At two-thirty the next day, Ruthe hurried off to the city once more, relieved at the ease with which she was beginning to come and go with no quizzing. Was it was true that folks think more of themselves than others?

Entering the hospital room, she found Darlene upset and pacing impatiently. "That cute guy called my ol' lady. So Marie comes by this afternoon. Even brings a present; a pack of cigarettes."

Ruthe bit her lip, afraid of what this new curve meant.

"Guess what happened." Darlene sounded puzzled.

"What?" the country girl asked cautiously.

"I thought I heard Jesus whisper, inside me sort'a, Don't. Let those dirty things be."

"You mean you didn't take them after all?"

"Uh uh. I told her about your visit. Y'know, Jesus forgiving me, 'n all that."

"What did your mother say?"

"Marie was furious. Said I hadn't done wrong. Her feminist spiel; the world has sinned against us, an' on and on. When I told her about the prostitute or adulter- that hooker, in the Bible, well, she blew her @#$%#$~ guts! Marie said if I was going to get religious I'd better stay out of her sight. If I dare come to the apartment she'll kick me #$%#-less!"

Ruthe stared, dumbfounded.

"You said it was fool-proof, Ruthe. It's got'a work! I'm not quittin' on Jesus after He died for all my- that filthy goop of my life." Darlene burst into tears. "I was so happy last night. I was humming and giddy, and I had a long, long chat with Jesus, an' y'know, He doesn't hate me, He likes me!"

This melted Ruthe's heart. With tears she opened her arms and Darlene walked into them. "It's okay, Darlene. Moms sometimes lose their tempers. She will get over it."

"Oh no, she meant it. She's beat me to a pulp before."

Darlene blew her nose angrily. "Hah. That's $%#%& fine with me. I'll manage without her. I can move in with you, right?"

"You're sure she won't-?"

"Dead sure. Marie wants all her Johns to herself."

"What about your Dad?" Ruthe was reaching panic-stricken for another answer. "Maybe-"

"Haven't any, remember?" She sat back on the edge of the bed with a bounce that made the springs ping and squeak, and motioned to the guest chair. "Sit."

Whew, Lord, let's think of something fast! Ruthe sat down.

"Ahm, Darlene. Let's pray. My home situation is very different in that my parents tend to block out strangers, anyone that is not of or like themselves. So we're going to need an alternative plan."

They bowed their heads, as she'd explained the day before, in deference to their divine Friend. "Lord, I thank You for the love and patience You have already shown us, and the wonderful future I know You have mapped out for each of us. We're totally dependent on You, Father-God. You have said that You take a special interest in widows and the fatherless, and Darlene here is certainly fatherless, and now it appears, also motherless. We are at wit's end, Lord. We sure need clear ideas for our next move."

Then Darlene prayed, telling the Lord how she had hoped to share His forgiveness with her mom, and at school, she had meant to apologize to the girls she had tormented by systematically stealing their boyfriends. Now she had no home from which to go to school. What should she do?

After a short silence, they raised their heads. Ruthe patted Darlene's knee for comfort, and started to question her about her favourite subjects and special interests. Maybe she could land a part-time job and get an apartment.

Darlene admitted that because of her extra-curricular activities she had done very poorly in school. She was repeating grade ten and still not able to pass. Besides, the teachers all hated her and would never believe her if she said she was going to study now. "The Ol' Dragon especially, would swear I was cheating."

Final exams started the following week, so Ruthe knew there was no point in trying to help her study a whole year's worth of work. In her observant judgment, Darlene was probably mature enough to handle a job and be independent. But wouldn't her lack of education hinder her? What exactly was there she could do?

"Maybe you could get me in at the telephone office?" Darlene asked, remembering what Ruthe had told her about her arrangement.

"No. they insist on a diploma now. A couple of my school friends got turned away recently, so I know I got in by a miracle."

Ruthe chewed at the inside of her cheek, trying to think. Her thoughts darted about like bees in a blossoming plum tree. She is bright, despite what she says about low grades, has a shrewd head... hey, a business head. Bet two cents she could run a business!

Excited, Ruthe rummaged around in her purse while a student nurse came to take Darlene's temperature and blood pressure. "Have you ever done any sewing?" she asked mysteriously, as she groped with both hands in her cracked vinyl purse.

Darlene went blank, and mumbled over the thermometer, "Why?"

"We can both learn from the bottom up," Ruthe said recklessly. "I've always wanted to, but I'm left-handed and Mom says, I'm hopeless to teach. Some new friends have encouraged me to send away for this correspondence course." She came up with the envelope she was looking for; waving it and opening it at the same time, she said, "I had this secret crazy dream of learning dress designing and maybe setting up a shop. So I wrote for information on this course by mail. They take nothing for granted; sewing, designing, sketching, advertising, bookkeeping, it's all included. Only; even I will admit that I don't have a good business head, so I was ready to drop the idea."

She spread the leaflets and papers over the bed, but bumped into the student nurse who was still fussing around. "Oops. Excuse me," the nurse apologized as Ruthe stepped on her white shoe.

