Chapter Forty One

Thank you for helping me tidy up the place, Mable. It needed a good vacuuming and dusting.”

“No problem Henry, I’m just so happy that Jenny is coming home. She was so excited when I went up to see her yesterday. For awhile there, I thought she would never see her beautiful home and yard again. Who said miracles don’t happen?”

“Well, I’m a perfect example of one, too. This has all been an incredible two weeks.”

“I think you have put everything in its place Henry. The home looks to me exactly like it did the day Jenny left for the hospital. I looked after it for weeks and I can’t see anything out of place.”

“Ever since I purchased the home, I left it as I bought it. I loved everything about the home so much. I never dreamed of changing anything. I always felt like I was a guest, privileged to have such a wonderful place to escape to from the business. Except for the odd book I may not have put back exactly in the same place on the book shelf, I would agree with you, it’s exactly as I found it.”

“It’s amazing that you were the one that purchased the home. Anyone else and God only knows what might have happened to this or that.”

“Yes, Mable, I believe it was all pre-planned. Jenny and I are big believers in guardian angels and we attribute most of these incredible happenings to their involvement.”

“Well, I can’t argue with you … someone upstairs was definitely working to bring this all together almost like a fairy tale. In any case Henry, I am so happy for you and Jenny.”

Henry checked the clock on the kitchen wall. “It’s one thirty, time to pick up Jenny. I think I will just drop her off when I bring her back. Give her a chance to be alone and re-orientate to her life.”

“Yes, that’s considerate of you. Things have been so hectic for her since her recovery. She was elated, when I saw her yesterday, that Dr. Kreake said she could come home.

“See you later, Mable, and thanks again for your help.”

Henry held Jenny’s make up case with one hand and unlocked the front door with the other. He removed the key from the door latch and handed it to Jenny. He stepped back, allowing Jenny to open the door. She walked into the foyer and Henry followed. The beep of the security system sounded, piercing the stillness. Jenny turned and automatically keyed in the numbers and the beeping stopped.

“You didn’t change the code.”

“Actually Jenny, I didn’t change a thing. When I first walked into this house it was like coming home. I loved everything about it exactly the way it was. It should be like the day you left and admitted yourself into the hospital.”

Jenny turned towards Henry, filled with gratitude that words could not possibly express and whispered, “Thank you so much.”

Tears welled up in both their eyes. Jenny set down her overnight suitcase and threw her arms around Henry’s neck and they warmly embraced.

“I’m going to go now Jenny and leave you to settle in. You have a beautiful home. It gave me such peace over the past few months. I knew it was special, I knew it belonged to an angel.”

Henry kissed Jenny tenderly and then turned to leave. Just before he closed the front door behind him he said, “When you have a minute, check the angel’s basket in the backyard, you’ll see something amazing. I think it’s another miracle.”

Jenny smiled, a twinkle in her eye suggested that she knew already what she would find there.

As soon as Henry closed the door, tears of joy and thanksgiving flowed from Jenny’s eyes. “Thank you dear Lord for bringing me home again.”

She walked into the living room and made her way to the fireplace. The book, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis was lying open and face down on the end table next to the sofa. The HB pencil was beside it just as she had left it. She gazed at the painting above the fireplace but her vision was too blurry to make it out. She wiped the tears with the back of her hand, turned and went into the dining room. The surface of the table shone in the light coming in through the window. Jenny knew it must have just been dusted. The odour of lemon wax still wafted off the surface. Mable or Henry must have done it. She slid her hand over the walnut surface near the edge as she walked towards the kitchen.

The sun was just making its way to the back yard between the tall fir trees. Rays of light snuck into the kitchen window, brightening the room. A sliver of light fell on the open cookbook lying on the counter. Jenny went to it and smiled … she was going to make chicken marsala with mushrooms that evening. Memories, good memories were coming back.

Henry knew they would, that is why he left me be. He must have walked through this home so many times and wondered about it all. I know he sensed my spirit, I just know it … and I sense his spirit here as well.

I feel his love…

Resting beside the cookbook, was an envelope addressed to her. It was Henry’s handwriting. She opened it and noticed the title to her home and accompanying letter. She unfolded it and read:

Here is the title to your home. It’s a gift from me to you. Never have I ever purchased anything that has given me so much joy. I hope someday you will let me become a permanent resident! Thank you for letting me into your home.

