Lost and Found in Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #2)

36. Chapter Thirty-Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

E dwin had been home for a few weeks. Nothing had been decided about their future or where they were going to live. Laura still worked at the plant, but her days were numbered, and she knew it. The ratio of male to female plant workers was shifting as the troops returned home from the war and took back their old jobs.

Edwin needed time to decompress and do nothing, she’d decided. It was time for him to get reacquainted with his daughters. But at the end of the first week, Uncle Bert called, asking when he’d be coming back to the garage. Laura stood behind her husband, whispering, “Stall him as long as you can.” With a laugh, he waved her away.

When he hung up the phone, she put her hands on her hips and stared at him. “Well?”

He gave her his winning smile.

“Oh, Edwin, I want you to relax and take it easy for a while.”

“Honey, I can’t do that. You know that. I can’t sit still.” He pulled her to him.

“But aren’t you tired?” she asked. She figured fighting a war for a couple of years must be exhausting.

“Not really,” he replied.

“When are you going back to the garage?” she asked, resigned.

“The day after tomorrow.”

“That soon?” She was unable to hide her disappointment.

“It’s time. We need to get back to normal as soon as possible.”

“All right, but let’s take the girls to the beach tomorrow. It’s supposed to be nice.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Later that evening after everyone had gone to bed, Laura and Edwin were in the kitchen, the stove still warm. The metal lamp hanging above the table illuminated them in a triangle of golden light. Edwin sat there with a scratch pad and a stubby pencil, working on sums.

“I’m trying to figure out how much we’re going to need to buy a house,” he said.

With excitement, Laura said, “I’d love our very own home.”

He smiled at her. “Me too.”

“It would have to be near my parents’ house, though, so I could keep an eye on them and help out.”

“Of course.” Edwin leaned forward, elbows on the table, his voice excited. “You know, with that GI Bill President Roosevelt signed, we can get a low-cost mortgage. We just need to figure out how much we need for a down payment. Uncle Bert said he was giving me a raise. Said he couldn’t expect me to work at 1941 wages.” He laughed .

Laura stood and retrieved her bank book and slid it toward Edwin. “Hopefully, this will help.”

“What’s this?” He took the book and opened it, thumbing through the pages until he landed on the one showing Laura’s most recent deposit. His eyes practically bulged out of his head.

She sat up straighter, her chest puffed up. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so hard.

“Laura . . .” Edwin’s voice trailed off.

Unable to contain her excitement, she jumped up from her chair, and Edwin leaned back so she could sit in his lap. He slid an arm around her waist.

“Seventy cents an hour,” she said. “I saved most of it.”

Still stunned, Edwin said with a generous smile, “Well, I’ll be damned!”

She blushed. It was hard to catch her husband off guard. “But once in a while, I did treat myself to a new dress.”

“And rightly so!” He pulled her closer. “I’m so proud of you, honey.”

Emotion overtook her, but she was determined not to cry. Instead, she kept right on smiling. She leaned in and kissed him on the forehead.

But now it was time to get serious. “But the thing is, Edwin, I like working. It makes me feel useful.”

He nodded as he listened.

“I want to keep working,” she said.

“But you don’t have to work, Laura. I’ll make enough at the garage to pay all our bills.”

“I know, honey, but I want to. Part time, preferably.”

His forehead creased. “At the plant?”

“No, no. We’re all being let go,” she said. As much as it wasn’t fair, it was the way it was. Besides, she didn’t think she could do that kind of work long term. If her hands and arms ached now after only a few years, how would it be after ten years? Twenty? “But I’d like to find something.”

“What about the girls?”

“They’re getting older, and although Mother and Dad aren’t in any shape to watch them, we could find a sitter.”

“You really want to do this?”

He hadn’t said no, like Joy’s husband had said upon his return. No more working , was what he had said to Joy, but Joy didn’t seem to mind.

“Yes, I do. Like I said, even if it’s only part time.” The thought of that electric washing machine was always at the forefront of her mind. It had kept her going, especially on night shift when she was tired and weary and felt like her eyes were crossed.

“What would you do?” he asked.

She knew she was limited, as men were pouring back into the country and being given preference for jobs. That was only right, but she was confident she’d find something. The way she looked at it was if she could drill rivets into a cargo plane, she could do anything.

“The extra money would help,” Edwin said.

“You’ve done your bit, Edwin, and now I want you to have a comfortable life,” she said, her arms around his neck.

“That sounds good.”

“It’s perfect!” Laura declared.

Once Edwin went back to work, he and Laura began to look for a home of their own. Although her parents never complained and they were truly fond of Edwin, it was crowded with all of them under one roof. But still she worried about them. She and Lenore had devised a schedule where one or both would check in on them every day. And of course, Joan was there for anything emergent during the day.

They stood in the front hall of a smallish, modest Victorian. It wasn’t as grand as Lenore’s, but for the four of them, it was just right. It had a small porch and the gingerbread trim Laura loved. It had a lilac bush out front, which she found welcoming. She could imagine the two of them sitting out on the porch on a summer evening, watching the girls playing or riding their bikes on the sidewalk. And she could already picture where she would plant two cherry trees.

The house had three bedrooms upstairs, the beauty of that being that Edna and Edith would each get their own room, so no more fighting and arguing at bedtime. Laura could almost hear the golden silence. Also upstairs were a bathroom and an extra room that was too small to be a bedroom.

Downstairs, there was a front parlor, a kitchen, and a dining room.

There was even a garage out back at the end of the driveway.

“What do you think?” Edwin asked again. He was as excited as she.

“I love it!”

“Me too.”

He hugged her.

The only nagging thought in Laura’s mind was that she still hadn’t secured a job. She’d tried the bank, the drugstore, and the grocery store. She’d even gone up to the hospital, and the nun she’d spoken to was kind but said there was nothing available. She was almost relieved, as she hadn’t treasured the thought of working with the sick and the infirm. But she was beginning to feel she’d never get a job. Edwin had been encouraging, telling her again and again not to give up hope, that something would come up.

The day before they were set to move into the house on Orchard, Laura invited Edwin to go for a drive.

“Is this a mystery tour?” he asked.

“You can call it what you like. But we have an important task to do today.”

“We do?” He frowned.

“Don’t worry, you haven’t forgotten anything.”

“All right. Where to, Mrs. Knickerbocker?” he asked.

“Go to Main Street,” she directed.

“As you wish.”

They drove into the main thoroughfare of town, and Laura instructed her husband to find a spot near the appliance store.

He laughed. “Is today the big day?”

“It is. And about time. I’ve waited a long time for this.” She was as excited as a kid walking into a candy store with a handful of pennies in his pocket.

After they purchased a Bendix washing machine, Laura walked proudly out of the store, arm in arm with Edwin. “Did you see that automatic dryer?” she said. “That’s next.”

Edwin laughed and they left, Laura eagerly anticipating the delivery of her brand-new appliance.