She blew out a sigh. “I’m sorry.” She pivoted, accepted his hand and stood.

  He squeezed her hand, conscious that he was right in front of her mother’s house. “She’s your mother. She’ll understand. Even people who make their living off you eventually understand.”

  “Make their living off you?”

  “My manager nearly keeled over when I told him I was leaving stunt flying. But he got over it. Still tries to convince me to do a show, but I don’t hold it against him.”

  The corners of her mouth inched up.

  “Your mother isn’t depending on your income,” he pointed out, “and she loves you a whole lot more than my manager loved me.”

  She laughed. My, how he loved to hear her laugh. He loved the spark in her eye and the way she completely abandoned herself to the moment. “All right, Mr. Wagner. Let’s face Mother.” She wrapped her arm around his.

  He wasn’t sure how he’d ended up part of this confrontation, but he wouldn’t let Jen down. She needed to know he would support her no matter what happened, though he doubted her mother would throw a fit in front of a virtual stranger, especially since she’d been so charmed the night of the ball.

  The front door was unlocked, as were all front doors in Pearlman according to what he’d seen. Jen pushed it open and stepped inside.

  No one met them.

  “Mother?” she called out.

  No answer.

  “She’s probably at the dress shop,” Jen said with evident relief. “Ruth must be finishing packing up everything.” She blinked rapidly. “You did say it was still open.”

  “As far as I know.”

  “Genevieve?” The silver-haired woman that Dan had met the night of the ball stepped into the parlor. Her hands were flour-covered. Apparently she was baking. She looked from her daughter to Dan and back again. “You have a break from school already?”

  “No.” Jen looked horribly guilty. If she didn’t say this with confidence and conviction, her mother would not believe it.

  “Then what happened?” Again Mrs. Fox looked to Dan. “Why is Mr. Wagner here?” Her eyes rounded. “Do you have an announcement?”

  “No,” Jen squeaked. “No, Dan just drove me back.”

  “All the way from Grand Rapids?”

  “He was there to pick up some steel for the aeromotor factory.”

  Mrs. Fox frowned. “But how did you find each other and why did you come home—” she paused “—with a gentleman?”

  Dan had the distinct impression that Pearlman held to stricter rules of behavior than the more liberal city populations. “It was only a drive, ma’am.”

  Her grim expression didn’t budge. “Genevieve Fox. Explain yourself.”

  Jen began to tremble, something so unusual that Dan feared she would collapse. He gently guided her to the nearby sofa. She sank onto it but said nothing.

  Dan ought to leave. He wanted to leave, but he couldn’t abandon Jen. “Pardon me, ma’am, but I believe your daughter was eager to see you after what she’s been through.”

  Mrs. Fox wiped her hands on her apron and then tenderly touched her daughter’s shoulder. “What happened, dear?”

  Jen shook her head, clearly fighting back tears, and in fits and starts managed to spit out that two patients had died. “I wasn’t even there for her,” she whispered in a ragged voice. “I was poor Marie’s only visitor, and when she really needed someone I wasn’t there.”

  “You were doing your job. Another nurse would have stayed with her.”

  “You don’t understand. I failed her just like I failed Daddy.”

  Dan slipped silently away. This had gotten far too personal. Thankfully, neither woman noticed him head for the door. He grasped the doorknob.

  “I left him, Mama.” Jen’s voice shook. “I left Daddy because I wanted to get my study materials from the flight school. I left him, and he died all alone.”

  “Hush now, dearest,” Mrs. Fox consoled. “You are not to blame, and your father was never all alone. Our Lord was by his side.”

  Dan slipped out the door. He had heard too much.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Mother didn’t understand. Oh, she accepted Jen’s decision, but she didn’t understand why Jen had to leave the nursing program.

  “Perhaps after a little break they will take you back.”

  Jen couldn’t let her cling to that hope. “No, Mother. I signed papers withdrawing from the program.”

  Mother gasped, ever so softly, before recovering. “There are other hospital programs. The Battle Creek Sanitarium has one, and you might not face the same traumas there.”

  In the end, Jen had agreed to consider other programs, but her mind had not changed after a long night’s sleep. Nor would it change on this sunny beginning to the rest of her life. She pulled the pillow to her face, reveling in the familiar fresh scent. How she’d missed that. She’d even missed her sisters. Minnie must have gotten up already. Her bed was made, but with so little care that Jen rose and tucked the corners properly. She then made her bed, stretching the sheets so tightly that every wrinkle disappeared. The assistant nurse supervisor made anyone remake a bed that didn’t follow the guidelines exactly.

  After dressing, Jen wandered downstairs.

  “Good morning,” Mother said as she bounced baby Sammy on her lap. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes, Mother.”

