As far as Mary was concerned, hymn singing was the best part of attending church. She especially loved the old songs, the ones she’d sung while growing up at Good Shepherd. Sitting in church alone could be difficult, but if she kept her mind fixed on worshipping the Lord instead of feeling sorry for herself, the service enriched her soul.
The organist played A Mighty Fortress is our God for the postlude and Mary’s heart soared as she made her way toward the exit. There was something special about that song. How many times had Mary taken shelter within God’s fortress, knowing she was strengthened and protected there?
A friendly male voice called to her from behind. “Morning, Mary. How are you today?”
Mary turned and saw Russell Lambert, the sixty-something realtor who’d helped her find her house. “I’m fine, Mr. Lambert. And you?”
“Call me Rusty, please. I haven’t seen you at church for a few weeks. I was beginning to worry.”
“I’ve just been busy. Between fixing up my house and work…”
Rusty’s easy smile put Mary at ease. “I know how it is. My sister and I are thinking about changing the side porch on our house to a sun room. Let me know if your contractor does a good job.”
“I will.”
A slender woman near Rusty’s age joined them. “You will what?” she asked.
Rusty introduced the newcomer. “Mary, this is my sister, Irene Wortham. Mary and I were just talking about renovations and contractors.”
Irene was dressed in a fashionable lady’s suit. Her narrow face and straight hair reminded Mary of an Afghan hound. “Have you started renovations on your place?” Irene asked.
“The roofers came a few days ago. It was amazing how quickly they worked.”
Irene wrinkled her nose. “Why are you doing it right in the middle of the holidays? My daughter and her family are doing the same thing, although I can’t imagine why she picked this time of year to do it. Our Thanksgiving was ruined by not having a usable kitchen. It was like camping inside her house.”
Despite his sister’s complaint, Rusty chuckled good-naturedly. “Irene says she’s not going back for Christmas, but I can’t imagine spending the holiday alone. I might volunteer at the homeless shelter that day. I’m sure they can always use some extra hands.”
“You go right ahead,” Rusty’s sister said. “I don’t have a problem with sleeping late.”
If she was going to entertain one person, why not make it three? “I’m having a small gathering at my house on Christmas afternoon if you’d care to come. There will be some construction going on, but the contractor should be finished with the kitchen by then.”
Rusty’s eyes shone. “That sounds wonderful! I’m sure I’ll be finished at the shelter by noon. I could come by after that. What do you think, Irene?”
Irene looked at her brother and seemed to consider the invitation. “Why not?” she said with a shrug of her bony shoulders. “It beats sitting at home staring at you all day.”
Mary laughed inwardly at Irene’s lukewarm acceptance. “Around one o’clock?”
“Works for me,” Rusty answered. “Thanks again for asking us to join you.” Rusty and Irene joined the line to speak to the minister.
Mary rubbed her cheek as she thought about the upcoming lunch. What would she serve? All the recipes she’d learned at Good Shepherd served fifty people or more. Even if she ran into every lonely person in town, there was no way would she invite that many people.
* * *
Monday morning dawned clear but cold. Mary dashed into the store, anxious to get out of the frigid air. Although she made a habit of arriving at work before anyone else, she’d no more than walked into her office when her phone rang.
Mr. Alden’s tone was curt and officious. “Come to my office, Mary. Right away, please.”
Her stomach jumped at the command, and she took a few deep breaths to lessen her stress. It wasn’t unusual for her boss to summon her. All she had to do was keep the twin demons of worry and anxiety quiet until she found out what he wanted. She walked down the hallway, past the open cubicle where Neil’s desk was located, and paused at Mr. Alden’s secretary’s desk.
Mrs. Stenger had not yet arrived, so Mary forced herself to step through Mr. Alden’s open doorway.
Charles Alden sat behind his walnut desk, dressed in his usual business suit. He had a phone in one hand and motioned for Mary to enter with the other. Mary smoothed her skirt and sat in the leather chair across from him. He made a few notes on a pad of paper, then pushed a button to end the call and looked at her. “What can you tell me about the new cash registers?”
So he’d learned about all the technology problems. Mary cleared her throat. “I made up the training schedule on Friday. Then I learned that everything would have to be delayed because of a software problem.”
