Made for Each Other

by Irene Brand

  He kissed her again. “You’ve made me very happy tonight. I’ll leave now, but one of these days we’re going to have some time for ourselves, and I’ll find the right words to tell you what you mean to me.”

  “Mr. Mallory,” Samantha said when Jacob answered his phone. “This is Samantha Blake. Mom’s birthday is the first day of June. She’ll be thirty-five. Erica and Grammy are helping me plan a surprise dinner for her.”

  Jacob smiled. He didn’t know if Aimee would be happy to have her daughter sharing such personal information, but the fact that Samantha was including him seemed to indicate that she was slowly accepting him as a part of Aimee’s life. “Sound like a good thing to do,” he said.

  “If we have it on Saturday night, it will be more of a surprise.”

  “That’s true. Sundays are busy, too,” he commented.

  “Well, I want to invite you. Can you make it?”

  Without checking his calendar, Jacob didn’t know if he already had a commitment for the first day of June, but if he did he’d cancel it. Obviously, Samantha was thawing in her attitude toward him, and he intended to capitalize on it. “I’m free that evening. What time?”

  “At six.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out,” Jacob said.

  “Erica is doing most of the work,” Samantha admitted. “I’ve invited Chloe Spencer. Would you bring her with you? That would be seven of us. Erica says that’s enough for the size of our dining-room table.”

  “I’ll be glad to bring Chloe,” Jacob agreed readily. “It’s thoughtful of you to do this for your mother.”

  “I know,” she said complacently, and again Jacob stifled a shout of laughter. “But really it was Erica who suggested it. See ya.”

  Regardless of whose idea it had been originally, Jacob knew that Aimee would regard the dinner as a breakthrough in her relationship with Samantha, and Jacob was pleased with anything that made Aimee happy.

  He gave a lot of thought to a gift. Deciding that flowers were always appropriate, he ordered a dozen pink roses. On Saturday night when he went to pick up Chloe, she answered his knock, holding a wrapped package and looking excited. “This is gonna be so fun,” she said.

  Mrs. Slater came to the door with the aid of a cane. “Thanks for stopping by for her,” she said. With a fond look at Chloe, she added, “I’ve never seen her so excited. Your Substitute Siblings organization has made a change in her life.”

  “Thank you. That’s the kind of comment I like to hear,” he said.

  “It’s true,” Mrs. Slater said. “I hear many good reports from people you’ve helped.”

  As they drove toward Aimee’s home, Chloe chattered about events at school, and Jacob compared how quiet and timid she’d been when he and Aimee had first met her with how she was today. The association between Chloe and Aimee had been good for both of them.

  Samantha met them at the door, held her fingers to her lips and hurried them into the family room. “Mom doesn’t know that the two of you are here,” she whispered. “She’ll be totally freaked out.”

  Jacob figured that was probably an understatement considering Samantha’s earlier reaction to Chloe and him.

  A man, probably in his sixties, approached Jacob with outstretched hand. “I’m Ed Ross, Aimee’s father. And you are…”

  “Jacob Mallory, Aimee’s friend. Erica introduced us a few months ago.”

  “Glad to meet you, Jacob. You’ll meet my wife, Martha, soon. She and Erica are making last-minute preparations for our dinner.”

  Jacob introduced Chloe. “She and Aimee are paired together in Substitute Siblings.”

  Jacob heard a door close and Samantha stuck her head out into the hall. She looked around at them, her dark-lashed gray eyes bright with excitement.

  “Here she comes,” she said in a stage whisper. With one eye still on the hallway, she lifted her hands as if she were an orchestra leader. She pumped her arms. “Now!”

  Their loud “Happy Birthday” brought Erica and Martha from the dining room. In a strong bass voice, Ed started singing, “Happy birthday to you.”

  While they sang, Aimee moved from one to the other, hugging them. Since everyone else was being hugged, Aimee hugged Jacob, too, and throughout the dinner, he wondered how much Aimee’s parents knew about their relationship.

