The Charity (14 page)

She ordered more hay and grain and got to know the two horses that were packaged with the farm. The animals had been fed and brushed over the years, but that was the extent of their care. Such a shame, thought Jessica, they looked like they were pretty good horses once. They had forgotten nearly all of their training and only permitted Jessica to touch them while their noses were buried in their feed buckets. Jessica stroked their long necks and talked to them continuously in a soft, steady voice.

“We’ll get to be good friends, soon. Won’t we sweetie? There ya go. Easy girls. Nice day out, huh? Yeah, easy gals.” She looked at their two faces and recalled the names Lainely told her. The taller one, the bay, was Empress and the smaller horse, a gray-ish roan, was named Banshee. They eyed her suspiciously as they lipped the treats from her hand.

On and on she would talk with them and slowly gained their trust. The summer passed and they grew more sleek and their coats once again glowed with health. Jessica enjoyed spending the hot days working on her house and barn. She had the luxury of time on her side and fell into step with the unhurried rhythm.

After one of her early morning feeding and training sessions, Jessica hopped into her Jeep and made her way into town. The air had a noticeably cooler feel to it and she was surprised by the passage of the seasons. She was enjoying getting to know the town and its core citizenry and did so slowly, one by one. This was the best way to determine who would respect her privacy and who would not. Jessica wanted to stay in this town as long as possible and she could not afford any mistakes.

The hardware store owner, Hoyt Percival, was the first to know her on sight and their smiles and head nods gradually warmed to pleasant chats in the morning sun. Hoyt was a tall man a bit past his prime who liked to wear his wire-rimmed glasses at the tip of his nose and red suspenders with his baggy jeans. Jessica liked him and they laughed at each other’s clumsy handiwork hints. Jessica enjoyed teasing Hoyt about the masking tape loop that was holding up one end of his store’s front window curtain rod and greeted him with “’Morning, Hoyt! Glad to see the rod’s still up!”

“Well, now Missy. I guess it would take a Yankee woman like yerself to notice something like that,” he drawled with a wink at Jessica.

That day the hardware store was busy with one other customer. Father Bertrand Steeves, caretaker of the spiritual life of Perc, had been looking at brooms and mops in a corner when Jessica arrived. With his long strides and black robes he was quite a character during Sunday services but today he wore more casual clothes and he angled himself into their conversation. “Well Hoyt! Do you know this young lady?”

Hoyt glanced up and beamed. “Father Steeves! Nice to see you. You haven’t met our newcomer yet? This is Miss Tess White.”

“I haven’t had the pleasure!” He turned to Jessica. “I’ve seen you at church sitting in the back pew most Sundays but I missed you at the coffee hour following the services.”

Jessica shook his extended hand but politely demurred his implicit invitation. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’ve wanted to introduce myself, but I usually am on my way back to the farm right after services.”

Father Steeves assessed her bright eyes and shy smile artfully cultivated both to be friendly and to hold back from people. He was quite good at knowing what someone’s inner person was like. Tess White struck him as someone who was yearning to talk and connect with others, but was not allowing herself to be free.

Jessica continued, “Last week you made an announcement during the service. You said something about a school for the learning disabled needing some volunteers. Who do I need to talk to about helping out?”

“Well! That’s fine! Fine! Consider it done!” The priest’s words boomed out of his chest with robust joy at prayers being answered. “I’m glad you want to get involved, Tess. Several other parishioners have indicated a desire to help as well.” He paused and thought for a moment. “I think they are all planning to meet at the church next Tuesday morning and drive up together. Why don’t you meet them there around 8:30?”

Father Steeves had a hard time deciphering the expression he saw in her eyes when he mentioned the group forming, but Jessica smiled and agreed instead to meet them at the school. He was quite pleased with the turn of events and sent a mental note of thanks heavenward.

The Franklin School for the Disabled was located north of Perc near the state parks just past Jessica’s end of the valley. It was an establishment of several small, squat brick buildings flanking a larger building with four large columns. Each of the smaller buildings was a dormitory for the residents. The top two floors of the dorms had a portion dedicated to the staff’s apartments. The bottom two floors held the kitchens and specialized activity areas. The large central building was for administrative offices and classrooms. Stables and paddocks, long abandoned, flanked the southern border of the property.

