Chapter 5
Instead of feeling lost and alone with Sadie gone, Vanessa’s friendship with Ben had become a life-giving source of joy. A
gift she had never expected.
And now after five months of talking and texting and the occasional FaceTime call, along with two trips to Marietta for lunch
and antiquing, Vanessa was hours away from meeting up with Ben Miller here.
In her hometown of Columbus.
But first Vanessa needed to wrap up the volunteer brunch at her house. The breakfast happened every year a week before the
Columbus Cares Annual Christmas Military Dance. Like always, the dance was slated for two days before Christmas. It was a
formal affair that included the community coming together to sponsor local military families who needed a little assistance
at Christmastime.
Columbus Cares was Vanessa’s heart project.
It was a full-time job and involved a spring auction to support families and year-round availability for military families—meals for families when a soldier was welcomed home, and meals when a soldier was lost. Vanessa had developed a strong connection with local government offices, which allowed Columbus Cares to help connect widows and widowers with the benefits due them.
At a grief group for Gold Star Widows, Vanessa had met Maria Lopez and Leigh Collins—two Columbus women who had also lost
their husbands in fighting overseas. The two of them had grown children in the area, but they also were financially able to
spend much of their time volunteering with Columbus Cares.
The three of them came up with the annual dance. But it was Vanessa who took the organization personally. She remembered a
long-ago conversation she’d had with Alan. “Military families should never want for anything,” he had told her. At the time
he had only been in the army a few years. He shook his head, clearly troubled. “Some of our people can barely put food on
the table. I’d like to do something about that.”
But Alan ran out of time.
Vanessa wasn’t about to let his death be in vain, not when he had dreamed to do something so big. Alan wasn’t only a medic
and a hero, he was smart. He had left her and Sadie a significant life insurance policy. Between that and the money Vanessa
received from her grandmother’s estate and the army, she was set for life.
Financially, anyway.
Which meant Vanessa had all the time in the world to turn Alan’s dream into a reality.
Columbus was one of the biggest military cities in the nation, and the need to help families of those serving had never been greater.
This would be the fourth annual military dance.
Like so often since Alan had left them, Vanessa hoped he had a front-row seat to every good thing Columbus Cares was doing in his memory.
Especially the dance.
This year their goal was to see a hundred families sponsored at a hundred dollars each. Not only that, but merchants across
Columbus were donating goods and gift cards for baskets that would go along with the cash given to each family.
The task was quite an undertaking.
Twenty-some military wives had gathered this morning at Vanessa’s house. Now the women were leaving, taking with them a list
of what they still needed to do. The dance was in just one week, and the last several days would be spent decorating the Veterans’
Hall. Vanessa and Leigh and Maria stood at the door and bid each volunteer goodbye.
When Vanessa finally closed the door, she glanced at the time. She was meeting Ben in one hour.
“Whew.” Leigh dropped into the oversize chair near Vanessa’s Christmas tree. “I think we just might pull it off.”
Maria studied Vanessa’s tree. “Twice as many families.” She glanced over her shoulder at Vanessa. “Ambitious for sure.”
“It is.” Vanessa sat on the nearby sofa. “But we can do it. The town is behind us!”
“I need a snack.” Leigh pulled herself from the chair and walked to the kitchen. “Where do you keep the cashews?”
“Top drawer by the pantry.” Vanessa laughed under her breath. Leigh was the cutup of the group. Maria, the more sensitive. And Vanessa, the one determined to make things happen.
Maria sat down near Vanessa. “Sadie comes home tonight?”
“She does. I can’t wait.” It was a lot for one day, but Vanessa had the timing figured out.
“Hey,” Leigh called out from the kitchen. She held up a flyer for Vanessa’s missing Christmas ring. “I haven’t seen one of
these in a while. You still handing them out?”
Vanessa and Maria joined Leigh in the kitchen. The three of them looked at the flyer. “I stopped a while ago.”
