by Alexa Kang
“Certainly,” Anthony said, feeling uneasy with his lie. “Wouldn’t think of going without you.”
“And this. I love it.” William held up the book on David Livingstone’s explorations in Africa in the 1800s. “I’ve been meaning to get a copy of it myself. I’ve been too busy and hadn’t gotten around to it. It feels like a lifetime ago since I last traveled to Africa.” He smiled at his son. “I will enjoy reading this. Thank you.”
“And last but not least,” Sophia said, “Tessa has something for you too.” She left the dining room and returned with a small, framed portrait of him drinking tea and reading the evening newspaper on the sofa by the antique lamp in the den.
“When did she do this?” He looked at the painting in awe.
“I have no idea,” Sophia said. “She doesn’t like anyone poking around in her studio. But it’s very nicely done, don’t you think? I told her so when she showed it to me.”
William passed the painting to Leon. “She’s got loads of talent,” Leon said. “Maybe she shouldn’t have gone into nursing. She could’ve been an artist instead.”
“Can I see?” Anthony asked. Leon handed him the painting. Anthony looked at it, pleased. The drawing closely resembled his father and captured his peaceful countenance when he relaxed at home in the evening. Tessa must care for his father a great deal to be so observant and to paint him like this.
“We’ll have to find a nice place to display this,” William said. ‘Thank you, everyone. What a wonderful birthday.”
“We’re not finished yet,” Sophia said. The housemaid took the cue and brought out his birthday cake. Everyone had been waiting for this. They had not had a piece of homemade cake for months. Desserts with real sugar were rare nowadays. Of course, they could always go to the black market. The Ardleys and the Caldwells would have no problem paying the higher prices. But in the spirit of supporting the men fighting overseas, they had chosen to follow the rules for rations.
“It’s too bad Tessa isn’t here to have a piece too,” Anna said.
“We’ll save one for her,” Sophia said.
“But it’ll become dry and stale overnight.”
“I’ll take it to her,” Anthony offered. Sophia looked curiously at him again. “I’ll go by her hospital on my way back to school.”
“But the Veterans’ Hospital is out of your way, isn’t it?” Leon said off-handedly as he dug into his piece of cake. “Now you’re pushing your gas ration limit.”
Anthony smiled and didn’t answer. All he cared was, he finally had an excuse to go see her.
Chapter 43
Before he left home after his father’s birthday lunch, Anthony went to Tessa’s room and took down the countryside painting hanging on the wall across from her bed. He replaced it with the framed poster of the “Liebestraum” concert. Satisfied, he tore a small piece of paper from the stationery notebook on her desk and wrote her a note, then folded it and inserted it in the slit behind the rim of the frame in the lower right corner.
He wished he could be here to see her reaction when she returned. But at least, he would see her later at the hospital when he brought her the cake.
The Veterans Hospital was one confusing compound. He had to take several detours after being given the wrong information and directions before he finally determined where Tessa was. A nurse at the reception desk on the third floor told him she had taken a patient to the loading area at the south exit. Exhausted, he went back down the corridor and down three flights again.
Approaching the south exit, he saw Tessa outside the doorway with two other people. The one standing next to her was her friend Henry. He wondered why Henry was here. The other person was older and in a wheelchair. Excited to see her, he was about to call out her name but stopped when he saw Tessa crouching down next to that person. She placed her hand on his shoulder and talked gently to him. He didn’t know why, but the way she was talking to him bothered him. He had never seen her behave so tenderly toward anyone.
He watched Tessa and Henry help the patient out of the wheelchair. The patient leaned on his crutches as they helped him into Henry’s old car. Henry gave Tessa a friendly hug before he got into the driver’s seat. Tessa said goodbye to him, but most of the time, her attention remained on the patient who was now in the backseat. She waved to them and watched them as they drove off.
When they were gone, Anthony came closer. She did not notice him standing behind her until she turned around after Henry’s car disappeared down the road out of her sight.
“Anthony?”
Her surprised reaction pleased him, but he couldn’t help being curious. “Who was that you just helped into Henry’s car?”
Sadness filled her face. “That was Jack. Henry’s older brother.”
“Henry’s brother?” She never told him Henry had a brother. “You look like you care about him a lot.”
She gazed down the road where Henry and Jack had gone. “I do. He’s a very dear friend to me.”
His heart eased when she said the word “friend.” “What happened to him?”
She looked at him as if he had asked the most ridiculous question. “You’re at the Veterans Hospital. What do you think happened to him?”
She was right. What a stupid question. He felt like a fool.
“He was injured in the war,” she said, her voice turned serious and solemn. “He came back from the Philippines a few months ago. He didn’t lose his leg, but he’s crippled and will be limping for the rest of his life.”
Now he felt even worse than a fool. That poor guy Jack had become disabled after fighting in the war. It was more than what he himself had done. How awful was it of him to feel vexed by Tessa talking gently to a war veteran? Besides, she was a nurse. She had a duty to be kind and compassionate to her patients, especially a patient who was also her friend. He felt so ashamed.
