Christmas.”
Although there were many more things Jacob wanted to know about Aimee, he would take his time. She’d already indicated that she devoted all of her time to her job and Samantha. Did that mean she hadn’t dated at all since she became a widow? Was she still mourning her husband?
Although he wanted to know more about Aimee, he didn’t want to pry. During the short drive to his offices, where the meeting would be held, they shifted the conversation to upcoming events in Benton, especially the city’s bicentennial celebration to be held in the summer.
“I’m on the planning committee, and we’ve had to revise our plans this month,” Jacob said. “David Harwood, one of the longtime educators in Benton, died a few weeks ago. The committee has decided to honor him at the celebration, so we’re changing our schedule to include him. Did you know Mr. Harwood?”
“No, but I’ve seen him on television several times,” Aimee answered. “I heard about his funeral on the evening news. Apparently he had a great influence on the schools and educational program in Benton.”
“That’s true. He taught at Paramount High School where I attended, but he moved on to administrative positions soon after I graduated. The committee asked me to prepare and deliver a eulogy about him at the bicentennial, but I can’t add anything more to my schedule. So they’ve asked a former resident who lives in Richmond to do it.”
Aimee smiled at him. “It seems to me that you do have about all you can do now. Your counseling business, Substitute Siblings, the singles group and church commitments must take up all of your time.”
“Just about,” he admitted with a laugh. “But I want to keep busy. I suppose I could have found time to write the eulogy, but I didn’t think I was qualified to do it. Mr. Harwood came to Paramount High in my senior year, but I wasn’t in any of his classes. I was away from Benton for several years, and we seldom met after I moved back home. I didn’t know him well enough to speak about him.”
Jacob drove into the parking lot adjacent to his two-story, brick building. It was located in an industrial park with many other office buildings and a few factories. Surrounded by a brick wall, they entered through a security gate. Aimee had rarely been in this section of town and had no idea that so many corporations were located in the area. She was quietly thinking about how narrow her life had been as they took an elevator to the second floor of his building and walked down a hallway to a conference room where the meeting was to be held.
Approximately two dozen people were in the room, and Jacob touched Aimee’s arm and steered her toward the front where a small woman with short, iron-gray hair was talking with two men.
“Excuse me,” Jacob said. “We have a guest tonight.” He introduced Aimee to the two men, whose names she promptly forgot. Then he turned to the woman. “Gran, this is Aimee Blake.” His eyes softened with obvious fondness for his grandmother as he turned to Aimee. “I want you to meet Stella Milton.”
As they shook hands, Aimee quickly assessed Stella. The makeup on her wrinkled face had been skillfully applied. She wore diamond earrings, and her blue suit was trendy. Her dark eyes glowed with intelligence and warmth as she greeted their guest. Aimee judged that she was in her seventies.
Taking Aimee’s arm, Stella said, “Come and meet our volunteers.”
Stella explained that this was a regularly scheduled monthly meeting, and the first part of the meeting consisted mostly of reports. Although it seemed to be routine stuff, Aimee got a fair idea of what the Siblings volunteers really did. More than thirty children had been contacted in a month’s time. The children had been taken on shopping trips, to ball games and movies, or out to eat at their favorite restaurants. The Siblings children as a group had been taken to the circus at the civic center. She gathered that, for the most part, volunteers supplied the finances for these extras, as well as their time. Well, that wouldn’t be an issue with her. Although she didn’t consider herself wealthy, Aimee was thankful she had an adequate income.
During new business, plans were made for a Fun in the Sun Day at Pioneer Park, an outing for youth enrolled in the Siblings program and their parents. Jacob reported that two of the restaurants in the city had volunteered to provide food and drink. Before she knew it, Aimee had been paired with Jacob to plan entertainment for the youth who didn’t want to participate in contact sports.
After the meeting ended, Jacob guided Aimee on a tour of the building. In addition to the conference room, there were three rooms on the second floor, one of which was the Siblings main office, plus his business offices on the first floor. He pointed out a waiting area, the receptionist’s office, his consulting room, a small lounge and a snack room.
“I’m impressed,” Aimee said as Jacob locked the door and they walked to the car. “Not only by the work of Siblings, but also with the scope of your counseling service.”
“I feel that God has really blessed me to become so well established in such a short time. Since I was a child, I wanted to meet the needs of others, but I didn’t think I had the ability to enter the medical profession. Counseling seemed to be the right outlet I needed to fulfill what God created me to do.”
Jacob waved to the security guard as they drove from the parking lot.
“Your grandmother seems like a lovely person,” Aimee commented.
“She is. Everybody loves Gran.”
“What about your parents?” Aimee asked. “Do they live in Benton?”
The streetlights illuminated the interior of the SUV, and Aimee watched Jacob’s expressive face go blank. His jaw tightened and his eyes darkened with emotion.
Automatically, she stretched her hand toward him. “Oh, I’m sorry I asked. I had no right. Please forgive me.”
From what she had seen of Jacob Mallory, she wouldn’t have dreamed that there were any dark areas of his life that he couldn’t, or didn’t want to, reveal.
He took her hand and squeezed it gently. When he glanced toward her, the pain was gone from his eyes, and he smiled, but not as brightly as usual.
“Of course you have the right to ask. You’ve answered the questions I’ve asked about your family.” Still he hesitated, and finally said in a husky voice. “I assume I have a father somewhere, although I’ve never known him. He abandoned my mother when I was less than a year old. They married when they were students at the University of Pennsylvania, and I was born a year later. He hung around for a few months, but apparently he wasn’t ready for family responsibilities. He left one day and, as far as I know, she never heard from him again.”
“I’m so sorry,” Aimee said.
Now that he’d started talking, it seemed easier for Jacob, but still his voice was distant as he continued. “Mother never got over his rejection. She died when I was six years old from a severe case of pneumonia and flu, but she’d been dying inside since he left her. She didn’t handle rejection very well, and I guess I don’t either,” he ended, almost in a whisper. Then he added, “Gran had most of the care of me while my mother lived, and she gave me all of the love I needed. I had a happy childhood, but I suppose all guys miss their dad.”
Up until now, Jacob had appeared to be without any problems. Maybe this was the reason he had chosen to become a counselor? He wanted to deal with his own hang-ups as well as the problems of his clients.
“So by not trying to get well,” Aimee asked quietly, “do you feel as if your mother rejected you, too?”
A look of surprise swept over Jacob’s face, and he replied thoughtfully, “Maybe so, although I hadn’t really thought of it before.” He laughed, and the tense moment seemed to have passed. “Aimee, you should have been the counselor.”
“I doubt that I would have succeeded in that profession,” Aimee replied with a chuckle. “It’s difficult enough to deal with one adolescent daughter.”
When they stopped in front of her house, Aimee put her hand