“Watch.” She didn’t need to tell Mei Le to come closer and smiled as she watched her pretty brown eyes grow large while the machine buzzed with a touch of her toes. Lacy noted the shiny blackness of her thick hair. Mei Le was going to be a beautiful woman one day.
“I am making a quilt. We are sewing blocks together. They are square.” Lacy showed her they were even on all sides and how to sew them together in one long strip and then how to sew the strips together.
“Would you like to try?”
“Yes, I try”
Within ten minutes Mei Le was sewing all by herself, her lips pursed in concentration. She loved the sewing foot, because it was electric. Her mother had used an old fashioned rocker panel sewing machine they had found in the trash and carried home. Lacy sat off to the side in her mother’s favorite overstuffed chair and hand-hemmed several small items she’d recently finished.
Her mind mentally sorted through her materials to think if she had any purple and what she could make for Mei Le.
She decided on two stuffed pillows, since there wasn’t enough for a dress. They would be easy and a comfort to her when she saw them. One would be oblong the other square, Lacy decided. She did have some white fabric with purple violets and a yard of plain dark purple to match, which were intended to become potholders. Today they would become pillows.
A masculine voice called to her from downstairs.
“Miss Linden, I have to pick up my son from school, Mr. Van Arsdale shouted up the stairs. “It’s a half day. I’ll get lunch and be back. Before I go, I want to show you where I’m at, make sure it’s what you want it to look like.”
She hurried down, anxious to see the progress. “Oh my, you’ve gotten a lot done already.” She ran her hand along the new lumber. “And I really like the bead board. When it’s painted white, it’ll be beautiful.”
“White huh? Yeah that’ll look nice. Sort of like a cottage garden.”
“Yes, that’s the look I’m going for.”
“Yep, women like that sort of thing. I just do what folks want,” He smiled.
“Would you like some of these cookies for your boys?”
“Call me Rob please. And yes, I would. We don’t bake around the house and they miss that. Their mom loved to bake.”
Lacy noticed a brief sadness in his eyes. “Thank you. I’ll be back around 1:30. You need anything?”
“Oh no, but thank you.” She handed him a zip bag with a dozen cookies.
Rob Van Arsdale seemed like a good man. She wondered, though, why he would want to be at the meetings about the trafficking of Asian girls. Surely he didn’t plan on bringing a girl from that country into his house. Without a woman there? Did he not understand the girls would be afraid of men?
Despite the fact that he seemed decent, she kept her mind guarded. She hated that she, too, had a fear of men because of one life-altering event. One she could not conveniently forget. Pushing the negative thoughts out of her mind, she rejoined Mei Le upstairs and had to practically force her to take her foot off that pedal to go eat.
“We will eat and come back.”
“I not hungry. Man gone?”
She’d forgotten that may be half the reason Mei Le wanted to remain upstairs and assured her he wouldn’t be back until later.
The girl followed close behind her, her eyes roving the space where he’d been working.
They actually ate without hurry or worry. As soon as she was done, she asked, “I go sew now?”
“Yes. Do you need to cut more material?”
“Yes. Almost gone. You cut. I sew?” She turned her head sideways asking politely.
“Yes. I cut. You sew.”
Lacy set the dishes in the sink and brought up several cookies on a plate, for she surmised Mei Le would not be coming down anytime soon.
“Watch?” Lacy invited her to learn how to cut material with a rotary cutter instead of scissors.
“I cut. You sew?”
Lacy found herself laughing aloud. “Yes.”
She traded places and glanced every now and again to make sure Mei Le cut the squares the same size. She did. Lacy left her to her work and went downstairs to look over what was done. When she returned Mei Le had cut a pile of squares three inches high.
“Oh my,” Lacy let her know she could start sewing again. “We might have too many.”
“Not too many. Make another one.”
“Okay. If you say so.” Lacy knew that a second quilt was on the way.
