Rescuing Vanessa (A Little Bit of Coffee, Flowers, and Romance) (4 page)

Mrs. Givens came over a few minutes later and offered to show her the apartment. She liked it on sight, but wanted to
check her finances before she committed to anything. There were a few freelance projects she had going, but she couldn’t in good conscience take an apartment without a promised steady income. She had some savings, but that would only go so far. She needed to get on the hunt for a job soon.

Chapter 6

The next day was a Saturday, warm but not hot, sunny, and perfect for shopping. Vanessa’s grandparents were surprised at Daniel’s invitation, but tried to hide it. It was all quite funny. After all, she felt she didn’t deserve to have a relationship after the stupidness that happened in California and Daniel wasn’t interested anyway. He needed a friend and she didn’t mind being one.

Mrs. Bennett quickly got into the excitement of dress shopping for Vanessa. She loved spoiling her grandchild and it was always fun to try on pretty things. Both ladies had an innate sense of style and had often shopped together when Vanessa was in high school. Their favorite places were thrift stores. As much as they appreciated quality, they hated spending a lot of money when they could get something just as good for a quarter of the price.

Unfortunately, the first thrift store had nothing either woman liked. Either the color was wrong or it didn’t fit. By the time they got finished in the fourth thrift store, Vanessa was nearing despair.

“
Grandma, what am I going to do? None of my clothes have arrived yet from California and I can’t fit in any of my old ones.”

“Hmm.
I’m surprised we haven’t found anything. You would think.” She closed her eyes and moved her lips silently. Vanessa realized she was praying. Grandma reminded her of the Biblical character Enoch, how he walked with God. She seemed to include the Lord in everything she did, no matter how big or small. When Grandma’s eyes opened again, there was such a beautiful peace in them—and a sparkle. “Now why didn’t I think of that before?”

“What,
Grandma?”

“I had forgotte
n that a sweet lady from church opened a thrift store over in Highland Park near the Botanical Gardens.”

“Highland Park is a very
nice city,” said Vanessa. “I’ve wanted to get over to the Botanical Gardens sometime to sketch. Even though it’s chilly, it’s still so beautiful.”

“Well, how about we go to the thrift store
for a short while and then run over there for the rest of the day. I’ve got an annual pass. You always carry your sketch book so we should be all set.”

“Do you think your friend has anything though?” Vanessa didn’t want to get her hopes up.

“I think the Lord gave me the idea. He has a plan for you. I know He will work things out. He always does.”

But what if you were the one who made a mistake?
Vanessa chewed on her bottom lip.
God can forgive, but, what if you fouled up so bad that there was no fixing it? How did God’s plan work out that?

When they pulled up to the entrance of the thrift store, Vanessa’s breath caught in her throat. There in the window was the most beautiful deep purple dress she had ever seen. “I hope it’s the right size,” she
exhaled.

Her grandmother
grinned. “Let’s go find out,” she said as she opened her car door.

Mrs. Carmel greeted the two ladies as the
entrance bell chimed above the door. “Natalie Bennett, how are you?”

“Hello,” Mrs. Bennett replied as she hugged her friend. “I’m very good. How are you?”

“Fantastic. And who is your lovely friend?”

“This is my granddaughter, Vanessa. Vanessa, meet Madeleine Carmel.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Carmel,”

“Oh, come on, Dear, the granddaughter of Natalie deserves a good hug. Besides, you’re already family,” Madeleine replied.

Vanessa returned the embrace. Goodness, it was so good to be home.

“I thought I saw you ladies
admiring the purple outfit in the window. Vanessa, would you like to try it on?” asked Mrs. Carmel.

She pulled the outfit off the mannequin in the window.
The beautiful dress wasn’t a dress, but a blouse and skirt combo. The top was long-sleeved, an ‘Elizabeth’ style with ruffles around the neckline and at the wrists. It was paired with a long ‘Abigail’ layered skirt, with ruffles all the way to the ankles. It even had a dark camel belt with a large flower at the center. Vanessa couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful outfit.

