Made for Each Other

by Irene Brand

  Jacob approached and asked with concern, “No Samantha?”

  Smiling, Aimee said, “No, she’s here. She didn’t argue about coming. She’s helping Erica take some items to the annex.”

  Happiness filled Aimee’s heart and they chatted briefly as she waited for Samantha and Erica. Jacob greeted Samantha, expressing his pleasure at seeing her again. He introduced Samantha to another girl just entering the foyer with her parents.

  “Come and sit with me and friends,” the girl invited.

  “Is that okay, Mom?” Samantha asked.

  “Sure. We’ll find you when the service is over.”

  As Samantha and the girl hurried away, Aimee turned to Jacob. “Thank you,” she said.

  Their eyes clung for a brief, breathless moment before she entered the sanctuary with Erica.

  Erica hadn’t missed the silent greeting between Aimee and Jacob. She slanted an amused look from one to other, but she held her tongue, which Aimee considered a miracle and a departure from Erica’s usual forthright manner. Then, as they walked down the aisle, Erica said, “It may be that you’re the one who’s going to force Mr. Hard-to-Get out of his shell.”

  Frowning at her, Aimee looked around quickly to see if anyone was close enough to have overheard Erica’s remark.

  “Hush! I don’t want everyone talking.”

  Erica whispered, “I’ll be quiet now, but I expect some details. Don’t forget, I’m the one who introduced you. That should give me some priority treatment.”

  Aimee hadn’t mentioned her dinner date with Jacob to anyone, and she intended to keep it to herself until the next day. Until she could interpret her feelings for him, she didn’t want Erica quizzing her.

  Once they were seated, Erica turned her attention to the bulletin. She took out several sheets of paper, complaining, “I wish they’d stop putting this stuff in the bulletins. Half of them end up being left in the pews for the custodian to clean up.”

  “I’m sure they must be of interest to someone,” Aimee said. “This one, for instance.”

  Aimee looked closely at a four-fold brochure with ATTENTION LADIES emblazoned in bold letters across the top. “It’s for a women’s conference the first weekend in May,” she said. “I wonder if I should go.”

  She pointed to the questions on the front.

  Has your life suddenly changed direction?

  Is your faith weak?

  Do you have conflicting emotions and questions about the future?

  Do you want to find God’s will for your life?

  If your answers to these questions are yes, register for the Spiritual Growth Conference at Camp Serenity the third weekend in May.

  The organist’s call to worship reached the final crescendo, and the worship leader stepped to the podium, but Erica whispered, “I’ve only gone once, but it’s worth the time and money. I’ll go with you if you decide to attend.”

  “We’ll see,” Aimee whispered and turned her mind to the service.

  After the benediction, when they waited until Samantha joined them, Erica headed for the side entrance, and Aimee made no objection, for she preferred to avoid the foyer and crowds. Besides, Jacob was becoming a distraction to her peace of mind. She’d have time enough with him tomorrow night.

  “How’d it go?” Erica asked Samantha when they reached the car.

  “Okay. I met some cool kids.”

  When they got home, Samantha thanked Erica for the ride and hurried into the house.

  Erica didn’t know that Jacob had visited her last week, and Aimee had been too distressed about what had happened to talk about it. Before she got out of the car, she briefly sketched Samantha’s behavior and how she had dealt with it.

  “Want some advice?” Erica asked.

  “No.”

  Laughing, Erica said, “That won’t stop me from giving some. You are doing the right thing for yourself and Samantha to start having your own life. But you should keep reassuring her that she’s not losing you.”

  “I agree, but I need to stand up to her, too,” Aimee agreed. “I can already see some change in her. I take most of the blame. I’ve babied her too much, so I have to change also.”

  “Neither one of you will change overnight. Take it from a woman who raised two daughters. There will always be something cropping up that you’ll have to deal with—even after they’re away from home like mine are.”

