A Second Chance

By Dawn Natelle

The penultimate chapter in this book. I hope you all like it: Dawn

SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 2016

On Sunday morning a line of men sat on the porch of the women’s shelter, all wearing Hobo Army uniforms. One at a time timid women came out of the shelter and met the men who had agreed to accompany women to the church. There was no kissing among the couples: they were all too early in the relationship. But if a woman offered her hand to the man, then they were kissed on the hand, impressing women who had been forced from their homes by violent and Neanderthal men. The sauve, diplomatic touch of the men melted away many of the fears the women had about men. These were not merely men: they were gentlemen.

Soon there were only two men remaining on the porch, and the others headed off down the street towards the church, with about half of the women holding the hand of their partner, and all were smiling. Dee came out and told the remaining men that the women who had agreed to go to church with them had second thoughts, and decided to stay in the safety of the house. The two men surprised her by saying a second service was in two hours, and if the women wanted to think about it longer, they would wait, if the women were interested in that service. Dee went back in, and told the two women, who were amazed. The men in their earlier life always wanted things according to their schedule, and cared little was the woman wanted. To have a man let a woman decide – to be in charge – was new to them.

Fifteen minutes later the men were invited into the shelter, and sat in the parlor, speaking politely and in a non-aggressive manner with the women, explaining about the church, the painting, and Pastor McNaughton, who would be presiding at the second service. Soon the last two women were eager to go to the second service, and pleased at the way they were being treated.

Chef was not one of the ones at the shelter. His date, Linda, lived with Miss Lajoie in the house next to the Barron’s. He did get a kiss from Linda as he arrived, and hugs galore from her three children. Miss Lajoie had weighed the option of accompanying Linda and her kids to church along with the Barron’s. In the end she was unable to do so, even though she was starting to get comfortable with Chef, who had offered to cook a Sunday meal in her kitchen for her and Linda’s family.

Chef, with his new family, and the Barrons walked to church together with Miss Lajoie waving from the porch, wondering until the last minute if she should join them. In the end, she made her mind up to join in next week, when Rachael would be back.

At the church the Barrons came in at about the same time as the group from the shelter, and the girls from there gathered around Linda and her kids, gossiping with the latest news from the home, and asking Linda how it was living in a real house. The men from the Hobo Army all stood respectfully to the side, with none of them pushing the women to enter the church. It was Maria who finally said they all should go in before the seats all filled up.

The plan had been that the women would have a chance to pray to the painting before the service, but there wasn’t time. All the women got a glimpse of the painting at the end of the lobby, but instead of praying they went to their seats and sat next to their accompanist, feeling like a normal person for the first time in years.

Bobby took Linda’s three children down to the Sunday school, and Geoff and Marie sat with the women from the shelter. Pastor Helen had reserved a section for the women, so they would not have to sit near men they didn’t know, and with two couples not arriving, there was space for the Barrons.

At the service Pastor Helen’s sermon on Taking a Second Chance hit home with the women, along with many other congregants who were at a period of change in their life. The women were shy and quiet in the early part of the service, but during the latter part of the service, their voices rang out loud and clear in the concluding hymns, showing they felt more comfortable.

After the service, all the women went to pray, and it took from a half hour to nearly an hour for each woman to make her peace with the Lord. At the painting the Lord evaluated the couples, and 8 of the 12 women were told that the man who had brought them to church this day were worthy of their love, and could become permanent mates. The other four were told that they were safe with the men with them, but that they should date others to find a man who they could spend the rest of their life with.

It was a happy group that walked back to the shelter, with eight of the couples holding each other closely, and the other four holding the hand of the man they came with. As they walked home, they met the other two couples, and again had to stop and gossip, with the 12 women who had attended the first service telling their friends that they had to pray. It was a life-altering moment, they said, with the prayers bringing love and normalcy back into their lives.

Meanwhile Rachael was at the camp, and she and Robert again made breakfast after tending to the horses. They had an additional guest that morning: Pastor McNaughton had gotten up early and headed to the camp. Rachael had told Pastor Helen that she was going to have to miss services on that Sunday, and the two pastors had decided to offer a non-denomination service at the camp on Sunday, with Pastor McNaughton preaching at the camp at the same time Helen was at the church.

