Chapter 8 - There For You Wherever I Am

Annie was driven over to the Home for Girls once Molly was taken to school in May of 1943.

"Hey," she said as the girls and boys began to gather for classes. Everyone greeted Annie warmly, especially Hattie. "Hey, you've learned it can be pretty nice when you treat others nice, huh?"

"I'd never want to go back where I was born," Hattie proclaimed. With others it might be seen as melodramatic, but with Hattie, the dramatic tone was probably warranted.

"I know. We always try to make it special for you children." With Hattie having run over to get another hug from Duffy - she had been scolded and sat in the cornerfor scaring the little ones, it was still a couple weeks before the worst of that would be stopped - Annie asked, "DId you guys get my message?"

"We did; July felt it, too; she woke up about 5 this morning, in fact. A few of the others really wanted to pray for Pepper, too." She told Hattie to join the others in the school rooms. Once Hattie was gone she said: "We were going to call and ask if you did, but you called first. I wonder what's going on."

"I wish I knew. It must be something big."

It wasn't unusual. It would happen a couple other times, too, later in the year. It also made Duffy think.

She'd been worried about John lately. He'd gone overseas, she didn't know where, though. All she knew was it was in the Pacific. Duffy had shuddered when she thought of that.

She loved being on stage, but wherever she was, she was, at least, on dry ground. It was firm, unshakable. Her jumping and twirling showed she had mastered it. She'd tried to go on a boat once and, while she managed to steady herself, it was a very unsettling feeling. Sort of like being back in the orphanage had been.

—-

A month later, Duffy still prayed and fretted.

"What's wrong?" Hattie asked. "Are you scared?"

Duffy picked her up, put her on her lap, and gave her a huge hug. "I'm so proud of you for thinking about me." It was a small step, but she knew Hattie needed more than admonition; and boy, had Molly ever admonished her loudly about what it was like to have nightmares. Between the two of them, they had gotten Hatte on a mission to ban Hansel and Gretel. They agreed instead to simply never have the story in the Home For Girls or Home For Boys.

Now, a couple weeks after that had ended, Hattie was trying to learn how to comfort people.

She wasn't ready to catch when Duffy's heart leaped into her throat upon Miss Rose announcing that one of John's parents was there.

Duffy froze and tried to think. If a soldier or sailor died, they notified all next of kin - otherwise just one would be notified. But, she was just his fiance - while she might have been included in the list, right now she couldn't recall if she had been. It would have been very special, but possible.

"Hey, Duffy," the man said. "It's good to see you."

"Hi. Uh… is it about John?" She couldn't bring herself to ask how John was.

He nodded. "He's lost an arm, and a lot of bloood. Part of his boat fell on him in an explosion. But, thankfully, they managed to save him."

Duffy sat down and cried. He didn't know who the girl was who had run up to her and hugged her. But, he figured it was an orphan. Not sure who else to tell, he looked around and found July.

"Thanks. I think Duffy just has so much worry built up. He lost an arm…" July hesitated, but decided to ask: "Does this mean… he's coming home?"

"Eventually, yes. When I say it… well, I probably shouldn't get into particulars, I know the girls would be horrified, and, frankly, you might be, too."

"Did you hear that, Duffy?" Duffy nodded, but July repeated it anyway. "He'll be coming home," she choked out.

"That's right…" Duffy brushed away a tear. "Hattie, I'm so glad you want to comfort me. I'm so proud of how you've grown the last few months."

"I better keep it up," she said, mindful of what had happened before she'd begun to learn how to copy the comforting they did.

"You will, Dear," MIss Rose assured her.

"A man from the local office came… just like they do when telling someone their loved one has died. I know John was ready, but… he said whatever he had to go through, he was going to try to make it home. To tell you the truth, I think he was thinking more about what you hear about with Bataan, thanks to the Davao Dozen," John's father said.

"I know," Duffy said. "It kind of reminds me of how we've been praying for… someone we know. We've always said we'll be there, wherever you are. I told John about that. We told each other that in letters some weeks back - that we'd each be there for the other no matter where we were," she said. The idea of the Death March had made her shudder, but she had known he might be able to hold out.

Then again, that's what every wife and sweetheart thought, she realized.

"Look at me," Duffy said as she looked Hattie in the eye as the girl knelt on her lap. "I'm such a swirl of emotions right now."

"Can I help?"

"Well… is he sure to make it?" When his dad said it was just a matter of time though that time could be months, Duffy turned back to Hattie. "If I start to look real sad, just remind me he's coming home. There's a certain something about marriage." She addressed the other girls who had come into the room, too. "The vows say 'Till death do you part.' That means if someone has a really bad illness, or they lose an arm in this case, or whatever it is you have to help them with, you're committed to them. It might never happen - or it might just happen when you're real old. But, I can tell John loves me, and I love him. We have a real friendship bond, it's not just about looks." She lifted Hattie off her lap and strode with determination over to a writing table. "I don't care how many limbs he lost. Here - can you wait while I write a short letter?"

