Thank you for not being upset with me and for making this experience so special. You are a very understanding and insightful person. Your dad and I are so proud of you. You have been such a joy and blessing to us. You have turned into such a fine young man and we know you will succeed in whatever you do.
Thank you, too, for your words of wisdom in your valedictory speech. Who would have thought that your speech would make me aware of myself and finally bring me truly back home.
I love you very much, son. I wish you much happiness with Julean. She is such a lovely girl and I am happy you made the decision to abandon your plan.
Yes, now that it’s out in the open, I can truly say this was fun! I, too, shall treasure this experience for always.
Love, Mom
June 19, 1960
As Mary folded the letter, several more trademarks landed on the page, making the ink run. She placed the letter in the envelope with the money, making it appear as if it were still the one he’d written her and laid the envelope back in the drawer as she had found it. How had Henry detected her presence? It didn’t matter anymore.
As she rose to leave Henry’s room, she brought her fingertips up to her mouth and kissed them, then reached up to the crucifix hanging above Henry’s door, touching her fingertips to Jesus’ feet.
“Thank you, my Lord. Only You could have arranged something as beautiful and creative as this. What a wonderful way to answer a mother’s prayer.”
Mary walked into her bedroom to the closet. She stood on her tiptoes to reach her treasure chest of memories, which she brought down and set on her dresser. She lifted the lid of a small jewel box on her dresser and fished around for a small key. With it, Mary opened the chest of the treasures of her heart. She took out the letter from her apron pocket, read it one more time, and placed it in the box.
Henry and Bill arrived home about the same time. As usual, both men appeared in the kitchen, kissed her cheek and then went through their get-ready-for-dinner ritual. Bill had a shower then settled in the living room with the paper, while Henry spent time in his bedroom before washing and joining his father in the living room.
She wondered if Henry had checked his desk drawer and already knew.
“Okay, boys, dinner’s on.”
When they’d sat down to dinner and said the blessing, Henry looked at her and smiled. He had read her letter. They gazed at each other for a long moment, tears coming to their eyes. Occasionally, as they silently ate, Henry would smile and let out a little chuckle that he could no longer contain and then she would do the same.
Bill looked from Mary to Henry and back again.
“What? Is there something I should know?”
After a long pause while Mary regained her composure, she looked at Bill and said, “Over the past year, Henry and I have shared a rare experience that I only realized today.” Tears in her eyes, she added, “Sometimes a shared experience of the heart is best left unspoken.”
Henry and Mary were both in for another surprise when they all retired to the living room expecting to watch Perry Mason on tv. Bill usually fired up the rca Victor and had the picture going on the screen by the time Mary came in, but not tonight. Henry looked at his mom and she returned his gaze. They both looked at Bill.
He remained uncomfortably quiet for a long time and Henry noticed his foot lightly tapping the rug and red blotches on his neck. Something was on his dad’s mind that he was nervous about. Henry was certain his mom had noticed it before he did and so both of them were quiet, giving Bill time to say whatever was on his mind.
Bill cleared his throat and took a sip of tea Mary had brought in and then he spoke. “I think you both know how much I like listening to that Bishop Sheen fella. Every Sunday he keeps hammering on, saying that we should say the rosary. ‘The family that prays together stays together’ is nothing more than a slogan unless it’s put into practice.”
Bill stopped talking and cleared his throat, leaning down to picked up a bag beside his chair. He reached in and brought out three rosaries. “I stopped off at church on the way home yesterday and bought these. I know you have one, Mary, but I thought I’d buy you another anyway. You may have one already too, Henry, that Mom’s given you in the past, but again, I thought I’d get you one too just in case you can’t find yours or it’s gotten lost over the years.”
Henry noticed the red blotches climb to the top of his dad’s face. He was turning red as fire. He got up and handed Henry a rosary with brown wooden beads and a silver cross. Then he moved over to Mary and gave her one of clear crystal beads with a silver cross as well. He held his own black-beaded rosary in his other hand. He returned to the sofa, knelt down and in a hoarse, crackly voice said, “I hope the both of you will join me.”
