Mrs. Olivier!” Sister Joan greeted her, surprise in her voice. “I’m not expecting you, am I?” She rubbed her hands together. “Goodness, the sisters were right. I’m getting quite forgetful in my old age.”
“Oh, no! I’m sorry to come by unannounced, but”—Colette cleared her throat at her own impropriety as she clutched her storybook in one arm and her basket in the other—“I couldn’t wait until Friday to see the children, so I thought I’d use a basket of fruit as an excuse to come visit.” She raised her peace offering for her lack of manners. “I hope their classes are over for the day. I wasn’t sure what time they concluded, so I guessed.”
The elderly woman smiled, opening the door wide for her to enter. “My dear, you never need an excuse to visit the children. I’ll tell your class to meet on Darvy’s floor.” She winked at her. “I know he’s already captured your heart as he has mine. He reminds me of Malcolm with his sweet eyes.”
Malcolm certainly does have sweet ey— Colette felt her face color, but thankfully, Sister Joan had already turned toward the stairs, and within minutes, Colette was surrounded by her boys. She playfully tossed oranges to the group, happy that she’d brought more than enough for her Bible class so she could share with the younger children on Darvy’s floor.
Darvy’s amusement at her liveliness lit his face, but he didn’t smile. He took his orange and sat in the corner, studied Colette’s instruction on how to properly peel an orange, and slowly consumed his fruit as Colette opened her storybook.
Experiencing the joy of the children over an afternoon with a simple treat and a story, Colette pulled Sister Joan aside afterward and asked for her assistance in putting a smile on Darvy’s face.
On Friday, Colette met Malcolm on her way out the door with a giant basket of food on each arm and Belinda trailing behind with two more, grunting under the weight.
“What’s all this?” Malcolm chuckled.
“Well, I noticed some of the boys seeming a bit glum,” she panted, smiling all the while, “so I spoke with Sister Joan, and we thought it might be fun if I arranged to have the Bible lesson outside in Jackson Square today with a picnic lunch for the class.”
“Sister Joan agreed to it?” Malcolm took the baskets from her. “Good heavens, did you bring the entire storehouse with you?”
Colette shrugged. “I wanted to be sure they’d have enough. And of course she did, as we planned it together. Do you think the boys will be surprised?”
“I think they’ll be thrilled, but with fourteen boys, it’ll take three carriages to carry us all to the square, as I don’t trust them to take the streetcar and not get lost.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’ve arranged for my drivers to take care of that.” She gestured to the row of carriages at the side of the house ready to depart.
“And then there is Mother Superior to ask,” he added.
“Sister Joan has already spoken with her, and she’s given us her permission and seemed quite excited for the boys’ outing.” She gave him a victorious smile.
“Well, then.” His bright eyes met hers as excitement lit his face. “What are we waiting for?”
Her list of things to do muddled in his gaze. Shaking her head to break through the clouds, she motioned for the drivers to store Malcolm’s and Belinda’s loads as the butler appeared with two more baskets of dishes and blankets.
Within the hour, the rowdy group of boys poured out of the carriages onto Jackson Square. Belinda and the butler set up the white picnic blankets and spread out the food, and Colette laid down a blanket for her and Sister Joan to sit on and keep an eye on the boys while Malcolm readied the materials for the Bible lesson.
Watching the boys play tag on the lawn, Colette smiled. “They are so content with small pleasures.”
“This is likely the most fun they’ve had since arriving at the orphanage,” Sister Joan replied. “We work hard at St. Mary’s to keep the boys happy, but this is a luxury for them.”
Colette chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking as the boys tumbled on the grass. “I wish they could be this happy every day.”
“You can’t take them on picnics all of the time,” Sister Joan said, laughing, “but I know that they will cherish this day until you are as a fairy godmother in their retellings.”
Heat crept up her neck. “I’m so nervous about my little part of the lesson today that I’m afraid their retellings will have more to do with how my voice shook the whole time or my dreadful execution.”
Sister Joan smiled, patting her on the arm. “I’m sure you’ll do fine, my dear. And if you get nervous, look to me or”—she winked—“to Malcolm.”
Colette blushed in earnest as she plucked a blade of grass and proceeded to rip it into tiny pieces.
