4

Mike made it home first. The end of October. A much thinner Mike. His brown hair streaked with gray. Deep creases around his mouth and eyes that had nothing to do with smiles.

But he was smiling now. Very glad to be back in Evie’s arms. Kate drove to Louisville to take Evie to meet the train. Evie had refused to let Kate teach her how to drive. Instead if Kate mentioned driving, Evie informed her that riding the bus supported the war effort. Evie had a way of turning on the guilt faucet, but Kate kept saving up her gas rations. A newspaper reporter needed a way to follow a story.

Taking her sister to meet her husband at the train station had “story” written all over it. Whether she ever wrote it or not. When Mike grabbed Evie in an embrace, Kate stepped back to give them some privacy. Happy reunions were happening all around her. Soon Jay would be the one climbing down from that train. Her heart skipped a few beats at the thought of his arms around her again. It had been so long that sometimes she wasn’t sure if she remembered real embraces or only those in her dreams.

Mike got home on a Monday. Evie took a week off work for them to get caught up. On everything, she said with a blush. Tuesday afternoon she called Kate at the newspaper office to ask her to drive them to Rosey Corner on Wednesday. Mike was restless. The late October days were wasted in the city. He wanted to see the rest of the family. Kate heard the edge under Evie’s words, so she dared her editor’s ire by asking for another day off.

“I can’t believe this old heap is still running,” Mike said when she showed up at Evie’s apartment. He’d hardly noticed the car on Monday. His eyes had been too full of Evie.

“It’s got a few miles on it for sure.” Kate ran her hand down the rusty gray fender. “But it gets me where I need to go.”

“Jay will want a new one when he gets home,” Mike said.

“Maybe,” Kate said. “The guys at work think there’ll be a rush on new cars. That they’re sure to sell lots of car dealer ads.”

“Everybody wants new everything,” Evie put in. “We’ve had to do without so long. It’s wonderful having silk stockings again.” Evie lifted the hem of her skirt to admire her stockings.

“Yes, indeed.” Mike eyed her legs a minute, then looked back at the car. “Can I drive? I haven’t been behind the wheel since the Germans captured me.”

Kate handed him the key and crawled in the backseat. She’d hoped they could talk on the long drive to Rosey Corner. She had a million questions about the war, but once out on the open road, Mike rolled down his window and asked Evie to do the same. He must have forgotten how Evie hated her hair blowing in her face. Kate expected her to tell him that, but instead she cranked down the window without a word.

The wind whipping through the windows made talking all but impossible. Mike didn’t seem to care as he mashed down on the accelerator. Kate grabbed the armrest on the door and bit her lip to keep from telling him to slow down. They made it to Rosey Corner in record time.

When they pulled into the yard, Tori came out the door with Samantha riding on her hip. Kate blew out a breath of relief when she saw Tori smiling. Ever since Sammy died, Tori dissolved into tears over everything. She had a right, but Kate hadn’t wanted tears to spoil Mike’s homecoming. Kate’s relief was short-lived. Instead of Tori breaking down, Mike climbed up the porch steps, took one look at Samantha, and tears started coursing down his cheeks.

Kate had never seen Mike cry, but his tears shouldn’t have surprised her. Samantha, with her daddy’s red hair and freckles, had to make Mike remember Sammy, a kid he watched grow up in the church. It didn’t matter that Sammy had been gone over a year now. For Mike, it had to be like just showing up at the funeral.

Beside Mike, Evie looked bewildered, with tears brimming in her eyes too, whether for Sammy or Mike or herself, Kate couldn’t be sure. Tears came easy to Evie. And to Tori too. But then Tori did the unexpected. She didn’t cry as she handed Samantha to Mike. The child had seen so many tears in her two years that she wasn’t a bit bothered by Mike’s. She was more interested in the shiny buttons on his jacket.

“Button.” She touched the button and flashed such a smile at Mike that he laughed.

He held Samantha closer. “Yes, indeed. Button.” He rubbed his cheeks on his shoulders to wipe away his tears. “I can see you’ve inherited the Merritt girls’ charm.”

“Mike!” Lorena’s long legs flashed as she raced across the yard, home from school, and practically leaped up the porch steps.

He stared at her. “Lorena?”