The service was near the finish line, with most of those attending sitting on the bleachers. It was not only the town’s people in the seats, but over half of those operating the rides and booths also came. For some it was just a curious way to kill some time, but for the Christians in the group it was a special service for people who could seldom get to church on a Sunday due to their jobs. Talk after the service was to see if there could be a way to repeat the practice at other stops in their circuits. They did corner the pastor after the service and asked if he would do the same thing for the fall fair, when most of them would return to town. Naturally, he agreed.

Pastor McNaughton’s sermon was about how events like the races and the fall fair build a community. He noted that God was clearly in favor of them, since he had provided perfect sunny, warm, and dry weather. He prayed for good weather through the rest of the year, which impressed the farmers present, since many of them relied on good weather to have a good harvest. In the end everyone left the service smiling and at peace.

After the pastor headed back into town for his regular service, things at the camp ramped up with the booths opening at 10, and the races slated for noon, two, and four. At six the booths would close, and start to pack up for their next stop.

At noon it was the under-16 race first with Robert on Blackie. He had no problems outdistancing the field. The second gully was the only concern. The tuft of earth they had jumped from in the early races had been completely obliterated by riders trying to use it in the Senior’s race the day before. Robert was able to leap the gully in a single jump, while others had to make the scramble. Robert was nearly a minute ahead of the next horse in the race.

In the two o’clock race it was Rachael’s final turn to shine. She was the only woman in the under-20s class, and heard more than a few comments about how she should stick to the Powder Puff race. She didn’t taunt her opponents, knowing that losing to a middle school student would be hard enough on the high school boys and college freshmen that made up the rest of the field.

Her race was simple and clean. She had a slight lead at the first gully, but Blackie leapt it easily. Most horses had to scramble through it, but one other horse made the jump as well. That meant he would be able to make the second gully, which was shorter. So Rachael put her head down and willed Blackie to more speed, and was 15 seconds ahead at the second gully. She leaned into her horse as he leapt the gully, and seconds later the other horse also cleared it.

Rachael’s game plan had been to ease up on Blackie over the last part of the race, but the other rider was not allowing it. He gained time on the big stallion, and for the first face since the ponies it was a close finish, with Rachael barely taking first.

“Good race,” Rachael congratulated the other rider as they trotted to cool their horses down. “You have a great horse there. I probably weigh 80 pounds less than you do, and that may have made the difference.”

“Yes, you are a regular little jockey,” the boy said. He was one of the college students. “I was hoping to win this one, because next year I will be 20, and will have to win the open. Are you running in that one today?”

“No. My boyfriend is, on this horse. You may have spoiled it for him. I was hoping to ease up on Blackie here near the end. You made that impossible. Good luck next year.”

Rachael spent most of the next two hours working on Blackie. She did have to stop for the victory celebration, with another huge trophy being carted back to the camp by a proud Lisa. But for the rest of the time Rachael was rubbing Blackie down, making sure that he was ready for the final race. There was a problem just before the race, when the camp vet came over. Robert had just saddled Blackie and climbed aboard.

“You can’t run that horse again,” the man said. “Three races in just over four hours is too much for any horse.”

“On what grounds?” Rachael asked. “He is healthy and full of energy.”

“He is exhausted,” the vet said. “Look at his head down, barely moving.”

Rachael put her had on Blackie and willed him to rear up on his hind legs, dancing on two legs in a circle. Robert had to hold on to keep in the saddle. “Does that look exhausted?” Rachael demanded. “He is full of energy, and ready to run.”

The vet looked at the prancing horse, which had continued to dance after going back to all fours. He sighed and said: “Okay, he can run. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if you damage the horse.”

Robert got into the starting line up. Rachael was sure that Blackie was as fresh as possible, and kept feeding him energy until she had to step back for the starting gun. It fired and Blackie was off as if it was shot at him. By the first gulley he had a good lead, and he was the only horse that made the jump, with several others trying and failing. Luckily none of them were injured. This left Robert with a half-minute lead at the second gully, and he jumped it easily and was able to cruise to the finish line without pressing the stallion. No other horse was in sight as he crossed the line.