In the dressing room, Vanessa loved the feel of the soft fabric against her skin. The top was a perf
ect fit, but the skirt required a little taking in. All Vanessa needed was a few moments with her grandmother’s sewing machine and she would be ready. Even the belt fit with little adjustment. She admired herself in the mirror.
I shouldn’t embarrass Daniel in this.

Both her grandma and Mrs. Carmel admired her when she stepped out of the dressing room.

“You are beautiful, Sweetie. I think our Daniel will find it difficult concentrating on his speech.”

“Daniel is t
aking Vanessa on a date?”

“We’re just friends,” said Vanessa
nonchalantly from inside the dressing room.

“Of course, Dear,” said her grandmother.

Vanessa could feel their loud silence and grins. Shaking her head, she changed back into her regular clothes. She hoped her face wasn’t as red as it felt.

At the cash register, her grandmother refused to let Vanessa pay. “I don’t often get to spoil you. Let me. Consider it an early Christmas present.”

“I have just one more thing to add to complete your outfit,” said Mrs. Carmel. “And don’t even try to pay for it. Consider it a welcome home gift. I already put it in your bag.”

Vanessa didn’t know what to say. Their kindness was overwhelming. “Thank you, both of you, so much.” She hugged her grandmother. Mrs. Carmel came around the counter and got another hug too.

Then some more customers came in and Mrs. Carmel left to help them. Vanessa and her grandmother waved good-bye as they walked out.

***

The weekend sped by. Sunday, especially, was a blur. That morning, she was so nervous about going back to her old church, her stomach did flip flops. She had missed it for one reason or the other when she came for visits during Christmas time. She nearly didn’t go, but in the end, was glad she did. It had grown quite a bit in the three years she had been gone, but the reception was as warm and welcoming as it had always been.

She
should have paid more attention in the service, but kept getting distracted. Instead of focusing on the sermon, which was the love of God, something she knew she needed to hear, she kept getting distracted by all the people. The older people hadn’t changed so much, but the young people she almost didn’t recognize. The Givens family was there, extended family and all. She hadn’t known Sam or Jesse well. She knew them when they were all children and in the youth group, but had lost touch after they had gone away to college. When they came back, she was gone.

Vanessa was especially disappointed at not getting a chance to talk to Ivy. She was helping out in Sunday school that morning and Vanessa was so busy greeting people from years back that she
missed her. Perhaps they could talk on Wednesday. And of course Daniel was busy helping out with the youth, so she didn’t see much of him either.

Mr. and Mrs. Givens were both also talking to people. When she had an opening, Vanessa suddenly felt shy, so she missed
the opportunity. Later she wanted to kick herself about it. After the kindness Mrs. Givens had shown her at the Coffee House, how could she think it would be different at church?  

All in all, Vanessa decided coming home was a good place for s
tarting over. Pastor Flowers had offered to check around for job openings. For the first time in months, Vanessa felt as if there might be hope for her future. She may never deserve a family of her own, but at least she could be happy here.

***

Vanessa didn’t see Daniel much that coming week. It seemed he had one meeting after another. Even those couple of meals he was able to join, he seemed distracted and ate on the run.

She spent the week fruitlessly job hunting. For every job she found onli
ne either she wasn’t qualified, or after reading the description she realized she would hate it. She knew she couldn’t be too picky, but it had to get better than that. Finally, she found a couple of jobs that sounded promising. Unfortunately, when she went in for interviews, they had already been filled.

On Wednesday
, Vanessa put her purple outfit back on to see how much she needed to take in on the sides of the skirt. Feeling the silkiness of the fabric, her spirits immediately rose. Maybe she didn’t have a job, but she sure cleaned up good. Mrs. Carmel’s gift was a beautiful feathered headband. Vanessa felt like she was wearing a crown. For once, her hair cooperated and fell in long soft curls onto her shoulders and down her back.