Leigh studied the photo of the ring. “It sure was pretty.”
“Is pretty.” Maria gave Leigh a disappointed look. “We agreed to not give up on finding the ring.”
Leigh made a doubtful face. “It’s been a while.”
“Still.” Maria looked at Vanessa. “Whenever I think about it, I pray you’ll find it, Vanessa. I do.”
“I don’t.” Leigh raised her brow. “Can’t lie to you, Vanessa. The ring’s gone. Totally gone.”
“Wow, Leigh. Not very kind.” Maria shook her head. The two were like a sitcom when they were together. “You don’t have to
tell her you’re not praying about it. Just keep that detail to yourself.”
“Yeah, well. We have a lot more to pray about with the dance a week away.” Leigh looked at the flyer again. “What’s it worth,
anyway? I never asked you.”
“Leigh!” Maria’s mouth hung open. “You don’t ask someone a question like that.”
“It’s a perfectly normal question.” Leigh turned to Vanessa. “Is it worth something?”
“No.” Vanessa laughed. “Only to me. It’s just a pretty piece of costume jewelry.”
Maria raised her brow. “That’s been in your family since World War II.”
“Exactly.” Vanessa stared at the ring. It had been so long since she’d seen it, since the piece had been on her finger. She
took the flyer from Leigh and slipped it back into the drawer. “The volunteers are set.” She sighed. “Let’s figure out what
we need to do to pull off this dance.”
The three sat at the table and discussed decorating and band rehearsal. Again, Vanessa looked at her watch, then at her friends.
“So . . . I’m meeting Ben today. Right after we’re done.”
“Ben? Ben who?” Leigh’s face lit up. She was still chewing a handful of cashews. “Do we know this guy?”
Maria shot Leigh a look. “Ben Miller. Vanessa told us about him last week. The antique dealer from Marietta.”
Leigh’s eyes grew bigger. “Yes, yes, yes!” She swallowed her cashews. “The one who looks like that actor. How could I forget?”
She took another two nuts. “When can we meet him?”
“Well.” Vanessa smiled. “Tomorrow, actually. He’s staying for a week.” She hadn’t told anyone this next detail. “He’s taking
me to the dance.”
“What?” Leigh was on her feet. “Like a date?”
“Sit down.” Maria tugged on the sleeve of Leigh’s sweater. “Let Vanessa explain it.”
With great reluctance Leigh sat back down. “Talk, Vanessa. What’s going on with this guy, and why are we just hearing about the dance part?”
“It’s not like it sounds.” Vanessa laughed again. Leigh never changed. “Ben collects antiques for his store. He’s spending
the week in Columbus looking for vintage goods.”
“By himself?” Leigh’s list of questions was ready to go. “Or are you doing a week of antiquing with him?”
“I’ll help him find a few treasures . . . and he’ll help me collect donations for the military family baskets.”
“Sounds like fun.” Maria smiled at her. “Romantic.”
“It’s like our own love story playing out here in the streets of Columbus.” Leigh sat back in her chair and ate another few
cashews. “And how am I just finding out about this?”
Vanessa held up her hand. “It’s not like that. Ben and I are friends. That’s all.”
Leigh did a slow nod. Then she pointed her next cashew in Vanessa’s direction. “And what does Sadie think of this friend?”
No easy answer came from Vanessa. Instead, the room fell silent and both Leigh and Maria turned to her. “You have told Sadie,
right?” Maria looked concerned.
“I think the question is, ‘Why haven’t you told Sadie?’” Leigh shrugged. “Am I right?”
Deep breath, Vanessa told herself. She’d been asking herself the same question for weeks. “Like I said, it’s not romantic. We’re just
friends.”
“But Sadie doesn’t know.” Leigh shook her head and ate another few cashews. “Sounds like forbidden love to me.”
