Somewhere to Call Home. Janet Lee Barton

a deep breath before stepping out into the hall.

      Violet hoped she wasn’t overdressed, or underdressed, as she headed down to the parlor to join everyone. She was relieved to see that Elizabeth was dressed much as she was in a pale blue gown, and she put her worries about how she looked away.

      “Violet, did you have a good day?” Elizabeth asked as she led the way downstairs. “I asked my friend about openings at Tiffany Glass, and as I suspected, there aren’t any at present. Still, she said she’d let me know when one comes up. Evidently it’s fairly often.”

      “Thank you for asking about it, Elizabeth. I did have a good day. I rode on the El for the first time and I know where several companies are that I’ll apply at on Monday, including Butterick.”

      Elizabeth chuckled. “Riding on the El for the first time is an experience, but you get used to it very quickly. I’m so glad there is an opening at Butterick. I’ll be praying you get that position and then we can be coworkers, too.”

      They were both laughing when they joined the others in the parlor just as Mrs. Heaton called them to the dining room. Again, Violet found herself sitting adjacent to Michael and across from Lila.

      After Michael said the blessing and began carving the large ham Gretchen had set before him, Mrs. Heaton introduced a new man at the table as John Talbot, a reporter for the New York Tribune. He’d been covering a charity ball the night before.

      “Pleased to meet you, Miss Burton,” he said. He was about her age and clean-shaven, with rust-colored hair and greenish-blue eyes. He didn’t have the rough demeanor she’d thought a seasoned reporter might possess; instead, he looked like someone she could have gone to school with.

      “Thank you, Mr. Talbot. I’m pleased to meet you, as well.”

      “How are you enjoying our city?”

      “With her eyes closed.” Michael chuckled and winked at Violet as he handed her a plate with a slice of ham.

      His wink sent her heart into a little dive and dip and she felt color flood her cheeks, but she couldn’t help but join in his laughter as she passed the plate down. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the traffic.”

      That brought laughter from all at the table and several nods of agreement.

      “Oh...yes, well, that can take some getting used to. But it is easier with your eyes open,” John said. “Did you apply for any positions today?”

      “Not today, but I found several I’ll apply for come Monday.”

      “Oh!” Lila put a hand over her mouth, then removed it to say, “I am so sorry. I forgot to ask if there are any open positions at Butterick today. We were very busy and it totally slipped my mind. But, I’ll be sure to ask on Monday.” She ladled a spoonful of scalloped potatoes onto her plate.

      “No need to worry, Lila. There was an ad in the classifieds today,” Mrs. Heaton said. “Violet is going to apply there first thing.”

      “Oh...” Lila nearly dropped the casserole dish she was passing down the table. “That’s good. Maybe we’ll be coworkers after all.”

      Violet didn’t know if she meant it or not, but Lila did smile across the table at her. For some reason she didn’t think Lila liked her very much. Then she told herself that she had no way of knowing that. Still, it didn’t dispel the feeling she had that Lila wished she hadn’t come to live at the Heatons’ boardinghouse. Violet thought it might have something to do with Michael. Lila tried to catch his attention at every opportunity, and it was obvious that she was very interested in him, but so far he didn’t seem to be giving her any more attention than he gave the other women. Violet hoped to become friends with all the boarders, but she wasn’t sure it was going to happen with Lila. Only time would tell.

      She was relieved when the conversation turned from her to the other boarders. She liked hearing about their days and the rest of the meal was quite enjoyable for Violet. Mr. Talbot entertained them with stories from the ball he’d covered the night before.

      Up until now the names he mentioned were those that Violet had occasionally seen in the newspaper, but none of their activities mattered much to her. However, they seemed to mean a lot to those around the dinner table. He was plied with questions about what the ladies wore, what was served and whom they talked to.

      The conversation took them through a dessert of cherry pie à la mode and into the parlor afterward. This time Violet stayed for a while and, although she didn’t join in on the conversations, she enjoyed listening and learning more about this city she would be calling home.

      When everyone began heading to their rooms, Violet found herself going up the stairs with Elizabeth, Julia and Lila.

      “What are you going to do tomorrow, Violet?” Julia asked. “If you don’t have any plans, you are welcome to come home with me and have Sunday dinner with my family. Lila and Elizabeth are coming, and my mother always has plenty.”

      “Oh, thank you so much, Julia. But Michael and his mother mentioned something about showing me Central Park after church and Sunday dinner.”

      “Oh?” Lila arched an eyebrow and seemed to be waiting for an answer of some kind.

      Violet didn’t know what to say except, “I believe so.”

      “Oh, you’ll love that, won’t she, Lila?” Julia turned to the other girl. “We often go there as a group.”

      “I’d love to go with you all sometime.” Violet was a little disappointed at having to miss the opportunity to get to know the girls better.

      “Oh, there will be other times—don’t you worry. We go on outings together quite frequently, don’t we, Lila?” Elizabeth nudged the girl.

      Lila gave a very brief smile. It was so quick, Violet was certain that had she blinked, she might have missed it.

      On the other hand, maybe it was better that she couldn’t spend the day with them. Besides, she’d had such a good time with Michael and his mother that she was really looking forward to the next day. “I’m sorry I can’t go with you to meet your family tomorrow, but thank you for the invitation.”

      “You’re welcome. There’ll be another time,” Julia said.

      They’d reached the top of the stairs when Lila said, “Elizabeth, could you come to my room, please? I want you to help me pick out what to wear tomorrow.”

      “Of course,” Elizabeth said before turning to Violet and Julia. “Good night, Violet. We’ll see you tomorrow evening. I hope you have a wonderful time. Night, Julia.”

      “Good night, all,” Julia said from her doorway.

      “I hope you all have a wonderful time, too,” Violet said. “Good night, Julia, Elizabeth and Li—”

      “Come on, Elizabeth,” Lila said, pulling the young woman into her room and shutting the door.

      Julia smiled at Violet and shrugged. “Obviously, Lila is in a tizzy about something. Don’t let her bother you. She’s just like that.”

      “No. I won’t. Good night.”

      “Good night.” Julia yawned and shut her door.

      Violet opened the door to her room more certain than ever that Lila did not like her. And she had a feeling she was the cause of whatever kind of tizzy Lila was in.

      * * *

      Violet joined the Heatons for church the next morning, and they introduced her to some of their friends and neighbors. She felt welcomed and it was good to be with friends on this Lord’s day.

      Since her mother’s death, Violet had questioned the Lord as to why He’d taken her away, and then when she’d found out that Harlan Black held the mortgage to their home, she had even more questions on why the Lord would let that happen, causing her to leave the home she’d been raised in and her