Promise Kept, page 1
Copyright
ISBN 978-1-60260-503-9
Copyright © 2009 by Cara C. Putman. All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the permission of Truly Yours, an imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc., PO Box 721, Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.
All scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
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Prologue
November 1939
The tick of the second hand rounding the face of the grandfather clock jarred the sudden silence in the small church anteroom. Josephine Miller stared at it, praying it could somehow speed up. Her wedding would start in a matter of minutes. The thought was wonderful. Why did time slow and each second seem to take a minute when all she wanted to do was sweep out of the room and race down the aisle?
In the middle of these crazy, uncertain times, Art Wilson had swept her off her feet and made her feel cherished in a way that blocked out everything.
She turned to look in the mirror standing against the wall; her fingers fidgeted with the pleats as she scanned her appearance. Her white gown flowed around her like a dress designed for a princess. Mama had managed to tame Josie’s hair into a sleek upsweep, so different from how she looked most days. Her mother sighed, and Josie caught her gaze in the mirror’s reflection.
“You look so beautiful.” Mama smiled and pressed her handkerchief to the corners of her eyes. “The gown fits you perfectly.”
Joy bubbled around the butterflies filling Josie’s stomach. The day she’d longed for had arrived. Only one thing would make her joy complete. If only they’d make their first home in Dayton.
Her smile faltered in the mirror. How she wished Art hadn’t accepted a position miles from Dayton and home. She knew the job would provide a strong start for them, an opportunity Art hadn’t found in Dayton. Her dreams they’d start life in a small apartment near Mama and Daddy had evaporated. Instead, they’d head to Cincinnati. She’d longed for an adventure, and this move fit the bill. The chance to launch their life on their own was reality. While it might not have been her initial dream, a tingle of excitement edged the glow of anticipation she felt when she thought about her new life with her husband. Husband. She rolled the word around in her mind again and again. Heat flushed her cheeks as she thought of everything the word meant. God had blessed her!
“Josephine Miller, you’ll be late to your own wedding if you don’t move.” Her younger sister’s sharp words pulled Josie from her thoughts.
Josie cleared her throat. “Isn’t that Mama’s line, Kat?”
Mama laughed as Josie fiddled with the bottom of her lace jacket. It topped a floor-length, lace-covered gown that made her feel like a movie star or wealthy socialite.
Kat stood in the glow of colors flowing through the stained-glass window. They accented her athletic form and the bruise she’d acquired in her latest game with the boys. Josie shook her head. Clothing Kat in a dress didn’t make the girl any less of a tomboy. Kat caught her stare and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Just remember I’m the one who told you Art was interested.”
The door groaned on its hinges as it pushed into the room, making way for Carolynn Treen. Carolynn had done an amazing job pulling together the wedding of Josie’s dreams. Josie’s breath caught at the thought.
Carolynn shut the door behind her. “Are you ready, Josie? The organist is waiting for her cue.”
“She’s ready.” Kat played with Josie’s small bouquet before placing it back in the vase. “She can’t stop fidgeting.”
“I’ve waited a long time for this moment.” Friendship followed by a courtship. Josie had known before Art asked that he was the kind of man she wanted to marry. His firm character and commitment to God made him the one she could imagine spending the rest of her life with.
“Only a few more minutes.” Carolynn laughed and motioned her hand in a circle. “Twirl, Josie. Let me absorb your beauty.”
Josie lowered her chin demurely as she obeyed.
“Hmmm. Art is a lucky man.” Carolynn squeezed Josie and squealed. “Can you believe it? You’re getting married!”
A lopsided smile stretched Kat’s face. “About time. Now I get my own room.”
“When you put it that way, I’m surprised you didn’t push me out sooner.” Josie tried to make her expression match her stern words, but couldn’t. Tickles of joy pulsed through her.
It was here.
Her wedding.
The tickle turned to full-fledged, gut-splitting happiness.
She’d dreamed someday she would find a man like Art Wilson. But with the war consuming Europe, matters like love seemed trivial. She’d tried to be content helping Mama take care of the house and Daddy, Kat, and her older brother, Mark. Then she’d met Art at church. . . .
Kat snorted. “Ugh. You’re thinking about him again. Let’s get this wedding over. You are way too focused on him.”
Oh, to be thirteen again with unlimited wisdom.
Carolynn’s sweet laugh filled the room as she ruffled Kat’s curls. “Someday, you’ll understand. You won’t be thirteen forever.”
The look on Kat’s face telegraphed she sincerely doubted she’d ever be as crazy about someone as Josie was for Art.
Carolynn tugged a corner of Josie’s veil. “There. You look perfect. Well, I’d better get back out there and let them know you’re ready.”
Josie hugged Carolynn, then brushed the top of the comb holding the veil back in place. Artificial pearls dotted the top, hiding the stems of the baby’s breath lining the veil.