Kate had to smile at the look on his face. Lorena wasn’t the little girl he’d last seen. Kate couldn’t wait until Jay got home to see how his little “sister” had grown up. She’d sent him pictures, but pictures didn’t do Lorena justice.

“Lonie.” Samantha held her hands out toward Lorena.

Lorena’s smile slid off her face as she took Samantha. “What’s the matter? Why are you crying? Has somebody else died?” She looked from Mike to Kate. “I don’t want anybody else to die.”

“A man can shed a few tears when he comes home and meets his niece for the first time, can’t he?” Mike swiped the last of his tears off his cheeks. “If you really are Lorena Birdsong, come here and give me a hug.”

“It’s me.” Lorena’s smile exploded back across her face. She handed Samantha to Tori and threw her arms around Mike. “Maybe I should ask if it’s really you, Mike Champion.”

“In the flesh.” Mike pushed Lorena back to look her up and down. No tears now. “I can’t believe how tall you are.” He glanced around at the others. “I can believe how good it feels to be here on this front porch surrounded by you beautiful Merritt women.” He reached for Evie’s hand.

They were turning to go inside when Kate’s mother and father came down the road, big smiles on their faces. Mama claimed she couldn’t wait a minute longer to see if Mike was home. Some things were more important than selling another loaf of bread or gallon of gasoline. More hugs all around. More smiles. A long hand clasp with Daddy and a look exchanged that said more than words could.

The news that Mike was home swept through Rosey Corner and people started showing up to see him. Since the day was sunny, Mike stayed out on the porch to greet them. Graham came down with his new dog. Aunt Gertie and Uncle Wyatt drove down in their car.

Fern showed up without Aunt Hattie, whose rheumatism was acting up. Her steel gray hair, in desperate need of a comb, bushed out around her face, and she wore a man’s faded flannel shirt under her bib overalls. While Fern’s harsh edges had softened a bit the last few years, she still preferred the company of trees over people any day. So she wouldn’t come up on the porch but said what she came to say from out in the yard. “Hattie prayed you home.”

“I counted on her prayers. Thank her for me.” Mike stepped over to the edge of the porch. “It’s good to see you, Fern. You haven’t changed a bit.”

“Some changes don’t show on the outside.” Fern narrowed her eyes as she stared up at Mike. “But you know that.”

Mike looked so somber Kate worried he might cry again. Evie reached toward his arm as though to pull him back from the edge of the porch. Back from Fern. But she let her hand hover in the air and didn’t touch him.

“I do know,” he said.

“Hattie will pray some more.”

“Good. Aunt Hattie can pray down the power.”

“Couldn’t pray everybody home.” Fern slid her eyes over to Tori, then turned without another word to leave.

A strange silence fell over the porch until Lorena rushed out of the house and down the steps after Fern. “Wait, Fern.”

Fern stopped in a patch of sunlight halfway across the yard to let Lorena catch up with her. Kate wished for her camera, even though the picture wouldn’t be one for the newspaper. But the sight of Lorena hugging Fern with the abandon of a child would have been worth the cost of the film. That Fern stepped into Lorena’s embrace was one of those changes that couldn’t be seen. For years, Fern hadn’t bothered to love anybody until Lorena found a place in her heart. And Aunt Hattie prayed for her.

The odd feeling that Mike might want to follow Fern and head off by himself to get away from too much too soon disappeared as Fern went on out to the road. Lorena ran back up on the porch to let Kate know Mama needed help in the kitchen.

“You know Mama.” Lorena made a face. “She has to feed everybody who shows up on our doorstep.”

Evie stayed beside Mike on the swing until the deacons let out prayer meeting and showed up in force to welcome their former pastor home. In the kitchen, Evie watched impatiently as they fixed drinks for the men. The minute Lorena and Mama picked up the glasses to carry out to the porch, Evie grabbed Kate’s arm and yanked her out the back door.

But once they were outside, Evie just stared at the chicken house at the end of the yard and didn’t say anything. The sun had gone down and daylight was fading. Kate needed to start back to Lexington soon. She hoped Evie and Mike intended to stay the night in Rosey Corner, but that moment didn’t seem the best time to ask their plans. Her sister was either about to blow up or break down in tears.

Whichever it was, better to get it over with. “Since I don’t think you pulled me out here to see if the chickens had gone to roost, out with it before you explode.”

