Love Finds a Home (Anthologies)

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  “Nope. Sorry, Pete.”

  “Here’s the phone number where I can be reached, just in case.”

  Dan studied a set of negatives on his desk as Pete rattled off his number. There was no point in writing it down because he had no intention of doing that interview.

  “I appreciate your time,” Pete said. “Please call if you ever want to talk.”

  “Okay, thanks. Good-bye, Pete.”

  Dan had no more than hung up the phone when he heard a knock on the door of his studio. Wonder who it could be? I don’t have any appointments scheduled for the rest of the day.

  When Dan opened the door, he discovered Leona Howard, holding a casserole dish wrapped in a towel with a paper sack balanced on top.

  “Hi, Danny,” she said, offering him a pleasant smile. “Since you’ve been too busy lately to have dinner at my place, I decided to bring a meal over to you this evening. It’s Chicken Noodle Supreme.”

  Leona wore a maroon-colored, knee-length skirt with a single-breasted jacket that had wide lapels and padded shoulders. It looked like something a woman might wear when she went out to dinner—but not to drop off a casserole for a neighbor.

  “I’m working right now,” Dan said as she swept into the room, her fragrant perfume leaving a trail of roses behind.

  “Surely you’re ready for a break. I’ll be disappointed if you don’t try some of my yummy casserole.” Leona nodded at the paper sack. “I even brought some dishes, silverware, and napkins, so all you need to provide is a place for me to set the table.”

  Dan was sure the woman wasn’t going to take no for an answer, so he removed the negatives and paperwork from his desk and slipped them into a folder. “You can put the food here.” He pulled out his desk chair, grabbed another one for Leona, and sat down.

  She quickly set out the dishes, opened the lid of the casserole dish, and served them both a hefty amount. “Oh dear, I forgot to bring something to drink,” she said with a frown. “Do you have anything cold on hand?”

  He reached into the bottom drawer of his desk and grabbed a thermos. “It’s coffee, so it’s not cold.”

  She smiled. “That will be fine.”

  “Mind if I pray before we eat?”

  She shrugged. “If it makes you feel better. I wasn’t planning to poison you, Danny.”

  He bit back a chuckle. That thought had crossed his mind.

  After the prayer, Dan poked his fork into the gooey mess she’d put on his plate and took a bite. Ugh! The stuff tasted worse than it looked. He grabbed his Thermos, twisted the lid, and gulped down some coffee.

  Leona’s lower lip protruded. “You don’t like it?”

  Searching for words that wouldn’t be a lie, Dan mumbled, “It’s … uh … different.” He set the thermos lid down and wiped his mouth on the cloth napkin she had provided. “I’m really not hungry.”

  Leona pushed her chair aside, and it nearly toppled over. “I can tell you’d rather not eat it.”

  Dan opened his mouth to reassure her, but Leona gathered her things so quickly that he barely had the presence of mind to say he was sorry.

  “I’ll try something different next time,” she said as he followed her to the door. “Something I know you’ll like.”

  CHAPTER 5

  Dan took a swig of coffee and glanced at the clock on the far wall. Bev Winters should be here any minute and would be bringing her daughter along. He moved across the room and put the OPEN sign in the window. It was almost nine o’clock. Better to have the store ready for business on time, even if his new employee wasn’t here yet.

  I wonder if her bus was late, or maybe she had trouble getting her daughter out of bed. Sure hope I did the right thing in hiring her.

  Dan thought about his favorite verse of scripture—2 Corinthians 1:3. It reminded him that God is our Comforter, and because He comforts in all our troubles, we should comfort those who have trouble as well. Through God’s Word and the godly counsel of his pastor, Dan had been comforted many times since Darcy’s death. It was only right that he should offer comfort to Bev, who was probably hurting from the loss of her husband and also her job. He’d known yesterday that he needed to give her a chance. If hiring her to work at Twice Loved could help them both during their time of need, then so much the better.

  Dan’s gaze came to rest on the clock again. It was now ten minutes after nine. Bev was late. Maybe she’d changed her mind about the job and wasn’t coming.

  The bell above the front door jingled, and his thoughts were halted. Bev entered the store holding a metal lunch pail in one hand and a brown pocketbook in the other. A young girl stood at her side, clutching the same doll he’d sold Bev yesterday afternoon.

  “I’m sorry we’re late.” Bev patted the sides of her windblown hair and smoothed the wrinkles in her knee-length, navy-blue dress, covered by a short black jacket. “The bus was late, and there was more traffic this morning than I’ve seen in a long time.”

  “It’s okay,” Dan said with a nod. “There haven’t been any customers yet.” He smiled at the little girl who stood beside Bev. She was a beautiful child—curly black hair like her mother’s, and the same brilliant blue eyes. She wore a beige-colored tweed coat with a pair of dark-green overalls with patched knees peeking out from underneath. “So, this must be Amy.”

  “Yes.” Bev’s generous smile seemed to light up the room.

