Every Storm (28 page)

"Don't believe all the rumors you hear."

"So it's not true?"

"Well," Lorri drew out the word, "it might be."

The teacher laughed. "Too bad Violet is out sick. He won't have an excuse."

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Lorri rolled her eyes at the teacher's tone and went back to putting vocabulary words on the board.

Several times during the day she'd been caught up with guilt. Was she sorry that Violet was sick or that the lieutenant wouldn't be coming? Each time she tried to remember the sick child and pray for her.

If the truth be told, she had grown very accustomed to seeing Lieutenant Riggs on Friday afternoons. It was the highlight of her day, and sometimes the highlight of her week. She wasn't exactly blue when it was time to see the children off, but it didn't hold the usual anticipation of most Fridays.

"Hello."

Lorri started when she heard the voice, not having seen him. The children were all gone, and he was waiting back by the classroom. For a moment Lorri stared at him.

"Violet was out sick today," she finally managed. "Did your brother not tell you?"

"Actually I did know that," Rigg said, hoping she would still ride home with him. "I didn't want you to get wet if it rained."

Lorri stepped out from under the overhang of the building, her head going back to inspect a perfect sky-clear and blue, not a cloud in sight. When she looked back at the lieutenant, she barely kept from laughing.

"That was very thoughtful of you," Lorri just managed to say. "I didn't even bring my umbrella."

Rigg's smile now matched her own. "Whenever you're ready" was all he said.

This time they talked all the way home. Lorri learned of Rigg's duties at the base and that he would be done in late June.

"What

will you do?" Lorri asked.

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"Hopefully find a job. I was with a small architectural firm before enlisting, and I'll probably go back to that."

"To that line of work or to that firm?"

"That firm is in Santa Rosa. I'd like to stay in southern California if I can."

Lorri glanced over to find him watching her. Their eyes held. The light turned green, and the person in the car behind them tapped on his horn.

"You could get us into an accident,^ Rigg said, his foot going down on the gas.

"I could?"

"Certainly. It's quite obvious to me."

Lorri watched his profile, seeing that he wanted to smile.

"I think you're better behaved when your niece is along."

"Shh " he said softly. "It will be our little secret."

Again Lorri wanted to laugh. She felt that way a lot when he was around.

"So tell me," Rigg said. They were in the driveway, and Rigg had held Lorri's door open so she could get out. "Have you thought of any more questions you wanted to ask me?"

"Not really about the rescue, but I did think of one thing."

"Okay."

"The food on the boat was good, and I've always heard the opposite. Did Ellis fix special things for me?"

"Yes," Rigg replied drily, "I suspect he did go out of his way for you, but you need to remember that you were starving."

Lorri laughed. His tone and facial expressions had been hysterical.

"Oh, yes," he went on. "You can laugh. You didn't have to eat our usual fare for months on end."

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Lori Wick

"Come now." Lorri wasn't convinced. "It couldn't have been that bad."

Rigg's look was telling, and Lorri only laughed tnore

The two heard the front door at the same time. They looked up to see Ruth on the porch.

"I've got iced tea if you're interested," she called to them.

Lorri looked to Rigg, her brows raised in question.

"Lead the way," he said, and Lorri couldn't help but notice that her heart was as light as a balloon.

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"That was fiin," Max said at the end of the evening, Rigg having stayed for dinner.

Lorri didn't answer. Staring at seemingly nothing, she stood mute in the middle of the living room. She didn't even notice when her family came in, took seats all around her, and just watched her.

"What?" Lorri said, having finally noticed them.

"That's what we want to know," Dean said.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Sit down, Raine," Max invited, patting the sofa.

Lorri did sit by her sister and then looked back to Dean. Her eyes went to her mother, who was looking very satisfied, and then to Max, who was just barely holding a smile.

"All right," Lorri gave in. "I think I might like him."

That her family found this hysterical was all too apparent. They burst out laughing, leaving her to tolerate their mirth with a blushing face.

"What is so funny?" she demanded, waiting for them to catch their breath.

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"You are," Ruth told her. "You nearly floated around this house tonight. You even stepped on Muffin's tail, and-"

Before Ruth could finish, Muffin came struggling into the room. She had captured one of Ruth's aprons and was dragging it in with her.

"Stop that, Muffin!" Ruth scolded. "Now look at that," she continued, disgusted. "There's cat hair on it, arid I just finished the laundry."

Muffin had come close to Lorri and Max, knowing she was safer by their legs. She was, in fact, a very nice cat, but her propensity to attack and drag things around sometimes got her into trouble.

"We just wanted to know what you were thinking," Dean broke in, taking the conversation back to Lorri.

"Well, I was actually wondering what you were thinking, Grandpa. You and Lieutenant Riggs talked on Sunday and then again in the backyard tonight, and I just wondered if you're getting to know him a bit"

"Yes, I am. Sometimes we talk about the rescue, and he asks how you're doing with all of that. Other times we talk about his plans and things at the base."

"Can you tell us what
you
think of him, Dean?" Ruth asked.

"I think he's a fine young man. He didn't come right out and ask if he could court Lorri, but he did ask how we were all doing with Josie's loss, and then his questions zeroed in on Lorri."

"Well," Max declared suddenly, "I think Raine should marry him and be done with it."

