Another Angel of Love

by Henry K. Ripplinger

  “For sure—great idea.”

  “We’re just going to have cheesy macaroni casserole and Caesar salad. Sound okay, Jen?”

  Yes, wonderful.”

  “Why don’t you put Chloe in the high chair and prop her up a bit with her blanket. I’ve just heated some pablum. You can start to feed her if you want.”

  “Sure.”

  Jenny put Chloe in the chair and tied a bib around her neck.

  “Okay let’s see what we’ve got,” Jenny mixed a peas and meat mixture and took a little taste. “Mmmm, just right! Here it comes.” Jenny took a little spoon full and waved it front of Chloe, then swooped it into her mouth.

  Looking on from the stove where she was scooping out mounds of casserole, Tammy asked, “So, how are things going with you and James?”

  Jenny didn’t answer right away. “Oh fine, I guess. When I do see him we usually go out to dinner and a movie. But that seems to be happening less and less. The company demands so much of his time.”

  “I still think you should go out with other guys, you could have the pick of the litter.”

  “I know it’s going to be a rocky road with James, and yet I still feel drawn to him, Tammy. I can’t explain it.”

  “If you weren’t so accepting of others, Jenny, I’d advise you against it. Your life could be a very lonely one.”

  “I know Mom’s was, but she said she got used to it. I’m hoping I can convince James to be more of a family man.”

  “Well, what was it you told me? It’s best to know beforehand how the dog is going to behave before you buy him?”

  Jenny laughed, “Well, I sure hope he doesn’t turn out to be a pit bull!”

  Tammy rolled her eyes, “Good heavens, I should hope not!”

  “So did you finish writing all your exams?”

  “Yes, I wrote math last week and that was the last one. It was easy and I didn’t have to study too much for it.”

  “It’s a good thing your grades were so good before you had little Chloe here.”

  “That helped for sure, but your studying with me and helping me to catch up this summer while I stayed at your place was a godsend, Jen. I know I couldn’t have done it without you. And Mr. Thompson is such an understanding principal, always ready to give me extra time if I need it. Actually, all the teachers have been great—I think they all just want me to have a chance.”

  Jenny nodded. “I like Mr. Thompson too. Every now and then he attended one of our student council meetings and was always so supportive.”

  Just then Chloe let out a loud screech and waved her hand, hitting the spoon out of Jenny’s fingers.

  “See, I was talking and not paying attention to our little angel, here.” Jenny put on an exaggerated frown and mimicked what Cloe might be thinking if she could speak. “ ‘Give me more food and quit gabbing already,’ that’s what you’re telling us, isn’t it, love bug?”

  Jenny got so close to Chloe her nose rubbed into the green pea mixture that had spread all over the baby’s face. Jenny scraped some off her little cheeks with the spoon and popped it into Chloe’s mouth.

  “In any case,” continued Tammy, “it suddenly seems to be all working out and I’ll be ready to start nursing in September.”

  “I admire you so much, Tammy, how you’ve handled all this! All the pressures and responsibility of being a single mom. I’m so proud of you!”

  “Thanks, Jen, but like I said, I couldn’t have gotten this far without you and all your friendship and help.”

  Jenny just smiled; it had blessed her too. “Have you got a babysitter for the fall?’

  “You’ll never believe it! Mom asked Tillie, our next-door neighbour and she said she’d love to watch Chloe, that it would fill in her time now that all her own kids are gone. Her husband passed away last year and she feels lonely. And can you believe she only wants $25 a week for doing it!”

  “That’s wonderful, Tammy. See, how your guardian angel is looking after you!”

  “That’s for sure, and—”

  The doorbell rang.

  “Oh, that must be Robbie. I’ll get it.”

  A moment later Robbie walked in, ducking his head to make it through the doorway.

  “Hi, Jen, how you doin’?”

  “Just fine, Robbie. My gosh I think you’ve grown another six inches since I last saw you.”

  “Yeah, I hit 6΄3΄΄ a couple of months back but haven’t grown a fraction since then.”

