Free Her Name Will Be Faith by Christopher Nicole Page A

run-down state.
    "Well, the two guys who were renting the basement
have moved out, owing two months' rent, so Annamarie has repossessed it. Now
she says we can have it."
    "Oh, how super." Not quite as exciting as Jo
had expected.
    Marcia saw her expression and grinned. "But
that's not all. The lease on the first floor ends in two months, and the old
darling says she won't renew it, so we can have that, too."
    Jo frowned. "What are you going to do with two
apartments?"
    "Steady, girl, steady; that's not all, either.
The old chap on the second floor is in hospital. His wife says he has terminal cancer,
and so she is leaving to keep house for her
brother. Isn't it fantastic, all that happening at once? So Benny's
mother says we can have the whole house."
    "Gee, Marcia, that's fabulous. But the rent..."
    "No, no, she's not renting
it to us. She's giving it! We thought she meant
selling it, and we didn't think we could raise that kind of money, but she says she has enough income from her other
houses; seems Benny's father left her three. So she's making the deeds
of the house over to us. And," she went
on as Jo made to congratulate her, "there's more yet." She opened her purse and produced a sapphire and
diamond engagement ring. "Benny says that if we want to be
respectable home owners, we'll have to get married and have children. Look what
he bought me with the money he got from the
sale of that purple and red sea scene." She slipped the ring on to
her finger and held it up to the light. "We are now officially
engaged."
    "Marcia! How absolutely
marvelous." Jo leaned across the table to give her sister-in-law a kiss. "Congratulations, Babe,
congratulations. Have you told your folks?"
    "Not yet. I telephoned Babs
and told her we'd like to come out tomorrow
night. Can you and Michael come?"
    "Sure we can."
    "Because Belle and Lawson are flying up from
Nassau, and Dale has promised to be there too. We'll surprise them."
    "Big Mike will blow his mind."
    "I guess he will. We're
taking Benny's mother, too. We'll have a surprise
family party."
    "And I'll prepare the
food," Jo said excitedly. "Over at the cottage where Babs won't see it."
    To think that only a few days ago she had been the
most miserable woman in New York.
TUESDAY 6 JUNE
Bognor, Connecticut
    "Run, woman, run! Move your
fat ass," Big Mike shouted, then threw his
racket into the air. "Christ! She's missed it. Would you believe it?"
    "Will you shut up, you big
turkey? If you hadn't played the ball right on to Neal's racket when you had an open court..."
Babs laughed as she went up to the net to
shake Meg's hand. "Anyway, you'd have beaten us in the end. You were just
too good for us today. Thanks for a lovely game."
    There was applause from the gallery. Jo and Michael,
who had arrived with the children and sat
watching the final set, rose to greet the players as they came off the court.
    "Lovely of you to call round." Babs kissed
her eldest son. "Let's all go inside for a drink." The court had been
leveled out of the gentle slope behind
Pinewoods, and the sun had begun to dip towards the surrounding trees. "Were you thinking of staying for
supper?" Babs asked Jo as they walked down the gravel path
together. "I haven't anything very interesting in the house, as Mike and I
had thought of going out. Could you come with us?"
    "Bit difficult with the
children," Jo hedged. "But I've quite a nice lasagna ready at the cottage. I
can pop back and fetch it, later. Won't take me more than five minutes," she lied, picturing
the vast feast she, and Marcia had prepared and which the latter was looking
after, while she and Michael paved the
way for the big surprise. They had to be sure Babs and Big Mike were at home
when Marcia and Benny walked in.
    When the Robsons had left, still
anxious to talk about their new purchase
– they were leaving for the Bahamas at the end of the month – Babs and Big Mike went up to change while Jo and
Michael went home's to fetch the 'lasagna'. The older