“They’re too quiet by that tree,” Sister Joan groaned as she stood. “I best go find out what mischief they’ve already managed to find.”
Spotting Sister Joan, the boys waved their arms as they piped their findings of a strange insect.
Laughing at their antics, Colette leaned back on her hand, but feeling a sting, she drew it back sharply, gritting her teeth against the biting pain as she flipped over her hand to inspect it.
Malcolm’s gaze flashed over and caught her pinching her palm together. “What happened?”
“It’s nothing.” She dismissed his concern and attempted to pull out the splinter herself, grunting as it burrowed itself deeper.
He knelt by her side, tenderly took her hand in his rough one, and, with the greatest care, removed the splinter. Instead of releasing her, Malcolm brought her palm up to ensure he had removed all of it.
Colette felt herself drawn to him, and with him bent over her hand, she took the opportunity to study his strong jawline, which had a hint of strawberry-blond stubble. With his broad shoulders so near, she couldn’t help but think of what it would be like to have such a man to cherish her as his own.
He glanced up, their faces merely inches apart. “I think you’ll survive,” he murmured, a grin spreading over his face at catching her examining him.
“Is everything okay over here?” Sister Joan called as she crossed the green toward them.
“Thank you,” she murmured and slipped her hand from his, glancing over to Belinda. “I think lunch is ready. Will you call the boys, Sister Joan?”
Helping her to her feet, Malcolm directed the charging boys over to the large blankets. The older fellows, eager for first pickings, beat out the little ones to the blankets, and after every lad was filled, Belinda presented each boy with a miniature chocolate pie with a whipped topping.
When almost every face bore evidence of the chocolate treat, Malcolm glanced up at the clock at the top of the St. Louis Cathedral. “We best begin our lesson because it’s almost time to head back. Mrs. Olivier?”
Nervous to take the lead, she pasted on a smile. “Today’s lesson will be short, but it’s very important, so please scoot close.” Colette patted the blanket beside her and motioned for the boys to crowd together. Darvy snuggled up next to her, and she couldn’t help but look to Malcolm and smile.
“We’re going to talk about John 6:35 where our Lord Jesus Christ tells us, ‘I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ Today, we gave you cake and milk and filled your bellies, but as you know, boys will get very hungry again by nightfall. Jesus is talking about food for your soul”—she tapped Darvy’s chest near his heart. “For a long time, I felt alone, and I searched for a way to fill the hole in my heart because I was hungry for something more. I tried to fill the void being the very best girl I could manage, which as you know can be difficult when others tempt you to retaliate when teased.”
At this the boys poked each other, and Malcolm had to intervene to turn the attention back to Colette.
Clearing her throat, Colette continued, “But being good wasn’t enough to make the hole go away. I needed something more, Someone more.” She glanced at Malcolm, who gave her an encouraging nod. “Do you want to know how I stopped feeling hungry and alone and how you can, too?”
Some of the boys seemed a little restless, but her gaze locked on the young Italian boy, Luca, whose eyes were bright with thirst. Please, Lord, let me get through to them. “If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and pray for Him to enter your heart, you will never again feel hunger in your soul, for He will fill that void inside.” She pressed her hand to her chest as her voice wavered.
Malcolm reached over and gently squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Mrs. Olivier. Let’s bow our heads.” With a brief prayer, Malcolm dismissed the boys, and as they dashed away for one last romp, she overheard Luca asking Malcolm for a moment alone later.
“See? It wasn’t so bad,” the old nun whispered with a smile, her wrinkles creating a halo over her brow. She clapped her hands and herded the boys back into the carriages.
As Colette bid each boy farewell at the orphanage, her heart filled at their overwhelming gratitude. Ruffling Darvy’s hair, she thought, If only I could bring all these boys home with me. She turned in the doorway, relishing Darvy’s laughter as Malcolm gave his animated interpretation of the day’s events to Mother Superior. It’s not as if I don’t have the space, time, or funds. She chewed the inside of her lip and turned away.
It was almost dinnertime when Colette arrived home, and stripping off her gloves, she sighed with exhaustion as she spied a gentleman’s small calling card on the silver tray in the hallway with its top left corner folded. Flipping it over, she found Norman’s name with a request for dinner in his fancy script and felt a twinge of guilt that she hadn’t even thought of him all day.