  Darcy used to smile like that, Dan noted.

  “Amy, this is Mr. Fisher, and he owns this store where I’ll be working.”

  The child smiled shyly and glanced around the shop. “I like it here.”

  “Me, too.” Dan swallowed around the lump in his throat. He and Darcy had wanted children, but that wasn’t to be. Did Bev Winters know how fortunate she was?

  “Why don’t you find a book to read?” Bev said to her daughter. “Mommy needs to begin working now.”

  Dan pointed across the room. “There’s a table in the corner where you can sit if you want to read or work on a puzzle. Feel free to play with any of the toys that are in baskets sitting on the floor.”

  Amy didn’t have to be asked twice. She slipped out of her coat and handed it to her mother. Then she sprinted across the room, grabbed a fat teddy bear from a wicker basket, and helped herself to a book from the bookcase. A few seconds later, she sat at the table wearing a contented grin.

  Dan turned his attention back to Bev. “Should we take a look at some of the toys that need to be fixed?”

  Her eyes widened. “Uh … about the toys …”

  “What about them?”

  “Yesterday you mentioned a broken train, and I thought I should let you know that I’m not the least bit mechanical.”

  He chuckled and led her over to the desk. “I was only kidding. The train will have to be sold as is.”

  A look of relief flooded her face. “There’s an elderly man at my church who collects old trains. I could speak to him and see if he might be able to look at the broken train.”

  “That would be great.”

  Bev set her pocketbook and lunch pail on the desk, removed her jacket, and draped it and Amy’s coat over the back of the wooden chair. “Which toys did you want me to see about fixing?”

  “First, I’d like to tell you something.”

  “What’s that?”

  You’re beautiful. Dan shook his head, hoping to clear his ridiculous thoughts. “Uh—the dress you’re wearing might not be practical here at the store.”

  She crossed her arms. “Too dressy?”

  “It’s not that.” Dan paused. How could he put this tactfully? “Sometimes you’ll have to get down on the floor, in order to sort through the boxes of toys that come in. You’ll also be working with glue and other repair items. It might be better if you wear slacks to work from now on.”

  She blinked. “You wouldn’t mind?”

  He shook his head.

  “I was expected to wear a dress at Bethlehem Steel, so I figured—”

 
“Wear whatever you’re comfortable in here, Bev. I trust you to use good judgment.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Fisher.”

  “Dan. Please call me Dan.”

  Bev’s cheeks turned pink as something indefinable passed between them, and she looked quickly away. “Guess you’d better show me what to do, so I can get to work.”

  He glanced toward the room where his studio was located. “That makes two of us.”

  Bev’s stomach growled as her gaze went to the clock on the wall across from her. It was almost noon, and she couldn’t believe how quickly the morning had passed. She’d mended two doll dresses, stitched a stuffed kitten’s eyes in place, and waited on several customers. In all that time, Amy had hardly made a peep. She’d kept herself occupied with various toys, books, and puzzles. Dan excused himself soon after showing Bev what needed to be done, and he’d been in his photography studio ever since.

  Should I ask him to cover for me so I can see that Amy is fed, or should I serve Amy her lunch and try to eat my sandwich while I keep an eye out for customers? Guess the latter would be better, she decided. No point bothering Dan. He’s probably busy and might not appreciate the interruption. After all, he hired me so he could be free to operate his own business and not have to run back and forth between Twice Loved and the photography studio.

  “Amy, please have a seat at the table again, and I’ll bring your lunch,” Bev instructed her daughter, who was now on her knees in front of a stack of wooden blocks.

  “Okay, Mommy.” Amy lifted her baby doll by one arm. “Can Baby Sue eat lunch with me?”

  Bev smiled, pleased that the child had accepted the new doll so readily and had even given it the same name as her old doll. “Sure, sweetie. Just don’t give her anything to drink, all right?”

  “Okay.”

  A few minutes later, Amy and Baby Sue were seated in the small wooden chairs opposite each other, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a cup of cold milk in front of Amy.

  Bev said a quick prayer, thanking God for the food, then took her bologna sandwich and the remaining milk over to the desk so she could look at the ledger while she ate. From time to time she glanced up, wondering if or when Dan might emerge from his studio. But he didn’t. The only evidence that he was in the back room was the occasional ringing of his telephone.

  After lunch Bev encouraged Amy to lie on a piece of carpet next to the bookcase and take a nap. Amy slept with Baby Sue tucked under one arm and a stuffed elephant under the other.

  Bev decided to use this quiet time to sort through some boxes she’d found in one corner of the room. She soon discovered they were full of Christmas decorations, and it put her in the mood to decorate the store for the holidays. Perhaps it was too soon for that though. It was early October, and most of the stores didn’t set out their Christmas things until sometime in November. She set the box aside, planning to ask Dan if he would mind if she decorated Twice Loved a little early. If she put some Christmas items in the store window it might attract more customers. Besides, it would help Bev get into the spirit of the holiday season. For the past several Christmases, she’d forced herself to put up a tree. Christmas wasn’t the same without Fred, but for Amy’s sake, Bev had gone through the motions.