“When did you learn that?”
“When I came in on Saturday.”
“Why were you here on your day off?”
Mr. Alden seldom spoke to her in such harsh tones. He was clearly upset, but Mary had learned long ago that honesty really was the best policy. “I wanted to attend one of the training sessions. I can’t help the employees if I don’t know how to work the new cash registers.”
“Can anyone corroborate your story?”
Mr. Alden had never doubted her word before. What had happened to make him question her now? “Neil Jorgenson from the I.T. department told me about the software problems on Saturday. I suppose he could confirm my presence. Also, when I found out the class was cancelled, I checked on the new employees. Several people saw me.”
Mr. Alden frowned and ran a hand through his gray hair. “It’s not your presence at the store that concerns me, it’s this business about the cash registers. Alexis Lange blames you for the delay in implementation.”
An invisible fist punched Mary in the center of her chest. “Me?”
Mr. Alden gazed directly into Mary’s eyes. “Alexis says everything is ready to go, but that you’re not cooperating.”
Mary’s heartbeat quickened. She needed to take in this new information and figure out why Alexis had said something that wasn’t true. But Mr. Alden expected an answer right away. “I’ve done everything Alexis asked me to do. I’ll speak to her today and find out what she needs.”
Mr. Alden’s tone didn’t change, but his scowl relaxed a bit. “Alexis is visiting our branch stores today to assess their readiness for the tech upgrades. You say Neil is working on the software problems?”
“That’s what he told me.”
Mr. Alden pushed back his chair and tossed a pen onto his desk. “I’ve got to get to the bottom of this. Meanwhile, I’d like you to visit our Granite Park store. I received a report about some employees threatening to file claims about unfair work practices. See if you can get to the bottom of it before the problem gets out of hand. I’ll send the report to you in an e-mail. Can you go tomorrow?”
“Of course. I’ll get back to you.”
Mr. Alden dismissed Mary with a curt nod of his head.
Anxiety settled in her gut like a cast iron brick. Had she missed something? Why else would Alexis say what she had?
Neil passed her in the hall. “The boss sent me a text,” he said, straightening his tie. “Any idea what’s going on?”
She didn’t want Neil to be as stunned as she had been, but she also didn’t want to speak for her boss. “I’m sure it’s something about I.T. You’re the expert.”
Neil walked toward Mr. Alden’s door. “Oh,” he said over his shoulder. “I got the e-mail fixed. Should be working fine.”
Mary closed her office door and sank into her chair. Was she in trouble? She had a mortgage based on her employment at Alden’s Department Store and her savings account was nearly empty. If she lost her job now…
Stop it, she commanded herself. If she let herself, she’d slide into her old habit of visualizing the worst possible outcome. She’d proven herself to be a steady, reliable employee, and Mr. Alden had no reason to fire her. Perhaps she should listen to the advice she’d given Neil and not worry about things that hadn’t even happened.
* * *
When Mary arrived home that night, the contractor’s truck and a large dumpster were in her driveway. Will and a teenaged boy were in her kitchen, ripping the sheetrock off the walls.
After the day she’d had at work, this chaos was the last thing she needed. The boy pushed a wheelbarrow down the plywood ramp that covered the back steps. He was tall and gangly with shaggy dark hair. Without making eye contact or otherwise greeting her, he emptied the contents into the dumpster and reentered the kitchen.
Mary felt a small tug on her skirt and looked down to see Robin’s upturned, smiling face. “Hi, Mary. Did you get some hot cocoa?”
Mary returned the girl’s smile. “Hi, Robin. I didn’t see you out here.”
“Me and Daisy have been playing while Daddy and Grant work in your kitchen.” The dog ambled toward Mary, its tail wagging to a lazy beat. It dropped a wet tennis ball at her feet.
Where was Robin’s mother? Instead of sitting down to a healthy dinner, Robin was playing in the chilly darkness.
Will carried a large piece of broken sheetrock to the dumpster and, on his way back, stopped to talk. “Evening, Mary. I bet you’re rethinking your decision to live here during renovations.”
Mary stifled the urge to ask Will about his daughter. Robin wasn’t in danger, and how he provided care wasn’t any of Mary’s business. “Like I said, I don’t have any place else to go. Besides, I thought you were going to be here while I was at work.”