  “We’ll be sitting down to dinner in a few minutes. Are you going to join us, Robbie? There’s enough here.”

  “Yeah, I would like that, if it’s okay?”

  “Sure. Maybe give Jen a damp cloth to clean Chloe and then after dinner you can give her bottle and then off to bed.”

  “Sure, Tammy,” Robbie said nervously. He laid the cloth on the table in front of Jenny. “Hi, Chloe, how’s Daddy’s girl?”

  Chloe smiled, the green pea mixture coating her mouth and cheeks.

  Jenny washed Chloe’s face and gave her a spoon to play with and then turned to the table, ready to have dinner herself.

  As they sat down to their meal, Tammy surprised her guests by requesting that someone say grace.

  “How about you Robbie?”

  Robbie’s already ruddy complexion turned even redder. “I don’t know any prayers, Tammy.” For a big, strong, virile-looking man he seemed shy and unsure of himself.

  “Just say anything to thank God for the food we are about to eat. Actually there, I said it!”

  The table fell silent until Chloe started to babble.

  “See there, Chloe’s saying a little prayer. Actually, I can’t wait to teach her that guardian angel prayer you taught me, Jen.”

  “Yes, I love it; I say it all the time.”

  “Funny thing. Since I started saying it, I think I told you I’ve started to pray for the first time in a long time. I don’t feel so alone on the inside somehow…” she said, then added, “I guess another good thing coming out of all this is that I’m thinking about going to church again. In fact, I even called the Anglican church a few blocks away to see if they have Sunday School. He said they do, but Chloe’s a little too young.”

  Jenny and Robbie chuckled.

  “Maybe in a couple of years, Tammy,” Jenny smiled.

  “The pastor did, however, praise me for wanting to give my child an early start. He also invited me to come to church this Sunday. Where do you go to church, Jen? We didn’t go when I stayed at your place.”

  “Well, actually, I go occasionally to a United church that’s a couple of miles from our place. When I was in Regina, I was surprised when Dad took us to a neighbourhood Catholic church. He wanted to meet some of the people in the area and of course I was glad because that’s where my friend Henry went. It was a big church and very crowded. The ritual of the mass seemed so holy. But since we’ve moved to Ottawa, I’m the only one who goes—if I’m up early enough. Dad’s been saying lately that he wants to join me at church but he hasn’t yet.”

  “I remember we all went while my brother and I were growing up, but when Mom started to work when I was young, we gradually stopped. I missed it for the longest time. It was a family thing we did together, just, I don’t know, being part of the community and sharing our worship of God.”

  “It’s the same with us, Tammy. When we lived in Kelowna— the city I was born in—we used to go all the time, too. I just loved getting dressed up in my Sunday best and it seemed we were more of a family then and shared a common belief. Going to church reminded me of Jesus and that I wanted to be a better person for Him. If it weren’t for those times my parents took me to church, I probably wouldn’t even be going the occasional time now—or even thinking about God.”

  Finally Robbie butted in. “What’s with all the church stuff, Tammy? Are you getting reli
gious on me?”

  Tammy stopped eating and looked at him. “Well, maybe I am. Now that I’m a mom, I want to make sure my children learn good values and are brought up right. If parents don’t show or lead by example, how are children going to develop in faith and learn what’s right and wrong? In our family, none of us seem to think about God; we don’t pray to Him or say grace at meals, there’s nothing—just work and going out the odd time. It just seems like something very important is missing. You know, what’s the purpose of it all?”

  Jenny looked at Tammy and then Robbie, not sure how to answer that question. Instead, she filled the growing silence with something she was more certain of.

  “I have to agree with her, Robbie. Where else will children learn about Jesus and God and right and wrong? Well, most of that parents are supposed to teach, but what about the schools and churches?”

  Tammy jumped back in. “I want to make sure Chloe goes to a Christian school. She’ll get good training from me,” and turning to Robbie, she continued, “and from my husband if I get married, but I know I want to start now by going to church. It’s too important a part of our lives to ignore and yet we treat it as if it were nothing.”

