Your Heart's Desire

by Melody Carlson

  “Oh, Marjorie.” Caroline tried to hide her exasperation. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I really have little interest in marrying again.”

  “Why?”

  “Why…?” Caroline got an unwanted image of Terry just then.

  “Yes,” Marjorie insisted, “why?”

  Caroline twisted her wedding band, trying to think of a logical answer.

  “And why are you still wearing that?” Marjorie demanded. “Good grief, you might as well hang a sign around your neck that says ‘unavailable’ as to go around with your wedding ring on. Really, Caroline. Why?”

  With a cookie-smeared face, Lulu clapped her hands together, then pointed to the cookie plate, and Marjorie gave her a whole cookie. As the little cherub happily bit into it, Caroline felt her argument against remarriage growing weaker. The truth was, she would love to have a little girl like Lulu. What woman wouldn’t? She looked down at her ring. “I wear this ring because it reminds me of Joe,” she said softly.

  “You think you would forget Joe if you took it off?”

  “No, of course, not. I’ll never forget Joe.”

  “What do you think Joe would want for you?”

  Caroline pressed her lips together. She knew exactly what he wanted. They had talked about it before he’d gone off to war.

  “What would he want for you, Caroline?”

  “Joe would want me to be happy,” she answered.

  “And never marry again?”

  “No, of course not. If you must know, Joe told me that if he didn’t make it back, he wanted me to marry again.”

  “Aha!” Marjorie shook her finger at her. “And you didn’t do it.”

  “There was no one around…I mean no one I felt like marrying. And, besides, I know that Joe told me that because little Joseph was so young. He didn’t want me to bring him up alone. He said he would need a father. But now Joe’s almost ten and—”

  “Are you saying Joe doesn’t need a father now?”

  “At least he’s got an uncle.” Caroline looked up at the cat clock. “Speaking of that, shouldn’t they be home by now?”

  “Yes. And I should be getting dinner ready. Are you and Joe joining us?”

  Caroline pointed to the kitchen counter where she’d set ingredients for spaghetti. “I thought I’d cook our dinner down here. We can’t keep imposing.”

  Marjorie looked slightly disappointed. “Well, maybe it’s for the best. I think I’ll just fix something fast and easy and get Danny to bed. I’m sure he’ll be grouchy as a bear.”

  “Speaking of the bear.” Caroline leaned her head to one side. “I think I hear a car in the driveway.”

  Marjorie stood with Lulu. “Thanks for tea. And don’t think we’re done with the remarrying conversation, Sis. Really, it’s high time you took off that wedding ring.”

  On Monday morning, Caroline donned a serious-looking suit and went upstairs to ask Marjorie if she minded having Joe for the morning. “I want to put in applications around town, and although I could take Joe with me, it might not look very professional. Plus I’m sure he’d be terribly bored.”

  “Joe is welcome here anytime.” Marjorie rinsed a dish. “And since Danny doesn’t have preschool and has ants in his pants today, Joe is doubly welcome.”

  As if on cue, Danny grabbed Joe’s hand. “Come on, buddy, let’s go play outside. Okay, Mommy?”

  “Okay by me.”

  “You be a good helper for Aunt Marjorie.” Caroline blew Joe a kiss as his little cousin tugged him out the back door.

  Marjorie set the dish in the drainer, then turned to Caroline. “And you’re going to apply at MG Chocolates, right? Rich told me to be sure and remind you to go there. Those assembly line jobs will probably fill quickly.”

  “Yes, I’m definitely going there. But I want to stop by some other businesses, too. If I could find a secretarial job, well, I think it would be better than the assembly line…in the long run. Although I’m willing to do whatever it takes to support Joe and me.”

  “Good luck.” Marjorie shook her head as she dried her hands. “Although I have to say you look pretty old-fashioned in that outdated suit. Let me guess—you’ve had it since before the war began. You altered it during the war and then again afterward.”

  She looked down at her somber charcoal-colored suit. “Well, I—”

  “And, no offense, but wearing your hair like that makes you look like an old schoolmarm.”

