Love Calling

by Janet Lee Barton

  “I thought Esther and Grace might want to help, too. Grace has awhile before she starts working, but just visiting the younger girls and being a friend to them will prepare her to help when the time comes for them to leave.”

  “That is a very good idea, Sam. Why don’t you come in and explain it all to them—or are you still on duty?”

  “I am. But if you think it might be all right with Mrs. Holloway, I could come by later.”

  “I’m sure it will be fine with her. In fact, why don’t you come for supper? I know she’d be happy to set another place. She always has more than enough food.”

  “Are you sure I won’t be imposing?”

  “I’m certain you won’t. In fact, you’d help me out if you’d come.”

  “How so?”

  “The girls believe you haven’t come back because I was so rude to you the other day and—”

  “Say no more. What time?”

  “Around six thirty. We’ll eat at seven.”

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Good. I’ll see you then,” Emma said before running up the steps to Mrs. Holloway’s home.

  Sam turned away, a spring in his step and a smile on his face. He was glad he’d been assigned to this beat and very happy that he’d connected with Emma, Grace, and Esther once more. He looked forward to talking to them about helping at the orphanage, but he really didn’t think it would take much convincing. They were keeping in contact with their friends there already. Something he should have done and hadn’t. But he intended to make up for his neglect now.

  ❧

  Emma was pleased that she’d finally seemed to redeem herself in Grace’s and Esther’s eyes for her bad behavior toward Sam.

  “He’s really coming for supper?” Grace asked.

  “He really is. He has something he wants to talk to us about pertaining to the orphanage.”

  “Oh?” Esther asked. “What is it?”

  “I’ll let him explain it all.” She looked over at Mrs. Holloway who was pouring her a cup of tea. “You don’t mind him coming this evening, do you, Mrs. Holloway?”

  “You know I don’t, dear. He’s a friend to all of you, and I look forward to getting to know him better.” She handed Emma her cup.

  “How is it you’re the only one running into him?” Esther asked as Emma took a seat beside Grace.

  “Both times I’ve seen him at the trolley stop, so I suppose he’s patrolling in our area on those days.”

  “Probably.”

  “He’s very handsome, isn’t he?” Grace asked.

  “Grace, are you sweet on Sam?” Emma teased.

  “Oh my goodness, no. He’s much too old for me. And Esther is spoken for. But you aren’t. He’d make a fine husband, I’d think.”

  “Oh Grace! I’m not looking for a husband at present, although I would like to marry one day. Besides, Sam is probably still grieving the death of his wife. And furthermore, I don’t like him being a cop, as you well know.”

  Grace shrugged. “It was just a thought. I’m happy that he’s still our friend.”

  “Yes, so am I,” Esther said. “Don’t worry, Emma, we won’t try to matchmake.”

  “I would certainly hope not.”

  “Emma doesn’t need anyone to matchmake for her besides the Lord,” Mrs. Holloway said. “He’ll bring the right person into her life when the time is best.”

  Emma sighed, appreciative for the intervention. “Thank you, Mrs. Holloway.” It wasn’t that Sam wasn’t someone she could be interested in. It was that she didn’t want to lose her heart to him. His job was too dangerous in too many ways; and besides, she truly didn’t want to come in second to his deceased wife. She wanted to be the love of her husband’s life—not the one he settled for after losing her.

  Still, once she went up to change for dinner, she dressed with care. She at least wanted Sam to think of her as a woman now and not the young adolescent he’d known at the orphanage.

  She chose a blue-and-green-striped dress that brought out the green flecks in her eyes, and she took extra time with her hair, putting it up in a neat chignon she’d just recently learned to do. She pinched her cheeks to give them more color and brushed her eyebrows to form a neat arch. She bit her lips lightly to give them some color and finally decided she’d have to do.

  “You look very nice, Emma,” Esther said, coming out of her room at the same time. “Mrs. Holloway is right. You don’t need us to matchmake for you. I’m sure you’ll have several potential beaus calling before very long.”