“I’m finishing another job. You said you wanted your kitchen finished by Christmas, so I’ve got to get started.”
Robin wrapped her arms around Will’s leg. “Daddy, I’m hungry.”
Will placed one hand on the crown of Robin’s head. “We’ll get something to eat in about thirty minutes, squirt. Your brother’s hungry too.”
“Do you like apples?” Mary asked the girl.
“Sure. But I don’t like the green ones.”
“I have some in the kitchen. If I can find them.” Mary looked at Will. “Is it okay if she eats an apple?”
“Fine by me,” Will said over his shoulder as he returned to the house.
“Will you be okay out here while I find that apple?” Mary asked.
Robin nodded, picked up Daisy’s ball, and threw it. The dog bounded after her toy, tail still wagging.
Mary entered her once tidy kitchen, dodged the piles of broken sheetrock and insulation, and found the fruit she’d bought the day before. She washed the apple, wrapped it in paper towels, and then filled a bowl with water. “Here you are,” she said as she handed the apple to Robin, “and I brought some water for Daisy.”
The dog, who never seemed to stray far from the girl’s side, sniffed the bowl and then lapped up the water. “So, did you get some hot cocoa?” Robin asked.
“Sorry. I would have bought some, but I didn’t expect to see you again. If you’re going to be helping your dad, then I’ll make sure to have cocoa in the house.”
“Me and Grant always help Daddy. I’ll be here tomorrow night if you want to make the cocoa then.”
“Yeah, but…now, I don’t have a kitchen.”
“Sometimes Daddy makes it in the microwave.”
“I’m willing to try. You want marshmallows too?”
“Uh-huh.”
“How was school today?”
“Okay. Grant walked me home and Daddy picked us up so we could help him with his job.”
No mention of a mother. Maybe there wasn’t one. Empathy rose in Mary’s heart for Robin and her brother. She knew too well how it felt to be motherless.
Robin bit into the apple and kicked the ball for Daisy to chase.
“Would you like to come inside?” Mary asked. “Maybe watch television or something?”
“Sure, but Daddy said I had to stay here so I wouldn’t get hurt.”
“I’ll ask him. Let’s go through the other side so we won’t get in the way.” Daisy followed obediently as Mary led the girl through the front door. “Mr. Stewart?”
Will turned toward her, a pry bar in one hand and a piece of broken sheetrock in the other. “The only people who call me Mr. Stewart are my children’s teachers. Is Robin causing a problem?”
“Not at all. I only wanted to tell you that I invited her inside. We’ll be upstairs if that’s all right with you.”
Will glanced at Grant who watched with obvious interest and then turned back toward Mary. “If you’re sure…”
Robin ran up the stairs with Daisy at her heels. “She’ll be fine,” Mary said. “Call when you’re ready and I’ll bring her down.” As Mary made her way up the stairs the pounding started again. Maybe she should stay later at work. That way, she’d be out of the way while Will turned her kitchen into bedlam.
She entered her bedroom to find Robin gently touching the bottles and compacts atop her dresser. “Do you like makeup?”
Robin nodded. “I used to play with my grandmother’s, but now it’s all gone.” Daisy found a comfortable spot on the rug and lay down. Robin plopped down next to the dog. “I really like nail polish. See?” She held up her hands, each fingernail painted a different color.
Will’s colorful fingernails made sense now. “Do you paint your dad’s nails too?”
“Uh-huh. I tried to paint his toenails, but he’s really ticklish, so now I stick with his fingers.”
Will Stewart, calendar boy for masculine beauty, let his daughter paint his fingernails. A spot in Mary’s heart warmed at the image of him sitting patiently while Robin practiced on him.
“Can I paint your fingernails?” Robin asked.
Mary looked at her hands. Saving for the house had taken precedence over visits to nail salons, so Mary had settled for short, clean, unpainted nails. “Let me think about it,” she told Robin. “I haven’t painted my nails since I was sixteen years old.”