  Caroline reached up to touch her tightly pinned hair. “I just want to be taken seriously.”

  “I know, but this is California, Sis. The style out here is more easygoing and youthful, you know? Women pay more attention to fashion. Especially since the war ended.” She touched her own shoulder-length hair. “Women have been letting their hair down and wearing colorful clothes. And some of us even use lipstick.”

  Caroline nodded. “Yes, I sort of gathered that at church yesterday.”

  “You went to church?”

  Caroline quickly explained about Joe directing their way to church.

  Marjorie grabbed Caroline’s left hand, staring at her bare ring finger. “At least you’ve done one thing right.”

  Caroline made a sheepish smile. “I thought about what you said. It made sense.” She didn’t confess that it had been a tearful moment when she’d removed the ring last night, or that she felt uneasy and vulnerable without it today. “It will probably help when I’m applying for a job. Most businesses feel better about hiring single women.”

  “Good for you. And I suppose we can address your wardrobe issues later.”

  Caroline just sighed.

  “In fact, I think I’m getting a plan.” Marjorie made an impish smile. “A really good plan.”

  “Oh, dear!” She made a mock-horrified face.

  “Yes!” Marjorie clapped her hands like Lulu. “A perfect plan!”

  “What?”

  “I’ll tell you more when you come home.”

  “I can hardly wait,” Caroline said dryly. “Anyway, I doubt I’ll be gone long. I should be back by noon.”

  “No worries if you’re not. Joe is just fine here.”

  Caroline told her goodbye, then, feeling a bit like a girl heading out for her first day of school, she walked toward town. As she walked, she prayed a silent prayer, asking God to help her find the right job. And then, since Rich had been so helpful and since he’d even asked Marjorie to remind her, she decided to go to the chocolate factory first. Get it out of the way. The truth was she did not want to work the assembly line, but she knew she couldn’t afford to turn her nose up at anything. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were going to offer her a job today.

  As she turned onto Main Street, she remembered that Terry Whatever-His-Last-Name-Was worked in the chocolate factory. Certainly this wasn’t the first time this had occurred to her, but it wasn’t a comforting thought. Something about the man made her feel off balance, and the idea of running into him was unsettling. She suspected he worked in sales. Attractive guys like him almost always worked in sales. And although they were smooth talkers and not hard on the eyes, she had learned over the years that they were not always to be trusted. She didn’t like being judgmental and would never say this to anyone, but she’d found that many of them were disingenuous.

  As she came to the big brick building, she paused under the striped awnings of the chocolate shop, gazing into the plate glass window, where all sorts of beautiful chocolates were displayed. Just looking at them made her mouth water.

  As she pushed open the big glass door that led into the marble-tiled foyer of MG Chocolates, the first thing that hit her was the aroma—the sweet, heady smell of chocolate nearly swept her off her feet. Had these people considered bottling this scent and selling it as perfume? Next she noticed a large display case filled with colorful candy boxes, stacked in a decorative way. Very pretty.

  The sound of a jangling phone reminded her why she was here. And suddenly she felt nervous. But then she reminde
d herself that she had been a loyal and dependable employee for a total of nearly ten years. She had much to offer. Even if it was on an assembly line. She braced herself, standing up straighter.

  “May I help you?” a pretty redheaded woman asked brightly.

  “I would like to apply for a job,” Caroline said politely. “My brother-in-law works here, and he suggested I come in this morning.” Then, because the young woman seemed interested, she went on to tell her Rich’s name and how her sister had lived in California since before the war and how Caroline had left a good secretarial job behind in Minnesota to live with them. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean to go on and on. I suppose I’m a little nervous.”

  The woman smiled. “That’s okay, I thought it was interesting. Let me call Mr. Stokes—he’s our personnel manager—I think he might want to see you.”

  “Oh…thank you.” She nodded, waiting as the woman spoke on the phone, and then, just like that, she was directed to go up the stairs and down the hallway to her right.

  “Then turn right and it’s the third door down,” the woman told her. “It says Personnel on the door. Just knock and Mr. Stokes will call you in.”