The only thing that was
wrong with her outfit was the fact that her boxes from California still hadn’t arrived. She hoped they weren’t lost. It shouldn’t take this long. Unfortunately, that box held most of her good shoes. The ones she had now weren’t quite ‘right’.

“G
randma, what if my boxes aren’t here by Friday? I can’t afford shoes.”

“You wear a size 8 right?” her grandma asked. At Vanessa’s nod, she said, “I have an idea. I’ll just call around and ask some of our church ladies if they have any shoes that would work. We can send a picture of your dress on your cell and see what response we get.”

“I am so embarrassed. What will the church ladies think of me? Would anyone want to share their shoes?”

“You are family and these people care about one another. When a person is in need, we help. Now, stand still as I take a picture of you.” With a quick click, Mrs. Bennett took a picture with her cell and sent out a text to several of her church friends.

Within moments, three texts came back.

“What a l
ovely dress! Sorry, but none of my shoes match, but I’ll ask around.”

“Your granddaughter
is so beautiful. I’ll check my closet.”

“Would black work?”

Finally, Mrs. Givens from the Coffee House texted. “I think Violet is a size 8. I forwarded your text to her. I hope she’ll get back to me soon.”

Later,
Violet, Mrs. Givens’ daughter-in-law, texted that she was indeed a size 8 and had some shoes that color. She even offered to bring them with her that night to church. Vanessa marveled at everyone’s kindness. She had never even met Violet, but the woman was willing to share her shoes! Vanessa determined to figure out some way to thank her. Perhaps a painting?

With that crisis over, now she could concentrate on being nervous for Friday evening.

Chapter 7

Denny
was tired of waiting. It was Wednesday evening and Vanessa and her grandparents finally left the house. Finding her had been tricky because she lived with her grandparents in one of those townhouses that were all similar in design and color.

E
arlier that week, he parked his car in a lot next to the mail boxes and went for a walk. Pretending to live in the area, he had done a lot of walking in the last couple of days. He congratulated himself on his various ‘disguises’. He had about ten different baseball caps and five different pairs of sunglasses. Vanessa never recognized him, but he had been careful to not stick around when he saw her.

Figuring out the family’s schedule was nuts. It seemed someone was always home.
If it wasn’t Vanessa herself, it was one of her grandparents. There was even some other guy who seemed to be living there.

Well, now he was pretty sure everyone was gone. Even the guy with the professor
briefcase had left earlier. He watched as their car taillights faded in the distance. The neighborhood was quiet anyway and all the garage doors were closed.

Denny
had parked in the little lot in the cul-de-sac right in front of their house. Getting out of his car, he pulled his collar up against the wind. It was that time of day where shadows played tricks and it was hard to see clearly. That would definitely work in his favor.

He walked across the street and tried the door. It never hurt to try. Sometimes, he got lucky. He was glad there was no porch light on. It was easy to fade into the shadows in case any neighbors happened
by.

The door was locked, but
Denny was undaunted. He had picked harder locks than these before. Out of his pocket, he pulled his little ‘kit’. Selecting a tool, and holding a small pen light in his mouth, he set to work.

Click.
“Oh yeah.” His lips stretched into a triumphant grin as he turned the knob and stepped through the door.

The entryway wasn’t large, but there was room enough for a closet for coats and a bench to sit on to take off shoes. Using, his pen light, he spotted a flight of steps to his right. Vanessa’s room was probably upstairs. Surely her boxes had arrived by now.

The first room that he came to at the top of the steps was obviously some kind of home office loft that overlooked the first floor. He poked his head around briefly, but seeing no vase and no moving boxes, he continued on down the hallway. Next, he came to a bathroom on his left and a bedroom on his right. This one might be hers. Coming into the room, he shined his pen light around. There was a small dresser beside the bed, but there wasn’t anything on it except a few glass blown objects and a music box. A desk occupied one corner, but it had only a couple of books on it, a lamp, and some pencils. There was nothing on the floor either. When he opened the closet, he realized this room was obviously used as a guest room.