  “Just so you’re the first to know,” Aimee said lightly, “I’ll tell you that Jacob and I have a date tomorrow night.”

  A wide grin spread across Erica’s face, only to be replaced by a frown. “But don’t read too much into that,” she warned. “Remember, he’s dated other women, but not for long. I’ll feel responsible if he dates you for a few times and then dumps you.”

  Frowning at her friend, Aimee said, “Give me credit for having some smarts. If Jacob treats me that way, don’t you think I’d know I was better off without him?”

  “Sure you would.” She grimaced. “But I just can’t help giving advice.”

  Erica picked up her Bible, purse and bulletin from the car seat. The leaflet about the spiritual growth conference fell out.

  “I hope you’ll consider going to this conference with me,” Erica said. “This has been a stressful year at work, and I need some time away from the daily grind.”

  “When do I have to decide?” Aimee asked.

  Glancing at the brochure, Erica said, “May 5, so we have to make up our minds this week. The retreat starts the third Friday evening in May with dinner and ends Sunday after breakfast.”

  “I’ll see if Samantha will spend the weekend with Mother and Daddy. She usually doesn’t need any urging to go to the farm. If she’ll stay with my parents that weekend, I’ll attend the conference.”

  Since Jacob hadn’t indicated where they would eat, Aimee thought she might be overdressed for their dinner date. If Samantha resented her going out with Jacob, she didn’t say so, and she didn’t come upstairs when he arrived. He was wearing a suit and tie, so Aimee knew her clothes were all right.

  “You look fantastic!” he murmured.

  “I could return the compliment,” she said quietly.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  “Just as soon as I grab a coat.”

  “I’ve made reservations at the Pines Restaurant,” Jacob said as they left the house. “I hope you like their food. I should have asked what you like.”

  “I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard it’s an excellent place to eat, and I like most foods. When we eat out, it’s usually where they sell burgers or hot dogs, so this is a real treat.”

  The restaurant was located on the first floor of an antebellum home, which in earlier days had been the focal point of a large plantation. The driveway was lined with pine trees, and as Jacob drove slowly into the grounds and into the parking lot, it seemed as if they left the modern world behind them. Twilight was falling and candles shone in all the windows. When they reached the four-columned veranda, the door opened and a smiling hostess, dressed in a gray silk dress with a billowing hoop, opened the door and welcomed them to the restaurant.

  “This way,” she said and turned from the wide hallway into a large room to the right, which Aimee thought must have been the parlor when the house was a private home. The light from the electric candles in the century-old crystal chandelier cast a warm glow around the room.

  After they’d placed their order, Jacob leaned back in his chair and searched her face, a glint of wonder shining from his brilliant dark eyes. His steady gaze discomfited her, and self-consciously, she touched her face and her hair, asking, “Why are you staring? Did I forget makeup or is my hair a mess?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was staring,” he apologized. “I guess I’m just happy that we have a chance to get better acquainted. I think about you a lot. I’m sure you’ve had many opportunities, yet you told me that you haven’t dated since your husband’s death. Maybe I’m getting too personal, but d
o you mind if I ask why?”

  “It’s all right to ask, but I don’t necessarily have an answer,” Aimee replied after a moment’s hesitation. Was she really ready to share her personal experiences with Jacob? “Since I had to be father and mother both, I took seriously my role as a single parent and devoted all my time to Samantha. Then, too, Steve had provided a nice income for us through insurance and investments. I think I didn’t want to be living at his expense and dating someone else. I suppose the bottom line is that I wasn’t interested in dating.”

  She stopped short of telling him about her fears of sharing the intimacies of marriage. It wasn’t something she wanted to tell anyone, certainly not Jacob.

  “Apparently you’ve changed your mind,” he said with a grin and a significant lifting of his eyebrows.

  “The fact that I’m out with you should be the answer,” she said lightly.

  “I’m flattered, but I wonder why I’m the lucky guy.”