* * *
The employee grievances at the Granite Park location had turned out to be no more than complaints about long hours without breaks and charges of favoritism by some supervisors. Mary had listened until her ears felt numb, met with the supervisors to generate solutions, and promised to meet with the employees’ representative the following Tuesday to make sure the conditions had improved. By the time she drove home, her shoulders ached and her head throbbed. Since it was not yet four o’clock, she’d have an hour of undisturbed peace before Will showed up with his sledge hammer.
But it was not to be. In what was turning into a regular occurrence, his truck was parked near the back door of her house when she arrived.
Will was sweeping up dust and debris from the kitchen floor when Mary stepped through the door. The walls were gone, leaving only naked studs. The cabinet doors and the scarred laminate countertop had been removed, and gaping holes showed where the old sink, stove, and refrigerator had been.
Will smiled when he saw her. “Hey, Mary. Glad you’re home early. Saves me a trip back here tonight.”
Mary rubbed her right temple. “Why do you need to see me?”
“As you can see, I finished tearing out the countertops today. If you’re interested in looking at what’s available at the surplus yard, we’ll need to go soon.”
Mary massaged the strained muscle in her neck. “I’m off on Saturday. Can we go then?”
“Yeah, but I’d like to get an early start. Can you meet me there at eight o’clock?”
Mary sank into the one kitchen chair that wasn’t covered with sheetrock dust. “Can you text me the address?”
“Sure.” Will pulled a cell phone from his jacket pocket. “I’ll do it right now.”
Mary propped her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. As soon as Will left, she was taking off her business suit and going straight to bed.
Will pocketed his cell phone and studied her. “Are you feeling all right?”
“It’s just a headache. Was there anything else you needed?”
Will pulled the other chair close to her and sat down. “Give me your hand.”
“Why?”
“I know a trick to make your headache disappear. Give me your hand.”
Mary wasn’t sure about her contractor’s ability to cure headaches, but she extended her right hand.
Will covered her hand with both of his. “Now take some deep breaths and let them out. Slowly.”
His hands were large and calloused but warm. She caught a glimpse of blue nail polish before she closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
Will massaged the soft part of her hand between the thumb and forefinger. It was surprisingly painful and Mary jerked her hand away reflexively.
“Easy does it,” Will said in a soothing voice. He took her hand again and resumed the gentle pressure. “Close your eyes again. Concentrate on your breathing.”
Mary followed his instructions, allowing him to manipulate the soft pads at the base of her fingers. He was a big man with a muscular build, but his touch was soft. She wasn’t accustomed to being touched, but Will’s hands comforted her the way one would reassure a frightened kitten.
After a minute of relaxing silence, Will spoke in a low voice. “Robin talks about you morning and night. It’s about to drive me and her brother crazy.”
“You’d think she’d run out of things to say.”
“My girl isn’t the quiet type. Grant, on the other hand…he’s either got his head in a computer or stuck in a book.”
“He’s good with computers?”
“He’s rebuilt two of them by scrounging parts from broken ones. Please don’t ask me to explain. I can barely use my phone.”
The silent kitchen was a welcome relief from the angry voices of employees and the raucous sounds of the busy store. Will’s soft voice was a tender caress to her bruised ears. “My wife taught me this trick. She had terrible migraines.”
“Did she ever find anything that helped?”
“That’s not an easy question to answer. Give me your other hand.”
Mary uncurled her fingers from the fist she’d unconsciously made and laid her left hand in Will’s palm. The initial pain had eased into a dull ache, and as Will continued to rub, she felt her shoulder muscles begin to uncoil.
“Had a stressful day, did you?” Will asked.
“Hmm…”
“What did you do today?”
“Listened to complaints. Solved problems. Same thing I do every day.”
“No wonder you’ve got a headache.” Will turned her hand over and continued to press each part of her hand softly. “Do you like your work?”
“Mostly. I like helping people get and keep jobs.”
Will rubbed slowly, pressing warmth into joints she seldom thought about and releasing the tension she’d unknowingly stored. Mary lowered her chin to her chest.
“Mary?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to fall asleep in that chair?”
“Probably.”
Will laughed softly. “Okay, then. I’ll see you on Saturday morning.” He set her hand in her lap and left the room quietly. Mary sat in the silent kitchen, listening to his truck back out of her driveway. When she opened her eyes, she saw the imprint of his body in the dust-covered chair. Her headache had evaporated.