Hidden Blessing

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There was a crowd in the small, old-fashioned store. Long counters were piled high with a variety of merchandise, and Isabel Watkins and another clerk were kept busy waiting on the customers. Shannon and Ward went their separate ways for a few minutes, and she found a half dozen coloring books, which could be torn apart. She also purchased several children’s card games, which she intended to donate to Laura’s recreational activities.

Ward was waiting at the checkout counter with a small sack of his own when she finished shopping. If another day or two went by without her belongings, she knew she’d have to spend some money to replace a good many things. As it was, she was already over the weekly budget she’d set for herself.

“Would you mind waiting while I make a telephone call?” she asked Ward when she spied a phone booth a short distance down the street. The telephone number she’d given the employment agency was useless—she had packed her cell phone in her cosmetic case when her purse had been too full to hold it. “It’ll just take a moment.”

“Sure thing.” He took all the sacks and leaned against the corner of the booth as she closed the door and made her call. It didn’t take long to hear the same disappointing story. No response on her résumés yet.

“Keep in touch,” the artificial, upbeat voice of the employment lady told her.

Ward refrained from asking any questions as they walked in silence to the school, but he could tell from the flickering tightness in the muscles around her mouth that the telephone call had not been a happy one.