  Caroline thanked her again and, feeling even more nervous, went up the stairs and down the hallway. She had expected to simply be handed an application, to fill it out, turn it in, and leave. But now it seemed she was about to meet the head of Personnel. Mr. Stokes. Hopefully his first name wasn’t Terry. That might be awkward, but at least she would finally have a proper introduction.

  She took in a steadying breath as she knocked. A deep voice said to come in, and she timidly opened the door. But to her relief it was a heavyset man with deep jowls and thinning gray hair. “Good morning,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster. “My name is Caroline Clark, and I was told to come speak to you.” She made an uneasy smile. “I came to MG Chocolates under the impression I would fill out an application for employment and leave it here. But the receptionist told me to—”

  “You told Miss Warner that you worked as a secretary, correct?”

  “Miss Warner?”

  “Our receptionist. She was under the impression you had been employed as a secretary.”

  “Oh, yes, yes,” she said eagerly. “I’ve worked in two different businesses as a secretary, for a total of nearly ten years. My training was from Miss Mayfield’s Secretarial School, where I ranked in the top five percentile of my class. I worked at my last place of employment for almost five years. And I have several letters of recommendation right here with me.” She patted her handbag.

  He fumbled through a pile of papers then, finding his glasses, slipped them on, and peered curiously at her. “Please, take a seat, miss.”

  She sat down, feeling suddenly hopeful. “Do you have a secretarial position open?” she asked cautiously.

  “Well, we didn’t have one last week. But during this past weekend one of our secretaries went skiing.” He scowled at her. “Do you ski?”

  “I haven’t in years.”

  “Good. Dangerous sport. Miss Bentley broke her leg. Now let me see those letters of recommendation.”

  She took the envelope containing copies of letters from her purse and handed them to him.

  “Uh-huh…” He extracted the letters, taking his time to skim them. “Yes, this looks very good. Tell me a little about yourself, Miss Clark.”

  “Actually it’s Mrs. Clark,” she began. “But I’m widowed. My husband died early in the war.” And then she talked about her secretarial training, the places she’d worked, and what she enjoyed most about working. “I’m very detail-oriented. I work quickly and efficiently. And I do everything I can to make my boss’s job easier.”

  He laid down her letters and looked evenly at her without speaking, almost as if he was taking inventory. Then he asked her some specific questions about dictation, typing speed, and so on. “Well, if you’re interested, you can have the job, Mrs. Clark.”

  “Thank you.” She nodded eagerly. “What job would that be?”

  “Mr. Glen Hancock is vice president of Production. His secretary, Miss Bentley, will be out for at least six weeks.”

  “So you’re offering me temporary work?” Caroline felt her spirits dive.

  “Well, you can look at it like that,” he spoke slowly, “or you can look at it like the opportunity it is. MG Chocolates is the largest employer in this town, and we’re growing fast. If you prove yourself a valuable employee, who knows what might come six weeks from now? Mr. Gordon appreciates motivated workers with good team spirit. From what I’ve read here and from what little time we’ve spent together, I suspect you could be just that sort of team player we’re looking for, Mrs. Clark.”

  She brightened. “Yes! I am a team player. I really am.”

  “Then you’ll accept the job?”

  “Yes, of course. Gladly. Thank you very much, Mr. Stokes.”

  “Great.” He handed her some official papers. “Fill these out right now, and I’ll ask one of the girls to give you a tour of the facility.” He grinned. “Oh, yes, I forgot to ask. You do like chocolate, don’t you?”

  “I love chocolate.”

  He nodded. “I thought so.”

  “The smell alone in this place has me slightly lightheaded.”

  “I remember that, too…” He looked dismayed. “I’m sorry to say that it wears off over the years. Unless I’ve been on vacation, I usually walk in and hardly notice it.”

  “But you still like chocolate?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes. Most assuredly.” He patted his midsection. “It probably shows.”

  Caroline felt slightly giddy as she handed him back the paperwork. She had a job! Just like that—she had a job. It was almost too much to take in. As she watched him browsing over the completed forms, she realized they hadn’t discussed her wage yet.

