A Time to Love (35 page)

Linda smiled and wrapped her arms around her sister, saying, “It is good to see you again, Janet.”

“You too, honey,” Janet said, hugging her tight.

As they moved together down the hall, Linda said, “Does anybody know you’ve come here to Stockton?”

“No one.”

“Then you’re in no danger from Lewis.”

“No. And I’m so thankful to be away from that cruel monster!”

When the sisters had finished lunch, Linda rose from her chair and said, “While I clean up and do the dishes, I want you to lie down and take a nap.

She had noticed that Janet looked weary, and Linda needed some time alone to think. This unexpected visit had been quite an upset.

“I’ll help you,” Janet said.

“No, you won’t. I’ve traveled some myself,” Linda said evenly. “I know how tiring it is, and it has to be worse when you’re six months pregnant. Come with me; I’ll take you upstairs.”

Linda led her sister to a cozy guest room and said, “Take your shoes off. I’ll be right back.”

She returned carrying a pitcher of warm water and a towel. She poured the water in a basin on a small table by the window and said, “Here, Janet. Come freshen up, then you can lie down and take a nap. Come on downstairs when you feel like it.”

Linda left her sister at the washbasin and went back to the kitchen to clean up the remains of lunch. Then she sat down at the kitchen table with a cup of hot tea.

Her nerves felt a little jangled. She bowed her head and sought guidance from the Lord Jesus.

Linda had prayed for Janet’s salvation for years and had talked to her many times, trying to bring her to the Lord. Now would be a perfect time to witness to her again if Janet stayed with them. She’d need a place to stay till after the baby was born, and she’d be much more comfortable in the Barrett home than in a hotel … and they certainly had room for her. After the baby’s birth, she would probably want to find a place of her own.

Linda thought of Blake. Knowing his tender and generous heart, she knew he would agree. They couldn’t turn Janet away, even if she was Linda’s rebellious sister.

That evening when Blake came in the back door, he stopped short at the sight of the cheap-looking woman sitting at the kitchen table. Janet had made up her face again and once more looked as if she belonged in a saloon.

The aroma of hot food filled the air as Janet stood up and said, “Blake, I’m your sister-in-law, Janet Carter.”

Stunned, Blake had not yet found his voice.

“Linda’s upstairs,” Janet said. “She’ll be down shortly.”

“Shortly is now,” came Linda’s voice. She made a beeline for her husband and said, “Hello, darling. I see you’ve met my sister.” With that, she planted a kiss on his cheek.

Linda’s presence loosened his tongue, and he finally said, “We’ve met.”

Blake found it hard to warm up to this woman who had treated Linda so ruthlessly, but he relaxed some when Linda explained why Janet had come there.

When Linda saw that Blake’s tension had eased, she brought up Janet’s need for a place to stay until the baby was born, explaining that Janet had taken a room at the Western Hotel. She went on to say that she’d offered to let Janet stay with them.

Although he was dubious at the news, Blake didn’t show it. He would abide by Linda’s decision. He was about to say so when a nervous Janet said, “Blake, if you’d rather I didn’t stay here, I—”

“Of course I want you to stay,” he said, forcing a smile. “You’re Linda’s sister, and you’re in need of help.”

“It will only be till I have the baby,” Janet said. “I’ll get a job just as soon as I can after the baby is born, and I’ll get my own place. And I won’t expect Linda to look after the baby while I work, either. I’ll find someone to do that.”

Blake felt better. “That’s fine, Janet. Welcome to our home.”

“Thank you,” Janet said humbly. “You’ll never know how much this means to me.”

“It’s our pleasure to help you,” Blake assured her. “Right after supper, I’ll drive into town and get your luggage from the hotel.”

That night, Linda walked Janet to the guest room and said, “I’m so thankful Lewis didn’t hurt you seriously, Janet. He never seemed like the type to brutalize a female.”

“Well, you can’t always tell a book by its cover, they say.”

Linda kissed her sister’s cheek and told her good night.

When the bedroom door closed, Janet chuckled to herself and sat down at the dresser to brush her hair. She wiped off her makeup and chuckled some more.