Mary was already at his side.
Henry was in awe. Never in a million years would he have expected his dad to do this. And then Mr. Engelmann’s teaching filled his mind. God’s divine providence at work. He would never again have to worry that his family would ever be separated.
His dad had already started the rosary when Henry finally knelt down beside his mom. Henry heard his dad say the first half of the Our Father but couldn’t join with his mother as she said the remainder. He just followed silently along, his fingers sliding easily over the beads wet with tears. As Mr. Engelmann so often noticed, he wore his emotions on his shirtsleeves. He was too overwhelmed to speak. All he felt was the peace filling their home, that it really was a home of peace and safety.
A surge of security swept through Henry, and Mr. Engelmann’s words, as they always did, came to his mind once more. If you place Jesus at the centre of your life, you build your life, your home, on a rock that can weather any storm.
Now, to his very core, Henry felt what his wise teacher meant.
The rosary was over half finished when Henry finally joined in, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
Chapter Forty
Thanks for putting the baby carriage in the trunk, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart. Say hello to Tammy and tell her I can’t wait to see her little girl sometime.”
“Okay, I will, Dad. See you tonight.”
Ted threw a kiss to Jenny and left for the office.
Just as Jenny was about to leave too, Edith entered the foyer.
“Is Tammy still at her grandma’s place?”
“Yes, it’s almost two months and neither her mother or father have spoken to her.”
“And what about her boyfriend? Robert, isn’t it?”
Jenny nodded. “He hasn’t come around yet either, unless he phoned last night.”
“Well, it’s a good thing Tammy has you for a friend, you’re there more than at home lately.”
“Oh, Mom, you have no idea how much I love Chloe. Every time I go over there she’s grown and becoming more alert. She’s such a darling.”
“Chloe, that’s a cute name.”
“Isn’t it nice? So short and sweet. I just love it.”
“You’ll be home for supper?”
“Yes. We’re going to the park to try out the new baby carriage. Tammy misses her backyard at home, but this will be okay. Her grandma lives in an apartment so it’ll be nice for Tammy and the baby to get out and have some fresh air. Well, I better be off. It takes over an hour and a half to get there even when the traffic isn’t too busy.”
“Well, be careful, honey and say hello to Tammy. Tell her she’s welcome to come for dinner on Sunday, your dad and I would both love to meet Chloe.”
Jenny kissed her mom on the cheek, “Okay, Mom. See you around five or so.”
Jenny buzzed up to Tammy’s grandma’s apartment.
“Oh hi, Tammy, I’m at the front door and have the baby carriage set up and ready. Do you want me to come up?”
“No. I’ll
be down in five minutes. I have the diaper bag and everything.”
“I’ll be waiting, I can hardly wait to see Chloe.”
When Tammy came down with the baby she looked exhausted.
“Hey, Jen, I’m so glad you came. Chloe was up all night and I’m so tired. Would you mind taking her to the park? It’s only two blocks down that way and the fresh air might relax her. I’ve just got to get some sleep. Do you mind, Jen?”
Jenny had been helping Tammy for the last month and though knew how to tend to Chloe, she felt a little uncomfortable going on her own. But it was clear Tammy needed to rest.
“Sure, Tammy. Just help me get her comfortable in the carriage and I’ll take her for a nice long walk.”
“Oh, Jen! Thank you so much! Grandma tries to help, but her arthritis is so bad she can’t hold the baby.”
Jenny took the baby from Tammy and cuddled her.
“Hi, Chloe! How’s my little one? How’s my little angel?”
Jenny put her in the carriage and covered her with the blanket Tammy had brought. She put the diaper bag at the foot of the carriage and then turned back to her friend.
“Okay, Tammy, I’m all set. Go get some sleep.”