  “You know, I’ve mentioned that I want to get married instead of going off to school and having a career like you do—of course, you’re managing to do both—but I do like my job as a telephone operator, and I’m not in a huge hurry to marry,” Emma said as they headed down the staircase. “I know I don’t want to marry just for the sake of being married. I want true love like you and Andrew have.”

  “I know you do. And you’ll have it, of that I’m sure. Just don’t settle for anything else.”

  “I don’t intend to. But right now, I’m just anxious for you and Grace to hear what Sam has to say. He’s got some great ideas about helping at the orphanage.”

  “I’m looking forward to hearing them,” Esther said as they entered the parlor where Andrew and his aunt awaited them.

  “What is it you want to hear, my love?” Andrew asked as he crossed the room to place a light kiss on Esther’s cheek.

  Emma smiled at the way Esther always blushed when he kissed her in front of family. Oh yes, she wanted a love like theirs, and she’d wait however long it took to find it.

  “Sam is coming to talk to us about some ideas he has for the orphanage. Did Mrs. Holloway tell you?”

  “I only had time to tell him that Mr. Tucker was coming for dinner before you came in, dear,” Mrs. Holloway explained.

  “I’m curious to hear what he has to say,” said Andrew. “I must admit that I have a soft spot for the orphanage since the first time I visited there with all of you. Mrs. Robertson is doing a fine job, but it can’t be easy, and I’m sure she could use help in all kinds of ways.”

  Jones appeared at the door. “Mr. Tucker is here, Mrs. Holloway.”

  “Please show him in, Jones,” Mrs. Holloway said.

  Sam entered dressed in a nice suit, something Emma had never seen him in. He looked quite distinguished all dressed up, although she thought she liked him in his uniform even more—much as she wished it were one other than a policeman’s.

  “Good evening, Mr. Tucker,” Mrs. Holloway said.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Holloway, Dr. Radcliff, and—”

  Grace giggled. “Good evening, Sam. You don’t have to say all our names, but it’s good to know you have those kinds of manners.”

  “Unlike you, Grace. You seem to have forgotten yours. You should have let him finish,” Esther teased with a twinkle in her eyes. “I’m afraid she’s gotten lax with her manners, Sam. But it is good to see you.”

  Mrs. Holloway laughed. “Now you see why I enjoy these girls so. They’ve taken the stuffiness right out of this house.”

  “Dinner is ready whenever you are, ma’am,” Jones said.

  “We’re ready. I’m glad you’ve joined us tonight, Mr. Tucker,” Mrs. Holloway said.

  “Please, ma’am. Call me Sam. May I escort you to the dining room?”

  “Please do, Sam.” She smiled and took the arm he proffered.

  six

  Sam seated Mrs. Holloway, and then himself at the seat she’d pointed out was his, which happened to be right next to Emma’s. He didn’t think he’d ever eaten in a dining room as nice as this one. At first he felt a little out of place, and then he realized that his old friends had adjusted to living here—surely he could get through a meal without totally embarrassing himself.

  “Sam, Emma tells us you have some plans pertaining to the orphanage you’d like to talk about. I’m eager to hear them,” Andrew said once they’d been served and he’d said th
e blessing.

  “I do. I’m going to be helping with some of the young men who’ll be leaving before too long. Mrs. Robertson and I thought that it would be good for someone who was raised there and has gotten out on his own and started working to help prepare them for their new lives.”

  “That’s a really good idea, Sam. It must be very difficult to start a new life when you don’t really know what to expect,” Andrew said.

  “That’s it exactly. And it’s equally hard for both boys and girls. That’s why I thought Emma, Esther, and Grace might want to try to help, too.”

  “I’m not old enough to help in that way,” Grace said.

  “Oh, but if you keep your friendships intact as you are trying to do,” Sam said, “you will be a huge help to the girls you’re friends with when it’s time for them to leave.”

  “I suppose.”

