by Delia Parr
Ten minutes later, with her three “girls” nestled alongside her on the couch and Madge in the kitchen, Andrea learned how very wrong she could be. No wonder Jenny left with Michael without even coming inside. Anyone who had known Andrea for more than twenty-four hours would have known better than to do what Madge had done.
Andrea clenched both hands into fists and counted backward from ten to zero before she allowed herself to call out to Madge, who was in the kitchen tagging the casseroles that friends had dropped off for Andrea’s freezer. “Let me get this straight. This afternoon, while I was being treated at the emergency room, you left and showed the Campbell house for me at three o’clock, even though you don’t have a real estate license, which means, of course, that if anyone finds out, I could lose my license!”
Madge poked her head into the living room. “I know that, silly. I didn’t go alone. Doris Blake went with me, but it was more like four o’clock by then. Doris has kept her license current, and she was happy to help. She promised to stop by to see you tomorrow and tell you all about it.” Madge grinned maddeningly and popped back into the kitchen.
Andrea’s heart took a quick leap and began to pound. Doris Blake was the woman who had called and left a message on Andrea’s answering machine about wanting part-time work. “I don’t believe this. You took Doris with you?”
Madge returned to the living room with a tray and set it on top of the coffee table. “You missed supper, so I fixed you some iced tea and a light snack. I bet they didn’t feed you at the hospital, did they?”
Andrea’s stomach growled. “As a matter of fact, they didn’t.” She nibbled on a cracker topped with cheese spread. “Don’t change the subject.”
“Why not? It always works for you.”
Andrea tightened her jaw and stared at her sister. “This is important. This isn’t a game. This is about my business. My livelihood.”
“Exactly,” Madge countered. “Which is why I asked Doris to be there today. I also know you can’t shut down your office for six to eight weeks, but unless you have someone undeniably reliable and qualified, you won’t give yourself the time you need to rest and recuperate from your spill today, either. Need I mention the fact that you have weekly chemo scheduled, too? That’s why I spoke to Doris, and she’s agreed to come work for you starting tomorrow. Well, actually, I guess, she really started today since she showed the house.”
Andrea gasped. “You’ve hired her to come work for me?”
Madge beamed. “I knew you’d be surprised. Pleased, too, aren’t you? And just a little amazed at how fast I can work? I might not have been in the business world like you’ve been all these years, but I’ve learned a lot, volunteering as much as I have. Besides,” she added as her eyes filled with pride. “I remembered what you said when I told you I wanted to help you, even before you had your little mishap today. I’ve got caretaker duty chauffeuring you to your doctor’s appointments. I’m handling your insurance paperwork and I’m going to weed your gardens. That’s all.”
She really could mimic Andrea’s tone of voice well. She knew it, too, judging by the glint in her eyes.
“So, since you won’t let me help you do anything else,” Madge continued pertly, “I know Doris can. And she’s qualified, too. Amazing how things all work out, isn’t it?”
Andrea shut her eyes. Amazing indeed. In a matter of weeks, her entire life, both personally and professionally, had come unraveled. Try as she might, she was utterly and completely helpless to stop it or to make any successful attempts to knit her life back together. Instinctively, she grabbed the only lifeline that had any chance of saving her from total destruction.
Prayer.
Lots and lots of prayer.
She even said one for Madge, hoping her sister might be sent a blessing that would turn her attention to something or someone other Andrea.
Chapter Nine
The answer to one of Andrea’s prayers arrived at her home promptly at ten o’clock the following morning.
Doris Blake was a unique women who defied easy classification. Nothing about her was average, yet not a single feature was extraordinary. But she made quite a memorable impression. At sixty-something, she wore her years with quiet dignity, helped by subtle, artfully applied makeup only another woman would appreciate. Her green shirtwaist dress and matching crocheted sweater were simple, yet professional. She wore her pale gray hair pulled back into a chignon at the nape of her neck. On her, the style was elegant rather than old-fashioned. Her presence was both friendly and businesslike, just like her voice had sounded yesterday on Andrea’s answering machine.
Andrea liked and trusted her immediately. She knew her clients would, too.
With her foot elevated and resting on an ottoman in her living room, Andrea skimmed the portfolio that contained Doris’s résumé, a copy of her real-estate license and references from former employers and clients, both sellers and buyers. Andrea closed the portfolio and handed it back to Doris, who was sitting in an upholstered chair next to her. “You’ve had quite an impressive career.”
Doris smiled. “Thank you. I’ve been blessed. Not everyone gets to make a living helping other people find a special place to call home. But you must know what I mean. My sister, Betty, has told me what a wonderful difference you’ve made here in Welleswood.”
Andrea swallowed hard, remembering how close she came to introducing that scoundrel Bill Sanderson to the community. “Your sister still works at the county library, doesn’t she? Or has she retired?”
“She’s still there, and she’s as involved with the Welleswood Historical Society as ever.” Doris paused. “After my husband, Francis, died, I wanted a change. We’d lived in Barnegat for over forty years, and everywhere I went, I ran into memories. When I finally decided to sell our home last spring, I accepted Betty’s offer to live with her. I was looking forward to having her company and living somewhere new. Frankly, she’s gone from home so much, I’ve gotten a little lonely and a whole lot bored.”