  “You know, I sort of wonder, too,” Aimee remarked slowly. “I like you, and maybe I just happened to meet you at the right time. Now that Samantha doesn’t want me to be involved in all of her activities, I have time to follow my personal interests.”

  He reached out his hand, and she placed hers in it. “Thanks for leveling with me. I’m happy I was around when you decided to get a new life.”

  “Me, too.” Believing it was time to take the focus off her before he asked questions she didn’t want to answer, Aimee said, “How was your day?”

  “Busy. It’s hard sometimes to balance my counseling work with the Siblings commitments and other things I like to do. But I thank God I have a good practice, which supports me and also gives me the opportunity to be involved in humanitarian activities like Siblings and civic affairs. I’m really enjoying being associated with the bicentennial committee. I’m learning things about our city I never knew before. Besides, it’s a break from the heavier stuff. We had a meeting at three o’clock today.”

  “Any new plans?”

  “Not really, but we made some final decisions on matters we’ve been discussing for months. We’re going to run several TV and newspaper ads encouraging residents to invite their families from other areas to the celebration, and we’re asking local graduates from the various schools to send invitations to their alumni who no longer live in Benton. I agreed to help the committee keep track of previous alumni who respond.”

  “Did you make any more decisions about the memorial to the teacher you mentioned?”

  Jacob waited while the waitress placed their entrées on the table before he answered.

  “Oh, you mean David Harwood. Nothing new, but I will be presenting the plaque and giving a short eulogy after all. The plaque will placed permanently in the office of the board of education.”

  They chatted lightly during the leisurely meal, and Aimee felt more at ease now that they weren’t discussing private things.

  When they left the restaurant, a half moon shed its pale light around the area, and before Jacob opened the car door for her, he hugged her to him. A smile of enchantment touched his lips. “This is the most pleasant evening I’ve enjoyed for a long time. We’ll have to come here again.”

  “Thanks. I’d love that.”

  A car pulled in beside them, breaking the tender moment. Jacob sighed, released Aimee and opened the car door. They arrived at the theater in time for the eight-thirty showing. It seemed natural to Aimee for them to hold hands as they watched the tragic story of a college that had lost the majority of its football team and coaches in a plane wreck. The efforts of the college administration and coaches to rebuild their football program, and the odds they overcame, were encouraging to her as she contemplated living her life without Samantha as the focal point.

  When they returned to the car, Jacob moved across the seat until he was close enough to Aimee to put his arm around her. From the dim light in the parking lot, she could see his eyes shining down at her. Her pulse pounded, and her heart gave a panic-stricken lurch as he lowered his face to hers. Her eyes automatically closed as his nearness wrapped around her like a warm blanket.

  But when his face came closer and she felt his soft gentle breath on her face, her eyes flew open of their own accord. She pushed him away.

  “No, Jacob, we’re rushing things. This is going way too fast for me.” She moved away until her back was against the car door.

  “I only wanted to kiss you,” he said quietly, but he started the car and drove out of the parking lot.

  She scanned his face, distressed by his tense expression. They traveled to her home in silence, and Aimee didn’t know what to say or do. She hadn’t meant to get so close so soon, or maybe she had. Should she apologize?

  How could she tell him that she wanted him to kiss her, but the way she was reacting to his embrace scared her? Not that she was afraid of Jacob, but of her own emotions.

  When Jacob parked in front of her house, they turned toward each other, and almost simultaneously, the words came from both of their lips, “I’m sorry…”

  Aimee was silent as Jacob continued, “Sorry that I ruined our evening. We were having such a good time.”

  “I don’t consider it ruined,” Aimee said, hoping she could ease the hurt in Jacob’s eyes. “I need to come to terms with a few hang-ups in my emotional life before I get too close to anyone again.” She laid her hand on his arm. “Believe me, it doesn’t have anything to do with you personally. Thanks for the good dinner and the movie.”