Later, she doused the lantern and climbed into the comfortable bed.
Lying there in the dark, she said aloud, “Linda,
ol’
girl, you always were a sucker for a sob story! Lewis, kill me? That milquetoast wouldn’t swat a fly! Drunk? Hah! I couldn’t get him to drink enough at one time, even at one of my parties, to get drunk on!

“And beat me? The little sap wouldn’t dare! I’d have had one of my bartender friends beat
him
to a pulp!”

She interlaced her fingers and put her hands behind her head as she relived the developments in her marriage.

Lewis’s conscience had eaten at him for months because of what he’d done to Linda. Janet recalled the day when Lewis came home and told her everything was changing in his life. It was in early August, before she knew she was pregnant.

Lewis had gone to a Bible-believing pastor in Manhattan for help. As the preacher dealt with him about his overwhelming sense of guilt, he had told Lewis that all would be forgiven by the Lord if he would repent and open his heart to Jesus for salvation.

It was then that Lewis told him of making a profession of faith in Christ as a teenager, but he hadn’t meant business with God. There had been no repentance of sin. The pastor then led him to the Lord.

As Lewis told Janet the story, he began quoting Scripture, saying they were going to get into church and start serving the Lord.

Lewis’s words made Janet fly into a rage. She cursed him and said she wasn’t going to live with a Bible-spouting fanatic. She’d had enough of that stuff before leaving her parents’ house to live on her own. And what’s more, she wasn’t going to change her lifestyle. She liked the night spots and all that went with them.

Lewis was disappointed in her attitude and asked her to think it over.

She played along until the next day. When he was at work, she packed her belongings and hired a carriage to take her to the railroad station. Just before she got on the train, Lewis showed up. He’d gone home, worried that something like this might happen, and a neighbor told him Janet had left in a carriage.

They had a hot argument in front of the crowd at the depot, and
Janet had threatened to call the railroad authorities if Lewis didn’t leave her alone. He had walked away quietly.

When she arrived in Boston, Janet moved in with Sally Mansfield, an old girlfriend. While living there, Janet decided to visit her parents. She lied to them, telling them that she and Lewis were having marital trouble but were still together. She even asked about Linda.

It was then her parents told her they were going to California to see Linda, and gave her the details on who Linda had married and where she was living.

Janet chuckled to herself. Her gullible parents had believed that she cared for Linda. Hah! She was just curious, that’s all. She couldn’t care less about her religious fanatic of a sister, but asking about her had made Janet look good in her parents’ eyes.

When Sally caught Janet making a play for her steady beau, she threw her out. Janet had no place to go, so she decided to look up her rich sister in Stockton, California.

Janet was sure that when Linda heard the sob story, she would let her move in with them. Hey, free food and lodging! Who could beat that?

Janet dreaded the church stuff she would have to put up with, living in a Christian household. But she would put on a good show for free food and lodging. She couldn’t wait to get back to her wild life.

I
N THE WEEKS THAT FOLLOWED,
Blake and Linda used their Saturdays to drive from town to town in a twenty-mile radius and put their names on doctors’ lists as potential adoptive parents. They didn’t let on to Janet what they were doing for fear she would feel self-conscious.

Even though Linda was glad to help her sister, it was a strain to have her as a “guest” in their home. She tried to focus on the coming baby and busied herself making a layette and sewing many loving stitches into each tiny garment she made.

There were tender moments when tears she couldn’t contain dropped on the pieces she was sewing. Linda prayed for patience while she and Blake waited for an adoptive baby to become available, but sometimes the waiting felt unbearable.

Janet hated the Christian atmosphere of the Barrett home, barely tolerating prayer before each meal. It took every ounce of control to endure the church services on Sundays.

When approached by both Linda and Blake about her salvation, Janet insisted that she was saved as a child, but told her sister and brother-in-law that salvation just didn’t affect her as it did them. They saw through her explanation but couldn’t get anywhere with her.

The Barretts took Janet to Dr. Martin and put her under his care for the rest of her pregnancy. They quickly learned that Janet was quite short of funds, and paid the doctor for her.

Wednesday, May 28,1880, was a bright, sunny day in northern California. Janet was crankier than usual all day, and it was getting on Linda’s nerves.