A knock on the door downstairs made Mei Le jump up and back up against the wall.
“It’s Rob! I’m back. The noise starts up again!” He yelled up the stairs.
“Go for it!” Lacy yelled back. “No problem!”
“See. He works.” She pulled Mei Le back to the sewing machine. Reluctantly she sat down and it took a few minutes before she got back into her routine. She kept stopping and lending her ear. Lacy humored Mei Le by checking to see if he was coming up the stairs. “Poor baby.” She whispered as she worked.
Some time later they recognized Kippy’s voice as she came through the door. Things had been fairly quiet below stairs. Rob must be working on something different.
Mei Le jumped up and hugged Kippy who had come up . “Look. I make this.” She held up the quilt top.
“You did this?” Kippy took it and with her bifocals aimed at the stitches, said, “Well I’ll be! The girl can sew too.”
“She sure can. She cut out squares faster than I could sew them together.” Lacy laughed. “And she loves the sewing machine. It seems her mother had one. The kind you operate with your foot. No electric.”
“You don’t say.” Kippy was quiet for a moment. “You just never know what kind of gifts a person possesses until they are allowed to use them.”
“You are so right, Kippy. I am so glad you brought Mei Le to your home. I want to bring a girl here.”
“You do? I’ve been waiting, not wanting to push folks you know, but I just knew you’d be perfect. And look—the Lord gave you all this space. And just in time, too, what with Allison and Gannon gone. Don’t leave much for you to do, does it?”
“You’re right. That’s why I was thinking of turning the dining room into my sewing room and office, using Mom and Dad’s room and this room,” she waved her arm, “for another bedroom. That way I could have three girls and if you think two would wouldn’t mind twin beds in mom and dad’s old room. And there’s a full bathroom they can share.”
“You’ve been thinking that?” Kippy wiped a tear away. “All this time you been thinking about it?” she said again. “Well, if you ask me— and you didn’t, but if you did I’d say go for it.”
“Thank you, Kippy. I think maybe we can work something out. I’m going to need a computer. There’s so much to check on and all the forms you need to fill out online. I was wondering if I could use Mei Le to set it up once I bought it.”
“Yes, sure enough. She said she worked with computers over there; had to keep records working for some agency to make extra money for house expenses. They were all required to do computer work. So she’s real smart.”
“Perfect. We’ll talk about it later, I’m sure you want to get home. Did you get what you wanted?” She winked.
“I sure did. Pretty as a picture her room’s going to be.” She whispered.
“Well I’m going to sew her two pillows. Purple.” She spoke while the machine was buzzing.
“That’s really nice of you Lacy. We’d better get going. Thank you so much for taking my girl. I needed a day out and she needed you today.”
Lacy saw tears in Kippy’s eyes and hugged her. “Believe me, it was my pleasure.”
“Come on Mei Le let’s go home.”
They went down the stairs, Mei Le looking in the dining room and upon seeing Rob, scooted closer to Kippy.
Kippy smiled. “Come on, we’re going home. Nobody in that house but you and me.” She put her arms around Mei Le, knowing it would take a long time to teach her to trust.
Chapter 23
By the time Christmas rolled around, Lacy’s dining room was now the sewing room. And it looked like a dream. Soft aqua walls with shiny bright white shelving with matching white beadboard background and a new computer desk in one corner, the dark wood floors shining, she, with Rob Van Arsdale’s wonderful handiwork, had made her goal.
In one area she spread a soft luxurious white fur rug beneath a white chair with a colorful aqua, orange and brown patterned cushion which added a bit of color. A small bookcase and table and antique lamp was added so she could read while Mei Le sewed. The room was beautiful enough to be on a magazine cover. Lacy had lost total control of her own sewing machine.
Mei Le’s mother had been the family dressmaker, sewing wedding gowns for extra income, until Mei Le’s father, had been killed while he was working on an electric line. The family of five had fallen into poverty after that and even the sewing could not keep them together. Their larger family had been permitted because they lived in the farmlands far from the city. Mei Le’s brother had taken her into the big city and sold his sister into the business to keep their family from starving.
