A Time to Love

by Al Lacy

  “The way he’s drawing up his legs, I think he’s got a stomachache.”

  “No,” Janet said, sneering. “He’s just being naughty. He’ll straighten up when he gets good and hungry.”

  “I don’t think so. I think he has colic.”

  Janet shrugged and went back to her book.

  Linda took the wailing baby back to her bedroom. Laying him on the bed, she tenderly cooed to him. “Oh, you’re wet, honey. Auntie Linda will take care of that.”

  She noticed that Billy kept drawing up his legs while she changed his diaper. She sat down in the rocking chair and placed the distressed baby on his tummy across her knees, gently rubbing his back as she tried to ease his discomfort. Soon she realized it wasn’t going to work. Something had to be done.

  Janet looked up from her book in irritation when Linda came back into her bedroom, carrying the crying baby.

  “I’m going to take him to Dr. Martin,” Linda said in a controlled voice.

  “Aw, let him bawl. He’ll get over it.”

  Linda’s whole countenance suffused with anger, and her words came out breathlessly. “Janet, you’re unfit to be a mother! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!”

  “Well, I never wanted to be a mother in the first place! The kid’s only a nuisance, anyway. And besides, he looks like Lewis! And that makes me sick!”

  “So you’re not going to go with me to take Billy to the doctor?”

  “Nah. You want to take him, have at it.”

  “You’re a shameful excuse for a human being!” With that, Linda whirled toward the door and carried the crying baby from the room.

  Dr. Martins nurse was at the front desk and could hear the baby before Linda opened the door. She rose to her feet and said, “Hello, Mrs. Barrett. What’s wrong?”

  “It may be colic.”

  “Let’s go back to the examining room. We don’t have any patients at the moment, so Dr. Martin can see the baby right away.”

  Dr. Martin looked up from the cupboard where he was filling medicine bottles and moved toward Linda. “Little fella sounds like he’s hurting. Let’s take a look at him.”

  He lifted the baby from Linda’s arms and laid him on the examining table, then unbuttoned the romper and pressed experienced fingers to Billy’s little belly. “It’s colic, all right. I’ll be right back.”

  Linda tried to soothe the baby with touch and cooed to him until the doctor returned from the cupboard with a small bottle.

  “These are peppermint drops, Mrs. Barrett. Let me show you how to administer them. You can take the bottle with you and give Billy some more if the first dose doesn’t do it. I think it will, however.”

  Linda watched as the physician placed a few drops of peppermint liquid into a small cup with some warm water. He mixed it with a spoon, then pulled some of the mixture into a small dropper and placed it in Billy’s mouth, squeezing the tube to release it. The crying baby made a gurgling sound, swallowed it, then coughed and started crying again.

  The doctor gave Billy three more dropperfuls of the soothing liquid, and said, “It’s okay to pick him up now, Mrs. Barrett. Hold him close, but don’t jiggle him.”

  Linda gathered the crying child into her arms and pressed him close to her heart. She talked to him in a soothing tone, holding him tight, as the doctor looked on. Within five minutes, the wailing began to diminish, and in another three minutes or so, the baby stopped crying altogether.

  Linda pulled him away from her chest so she could look into his face. Billy looked up at her through big tears that still clung to his eyelashes and gave her a tiny smile as if to say, “Thank you!”

  Linda’s heart swelled with love for the precious child.

  Before they were out of town, Billy was fast asleep in the buggy seat next to Linda, totally exhausted from his ordeal.

  When they arrived at the house, a postal delivery wagon was just ahead of them and turned into the lane. Linda followed and pulled rein as the wagon stopped in front of the house.

  Janet was nowhere to be seen when Linda carried the sleeping baby and a package into the house. She mounted the stairs, moved past Janet’s room, and tenderly placed Billy in his crib. She then opened the package and found clothing for the baby, with a letter from her parents saying how elated they were to be grandparents.

  They hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Lewis. They hoped someday soon they could come to Stockton to see their new grandson, or that Janet would bring him to Boston, and they offered to send the train fare if she would come.