  “We’ll eat first and open gifts later,” Erica said. She took the floral box from the small table where Jacob had laid it. “Unless these should be in water.”

  “I just picked them up, but they’re probably better off in some water.”

  Aimee lifted out the long-stemmed flowers and placed them in the vase Jacob handed her. “This is a gift from Gran,” he added.

  “How nice of her!” Aimee said. Erica took the flowers and placed them on the shelf of the bay window in the family room.

  After the meal, Martha and Erica served cake and ice cream in the family room while Aimee opened the rest of her gifts. Her parents had bought her a denim suit. She received a gift certificate for a massage from Erica. Samantha had bought a set of hand and body lotions. Chloe squirmed in her seat, and her face flushed when Aimee started opening her gift—a knitted neck scarf her grandmother had made. While he watched Aimee’s pleasure in the attention she was receiving, Jacob anticipated a time when he could buy many gifts for her.

  Aimee was delighted that Jacob had been invited to the party, but she couldn’t show the extent of her excitement because she didn’t want her mother to get any ideas. But the fact that Samantha had invited both Chloe and Jacob, Aimee felt, was definitely a step in the right direction. Still, Aimee didn’t know if Samantha was willing yet for anything more than friendship between her mother and Jacob.

  And she didn’t want her parents to have even a hint of how much she thought of him. Her mother was pretty shrewd, especially where her daughter was concerned, so she knew it would be hard to fool her. Plus, Jacob fit so well into the family gathering. He and her father had no difficulty finding a common thread of conversation, for it seemed that Jacob’s grandfather had owned a farm where Jacob had spent most of his summers when he was a boy.

  And she couldn’t see a bit of condescension in Samantha’s attitude toward Chloe, which made her wonder if they visited some at school. Jennifer was still unable to attend classes, and although she was much better, the doctor advised that she should avoid crowds for a few more weeks. Samantha talked to Jennifer frequently, and she had visited Jennifer at home a few times, but Aimee thought that the breakup of the threesome for a few weeks was giving Samantha time to make new friends.

  Jacob and Chloe left before the others, and Aimee walked to the door with them. She hugged Chloe and thanked her for coming, asking her to thank Mrs. Slater for the gift. Jacob squeezed her hand. “See you at church tomorrow,” he said.

  “Jacob seems like a fine man,” Martha said as soon as Aimee returned to the family room.

  “He is,” she agreed. “He’s active in his church, and he has a good counseling practice. Also, he’s involved in civic affairs.”

  “I can’t imagine how a man like that has escaped being married. Or is he divorced?” Martha continued. Aimee was conscious that Samantha listened intently to the conversation.

  Perhaps hoping to spare Aimee from getting too involved, Erica said, “He’s never married.” But she apparently couldn’t resist teasing Aimee, for she slanted a look in her direction. “But maybe that’s because he hasn’t found the right woman before.”

  Aimee frowned at her and changed the conversation. “This dinner was really a nice surprise. I feel pampered tonight. It’s worth turning a year older to receive so much attention. I liked all of my gifts.”

  Ed bent his long frame from the chair he’d been sitting in. “It’s time to head home, Martha. It’s my turn to open the church tomorrow and check the heating system.”

  “Take some of the cake with you,” Aimee said. “There’s more left than Samantha and I can eat.”

  “I w
ill,” Aimee’s mother said, “but don’t think this conversation is finished. I expect to hear all about Jacob when you call me this week.”

  The time passed more quickly than Jacob had anticipated, and when he woke up on the day his grandparents were arriving, he was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.

  Since they’d chosen a Saturday, Jacob didn’t have to make any changes in his counseling schedule. Gran had insisted that he invite the Mallorys to her home.

  “I’ll have food prepared, and if they should be here at mealtime, I can serve something without any trouble.”

  When Jacob talked to Aimee the night before his grandparents came, she asked, “How do you feel about it?”

  “It’s hard to say. I’ve found it difficult to forgive my father because he deserted my mother and me. Because Mother wouldn’t tell me why he left, I imagined all kinds of reasons why he didn’t want me.”