After many hours sewing together Mei Le had told her story and Lacy had told hers. They had cried that day and ever since, Lacy saw a calmness in Mei Le that she had not seen before. That and the fact that Kippy had told her about Jesus and how much he loved her no matter what she had done…or more truthfully, what had been done to her. She had not understood the Christmas trees, the many gifts and the baby in the crèche. Now she knew.
Lacy saw now that the changes in her own life had not been a mistake. The fact that everyone she cared about was gone, she found herself free to offer her life to help others. The time she spent learning a few Chinese words and learning the reality of Mei Le’s world had changed her.
Allison had come several times over the weekends and gotten involved with Mei Le, offering to find her a job.
“Mei Le had declined, saying she would rather be like her mother, own a business, work at home. She feared men and was not ready to be in the world.
Lacy and Allison understood. After church Mei Le went with them to visit Gannon at his assisted living condo. During Christmas they all sang songs to the guests there.
Suddenly everything Lacy did, meant something. Mei Le was watching and learning. The desire to bring girls home to her house, was nearing the point. She had bought a computer, filled out dozens of papers, and been given a number. The number of a young girl, that if she wanted to come out, would have a home. Mei Le knew of these things and asked Kippy and Lacy to see if her sister’s name came up on the list. Now that Mei Le was not supporting the family, she worried that her younger sister Ming Le may be sold as well.
It was impossible to find out if Ming Le had been sold, so they prayed for Mei Le’s family every day.
* * *
Word came in February of 2013 that a young girl had decided she wanted to leave and asked for a home. There were no pictures. It was too risky to send photos over the computer so they waited. Finally in June word came she was coming and would arrive in two weeks.
The final phone call came late in the night, the time difference delaying the call. She would arrive in Chicago in exactly 16 days. Lacy couldn’t sleep and got up, walked through the small bedroom, formerly the sewing room. It had been painted a soft lavender. Mei Le’s choice. Cream colored wallpaper with tiny violets covered one wall behind the headboard. The purple pillows Lacy sewed for Mei Le’s birthday had become the inspiration and Mei Le had donated them to make this room happy for the new girl. One of the quilts…Mei Le had finished three now, including the hand-hemming of each, lay across the foot of the twin bed that now belonged to the new girl.
The winter months flew by. All the inside work that had to be done had kept them and Mr. Van Arsdale busy. He built a beautiful tufted headboard and added a bookcase on either side of the bed in the purple room. He had needed the extra cash for the boys’ soccer jerseys and game fees. And, Lacy learned, he was still paying off his wife’s hospital bills.
Even Mei Le was not as jittery around him as when he was first in the house. He had laughed and joked around gently.
Lacy hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask him about why he kept coming to the meetings at church. Surely he knew he could not house a young girl, with all males in the house.
Three weeks later, she found out. He told her he was going out of town and would not be back for three weeks. He told her confidentially after church one Sunday afternoon, that he would like it if Lacy could call on his boys a few times while he was gone. Make sure they got home from school. A neighbor lady was going to be right next door and their aunt, his late wife’s sister, was going to stay, but she would need to run errands for her own family and shop for groceries.
Lacy agreed to help out when she could and gave him her number.
“I wanted to tell you, that I’m going to China. They need men to help bring the girls back. The ones who want to come. It’s better if we don’t leave the women to escort them alone, so I’ve been asked to go.”
“I wondered why you were at the meetings.”
He smiled. “Couldn’t really talk about it. My boys know what I’m doing. It’s not illegal. We just want to be sure things work out all right.”
“Does that mean you’ll be bringing our girl home?”
“There’s a good chance if she still wants to come.”
Tears blurred Lacy’s eyes. “Thank you Rob.”
“Don’t thank me. She’s not here yet.” He stuck his hands in his pockets.
