Lorri nodded, sure she knew what he meant but not prepared for the real thing. She walked into the mess hall and found the men all waiting for her at a table. They were astounded. Hugh Westland needed a few moments to find his voice, as did most of the others. Lionel was the only man who greeted her as though nothing had changed.
"It's good to see you, Miss Lorri."
"It's good to see you, Lionel," Lorri warmly returned, shaking his hand in the process. "I'm so glad you're home safe. I don't know if I ever thanked you for everything."
"You did, Miss Lorri, many times."
Lorri moved to speak to the others, but Hugh was catching Rigg'sear.
"You could have warned us," he accused.
Rigg smiled. "It's more fun this way."
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Hugh shook his head a little. "I don't think I realized just how starved she was. I assumed she was a very thin woman to begin with."
For a moment Rigg was swept back. He could see how easily that would be to imagine. The pathetic little person they rescued- pale and skinny-was difficult to conjure up while in the presence of the current Lorri Archer, who exuded good health and well being.
The time went by fast. Lorri listened to stories of how the war had ended for theEvery Stormas well as to the men's future plans. She also answered questions about her own life and her teaching. Most of the men were not afraid to tell her they were sorry for her loss, and Lorri wondered how many details of their personal lives they were omitting. Hugh had recent information about Harlan Ellis, and Lorri was glad to hear that he was home and recovering well.
She found it a little hard to leave them, but Rigg rescued her with the reminder that they all had to get back to work. Click had given her an envelope of pictures, which she tucked into her purse before Rigg saw her to the car.
"Would it be all right if I stop by tonight?" Rigg asked after he opened Lorri's door.
"Certainly. Would you like to come for dinner?"
"It will probably be afterward if that's all right."
"It's fine. Any time is fine."
Rigg thanked her for coming and smiled his warm, kind smile at her, but Lorri left with a feeling of unease. She didn't think tonight's visit was for pleasure. She tried not to worry about it the rest of the afternoon.
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1
Ruth came from upstairs to find Lorri at the kitchen table, surprised that she hadn't heard her come in. It was on the tip of Ruth's tongue to ask about her trip to the base, but something in her daughter's posture stopped her.
Ruth came forward to see pictures set out on the table. About ten photos in all, they were the focus of Lord's gaze. Her face was dosed and very pale. Ruth sat down slowly, picking up a photo that showed the remains of the plane.
"Oh, my," she whispered. "Where did these come from?"
"A man I only know as Click. He always had a camera with him, but I have no memory of his taking most of these photos."
Ruth looked at Lorri lined up with the men, so thin and emaciated that Ruth's hand shook. She looked like a prisoner of war.
"You posed for this one."
Lorri looked at it. "That was at Seaford, just before I left the boat to see Grandpa."
"And did you see all these men today?"
"Some of them. This man," Lorri said as she pointed, "has cancer; he wasn't there. This is Ensign Westland-he was Rigg's second-in-command. And this is Lionel. He took care of me."
Lorri and Ruth looked at each other.
"Are you glad you have these, or are they too upsetting?"
"They're upsetting, but I'll treasure them, Mother. Look right here," Lorri picked up a picture of the clearing. "Just past these trees is where Josie is buried." ,
Tears came to Ruth's eyes, but they weren't sad tears. It was like receiving a gift. Simple black-and-white photos that let her see a glimpse into her daughter's life.
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"Are you going to write to Click?" "I believe I will"
"Please add my thanks, Lorri. Please make sure he knows how much this means."
"I can't find work here in Harmony Hills or anywhere in southern California," Rigg told Lorri as they sat alone in the backyard that evening. "I've been writing letters for weeks, and no one is hiring architects right now."
"I knew you'd been applying," Lorri said, trying to ignore the sinking in her heart.
"I felt I had no choice," Rigg went on, "but to contact my old firm in Santa Rosa." He paused, his eyes meeting hers. "They have an opening. They want me back."
Lorri licked lips that had suddenly gone dry and found that her mouth was dry too. He was leaving. He couldn't find work here, so he was going to leave.
"What will you do?" Lorri asked in a voice that sounded completely normal.
"I've written and asked them to give me a few weeks. They agreed. If nothing down here comes up in that time, I'll take the offer."
Lorri nodded. "I think you're wise, Rigg. Jobs are not easy to come by right now."
Rigg looked at her, seeing that she was not as calm as she sounded.
"Santa Rosa is a long way from here," he said.
Lorri nodded a little. "It certainly is."
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Lorri could feel his eyes on her and turned her head to look at him. For a time they only watched each other. Lorri read helplessness in his gaze and felt she needed to offer words of comfort.
"I really do understand, Rigg."
"Do you?" he asked quietly. "I wish I did."
To that Lorri added nothing. They stared at each other a bit longer before turning their gaze to the yard. At the moment there didn't seem to be anything else to say.
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Graduation day, June 14,1946, was upon the Archer family without warning. Standing in the living room, cap and gown in place, Max smiled for the picture her mother tried to take.