“If she fusses, I heated up some milk. It’s in the diaper bag all wrapped up so it should stay warm for awhile. Thanks again!”
“Oh go lie down already—we’ll be fine,” Jenny said, trying to hide her nervousness.
Chloe started to cry, but as soon as Jenny began to walk forward and sort of shook the carriage at the same time, she settled right down.
Jenny wondered what was ailing Chloe, why she would be up all night. And from out of nowhere the thought came to her that maybe Tammy was so nervous about being on her own without the support of her mother and Robbie, she wasn’t relaxed enough to release her milk like she should be.
Jenny was glad Tammy had sent along a bottle of formula. She was thankful as well that it was a beautiful day and the wind was calm. It helped relax her as she strolled down Silver Street towards Alexander Park.
So far so good. Chloe wasn’t fussing, although she wasn’t asleep either. Her round black eyes peeked over the covers.
Every now and then as she walked along, Jenny forgot herself and called the baby Camilla. Her own little girl was on her mind so much that Jenny couldn’t help it at times. In a way, Jenny was living out what she’d missed with her own little girl. There was nothing wrong with that was there?
The park wasn’t too crowded, but there was a lot of noise and shouting. She looked down at Chloe, still wide awake but thankfully content. Just as Jenny passed the swings to rest on a nearby bench one of the children threw a ball and it hit the side of the carriage, startling Chloe badly. She began to wail. Jenny quickly rocked the carriage and placed her hand on the baby’s covers, trying to assure her someone was with her, but to no avail. Chloe was frightened and howled at the top of her lungs.
Jenny rushed over to the nearest bench, already occupied by a lady in her thirties. The woman could tell Jenny was flustered and offered her help.
“Yes, thank you. If you could rock the carriage for a minute while I get her bottle?”
Jenny opened the diaper bag and searched for the bottle but it wasn’t there. Tammy must have forgotten to put it in the bag. But Tammy had also brought extra blankets. Jenny searched there and felt the bottle. “Thank God! Here it is.”
Jenny squirted some formula on her wrist and it was still a little warm. The lady already had Chloe out of the carriage and now handed her to Jenny.
“Oh, thank you so much.” Jenny was so flustered she couldn’t think how to hold Chloe.
“Here let me help you.” The lady took Chloe from her and repositioned her so she fit snugly into Jenny’s left arm.
“Is this your first? I’m Alice, by the way.”
Jenny gave Chloe the bottle and she immediately began eating, much to Jenny’s relief.
“Thank you again, Alice. I’m Jenny, and yes, this is my first. Well, so to speak. I wish she were mine but Chloe here belongs to a friend of mine. She’s at home resting and I thought I’d take the baby out for a walk.”
“Chloe, that’s a nice name. Looks like she was hungry besides being frightened by that ball.”
“Yeah, that came out of nowhere, didn’t it? I didn’t expect it either. So which of these children is yours?” Jenny asked, scanning the children playing on the park amusements.
Alice didn’t respond for a moment and then said, “None of them. I used to bring my daughter here all the time but…” her words trailed off.
Jenny studied her, not wanting to pry but sensing the woman needed to talk. “Is she okay?” Jenny chanced.
Alice stared straight ahead. “I’m afraid not. She passed away two months ago. She had cancer.”
“Oh Alice! I’m so sorry! I don’t know what to say. I can’t even imagine what you must be going through. How old was she?”
“She’d just turned four,” was all Alice could manage as tears filled her sad eyes. “I come here every now and then just to remember some of the times we had together. She loved to swing. That was her favourite one, second from the right.” Alice pointed at a set of six swings.
“Oh dear, Chloe drank the whole bottle of milk!” Now what am I going to do? thought Jenny as the baby began to fuss again. Jenny rocked her but it didn’t help.
“Come on now, Chloe,” she shushed, “settle down.”
“She needs to be burped, Jenny, she might have swallowed a lot of air.”