Evie blew out an angry huff. “They’re just out there taking turns praying. If we wanted to go to prayer meeting, we’d have gone up to the church.”

“Those men have said a lot of prayers for Mike while he’s been gone.” Kate picked her words carefully, not sure why Evie was upset.

“Well, haven’t we all?” Evie sounded ready to fly apart.

“Yes, of course we have, and now we’re thankful those prayers were answered.”

“I know.” Evie shut her eyes and clamped her jaws together.

“They just want to see him with their own eyes. That’s all. To know he’s okay.”

“That’s all I want to know too.” Evie’s mouth trembled and a tear slid down her cheek.

Kate put her arm around Evie. “What’s wrong, Evie?” She didn’t know how Evie could be unhappy two days after Mike came home, but she obviously was.

More tears spilled out of her eyes as she looked at Kate. “He’s not the same.”

Kate fished her handkerchief out of her pocket. “Mama warned you to expect that. He’s been through things we can’t even imagine. The same as Daddy did when he was in the war.”

“But Mike’s not like Daddy.” Evie snatched the handkerchief, but didn’t put it to any good use. She stared at Kate. “Is he?”

“I don’t think he’ll turn to drink, if that’s what you mean.” Kate couldn’t quite keep the irritation out of her voice.

Evie didn’t notice. She looked a little like an abandoned puppy. So Kate pulled in a breath and summoned up patience. “He’ll be back to the guy you remember soon.” With the tips of her fingers, she brushed away Evie’s tears.

“How do you know?” Evie jerked away from her and gave her nose an angry swipe with the handkerchief. “How could you know? You don’t know how it is.”

“You’re right. I don’t. Jay’s not home yet, but he will be soon. And he could be changed too.”

“It won’t be the same for you the way it is for me and Mike. You barely knew Jay before you married him. I doubt if you’ll be able to tell if he’s changed or not. But Mike . . .” Her voice trailed off.

Kate drew in another breath to stay calm. Evie was just being Evie who thought the world revolved around her. Besides, she could be right. Kate and Jay had only known each other a few months before they married and some of those months were pretty rocky. Nothing at all like Mike and Evie, who had dated for years with Mike doting on Evie the whole time.

Evie had no clue she’d said anything that might upset Kate as she went on. “Well, you know what I mean.”

“No, I’m not sure I do.”

Evie gave her a look as if she couldn’t believe that. “You saw him crying.”

“Men cry sometimes.”

“But Mike’s a preacher. He’s not supposed to get all blue and depressed. Not once he’s back home with me.” Tears started down her cheeks again. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way.”

Kate didn’t know whether to hug her or slap her. She settled for grabbing Evie’s shoulders and giving her a little shake. “You stop all this crying. Mike’s home. He’s the Mike you love. The Mike who loves you. That hasn’t changed. Not one little bit. His homecoming might not be the fairy tale you were imagining, but it’s good and it will get better every day.”

Evie choked back her tears. “How do you know, Kate?”

“Because you are going to make it better. You are going to be sweet and understanding and loving.”

“He says he doesn’t know if he can preach again. That he doesn’t know what the Lord wants him to do next.” Evie wiped the tears off her cheeks, but her eyes were even more distraught. “What if he decides to be a missionary or something? I can’t go to Africa, Kate. I can’t.”

“Good heavens, Evie. You sound like me, thinking up such crazy things.”

“It’s not crazy. God calls people to be missionaries all the time.”

“Did Mike tell you God wants him to go into the mission field?” Kate asked.

“No, but what if he does?”

Kate shook her head at Evie. “Then you’ll figure out something with the Lord’s help. But maybe the Lord is just calling him to be a bus driver or something.”

“A bus driver?” Evie’s forehead wrinkled in a frown. “Whatever are you talking about?”

“Might be a good place to reach people. You have to admit, he had a great time driving us here.”

Evie put her hand up to her head. “Absolutely ruined my hair.” But the corners of her mouth twitched up.

“It just released the curls. You look great. You always look great.” Kate put her arm around Evie. “Now, drag that smile back across your face. Mike will be missing you.”

And he was. When they went back inside, Mike was in the kitchen, looking for Evie. “There’s my girl.”

Those words were no different than he might have said before the war, but Evie was right. Mike was different. They all were. Fern had told them. Some changes didn’t show, but they were there all the same.