Читать книгу Meant-To-Be Baby - Lois Richer - Страница 14

Chapter Two

“Oh. You’re still up.”

Victoria paused in the doorway of the biggest room at The Haven, which was also the only one with a lit fireplace. Tillie and Margaret called this room The Salon but she’d always known it as their family room, the place where they’d shared their lives. Now it was occupied by their visitor.

“Couldn’t sleep. Probably because I ate too much of your sister’s delicious chicken pie.” Firelight flickered across Ben, seated in Margaret’s wingback chair in front of the fire, with Tillie’s lurid purple-and-green afghan covering his legs. “What’s that?”

“Hot chocolate. Want some?” Victoria didn’t want to share with him. In fact, she wished he’d stayed in his room. She wanted to be alone, to think things through, to figure out her next step. But she couldn’t think with Ben nearby because his searching blue eyes made her nervous, fidgety.

Still, he was a guest and the aunts’ lessons on hospitality had been deeply engrained in her.

“I’ll get another cup.”

“Don’t bother,” he called as Victoria scurried away like the frightened mouse she felt but didn’t want anyone to see.

She drew a deep breath for control, patted her unsettled stomach, wondering if morning sickness could also be evening sickness and if its cause now was that her baby knew his mother didn’t have a job now, or even a next step planned. Grimacing, she grabbed another mug and returned.

“No bother. There’s more in that carafe than I can drink anyway.” She filled his mug and set it on the round table, near his elbow. She added another log to the fire before sinking into Tillie’s chair and cuddling her own cup while her brain scrambled for a topic of conversation. Ben beat her to it.

“Are there a lot of fireplaces in this house?” His gaze slid from the river-stone chimney to the massive fir mantel and granite-slab hearth.

“Yes. The Haven was built to be self-sufficient. Thankfully there’s enough deadwood on the property to fuel the fireplaces.” She loved this sagging, worn chair, not for the comfort it offered but for the memories it evoked. “Tom and Jerry were very smart men.”

“Tom and Jerry being?” Ben studied her, one eyebrow arched in an inquisitive expression.

“How long has Aunt Tillie been writing you?” Victoria couldn’t believe he hadn’t heard the whole story already.

“Just over seven months. Why?”

“My aunts started writing letters to military personnel more than twenty years ago when they joined the local Legion. A former colonel suggested those who protect and serve our country might need someone to talk to and since the aunts missed their missionary work, they wrote.” Victoria smiled at the memories of all the service men and women who’d visited The Haven during her teen years. Could she give her child such good memories?

“That’s a lot of letters,” Ben murmured.

“After a couple of years, the aunts developed a format. They usually give some personal history within the first two or three letters. Did they do that with you?” When he shook his head, she inhaled before explaining. “So how did you make contact with Aunt Tillie?”

“She wrote to me, said she was praying for Africa and my name was on the list of servicemen serving there. She asked if I had any special requests. Some of my buddies said I should write back.” Ben smiled. “Tillie was the one who led me to God. So what’s the history of The Haven?”

“That’s a long story. It starts with brothers, Tom and Jerry Havenston, hence The Haven. Tillie and Margaret were nurses and met the two when they were visiting Chokecherry Hollow. The aunts fell in love with the brothers. The four wanted to be married, but the ladies had already promised to go as missionaries to what was then Rhodesia.”

“So I guess the brothers planned to go, too?” Ben asked.

“Yes, but Jerry contracted scarlet fever. Tillie and Margaret delayed their departure to nurse him at a friend’s home but his recovery was very slow.” As usual, Victoria felt a rush of sympathy for the two couples.

“I’m listening,” Ben encouraged.

“The missions’ society sponsoring the aunts kept pressing them to leave to replace other missionaries due to return to Canada. Jerry and Tom did, too. They wanted the sisters to keep their commitment to the society.”

“Why?” Ben frowned.

“Because as the sons of missionaries who’d served in Africa, Tom and Jerry knew what the mission meant to the Africans. They insisted the aunts shouldn’t break their promise to the society,” Victoria explained.

“Strong men.” Ben sounded approving.