"I think the light is too bright from the window," Ruth said, staring down at the camera. "Let's close the curtain."
"I'm getting hot," Max complained.
Lorri closed the curtain and then checked her sister's hair.
"This hat looks awful, doesn't it?"
"It's a cap, and yes it does," Lorri replied.
Max didn't expect this. She burst out laughing just as her mother snapped the shutter.
"Raine!" she protested. "She got me with my mouth wide open."
"Well, then it will really look like you."
Again Max was taken off guard and laughed. Dean came in, a box in his hand, and waited for the women to turn.
"Well," he said to Max, "you look almost ready."
"What's missing?" Max asked.
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Dean gave her the box. Inside was a beautiful iris corsage. Max gave him a huge hug and went to the mirror to put it on.
"That was sweet," Ruth told him.
"I'm a sweet guy," Dean teased.
"Have you seen the othersweet guy thatusually hangs around here?" Ruth asked dryly. "We're going to be late."
The doorbell rang on cue. Rigg was in a suit, ready for this grand occasion. In his hand was a gift.
"Gifts now or later?" he asked Max once he'd bent to kiss her cheek.
"We're a little late, so it had better be later. But," she stopped him before he could get too far, "you can tell me what it is."
"Not a chance" was all he was able to get out before Dean hustled them all to the car. Rigg sat in the back with Lorri and Max, pushing thoughts of his departure from his mind. Instead, he concentrated on Max.
"How's the job hunt going?" he asked her. Max had decided against school right away opting to work for a time.
"I've got one at Brennan's if I want it."
"You don't sound like you do."
"I'm still hoping to get in at one of the hospitals. That's the only way I'm going to know if I'm cut out for nursing." She sounded discouraged. "Brennan's wasn't exactly what I had in mind."
She was quiet for the rest of the trip. Once they were there, last-minute hugs were given before Max scooted away to join her classmates.
Rigg and Lorri were side by side for the ceremony. The speeches were too long, as usual, but once the grads started across
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the platform, Max's name was the third one called. Ruth held up nicely, but Lorri found tears pouring down her face.
"Are you thinking of Josie?" Rigg whispered to her.
"Yes, and it's so silly. How can I feel sorry for her missing this when she has heaven?"
Rigg took her hand, knowing he didn't need to answer.
"You look great," Johnny told Max when it was all over. They had done it-they had graduated from high schobl.
"So do you," Max said warmly, smiling up at him. "How are you doing?"
"Better," he told her, knowing that the changes in him were confusing to her. He had gone from speaking to her every day to speaking to no one. Now he was smiling again, in church each Sunday but not falling all over her every time they met "I was looking for happiness in all the wrong spots," Johnny explained for the first time. "I thought if I just had a girl who loved me, I wouldn't feel so lousy. It took a long time to find out I was wrong."
"My grandpa says you're meeting with Pastor Higgins."
"Every week."
"How is that going?"
"It's going well. I thought I knew a lot about the Bible, but I don't. I thought just believing was enough, but it's only the beginning. There's a whole life to be lived in submission to God, and I don't do well with that sort of thing."
"It's nice that we don't have to go through it alone," Max said, thinking of the way God's Spirit lived inside of each believer.
"Yes, it is."
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Johnny's family had arrived.
"I'll let you go," Max said with a hand to his arm before starting away.
"Max" Johnny stopped her. "Can I stop and see you sometime?"
"Yes, Johnny," she was able to say for the first time. "Td like
that."
Not ten steps later, Max's family found her. They hugged her with great enthusiasm, assuming that the tears in her eyes were all about graduation.
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The Fourth of July, 1946, was on a Thursday. Americans everywhere celebrated the nation's one hundred and seventieth birthday, and the Archers were no different, working all morning on the food they would take to the church picnic that afternoon.
Lorri was kept especially busy. Rigg was done with the military. His belongings were packed, and he was leaving for Santa Rosa in the morning. His job with Bankman and Associates would start on Monday. Lorri was pleased for him, but her heart still hadn't taken it in. He was leaving. She didn't know how she would stand it, so she tried not to think about it.
"How are those potatoes coming?" Ruth asked, peering into the pot
"Just about ready," Lorri told her. "I hope you know that every woman in the church will bring potato salad."
"That's why we're not taking it," Ruth said, pleased with her planning. "I'm always exhausted after the Fourth of July, so that salad is for tomorrow. We're taking the fruit salad Max is working on."
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Lorri laughed at her mother's satisfied tone.
"What else are we taking?" Max asked.
"Two pies, and those little rolls with ham and cheese."
"Oh, my favorite," Max said dramatically.
"Hey, Muffin " Lorri said sweetly to the cat that curled around her legs. "Are you behaving yourself?"
"She doesn't know how," Ruth said wryly, having wrestled a sock from her just that morning.
"She thinks she's a great hunter" Max declared. "She would have made a good lion."
"If lions lived on socks and underslips," Ruth put in.
"And bras!" Max added.
"Oh, that was awful!" Lorri groaned. "I may never get over it."
