Faith and Hope

The response I will not put here, just understand it was not kind toward the husband.

The next day a few minutes after noon she called back and asked a lot of questions. I answered them all honestly but was afraid to give away where we lived just yet.

It was the next Tuesday when she called and asked if I would consent to meet her. I told her I would be in a city near her to pick up some items for my job on Friday. I named a restaurant and told her I could meet her there at 1 in the afternoon. I was there at noon; she was there at 12:30.

After watching her for ten minutes I approached her. "Mary, I am Bob. Anna and I are good friends" I sat across from her. We talked for well over 2 hours before she broke down and cried.

"I did not agree with throwing her out. Her father did not believe she had been drugged and raped. I could see the sadness in her eyes even before she first spoke. Her father was a good man most of the time; this time he was wrong and stepped over the line with his actions. I became so lonely since he chose to hide inside a bottle to avoid the shame he felt. It only got worse after I was in the hospital because Anna stayed away to avoid causing him beating me again."

"Anna did not cause him to beat you. It was all his own choosing. Only a coward beats on someone who is defenseless."

I asked what her most urgent wish was. She told me "...to see her daughter and granddaughter."

I told her I would see what I could do. I paid the check as I went out the door.

That evening I was a little happier. Anna noticed it immediately. "Why are you so happy?"

"No special reason; just the holidays I guess. If there was any one special thing you could have for Christmas, what would it be?"

"Just to be with the man I love and adore."

"No special jewelry or gadgets?"

"I have been thinking about how the season was always so special between my mother and me. I miss her most of all at this time of year. I just can't bear the thought of my father hurting her again."

"No, I don't suppose that would be right."

The next day I called Mary again. I told her "Buy a few simple gifts that Anna and Mary would like. Have them wrapped and ready. I will call you at noon on Christmas Eve with directions and an address, please be there for supper at 5:30. Pack a bag with enough to stay for up to a week if you wish. There is also another small girl there you will get to know."

I could hear the excitement in her voice as she confirmed my instructions.

Christmas Eve I called to give her the directions, they were simple. She was to get on state road 34 and drive to our town. After she passed the big dairy barn on the right she turned left on Maple Street and went 3 blocks to the big brown house on the corner numbered 2130. She was to go to the basement door on the right side of the house and ring the bell. Any time after 5 would be fine.

She giggled as she hung up.

At 5:05 there was a ring from the basement door. Mary ran down to see why someone was at that door; after all everyone always came to the front of the house.

She called up the steps "Momma, there is a woman here asking for you."

Anna had a look on her face that said this is not the time to bother me.

"Go see who it is, Faith and I will make sure nothing gets burned."

"Faith, yeah she can do it. You PFFFffft."

I smiled and waved Faith over to stand by me. "Watch this." I whispered as Anna went down the stairs.

I heard a muffled "Momma?" and then a thump. I guess I didn't figure that one correctly.

"Faith, watch the food for a few minutes." I ran down the stairs. As I got to the bottom Anna was just laying on the floor looking up.

"Momma, how did you find us?"

"You can thank that man behind you."

Now, I had never seen that look on anyone's face before. I was not sure if I was in trouble or had just done the most wonderful thing in the world. I reached down to help Anna up; she pulled me down on top of her and gave me the biggest kiss I ever received.

"So, I am not in trouble?"

"Maybe later!" I got another super kiss.

As we went back up the stairs I heard Anna whisper "What about Daddy?"

"No problem, I will tell you about it in a day or two. We don't need to go into that tonight."

For the record Faith did well with all the food.

When we got up to the kitchen Grandma, as she asked to be called, was introduced to the girls.

The conversation at supper was lively; everybody wanted to know about everybody else.

We went to church at 7:30; Mary and Faith were shepherds in the play. They were the best actors there. Well, OK, maybe my opinion was a little biased. I don't care what anyone else thinks.

Martha and Bob called Christmas morning. Bob almost let the cat out of the bag about her father when he said: "I am sorry about your Dad". He managed to extract himself from trouble when he explained he meant to say he was sorry Anna's Dad was not able to make it.

If I had known how badly Mary's car was running I would have made other arrangements to get her to our place. I paid the garage $450 to make it run correctly. Anna managed to pry more information out of her mother; she had not been able to make the payments on her home since her husband died. She owed 11 more payments but was behind by 3; her savings was seriously depleted. Anna had saved enough to cover 2 of the owed payments, I covered the other. The house needed some repairs too.

