Saturday Morning (29 page)

Roger set the box of pastries in the middle and took two out. “Come on, Adolph, let the ladies get to their meeting.”

Adolph ignored Roger’s command and stood staring up at Andy with eager eyes. She patted him and scratched him behind his ear.
“You better go now,” she said, gently shooing him away, when she would have loved for him to stay. She’d only been gone from home a few days, and already she missed Comet and Chai Lai. Fluffy was a great diversion, but they hadn’t bonded yet.

Hope sat forward. “Okay, ladies, we have lots of history to share. “I thought we’d start with my reason for inviting you all.” She looked from one to the other. “I know I made it sound like we were going to meet for coffee and friendship, and that’s really what I intended until God impressed on me that we need each other. Now, all I have to do is find out what He had in mind.”

Andy’s brow furrowed. What was she talking about? She liked Hope, but she didn’t need her, and she certainly didn’t need either of the other woman. She didn’t even know them.

Do you trust Me?

The voice was so loud, Andy wondered if anybody else had heard it. She looked at each of the women. Their eyes were riveted on Hope, who was sipping her tea. Andy crossed her arms, physically and mentally closing down.

“The three of you are new to San Francisco, so you have a common thread. So how about each of us take a few minutes to give a bird’s-eye view of our lives and how we came to be here?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll start,” she offered, obviously eager to begin. “I was born in Jamaica and born contrary. Dr. Dobson calls children like me strong-willed. I have no idea where my father is, and my mother died of a drug overdose when I was fifteen. I did well as a hooker, but thanks to our heavenly Father, I never got hooked on the hard drugs. Booze and marijuana were bad enough. A young cop got through to me after I’d been badly beaten, and I took his advice in two ways.” She held up two fingers. “I accepted Christ as my Savior, and I got off the streets. Thanks to a wonderful couple who had pity on one of God’s least ones and put up with her mouth, I got my
GED, finished college, and Big Dad called me into the ministry. When I came back to the Bay area, I had a new name—Hope—and I married that no-longer-young, badly bent cop. Not too much later, God gave us J House. I was told we’d never have children because of my former lifestyle, but now here I am, pregnant.” A slight shrug raised her shoulders and eyebrows. “Hey, mon, my story, all by the grace of the Man upstairs, Big Dad to me.”

“So that’s where your accent comes from.” Andy made sure her mouth was still smiling. She’d never dreamed by looking at her that Hope had been through so much. What a story. Her admiration for Hope tripled.

Julia popped the last of her cannelloni into her mouth and dusted the powdered sugar off her hands. “I’m next.” She pointed to her mouth. “As soon … ” She wiped her mouth with her napkin. “I came here on a mission—to find my granddaughter, who, it seems, is now on the streets. I, too, was a rebellious teen, pregnant at seventeen, but God saved me from marrying the loser. I kept the baby girl, finished high school, hated menial jobs, and went to college. I am eternally thankful for government assistance and college and law school grants. My daughter was making all the same mistakes I did, so she and I battled. When she started doing drugs, my granddaughter came to live with me part of the time, but as she got older and I insisted on rules, she went back to Minnesota to stay with her mother. When that got to be too much, she split for California. I’m an attorney, currently on leave, who specializes in adoptions and family issues.” She heaved a sigh of relief and sat back.

Andy shrank back in her chair, wishing she could be invisible. This kind of sharing was not her cup of tea. She was a private person, and she didn’t particularly care to know this much about people she had only just met.

“I might as well go next.” Clarice set her coffee cup on the table.
“I grew up in Newark, New Jersey, the protected daughter of blue-collar parents, and married my Herbert right out of high school. Herbert was a dreamer, but he also learned how to put feet to his dreams. A hard worker was my Herbert. In spite of all our prayers and novenas, we were never blessed with children, so when Herbert’s tailoring business grew to needing help, I was there. He moved his shop to a bigger place, then went into making shirts, then silk shirts. He hired some women to sew, and pretty soon he was selling shirts in the finest stores: Bloomingdale’s and Saks. Then, just as I had convinced him to retire, without any warning he up and died. I wasn’t at all prepared. I sold everything, banked the money, and moved to Florida to be near my sister. And that’s where I made the biggest mistake any fool woman can do. A good-looking younger man, name of Gregor, convinced me that he loved me.” She grabbed the sides of her hair. “Oh, to think I was so stupid, so gullible,” she said between her teeth. She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes. “He took all of Herbert’s hard-earned money, even made copies of my rings.” She held out her hands. “Good copies, but … ” She sniffed again. “He promised me a new life and said we were moving to San Francisco. He said he had us a place to live, helped me pack, and bought my plane ticket. He was going to wind up his business and meet me at the airport.” She shook her head, as if she could hardly believe her own stupidity. “I got off the plane, and no Gregor. I took a cab to our supposed new home, and no Gregor. Funniest thing, the key he gave me didn’t work. So there I was all alone and in shock. I had less than fifty dollars in my purse, I learned my credit cards were maxed out, and I had no place to go. That’s when I met Angel Annie, who made me flag down a cop, and he brought me here.”

Andy was dumbfounded. How could a man do that to a woman? How could Clarice not have recognized what kind of man she was dealing with? She seemed to be an intelligent woman.

“I’m sure there’s something we can do legally.” Julia’s voice snapped, matching her eyes. “We can’t let him get away with this.”

“Roger is investigating.” Hope handed Clarice a tissue.

Hope nodded to Andy. “Your turn. You can’t hide in that chair any longer.”

