Love Is Where You Find It

Part 19

They move into their new home in the first week of October. The kids have to sleep in their sleeping bags on the floor. Loretta loathes it but her little ones are pleased; sleeping two to a room for the first time in their lives is a special treat for them. Loretta watches them organize their few worldly possessions in the bare rooms, thinking that she might cry at how happy it makes them in a world in which children crave lavishly decorated rooms, canopy beds, new bicycles and television sets.

Her family gets her one of those couch beds, which is surprisingly comfortable and there is no evidence of it being her bed when it's all fixed up for the day.

One morning Betty Sue tells her that this is the nicest home that they ever had. Loretta is halfway out the door when she realizes the veracity of the statement.

Henry asks to come over, of course, and Loretta can't deny him that. But now the day has come and she is wondering whether it's such a good idea. She reckons that Henry has a very nice home. He even mentioned a television set one day, and a record player. All they have is an old radio which they can hardly use because she can only afford batteries every so often, and when they can she lets the kids listen to the radio dramas.

The bad thing about it is that she can't learn any of the new songs if she isn't hearing them, but the good thing is that she writes her own instead. They keep on coming, some of them good and some of them not.

Come November they will have to find a way to heat the place. Loretta stands in front of the bathroom mirror, pulling curlers from her hair, when the sound of the doorbell startles her.

For a moment she is transported back to Washington, and with the memory comes the despair she felt then.

Loretta hurriedly pulls out the rest of the curlers so she can rush to the front door and throw it open.

There stands Henry, charm emanating from his grin. "Are you gonna invite me in?"

"Oh!" Loretta steps to the side. The kids are all standing behind her and Ernest steps forward to grab Henry by the hand.

"Wanna see my room?" Ernest asks.

"Uhm, sure." Henry allows the boy to pull him along, Jack skipping along as well.

"Wanna see mine?" Cissie squeaks as she rushes after them.

Only Betty Sue stays put. At eight going on nine, she thinks that she is too old for many a thing these days. That apparently includes showing excitement over having her own bedroom. She wants to be a grown up so bad, Loretta fears that she'll marry as early as she herself did eventually. She'll do whatever she can to intercept such a development, but it's like her mommy told her way back when- there isn't much you can do to stop a girl who is almost a woman from marrying.

But, Loretta has to tell herself very firmly, that's a long time from now and nothing she should be worrying about at the present.

"We got rooms." She hears Henry say in the hallway. "But we don't got beds."

"No," Cissie's voice chimes in response. "But we will. Mama said."

Henry and the younger three children walk back in, Henry carrying Cissie in his arms. He deposits the girl on Loretta's lap and says, "Nice place."

Loretta's lips twitch up at the corners into a nervous half smile. "You think? I love it but there's lots of stuff we don't got yet other than the beds. But we'll get there real soon."

"I'll ask around with our Church Aid society."

Loretta gasps. "No sir, don't you do that. I ain't from your church."