Intermediate Chapter


     The haggard mother tried unsuccessfully to calm her baby. Jesse stepped up quietly to them with her nicest smile.
     "May I hold your baby? She is so beautiful," Jesse asked, reaching for the child. The mother could only manage a look of confusion.
     "I don't... she's not very happy right now," the mother weakly protested. Jesse still held her arms out for the squalling infant. The mother handed her daughter over to Jesse; she couldn't refuse the offer.
     "Hi there, honey-button," Jesse cooed as she took the baby. As Jesse drew the child close to her, the cries and fidgeting suddenly stopped. The little girl softened all over and melted into Jesse's arms and bosom. The child gurgled a happy, contented sound and slowly closed her eyes. In another moment, the baby was sound asleep, resting securely. Jesse held the little girl joyfully and rocked her gently.
     "Oh my!" the mother spouted. "She's never done that before. It usually takes me an hour to get her calmed down. I just couldn't do it this time. We've been on the road all day. I was ready to drop," she explained. She peered at her sleeping child. Jesse bent to lay a kiss on the baby's forehead and gently returned her to her mother.
     Shedding tears, the mother continued, "She hasn't slept like this for months. I forgot how peaceful she could look." She sank down to the seat, bowing her head. She quietly wept over her child.
     "Thank you," she said through her tears, "I really needed your help. It's been such a long day for both of us." Jesse sat next to them and put her arm around the two.
     "You're welcome. But the pleasure is all mine. I can't live a day without contact with one of the Innocents," Jesse said with tears of her own.
     "Thank you," the mother repeated. "Now I think I can deal with the rest of this day. We still have to ride the train for the next fourteen hours to get home. If she's asleep, then I can sleep too once we get on board."
     "You do look as though you need the rest," Jesse sympathized. "Have you had enough to eat today?" The mother was hesitant.
     "No," she finally admitted, "I haven't had anything all day. I had to spend all our money on the train tickets. They were more than I expected. Amy has had her bottles, so she's okay."
     "This isn't right. Would you please let me help some more?" Jesse asked, giving the mother a hug.
     "Oh my goodness. I couldn't ask any more than you've already done for us. We need to catch the train in just a few minutes. We really need to get going," returned the mother, attempting to stand. However, she didn't even have the strength to get up.
     "Please let me take care of you...?" Jesse half-asked.
     "Linda."
     "Linda and Amy."
     "But I have these tickets."
     "Linda dear, I will cover the cost of those tickets and..."
     "Oh no! They cost so much."
     Renewing her hug to quiet Linda, Jesse declared, "Linda, it really is all right. I would be selfish not to share my abundance with you. Isn't this what the Mother of Heaven would want?"
     The mother eased her posture and nodded. The baby slept on. Jesse opened her phone and spoke with someone. Having finished, she closed the phone up again and turned to Linda.
     "All right, Silvio will be here shortly. Do you have any baggage?"
     "No, just this," she indicated, tilting her head towards a back pack on the seat next to her. A tall man in a black uniform brought a courtesy wheelchair up to Jesse and Linda.
     "This is Silvio. He'll be taking you and your daughter home. But first, you need a good dinner. Will the Vittoria be all right for you?" asked Jesse as Silvio easily lifted the mother and child together into the wheelchair.
     "Oh, uh, I could walk... Umm, I guess that the Vittoria would be very nice," Linda stammered slightly. Silvio picked up the back pack and began to wheel the little family down the corridor. Jesse joined them and looked into her purse. She quickly produced a bundle of money and tucked it securely into the mother's back pack.
     "Oh, that's way more than the tickets cost! It's too much," she again protested. Jesse patted Linda on the shoulder.
     "I know but I had the feeling that you two might have the need," Jesse answered. Linda bowed her head again and was silent for nearly a full minute. When she finally looked up again, her face was wet with tears.
     "We really do need the money," she confessed quietly. "I don't know if we can ever repay you."
     Admonishingly, Jesse answered, "I wouldn't hear of you trying to pay me back. I have more money than I know what to do with. Please just enjoy this bounty from the love of the Mother of Heaven. Okay?"
     "Thank you, uh... You haven't told me your name," Linda realized aloud. Jesse slowed her pace and allowed Silvio and his charges to get away.
     "Just consider me your sister," she answered, waving good-bye. Linda, Amy, and Silvio disappeared through a closing glass door. Jesse stood where she had stopped and brought out a handkerchief. Dabbing at her eyes, she whispered to herself, "What a wonderful life I have. I'm so thankful that I know what to do with all my father's ill-gotten gain."
     She sensed the needs of another. One last tear escaped and ran down into her smile. Then she was on her way again.

End of yet another intermediate chapter.