“Now Vanessa, I’m fine on a ladder. Just not on a windy day.” She motioned to the house. “And now I have six high schoolers cleaning my living room and not one of them knows where to find the Windex.”
Vanessa nodded. “Okay. You stay here. Sadie and I will take the house.”
Half an hour later things on the inside were under control. Sadie worked on the laundry. Already the towels were folded, and two more loads were being washed and dried. At the same time, the students had vacuumed the house and tidied the main rooms.
Mrs. Benson needed more help than Vanessa had realized. She worked in the kitchen, cleaning the woman’s stove. Sadie came up to her and leaned against the kitchen counter. “You’re amazing, Mom.” She watched Vanessa. “This whole Columbus Cares thing is because of you.”
“And your dad.” Vanessa felt a wave of sorrow. The way she didn’t often feel it anymore. “This is just what he always wanted. A way for the military families to help their own.”
“Well... he’d be proud of you.” Sadie looked around. “You made it happen.”
“We all did. You, me, Leigh, Maria. So many people.” Vanessa never felt like it was her idea alone. There were more than a hundred thousand military family members in Columbus after all. Many people did what they could to help, even beyond the year-round assistance from Columbus Cares.
Sadie was quiet for a beat. “Can I tell you something? I’m sorry for cutting you off the other night. When you wanted to talk.”
The admission surprised Vanessa. She slipped her arm around Sadie’s shoulders. “Don’t worry about it, honey. We can talk later. It wasn’t the best timing on my part.”
They both laughed. Ten minutes later when things were sufficiently under control, she and Sadie helped Mrs. Benson back to her house. The woman used the scooter to get set up in her recliner. “The pillows on that far sofa should be straighter.” Mrs. Benson smiled. “If y’all wouldn’t mind.”
Vanessa and Sadie laughed again. The sensation felt wonderful, she and Sadie sharing the humor of their time at Mrs. Benson’s house.
And later, Vanessa would find time to bring up the idea of dating and the specifics about Ben. Sadie looked ready to talk, and that was all Vanessa could ask for.
The back room at Millers’ Antiques was overrun with boxes when Ben set to work that day. He wasn’t going to return to Columbus until tomorrow morning. He’d already told Vanessa. Too much work to do here to help his dad.
Before working on the cardboard boxes that had arrived while he was gone, Ben went through the bags of things he’d bought in Columbus. He would remove the item from its bag, take off the tag, and polish it up. Then his dad would bounce into the back room and scurry the items out to the storefront.
Just four days till Christmas and things were flying off the shelves.
His dad returned from the shop. “It’s hopping out there.”
“God has blessed us, that’s for sure.” Ben pulled an old typewriter from a box of heavier Columbus items. “Look at this relic.”
His father marveled at the piece. “Gotta be two hundred years old.”
“That’s just about right.” Ben chuckled. “You know your antiques.”
“Speaking of which.” His dad pierced the air with his pointer finger. “I haven’t shown you my treasure.”
“No.” Ben smiled at him. “No, you haven’t.”
“I’ll be right back.” With great care his father carried the typewriter toward the storefront. “I’m putting this right up in the window.”
“It’ll be gone before Christmas.” Ben pulled the fountain pen from a bag.
“Are you kidding? It’ll be gone by tomorrow.”
Something caught Ben’s eye. A bookcase that usually stood in the center of the store was broken. Must’ve happened while he was in Columbus. Ben would fix it before he left town again.
In no time his dad returned. He held a small green velvet box and handed it to Ben. “When was the last time you held a twenty-five-thousand-dollar piece of jewelry?”
“Uh, never.” Ben grinned as he took the box.
From the front of the store, they heard Gary yell, “Howard, get back here! Someone has a question about the typewriter.”
His father shook his head and hurried for the front. “Why do I even have a clerk?”
Ben chuckled. The two men were quite the pair.