“Oh for sure! Why didn’t I think of that?”
Jenny turned the baby in her arms and brought Chloe up to her chest, the baby’s head on her shoulder. She began patting her back.
Alice leaned over to place a clean diaper on Jenny’s shoulder, but she was too late and Chloe threw up what seemed like half the bottle onto Jenny’s sweater.
“Oh no! My gosh, Chloe!”
“Here let me take her, the public washroom is right over there. Why don’t you go and get cleaned up. I think she’ll be fine now.”
Jenny looked at Chloe, who seemed to have settled down.
Maybe all she needed was to burp.
“Okay, thanks, Alice, I’ll just be a minute and then I’d better get her home in case she gets hungry again. Half her meal is on my sweater!”
Jenny rushed to the washroom, wet some paper towels and began sponging the formula from her sweater. She’d not been gone even five minutes when she returned. As she walked back to the bench, Jenny’s heart sank. Alice and Chloe weren’t there.
“Oh no!” Jenny became frantic. Good heavens! Surely Alice hadn’t taken the little girl. Jenny thought she would explode…until she heard her name.
“We’re over here, Jenny! The kids were starting to play ball too close to us and I thought it best to bring Chloe over here.”
Jenny rushed over, relief washing over her.
Alice was changing Chloe’s diaper on a bench.
“Oh, oh…thank you, again, Alice,” Jenny said, trying to catch her breath.
“I see you got most of the formula off.”
“Yes, it came out fairly easily, but I’ll smell like a Jersey cow until I get home.” The two of them chuckled.
“Well, she seems to have settled down some.”
“That’s good.” Jenny picked up Chloe and put her back into the carriage. “I best be off in case she starts fussing again. I have no more milk for her. I suspect that’s why she’s been waking up so often at night. Not getting enough milk.”
“That could be it. How old is she?”
“Almost two months.”
“She does seem a little small. Better take her to the doctor as soon as you can and have her weighed. He’ll advise you what to do pretty quick.”
“Now that you mention it, Tammy was supposed to take
her last week but was too sick. I think she goes tomorrow, though.’
“That’s good. Is your friend breastfeeding her baby?”
“Yes.”
“She might want to supplement her feeding with the bottle more regularly too. I could tell Chloe was rather hungry.”
Jenny nodded. “That’s a good idea. Well, it was nice meeting you, Alice. Thank you for all your help—and I’m so sorry about your little girl. Perhaps well see each other here again.”
“Yes, we just might. Good luck with the baby.”
“Thanks, Alice. ’Bye.”
Jenny pushed the carriage out of the park as quickly as she could and rushed back to the apartment. She began to appreciate the stress Tammy was under. Just taking Chloe out for a little walk to the park had proven to be almost more than Jenny would want to handle.
She buzzed up to the apartment and as soon as she heard a click she opened the door and managed to push the carriage into the foyer of the apartment building. As Jenny wheeled the carriage into the elevator and ascended to the ninth floor, she couldn’t help but feel the conditions Tammy was living in were just too stressful and must only add to her troubles. The apartment was small, only a one-bedroom, and Tammy slept on the small couch with the cradle beside her. There was no privacy or anything. Jenny wished her mother would allow Tammy to come and stay with them, but Edith didn’t want to interfere.
Both Tammy and her grandma looked very tired when Jenny entered the apartment. Jenny couldn’t stand to leave her friend in this situation any longer.
“Tammy, why don’t you stay at our place until things get settled at home? My parents said it’s okay,” Jenny lied. “There’s the guest room and such a huge expanse of lawn we can stroll in with the baby. It’s just a little too crowded here for you all, though it’s so good of you, Mrs. Sullivan, to let Tammy and Chloe stay here with you.”
“It’s no trouble at all, Jenny. I like to have Tammy and the baby here.”
“Well, maybe Tammy can come just for a few days and give you a little rest.”
Another Angel of Love Page 35