The first notes of “Amazing Grace” filtered through the door. Mama tucked her handkerchief in her sleeve and smiled. “I’d best head in. Let them usher me to my place.” She kissed Josie on the cheek and hugged her lightly, the sweet scent of violets filling the air around her. “Love you, Josephine.”
Josie sucked in a deep breath and eased it out as Mama slipped from the room. She loved Art to the very core of her being. She’d been amazed to realize one could know something so important in a matter of days. He treated her like a treasured gift, someone he couldn’t believe he’d wooed.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“I’m here, darling.” Louis Miller strode into the room, looking dapper, if professorial, in his best suit. He buttoned the final button on his double-breasted jacket that eased across his ample belly. “You look beautiful, Josephine. Art is lucky to have won you.”
Peace filtered into her heart. Daddy would only give his blessing to her marriage to a man he believed would care deeply for her. “Thank you.” She took a deep breath. “I can’t believe I’m getting married.”
“My happiest days were the day I married your mama and the days each of you kids were born. Serve and love him with all you have.” Daddy’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “My prayer is that you will have a love that transforms your life like my love for your mama has me.”
The music changed to the sweet strains of “It Is Well with My Soul.” It might not be everybody’s idea of wedding music, but every time she heard the tune, the words spoke to her soul. She longed to race through the door and up the aisle of the community church. Art and the minister would stand at the front, waiting for her.
Daddy swallowed; then he offered his arm. “It’s time, Jo.”
“I’m ready.” She slipped her hand through his arm and closed her eyes. When she opened them, Kat slipped past her. Kat’s green dress highlighted her pale complexion and the reddish highlights in her hair. Kat had taken after Mama’s Irish heritage, while Josie looked more like her daddy’s mother. Carolynn squeezed her hand before she moved out the door and to the sanctuary. How could she say good-bye to Carolynn? The friend who had cried and dreamed with her?
Daddy tucked her closer to his side. Together, they stepped toward the sanctuary and her future.
❧
The music swelled from the organ, and the pastor motioned for the congregation to stand. Art Wilson marveled at the many people who filled the rows to celebrate his marriage to Josephine Miller. Many were strangers, friends of her family. His family filled one row, and a few of his college friends took another. He tugged at the sleeves of his dark suit coat. Where was his beautiful bride? The ceremony should have started by now, but every minute seemed to stretch. He’d waited a lifetime for this moment. He bounced on his toes as he tried to see over the crowd and find her.
Just one glance of her dark waves. That’s all he wanted. One glimpse that solidified the fact she would soon wear his name.
Josie was marrying him. Arthur Wilson. Man with faith and hope for the future, with some money in his bank account. This new job would only improve their circumstances since it held the opportunity to provide well for her. And any kids God blessed them with. He hadn’t thought his grin could get any bigger, but the thought of little Josies running around someday made his heart about explode. Yes, he was a man blessed beyond words that a woman like her could love a man like him.
There she was. He stilled, drinking in every detail. She was a vision in white lace. Her dark hair was pulled off her slender neck, and a sweet smile graced her lips, then moved to her eyes when she saw him. The light of promise filled her eyes. No woman had ever looked lovelier. Mr. Miller looked like he had a slim grip on his emotions. How ha
“Who gives this woman to this man?” Pastor Richmond’s deep voice reverberated through the sanctuary.
“I do.” Mr. Miller handed Josie to him. “Take good care of her, son.”
Art captured her soft hand in his. “I will, sir.” He gazed into Josie’s eyes. Her lips trembled at the edges as she gazed at him. “I love you, Josie.”
“I love you more.”
A certainty settled on him. He promised to do everything in his power to make this woman understand how much he treasured and loved her.
One
January 1940
The smell of ground beef frying in the skillet filled the kitchen. Josie grabbed a bottle of milk from the icebox and turned to the table.
“Mix the biscuits. Brown the meat.” The steps to preparing the meal tripped off her tongue. Tonight they would celebrate their two-month anniversary. She wanted to make the evening special but didn’t trust herself to broil steak. If only she’d paid a bit more attention when Mama had tried to teach her the finer details of cooking. Nope, she’d had to focus on housekeeping. The apartment sparkled while she slowly tried one recipe after another with varying degrees of success. She was blessed that Art played the good sport regardless of what she plopped on the table.
Warmth flooded her at the thought of Art’s smile as he walked through the front door and pulled her into his embrace. She counted down to the moment he appeared. Each day, it seemed he raced home as if another moment’s separation would be too much.
Two months. In her most extravagant imaginations, she hadn’t pictured how wonderful marriage truly was.
She glanced around the apartment. It was small, but close enough to Art’s job that he walked to the factory on all but the coldest days. While he worked, she added touches to the rooms, turning the space into a home. Grandma’s davenport, decorated with a few pillows and Aunt Mary’s doilies, sat against one wall in the living room. A tiny, round table—nothing like Mama’s large one—filled the other corner. Josie had slipped a flowered cloth over it. The matching fabric for curtains sat on the lone chair in the bedroom. Soon, she’d buckle down and hem them. She’d made great strides in the room, but there was more she could do to make it feel like home. She turned on the radio that sat on the floor next to the couch. She’d fill the air with Glenn Miller tunes matching her celebratory mood.