  The baby giggled, and Mother tickled his chin. “You must not have gotten much sleep there. I wondered if you would sleep all morning.”

  Jen glanced at the clock. It read nearly ten o’clock. She had never slept that late in her life. “I was tired.”

  “You were exhausted, dear. Do you feel better?”

  Jen poured a cup of coffee. “I will once I drink this.”

  “It’s not hot.”

  “I don’t care.” Jen tickled Sammy under the chin.

  He squealed and reached for her.

  Mother relinquished him without hesitation. “Have you thought about what we discussed last night?”

  “I just woke up.” Jen walked around the kitchen, Sammy on her hip, showing the baby the view through the window and all the cups lined up on the cupboard shelves.

  “Well, I’ve been giving it some thought. I searche
d the week’s newspapers and found two other hospital nursing programs accepting students. One is in Detroit. That would be very far away, but as I suspected the Battle Creek Sanitarium is advertising.” She pushed a newspaper, folded to expose only the advertisement, across the table.

  Jen didn’t bother looking. “Nursing is not for me, Mother. I can fix a sewing machine or an airplane motor, but I can’t fix people. I never felt so helpless. I couldn’t do anything but hold people’s hands.”

  “You were there for Mr. Smith. That is a gift and a calling. We all have our time, dear. A nurse can help ease the passing to the next life.”

  “I thought they healed people.”

  “God heals. We can only give comfort and hope.”

  Jen had no response for that. Nor could she have answered Dan’s insistence that flying also put others at risk. Fortunately, Sammy distracted her by grabbing for the coffee cup. She moved it far from his reach. Naturally he screamed his displeasure, so she gave him a wooden spoon. He immediately stuck it in his mouth. “When are Ruth and Sam leaving? I didn’t see them last night.”

  “Ruth is busy with the shop.” Mother sighed. “It’s sad to see it close. Your father opened it soon after Beatrice was born. It took a while before business picked up. My, we struggled in those days.”

  “But you’re smiling. It couldn’t have been that bad.”

  “When you’re with someone you love, even the struggles are bearable. Remember that, Genevieve.”

  Jen wiped the drool from Sammy’s chin.

  “That young man who brought you home,” Mother said. “Mr. Wagner. Other than his poor judgment in driving you here without a chaperone, he seems to be a gentleman.”

  Jen felt the beginnings of a matchmaking attempt coming on. “He has a reputation for short-lived relationships with women.”

  Mother frowned. “And you agreed to ride from Grand Rapids with him?”

  “He is a friend, Mother, nothing more.”

  “But people will talk.” Her frown deepened by the minute. “The neighbors would have seen him arrive. By now, everyone will know.”

  “By now, all of Pearlman knows I worked with Mr. Wagner on the polar expedition for over a month. I doubt seeing him bring me home in Jack’s car was any surprise at all. Moreover, I attended the Valentine’s Day Ball with him. I’m sure the gossips have us engaged by now.”

  Mother reached for Sammy, who had begun fussing. “How can you be so cavalier? A ruined reputation is no laughing matter. I must have a word with Mr. Wagner.”

  “No! Please don’t.” The last thing Jen needed was her mother’s interference. “I’m sure no one thought a thing of it. I promise it won’t happen again.”

  “No, it won’t.” Mother tapped the newspaper advertisement. “If you aren’t to marry, you need to go to school. Since we can’t afford college, a hospital nursing program is your only chance to learn a skill that will carry you through life.”

  Jen cut a slice from the loaf of fresh bread and recalled what Dan had told her. “Maybe my skills lie elsewhere.”

  “Where? You can’t tinker around at the flight school forever. That will not earn you enough to let a room, least of all put food on the table.”

  Jen knew her mother was right, but the thought of returning to nursing made her nauseous. “I will find something before you leave for New York. I promise.” She finished buttering the bread and took a bite.

  “I’m leaving with Ruth and Sammy next week.”

  Jen choked on the mouthful of bread and washed it down with lukewarm coffee. “I thought you were waiting for Minnie’s wedding.”

  “I was, but the house sold.”

  “So soon?” Jen cried. “I didn’t know you even had it on the market.”

  “It is a blessing, especially since Sam’s father has taken a turn for the worse. Sam left for New York Monday. Ruth, Sammy and I will take the train there next week.”

  “But the wedding. Minnie will be devastated.”

  Mother smiled indulgently. “I won’t miss your sister’s wedding. Ruth and Sam will return for that, so I can come with them.”

  Jen tried to sort it all out in her head. “But what about Minnie? Is she going to New York, too?”

  “Of course not. She is going to stay with Beatrice until the wedding. She can help out with the cleaning and the children.”

  Jen leaned against the counter. “Then everything is accounted for.”

  “Except you. We expected you to be at the hospital for two years. We had no idea you planned to resign. I didn’t receive a single letter from you.”

