“Put them in the cupboard in the storage room,” Barrister said with a grin. Darcy had been a godsend to him and Mary, making life better for them and the men they helped to serve. They had been more than willing to take her in for her offer of work.
Darcy turned carrying the precarious stack of sheets under her chin and smiled as the door to the sleeping area opened again. “I’ll be right with you,” she called as a grubby looking man shuffled into the room.
“Thanks,” a gruff voice croaked as the man stepped back against the door, looking around him as if seeking something.
Darcy quickly made her way to the storage room, placed the freshly laundered sheets into the press, smoothed her skirt and headed back out into the main room. At this time of year the place was busy with many lost men, seemed to need a place to get out of the cold. “Can I help you?” she asked, walking to the newcomer.
“Miss Darcy?” Dark eyes grew wide as the man with the familiar lumpy face stared at her. “Is that really you?”
“Jim? What on earth are you doing here?”
“I ain’t got no work, and with the law watching everywhere I needed some place to go. Why’d you do it Darcy? Why’d you turn on Pierce? We had a good thing going back then.”
Darcy reached out placing a hand on Jim’s arm. His coat was torn and dirty and he looked much the worse for wear. Pulling the man with her Darcy walked to a dark corner of the room where a cot had been neatly made up and urged him to sit.
“He tried to have me killed Jim,” Darcy finally said, her voice just above a whisper. “It was wrong what we were doing, and innocent people were getting hurt.”
Jim sank down on to the cot, dropping his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do no more Darcy. I only ever did what Pierce told me. Now I can’t get no work, and there ain’t anyone to go to for help.”
Darcy squatted before the man she had once called friend. “You came to the right place,” she smiled. “There’s help here if you’ll take it. Bar and Mary don’t ask questions, but they do have answers. You stay here Jim, and I’ll get you a better coat and a change of clothes, then we’ll talk.”
Jim looked up his drooping eyes full of doubt and hope. “All right Darcy,” he drawled. “I’ll wait here.”
Darcy hurried to the storage room once more and grabbed fresh clothes that she thought would fit the fellow sitting alone and lost in the main room. Perhaps the donated items weren’t exactly fashionable, but they were clean and warm, and she hoped Jim wouldn’t take offense.
In the past months working for the church mission, Darcy had learned so much about love, life, and God’s mercy that she was a new person. Never had she felt such compassion for her fellow man, and she knew her heart had been remade.
There were so many lost and lonely people out there seeking hope, and in truth, it was right there, free for the taking if only they would look.
“I brought you some clean clothes,” Darcy smiled at the man. “You can go in to the wash room and change if you’d like.”
“Will you be here when I come out?”
“I’ll be right here,” Darcy assured.
Jim smiled. “I didn’t hardly recognize you Darcy,” he said. “You look nice in them plain duds. Of course you always looked good in anything,” he added shyly.
“You get washed up, and then we’ll talk Jim,” Darcy urged. “Much more than my style of dress has changed recently and I can’t wait to tell you about it.”
***
“So you really believe that asking Jesus in your heart changed you?” Jim asked fifteen minutes later as he settled back on to the cot next to Darcy. “He forgave you for everything bad you ever did?”
“Yes, he did.” Darcy looked at the man compassion in her eyes. “He can do the same for you. Of course I didn’t believe it either when I first heard about it, but little by little I understood. No matter what we did, no matter how hard our heart has gotten, He is just waiting for us to say yes.”
“How long you been workin’ here Darcy?” Jim asked still thinking over her words. “Do they treat you good?”
“I have everything I need,” Darcy said. “When I first got here all I wanted was a place to stay and a chance to work off some of the bad I had done. I thought that if I did good things, I could tip the scales of judgment in my favor. Instead, I found a freedom I didn’t know existed. I had gotten free of Pierce and his kind, but in my heart, I was still a slave to my own desires, greed, and sins. It wasn’t until a traveling preacher stopped by and spoke about how Jesus had already paid for our sins that I knew the truth and that truth set me free. I still have a long way to go Jim. I don’t always get things right. I get angry or tired and…” she paused thinking of Blake. “And I still long for things I can’t have sometimes.”
Jim smiled reaching over and taking her hand. “I’m glad you landed on your feet Darcy,” he said. “I’ve been down on my luck, but maybe these folks could use some muscle around here. I could work. I ain’t afraid to get my hands dirty. I,” the man looked up taking in the large room with the tall windows. “I think I’d like to know more about how you got free. It feels like instead of a heart beating away in here all I got is a stone.” He tapped his chest