“Very. Anyway, Tillie and Margaret left believing their fiancés would join them later. They were in Africa four months before they learned Tom had had a heart attack rendering him unable to travel. The aunts prepared to return, but the men telegrammed begging them to stay. The men had heard rumors that if left understaffed, the government would probably close the sisters’ Rhodesian mission. They did not want Tillie and Margaret to alter what they believed was God’s will.”

“So they stayed here and built The Haven,” Ben guessed.

“You’re jumping way ahead,” Victoria protested.

“Missionaries get furloughs, don’t they?” Ben asked.

“Yes. A month after Tillie and Margaret returned to Canada, Tom had a second heart attack. And another after that. Everyone feared he’d die.” Victoria could hardly bear to think of her aunts’ distress. “Aunt Tillie told me she and Margaret took turns nursing him until he slowly recovered. The aunts returned to Rhodesia after Tom and Jerry agreed they’d follow when possible. Again they made plans to marry.”

“Even fifty years ago, it must have taken a fortune to buy all the land and build The Haven.” Ben frowned. “The aunts gave up a comfy life.”

“Oh, the brothers weren’t wealthy at first. In fact, they supported their widowed and ailing sister and her two children.” Victoria smiled. “It took years before they became successful. But I digress.”

“They couldn’t go to Africa,” Ben guessed.

“No, because their sister died, leaving them guardians of her daughters. Both were sickly. Tom and Jerry eventually realized that their own poor health would never allow them to travel to Africa.” Victoria saw empathy flash across his face.

“Just shows how our plans can change in an instant,” he murmured.

Boy, did Victoria know about that. She’d never planned to be a single mother.

“Go on.” Ben leaned forward in his eagerness to hear the story. She liked that he was so interested in the aunts’ history.

“Well, after much prayer, the men decided God had planned a different future for them. They raised their nieces in the fresh mountain air, which seemed to help their unhealthy lungs,” she said.

“And then?”

“Tom and Jerry invented a medical item that helped hospitals enormously and made them wealthy. They bought acres of land and built this house, a home for their nieces and for Tillie and Margaret when they finally returned to Canada for good.” She waved a hand. “Tom and Jerry lovingly thought out every detail of The Haven. They were amazing men who truly loved the aunts.”

“But Tillie’s always signed her letters Miss.” Ben’s blue-eyed gaze studied her. “Didn’t they marry after all?”

“I have to tell it in sequence, Ben,” Victoria chided. “The nieces contracted polio and never recovered, dying just weeks before the aunts finally returned here. After a period of mourning, the four again planned their long-anticipated weddings.” Victoria paused in the sad tale, then added, “Tom and Jerry went on a bachelor hiking trip through their beloved mountains three days before the weddings. They were fatally shot by illegal poachers.”

“Oh, no. After all that waiting.” She liked that Ben seemed genuinely moved. Proved he was nothing like stone-cold Derek who felt nothing for his own child. “It must have been hard to accept that, after all their sacrifice, God didn’t give the sisters their own happy ending.”

“Didn’t He?” Victoria tried not to smile, relieved Tillie and Margaret hadn’t heard that. “Tom and Jerry left their fortunes and The Haven to the sisters to, as they put it, continue their missionary work. So the aunts got busy being missionaries in their community.”

She stretched her neck, suddenly weary. This motherhood thing was taxing.

“That wasn’t enough,” Ben guessed.

“The colonel I mentioned earlier? He knew someone who agreed to provide them with the names of troops they could write to. And thus began the sisters’ letter-writing ministry.”

“Amazing story. Bad turned to blessings.” Ben nodded. “A lot of men in my unit really look forward to the ladies’ letters, you know. I’m one of them. I’ve also heard how they often have veterans visiting here.”

“They often do, but there’s a lot more to my aunties than that.” Victoria grinned.

“Meaning?”

Of course she wouldn’t tell Ben the whole truth about herself, but she did want him to realize how important Tillie and Margaret were in so many lives.

“You met my sisters Adele and Olivia at dinner tonight though I doubt much sunk in. You were hurting pretty badly.”

“I’m sorry I had such poor manners,” Ben said, looking embarrassed.