She smiled. “Helping you at the agency is a real answer to my prayers, but I don’t want you to feel obligated in any way. Madge can be rather persuasive, but she’s also a bit impulsive. If you’d rather advertise for an agent to help you run your office while you recuperate, I understand, though I’m going to be completely honest and tell you I want the position very much.”
Andrea smiled. “You’re hired, but I have to be completely honest with you, too. The position is very short-term.” She paused, debated with herself whether or not to tell Doris about her upcoming chemo treatments, then decided to keep that news in the family for now. “Once I’m on my feet again—”
“I understand completely. I’m not even sure I want something long-term. Not at this stage of my life.”
“I don’t blame you. As a matter of fact, I’ve always worked alone. I’ve never had an employee before,” Andrea admitted.
“I’ll stay and work for as long or as short as you need me.”
Chuckling, Andrea shook her head. “It can’t be this easy.”
Doris smiled and shook her head. “I was thinking the same thing. I only left my message yesterday. I was hoping you’d call back, but to actually be hired within a day…”
Andrea cocked her head. “Have you got any other plans for today?”
“No, I kept the day open.”
“Good. Let’s go into the office together. I’m sure there are messages waiting. You can get familiar with the setup, though we’ll have to rearrange things a bit now that the two of us will be sharing the workspace. We’ll need to stop by Jenny’s on the way. Somehow she wound up with my briefcase, and I need to check my calendar to see about the appointments I had for today. We should be able to catch the clients before they leave. They have a wedding today.”
She pointed at the portfolio in Doris’s hands. “Bring that along, too.”
Doris stored the portfolio in her briefcase before she stood up. “Unless you have something here we can take so
you can keep that foot elevated, we’ll need to stop at Betty’s, too. She’s got an old needlepoint footrest you can use.”
No argument from Doris about Andrea going to the office instead of resting at home.
No debate from Doris over the terms or length of her employment.
Only support and concern.
When He answered prayer, He could be…amazing.
Andrea could not wait to see what He had planned for the rest of the day.
By half-past noon, Andrea had a signed employment contract stored in the new folder with Doris’s name on it, along with a full copy of the portfolio and notes of conversations she had had with two of the references Doris had provided. Andrea had her foot elevated on an antique needlepoint footrest that was very old and exquisite, and she was actually quite comfortable sitting in one of the wing chairs in her office. Doris had just finished a virtual online tour of the agency’s listings after familiarizing herself with the office equipment.
“You can use my password online until you join the Tilton County Board of Realtors,” Andrea told her, “and you should see Tim Fallon on Monday to order business cards. He can take your photo, too, and use the template he made for my business cards. I’ll call him first thing to let him know you’re coming and tell him to charge it to my account as well.”
“You’re not obligated to do that,” Doris protested.
Andrea hesitated. “That may be, but it’s how we’re going to do it. Normally agents aren’t hired for a few weeks, either. Have you got a cell phone?”
Doris rolled her eyes. “A necessary evil in this business. I hate cell phones, and I love them. Yes, I’ve got one.”
“Good. You can pay for that.” Andrea glanced around the front office and sighed. “What we really need is a pair of strong arms to help rearrange the furniture. If we add one of the tables from one of the conference rooms, we can set up the work area to accommodate both of us.”
Literally, before her words could fade to an echo, her front door opened and Jamie Martin stepped inside. Through the picture window, she could see his father, Shawn, watching from across the street, but she directed her attention to the young man who approached her.
He walked with stiff determination and stopped a few feet away from her. All arms and legs, he topped six feet already. He had his mother’s dark hair and his father’s pale blue eyes—eyes that shimmered with remorse. “I came to apologize, Mrs. Hooper. I’m really, really sorry about running into you yesterday.” He glanced down at her foot and his cheeks flamed. “Is it broken?”
She drew in a deep breath. Here she was, feeling as bruised and battered as if she had been hit by a truck, and he apparently did not have more than a little scrape on his chin. But he wasn’t a truck. He wasn’t even an adult. He was just a kid. A good kid.
As much as she wanted to lash out at him and hurl every well-deserved criticism she could fathom, she did not have the heart. He looked scared. He looked penitent. He looked genuinely concerned about her well-being. “It’s a bad sprain, but the doctor said I might be better off if I had broken it. Apparently, it’s going to take a while to heal.”
Jamie swallowed so hard, Andrea could see his Adam’s apple move up and down. “I sprained my ankle once. Hurt like anything.”
Andrea caught a glimpse of Doris, quietly slipping behind Jamie and out the front door. “Skateboarding?” she asked.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I mean, yes.” He stared at the floor for a moment. When he looked up, his eyes were clear. He straightened his shoulders. “I won’t be skateboarding for a while.”
She cocked one brow. “You’ve been grounded,” she murmured, and wondered if he would notice the pun.
His eyes twinkled. “Yes, ma’am. For the rest of the summer, at least. Mom and Dad said they’d decide then when I could get my skateboard back. It all depends…”
“Depends on what?”