“He’s very worried he won’t find work,” Tessa said. At least she hadn’t noticed how insensitive he was just now. “He thinks no one will hire him because he’s crippled. I don’t know how Henry will get him home. They live on the third floor. Their building is a walk-up with no elevator. I feel terrible thinking of him having to climb up all those stairs.”
Anthony took another step closer to her. Seeing her sad made him sad.
“What are you doing here anyway?” she asked.
“Me? I came to give you some birthday cake,” he said with a bashful smile. “You missed Father’s birthday lunch today.”
“You came all the way here to bring me a piece of cake?”
Unable to explain himself, he said, “Mother really wanted you to have it.” He handed her the small box with the piece of cake inside. “I’ll be off now. See you.” He rushed off while she stared at him, perplexed and baffled.
# # #
Tessa returned home Monday afternoon, utterly worn out. Her weekend shift came right on the heels of a full week of classes. The shortage of nurses had stressed the hospital’s staff and resources to its breaking point. Even as a first-year nurse trainee, her help was needed everywhere by the doctors.
She came into the house in dire need of rest, but as her Aunt Sophia was reading in the parlor, she stopped to greet her and to let her know she was back.
“How was your weekend?” Aunt Sophia asked her first.
“Long.” Tessa let out a deep breath. “I’m dead tired. I’m going off to bed if that’s okay.”
“Do you want to have lunch before you go to sleep?”
“No. I’m too tired to eat.” She covered her mouth to stifle a yawn. “Did Uncle William like my painting?”
“Absolutely. He hung it in his study.”
She was glad to hear he liked it. When she woke up, she would have to see where he had chosen to display it. “Oh, by the way, Aunt Sophia, thank you for sending me a piece of the birthday cake.”
“No need to thank me.” Sophia waved her hand. “It was Anthony’s idea. I meant to keep a piece for you when you come home. Anna sai
d it’d be stale by the time you got back, and Anthony volunteered to bring it to you.”
Confused, Tessa wondered if she remembered wrong. She could’ve sworn Anthony had said Aunt Sophia wanted him to bring her the cake, but she was too exhausted to try to remember. She had been on her feet for hours. All she wanted now was her bed. Everything else could wait.
She dragged her tired body up to her room. As soon as she saw her bed, she kicked off her shoes, plopped her face down on it, and let its softness comfort her body.
When the aching of her feet and muscles subsided, she turned around and lay on her back, debating to herself whether to change her clothes or to simply fall asleep. The unfamiliar look of the wall distracted her. Something had changed. What was it?
The painting. It was the painting. The country landscape was gone, replaced by a music concert poster. She got up to take a closer look.
A poster for a piano concert performance of “Liebestraum, Dream of Love” now hung on the wall. Even though she couldn’t believe it, she knew immediately who put it there. A rush of warmth surged up within her.
A small folded piece of paper stuck out from the lower right corner of the frame. She took it and unfolded it.
Tessa.
It’s about time you have something that belongs to you in your room. Hope you like this. — Anthony
The way he smiled when he brought her the cake yesterday sprang to her mind.
Anthony…
The warmth she felt inside her turned into a tingling tenderness in her heart. She smiled and ran her fingers across the words “Dream of Love.”
Not tone deaf after all.
PART THIRTEEN
New Years Eve, 1942
Chapter 44
The Monday before Thanksgiving, Tessa arrived at the hospital and found herself deluged with pies. Sarah Brinkmann had brought six pies to work as gifts for her and Ellie Swanson.
Sarah was not to be stopped by a mere obstacle like the sugar ration. “I made two of each kind. There are two pecan, two apple, and two pumpkin. For the pecan, I used honey. For the apple, I used maple syrup, and for the pumpkin, I used brown molasses and cinnamon with just a touch of brown sugar I was able to spare. The pecan is still the best, I think. I told you I can make a mean pecan pie. I wanted you both to have these. They’re my Thanksgiving gifts to you, to thank you for being so kind to me. I actually wanted to give them to you on Wednesday so you could have them for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, but I have to work today and Tuesday, and on Wednesday I’ll have to help my mom with cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. Mom and Pop are super excited because Dale will be coming home for Thanksgiving. He got furloughed. We couldn’t believe it! Mom and I brainstormed on our Thanksgiving dinner menu all weekend. We’ll make pot roast and a turkey, because Dale loves pot roast. And Uncle Oliver and Aunt Martha will be coming with my little nieces Nikki and Jenny, and…”
Tessa had stopped listening. Although, even for her, it was hard not to want to laugh at the sight of all the pies before them. Sarah must have baked all weekend long. She really shouldn’t have. Tessa didn’t think she had been particularly nice to Sarah to warrant Sarah making such a huge effort for her. She accepted Sarah being around her to relieve herself from having to engage in small talk and pointless socializing at work. If she and Sarah had met elsewhere under different circumstances, she wouldn’t have been so tolerant of her incessant yapping. They probably wouldn’t have become friends.
“Sarah, this is so very thoughtful of you,” Ellie said, “but Tessa and I can’t possibly eat all these pies by ourselves. It’s too much even if we bring them home to our families.”