"I'll come back late today or tomorrow," he said. "I still have to visit a few relatives. I knew you'd want to know right away."

"Thanks." She ran back and gave him an impromptu hug, and only after their embrace did they finally part. She stood there looking out the door for a moment, looked skyward, and said, "Thank you, Lord. Whatever Your decision on his time to go was, I'd have known you loved me. But, I'm so glad he's coming home."

It had happened again with Pepper, that intense desire to pray. "It's amazing how we feel connected; just like you and John have been," July said.

"Yeah; it's funny, you prayed for a while, then you kept thinking about him while he started to recover, like you didn't know what to do," Annie said.

Duffy agreed. The others were all outside playing, so she could relax in the kitchen and sit at the table and talk - for a couple minutes, at least. "Anyway, Annie, now that we know John's coming home for good, we're getting married in late December, and.. Well, I've got a question to ask your parents. About how they did it." To Annie's expectant look, Duffy nodded excitedly. "We're going to adopt Hattie."

"I thought you might. I think she said something about you being like a mom should be within a few weeks of her coming."

"Yeah, in fact right after…" Duffy didn't like thinking about what she'd had to do. "Well, when she ran back in after going off to see the other girls, and then we had another long hug and talked some more. I think she sensed my love even before I realized it. You know that's what makes this place special; so much more than when we were orphans here."

Annie agreed. "We still managed to find ways to show it to each other. Like Pepper's cooking. I think she liked doing it."

Duffy agreed. "It gave her something to do, and she felt rewarded when we complimented her on it. I agree," Duffy said. ""I guess even back then, at least in our own little place, there was a war to be won. A war against despair, hopelessness, and so on." She put an arm around Annie. "You like to give us just as much credit. But, I'm so glad you were there to keep us going."

—-

It was late December. Pepper limped into the home just as she had weeks earlier, but her limp wasn't that severe anymore. Her physical scars were healing. The emotional ones? Well, that last time she'd been taken in by the Germans, she'd thought she was a goner. Only the fact the Danish had been so helpful in protecting the Jews anyway, and those who had come to help, allowed them the courage to convince them to free her.

But, the prayers of others had moved mountains, too, she was certain.

"You did a great job as flower girl." Pepper and the others had told Hattie this before, but she knew that Hattie would appreciate hearing it again.

"It was fun to have all the kids blowing bubbles," Annie said.

It would be decades before she had to make decisions like what she and Molly would do with all that wealth - they decided their families would be comfortable a century after they themselves were born, but they sold stuff and spent much of that money making sure lots of kids were cared for all over the world, wells and such were placed in villages, and the Gospel went out to many places, with homes and camps all over, and them working tirelessly with their organizations to ensure that the money wasn't being wasted and nobody was allowed in unless they would treat the children with love and kindness; in fact, they would spend a fair amount of that money stoping a certain type of evil against children which Annie, in their last years, joked to Pepper made them feel a little bit like the comic strip hero Pepper had created.

For now, she simply relaxed in the fun they had with their friends.

Pepper sat and took Hattie's hands in hers. "I'm still dealing with nightmares at times; my mom's going to come over and stay with us when I watch while your parents are on their honeymoon. But I'll tell you something, I'm glad I got the chance to help you." Pepper didn't say anything about how Hattie had had it worse than her.

Hattie imagined some, though. She knew some mean people had beaten up her hero, at least. She gave Pepper a big hug.

Pepper didn't mention that the worst possible stuff had never been done to her. Maybe what she'd faced in Germany was a bit like what Hattie had. But, she didn't want the girl to dwell on that.

Pepper asked something instead "I'm curious. Why do you see me as a hero? Your new mom says you've loved hearing about me since you came."

"You used to be bad sometimes. But now you help people. And you were fighting mean people and help8ng kids like me," Hattie muttered a little shyly. They hadn't known exactly what it was, but they had told her that so it would help her learn she could be the same way.

"Yeah. I needed to do something. It's so hard for the kids over there. All they learn is hate…. And then I would hear about you, and how you had to come here… It broke my heart."

"It's okay," Hattie said. "Sometimes when I was little, before I got really mean cause i'd been treated so mean, I thought there had to be someone nice who could help me. And now I got a real mommy and daddy who do love me."

"And if something happens to them, I'm going to take care of you." Pepper blinked back a tear. "I'm glad you're learning to be nice. I stepped out in faith to help people because I knew someone needed it. But I wound up getting a huge blessing, too. And you will, too, when you help people."

"Thanks. I love you, Aunt Pepper."

"I love you too, Hattie. I'm so glad my friend Duffy and all of us have overcome the evil in this world with good," she said as they hugged.