  “And Emma is out working now. She knows what it’s like to be an employee and what is expected of her. The girls about to get out on their own don’t know any of that.”

  “That’s true,” Emma said.

  “And Esther is living her dream. They need to see that their dreams can come true, too.”

  Esther nodded. “I think you’ve come up with a wonderful idea, Sam. We have tried to keep in touch, but we need to do more.”

  “There might be other ways we could help,” Andrew said. “I’d like to offer my services for free when one of the orphans gets sick. I’m sure Mrs. Robertson has other physicians she can call, but I’d like to be added to the list.”

  “I’m sure she’d be glad to have another doctor to call on,” Sam said. “I’m also hoping to help some of those kids learn to trust me—even when I’m in uniform.”

  “Looked at you a little warily, did they?”

  “No. They haven’t seen me in uniform yet. And I only saw Walter the night I went to talk to Mrs. Robertson, and he recognized me. Then when I went to supper to talk to them about it, I wasn’t in uniform that time. I’m hoping that by the time they do see me dressed for work, it won’t matter.”

  “What did they think of the plan?” Mrs. Holloway asked.

  “They’re very excited about it. We haven’t said anything to the girls yet because Mrs. Robertson asked me to run it by all of you first and see if it is something you’d like to help with. As she told me—we can’t just start it and disappear. It has to be something we’re willing to commit to. At least with this group of young people.”

  “Oh, of course we’d have to keep it up,” Emma said. “Quitting would be worse than not doing anything at all.”

  “Looks like we have some planning to do, then,” Sam said.

  “Please feel free to use my home at any time for your planning meetings,” Mrs. Holloway said. “It could be that I could come up with a few ideas, too.”

  “I’m certain you could, Aunt Miriam,” Andrew said.

  “Could we begin tonight so that I can let Mrs. Robertson know what our plans are?” Sam asked.

  “I don’t know why not,” Mrs. Holloway said.

  “Let’s start right after dinner,” Emma suggested.

  Sam grinned. He’d prayed they’d come through for him, and they had. He sent up a silent prayer of thanksgiving for those answered prayers.

  ❧

  Over the next few hours they decided that it might be better to have their planning meetings at the same time once every two weeks, but they’d meet separately with the older children at the orphanage.

  Then once a month they’d all try to go on an outing together so that both young men and young women would get to know each other a little better and want to stay in contact—especially during that first year on their own.

  “I think it is a great plan,” Emma said. “I don’t know many who have kept in touch, and that is a shame. Esther, Grace, and I have been blessed to be able to stay together from the beginning. At least we’ve always had each other.”

  “If we can help some of them remain friends and be there for each other, we will accomplish a lot.” Esther said.

  “And you never know. Some of them might end up getting married,” Grace said.

  “She’s been in a matchmaking mood lately. She must be reading too many romantic novels,” Esther said with a smile.

  “Well, they might,” Grace insisted.

  “It’s actually a good idea, Grace. If not that they might marry, but for the fact that they will have a circle of friends they can turn to,” Sam said.

  “Thank you, Sam.” Grace gave a “so there” kind of grin at Esther, eliciting laughter around the table.

  “I think the whole idea is a good one,” Mrs. Holloway said. “I’m sure that Mrs. Robertson will be very happy with it.”

  “I hope so,” Sam said. “Mostly, I hope it truly will help those young people about to be responsible for themselves very soon.”

  “You know, if any of the girls shows an aptitude for office skills, I could use a receptionist,” Andrew said.

  “Oh Andrew, that is a wonderful idea. Your patient list is getting longer all the time and it would free your nurse up if you had someone to take care of the office,” Esther said.

  “We’ll find out.”

  “I wouldn’t mind having that job. But I suppose I need to finish school first,” Grace said.

  “Yes ma’am, you do,” Emma said to her little sister.

  “I’m sure we’ll find you something you love to do by then, Grace. I thought you might want to be a librarian,” Andrew suggested.