"My fault," Ruthe responded instantly. "You have your job to do."

But in her enthusiasm, Ruthe forgot the nurse promptly. "This offers lessons in designing, drafting new patterns, fitting, fashion sketching, sewing, and even shows how to set up a shop. The whole bit! Now, if we took this course during the summer, we might be able to set up a place for you by September where you could live and work."

"#@$%@!" Darlene screeched, catching on immediately. She stopped short as she realized she had just used the name of her Saviour as an expletive.

Ruthe saw the look, and blurted as an aside, patting Darlene's hand, "Very soon we are going to discuss swearing."

"However," she went on in a stage whisper, completely wound up in her brain wave. "We have to make this a unique, only-one-in-the-world kind of place. You'd tell all your clients, while you are sewing for them, what Jesus means to you, and invite them to become friends with Him too. I suspect you understand many different types of people, more than I do, and you would do well at this. If we find you have a good business head, why, there you go; a home and a job!"

"You mean I can be a designer and business woman? Without my high school?" Darlene grabbed Ruthe's shoulders. "I love it! I love it!"

"I mainly need to learn to sew darts and seams, and how to put in sleeves and zippers. But if you are creative, Darlene, you might really go places."

The two rehashed various aspects of this idea, and sometimes repeated themselves, but both became convinced it could come to pass.

For the moment, Ruthe shoved aside the question festering at the back of her mind; how to explain such a project at home. "I've only tried to sew a bit," she confessed, "but I'm sure if we push ourselves and polish our techniques we might get to where we zip together an outfit as we chat with a client, and an hour or two later she could wear it out of the shop."

"That fast? Oh Ruthe!" She grabbed Ruthe's head and almost shook it. "This is God's answer to our talk with Him, isn't it?" Darlene sat back and squirmed with anticipation. "All I need now is a house big enough for a shop, huh?"

"Sort of. I see this as a small house on a quiet street with the main floor converted into informal but efficient sewing rooms, and the basement made into a neat, modern little apartment for you."

"Sounds good enough. Who's got the money? You don't have much, eh?" She was looking at Ruthe's thrift store, slightly out-dated, beige polyester slacks and bronze/gold floral top, and the well-worn white cardigan sweater.

"Nope. Afraid I don't," she confessed with an embarrassed laugh. This reference to money brought her spirit down with a thump. All at once Ruthe could talk slower and more matter-of-factly again.

"I guess money is the first miracle we have to talk to the Lord Jesus about. Like you said, you might pass for twenty-five, but on the legal forms you'd have to show up as an honest sixteen, and that might present problems. I'm only eighteen myself, but we can see some bank managers, and maybe a few finance companies, to find out if we can borrow some under my name." Her conscience twitched at this, for her parents avoided debts like a plague. But modern city people do this all the time., she reasoned. Mr. O'Brien came to mind, but it wasn't right to approach a new friend for money. One shouldn't beg! Ruthe knew her mother and Grosz'mama would both say that.

"First we've got to find you a place to stay when you get out of here," she said, trying hard to be practical, and to close her mind to the deep waters she might be entering.

"A shrink is to see me in the morning," Darlene informed her soberly, "but the cute one wants to let me go after that."

Ruthe smiled. "The one I want to call Davie?"

"Guess so. He says I'm sterile; likely from my three abortions. Not good surgeries! Otherwise, I guess I survived a @#$%@ murder."

Getting up to go, Ruthe moved closer and slipped an arm around Darlene.

"I'd make a lousy mother any ways!" but Darlene leaned against Ruthe and a few tears squeezed past her bunched up eyes.

Ruthe hugged her and whispered a prayer into her shoulder, "Lord, please heal and comfort Darlene tonight." Then she scooted away.

That evening at work, she worried that she had promised too much. Of all the nerve! It would take a country bumpkin like me! This was only the second time I talked with her, but... Oh God, I can't back out after all I said, can I?

The only people she dared take Darlene to, even temporarily, were the O'Briens. The girls would be compassionate. Maybe they would give some of their mother's clothes to Darlene. If she'd wear that type.

Ruthe found herself mulling over Darlene's story as she prayed and puzzled about helping her. Again, she felt convinced this was of God. He had brought them together, had set her up with this dream idea, and Darlene liked it too. A lot. While she felt that way, she was relieved and at peace. As soon as she worried that her silly imagination had gone wild, she had a terrible unsettled, hollow grow inside. Since she knew her job like a parrot, this went on all evening. However, the strain of thinking about one thing and talking about another gave her a headache in a couple of hours.

Towards the last hour she reminded herself several times that James warned Christians in the New Testament, if they toss between faith and doubt they should not expect to get anything. Only those who believe will receive. ¹

Okay, what do I know for sure? God loves me a lot, and He loves Darlene too, even if we are different. Therefore, I believe He will bring good things to pass, even if my dreams are foolishly off beam. She hung on to that, repeating it a number of times until the end of her shift.

And then she had an idea for step one.

1. James 1:5-7 KJV

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