“But I have a boring story.”

“Thank God one of us does.” Hope reached for a cannelloni. “Go for it.” She stretched, rolling her shoulders forward and twisting at her waist.

“What’s wrong?” Andy asked.

“I’m just feeling a little tight. I’m probably not getting enough exercise.” Hope turned to Andy and gave her the nod.

Andy wished the chair would swallow her up. She really didn’t want to do this, but if she didn’t, she would look foolish. Maybe even snobbish. If only she had known that this wasn’t going to be just a gab session. “I grew up in Medford, Oregon,” she began. “All through school I was known as one of the ‘good’ girls. I met Martin in college. We both attended Pacific Lutheran. We married shortly after graduation, had our first child within a year, and then had two more. Martin provided everything, allowing me to be a stay-at-home mom. When my mother gave me a lavender sachet, I was so taken by the fragrance that I bought a couple of lavender plants so I could make my own sachets. One thing led to another, and when the children went to college, I started selling some of the sachets. At first it was just to fill my time, and then when I realized that with a little more effort the business’s profits could help support my parents, I worked at making it grow. Everything was going great. Business was booming. Is booming. And then Martin came home and said he wanted me to sell out and move here. He didn’t seem to—” With a start, she realized she was giving away far more information than she’d intended. She threw up
her hands in a gesture that said she’d gotten carried away. “That’s really all there is. I hope I didn’t bore you.”

“Your own business—in lavender, how wonderful.” Clarice inhaled from the cup of tea she’d refilled. “It smells so good. Who would have thought of putting lavender into tea?”

“And scones and salads and … Lavender has many uses,” Andy elaborated.

Julia sat up straight. “Well, if our goal is to help each other, I know where I can get right on it.” She turned to Clarice. “You have to write down all you know about this Gregor jerk.”

“We can find out from Roger what he’s learned, if anything.” Hope ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “I wonder if he fleeced any other women.”

Julia wrapped her hands around one knee. “Sad thing is, too many women are so ashamed that they never tell the police. But let me check with some of my colleagues. We’ll see.”

“What about your granddaughter?” Clarice asked. “What’s her name?”

“Cyndy. Roger has his contacts out looking for her. If something doesn’t break in the next few weeks … ”

Hope reached over and touched her arm. “It will. Have faith.” She switched her gaze to Andy. “What about you, Andy?” Hope shifted in the sofa corner, her hand going to her middle. “What can we do to help you?”

Andy shrugged. “I don’t know that I need any help, unless you want to help me paint my kitchen cabinet doors.” Even as she laughed, she wished she had the nerve to ask them advice on how to handle a jealous and selfish husband. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hope shift in her chair. She looked very uncomfortable. “Are you all right?”

“I need to get up and move, that’s all.” She stood behind her chair and stretched. “I have plenty I need help with. We need supplies for Julia’s training classes and clothes for the girls who are going out on job interviews. The only way I know how to get the things we need is to solicit small businesses and corporate sponsors.”

“Can one person do it, or do you need a committee?” Clarice asked, leaning forward.

Andy hung back. She’d solicited businesses before, when the kids were in school, so she knew how to go about it, but she didn’t want to commit herself. She had all she could handle with getting her new house in order, not to mention Lavender Meadows. She just didn’t have time to volunteer.

“I can help with that,” Clarice volunteered.

“Great.” Hope looked pleased. “Okay, now the big problem. J House needs retrofitting. We’re looking at several hundred thousand dollars. We need to find a person or a corporation who needs a big tax write-off. Any ideas?” Blank looks all around. “That’s what I was afraid of. Let’s close with prayer now.” Hope sank back in her chair, frown lines deepening in her forehead. “Father, You know our needs. We thank You for bringing us together with all our different gifts and lives. We are sisters in Your kingdom. Now help us to become sisters under the skin too.” She twisted and groaned. “Amen.”

“What is it?” Andy asked immediately.

“Cramps. Like premenstrual.”

“Let’s get you to bed and your feet up on pillows. What’s the number of your doctor?” Andy took charge without a thought.
Lord, please don’t let her lose this baby.

Lord God, please don’t let me lose this baby. Please. Jesus, Rapha, Healer, You said, “By My stripes you are healed. “I claim that right now for this tiny baby in me.
All the while Hope’s mind pounded out the prayer, she watched the women care for her. Celia’s fingers shook as she dialed the doctor, and Andy talked to her, Andy because she’d almost lost a baby once. Julia propped Hope’s feet up while Clarice laid a cool cloth on her head and stroked her belly, all the while humming a novena. Hope knew it was a prayer, and she needed all she could get.

“Dr. Cheong says stay down and see if this goes away on its own. She called in a prescription, so Roger can go get it. She wants to know if there has been any spotting.” Andy’s voice radiated peace.

“Not that I know of.”

“Easy, dear heart, relax, and let the worry go.” Clarice’s singsong soothed them all. “This baby is so precious.”

“Ask her if a heating pad would help.”

“Whatever you can do to relax those muscles.” Andy relayed the messages.

“Ask Celia. She’ll know where one is.”

“Scoot down on the bed, and let me take the pillows away.” Clarice motioned as she spoke.

“Why?” Julia stared at her like she might be crazy “I think we should call an ambulance.”

“I learned how to make my Herbert’s back relax.” When Hope had wiggled down, Clarice climbed up on the bed, kneeling at Hope’s head. Digging, pushing, stroking, she hummed along, eyes closed.