“How I spend my summer. They left it up to me. I thought about it all night and talked it over with them at breakfast. They agreed with my idea. Dad wanted to come with me.” He nodded toward the window. “I asked him to wait for me across the street.”
Curious and impressed that he had apparently not been forced to come to apologize in person, Andrea nevertheless remained silent.
“Anyway, here’s my idea,” Jamie went on. “Instead of working at the school like I’ve been doing, painting and cleaning gum off the desks and stuff, I’d like to work for you. As a volunteer,” he added quickly. “I feel real bad that you won’t be able to get around because of what I did, so I figured you could use my help. I can be here to help you get inside when you get to work. I can go to the post office and mail stuff for you. Pick up lunch and bring it back for you. Take out the trash…whatever you can’t do because you’re on crutches, I can do. If you’ll let me.”
Stunned, Andrea sat up a little straighter. “You’d work here all summer?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“For free.”
He never even blinked. “Yes, ma’am.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What about your responsibility to your job at the school?”
“I called my friend, Matt. He’s been looking for a job. Then I called my boss, Mr. Potter. He said it was all right if Matt took my place. I just have to call back this afternoon and let them both know if—”
“If I’ll let you do your penance here?”
He nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
Moved, Andrea glanced at the ridiculous crutches Madge had given her and steepled her hands. The conversation she had had with Madge about forgiveness and the greater blessings received when able to forgive someone else replayed in her mind. Instinctively, her heart reached out and claimed those blessings—for herself and for Jamie. “I’d need you here at quarter to nine. Sharp. You can help me get from the car to the office Monday through Saturday. You can leave at three. We’ll try it for a week, see how it goes, and go from there.”
Relief washed over his features. “When do I start?”
She smiled. “How do you feel about moving some furniture right now?”
That night, Andrea crawled into bed early and switched out her light. Well, crawled wasn’t exactly how to describe the way that she had scooted and scrunched into a sleeping position, but it was the best she could manage. Her shoulder was still sore. Pain throbbed in her ankle. But her spirit was hopeful as she waited for the pain medication to start working so she could fall asleep, and she had the “girls” to keep her company until she did.
“I’m sleeping late tomorrow. It’s Sunday. Jenny and Michael won’t be picking me up until eleven for late services,” she murmured to the cats, as Redd found her usual spot and settled down against Andrea’s cheek. Redd’s sisters, Sandy and Missy, curled up on either side of Andrea’s bandaged ankle.
Andrea sighed and closed her eyes. Normally, she could not sleep on her back, but tonight, she could have slept lying upside down. “What a different day this has been from yesterday. Thank you,” she whispered. She had scarcely begun her evening prayers when the doorbell rang, startling her.
She groaned, reached over and turned on the light.
Chapter Ten
Madge hit the doorbell a second time and reached into her handbag for the key. She was not anxious to repeat what had happened the last time she had let herself into Andrea’s house, but she did not want Andrea to try to get up from the couch to answer the door, either.
She let herself in, punched in the code to deactivate the alarm and knew in a single glance Andrea was not on the couch reading or watching television. “It’s only me,” she yelled, setting her tote bag and purse down on the floor next to the door. Since the kitchen was dark, Madge immediately went to Andrea’s bedroom and found her sister in bed. “I’m sorry. It’s only half-past eight. I saw the light on in the living room and thought maybe you were still up reading or watching television.”
Andrea covered a yawn with the back of her hand and patted the mattress next
to her. “Sit for a minute. Sorry, I had a busy day.”
The moment Madge eased next to her sister, the cats scattered, as always. “I heard. I thought the doctor wanted you to rest for a week or so before you—”
“I’m resting now,” Andrea explained.
“That’s not the same thing, and you know it,” Madge insisted.
“You’re looking very glamorous tonight. I don’t think I’ve seen that dress before. I would have remembered one with lavender sequins. Big date?”
Madge waved an objection. “Don’t be ridiculous. Russell’s still in Ohio. The county horticultural society’s annual banquet was tonight. I left right after the awards ceremony so I could stop by and show you the plaque I received.”
Andrea’s eyes widened. “That was tonight? Oh, I’m sorry, Madge. I forgot all about it. Why didn’t you remind me? I know Jenny couldn’t go, but with Russell away, I would have gone with you.”
“You have enough on your mind. Besides, you’re supposed to stay at home to recuperate.”
“I can sit and recuperate almost anywhere,” Andrea protested, “especially at a dinner where my sister is being honored.”
Madge lifted a brow. “Or at your office? I heard you went to work today,” she admonished.
“Doris went with me. She’s a treasure. Thank you. She took me to the office so we could work out our arrangement. We had to move the furniture around a bit to make room for her, but I feel much better having someone so capable handling all the legwork.”
Madge’s relief was short-lived. “Don’t tell me you helped move furniture!”
The doorbell rang. Andrea grinned. “Saved by the bell?”
“No, you’re not,” Madge warned before she left to answer the door. “I’ll be right back to get an answer.”
“If I’m not here, I’ll be out jogging.”