Military Daddy. Patricia Davids

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      Early Monday morning Annie and Crystal sped into the Windward’s parking lot. Pulling around to the area reserved for staff, they both bolted out of the car and rushed in the side door of the building. For once it wasn’t Crystal and Annie’s poor excuse for a car that had made them late. This time it had been Annie’s fault. The sudden onset of morning sickness had stopped her cold just as they were leaving the house.

      Inside the building, the women dashed to the locker room, where they quickly changed into gray pin-striped smocks and gray pants. Annie tossed her own clothes and purse into her locker and shut the door. Running a hand over her hair to tame the flyaways, she took a deep breath and followed Crystal into the windowless, drab room that served as a cafeteria and meeting room for the hotel staff. Four other housekeepers sat at one of the tables. Their supervisor was standing at the front of the room.

      Mr. Decker looked at the clock on the wall. The hands pointed to two minutes after eight. “I’m glad you ladies could join us.” His sour tone made Annie wince.

      “I’m sorry, Mr. Decker,” she said. “It won’t happen again.”

      She needed to make sure of that because she really needed this job. She would have a baby to take care of soon.

      The thought hit her out of the blue: she was keeping this baby.

      Sometime between tossing and turning half the night trying to make a decision and now, the answer had been found. This was her baby. She would love it and raise it and give thanks for the blessing every day for the rest of her life.

      “All right, let’s get started.” Mr. Decker was short and as thin as a toothpick. His unnaturally black hair was combed carefully over his bald crown, but his gray pin-striped suit was meticulously pressed with a carefully folded white handkerchief peeking out of his breast pocket. He picked up a clipboard from the table and scanned it quickly.

      “We have thirty-two guests checking out this morning. Crystal and Annie, you will take the ground floor of the west wing.”

      Annie relaxed as he finished giving the other maids their assignments in English or in fluent Spanish for the women who needed it. The west wing was longer and therefore had more rooms, but she knew Crystal would help her if she fell behind. After only a month on the job, Annie still wasn’t as speedy as Crystal. Crystal had been a maid at this hotel for over a year.

      After morning assignments were finished, Annie loaded her cart with fresh towels and linens and replenished her bottle of glass cleaner. At the first room on the west wing, she knocked briskly. There was no answer. She swiped her key card and pushed open the door as she announced herself. Stepping over the threshold, she stared in dismay at the mess awaiting her.

      Trash overflowed from the wastebasket and dirty clothes were scattered around the room. The bedding was piled on the floor below the foot of the mattress. A large pizza box lay open on the table. It was empty, but one upside-down slice had made it to the floor, where the cheese and tomato sauce were still soaking into the carpet.

      This wasn’t going to be a quick turndown and wipe. She checked the dresser top. Of course the occupants hadn’t bothered to leave a tip for the poor soul who had to clean up after them. With a sigh, she began picking up articles of clothing. Her day may have started out badly, but she wasn’t going to let it get her down. She was having a baby!

      It took her almost thirty minutes to finish the room, but when she’d pulled up the clean spread and tucked it beneath the freshly fluffed pillows, she straightened and looked around with pride. She wasn’t the fastest maid, but she always did a good job. There was something satisfying about creating order out of disorder. If only it were as easy to straighten out her life.

      By four o’clock she was exhausted and she had earned only a single five-dollar tip. It would be enough to put a few gallons of gas into her car, but she wouldn’t be able to get her flat spare tire fixed or put any money aside. The list of things the baby would need almost made her cringe.

      In the locker room she sat on the bench and rubbed her aching feet. Closing her eyes, she whispered softly, “The Lord will provide.”

      She was learning that faith was a tricky thing. Just when she thought she had a firm grasp on it, something happened that made her doubts come back. Things like a day with lousy tips.

      Being a Christian isn’t about material stuff.

      Annie tried hard to keep that in mind. It was about eternal life and about His love. She couldn’t know His plan for her, but was it wrong to hope that it might include enough money to get a new pair of shoes?

      She glanced at the clock as she waited for Crystal to join her. When her roommate rushed in ten minutes later, her face was flushed and she looked as nervous as a cat in a dog pound. Opening her locker, she grabbed her purse, then tossed her coat and her clothes over her arm. Glancing over her shoulder, Crystal said, “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

      “Aren’t you going to change? You know Mr. Decker doesn’t like us taking our uniforms home.”

      “He’s gone for the day. He’ll never know. What are you waiting for?” Crystal pulled open the door to the hallway, checked both ways, then hurried to the exit.

      Annie followed her, puzzled by her odd behavior. “Crystal, what’s wrong with you?”

      “Nothing, I want to get home, that’s all. I’m meeting Willie in half an hour.”

      “Who is Willie?”

      “I met him last night at Kelly’s Diner and I think he’s the one. He’s so cool. I told him I could give him a lift home after his shift is over in the evenings. That is—” she paused and looked back “—if I can borrow your car? You don’t mind, do you?”

      “Oh, Crystal.” Annie didn’t try to hide her disappointment.

      “What? This guy could be the one. You don’t know him.”

      “And СКАЧАТЬ