The final celebration was chaotic. The open had never been won by a rider as young as Robert, and no horse had ever run in, let alone won, all five races. This time there were two trophies awarded. Robert got the open trophy, and Frank proudly carried back the trophy for the best overall farm in the competition, the first time the Jackson family had ever won.

“Where am I going to put all those trophies?” Donna asked Rachael as she led Blackie back to the camp corral. “They would need a trophy case clear across the living room. Unless you take your two home. Would you do that?”

“They aren’t my trophies,” Rachael said. “They are Blackie’s. I only rode on his back for two of the races. You should get the men to build a trophy case in the stable. There is a lot of room there, and it really was Blackie who won everything.”

“That’s a great idea Rachael,” Donna said.

The Barron’s had arrived at noon after church, and had watched all three races, cheering Blackie on. Once her horse was settled and rubbed down, Rachael took Bobby out to the midway, spoiling him as only a big sister can. Geoff had slipped her a twenty, and they used it on rides, games, and junk food. A twenty doesn’t go far on a midway, and part way through Maria added a second twenty.

The midway closed at six, and a contented Bobby announced that the races had been “the best fair ever.” They headed back to camp where Robert and the boys were tearing down the tents. Rachael and Bobby brought Blackie and Dutchess to the horse trailer and loaded them in for their ride back to the farm. Bobby had to rejoin his parents, but Rachael rode in the cab of JJ’s pickup as it hauled the horses back to the farm. She easily got both horses unloaded, and into the stables, where she gave Blackie another rubdown. She vowed to continue getting to the stables at least once a week through the summer, even though she no longer needed to practice for the races.

JJ drove her back to town after unhitching the wagon, and then headed back to camp to see if there was need for more work on the cleanup. Rachael offered to come as well, but JJ noted that there wouldn’t be any space in the pickup cabs for another passenger.

At home Bobbie engulfed his sister is a huge hug, thanking her for the camp, as if it had been her idea to hold it. They then went over to Miss Lajoie’s. Bobby’s main interest was in visiting the dogs, but Rachael was more interested in getting to know Linda’s kids, especially the baby. By missing church, Rachael had missed her time in the nursery, and she realized how much she missed caring for the babies.

Chef announced that Barron’s were invited to his dinner, with Miss Lajoie agreeing. Linda had told her about church, and had convinced her to attend the following week. At one point Miss Lajoie noticed that there were two men in her house: Chef and Geoff, and she didn’t mind. Then Grandpa came over, and it was just more merriment. Kids were running around, and Miss Lajoie had started wondering if she might have children of her own. The dinner was huge, and everyone was having a wonderful time. Miss Lajoie sobbed to herself, realizing that now she had a family of her own, with these wonderful neighbors, and Linda’s kids and boyfriend. It was something she had missed, and seeing it all happen again in the little house she had spent her entire life in, warmed her heart.

Rachael had to hand over Tanya to clean up after the meal, with Maria and Geoff helping, in spite of Chef’s claim that they were guests. The big man instead sat in the living room where he now had four children on his big lap, with Bobby crowded in as Chef read several stories from Bobby’s library books. Bobby explained the library to Chef, and the man decided that tomorrow he would take Linda and the three kids to get books of their own for him to read to them.

Later that night Rachael kneeled at the side of her bed.

Dear Lord

It seems that I am always thanking you. But you do so much for me, and for all the people around me. The camp at the races was fun, but mostly it was fun being with family. Both my own, and Robert’s, who are starting to be a part of my family. And learning what happened at church today. You are helping some severely broken women heal. Look at Linda. She is so in love with Chef. And he loves her back, and her kids. Mark is fun. He’s only half Bobby’s age, but they get along so well. It will help Bobby to be a big brother to the little fellow. Luckily there are two dogs in that house. I wonder if Linda and Miss Lajoie will let the two of them walk the dogs. And even Miss Lajoie is looking better. She used to be terrified of men, but Chef and Dad seem to help ease that. I hope she goes to church next week, and prays at the painting. It should help her.

Amen