  “I always feel a bit awkward speaking about salary and benefits and such,” she explained a bit timidly. “But because I’m the breadwinner of our little family, it’s a necessity.”

  “Little family?” He looked surprised.

  “Oh, yes.” She felt a stab of worry. “Didn’t I mention I have a son?”

  “No, you did not. May I ask who cares for your young son?”

  “My son isn’t so young. He’s nearly ten years old and very mature for his age,” she said defensively.

  “Even so, children need watching. And sometimes they get sick. What happens then?”

  “We live with my sister. She’s a homemaker with two little ones. When Joe comes home from school, my sister will be there. And I’m sure she will be happy to help out if he should get sick. My mother used to do those things for me.”

  “Oh, well, then it seems you’ve got this all figured out.” His smile returned.

  It wasn’t the first time she’d experienced this line of thinking. Many people in the workforce questioned the sensibility of working mothers. Like Marjorie, some acted as if it were her moral responsibility, as a mother, to find a replacement father for her son. As if it were that easy! Thankfully this was not going to prevent her from getting this job. As she signed the last form Mr. Stokes had for her, she felt relieved that she hadn’t mentioned Joe to him earlier. That might’ve ruined everything. Once again, she inquired about her wages and, as he explained the salary structure and benefits, she was pleased to discover that she would be better off here than she had been in Minnesota!

  Chapter 7

  Caroline was sent back down to the redheaded receptionist, Miss Warner, for her tour of the facility. “First things first.” Miss Warner opened a box of chocolates, holding it out to Caroline. “Just so you fully understand what we do here,” she said with a smile. Then while Caroline sampled a delicious chocolate, Miss Warner made a phone call, and after a few minutes, a woman in a white uniform showed up.

  “Betty works the assembly line, but fills in for me during breaks or if I’m giving a tour,” Miss Warner explained as she led Caroline down
a hallway. “We’ll start at the beginning.” Before long they were in a large warehouse area. “This is where the ingredients for chocolate are delivered and stored.” She pointed to containers, explaining their contents. From there, they went to the actual manufacturing area, where enormous machines were noisily operating. Miss Warner led Caroline to a cordoned-off area, where they could observe the machinery and people at work. “This viewing section is where we bring groups during our tours. Much safer than being down on the floor.”

  “Do you give many tours?” Caroline asked loudly to be heard.

  “Tours became so popular with the public that we scheduled them for Wednesday mornings. But if it’s a client, we give them a private tour at any time, complete with full sampling privileges.”

  “Sampling must help with sales.” Caroline was craving another chocolate.

  “Most definitely.” Miss Warner waved her hand to the large wide-open area that occupied the center of the building. “This is what we call Production and Packaging, and it’s the part of the business that your boss, Mr. Hancock, is in charge of. As you can see, this is where the chocolates are made and boxed.” She pointed out the various machines, explaining what they did, how much they produced, and so many details that Caroline felt slightly overwhelmed.

  “Everything looks very modern and efficient.” Caroline mentally compared it to the leather company, which besides being much older was much dirtier. “And everything looks so sanitary!” Even the assembly line workers appeared clean and tidy in their crisp white uniforms with red trim. And everyone had on neat white caps that completely covered their hair. Many of them wore white gloves as well.

  “We produce a very high-quality product,” Miss Warner said proudly.

  Caroline nodded. “Very impressive.”

  Next Miss Warner took her to Distribution and Delivery, explaining the various ways orders were packaged and shipped. “Most of our chocolates are just stock orders—for larger stores. But we also do special orders for smaller stores. And then we do individual orders, too. Those are shipped by mail anywhere in the U.S.” She pointed to a white and red delivery truck that was currently being loaded. “We run eight trucks now, but Mr. Gordon wants to work up to a dozen by the end of next year.” She glanced at her watch. “Which reminds me—this is New Year’s Eve and the factory will be closing early today, so I better keep us moving. I’ve still got a lot to do before three o’clock.”