All day long, Janet had a nagging backache, and no matter where she sat or lay, she was unable to find a comfortable position. She was kneading her fists in the small of her back when Linda paused at the open door to her bedroom.

Moving into the room, Linda said, “The back pains getting worse, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Janet said through clenched teeth.

“Could I rub it for you?”

“Sure.”

While Linda rubbed the aching spot, she said, “I think your baby’s going to put in an appearance shortly.”

“I hope so,” said Janet. “I can’t stand much more of this.”

Linda smiled. “It’ll be worth it all when you hold the little darling in your arms.”

Janet said nothing.

When Blake came home that evening, Linda told him Janet would deliver soon. She’d made a good dinner of beef stew and biscuits, and when it was ready, Blake went up to Janet’s room and walked her down the stairs so she could eat.

Janet ate very little, and after a few minutes she ran her gaze to both Barretts and said, “I’ll have to ask you to excuse me. I just can’t eat any more. I’m going back up to my room.”

She plodded slowly and laboriously up the stairs, assisted by Blake, and made straight for her bed. When Blake was gone, she let her eyes roam the room.

Because of what Linda and Blake had done, all was ready for the baby. They had purchased a beautiful cradle, which sat nearby, and all the clothes and blankets so lovingly sewn by Linda were laundered and waiting in neat stacks in dresser drawers.

I’ll be glad when the kid is born and this ordeal is over,
Janet thought. I
hate being fat and ungainly. I want to get on with my life, and this kid has no part in it.

After lying there a while, Janet carefully rolled off the bed, undressed herself, and slipped into a comfortable nightgown. Her feet and ankles
were somewhat swollen, and it felt good to remove her shoes and stockings and wiggle her toes.

Back on the bed, she plumped up the pillows against the headboard and tried to settle herself comfortably against them. She picked up the book she’d been reading and opened it to a dog-eared page that marked the spot where she’d left off.

Soon there was a tap on her door, and Linda’s voice said, “Okay if I come in, Janet?”

“Sure,” Janet called. “Come on in.”

“How is everything?”

“Quiet at the moment.”

“Anything I can get you?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Okay. If you need me, give a holler.”

Linda stepped into the hall, and Janet listened to her footsteps fading away.

After reading for a few minutes, her eyes grew heavy. She turned down the corner of a page and laid the book on the nightstand, then slid down under the covers. The lamp on the nightstand was still burning as she slipped into a light sleep.

Suddenly Janet sat bolt upright in bed, gasping. She grabbed her protruding midsection and emitted a low moan. The pain slowly subsided, and she lay back down.

All was well for a few minutes. She was about to drift back to sleep when the pain shot through her again. After a series of sharp pains, Janet gingerly worked her way to the side of the bed and swung her feet over the edge. Another pain hit her. She ejected a grunting sound and clutched her midsection. When the pain had passed, she struggled to push herself to a standing position.

When she was on her feet, she headed for the door, hanging on to pieces of furniture for support. Wrestling the door open, she braced herself on the door frame and weakly called, “Linda!”

The house was quiet, and the hall was dimly lit by a lamp on a small table near the stairs.

When there was no response, Janet groped her way along the wall in the direction of the master bedroom and called again, “Linda-a-a!”

Suddenly the door of the master bedroom came open, and Linda appeared, donning her robe. She rushed to Janet and put an arm around her. “Have you gone into labor?”

A pain hit as Janet nodded.

Blake’s voice came from the open door. “Linda … anything I can do?”

“Yes!” she called over her shoulder. “Go get Dr. Martin! Come on, Janet, let’s get you back in the bed.”

Because of the pains, it was a slow process to get Janet to her bed-room. They heard Blake pound down the stairs just as Linda placed the pillows under her sister’s head.

Another spasm shot through Janet, and Linda held her hand and brushed a wet lock of hair from her forehead as she let out a moan.

“Even though this is your first baby,” Linda said softly, “your contractions are quite close together already. Maybe you’ll have a quick delivery.”

“I … hope … so,” Janet said through her teeth. “I want … to … get this … over with.”