“They understood. They’re used to hurting people showing up here. All of us are. We were some of them once.” She chuckled at his confused look. “Let me explain. When I was ten and my sisters a bit younger—by the way, we have a fourth foster sister, Gemma. Anyway, we four girls were troublemakers headed down a bad road. We all had the same caseworker and she wanted us away from the gang we were about to join. So she asked the aunts to fund trips to camp for all four of us.”

“You liked it there?” Ben asked.

“We four girls had never met before but being bad apples, we banded together and caused no end of problems in that camp.” How she regretted that.

“I find it hard to believe you were a troublemaker, Victoria.” He frowned.

“Believe it. The camp wanted us gone. In desperation, our caseworker contacted her friends Tillie and Margaret again and, ignoring their ages, asked them to take all four of us for three months. No one else would touch us for a week, so asking for three months was asking a lot.”

“You’re kidding.” Ben’s gaping stare made her smile.

“Not at all. We were all experienced foster brats. We’d all learned how to fool everyone. Except once we got to The Haven, we couldn’t fool Tillie and Margaret.” She chuckled at the memory of their pranks. “Short story—we four girls grew up here with abundant love demonstrated every day. The service men and women the aunts host here made a big impact on us. So did the aunts’ offers to accommodate countless local programs for various charity groups. We grew up seeing missionaries in action.”

“So Tom and Jerry’s Haven has truly become a haven for a lot of people.” Ben’s blue eyes stretched wide. “Quite a story.”

“It is.” Victoria sipped her cocoa thoughtfully. “But I don’t know how much longer that can continue.”

“What do you mean?” Ben’s forehead furrowed. “Are Tillie and Margaret broke?”

“Oh, no. Tom and Jerry invested very wisely.” Victoria exhaled. “It’s more to do with aging. We four girls moved out, pursued careers, got on with our lives. But the aunts are still here, much older and virtually alone, except for Jake, and he can’t run the place alone forever, though he’d argue otherwise.”

“So Tillie and Margaret have to leave The Haven?” Ben asked quietly.

“Not without a struggle.” Victoria grimaced. “Since I’m home for a while, I’m hoping to figure out a way for them to stay a little longer. If Aunt Maggie hasn’t already beaten me to it,” she added darkly.

“What does that mean?”

Victoria bit her lip.

“You don’t want to tell me?” he prodded.

“It’s not that. It’s—my aunts get a lot of ideas.” Sitting here in the twilight, talking with Ben—it wasn’t as bad as Victoria had expected. In fact, maybe he’d have some thoughts on how to keep the aunts in their home. “Some of their ideas are, well, let’s call them outlandish.”

“I see.” Ben’s intense stare made her nervous. And yet it was also somehow comforting to talk out her fears. She certainly couldn’t have done it with Derek. At least Ben didn’t try to make her feel silly or stupid.

“The thing is, even their most bizarre ideas often work. Eventually,” she mumbled, wishing her usual proficiency with fixing things hadn’t suddenly deserted her.

“You think your aunts have a plan for how they can stay here?” Ben asked.

“Something Aunt Margaret said before she went to bed makes me think the two of them have come up with a new scheme.” Victoria read his face and chuckled. “You think that’s good. It might be. It might also turn out to be totally, utterly impossible. In which case,” she explained, leaning forward so he’d understand, “my sisters and I will have to gently disabuse them of the notion.”

“Having met the two ladies, I’m guessing that won’t be easy.” Ben tried and failed to smother his amusement. Suddenly he sat up straight. “Was that Mikey calling? Since we, er, found his parents’ bodies, he’s had nightmares and—”

“Being afraid is probably normal for all little kids sometimes. But I have a monitor in Mikey’s room, Ben.” She pulled it out of her pocket. “Listen.” She held it up. All that transmitted was the sound of smooth, even breathing. “He’s fine, but I can go check on him if that will make you feel better.”

“Do you mind?” He glanced at his foot. “I’d do it but that spiral staircase is daunting.”

“I take it you’re happy with your main-floor room down the hall, then?” She chuckled at his forceful nod and rose. “Back in a jiffy.”

Snugging her ancient and tattered velvet robe around her waist, Victoria scooted up the stairs. Mikey was fast asleep just like her aunts who were snoring. There were no sounds from the room Olivia shared with Adele so Victoria padded down the stairs in her fluffy slippers and reentered the salon.