Growling, he left
and continued down the hall. At the end, there was another bedroom on the right and one to his left. Instinctively, he chose the one on the left, away from the street. Shining his pen light, he saw a large bed in the middle of the back wall and a dresser opposite. No vase there, on it or next to it. On either side of the bed was a large closet on one side and two chairs with a table lamp between them on the other. No vase there either. Another room went off to the side, probably into a bathroom. He realized this was the master suit, probably her grandparents’ room.

Cursing
, he walked across the hall. This had to be Vanessa’s room. It was fairly large, but not as large as the one he had left. A single bed sat at the far corner. It was filled with pillows and stuffed animals, girly. There were a few prints on the walls, but nothing worth anything. At the end, next to the window, there was an easel sitting on an old shower curtain, probably to protect the carpet.

A
large dresser and a desk were in here as well. Unfortunately, he didn’t see the vase anywhere. There weren’t any boxes, opened or otherwise, either. Maybe she had put them in the closet. He opened the double doors and found nothing but a suitcase and a few clothes hung up. Maybe she left the boxes in the garage or the basement somewhere.

Exasperated
, he left and went back downstairs. Checking the living room, he saw nothing but furniture and some books and magazines. There were a few decorations, a large mirror over the fireplace, obviously a garage sale find, and some paintings perhaps done by Vanessa. Sneering and waving dismissively, he wandered into the kitchen, but there was nothing there. He had better find that vase. Otherwise this house was completely worthless.

He saw a
door on one side of the kitchen that led into the garage. Opening it, he was disappointed that there were no boxes, only shelves lining the walls with various tools neatly arranged. He could have shouted in frustration.

Was it possible that her boxes hadn’t arrived yet? It had been almost a week. Coming back into the house, he remembered the basement. With renewed hope, he
found the door on the other side of the kitchen.

At the bottom of the stairs there was another door. It was locked, but he picked it easily. So, the professor guy was a border. This must be his apartment. In
the living room, he was again disappointed. In here was a couch, an easy chair, and several end tables. The walls were lined with bookshelves, filled mostly with books.

Not seeing any windows
in this room, Denny felt safe enough to click on a light. Some of the bookshelves held curious objects. They seemed ancient. But, were they worth anything? He picked up a pot of some kind, but didn’t recognize it as anything of value.

Where there weren’t objects, there were books. In fact, there were piles of books everywhere. Picking up one, he realized it wasn’t in English. It
wasn’t valuable, so he put it back down. No vase in here.

He wandered into another room and realized it was a bedroom.
More books, more worthless pottery. Where is that vase?!

He
opened the closet and snorted, nothing of value there. There was only a tiny kitchenette and a bathroom left. He checked both to be thorough, but found nothing.

He went back upstairs and wandered around the house
. Still nothing. Her boxes weren’t there. No boxes, no vase.

He co
uld kidnap her and hold her for ransom, but he didn’t want to call that much attention to himself. But, if he didn’t get that vase soon, he would have to do whatever it took. His creditors would only wait so long.

***

When Daniel went down to his apartment later that night, he had the weirdest feeling. It was as if a foreign, uninvited spirit lingered. Upon further inspection, he believed some things were moved. It was crazy. He wasn’t exactly neat in practice, but he couldn’t escape the sensation that someone had been here.

“Lord, I don’t know what’s going on here, but this apartment is
Yours. I claim it in Your Name, Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, I cast out any spirits that don’t belong.” Immediately, he felt peace. Opening up a cupboard above the sink, he got out a bottle of oil and anointed all the doors and windows in the entire apartment. People might think he was weird for doing these things, but from experience he knew there was more in heaven and earth than man was aware of.

It was so strange. Why would someone break into the Bennett’s house? And if someone did, why didn’t he take anything? Daniel prayed protection for the family above him. He especially prayed for Vanessa. He somehow knew that she was part of all this strangeness.