“I know.” Sarah stared at the pies, distraught. “But I get these urges to bake, and I couldn’t decide which kind of pie to make, so I made all the flavors that inspired me at the moment. Besides, I wanted to experiment with the different sugar substitutes.”
Ellie picked one up. “How about we share them with some of the patients who don’t have family visitors? We can give them out to those patients in our ward during visitors’ hours.”
“That’s a great idea,” Tessa said. “I’ll share mine too, although I’d like to keep the pecan pie if that’s okay.”
Sarah seemed satisfied with the suggestion.
“All right then. Let’s do that.” Ellie picked up the pies and put them away for serving later, except for the pecan pie that Tessa wanted to reserve for herself.
Actually, Tessa didn’t want it for herself. She wanted to take it to Jack and Henry after work. The last time she had seen them was the day Jack was released from the hospital, and that was weeks ago. She had meant to visit him, but work had been so demanding. New veterans arrived everyday and they required all her attention. Someone somewhere always needed her help. Often, she stayed overtime for them.
It had been too long. Today, she would make time to go see them.
Chapter 45
After work, Tessa went to Canaryville as she had planned. The chilly winter wind had returned for another season. The dreary streets reminded her of the first time she had come here two years ago. The weather that day was just like today’s, but so much had happened since then. So much had changed.
She hadn’t told Jack or Henry she was coming. She wanted to surprise them. She knew Jack, at least, would be home. He still couldn’t move around or go anywhere easily. Mrs. Morrissey should be home from work too.
When she arrived, Henry was the one who opened the door.
“Hi, Henry,” she greeted him. “Hi, Jack, Mrs. Morrissey.” She entered their apartment. “Look what I brought you. It’s a homemade pecan pie.” She held up the box with the pie inside to show them.
Unable to contain himself, Henry threw her a big hug. “Tessa! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”
Tessa didn’t expect this overwhelming response.
“Tessa, thank you.” Mrs. Morrissey too gave her a hug. “Thank you so much. You’re such a good friend to my sons.” She wiped the happy tears from her face.
“Um… it’s only a pie…” Their outpouring of gratitude was too much.
Seated on their old couch, Jack, too teared up. “I can’t thank you enough in a million years, Tessa. You have no idea how much this means to us.”
She put the pie down on the table. “I’m not sure what you’re all talking about.”
“Come on, Tessa,” Henry said. “You don’t have to pretend anymore. We’re talking about Jack’s new job.”
“Jack’s new job?”
“We really appreciate you getting Anthony to arrange it for Jack.”
“I got Anthony to arrange it?”
“That’s what Anthony said. He came by three weeks ago. He met Jack and told him about the Ardleys’ residential properties at Lincoln Park. He said the property manager, Mr. Mason, was looking for an assistant. Then he took Jack to meet Mr. Mason, and they offered him a job as assistant property manager.”
That was news to her. “Assistant property manager…what will you be doing?” she asked Jack.
“It’s mostly a desk job,” Jack said. “Mr. Mason already has a staff of people who take care of the property. He needs help to manage them, schedule maintenance and repairs, answer tenants’ complaints, handle bills and rental payments, that sort of stuff. I’ve never worked a desk job before. He did me a huge favor to hire me.”
“The job comes with housing too!” Henry said. She couldn’t remember ever seeing him this excited. “Mr. Mason said all the property managers have to live on site because emergencies come up all the time. We’ll be moving to a unit in one of the rental buildings over there. Anthony came by two days ago and took us to see the unit reserved for us. It’s three times bigger than this place.”
“The best thing is,” Jack said, “the unit’s on the first floor. It’ll be very convenient for me.” He glanced at his crutches. “But it won’t be difficult for me to get around the Ardley properties anyway. Every building has elevators. Those places your family owns a
re very nice.”
Still stunned by the news, Tessa remained speechless. Anthony hadn’t said anything to her about this.
“I wanted to come and thank you when Jack got the job,” Henry said to her, “but Anthony told me not to. He said you wouldn’t want us to make a big fuss and feel beholden to you. He told us to wait until we’ve moved into our new home and then to invite you for a house warming dinner.”
Mrs. Morrissey took her hands. “Tessa, I thank you and your family from the bottom of my heart. We have so much to be thankful for now. We’ll have a true Thanksgiving this year.”
Tessa squeezed her hands. She decided not to tell them she had nothing to do with arranging Jack’s new job. She had no wish to take credit for something she didn’t do, but she was still trying to understand what had happened and it was too difficult to try to explain. The most important thing was, they were happy and Jack no longer had to worry about how to find work.
“When will you start your job?” she asked Jack. “When will you all be moving?”
“I’ll start work after the new year,” he said. “Mr. Mason is so kind. He told me to rest through the winter holidays. But we’re moving the weekend right after Thanksgiving. Mr. Mason will be sending his people to help us with the move.” He took his crutches and got up to walk over to her. Quickly, she went to him. He held her arm, his eyes full of gratitude. “Thank you for everything. I know this wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you.” He was close to tears again.
She hugged him to lend him her support. This was all wonderful news. A happy ending for Jack after all. And it was all because…
Anthony…
# # #