“Everything’s good, Ben.” She scanned his tense face. “But I don’t think you are.”

“It’s my leg. I need to elevate it. I’d better get to bed.” He rose slowly, using his crutch. “Thanks for checking on Mikey and the cocoa and the talk, Victoria. I’ll pray about The Haven’s future though I’m not sure it will do much good. I’m pretty new at the whole praying thing.”

“New Christian or old, doesn’t make a difference to God. ‘The Lord has set apart the redeemed for Himself. Therefore He will listen to me and answer when I call upon Him,’” she quoted. “That’s what David said in the fourth chapter of Psalms.”

“That’s a verse I need to memorize,” he murmured thoughtfully. “So often I feel like God doesn’t hear me, especially when I see the heartache and devastation in my job. To know that God always listens—that’s comforting.” He stared directly into her eyes. “I’m impressed that you can quote the Bible so easily.”

“Part and parcel of living with Tillie and Margaret.” Victoria smiled. “The Bible is an intricate part of their lives and, by association, those around them.” And you’ve failed to live up to their and your own Biblical principles. A chill ran up her spine. Soon she’d be telling him all of it—“Good night, Ben.”

“Good night.” He continued to study her for several moments. Then he awkwardly wheeled around and thumped across the oak floor, toward his room down the hall.

Victoria waited until she heard his door close before resuming her seat in the armchair, her brain whirling with questions.

How was she going to help the aunts stay at The Haven?

How was she going to raise a baby on her own, with no visible means of support? How was she going to stand seeing the disappointed looks on her aunts’ faces when she told them? She’d already caused them so much heartache when she first came here. Maybe they wouldn’t even want her anymore.

Just how much could their love endure?

Her fingers splayed over her midsection.

God, are You mad at me?

She’d just assured Ben that God always listened, but deep inside her heart, Victoria felt a void, an emptiness she’d never known before. She knew why that was. She’d disregarded the principles she’d been raised on. Maybe God was now leaving it up to her to handle having and raising this baby alone. She was no weakling, but being strong enough for that scared Victoria to her core.

* * *

The next morning, Ben savored the delicious breakfast Adele had prepared.

“Olivia and I have to get back to work,” she’d explained as she shrugged into her coat. “Since Jake plowed out the road last night to take you into the doctor this morning, we’ll get an early start. Olivia has to catch a flight to Ottawa. She works there for the military. I live in Edmonton and I have a catering job scheduled for tomorrow so I have to go, too.”

“Have a good trip,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks. Vic’s still sleeping. I left a note telling her we’ll text later.”

“I hope we see you and Mikey again, Ben,” Olivia added.

“Me, too,” he said, and meant it.

After hugging their aunts and promising to return soon, the two left. Then Jake appeared and said he’d be driving Ben to town. Conscious of his lack of mobility and wearied by the physical strain of getting in and out of the doctor’s office, Ben was glad to return to The Haven.

“The doctor said you’ll be fine?” Margaret nodded when he repeated the diagnosis of rest. “Good. You and Mikey can stay and relax.”

“Thank you. And thank you for watching him while I went into town.” He sipped his coffee, glad the boy had slept in until a few minutes ago.

“I wish the girls could have stayed a little longer.” Tillie cuddled her coffee mug in her hand. “It’s so much fun when they’re here.”

“Maybe, with the right incentive, they’ll come back.” Margaret wore a quirky smile that Ben thought was somewhat cunning.

“What’s the right incentive, Auntie?” Victoria stumbled into the kitchen, trying to smother a gigantic yawn and failing. Ben thought she looked awful.

“My dear, are you ill?” Tillie rushed to Victoria’s side and ushered her to a chair at the table. “Your face is positively gray!”

“I slept in too long. Maybe that’s why I feel a little off this morning,” Victoria admitted.

A little off? Not the way Ben would have put it.

“Coffee might help,” Margaret suggested.

Perhaps he was the only one who saw Victoria almost gag.

“I’ll wait a bit, thanks, Auntie.”

“I’m sorry if rescuing us caused you to be ill,” he apologized.

“It didn’t.” Victoria avoided looking at him. As if to divert attention from herself, she asked Mikey if he’d slept well.