  Grace caught her breath and let it out slowly. “You know that would be the perfect career for me. Books everywhere. I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”

  “Unless it would be to write your own book,” Emma said.

  “Ohh. Do you think I could?”

  “If I can become a pharmacist, you could certainly become an author,” Esther said.

  “I think I might just do that.”

  “And I think you should,” Emma said.

  Sam loved the way the three girls interacted with each other. He wished he’d had a sibling or any kind of family at all.

  “I think it’s all going to work out fine. But I’m glad that you’ll all get together at least several times a month to talk to each other about how things are going,” Mrs. Holloway said. “Sam, you are welcome here for dinner any night you’d like, but in addition to that, why don’t you all plan on being here on your meeting nights, and after dinner you can discuss how the meetings with your young people went and what might need to be done next.”

  “Why, thank you, Mrs. Holloway. I appreciate that. It does get tiresome eating alone. And I appreciate being able to meet here.” He liked that idea very much. Not only would it be good for planning—it would give him someplace to be, people he cared about to be with.

  He knew he’d been lonely, but he didn’t realize quite how much until he’d reconnected with Esther and her cousins.

  “I think that is a very good idea, Aunt Miriam,” Andrew said. “What night would work for all of you?”

  “Actually, since Mrs. Holloway is offering the use of her home, we should let her decide,” Emma said.

  Mrs. Holloway thought for a moment. “Well, Sam, I know that you do change shifts some—what would work best for you?”

  “I do change shifts every other week. I’m on days this week, so I will be on nights the next, but right now my day off is on Sunday. I’m hoping to keep it that way so that I can attend church.”

  “All right then, why don’t we have a Sunday night supper?”

  “Would that work for everyone?”

  “It should,” Andrew said. “I might be called out on an emergency, but otherwise I can’t see why it wouldn’t work for me. What about the rest of you?”

  “Thankfully I’m not working nights, so it will work for me,” Emma said.

  “Me, too,” Esther added.

  “We all know any night will work for me,” Grace said. “I like the idea of a Sunday night supper though.�
�

  “So do I. Perhaps I could ask Mr. Collins to join us?” Mrs. Holloway suggested.

  “Mr. Collins?” Sam asked.

  “He owns Collins Pharmacy. I’m doing my apprenticeship under him,” Esther said.

  “And he’s a special friend of Mrs. Holloway’s,” Grace said. “We all like him very much.”

  “I think Mrs. Holloway should be able to ask anyone she wishes to,” Sam said.

  “Good, then, would you like to start this Sunday?”

  Everyone agreed to begin as soon as possible.

  “I’ll speak to Mrs. Robertson and let her know everyone is on board with helping,” Sam said.

  “You may invite her on Sunday, too, if she’s available, Sam,” Mrs. Holloway offered.

  “I’ll let her know.”

  By the time Sam left that evening, Emma was excited about the plans they’d made to help the other orphans. She walked him to the door.

  “Thank you for asking me to dinner, Emma. I’m so glad everyone liked my ideas.”

  “I am, too. It will feel good to be doing something to help other orphans. And we know what it is they need to know.”

  Sam nodded. “Mostly they need to know someone cares enough to make things easier for them.”

  Emma nodded. “And the three of us are so fortunate that Mrs. Holloway came along. I hope the others don’t resent us because we haven’t had to be totally on our own.”

  “They might not have a Mrs. Holloway in their lives, Emma, but neither are they going to be totally on their own. Not with our support. Oh, they may not have a fine home to live in, but they will have us to turn to.”

  Emma nodded. She hoped the young people would accept the friendship they’d offer and realize that she and Grace and Esther truly wanted to help them. She followed Sam out the door.

  He turned to her. “I suppose I’ll see you Sunday night, if not before?”

  “Yes. I think Mrs. Holloway is almost as excited about it as we are,” Emma said.

  “Good, she deserves to be part of it, too. If anyone knows how to make a difference in the life of an orphan, she does.”

  Emma smiled. “That is so true, she does. I’m glad we’re going to be meeting at the house.”