  Linda took the package and letter to Janet, but she showed no interest in seeing her parents in Boston, California, or anywhere else.

  22

  BY THE TIME LITTLE BILLY CARTER was six weeks old, Linda and Blake were strongly attached to him. They had bought a baby carriage, and one lovely day, Linda returned to the house after wheeling him up to the road and back. She parked the carriage at the front porch and carried Billy inside.

  Janet was sitting in the parlor, reading a book. She gave Linda a quick glance as she came into the room, then went on reading.

  “Janet, you need to get outside and breathe some fresh air. I’m going to put Billy’s carriage in the buggy and go into town to the market. I’d like you to come along.” Janet didn’t respond. “Did you hear me?”

  Janet slowly lifted her head and met Linda’s gaze. “I don’t feel like going into town. You and Billy go on.”

  “You’d feel better if you’d get some fresh air and exercise,” Linda said. “Come on. You can hold Billy while I drive the buggy.”

  Janet’s features turned to stone. “I said I don’t feel like going into town. I had a dizzy spell this morning when I was brushing my hair. I’m doing better, but I’m not ready to venture out yet. I’ll go with you next time.”

  “Is that a promise?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right.” Linda looked down at the baby in her arms and said, “Let’s get your diaper changed, Billy, and head for town. Mommy will go with us next time.”

  Though Janet held the book in her hands and let her eyes rest on the pages, her mind wasn’t on the story she’d been reading. She was eager for Linda to leave.

  It seemed like an eternity before Linda returned from upstairs, carrying Billy, and said, “We’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

  “Have fun,” Janet said dully.

  As soon as Linda was out the door, Janet hurried to a parlor window and peered around its edge, staying out of sight. She watched her sister put Billy in the baby carriage and wheel him around the corner of the house. Then Janet moved to a side window and watched until Linda and the carriage disappeared from sight.

  Ten minutes later Linda drove the buggy past the house and up the long, curved lane toward the road.

  When the buggy vanished from sight, Janet said aloud, “Tell you what, Auntie Linda, you can have the brat!”

  She rushed upstairs and down the hall to the master bedroom and made a beeline for the dresser. In the second drawer, underneath several of Linda’s nightgowns, was an envelope bound with a piece of string. Janet had taken advantage of other times when she was in the house alone to search until she found money.

  She grasped the envelope and pulled off the string, letting it drop to the floor, then took out the stack of fifty-and one-hundred-dollar bills. She chuckled as she stuffed the bills back in the envelope and ran down the hall to her room.

  It only took a few minutes to stuff what belongings she planned to take in her overnight bag. She put the envelope of money in the bag and darted from the room, rushing down the stairs and out the back door.

  Two hours later, Linda drove the buggy past the house and pulled up in front of the small barn. She lifted the baby carriage from the back of the buggy and set it down, then picked Billy up from the front seat and said to the horse, “Maisie, I’ll come back and put you in the corral after I give Billy to his mother for feeding. Come on, Billy. I know you’re hungry.”

  When s
he’d reached the back porch, she noticed the back door was ajar. “Funny,” she murmured, “I know I closed that door tight.”

  She picked up Billy, who was beginning to fuss, and left the baby carriage at the steps. No one in the kitchen. She glanced inside the parlor to see if Janet was there, then carried Billy up the stairs.

  “Janet! We’re back! It’s feeding time! Billy’s hungry, and—”

  She entered Janet’s room and found it vacant.

  “Janet! Where are you? Billy’s hungry!”

  She went to her own bedroom door. “Janet! Are you in h—”

  It was then she saw the open dresser drawer and a familiar-looking piece of string on the floor. When she examined the bottom of the drawer and found the envelope of money missing, she knew Janet had gone. A quick stop in Janet’s room and a look in the closet confirmed it. With the crying baby in her arms, she returned to the horse and buggy at the corral, placed Billy on the seat, and drove for town.

  Blake Barrett had a customer at his desk when Linda entered the bank with Billy in her arms.

