A Memory Between Us by Sarah Sundin Read Free Book Online Page B

Major. Good to see you dressed.”
    He laughed and gestured to the row of chairs. “Ladies?”
    Ruth darted in first. She’d sit next to May if she had to, but she would not sit next to that man.
    He gave them a sheepish smile. “Pardon me if I avoid sitting as long as possible.”
    “Oh, Ruth, look at this.” May patted a pale blue cushion on the seat beside her.
    The major winced and nudged the cushion with his knee. “Grandma made it. Must have plucked every goose and duck on the farm. I can almost hear the squawking, see Grandpa stomping around yelling at Grandma, ‘What in tarnation do you think you’re doing, Nellie?’”
    Ruth laughed, and the major’s smile made her long for the talks they’d had on the ward. He begged for her stories of the dark and dirty Chicago slums, which he called exciting. She preferred his tales of three little boys in the grass and river and open sky.
    May patted the cushion. “Service is starting.”
    Major Novak frowned and eased himself down. Then he whispered in May’s ear, and Ruth noticed a sour twisting in her chest.
    She put it out of her head and envisioned her parents to her left instead of a nurse and a pilot, placed her brothers and sisters in a line to her right, felt baby Maggie on her lap, and let the hymns and Scriptures and sermon transport her to when life was secure, people were whole, and God was kind.
    For the closing hymn, the chaplain announced number 269.
    “Under His Wings.”
    Jolted her back to the present, to reality, to a God who hounded her.
    Ruth’s voice came out thin and croaking. Few people seemed familiar with the tune, but Ruth knew she’d never be able to get it out of her mind.
Under His wings I am safely abiding,
Though the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me,
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.
Under His wings, under His wings,
Who from His love can sever?
Under His wings my soul shall abide,
Safely abide forever.
Under His wings, what a refuge in sorrow!
How the heart yearningly turns to His rest!
Often when earth has no balm for my healing,
There I find comfort, and there I am blessed.
    Why did God taunt her? He wouldn’t give her that kind of love and security. She didn’t deserve it. He’d made it very clear that day in the alley.
    She clapped the hymnal shut and set it on the chair, but when she turned, Major Novak blocked her escape.
    “Just a minute, Lieutenant. I have something to ask you.”
    Ruth struggled to focus. “Oh?”
    “What are your plans this afternoon?”
    Plans? Oh no, he’d caught her off guard. He knew she had every other Sunday off. What provided the best excuse? Letters? Laundry? What?
    May slung her purse over her shoulder. “Jack, I warned you. She’ll make an excuse.”
    “You wouldn’t make an excuse, would you?” Major Novak dropped a wink.
    Under the force of that wink, Ruth’s knees crumpled, and so did her excuses. “No.”
    “Oh, good,” May said. “You shouldn’t be alone on Independence Day.”
    Ruth’s grip on her Bible tightened. What was wrong with being alone?
    “And I warned you, May.” The major pointed at Ruth. “Look at her jaw. She’s getting defensive.”
    She forced her jaw to soften. “I am not.”
    “Good,” he said. “Let me explain. You took care of me for a month and a half. I’d like to thank you, take the two of you on a picnic.”
    The two of you? Ruth relaxed only to realize she couldn’t get out now. “A picnic?”
    “Yep. I got some ham and cheese in town. Swapped my cigarette ration. Amazing what people will do for a couple smokes.”
    “Ham? And cheese? Wow.” British rationing was much stricter than American.
    “Yep.” He nodded in his usual way, without breaking his gaze. “You’ll go?”
    Without an excuse, she could only accept or be rude, and after all his kindness, she couldn’t bear to be rude to him. She mustered a smile. “What’s more patriotic than a Fourth of July