“I had a good sleep,” his nephew said with a grin. “When I waked up, I saw your little light.”

“Auntie Margaret gave me that light after I came here to live.” Victoria smiled at her aunt. “I was older than you are, Mikey, but I still had bad dreams. Auntie said that when I woke up afraid, I should look at the lamp and remember that Jesus was right beside me, protecting me.”

“Like you said to me!” Mikey exclaimed. “I did an’ it worked. I didn’t get ’fraid.”

“I’m glad. Excuse me.” Victoria suddenly burst from her chair and bolted from the room.

“Oh, the poor dear.” Tillie put on the kettle. “I’ll make her some peppermint tea.”

“I’ll get some crackers.” Margaret frowned as she set the packet on the table. “The child is so thin. It’s not healthy.”

“It’s the fashion now and she’s hardly a child.” Tillie smiled as Victoria returned, looking, in Ben’s opinion, even more pasty-faced than before. “All right, dear?”

“Just a flu bug.” She studied his sling. “That doesn’t look like my work.”

“This morning, Jake drove me in to see the doctor who checked it then redid it. He said your work was very professional.” Ben couldn’t help wondering if Victoria actually heard him. She looked as if she was thinking about something else.

“That’s nice.” She smiled wanly before tearing open the crackers. “Too bad the girls had to leave.”

“Yes, it is.” Tillie exchanged what Ben thought was an odd look with her sister.

“We never had a chance to tell them our idea,” Margaret murmured.

“Your—idea?” Victoria suddenly went still. She glanced from one senior to the other before asking in a hesitant voice, “What’s your idea, Aunties?”

“To make The Haven a—a spa. Is that the word, sister?” Tillie looked to Margaret for clarification.

Ben watched Victoria’s eyes widen. She seemed to scramble for a response.

“A spa is a—good idea, Aunties,” she managed to say. “The Haven has a wonderful location. But—well, we don’t have any pools or hot tubs or mud baths or masseuses. You know,” she continued when the aunts looked confused, “the usual spa things that draw people.”

“Oh, no, dear. Spa’s the wrong word.” Tillie frowned at Margaret. “Can you explain?”

“Think retreat,” Margaret clarified. “A retreat for kids. Troubled kids. Foster kids. Like you were, Victoria.”

Ben immediately saw the potential. Acres of land for hikes to wear kids out. Wild animals to observe, room to relax and allow nature’s peace to calm tortured hearts.

“For kids?” Victoria frowned. “But there’s nothing here for kids!”

“There was for you,” Margaret reminded tartly.

“Yes, but that was years ago, Auntie. Today’s kids are techies, constantly connected. They’d need organized activities—” She stopped, no doubt aware of the sisters’ growing irritation.

“I can see it.” Ben probably should have shut up given Victoria’s annoyed glance in his direction. But he couldn’t. “Trails to hike, endurance or training courses, a chance to work with the cows and chickens you have. Kids might really enjoy a place like this.”

“You know a lot about kids?” Victoria demanded, probably reminding him of his claim not to know how to parent. But Ben let his imagination go.

“I don’t, but I’d guess the river I’ve seen crossing the valley could offer decent swimming in the summer,” he mused.

“Where would these kids stay?” Victoria’s question was directed at her aunts. “They have to sleep somewhere. They’d need counsellors or someone to watch them.” She scowled. “There are only ten bedrooms here in The Haven.”

“There are the cabins,” Margaret replied.

Ben glanced through the big window but saw no buildings.

“Aunties, the cabins haven’t been used in years. They’re decrepit and...” Victoria’s tone bordered on exasperation.

“No, they’re not.” Tillie’s normally soft voice was loud and firm. “Jake checked them over for us. He did some repairs himself and oversaw local volunteers who helped with others. Bottom line, we have eight cabins that will each sleep four, five at a pinch. Maggie’s already ordered new mattresses for the cots,” she added defiantly.

“We weren’t going to say that, Tillie,” her sister admonished. “But since you have...” She shrugged. “We also ordered some canoes. Boating on the river was something our boys enjoyed so much,” she explained to Ben.

Boys? he wondered.