As the swinging music filled the air, Josie spun around the room. She must make quite a picture. Joy bubbled inside and spilled over as she laughed.
“It’s only a two-month anniversary.”
If she felt this excited now, she couldn’t imagine what life would be like when they hit six months. A year. Fifteen years.
❧
Art glanced at his pocket watch. It felt weighty and substantial in his hand, like the expectations of the men in his family, particularly his grandfather. He’d never forget the words Grandfather spoke as he had handed the gold watch to Art at his college graduation. “You may have graduated, son, but the men in this family have each earned their way in this world, and I expect no less of you. With your education, you should do more than the others.”
Do more.
No handouts.
Grandfather couldn’t have been clearer. He was a self-made man and expected nothing less from Art. Forget the millions sitting in Grandfather’s bank account.
A little money would have been nice as a wedding present. Help him and Josie get started. But that wasn’t Grandfather’s way. Art could respect that.
Art’s thoughts turned back to his desk. He’d cleared about as much as he could if he still hoped to get home at a decent time. His accounting job with the E. K. Fine Piano Company was a good position. It built on the eclectic experience he’d gained at a small firm in Dayton. The difference? Now he used his education and training every day. That’s what he’d wanted when he took the position.
He looked at the stack of papers and corporate books on his desk. A weight settled in his gut. He could work for two months straight and never complete all the work. The firm had been without a bookkeeper too long. It would take forever to straighten out the mess. Yet Art also knew he should be grateful. Thanks to the weak economy, good jobs were still hard to find.
He stared at the piles of paper, but his thoughts were with his bride. Josie. Warmth filled him at the thought of her. Marriage to her exceeded his hopes. Life was richer. Not for one minute did he miss going home to a small, empty bachelor’s pad each evening. He glanced at the watch again, deciding to stay a few minutes more. After all, working hard at his job was taking care of his bride.
“Wilson, you still here?” Edward Kendall Fine III stopped at Art’s desk. The rotund man liked to emphasize the fact he was the third. Art failed to see the significance since he’d never known E. K. Fine the first or second. “Burning the midnight oil, I see. I like that in a man. Willing to work until the job’s done.”
Art wavered between smiling or groaning. In the few weeks he’d been at E. K. Fine’s Piano Company, it had become crystal clear that E. K. Fine would squeeze everything from the men in his employ. Every last drop of work.
“Making sure I understand the complexities of the company, sir.”
Mr. Fine showed his crooked teeth in what some would call a smile. “See to it you do, Wilson. This is a big company. Lots of issues to stay on top of. Keep those books clean.”
Art nodded, then opened his mouth.
“Well, I’m off to see the missus. Good night.”
Art closed his mouth. Surely if Mr. Fine was headed home, he could, too. The time on his watch stamped in his mind. Six o’clock. He’d have to hurry his walk or be more than an hour late. Josie would understand, wouldn’t she?
❧
The dish sat on the stove, ready to pop into the oven the moment Art walked in the door. Josie curled up on the davenport and tried to follow the flow of words as they swam across the pages of the book. Usually, Willa Cather’s characters spoke to her, but tonight, every fiber seemed tuned to the door as she listened for the sound of Art’s footsteps in the hallway. Her stomach grumbled its protest that it was past dinner time.
She heard the creak of one of the hall floorboards. Josie tossed the book onto the couch and stood. Brushing the wrinkles from her skirt, she hurried to the door. He was finally home! Josie pulled the apartment door open and leaned against the doorjamb. “Welcome home.”
Art’s hair stood up in all directions, as if he’d carelessly run his fingers through it. A smile tugged the corner of her mouth at the thought. She’d seen him make that gesture so many times.
Fatigue weighed down the corners of his eyes. “Thanks.” He brushed a kiss on her cheek and pulled her into the apartment with him. “Another day in the office finished.”
“Night, too.” She whispered the words under her breath. Maybe he wouldn’t notice.
Art stopped and looked at her. “What’s that mean?”
“Nothing.” Josie slid her arms around his waist. “I wish my groom were home more. It’s lonely here without you.”
“I miss you, too.” He snuggled her closer. She giggled and pulled away.
“Let me get supper in the oven.”
Art shrugged out of his coat, plopping it over the back of a chair. “Smells good.”
Josie crossed her fingers. “Hope it tastes good.” She drew the word out as she popped the pan in the oven. Tugging him to the couch, she sank onto its cushion. “Tell me about your day.”
He leaned against the back, head tipped toward the ceiling. His words about trying to catch the company’s books up-to-date flowed over her. She didn’t really understand much of what he did, but that didn’t matter. What did matter was that he loved what he did. And he loved her. She might be a little lonely when he was gone, but she’d do something about that eventually. Right now, she enjoyed the time to develop their relationship as it explored this new level.
“Did you get out today?”
“Just to the library and the grocer.”