Mary had so many wonderful memories of the house, but the last few years had soured her life there. She wanted to sell it and find another that was not so big. Since her husband hid in his bottles she found out who her real friends were; there were only 2 real friends. One of her friends was a realtor, she kept telling Mary that the land under the house was worth much more than the house. The friend said she should "sell the old, drafty barn and move on. If Mary chose to list with another agent she would not be offended." She offered to watch over their shoulders to be sure Mary was treated right.

Mary had 6 acres in the center of town; it would sell quickly for a high price. Mary decided to call her friend and tell her to put the property on the market, with the stipulation that if the house was destroyed she would retain possession of a pair of stained glass window in the living room.

As soon as the word of the property sale hit the streets a bidding war started. When the dust settled the house would be torn down and the land went for 4 times the original estimate. We had thought that estimate was optimistic.

A month before we married during another of our talks I gave Anna the letter from Wanda. The handwriting was shaky, the lines moved up and down and you could see the stains from all the tears on the page.

It simply said:

"I am sitting here in my room watching a beautiful woman and 2 girls playing in a park. I can tell you love my husband dearly. I give him to you gladly. If he can still love me after the things I have done, he will do no less for you.

I alone am responsible for the breakup of our marriage. What is done is done. My biggest regret in my life was the way I treated him, even before we separated. I ask you to treat him kindly and always respect and love him. He loves you too, I can tell. I wish and hope for all of you the best life possible.

Please care for and love my child as if she was your own."

It was signed simply "Wanda."

As she read the letter Anna added some of her own tears to it.

Anna and I were married the Friday before Memorial Day. Grandma would take care of the girls while we were away. We rented a cabin on a lake 2 hours away.

Little Mary was the maid of honor. Faith was my best girl; you can't call her best man. Can you? Bob and Martha also stood with us. We also had a special part of the ceremony when we took the girls as both of our children and they accepted each other as sisters. Both Marys gave Anna away to me and Faith gave me away to Anna. It seemed to be a fair decision.

The first night of our honeymoon we just held each other and fell asleep. I awoke the next morning to find Anna watching me. She leaned over and we kissed and caressed each other lightly. We held each other for the longest time.

The second evening we started out the same way. Every time I made a new move I felt her tense up, only to relax a few seconds later. Ever so slowly the foreplay increased. I whispered "You let me know when you want to move on, if I move too fast slow me down."

She nodded and I saw tears in the corners of her eyes. I kissed them away. An hour later she finally climaxed after some brief stimulation by my hand. She cried and told me it was her first ever. We fell asleep holding each other.

The next morning I woke to find her sitting on the bed beside me slowly exploring my body with her hands. I pretended to be asleep. She bent down to kiss my nipples as I had done with her the night before, I forgot I was supposed to be asleep and moaned lightly. She sat back in a hurry. "I will give you 3 hours to stop that" I whispered. She giggled and lay back to kiss me. As I caressed her body she followed my example and did the same to me. She only hesitated for a moment when I reached between her legs again.

I told her "My body is yours to do what you want with it, just please don't ever hurt me."

She looked up and smiled. She said "Thank you and I am yours. I already trust you to not hurt me."

We hardly left the bed that day. The sigh she gave as I first entered her was payment for all the frustration of the last few days.

The next morning I woke to feel her lips wrapped around my shaft, my moan gave me away. She smiled and said "This is so much nicer when you love the one you are doing it to." She finished me a few minutes later. I never asked what she meant.

After breakfast she climbed on my lap and held me tightly; she thanked me over and over for teaching her how to make love with me.

For the rest of the week we tried almost anything we could think of. On our last day she finally said "There is only one thing left to try." I knew what she was thinking of and was not sure we should try anal. We did.

Afterward Anna decided that it was OK, but she did not want to do it often. She said that "...it too, was at least better with someone you love."

She was a little uncomfortable on the ride home.

Grandma Mary found a new home under construction about a mile from ours that she loved. She was moved in by the middle of August; meanwhile she lived with us in the apartment. Anna and Mary were now living upstairs.

The stained glass was made to look new; it was placed between other glass panels and made into energy efficient windows. They were installed in the living room on both sides of the fireplace she had built.

Grandma Mary paid back our loans, as she called them, two fold. She would not take no for an answer. We took the extra and started college funds for the girls.

A little over a year later Anna became pregnant. There were few problems and we were rewarded with a beautiful baby girl we named Hope.

Anna insisted on the name because of the line in the letter from Wanda. "I wish and hope for all of you the best life possible"

Mary did say her mother was wise.

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Second chapter? Maybe if I like what I put down to follow this.