Story - Part IV

For Part I of this story, CLICK HERE; For Part II , CLICK HERE; For Part III CLICK HERE

It started with a jacket - a jacket with a small tear. The sea captain was a stickler about his appearance and immediately wished to fix his uniform. Although his mother would do anything for him, "anything" did not include sewing. It would ruin her manicured hands, so she thought, and so she avoided manual labor of any kind.

The captain's Mother, we'll call her Mrs. Henderson, vaguely remember overhearing from some other folks in town that her neighbor Olivia was a great seamstress, and prompt in doing the job and returning the garments. She also knew of a more established seamstress in town, who had a storefront and was a custom clothesmaker for people of status. Considering her son of high status, she mentioned both women, one for reputation, the other for proximity, all the while gently nudging her son to go into town.

The captain, definitely a man of class, was also fond of practicality. He chose proximity.

On the day that he planned to deliver the jacket to Olivia, he planned to wear a clean white shirt with khaki pants. Glad to be home, he relished the opportunities provided him to "dress down" when he was on furlough and away from commanding people and things. But instead, he donned his uniform because he was going in public, to the home of someone he did not know, and he didn't want to appear too familiar. He check himself in the mirror, picked up the jacket to be mended and headed out the front door.

Olivia was sitting at her window, with a mending job in her lap, needle in hand. She focused intermittently between her work and the children who were in her plain view. Quietly moving her lips, she recited Scripture verse to herself, Psalms 34 to be exact, ..."Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name...". This was her way of staying encouraged, continuing to be grateful, and keeping that pleasant smile on her face.

Although Mrs. Henderson and Olivia were neighbors, the houses were not exactly close together. There were still quite a bit of beautiful foliaged land in between houses and each house itself, although modest in size sat on a couple of acres. The captain strolled slowly down the street towards Olivia's house, taking in all of the sights and sounds of home. It was not often that he had the opportunity to take a walk without the weight of business concerns. This furlough would last almost two months and he intended to enjoy every moment of it.

His shoes crunching underneath him on the gravel path that led to the house, the captain broke a small sweat. It was quite a warm day already. He noticed Olivia in her window, noticed her smile, and her moving lips. He paused for a brief second, half wandering at her simple natural beauty and half wandering if he had stumbled onto the property of a person not having a full deck. He remembered his mother's recommendation and knew she would have been aware if this was the case. The captain called out to her as he held up the arm holding the jacket.

"Hello, mending work?"

Olivia looked up. "Oh, hello. Sure...come on up. Children we have company."

Quickly, a six year old girl immediately stopped her play and ran into the house ahead of the captain. Another girl, about four years of age ran up the steps leading to the house and grinned broadly at the captain as he approached the porch. "Tank 'u fo comin' to owa howum".

The captain laughed aloud and said a hearty, "You're welcome!" He climbed up the steps and entered the house. There Olivia was, standing to greet him.

"Now what can I do for you captain?"

"Well, it looks as if I've put a rip in my jacket and I was hoping that you could mend it for me. I've heard from around that you do a great job."

"I do try my best. Let me take a look at the damage". She gently took the jacket from the captain's arms and ran her slender fingers over the spot in question. "Well, captain, this jacket is very well made and this rip ought to be easy enough to fix. I can have it ready for you in about half an hour if you like".

"Half an hour! Indeed, I heard you worked fast but I didn't realize... Miss, there is truly no need for such a hurry. I can pick it up tomorrow morning if it is all the same to you."

Just then, the six year old, walked proudly into the room with a glass of iced tea. "Captain, please enjoy something cold for such a warm day". Charmed the captain bowed just a tiny bit to the little girl who in turn curtsied and took the tea.

The captain turned to compliment Olivia on her training of her children. "My what a job you've done with your young ones. So helpful and well behaved."

"Thank you Captain." Olivia smiled a little and glanced down. "The jacket will be ready for you in the morning. Feel free to come by after nine."

The seamstress named the price to which the Captain happily agreed, and he turned to walk out the front door, glass in hand. Walking onto the porch he paused for a second, and brought the glass to his lips. Olivia stepped onto the porch after him and made her way behind his back over to a white rocking chair . She settled in with his jacket, needle, and thread in hand.

"Oh, Miss, I don't want you to stop working on your previous project to fit me in. Once again, I need my jacket in no hurry".

"Captain, it's no problem at all, I was only mending one of my own dresses. I will finish it later. Please, have a seat and enjoy your tea."

He took too large steps and sat down in a brown wicker chair near the door. They sat in silence and peace for about five minutes. Nothing really was said. Nothing needed to be said. Here on this porch amongst paint-chipped wood, and mismatched furniture was peace. Children's laughter, trees bustling, and sun shining, peace seemed invited and hovered over this little spot. Olivia worked quietly. The captain sipped the tea ever so slowly, enjoying the calm and the unexpected sense of comfort. He drank every last drop, put the glass on the wood floor, and rose to his feet.

"Thank you for the tea and I will see you in the morning."

Olivia nodded and smiled. The captain walked down the steps and back onto the gravel driveway.

As he rounded the bend in the road and gradually lost sight of Olivia's home, he smiled at the memory of the children chasing each other through the yard. He loved children. He hoped to have some of his own one day. It was just a matter of meeting the right person.