"You're going to marry the man, Raine, and then it won't matter "
"I think you forgot that he's leaving, Max."
"God can work these things out, Raine; just you wait and see."
Lorri tossed her sister a tolerant glance, but if the truth be told, she had done far more worrying than praying lately. With the school year ended, she was out of a job, and there was way too much time to sit around and worry about Rigg's departure. Lorri knew better but wasn't finding it easy to trust these days.
When the eggs and potatoes were done, Lorri pushed her thoughts aside to make the salad, once again choosing to ignore the situation rather than deal with it.
"Hey, Max."
Max wondered at the way her heart thudded at the sound of his voice. She turned to find Johnny behind her. They hadn't
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spoken since graduation, and she had not assumed he would be here this day.
"Hi, Johnny. How are you?"
"Fine. Yourself?"
"Fine."
"How's the job going?"
"It's all right-better than I thought it would be. How's your job?"
"It gets pretty hot on the job site during these months, but the pay is good, and I need the money for school."
Max^was about to ask Johnny something else when she spotted someone behind him.
"Johnny, is your family here?"
Johnny's face lit with pleasure he did nothing to hide.
"They are here."
"Johnny," Max had to ask, "why did you stop coming to church a few years ago?"
"Because my parents never changed. They made my sister and me attend church with them each week and sit through sermons we found boring, but all they did at home was fight and spend too much money. I didn't see the point, so I started refusing to go. Then my sister stayed home with me, and eventually my whole family gave up."
Max nodded with compassion, seeing how easily it could happen. She had more questions for Johnny, but Arlene was coming.
"Maybe I'll see you later," Johnny said, turning back toward his family just after Arlene arrived and greeted him.
The two girls looked at each other, questions in Arlene's eyes, but Max gave a small shake of her head, telling her friend she couldn't talk about it right then.
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Rigg and Lorri had driven separately from the family. The picnic complete, the fireworks over, Rigg drove Lorri home in silence. He found himself wishing he'd not already started to pack the car-it only reminded them-but knew it would not change the inevitable. Rigg pulled into the driveway, and they stood and talked for the last time.
"It was a fun day," Lorri started.
"Yes, it was," Rigg agreed, thinking she had never been sweeter or looked lovelier.
"What would you have done in Santa Rosa today?"
"Probably the same thing-picnic with the church family."
Lorri could only nod, her throat suddenly tight. She had so much to say but forced herself to be brief.
"I'll miss you, Donovan Riggs, but I wish you the best, and I want you to take good care of yourself."
"I'll see you again," he said to her, having heard this note of finality in her voice before. "Iwillsee you again, Lorraine."
Trying to picture weeks and months without him, Lorri nodded and wasn't able to stop the tears that flooded her eyes.
Rigg suddenly put his arms around her, holding her close to his chest, and Lorri hugged him right back.
"I'll write you," he whispered, bending close to her ear.
"I'll write back," Lorri promised.
Rigg couldn't take it any longer. He released her gently and slipped back into the car. Lorri stood on the driveway and waved as the car pulled away, her heart frozen in her chest.
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How could You do this?Ruth asked of God late that night. Alone in the living room, she sat on the sofa, trying to make sense of God's will.She's lost so much-we all have-and now Yo
u've taken Rigg away,Ruth accused. Idon't understand; I just feel pain.
Ruth buried her face in the sleeve of her bathrobe to muffle her sobs, sure she was not going to survive this test. Rigg had come into their lives. They had all grown to love him. And Ruth thought if she lived to be a hundred she would never forget Lord's face when she'd come into the house. Dry-eyed and in a state of shock, she had told everyone goodnight and gone up to her room.
Ruth thought it would have been easier if she'd cried. She had checked on her when she went to bed, but even though Lorri was awake and still dry-eyed, she didn't want to talk.
Sleep had been hours away for Ruth. She had tossed and turned far into the night before giving up and going downstairs. Grabbing her Bible, but not really knowing why, Ruth acknowledged her anger at God. She didn't want to hear anything He had to say.
This attitude, however, did not last. In her heart Ruth knew her only solace was God's comfort. She cried for a time but eventually opened to Psalm 27. As she read with sudden hunger, many verses jumped out at her.
"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice; have mercy also upon me, and answer me. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face, my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger. Thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation....Ihad fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord."
Oh, Father,Ruth was forced to pray, completely humbled by the words.I blamed You and was angry, and I'm sorry. I lost my
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trust. I was sure You had failed. I'm sorry. I have no excuse except for wanting my way. I thought Rigg was the one, but You know best. Help me not to lose heart again. Help me to remember Your faithfulness so my own will be sound.
Ruth was suddenly spent. Having come full circle from anger to repentance, she didn't have the physical will or strength to stand. Clicking off the light and pulling her robe around her a little more, she slept on the sofa this night.
The last person Max expected to see in the women's department of Brennan's an hour before closing time was Johnny King, but he was there, his younger sister in tow. His sister began to look at dresses almost immediately, but Johnny stood, clearly uncomfortable in his surroundings.