"Max," Lorri said patiently, "there's a bit more to this than good looks and kindness."

"Well, you can see that there's more to the lieutenant than good looks and kindness, so you're all set."

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Lorri looked to her mother, who knew that Max was mostly teasing, but if the truth be told, they all liked Lieutenant Donovan Riggs very much.

"Your turn, Lorri," she said gently. "How do you feel?"

"I think he's very special. In my mind I can see glimpses of the boat. He put Lionel in charge of me, but he took care of me too. And there was nothing romantic about it. He was just doing his job. And then when he saw me that first time at school, he wasn't expecting it, but he was still kind." Lorri looked at her family. "I like him. I like him a lot."

"Well, that's good," Dean declared, growing weary with the hour, "because I invited him to dinner again next Friday night."

Lorri laughed, her mouth opening in amazement. Ruth's mouth was open too, but Max looked l^fce the cat who had just swallowed the canary.,

"Don't forget," Max said as they all moved to go upstairs. "I was the first one to say that Raine shoi^d marry the man."

Max dodged the sofa pillow that ffew at her, and everyone sought their beds.I

Josephine Pearl Archer's twenty^seveijith birthday would have been on April 10,1946. Lorri took the day off from school, and Max stayed home as well. Dean did not go to the base, and Ruth had cleared her calendar.

Everyone said that first year was the hardest, but Lorri knew that this day would always be hard. Josie had loved her birthday. She had loved presents and surprises and was always pleased with the smallest gesture.

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It was for this reason that Lorri picked flowers from the yard before going to the cemetery. She understood that Josie didn't need them, but they made her own heart feel better, and today she wanted that.

The four of them did not linger at the grave site. The day was nice, very sunny, but it was too sad, and Ruth said she was tired of crying. Dean suggested a drive to the coast. Everyone liked this idea, and they made a day of it.

Ruth was thankful for the distraction, but when the family arrived home, she found that Ken had written. She laid her things aside, sat at the kitchen table, and opened his letter.

Dear Dean, Ruth, Lorri, and Max,

How are you? You are in my thoughts this day since I know Josie must be on your minds. I am still not reconciled to never seeing her again, never making her my wife. I had never looked forward to anything more. I think that in time my heart will heal, but I don't know if I will ever love again. What I felt for Josie was not common. I do not expect anyone to ever compare.

I'm settled at Washington, having signed for another four years, I was not going to do this but now ftndtnyself rescued by the routine and familiarity. We have a country to rebuild, and I take that seriously. When I am in California, I will stop to see you. Until then, I hold you fondly in my heart.

Ken

Ruth folded the letter and held it. For a moment she let herself think about what it would have looked like to have Josie alive. She would likely have been married to Ken by now, living in a home

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of their own. It might not have been in southern California, but it certainly would have been closer than Australia.

But that was as far as Ruth could take it. Josie wasn't there. She and Ken would not marry, and Ken was, for the most part, out of their lives. Much as Ruth wanted to concoct another image, she couldn't do it.

Dean came into the room and saw Ruth at the table. He sat with her, and she handed him the letter, which he read in silence. Dean had not shed a tear all day, but Ruth saw him reach for his handkerchief.

"Dean," Ruth said at last, "can we cement those plans for the fall? Can we put it on the calendar and go to Minnesota?"

"We can do that, Ruth.";:

"I want to see my father before it's toJ late."

"We'll do that, honey. You pick the days, and we'll go."

They looked at each other for a moment.

"I never pictured her gone," Ruth admitted. "I had to bury my mother, and I thought the girls would all bury me."

Dean didn't have any words to offer. He wanted to make everything right for her, but he couldn't. They both remembered this day so many years ago. They both recalled the tiny girl born to parents who couldn't wait to hold her.

"I'd better work on dinner." Ruth began to rise, at the moment looking older than her age.

"I think we can just pick through the icebox and eat leftovers," Dean suggested; they had already eaten lunch out. "Well just tell the girls they'll have to fend for themselves."

Ruth agreed, and it ended up being the perfect plan. Max was not hungry at all, and Lorri wanted very little. The four of them ended up gathering around the radio to listen to evening news

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and then a comedy show that made them laugh for a while. No one argued when Dean said they should make it an early night.

"Janice is expecting again," Cora told Ruth at Bible study. "They called just last night."

"Oh, Cora, that's wonderful. How is she feeling?"

"Good-better than last time."

"How are you doing?"

"I've cried a lot, but they've been good tears. I don't know why Janice lost the first baby, but I let it get my attention; Ruth. I've had an unthankful, complaining spirit about a lot of things. It was good for me to be reminded of my heart's condition."

Ruth hugged her friend. "You're so good for me, Cora."

"That's what I think of you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, you've never once complained, Ruth. All these months, and you've accepted what God has for you. There isn't another woman in this church I love or admire more."

Ruth smiled at her. So often she felt weak and unable to go on. Did she tell Cora how frail she could be?

"What are you thinking?" Cora asked.

"Why is it that when someone compliments us, all we can do is remember our mistakes?"

"I don't know. Were you thinking of mistakes?"

Ruth nodded.

"Well, don't do that. Tell me how Lorri is doing with
the dream-boat,
as Arlene puts it."