“Now, I feel, Lord, that there’s someone in this very group of women who could use this machine. Theirs may be out of date, or in disrepair, whatever the reason, they need this machine. I ask, Father, that you lay it upon that person’s mind to buy my beautiful, looks-almost-new, Singer sewing machine.” She breathed in deeply and peeked at Ruth Darling to see if the group’s leader revealed any interest. To her disappointment, she saw nothing. Discouraged, Harriett murmured, “Amen.”
A low murmur of “Amens” followed.
Slowly the women opened their eyes and raised their heads.
“We’ll meet again next week, same time, same place,” Ruth Darling announced.
Harriett noticed a smile wobbling at the edges of Ruth’s mouth and wondered what it was that the group’s leader found amusing.
Ruth zipped up the pouch around her Bible and placed it inside her bag along with the study guide for the Book of Philippians.
“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in buying my Singer, would you?” Harriett asked, cornering Ruth. Sometimes a hint just wasn’t strong enough. If ever a woman needed something to occupy her time, it was Ruth. Naturally it’d be considered unkind to mention that she’d noticed Ruth’s roving eye, although Harriett was certain she wasn’t the only member of the Martha and Mary Circle to recognize what was happening. Personally Harriett wondered if Fred Darling had wind of it. Fred wasn’t the kind of man who would tolerate any hanky-panky from his wife.
Ruth glanced up. “I have a sewing machine.”
“New?” Harriett pressed.
“Fairly new.”
“I thought you said yours was ten years old?”
This came from Barbara Newton, and Harriett didn’t appreciate it. “It is, but as I said earlier, it’s been reconditioned.”
“My daughter might be interested.”
Harriett spun around. “Really?”
The door opened and the church secretary, Joanne Lawton, burst into the room. “Oh, good, you haven’t left yet. Ladies,” she said, clearly distressed, “I just got off the phone with Milly Waters. Joe’s been transferred… It’s all rather sudden, and they’re leaving within the next two weeks.”
“Milly and Joe are moving?”
“Oh, dear, we’re going to miss them.”
A chorus of voices echoed, mixed with excitement and regrets. Joe and Milly were church favorites. Milly’s sunny disposition made her a popular Sunday school teacher, and the children loved her. Joe had been the Sunday school superintendent for several years running. They would both be sorely missed.
“What about the Christmas program?” Barbara Newton asked.
The mood of the room went into a tailspin. Milly had been working with the children for weeks, laying the groundwork for the Christmas pageant. Someone stepping in with just a month to go would have big shoes to fill.
Harriett took one step backward, not wanting to give the impression she might be interested. Not her. She’d served as a deaconess for three years, washing the communion cups after worship service, acting as a greeter. She’d sung with the choir twenty years or better and played piano for more Sunday evening services than she could count. Over the years she’d done it all and more. Her days of volunteering were over. Some might say she was resting on her laurels, and she’d let them.
The last thing she wanted or needed was to direct a group of loud, ungrateful schoolchildren. That was a task for the young, someone with more patience than she. Children, even her niece’s two girls, were more of a handful than she could take, other than in small doses.
Never having borne children of her own, Harriett fawned over Jayne, her only sister’s child. She didn’t see Jayne as often as she would have liked, but then young people didn’t respect their elders the way they should these days.
Ever since Jayne had started working at that travel agency with…Oh dear, she forgot the woman’s name now. She’d met her once or twice. Reba, that was it. Reba Maxwell. Since Jayne had started working with Reba, she hadn’t seen near enough of her, or Suzie and Cindy. The five-and seven-year-olds were as close to having grandchildren as Harriett was likely to get.
The others in the Martha and Mary Circle were busy discussing Milly and Joe’s move. A low buzz filled the room as speculation arose as to who would assume the director’s role for the Christmas program. Finding someone, anyone, at this late date would be difficult.
“Sally couldn’t possibly do it,” Ruth Darling was telling Joanne. “She’s started back to college.”