“I’ll be praying for you.”
“Thanks. Look the boys are getting rowdy out there in the parking lot. I’ll have their aunt call you and fill you in on the details. I’d better go before they knock my car windows out with all their wrestling.”
He waved off and she chided herself for thinking badly of Rob. That thing of not trusting again.
“Lace you got plans for lunch? I’d like to talk to you about something. Just you and me.” Allison came up, taking her elbow.
“Sure.” Lacy checked her sister’s eyes for trouble, saw none and suggested they eat local. She had tons of things to do now that her new girl was coming home. They didn’t even know her name yet.
Lacy followed her sister to the little restaurant that had the best fried chicken.
“I’m so hungry for their chicken.” Lacy’s mouth was watering.
“How long since you’ve been out to eat, sis?” Allison slid into the booth.
“Geesh, I think since the goodbye meal with Thad.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Thad’s been keeping in touch with me lately. Calling on the phone. Asking questions.”
“Questions about what?” Lacy leaned in. “Is anything wrong?”
“No, actually, he’s been asking about stuff in the Bible. He said he rented a small apartment in Carpinteria so he could find some peace and quiet away from L.A. Seems he’s been reading his Bible and someone suggested a church there.”
“Really. You had me worried there for a minute.”
“You’re such a worrier Lace.”
“I know. Comes with the package.” A slice of guilt shot through her head. She had never told her sister about that night at the prom.”
“You okay?” Allison leaned in to check Lacy’s eyes.”
“Sure, got a lot on my mind is all.”
“Your new girl coming?”
“Yes, isn’t it amazing? A year ago if you’d told me I’d be doing this I’d have laughed myself silly.”
“I love how you’ve changed the place. Brightened up the space. You’ve got a good eye for design sis.”
“Thank you. But you didn’t come here to talk about my good eye!”
“I just wanted to ask you to pray for Thad. He said he’s attending a church, Reality or something like that in Carpinteria, which is up the coast from L.A. Even joined a Bible study group. Goes up on weekends.
”
“Wow.” Lacy couldn’t help the smile on her face. “I have been praying for him.”
“Great. Because I haven’t…until lately. He left and I hardly know him like you do…and frankly, he just never came to mind until he started calling.”
Another shot bulleted through Lacy’s head. Maybe Thad had his eyes on Allison. She put that thought to the back of her mind. It wasn’t her business what God was doing with whom.
“Just wanted you to know. Sounds like he’s really learning a lot. Went with a group surfing. Guess the studio gave him some grief over that. They don’t want their star soap opera actor getting hurt.”
“Yeah, he’s worth a lot to them all right.” Lacy grumped.
“Whoa, what’s that about?”
“Oh just thinking how they treat people, just because someone is good looking or talented or intelligent people think they own them, that’s all.”
“True. Maybe that’s why God is bringing him to mind, through his phone calls and things…” Allison mused.
“I’ll keep praying for him. Thanks Al.”
“Yeah, okay now, more news. I’ve been seeing this really great guy.”
Lacy listened while her little sister talked about a man she’d met through her office and how he was from Italy and how she was going to visit him there…” and that’s where Lacy stopped listening and started asking questions.
“Wait…Wait. You’ve only met him a few times when he’s come to town. And he’s Italian? Is he a playboy type Al? Did you check him out? How do you know he’s not married? Remember that movie starring Diane Lane…oh what’s the title…I know…Under The Tuscan Sun”. Where she goes to Italy after her husband leaves her and finds out the guy she likes is married.”
“Yes, I saw it with you remember? I was thirteen.”
“You have to be careful, Al,”
“You’re right. I’m taking it slow, but he wants me to come for a visit.
“Good idea to move slow but it sounds like you’ve already made up your mind.”
“I have. Sorry I should have told you sooner. We’ve met for hours, mostly business, every time he comes over to the States. Which has been three times in the last six months.”
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