The volunteers were needed to clean out the attics and storage rooms of unwanted items like furniture, books and other things that had been accumulated through the years. The school’s plan was to have a tag sale and general clean-up day that coming Saturday. Everyone from Perc and the surrounding towns were invited to donate their old, unused items to the school and join in the general cleanup and festivities. Any donated items in need of repair would be tended to by the residents themselves under the helpful eyes of the staff. Most of the items had been dropped off by the time she arrived and had already been assessed as needing a cleaning, repair or were ready to sell. Jessica learned that this was a much anticipated annual event and that it raised a great deal of money for the school.

The residents at the school were a mix of severely mentally challenged children and those who were fairly high functioning, but in need of continuous expert care. The programs they attended were considered some of the best in the state and the school enjoyed an excellent reputation. All of the staff helped each resident participate in the clean-up day as much as they were able to. Those that could participate enjoyed the sanding and polishing of the furniture, making most items almost new again.

Jessica watched a group of three young girls and their aide busily repairing an old wooden doll’s crib. The young aide seemed to be at a loss to get one girl with thick brown pigtails to participate. The girl sat with her head tilted to one side and rocking slowly back and forth. The other two girls were using soap and water to clean to the crib’s rails. Jessica walked over to the group and sat down.

The heavyset aide was grateful for the extra help. “I just can’t seem to get Karen to join in. Sometimes she just gets so far away.”

“Yeah. I know what you mean. Would you mind if I worked with her a bit?” Jessica looked into the aid’s young face.

“No. Of course not. Here.” She handed Jessica a sponge and a small bucket of water.

Jessica sat down beside Karen and gently stroked her cheek and brushed a strand of red hair from the girl’s face.

“Hello, Sweetheart. Hello, Karen. My name is Tess.” Jessica began the sing songy way of speaking she reserved for calming her horses. She kept a stream of soft words going to Karen while slowly picking up the girl’s hands and guiding them to the water. She then placed both of their hands in the water and used her fingers to tickle Karen’s fingers.

“Feel that? That water’s cold. Smooth too, huh? Yeah, cold.” Jessica used her free hand to stroke the girl’s face and neck. She saw a brief movement in Karen’s brow and was pleased when she felt Karen’s fingers grasp her own.

For a moment, fog whirled in front of Jessica’s eyes. A small face surrounded with long dark curls looked up at her. The gray eyes were bright with love and laughter. A tiny hand fumbled with an object. Erin’s face swayed in front of Jessica’s vision. Laughing. Loving. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the image to fade.

“There! That’s it! Now feel this.” Jessica moved Karen’s hand to the carved rails of the crib. Focusing on the young girl in front of her rooted Jessica to the present. The darker memories again successfully squelched.

Step-by-step with Jessica’s guidance, Karen gradually began to wipe the crib off with the water. The brown-haired girl obviously enjoyed the feel of the cold water and bumpy crib rails on her hand. She smiled a lopsided grin at her task. Jessica yearned to hold her tightly but settled instead for placing her cheek on top of her head. The young aide looked at Jessica with appreciation.

“Gee. Thanks! I just didn’t know how to get her started. Now look at her. Thank you!”

“Yes. Thank you.” Jessica jumped at the sound of a man’s voice close by.

“Oh! Hoyt! Hi there!” Jessica stammered in her attempt to get her bearings. She fought to recover her composure and to get her mind focused on a safe conversation. Jessica stood up and smiled. “I didn’t know you were here today. Did you bring that horrible old valance from your store as a donation?”

Hoyt chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. Now ya’ll know I’ll never part with that masking tape, don’ cha? Naw. I jus’ came to see my lil’ pum’kin. I haven’t seen her smile that big in ages.” He bent down and kissed Karen’s cheek.

Jessica was stunned, and color rose in her cheeks. “Hoyt! I... I didn’t know! Well, I mean, she’s a sweetheart.”

“Yup. She’s my angel. Her mother an’ I love her to bits. We’re just real glad we have this school so close. We just would not know how to bring ‘er up, ya know?” He looked apologetically into Jessica’s eyes.

“Yes. I do know,” Jessica replied in a faint voice. “It’s hard, but it could be that LD and BI kids are capable of a lot more than we give them credit for. It might sound naive, but I sometimes think that we just have to find the right door to open up to make a connection. That can make all the difference.”