  She paused at a secretary’s desk and talked to her, waiting for Blake’s customer to depart.

  As soon as the customer was gone, Linda drew up to Blake’s desk and said in a low voice, “Honey, I need to talk to you.”

  Blake took Billy and tickled the baby under the chin as he led Linda to his inner office. “What is it, honey?” he asked as she sat down.

  “Janet’s gone.”

  “Gone? What do you mean?”

  “Billy and I came to town a couple of hours ago. When we got back home, Billy was fussing because he was hungry. I looked for Janet but couldn’t find her. The envelope of money we keep in the dresser drawer was gone, and when I checked her room, most of her clothes were gone. She left her trunk. But she’s gone, Blake. She won’t be coming back.”

  “You know, I’m not really surprised,” he said. “She certainly cares nothing about her son. And all she did was use us.”

  Linda nodded. “I think she’s been planning this since she came here. She must have snooped around when we weren’t home until she found the money. Today I almost insisted that she come to town with Billy and me, but she refused, saying she would go next time. Looks like she was just waiting until she was alone in the house to take off.”

  “I think we should tell the sheriff so he can try to find her,” said Blake. “There was over a thousand dollars in that envelope. We ought to at least get that back.”

  “I agree”.

  “What about Billy’s meal? He’s not acting hungry.”

  “I bought him a couple of bottles and some milk at the store. Fed him before coming over here.”

  “Well, good. You go on back home, honey, and I’ll go to the sheriff’s office right now. Maybe he can find Janet.”

  Linda had supper started that evening when Blake came home from work.

  “Hello, Mrs. Barrett,” he said as he came through the back door.

  “And hello to you, Mr. Barrett.” She stood on tiptoe and kissed him. “Any word on my sister?”

  “Nothing. Sheriff Tyler checked with Wells Fargo. She definitely didn’t take a stage out of here. He wired the railroad people at Sacramento, but they’ve had no passenger of Janet’s description. It’s as if she vanished into thin air.”

  “Exactly as she planned it, I’m sure,” Linda said, shaking her head. “Good of Janet … still showing her true colors. She disgusts me, Blake, but I can’t help being concerned about her, especially about her spiritual condition.”

  “I know, honey. I hate to see her go on and make a worse mess out of her life, but there’s really nothing else we can do. If the sheriff can’t find her, we sure can’t.”

  “You get washed up, darling,” Linda said. “I’ll get supper on the table. Would you mind checking on Billy while you’re upstairs? If he’s awake, bring him down with you.”

  While the Barretts ate supper with Billy cooing contentedly in his cradle next to the table, Linda said, “Blake, do you see what I see in all of this?”

  “Yes, ma’am. The Lord didn’t make Janet run away from Lewis and come here, but He knew it was going to happen, even before we started praying for a child to adopt.”

  “And He’s given us Billy,” she said, blinking at the tears surfacing in her eyes. “What about adoption, Blake?”

  “The law says we can’t legally adopt Billy without the consent of at least one of the natural parents, unless they’re confirmed dead. Since that’s not the case, we’ll give Billy a home, and he’ll still be our little boy, even without adoption. And we won’t try to find Lewis. He’s certainly not a fit father.”

  Linda nodded. “And besides, he doesn’t even know Billy exists.”

  “Honey,” Blake said, “who would have imagined the Lord would answer our prayers for a child in this way?”

  “Nobody,” she said, smiling. “But knowing that God’s wisdom is far above our own, I can accept His perfect will and thank Him with a grateful heart. We now have our own little son.”

  Blake left his chair, picked up the baby, and said, “Did you hear that, Billy? This lady over here isn’t Auntie Linda anymore. She’s your mommy! And I’m not Uncle Blake anymore. I’m your daddy!”

  When Linda stood up, Blake put an arm around her, and together they praised the Lord for His goodness and for answered prayer.

  As they sat down to finish their meal, Linda said, “I feel sorry for Janet. What a mess she’s made of her life.”

  “I know, honey. All we can do is pray for her and commit her into God’s hands.”