  She hugged him briefly, then opened the car door and stepped out before he could turn off the engine. Knowing that he was watching her, Aimee tried to walk sedately, when what she wanted to do was bolt into the house, go to her bedroom and try to figure out what had happened to her. She unlocked the door and waved to Jacob as he drove away.

  The house was quiet and Samantha was asleep with the night-light on in her room. Aimee undressed and went to bed, but she couldn’t go to sleep. She kept wondering what it would have been like to be kissed by Jacob, and if she’d missed her only chance to find out.

  Several times during the week when the phone rang, if Aimee answered, Samantha would hang around to see who was calling. Once on the way to school, when Aimee paused at a stoplight, she had asked, “Do you have another date with Mr. Mallory this week?”

  Aimee had kept her eyes on the traffic and answered easily, “No,” but she gave no explanation. Perhaps she should tell Samantha that she didn’t have to worry about her mother seeing Jacob again, but Aimee wasn’t ready to promise that.

  Chapter Eight

  Rejected again! The words rolled over and over in Jacob’s mind as he drove home. He had hoped that he’d finally dealt with the pain he’d experienced when Megan Russell had been unfaithful to him, apparently loving another man more than she did him. Obviously, he hadn’t. Now Aimee had rejected him, and that hurt seemed worse than what his parents and his fiancée had done to him.

  Jacob hadn’t told Gran that he was going out with Aimee, and as he ran the next morning, he decided not to tell her. She had given up encouraging him to marry, and he hadn’t wanted her to get her hopes up again. Besides, he didn’t know that he wanted to marry anyone, although he had started thinking about it after he met Aimee. He had thought that he could be happy with her, but she apparently wasn’t interested in him as much as he was in her.

  Thinking about the rift between himself and Aimee led him to think about his father once again. He knew nothing of his paternal family. If he were ever to seriously consider marriage, he should learn something about his background. Although his short-lived relationship with Aimee may be over, that didn’t mean he might not find someone else who interested him. After his run was finished, he went into the main house to see his grandmother, who was listening to the morning news on television. She turned off the TV, always ready to talk to her grandson.

  “Sit down,” she invited.

  “Not now. I have an early appointment, and I need to leave in an hou
r, but I’ve been thinking about my father. I’ve never been interested in knowing anything about him, but I suppose I should find out about him for health reasons. Based on what you know about him, should I try to find him?”

  “Yes. Your father was a personable young man—certainly no one for you to be ashamed of. I agree that you should know something about your ancestry, but I can’t be much help. Your parents married secretly, and I didn’t know about the marriage until you were on the way.”

  “Do you suppose it was a marriage of necessity because Mom was pregnant?” he asked hesitantly, dreading the answer. “Maybe he was forced into the marriage and that’s why he took off.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. Your mother kept a framed copy of the wedding certificate in her room, and they had been married almost a year when you were born. I saw your father once. He came home with Marybeth when my husband died. As far as I could tell, they were in love. He seemed like a nice guy to me, and I couldn’t believe that he just walked off and left her.”

  “Mother wouldn’t talk to me about him.”

  “I know,” Gran said sympathetically. “Marybeth didn’t mention his name after she came home. After her death, I packed away a box of things I thought you might want someday. They’re yours whenever you’re ready for them.”

  “At long last, I think I’m ready to deal with the past,” Jacob said wryly. “I have to hurry now, but I’ll get the box later and look through it.” He leaned over and kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “Thanks again for all you’ve done for me, Gran. It’s hard to find the words to tell you how much I appreciate you.”

  She patted his cheek. “It’s been a pleasure. You know that!”

  That evening when he came home from work, before he went to his apartment, Jacob went into the main house. He found his grandmother in the kitchen. “I have a free evening,” he said, “so I might as well take that box now.”

  “It’s upstairs in Marybeth’s room,” Gran said, adding, “I got it out of the closet, but it’s rather heavy, so I left it for you to carry down.”