  “At least you’ll have some of the mystery solved after tomorrow,” Aimee assured him.

  “I hope so,” he answered slowly. “I only pray that what I hear will bring closure to a lot of my frustrations. It hasn’t been pleasant going through life with this mystery hanging over me.”

  “I’ll be praying for you,” Aimee said.

  “I’ll count on that.”

  Soon after he hung up from talking to Aimee, the phone rang again, and it was Andrew Mallory.

  “Judging from where we are now,” Mr. Mallory said, “we should arrive in Benton around one o’clock tomorrow. Will that be a convenient time for you?”

  “Yes, I’ll be on the lookout for you.”

  Because he knew that Mr. Mallory had GPS in his car, Jacob gave them the street address, adding, “I live in an apartment above Gran’s garage. Since she wants to meet you, too, we can visit in her living room. And she has lunch prepared for us.”

  Mallory thanked him and said he was looking forward to seeing him. But Jacob couldn’t detect any warmth in his voice, and he wondered again just why they were coming. If they weren’t convinced that he was their grandson, would they have bothered?

  He dialed Gran’s number. “I just had the call. They will be here at one o’clock tomorrow. I couldn’t tell by his voice whether this is a duty call or if he really wants to meet me. After all these years, I can’t imagine why they started looking for me.”

  “This time tomorrow, we’ll know,” Gran said. “Try to rest.”

  The next morning after Jacob showered and dressed for the day, out of habit he picked up the Bible from the nightstand. He knew that his unforgiving attitude toward his father and Megan had hindered his spiritual growth for years. Every Sunday in worship service, at the end of the pastoral prayer, he had joined the congregation in praying the prayer Jesus had taught His disciples.

  Over and over, he had mouthed the words And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, knowing that he hadn’t forgiven others. He would see his assumed paternal grandparents soon, and in a few weeks he might see Megan. Wasn’t it time to deal with his failure to forgive? When he learned why his father had abandoned him, the reason might be even worse than he’d imagined. Perhaps so bad, he wouldn’t want to forgive. He couldn’t wait until he knew the reason his father had rejected him before he dealt with his own attitude.

  Jacob knelt by his chair, his head in his hands. “Father,” he prayed in a tearful voice, “I’ve been miserable for years. As of now, I’m giving up the anger, the humiliation and sorrow of what my father and Megan did to me. I forgive them just as You’ve forgiven me of my sins.”

  As he prayed, Jacob felt the cleansing wave of the Spirit touching his heart and life, wiping away the misery of the past and opening a bright and shining door to the future. Either good or bad, he was committed to the future, not to the past. Without any dread, he left the apartment and went downstairs, eager to learn what the Mallorys had to tell him.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Too excited to do anything constructive, he went to Gran’s home, paced the floor and finally sat by a window that faced the street and waited. When a four-door sedan with two passengers pulled up alongside the curb, he uttered a silent prayer for direction. Getting up from the chair, he called, “They’re here, Gran.”

  He breathed rapidly as he opened the front door and hurried down the walk. A white-haired heavyset man, probably in his seventies, stepped out on the sidewalk, rounded the car and opened the passenger door. A tall woman got out of the car. Her straight hair must have been blond at one time, but now it was gray and fell to her shoulders.

  When Jacob reached the car, the woman walked close to him and silently scanned his face. Her eyes misted over. She threw her arms around Jacob and sobbed.

  Whatever Jacob had expected, he hadn’t thought he would be greeted like this. His startled eyes met those of the man who must be his grandfather.

  “I’m Andrew Mallory, and this is my wife, Elizabeth.” He took his wife’s arm and eased her away from Jacob. “It’s all right, dear,” he said kindly.

  “Welcome to Benton. Won’t you come in, please,” Jacob added in a shaky voice.

  Mr. Mallory took a briefcase from the back seat and locked the car. “This is a fine home,” he said.

  “We think so. My grandparents…” He stumbled over the words. It seemed strange that this couple might also be his grandparents. “My maternal grandparents moved into this house when they were married, so it’s been in the family for a long time.”

