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promised it would help. But instead of imagining some pleasant respite, David had actually made a pilgrimage. The stories Kenny told had left him with a desire to know a place like Longview for himself. The family Kenny had loved left David with visions of being a part of such a unit. But now that he was here, and for all the love and warmth he had found among Kenny’s own people, David knew the doctors hadlied. Pastoral settings and gentle people did not erase the hideous nightmares from the past. The monster still lurked beneath the bed, in the closet, behind the door. And that monster wanted David.

    Ruth and Rachel both glanced up when David came into the room. It was nearly noon, but they made no comment of his tardy state. Rachel couldn’t help but notice the gaunt, almost haunted expression on David’s face. She’d heard his cries in the night and knew he was suffering from nightmares, but what she didn’t know was how to help. She’d wanted to go to him, to wake him from the horror and promise him that life would be better, but instead she’d remained safe in her own bed and prayed. It seemed the very best she could offer this troubled soul. Prayer, and perhaps her heart.
    “Sorry, I guess I overslept,” he apologized, not willing to meet their eyes.
    “Are you hungry?” Ruth asked in her sweet, motherly fashion.
    David nodded. “But I wouldn’t want to be any trouble.”
    “No trouble,” Ruth replied. “I’m just fixing lunch. Do you like ham and beans? I mean, I know you’re Jewish, and I wouldn’t want to—”
    “It’s not a problem,” David said quickly to reassure her. “I don’t worry about such things.”
    She smiled. “Good. I have that and corn bread. Marion won’t be here. He’s got the day off and has gone to find us a Christmas tree. Helen is off to church to practice for the Christmas play. So it will just be the three of us.
    “Rachel and I are baking cookies,” Ruth told him as she motioned him to the dining room table. “We’ve managed to get rather innovative with our cooking now that rationing places such limits on us. Marion is hopeful that it’ll be nothing more than a temporary condition, but we all agree that if it helps the boys overseas, it’s the least we can do.
    “I need to tend to the oven,” she said after placing a steaming bowl of beans in front of him. “Rachel will share lunch with you and see to anything you need.”
    Rachel smiled shyly and nodded. “That is, if you don’t mind having my company.”
    David shook his head and seemed to be searching for something to say. Rachel took pity on him and interjected her own thoughts. “Good. Just let me grab the corn bread.”
    She fairly danced into the kitchen, catching a quick look at herself in the glass of the china cupboard. She’d worked with extra care on her hair, having pinned her rather unruly mass with bobby pins the night before. She knew her mother had noticed the sudden change but was relieved to have the situation overlooked. Helen, on the other hand, had teased her unmercifully and Rachel had actually worried that her little sister’s comments and laughter might have been overheard by David.
    Bringing a plate with the corn bread, Rachel found that her mother had already seen to putting another bowl of beans on the table. David looked up and, as if realizing his manners, stood quickly and pulled out Rachel’s chair for her.
    “Thank you,” she murmured. She could feel the fire in her cheeks and knew she was blushing. How silly he’ll think me . She tried to compose herself before looking up. “Would you like me to offer grace?” she questioned, knowing full well from Kenny’s letters that David probably had no idea how to pray. David nodded and bowed his head.
    Rachel cleared her throat nervously. “Father, we thank you for the bounty you have given. We ask your blessings on our home and on our country. We ask that you would watch over our friends in service overseas and our