The lanky man looked at her with a keen interest. “You said LD and BI. Sounds like you’ve had some experience with Learning Disabled and Brain Injured kids, eh?”

Jessica stammered as she tried to think of a plausible excuse. Eyes downcast, she shook her head in unconvincing denial. Her heart began to pound, and she could feel her palms grow moist. Her guilt tried to swallow her as she pushed against its progress.

Thinking her discomfort was from embarrassment, Hoyt kissed his daughter and continued talking. “This school has been a God-send to us. Ya ever hear of it before?”

Had she? Jessica shook her head.

“Well then, c’mon an’ I’ll give ya the nickel tour an’ introduce ya to some of the Cleanup Day’s coordinators.” He took her arm and walked down across the commons.

It did not take long for the barrel-chested Father to lope up to them with a grin on his face. He took a long deep breath and nodded at the scene in satisfaction. “Well, Tess White! I’m glad you made it! So, how do you like our annual Cleanup Day? There is no finer sight than to see everyone work together for a common cause. Right, Hoyt?” The Father looked at the hardware store owner with affection. “I saw your lovely wife ClaireAnne earlier today. I certainly hope she’s going to make her Gramp’s Black-Eyed Beans dish for the supper on Saturday. The day wouldn’t be complete without it!”

“Thanks, Bertrand. I know she’s already begun soakin’ ‘em beans so you don’t have to worry!” Both men laughed and patted their rounded bellies.

“I certainly hope we can expect to see you there, Tess. After all, you’ve put in a hard day’s work here today and no doubt Saturday will come and you’ll work hard then too. You’ll deserve a break. How about it?” The priest looked at her expectantly.

Jessica blushed and looked away briefly. Working side-by-side with her new neighbors was an activity that Jessica enjoyed and could relax doing. The task offered focus and fodder for conversation about things other than her. But being in a purely social situation without a pending project as an excuse to break off an unwanted conversation was too much for her. She had begun to demur when Hoyt broke in.

“Tess. I saw something in Karen I haven’t seen in a long time today. You just seemed to touch her somehow, an’ well, I would like to thank you by having you as my an’ ClaireAnne’s guest. How about it?”

Jessica looked at the Father and back at Hoyt. The earnest looks in their faces wiped away the last of her resolve. She smiled. “Of course I’ll come. It would be my pleasure.”

The Father beamed at having a lamb enter easily into the fold. “Wonderful! Saturday’s supper it is!” he exclaimed. After a few more pleasantries, he strode away to tend to others in his flock.

Jessica watched his large figure as it disappeared into a group of people. “That’s quite a guy,” she said with a smile. “You two seem to be good friends. Have you known him long?”

“Oh, Bert?” Hoyt chuckled as he thought of his friend. “Oh yeah. Him an’ I have been friends ever since he came to this parish over twenty years ago. At first, I thought he was just some know nuthin’ green rookie from up north. But now I know him as a God-forsaken know-it-all who still talks funny.” He laughed at his own joke as he looked in Father Steeve’s direction. “He’s a good man, that one. When ClaireAnne an’ I found out that our little girl had problems, it was Bert who helped us find this place. I told ‘im that we couldn’t afford a place like this, but he found a way some’ow to get Karen in here and to help pay ‘er bills an’ all.” Hoyt’s eyes misted at the depth of his gratitude toward his friend. He swallowed hard to keep back his feelings. “Yep. He is a good man.”

Jessica listened with interest. She had sensed a tremendous good from the Father as well. It was nice to hear her judgment of him confirmed by a close friend.

She began to casually scan the small groups of people that were disbursed around the grounds performing odd jobs in preparation for the weekend’s activities. The people greeted each other warmly with much affection. She closed her eyes and absorbed the scene with a freshness in her outlook. She was beginning to feel closer to this town and its people. The longings she had for some roots were strong, and she was beginning to feel at ease with her new life.

When she opened her eyes, a figure in the distance caught her attention. A man in his early to mid-thirties moved among the people with great ease. He was tall with a strong build. She was too far away to get a good look at him, but it was his energy and the way the other people reacted toward him that was so intriguing. She could see that people greeted him enthusiastically and with great familiarity. He paused to talk with two white-haired women who obviously delighted in his attention. He lifted his head in laughter and faced Jessica’s direction.