Searching for Anna By Jenifer Carll-Tong
Chapter 14 - Safe in the Arms
The Sunday morning sunrise cast bright streaks across the town of Iron Falls, beckoning the inhabitants to rise and meet it, like little orange fingers reaching through the gaps in their curtains. But one member of the tiny town had been awake for hours and was ready to face her first Sunday as pastor.
Phoebe thought she had conquered her public speaking jitters - she had preached many times in her Bible College classes in front of her professors and her peers - but her stomach was so knotted that she hadn't been able to choke down any breakfast. So, at the first sign of light, and when she hoped all coyotes had retired for the day, she left the parsonage and made her way to the church.
She wasn't sure how long she knelt at the altar, but when she finally lifted her head from prayer, the room was no longer dimly lit but fully illuminated by the full sun gleaming through the tall windows. She rose and turned to find a couple standing at the back of the church.
"Good morning!" She approached them with her hand held out. "I'm Pastor Albright."
"Of course, you are," answered the man. "You have your father's eyes."
Phoebe stopped mid-stride.
"Oh, Frank – you've shocked the poor girl."
"My apologies, dear. We should have introduced ourselves. Of course, you wouldn't recognize us – it's been so long, and you were quite little. I'm Frank Berger, and this is my wife Helen."
"Dr. Berger!" Phoebe exclaimed, relieved. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Well, you have to be commissioned into your new assignment, do you not?”
Phoebe hadn't thought about that and had little time to do so now, because even as she greeted him, members of the congregation began arriving for service.
"You'll have to excuse me," she said to Rev. Berger. Taking a position at the door, Phoebe began shaking hands to greet the people as she had seen her father do every Sunday of her life.
When Mrs. Speer finally came to tell her it was time to begin, she was completely unprepared mentally. She had been so busy greeting that she hadn't paid attention to the time, nor had she noticed exactly how many people had actually filed through the doors.
It wasn't until she was seated on the platform that she realized just how crowded the church actually was. It was packed full, with many men standing in the back and around the sides. She took a deep breath and willed her stomach to stop flipping.
The first hymn Safe in the Arms of Jesus began, and Phoebe forced herself to take another deep breath. Mrs. Speer had a beautiful voice and Phoebe found listening to her quite calming. She closed her eyes. Why was she so nervous? Had not God promised "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ?"
'Be confident. Be confident,' she thought, clinging to the promise in Philippians 1:6. Not because she had anything to boast about, of course, but because God had begun this work, and he was going to see it through.
The doors opened and Phoebe's attention was drawn to the back of the sanctuary. A Michigan State Trooper entered, removed his hat, and found a spot to stand in the back of the room in front of one of the windows. The morning sun that poured in behind him made it difficult to make out any discernible features, but the uniform was unmistakable.
The rest of the service was a dreamlike blur. Rev. Berger stood up first and gave a very flattering introduction for Phoebe, much of which was based on her father's bragging and very little on Rev. Berger's actual knowledge of her. She just hoped that the congregation did not expect her to have superhuman abilities as his introduction might have led them to believe. He then prayed over Phoebe before descending the platform, leaving Phoebe alone to look at her congregation.
Somehow, by the grace of God, she made it through her sermon. And it must have been agreeable to most because she made eye contact with many smiling faces. There were also some unhappy faces among the crowd, but she chose not to allow her gaze to linger on those for long - there would be time in later sermons to accept the challenge of coaxing a smile from a challenging personality. Before she knew it, Phoebe was praying the closing prayer and Mrs. Speer began the benediction song.
Phoebe stepped off the platform just as the constable slipped out the door. Not wanting to delay her expression of gratitude any longer, she quickly followed him out.
"Constable?" she called after him.
The officer turned back to the stairs leading to the church.
"Yes ma'am?" He took off his khaki campaign hat, revealing a well-trimmed head of sand-colored hair.
"I'm so glad to have finally met you. I've been trying to track you down for the past week." Phoebe smiled.
"Ma'am? You were trying to find me?"
"Well, yes, to thank you. You are the State Trooper who brought my trunks to the parsonage, aren't you?"
The officer climbed closer to her on the stairs and Phoebe couldn't help but notice how handsome he was. He rather reminded her of her brother-in-law John, not only because of his hair color, but he also shared the same blue-grey eyes.
"No, I'm sorry. That wasn't me. But I sure wish that I had been the one to have earned your appreciation," he said, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he smiled.
Phoebe frowned. "Oh, I was told that a State Trooper from my congregation had assisted in their transport."
"Well, this is my first time in this church, so I don't think I would be considered a member. I met your father and was impressed by him, so I decided to visit your church today."
"Oh, I see. Well, I hope I didn't disappoint you. My father has very impressive shoes to fill."