  “I’m sorry. There was no time between the twelve-hour shifts and the studying. I barely managed a few hours of sleep a day.”

  Mother simply nodded. “Well, that’s water under the bridge, but it does leave us at a bit of a loss. You might ask Beatrice if she would be willing to take you in, too.”

  “If I had known...” Jen mused.

  “You would have stayed at the hospital?”

  Jen shook her head. “No. I knew from the start that I didn’t belong there, but I might have found a job in the city. When were you planning to tell me this?”

  “I sent a letter on Monday, the moment the sale was official.”

  Jen looked around the familiar kitchen, stuffed with the belongings of a lifetime. “What will we do with everything?”

  “Ruth suggested we hold a sale in the dress shop, now that it’s empty. Whatever doesn’t sell, Beatrice offered to store in her attic.”

  Jen’s head spun. Her childhood home had sold. Someone else would move in and change things around. Her mother and Ruth were leaving next week. She would have nowhere to live. Just when life was beginning to return to normal, the rug had been yanked out from under her feet.

  * * *

  Dan stared at Simmons. The barn was still cold at midday, but the man’s admission sure heated things up. “Are you saying Jen was right?”

  The man shuffled his feet, something he did when uncomfortable. “I didn’t know that was her idea.”

  “Didn’t I mention that?”

  Dan tried to recall exactly what he had said to Simmons. Yesterday had been a blur. After leaving Jen and her mother in painful conversation, he had gone straight to the flight school hoping to talk to Hunter. The place had been locked up. Then he’d returned to the plant, where he mentioned Jen’s idea of checking the cylinders, but he couldn’t recall if he’d specifically told Simmons that Jen had suggested that.

  “You just said to check the cylinder bore. I took a look last night and found some flaws. Cleaned them up early this morning. All we gotta do now is test the motor.”

  Dan blew out his breath. “We need some cold weather then, or we’ll have to go into this attempt without the additional testing.” That did not make him feel comfortable at all.

  “Guess that’s somethin’ to pray for.”

  “For the weather? Do you really think God controls the weather?”

  Simmons shrugged. “Can’t hurt.”

  “What can’t hurt?” said the very woman on Dan’s mind.

  He had to grin when he saw the faded old trousers and ragged mackinaw. “Back to your old self, I see.”

  She ignored him. “What’s happening, Hendrick? Did we bring you the right kind of steel?”

  Dan noticed she’d managed to put herself into the equation. To his surprise, he didn’t mind.

  “It’ll work,” Simmons said. “Gotta go.”

  “Wait!” Jen flagged him down. “I had something to ask you. I was wondering if there are any openings at the plant.”

  Simmons blinked. “No, uh, only— Nope. Not right now.”

  “Only what?” She snagged the single faint hope amid all those negatives. “I can work anywhere. I’m good with my
hands.”

  Simmons shook his head. “There’s nothing right now. I hafta get back.”

  She looked disappointed but rallied. “Be sure to keep me in mind if a job opens up.”

  Though Simmons muttered that he would, Dan suspected he wouldn’t. Simmons came from the same traditional stock as Dan. He was not going to hire a woman to work on the assembly line. Dan didn’t exactly blame him. With all that machinery, accidents happened. Fingers were lost. Occasionally a belt snapped. Fatalities were not out of the question. Still, women worked in a great many industries, especially in textiles. Dan could hardly believe he was thinking this, but Jen Fox would do well at Simmons Aeromotor. He wasn’t quite ready to say that in front of her, though.

  Her mouth had twisted into that determined frown that he had come to know—and end up on the receiving end of—all too often. Jen Fox would not let a little refusal stop her.

  He chuckled as she watched Simmons walk away.

  She spun around to face him. “What are you laughing at, Wagner?”

  “The prettiest sight in the world.”

  Her head jerked back in surprise. Her mouth dropped open, and the loveliest color infused her cheeks. “You mean the airplane.”

  Dan roared. “Definitely not, though it is a fine-looking machine.”

  As usual, she turned the conversation away from her. “I see the left engine is still torn apart. Did Hendrick bring news?”

  “He thinks he found the problem.”

  “Great. Was it the cylinder?”

  Dan was not going to swell her pride by admitting she’d been right. “Simmons thinks he’s found the problem, but we need to test the motor to be sure. Unfortunately the weather is too warm to cause icing.” He shook his head. “I don’t see it cooling off before we need to pack up and ship it all off to Europe.”

  She pursed her lips and scrunched her forehead. Her toe tapped the ground as seconds and then minutes passed.

  He waited.

  At last she grinned. “I think I have an idea.”

  “Great. Let’s hear it.”

  She got a smug look on her face. “Only if you agree to teach me to fly.”