Love you with all my heart, Henry.

Jenny gazed out the kitchen window. A very light snow had fallen that morning, covering everything with glistening snowflakes. The snow on the winding path to the gazebo had already melted. However, the brightness of the sun drenched snow, surrounding the Angel of Thanksgiving, was glistening so brightly it made her squint at first glance. She smiled through tear filled eyes as she saw what Henry had alluded to just before he left. The angel’s basket was filled with a beautiful bouquet, looking fresh and alive. She recognized the flowers; they were the very same ones she had picked and left there on the day she went into the hospital last fall.

“Oh thank you my angel so dear for granting my prayer to bring Henry and Camilla back to me. And thank you for having Henry buy this house. Where would I have gone if he hadn’t and someone else had? Everything that I have loved and had given me spiritual sustenance over the years while living with James would have gone and, and…I would have been homeless.”

Jenny looked at the bouquet again as well as the flowers peeking through the snow. She marveled at the number of times this miracle had happened when she lived at James’ estate both during the summer and winter. Jenny was so overwhelmed that she began to twirl around in the kitchen. True happiness had finally come to her. She prayed that Henry desired to marry her as much as she desired to marry him. What if he wants to live alone? Or his family doesn’t want him to marry again? Jenny felt certain Camilla would have no objections. They had already had some good talks when she came to visit her in the hospital.

These thoughts made Jenny think about her son. How would J.J. react to her getting married? The way he had acted towards her when he visited was so uncaring. And the manner in which he handled the sale of her house, without discretion or concern for her privacy, was very disappointing. For a moment Jenny realized that she should be upset with J.J. but then what good would it do other than rob her of the immense peace and joy she was experiencing?

No, she decided to deal with it in the same way she dealt with all the nonsense that James threw at her. She simply refused to allow other people’s shortcomings and lack of considerations to control how she felt or her fate in any given precious moment the Lord granted her. In time people will get their just rewards. For now, she was just so grateful for all that had befallen her way.

A waterfall of tears gushed forth as Jenny thought about all the blessings she had been showered with. She raised her hands in praise and thanksgiving, twirling once again in her happy kitchen which seemed to have just grown brighter with each passing moment.

As Jenny swayed to the new music playing in her life, she gradually made her way to the bedroom. She flicked on the light and gazed around. Everything was as she had left it. She went to the bed and sat on the edge. Her fingers ran over the floral bedspread. She wondered if Henry had slept in it. She tried to feel his warmth. She was sure he had. Slowly, Jenny leaned forward and placed her head on the several pillows piled against the headboard and raised her feet on the bed. She was so happy; she felt as if she were on a magic carpet, floating into paradise. She closed her eyes, and wept tears of joy, until a brilliant white light, filled with the peace of her ever present guardian angel, Hannah, surrounded her.

Jenny awoke shortly before seven o’clock p.m. She decided to take a shower and perhaps make the recipe that she had planned the day she left for the hospital. Sure enough, two chicken breasts were in the freezer. Jenny took one out and put it in the microwave to thaw. Henry had thoughtfully placed a bottle of white wine in the fridge. She would need it for the chicken marsala. She poured a glass of wine and went into the living room and opened the door to the console. She noted Henry had left a classical record in the changer. She turned on the player and immediately recognized “Dreamings” by Schumann, one of her favourite solo piano arrangements.

Jenny marveled at their similarity in tastes, in music, books, furniture but most of all, in their respect and consideration for each other. She noted that Henry had placed kindling and paper in the fireplace so it would be ready for her. She lit the paper and stood back, as the flames quickly caught the logs and danced before her.

She recalled when he came to the hospital, he read her diary and that was how he knew the house he purchased was her home. She wondered if it was still in her secret hiding place or if Henry had it. She opened the drawer and pulled on the ring. The partition opened and … yes, the diary was there just as she had left it. Henry was so considerate of everything. Trying to make certain that he in no way invaded her privacy.