  Then Tammy took a risk. “Would you like to come to church with Chloe and me this Sunday, Robbie?”

  Robbie looked at Jen and back at Tammy. He shrugged, confused, then absently scratched his arm, thinking about it.

  “Yeah, sure, if it makes you happy, Tammy. At least until I leave for university.” Robbie turned red again and picked up his fork.

  “So what college are you going to, Robbie?” Jenny wanted to know.

  “I was offered two basketball scholarships—one in Florida and the other in Texas. I’ve signed up for the Florida team. I leave the last week of August.” Now it was Robbie’s turn to take a risk. “They have dorms for single players and also for players with families.” Robbie looked at Tammy, suddenly shy. “I’m hoping Tammy and Chloe will come with me.”

  Tammy glanced at him but didn’t respond. She stayed quiet, then rather abruptly began clearing plates from the table.

  “We’d better go, Jenny. The show starts in three-quarters of an hour and it will take us at least twenty or thirty minutes to get there.”

  Placing the dirty dishes on the countertop next to the sink, Tammy picked up Chloe, who had been contentedly cooing and playing with the spoon while they’d eaten.

  “My gosh, you’ve been a good little girl, Chloe, listening to all this grown-up talk,” Tammy gushed as she handed the baby to Jenny. “Would you check her diaper again, Jen, and I’ll get the bottle heated for Robbie.”

  “Sure, Tammy,” Jenny replied, jiggling the baby girl in her arms, aware of the awkward tension that hung in the air.

  Doesn’t Tammy want to go with him?

  Tammy picked Chloe up off the couch after Jenny had changed her diaper and buried her nose in the baby’s neck. “I love you, little lamb. Be a good girl for Daddy, now.”

  She handed the baby to Robbie.

  “You’ll do just fine, Robbie, don’t look so nervous—and don’t forget to burp her. Mom said she’d come down and check on things a little later.”

  Just as the girls were about to close the door behind them, Chloe began to cry. Tammy motioned to Jen and whispered, “Let’s go, they’ll be fine.”

  “Robbie seems to really want to be part of things now.”

  “Yes, he really loves Chloe. The other night he apologized to me for wanting me to have an abortion. Now that he sees the beautiful little girl we would have destroyed, he’s very sorry. He was sincere, Jenny; I’ve never seen Robbie cry before.”

  “So,” she had to ask, “are you going with him to Florida?”

  Tammy was quiet for a long while. “No, I don’t think so. Maybe we’ll write and he can come home and see Chloe. I just think he needs more time, time to grow up a little more and make certain he wants to commit himself and take on the responsibility of a family.”

  “Do you still love him, Tammy?”

  “Oh, Jenny, I really do—I never stopped! But I don’t dare show it. Robbie’s going to have to go a long way to earn my affection. And if we do decide to marry, there will be no sex until our wedding night. My mind is very clear on that matter. I’m determined to make sure Robbie and I know each other and that we become good friends, first and foremost. I must say, I think he respects me more since I’ve restricted our relationship to talking and looking after Chloe. He appreciates me more.”

  Jenny nodded, reaching her hand out to her friend. “I’m so proud of you, Tammy, for taking this responsibility on. I think you’re doing a great job with the baby; you’ve really grown into yourself since Chloe was born. I love you and I admire you, and I absolutely adore that precious little girl of yours. She’s growing so fast and catches onto things in the blink of an eye. I can hardly wait to have a little one I can raise and shower with love.”

  Tammy squeezed Jenny’s hand. “You’ll be a great mom, Jen.”

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  September 1, 1960. Henry’s Chevy was loaded to the hilt. After an emotional farewell with his mom and dad, Henry pulled up in front of Julean’s place where two suitcases and three boxes waited outside her front door. Just as he finished packing her luggage in the trunk, she and her mother came out.

  “Hi, Hank,” Julean called out from the doorway.

  Mrs. Carter waved. “That’s quite a load you have.”