The conversation went on that way for another few minutes until Vanessa had to leave. She assured her friends she’d keep them in the loop. “I’ll introduce you to him tomorrow at church.”
“By then Sadie has to know.” Leigh blinked in Vanessa’s direction. “A little hard to explain why some guy is hanging at your
side all Sunday without saying something.”
“Yes, Leigh.” Vanessa ushered her friends to the door. “By then, Sadie will know.”
Neither Leigh nor Maria asked, but as Vanessa drove the fifteen minutes to Old Town Columbus, she replayed the truth. She
had tried to tell Sadie about Ben, but always Sadie was busy with her roommates or planning a study hall, headed to class or
getting to sleep early for a big exam.
So the question wasn’t whether she would tell Sadie about her friendship with Ben. Of course she would. The question was when.
Vanessa was parking near the RiverWalk and the outdoor Christmas Bazaar when her phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number
but she answered anyway, a habit she’d picked up since losing her Christmas ring.
“Hello?” Vanessa was in a hurry. Ben had already texted that he was walking the pathway, checking out the booths. Nothing
came from the person on the other end of the call. “You must have the wrong—”
“Is this Vanessa Mayfield?” The voice was that of a younger man.
“Yes. How can I help you?” Vanessa was about to hang up when the man coughed a few times.
“Sorry . . . allergies.” He sniffed. “Hey, so I think I found your ring. The one with the red ruby and the diamonds.”
Vanessa released the grip she had on the steering wheel. “Where did you find it?”
“I’m Isaac Baker. I work at an antique shop outside Denver.”
Vanessa’s heart skipped a beat. “Colorado?”
“Yep. We’re always sending out boxes of antiques that don’t sell. I remember seeing that ring in a box we mailed out a week
or so ago. Then today I found your flyer. Must’ve been in our back room for years.”
Vanessa forced herself to focus. Their last trip to Colorado had been a few years ago. They’d had time before their flight,
so she and Sadie had passed out flyers to antique stores near the airport. It was the last time they’d done that together.
“So . . . if it was my ring in the box, you’re saying you don’t actually have it?”
“I don’t.” Isaac explained that he had been trying to go through a list of stores where he might have sent the box with the
ring. Unfortunately, he told Vanessa he had probably sent out fifty boxes of antiques in the past week. “I have a lot of tracking
to do.”
“I see.” Vanessa waited. People who checked in with her about her missing ring almost always had a motive.
“What I wondered,” Isaac continued, hesitating, “was whether the reward was still good. Otherwise there’s no point in trying
to find which store might have the box.”
There it is. Vanessa slipped her keys into her purse. “The reward is still good. You can reach me at this number if you find it.”
The call ended and Vanessa started toward the Christmas Bazaar. Isaac Baker might be legit. And maybe the ring he’d shipped
off had been hers. It was the best lead she’d had in a year at least. But with the reward on the line, Vanessa had her doubts.
She spotted Ben before he saw her. He was looking at a booth of old books, talking to a couple who had brought their wares
to the yearly bazaar. A rush of recent memories came to mind. She and Ben had found time to talk nearly every day, and on
Saturdays they talked while walking at their separate parks.
He had told her about his hobby of woodworking and how he loved his men’s Bible study. A place where he could grow in his
faith and enjoy an outlet other than what he shared with his dad. They shared a common loss, one that most people never knew
in their early forties. Ben was funny and deep and a great listener. But there were still things she didn’t know about him.
Like how his wife had died or how he had survived the loss.
She hadn’t shared that either. With their extended time together starting today, Vanessa had a feeling they’d find their way
to those deeper places.
Even from a distance Vanessa could see Ben smile at the couple and shake the man’s hand. Like he really cared about the pair.
Watching Ben from a distance was sort of fun. Vanessa slowed her pace. She and Ben had only been together in person a few times. And now she could see for herself that her memory didn’t do him justice.
This new friend of hers was not only a head-turning kind of handsome.
He was kind.