  Pushing the decorations aside, she turned her attention to another box. This one was full of old train cars, reminding her that she should speak to Ellis Hampton when she saw him at church tomorrow morning. She hoped he would be willing to look at the broken train. It would be cute, set up in the store window under a small, decorated tree with several dolls and stuffed animals sitting off to one side.

  Bev blinked back tears as a feeling of nostalgia washed over her. Christmas used to be such a happy time, first when she was a child growing up near the Pocono Mountains, and then after she’d married Fred and they moved to Easton.

  She closed her eyes and thought about their last Christmas together. She could almost smell the fragrant scent of the cedar tree they’d cut down in the woods that year. Amy was only two, and Bev remembered the touching scene as Fred carried their daughter on his shoulders while they trudged through the snow. They’d laughed and thrown snowballs, eaten the chewy brownies Bev had made, and drank hot chocolate from the thermos she’d brought along.

  Unwanted tears seeped under Bev’s eyelashes and trickled down her cheeks. Those happy days are gone for good. Her mother and father had been killed in a car accident five years ago, and the ugly war had taken Fred away. It was hard not to feel bitter and become cynical when there were so many injustices in the world. But for Amy’s sake, Beth was determined to make the best of her situation.

  “Aha! I caught you sleeping on the job, didn’t I?”

  Bev jumped at the sound of Dan’s deep voice.

  “I—I wasn’t sleeping.” She sat up straight and swiped a hand across her damp cheeks.

  “I was kidding about you taking a nap, but your daughter certainly is.” Dan motioned across the room, where Amy lay curled on her side.

  Bev nodded. “I suggested she rest awhile. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Why would I mind?”

  She merely shrugged in reply. Dan didn’t seem like the type to get upset over something like a child falling asleep inside his toy store. In fact, from the look on his face, Bev guessed he might be rather taken with her daughter.

  Dan left the desk and headed across the room. When he reached the wooden rack where the colorful patchwork quilt was draped, he pulled it down. Turning to give Bev a quick smile, he moved over to where Amy lay sleeping. Then he bent at the waist, covered her with the quilt, and reached out to push a wayward curl off her forehead.

  The sight was so touching that Bev’s heart nearly melted. She barely knew Dan, yet she could tell he had a lot of love to give. How sad that he hadn’t been blessed with any children of his own.

  She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Why was life so unfair? Shouldn’t only good things happen to good people?

  CHAPTER 6

  On Tuesday morning Bev showed up at Twice Loved wearing an olive green two-piece trouser suit, a pale yellow blouse, brown lace-up shoes, and the same jacket she’d worn on Saturday.

  When Dan greeted her, she offered him a radiant smile. Then, as her fingers curled around the strap of her pocketbook, a little frown pinched her forehead. “I was wondering if it would be all right if I left the shop during my lunch hour today. There’s an apartment for rent in the building two doors down, and I’d like the opportunity to look at it before it’s taken.”

  “You’re planning to move?”

  She nodded. “My rent’s going up to sixty-five dollars in a few weeks, and since I live on the south side of town and have to catch the bus to get here, I thought if I could find something closer, it would be the wise thing to do.”

  Dan’s heart went out to Bev. He could see by her troubled look that she was probably struggling financially. Many people had been faced with financial hardships during the war. “Mend and make do.” That was the motto for the women in America. From the looks of the patches he’d seen on the knees of Amy’s overalls the other day, Dan figured Bev had done her share of mending.

  He rubbed his chin and contemplated a moment. “Maybe I can increase your wages.”

  Bev stared at the floor, twisting the purse strap back and forth. “Today’s only my second day on the job, and I’ve done nothing to deserve a wage increase.”

  “I know, but—”

  She held up her hand. “I don’t need your charity, but I do need to look at that apartment today. Is it okay if I leave the store for an hour during lunch?”

  “Sure, that’ll be fine.” Bev was obviously a proud woman, and he really couldn’t fault her for that. Maybe he could find some other way to help.

  “Thank you, Dan.” She pursed her lips. “Well, I’d better get busy.”

  “Same here. I’ve got some phone calls to make.”

  She started across the room, but turned back around. “I almost
forgot to ask…. Would you mind if I decorate the store window for Christmas a little early?”

  Dan’s eyebrows drew together. Other than attending the candlelight communion service at church on Christmas Eve, he hadn’t done much to celebrate Christmas since Darcy died. His parents, who lived in Connecticut, had invited him to come to their place for the holidays, but Dan always turned them down, preferring to be alone.

  He glanced around the store as bittersweet memories flooded over him like waves lapping against the Jersey shore. When Darcy was alive, she had decorated every nook and cranny of Twice Loved for the holidays.

  “If you’d rather I wait until after Thanksgiving, I understand,” Bev added. “I just thought it might bring in more customers if we had the window decorated a little sooner.”