Jenny also remembered that when she checked out of the hospital the letter she had received from Henry was no longer in the drawer of the night table. She wondered at the time if had been thrown out. She asked Nurse Johnson but she didn’t know what happened to it. She meant to ask Henry when he came up to visit her but forgot. A sudden thought came to her that maybe Henry had found the letter that morning he came to her…if he had…she felt prompted to make her way to the bedroom. She opened the closet door and took down her mother’s chest and placed it on the bed. As soon as she opened the lid, there it was, Henry’s letter emitting a special glow.

Down to the very last detail, Henry made certain everything was in its place. But how did he know that the letter should be placed there? This is all so angelic, Jenny thought. There was just no other way to explain all the wonderful happenings. If only she had this kind of relationship with her spouse and son…but she also knew James was changing. She wondered if he was part of the miracle that had happened to her and Henry and Father.

The latter thought made her think about calling J.J. and Nora and let them know of her miraculous recovery. She felt Nora would care but hoped her son would too.

Later that evening Jenny nervously dialed J.J.’s telephone number. After several rings, Nora answered the phone.

“Hello.”

“Hi Nora, this is Jenny.”

“Oh, hi Mar … Jenny, I’ve been thinking of you so much recently. How are you feeling?”

“Nora, I have had a miraculous recovery. I had passed away in the hospital and then when I returned to the land of the living, all the cancer that had ravaged my body was gone!”

Nora remained silent for a long moment. “Jenny that is wonderful …and you are completely cured? When we visited you last October you were so ill—”

“Yes, I recall…but it’s all gone. I’m totally healed. I believe it was Father Engelmann’s and Henry’s prayers and of course our guardian angels that were responsible for it all.”

“Father Engelmann, Henry…who are they?”

“Of course Nora, I’m sorry, I should have explained who these people are. Father Engelmann is a priest who came to visit me in the hospital and Henry was a boy I met when I was 15 years old and my parents and I lived in Regina for the summer. It turns out that when J.J. put the house up for sale, it was Henry who purchased it. I should explain that Henry was my first teenage boyfriend …” Jenny chuckled embarrassingly. “Oh, Nora, this all gets very complicated. I’ll explain it all to you when we visit.”

“Well, Jenny … visiting may not be that easy. J.J. has moved out of the house and, and he is trying to get Jimmy Junior away from me—”

“Oh, Nora, how could this be happening?” Jenny’s voice carried a lamenting tone. She immediately thought of what had happened to her with James and that the same scenario was playing out.

Jenny could hear Nora begin to cry and longed to be with her so that she could console her in person. “I’m so sorry to hear this Nora, is there anything I can do?”

“J.J. is so critical of me and everything I do, I…finally told him to leave. I’m afraid now that I may lose Jimmy. J.J. is seeking custody through the courts and my finances are so limited. I had to sign a prenuptial agreement when we married and everything we have is owned by his company.” Nora burst out crying again.

Jenny couldn’t believe that what had happened to her, was replaying in the life of her daughter-in-law. “Nora, I will help you. It would be disastrous if J.J. were to take control of Jimmy. We will deal with this matter together. Perhaps I could begin by calling J.J. Do you have his number?”

“Yes, I have both his office number and home number, but he never answers the phone and only calls when it is convenient for him and he wants to talk to Jimmy. Oh Jenny, I am so worried about what might happen.”

“I understand exactly what you are going through Nora. I went through a similar experience with James. In fact, James is probably behind all this.”

“Well I don’t know Jenny. James’ cancer has returned and he is going through some legal concerns with the lady that was living with him.”

“Is that Susan?” Jenny asked.

“Yes, I’ve met her several times. She seems like a nice person but for some reason or other James seems to want out of that relationship.”

“I see. Well, perhaps I will call J.J. first and see what I can do there. In any case, Nora, I want to assure you that I will assist you in every way I can.”

Nora gave the two numbers to Jenny.

Jenny dialed J.J.’s home number and let it ring until the answering machine turned on. The machine caught J.J.’s character, “Leave a message.”

Jenny paused for a moment and then said, “Hi J.J., this is your mother. I have some good news to tell you. A miracle has happened and I am totally cured of cancer. Please call me as soon as you can. I would love to talk to you and share the great news.” Jenny left her return number and hung up. If he didn’t phone by noon tomorrow, she would try his office number. She would ask Father and his warriors to pray for J.J. and Nora and … James and Susan as well.

I wonder if James would help…he seems so different…