“Our fiancés were real outdoorsmen,” Tillie agreed with a reminiscent smile.

Victoria looked dumbfounded. Mikey glanced curiously from one woman to the other. Ben was intrigued.

“Describe who you envision coming here,” he murmured.

“Children like our four girls,” Tillie said with a smile at Victoria. “Kids who need to escape the lure of drugs or whatever evil they’re trapped in. Or perhaps they and their foster families simply need a break from each other, time to think.”

“We’re still in touch with the foster system in Edmonton, you know,” Margaret added with a pointed look at her foster daughter. “They think it’s a wonderful idea.”

“I’m sure they do.” Victoria chewed another cracker.

“You think we’re too old, don’t you?” Tillie frowned. “Well, we’ll never be too old to answer when the Lord calls us.”

“Are you sure He called you, Auntie?” Victoria’s normally musical voice had a frosty edge. “Or was it your friends in Social Services who made you think this was a good idea?”

Ben watched the twins draw erect, their annoyance obvious.

“We have thought and prayed about this decision for months, Victoria. We’ve conducted many inquiries into how the logistics would work, the cost, the need for helpers,” Margaret spoke clearly, her voice confident. “We have sought the Lord over and over to ascertain His will. We believe this is it.”

“You’re going ahead with it.” The words carried resignation.

“We’d like to.” Tillie took her hand. “On one condition.”

“We’ve been praying that you’d be willing to help us,” Margaret finished.

“Me?” Victoria’s dark head reared back, gray eyes wide. “How could I help?”

“My dear, you are a fixer, a problem-solver for the hotel. You didn’t train for it. You trained to be a teacher. But when your school closed, you took the hotel job and mastered anticipating and resolving situations that frustrated others. You made things work. That’s what we want, someone who will enable our idea. Right, Maggie?” She looked to Margaret who nodded once.

“But—but—” Victoria’s glance moved around the table, staring at each one of them. Ben felt her gaze rested on him longest.

“May I ask something?” he said quickly, desperate to know if his trip had been in vain.

“Please do.” Tillie inclined her head.

“Does your new plan mean you’ll stop writing people in the military? That you won’t want them to come to The Haven anymore?”

“We see the two meshing. Veterans who visit The Haven may be willing to interact with our guests, even become mentors.” Margaret’s words came crisp and clear. “We think they’d have much to offer.”

“And that brings us to the reason you came to see us, doesn’t it?” Tillie’s smile warmed him, chased away the fear that had hatched inside him. “Let’s go to the study and talk about your situation, Ben. I’m sure Victoria and Mikey can find something to do until we’re finished.” She rose, linked her arm with her sister’s and beckoned him before they walked out.

“Coming.” Ben rose and moved awkwardly toward the door. He paused by Victoria, touched by the confusion in her eyes. “Their plan upset you. Will you be all right?”

“Eventually.” Her smile held more determination than mirth. “Go. Mikey and I will be fine.” She grimaced and jumped up. “Right after I’m sick.” She scurried from the room as if chased.

“Is Vic okay, Unca Ben?” Mikey sounded worried he’d lose another adult from his world.

Ben couldn’t respond because he’d time-traveled back to Neil’s, sitting in the kitchen, watching as his sister-in-law, Alice, turned green and then raced away.

“Is she okay?” he’d asked his brother.

“Alice is fine. Just pregnant.”

Could Victoria be pregnant?

Brain whirling, Ben ordered Mikey to stay put and hobbled out of the kitchen to answer Tillie’s impatient call.

Was Victoria going to be a mom? A mental picture of her cradling a tiny baby in her arms stuck with Ben all through his conversation with the elderly sisters.

Why was he so certain Victoria would be an amazing mother? It was obvious. She was kind and generous and obviously willing to put her own wants after the needs of her elderly aunts. And she was great with Mikey.

But where was the baby’s father? Did she love him? Was she planning to marry soon? And why did that thought bug him?

Ben had a hunch that Victoria was keeping the news from her aunts and probably her sisters also since none of them had offered congratulations. But why?

All of these questions and hundreds more made Ben decide to question Victoria. Maybe she’d explain it as she’d explained about her aunts. He felt this intense need to know everything about her, though in truth, it wasn’t any of his business.