  “Yeah, it sure is,” Henry replied, “and I still have to pick up Travis and his things, too.”

  “Well, it’ll be some juggling act,” Mrs. Carter laughed.

  “Julean, are you ready?” Henry asked, even though he already knew the answer.

  “Yes.” She turned to her mother and they embraced briefly. Julean had a tear in her eye and looked like she might cry, but somehow she held it in. “ ’Bye, Mom, I’ll write right away.”

  “I will too, Julean.”

  Minutes later they arrived at Travis’ house. He bounded down his front steps carrying a single suitcase as soon as they drove up. He tossed the suitcase in the back seat then ran back into the house and emerged moments later carrying two boxes, one of which Henry stowed in the trunk and the other in the back seat.

  In Saskatoon, Henry dropped Julean off first, then went directly to the place he had rented for Travis and himself. Travis seemed to like it. He thought it was a little small, he said, but the price and proximity to the university made up for it. They soon learned, however, that the meals the landlady made for them left much to be desired. Besides her own family of six, another eleven boarders were crammed into the three-storey home. Every day they compared their lunches with those of other students and their meal never measured up.

  One evening during a pillow fight, the landlady appeared in the door in the midst of a cloud of feathers like a fire truck in a blizzard, her fuming red face contrasting sharply with all the white in the room. Within minutes they were given an eviction notice and had two weeks to find another place.

  The four boys—Travis, Henry and the two others who had shared another room in the house—decided to rent the upstairs of a three-bedroom home on the west side of Saskatoon, on the fringe of the downtown area.

  Their new landlord lived in the basement. He was a conductor for the Canadian National Railway and so was gone most of the week. It only took them a short while, however, to realize why the rent was so cheap. They were in a very seedy part of Saskatoon, and the landlord was both an alcoholic and a bootlegger. People came to the door at all hours of the night to buy booze. The landlord always apologized for disturbing them and even lowered their already cheap rent by twenty-five dollars because of the inconvenience and aggravation.

  They also were in the red light district. Every time they went to the nearby café they were propositioned by several girls. Raids for drug possession in diffe
rent homes on the block were common. The boys only had to look out the front living room window to see which house the police had raided the night before.

  After much discussion they decided to stay anyway. The rent was good, and things were sure interesting. They did, however, agree to always walk in pairs or take a cab otherwise.

  Henry never was quite sure whose meals were worse, their old landlady’s or the ones they were now making themselves. Somehow, however, they managed and didn’t starve, and most of the time had fun.

  Once they settled into university life, time passed quickly. Before they knew it, Christmas holidays loomed. It had snowed a lot over the two weeks prior to when they’d planned to leave Saskatoon, and Henry’s and Julean’s parents were concerned about the driving conditions.

  The day before Henry and Julean were set to go home for the holidays, the temperature rose above freezing, melting the snow. However, it plunged again that night, turning the highways into sheets of ice. They drove very slowly all the way back to Regina, passing numerous cars that had landed in the ditch. It took them six-and-a-half hours to get home instead of the usual two-and-a-half.

  “Oh, I’m so glad you’re home safe and sound!” Mary said, grabbing Henry in a hug, “All day they were saying on the radio that the roads were terrible.” She looked at her son, her eyes filling with tears. “It’s so good to see you, Henry!”

  Henry hugged her again, and then his dad.

  “Yeah, it sure is good to be home. I can hardly wait for a home-cooked meal.”

  “You men, all you think about is your stomachs!”

  “Well, you can’t blame the boy, Mary. You’re just too darn good of a cook. I can hardly wait to come home every day myself.”

  “Right, Mom—so what’s for supper?” Henry put an arm around Mary and led her into the kitchen, the smell of roast beef already wafting towards him.

  As they sat around the kitchen table, Henry told them story after story about university and the place they had rented. Mary was very worried about the neighbourhood, but Henry assured her that the four of them stuck together and looked out for one another, and that they actually enjoyed many of the people in the neighborhood.