Somewhere to Belong by Judith Miller

Author:Judith Miller
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780764206429
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2010-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

Dark splotches dotted the front of my dress where my tears had fallen. Swiping fingers beneath one eye and then the other, I sobbed as Johanna drew me into an embrace.

“Tell me what happened.”

I glanced toward my father’s office and could see him looking out the window. He was watching—probably worried I’d tell Johanna about that woman.

While keeping one arm around my shoulder, Johanna urged me forward. “Let’s go down the street a distance. We’ll sit down under the trees, where you can have a good cry.”

“I’m not going to cry anymore!” I sniffled and wiped my nose on the handkerchief I’d removed from her pocket. “But he better not try to send me off to any finishing school. I’ll run away and they’ll never see me again.”

Johanna lifted my chin with the tips of her fingers. Concern shone in her eyes. “Tell me what you’re talking about.”

Between sniffles, I sputtered the story of Mrs. Harwell, her finishing school, and the questions that still remained unanswered— ones about Caroline and whether my father planned to remain in Chicago. “I still believe Mrs. Harwell is Caroline.”

“But you saw the newspapers from Iowa City, didn’t you?”

“What does that prove?” I snatched loose from Johanna’s hold. Couldn’t she see that my father’s mention of the newspapers had been a feeble attempt to wriggle out of his lies? “Just because he read about a finishing school in Iowa City doesn’t mean that the woman in his office was the owner, or that she even knows the finishing school exists. Why are you defending him?”

“I’m not, but I think you need to give him the benefit of the doubt. You still have as many questions as you had before you walked into his office. Maybe more.”

I jammed the handkerchief into my pocket. “You’re right about that.” We circled toward the rear of the house. “Are my eyes puffy?”

Johanna laughed and shook her head. “No. You’re perfectly beautiful—as usual.”

What would I ever do if I didn’t have Johanna? She never failed to say a kind word or compliment me when I most needed encouragement. “I’m so thankful I have you, Johanna. You’re the only person who even tries to understand me.”

“God understands you, Berta. He created you, and He loves you. You must always remember that.”

I clasped her hand. “I’ll try. And I’m sorry I snapped at you before. Please forgive me.”

Her face brightened, and she sniffed the air. “I think I smell Sister Muhlbach’s honey cookies.”

Since my first taste of honey cookies, I’d developed a special fondness for them. I sent a fleeting glance in Johanna’s direction.

She laughed and nodded, already knowing I was hoping she’d give me her cookie. “Yes, you can have mine,” she said.

I grabbed her around the neck and hugged her. “Oh, thank you, Johanna. You are so good to me. I know I can always count on you.”

“God is the one you can always count on,” Johanna called to me as I made a pell-mell dash for the kitchen door.

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