  He opened the door and motioned for the Mallorys to enter. Gran stood in the hallway. “Gran, this is Andrew and Elizabeth Mallory. My grandmother, Stella Milton. I’ve lived with her as long as I can remember.”

  Stella shook hands with them. “Welcome to our home,” she said. “Jacob, take their wraps, please.” Mr. Mallory took the coat from his wife’s shoulders and handed it to Jacob. “I’ll keep my jacket.”

  Gran walked ahead of them down the hall and motioned to the living room. “This used to be the parlor in the old days,” she said in her gentle voice. “And we still entertain special guests here.”

  Mrs. Mallory continued to weep quietly, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. Both she and her husband seemed edgy, and Jacob sensed that they shared his fears about this meeting.

  Gran seated the Mallorys on the couch, and she and Jacob sat in wingback chairs facing them. An uneasy silence filled the room, and Jacob didn’t know what to say.

  “Did you have a pleasant trip from Florida?” Gran asked.

  “Yes,” Mr. Mallory said. He fidgeted in his chair and cleared his throat. “I know this visit is difficult for you, too, and I hardly know where to start. But we might as well get on with our reason for visiting you.”

  He opened his briefcase and took out a framed picture and wordlessly handed it to Jacob. He stared at the portrait of a young man in an air force uniform, whose face could have been his own. The same high forehead, firm nose and chin, even a slight dimple at the corner of his mouth, which was evident on Jacob’s own face when he smiled broadly.

  “Now that you’ve seen this picture,” Mrs. Mallory said, “I believe you’ll forgive me for my outburst when I first saw you. I could have been looking into the face of our Philip when he was your age.”

  Jacob passed the photo to Gran, and she nodded. “This is your father, Jacob. I didn’t see him in uniform, but I’ve always thought you resembled him more than you did our family.”

  “Even after all the information seemed to check out that you were our grandson,” Mr. Mallory said, “we still couldn’t keep from doubting. But one look at you convinced me. You understand that we had to be careful.”

  “Yes, of course, I guess,” Jacob answered.

  Again there was a short pause until Jacob asked quietly, “You indicated that my father is no longer living, but do you know why he abandoned me?”

  The pain of his rejection must have been evident in Jacob’s voice, for Mr. Mallory said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t know. Our son didn’t confide in us. We didn’t k
now he had married and had a son until a few months ago.”

  The words seemed to be wrung out of Mrs. Mallory’s heart as she whispered, “He’s been dead for over thirty years.” When she started crying again, her husband took her hand and held it tightly.

  “We had high hopes that Philip would follow in my footsteps and enter the medical profession,” Mallory explained, “and we were disappointed when he left college in his senior year and joined the air force.” Looking toward Gran, he asked, “Do you know why they separated?”

  She shook her head. “I met Philip only once and that was when my daughter was pregnant. They seemed quite happy, but a few months after Jacob was born, she came home to live and her lips were sealed as to why she’d left her husband. As far as I know, she never heard from him again.”

  “My mother died when I was six,” Jacob said, and the pain in his heart must have been revealed by his words, for Stella lay her hand on his arm. “Gran raised me. I tried to get Mother to talk about my father, but she wouldn’t.”

  “Philip was in the air force for two years, and during that time we saw him a few times,” Mr. Mallory explained. “He was injured in a plane crash during a training mission. Two days later he died and his body was sent home to New York, where he’s buried in a family cemetery. Since we didn’t know about his marriage, naturally, we didn’t search for your mother or you. He had listed “my estate” on the beneficiary line of his military insurance, so that came to us as next of kin.”

  Mrs. Mallory lifted her head. “That’s why we didn’t look for you or your mother.”

  “But how did you locate me now?” Jacob asked, puzzled. “When I decided to try and find out about my ancestry, I found your names in my mother’s papers. But you had nothing to go on.”

  “We did when we started searching. When he was in the hospital, Philip wrote us this letter.” Mallory took an envelope from his briefcase and gave it to Jacob. His hand trembled when he took the envelope.