"Not at all. I enjoyed it very much."
"Then I hope to see you next Sunday as well, Officer…"
"It's James, ma'am. Lance James, and I wish that were possible, but I leave tomorrow for a new post. I was only here for the past few weeks training with some other new men."
"I see. Well, I hope you enjoy your new post, Officer James."
"So do I, but I doubt the view will be as beautiful," he said, smiling roguishly.
Phoebe pretended not to understand his meaning and wished him a good day. The officer was nearly back to his horse when Phoebe stopped him.
"Officer James, were you the officer who brought chocolate to the children working at the church this week?"
He turned and acted as if thinking about it.
"If I say yes, will it earn another smile from you?"
"Only if it's the truth."
"Then, alas, I must depart without a smile because that also was another officer. Would you like me to investigate and find the correct man?"
"No, no. That isn't necessary," she said. "But thank you for the offer."
He tipped his hat and rode away. Phoebe was pleased that this officer was being transferred. She would have difficulty concentrating on her sermons if that State Trooper were present every Sunday.
She could hear the final song ending and the door opened for the first of her congregation to exit. She shook hands and thanked everyone for coming – or at least she attempted to thank everyone. There were quite a few in attendance that passed by without so much as making eye contact, including Mrs. Smith.
But among the naysayers were also many smiling faces. Some were faces that she already knew: Mary and Jack Simmons, Wendell, and the Speer family, especially the children, were all a welcome sight.
"I had no idea the congregation was so large," she whispered to Mary as she passed.
"I don't believe it is," she whispered back. "I think many of them just came for the show."
"The show?"
"Yes, to watch you fail. That didn't happen, so I'm not certain most of them will return next week."
People actually came to church with the expectation that I would fail? Phoebe realized she was going to have to work hard to win over the little town of Iron Falls.
With a newfound determination, Phoebe rose the next morning ready to win over her naysayers. She had spent Sunday evening baking cookies and had decided that Mrs. Smith would be her first convert. The timing of her visit was important - she wanted to arrive after the boarders had left for the mines, but not so late as to be interrupting any other plans Mrs. Smith may have for the day.
She didn't want to wear something pretty for fear that Mrs. Smith would have cause to complain about Phoebe's big city ways, so after a hurried breakfast, Phoebe dressed in one of her more modest skirts and a simple blouse. She was about to braid her hair but thought twice about the youthful style, which might not help her to appear mature enough for her position. No, a braid would not do on the day she was to visit Mrs. Smith.
She went to the backyard and positioned her tub and bucket in an attempt to utilize the reflection of the windows as she had the day she'd first dined with the Speers, but soon discovered that the sun was not in the proper location to create a mirror-effect on her back windows. It had been late afternoon when she'd first used this trick. She wondered if the sun were reflecting on any of her other windows. With the bucket in one hand and tub in the other, she circled her parsonage, but she only had windows on the north and south sides of her home. She needed an east-facing window. She turned toward the church. The windows were large enough, but a little higher off the ground than her own. She wasn't sure she would be able to see into them, but it was worth trying.
When she arrived at the east side of the building, she realized immediately that the windows were much higher than she thought. However, if she positioned the tub a bit farther back than before, instead of closer to the window, she would be able to see herself. Closer would have been more ideal, but she would take whatever reflection she could get.
The ground around the church was more uneven than in her backyard and Phoebe had difficulty finding a spot level enough that was also the right angle. She finally found a spot that she believed would work and placed her makeshift platform in place. It worked, but her distance from the building made it difficult to see herself well enough to do a good job. She moved the tub a little closer, hoping to get a better view. From this vantage point, she needed to stand on her toes and stretch as far as she could.
It was not the easiest of tasks, but she was able to do a half-way decent job on her hair. It was only a simple chignon at the base of her neck, not some pompadour like Esther always insisted on, so smoothing the stray hairs that always seemed to curl around her face was more of a concern than creating a pretty silhouette.
The sun was completely above the horizon at this point and she began to fret that her pampering had delayed her too much. She hurriedly pinned the last stray strand into place, but in her haste, she lost her balance a little. She felt the bucket beneath her wobble, but only the slightest bit, but she threw out her arms to steady herself. Her sudden movement only made things worse. The washtub tilted drastically, and the bucket slipped completely out from under her.
Phoebe screamed as she fell backward, helpless to stop what was happening, but just when she thought she would hit the ground, she found herself safe in the arms of a man wearing a familiar looking khaki uniform. In shock, she inhaled sharply and looked up into the face of the man who had caught her - the man who had saved her from utter humiliation, or worse.
Two sapphire blue eyes – eyes that she had come to know very well.
They crinkled at the corners. "Hello Pheebs."