  They ate silently for a few minutes, then Linda said, “What will we do about Billy’s name? Since we can’t legally adopt him, his last name can’t be Barrett. But it’s going to be very awkward as he grows up.”

  Blake thought on it for a moment. “We can’t use Carter for his name, Linda. It would just make things too difficult. He’ll have our name, even though it’s not official.” He looked down at the happy baby in the cradle and said, “Hello, William Nolan Barrett. Welcome to your permanent home. Your permanent mommy and daddy love you with all their hearts.”

  It was almost as if little Billy understood, for his eyes sparkled and a smile curved his lips.

  Linda sent a letter to Nolan and Adrienne Forrest, informing them of Janet’s running away and leaving Billy with them.

  The Forrests were disappointed that Janet hadn’t changed, but they were glad that Blake and Linda were going to raise little Billy as if he were their own.

  Time moved on.

  On May 28, 1882, little William Nolan Barrett turned two years old. His parents gave him a party, and several families from the church came.

  Billy laughed and giggled and had a great time.

  Blake and Linda continuously praised the Lord for the way He had worked in their lives, primarily for giving them a son. He had also prospered the Stockton Bank and Trust Company. And they were superbly happy in their church.

  Blake and Linda fell deeper in love every day, and life was beautiful.

  On the Saturday following Billy’s second birthday, Blake was at the barn, greasing the wheels of the two family buggies, when movement caught his eye. He focused on the lane that led from the road and saw a man walking toward the house in the shade of the trees.

  The man was too far away for Blake to identify. He put more grease on a wheel and waited for the man to draw nearer.

  When the stranger disappeared past the corner of the house, Blake followed to see who he was and what he wanted.

  Billy’s bedroom was right next to the master bedroom. Linda laid him in his little bed and said, “All right, son. Time for your afternoon nap. Give Mommy a big kiss.”

  The child hugged her neck and planted a juicy kiss on her cheek. “Doo-night, Mommy.”

  “Good night, sweetheart,” she said, smiling. For Billy, any time he was put in bed was “Doo-night.”

  Linda stroked his head tenderly for a moment and watch
ed his eyes close. Within seconds, Billy was asleep.

  Her lower lip quivered as she said in a whisper, “Thank You, Lord. Thank You for letting me be Billy’s mommy.”

  She tiptoed from the room, went downstairs to the kitchen, and opened the pantry door. Just as she was taking a small sack of flour from a shelf, she heard a knock at the front door.

  Linda hurried down the hall, humming one of her favorite hymns. She opened the door, then froze at the sight of a familiar face. Her face drained of color, and a shaky hand went to her throat as she gasped, “Lewis!”

  Linda was vaguely aware of the back door opening and closing as Lewis Carter stood at the front door and removed his hat.

  He looked at her nervously and said in soft voice, “Linda, I’m sorry to show up at your door like this, but I—”

  “What’s going on?” came Blake’s steady voice as he drew up, noting Linda’s pallor. “Who is this man, Linda?”

  She was still trying to find her voice when the stranger said, “Mr. Barrett, I’m Lewis Carter.”

  Blake felt as if he’d been hit by lightning. There was a sudden dangerous look in his eyes as he jutted his jaw and said huskily, “What do you want?”

  Linda glanced at Blake. A fearful look crossed her features, but Blake dispelled it with a gentle smile. He then looked at Lewis for the answer to his question.

  “Mr. Barrett, I … I’m not here to cause you or your wife a problem.” Then he turned to Linda, “I’m looking for Janet.”

  “Why did you come here?” Linda asked, taking hold of Blake’s hand.

  His strong, comforting arm went around her waist.

  “I’ve tried for nearly two years to find her. I … I went to your parents’ home in Boston shortly after Janet left me, but your father wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise. He told me to leave or he would call the police.”

  “Can you blame him?” Linda asked, her voice edged with ice.

  Lewis looked at her blankly, then scrubbed a hand across his mouth. “I suppose not.”

  “So what brought you here?” Blake said. “What makes you think we would know where Janet is?”