All Kinds of Courage

By Lisa Smelter

Retired US Army veteran and patriot Ben Olson moves back to his hometown of Litton, Minnesota, where he finds himself living next door to sweet and kind Josie Martin. Josie is a strong, self-confident young woman, recently back from Senegal, where she spent ten years in the Peace Corps. Sharing a love of 1970s music, chocolate desserts, and a mischievous German shepherd, the two become friends.

Unfortunately, bad tempers and a philosophical difference of opinion tear the friends apart. Each of them must take a journey toward the truth while confronting their fears. Along the way, they discover all kinds of courage and rediscover the joy that only true love reveals.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Captured Muse Entertainment
• Release date: May 10, 2023
• ISBN: 9781662940002

Book preview

CHAPTER

One

Josie Martin rang up her customer and gave him the correct change. They had been having a most interesting discussion about her new neighbor. She knew that someone was finally renting the Nelson house to the right of her own cozy home. The house had been standing empty for nearly two years ever since old Mrs. Nelson passed away.

She always wondered why no one seemed interested in living there. From the outside, it looked to be in fairly good shape. The house had been built at the same time as her own 1930s home. It was a medium-sized square house with a full front porch and steps going down to a small front lawn. Like hers, the backyard was large and surrounded by a five-foot-high fence. Josie had visited Mrs. Nelson often before she died, so she knew the layout of the inside of the house as well as her own.

Josie inherited her childhood home from her parents three years ago when they were killed in a car accident. She had just returned at age thirty-two from a ten-year commitment to the Peace Corps. Whenever she recalled that time, she was so grateful that she had a month with her parents before they were killed on their way home from a wedding in a neighboring town.

Living now in the house she grew up in, it was easy to find memories. She could sit still in one room and relive a handful of remembrances with a single glance. So many memories, she thought as her gaze fell upon her parents’ wedding picture.

She thought back to her mother’s statement that she planned to save her good new things for a rainy day. What good had it gotten her? Cynthia Martin was only fifty-four-years-old when she died. Her rainy day had never come. Josie decided at her parents’ funerals that she was not saving anything for a rainy day. She was going to live every day like it was her last one. If she bought something nice, she planned to use it right away and get as much enjoyment out of it as she could.

Over the past three years, Josie carved out a nice life for herself. With her sweet little gray cat, who answered to the name of Sassy, she was not lonely. She had tons of friends. Josie found life to be sweet, wonderful, and exhilarating. She loved God and knew that she was loved by Him in return. Her happiness and friendliness were a result of her wonderful growing-up years. Her parents were extraordinary people who had loved life, too.

People rarely saw the temper that she kept in check. Josie hated her sharp tongue that came out when she was vexed or when someone was unkind to animals. Even though she currently only had a cat, she could talk easily with pretty much any animal. When she was a child, she had brought home stray dogs, cats, birds, turtles, and hamsters. She had a soft and gentle touch with hurt animals.

Josie had already finished three years of her veterinary course at Litton College when she became interested in the Peace Corps. It had consumed her thoughts until she persuaded her parents that she just had to sign up to go overseas. Agricultural Senegal was her chosen piece of the world.

What followed this inspired decision was ten interesting years living just outside Kolda, Senegal, coming home for a visit only five times. By the time she spent ten years in Senegal, she felt the need to come back home to Litton. She missed her parents and her friends so much. Of course, her friends and colleagues in Senegal were sad to see her leave, but they understood that Josie wanted to go home and reacquaint herself with her parents and friends. She returned home at the beginning of June 1993, and her parents were gone just one month later.

Josie relied heavily on her friends during that very sad time. Being an only child, she inherited all of her parents’ possessions and their bank accounts. That was a good thing because she came back from Senegal with only some clothes, her guitar, and a few treasured knick-knacks. She had learned to live for so long with only the essentials that her parents’ overstuffed house seemed alien to her.

She gave herself a month’s time to grieve their passing and to get her parents’ affairs in order. Additionally, Josie had a number of things to take care of for herself. When these things were done, she scheduled an open house.

She put the furniture and other things that she wanted to keep in her bedroom and locked that door. Then she allowed all of her neighbors and friends to walk through her house and take anything they wanted.

Because of that event, her neighbors thought that Josie was such a generous and nice young woman. She packed up whatever didn’t get taken and sent it to the Goodwill in town. Now, her house felt comfortable to her. In the last three years, she sparingly added more furniture and wall hangings until her house felt like home to her.

She liked clean airy lines in the rooms of her house. It was definitely what people would call Feng shui. There was no clutter of unneeded or unwanted furniture or other items. Her house was a pretty, pale yellow color with lacy white gingerbread molding in front. There were four large bedrooms, a huge old-fashioned kitchen, a formal living and dining room, a large pantry in which to store her homemade jams and pickles, two bathrooms, and a multitude of closets—a house definitely big enough for a medium to large-sized family.

Outside, there was a wrap-around porch that was large enough to house a porch swing, wicker rocking chair, and a wrought iron table with four chairs. She liked to have her friends over to sit outside at the table and look over the big backyard and garden. Her garden was her pride and joy. She spent most of her spring, summer, and autumn days working in her vegetable and flower garden.

Josie made the most delicious homemade tea and a few other typically African drinks. Her neighbors often heard laughter and gaiety coming from Josie’s front porch. She was a little unconventional and sometimes liked to eat a breakfast meal for supper and things like pizza or burgers for breakfast. Her friends would just grin and shake their heads. They never knew what kind of food they would be offered when she invited them over for a meal.

With her little gray cat for company, Josie was satisfied with her life. She never thought about Jeff anymore. Theirs had been a college romance. They both planned to get their degrees in Veterinary Science, get married, and open a veterinary clinic together. But toward the end of their junior year at Litton College, Josie attended an event to learn about the Peace Corps. The presentation by current Peace Corps volunteers excited and intrigued her. From the first time she talked with those volunteers, she knew that it was something she wanted to do with her life. She tried to get Jeff excited about the Peace Corps, too, but he had little interest in it.

Jeff confessed to her that he didn’t have that kind of courage—the kind necessary when leaving your family, friends, and country behind to pursue an altruistic goal. There were so many uncertainties, but Josie was secure in one thing, and that was that she needed to do this.

They tried to stay in touch for the first year that she was in Senegal, but eventually, Jeff broke up with her. He had his Veterinary degree by now and wanted to move forward with his life. However, Josie did not plan to come back to the United States for several years. As much as it hurt, she realized that she had to let Jeff go. She realized that they had grown apart during that first year in Senegal, but she reasoned that their parting may have been inevitable. Jeff was going to be a wonderful veterinarian and bring a lot of goodness into the world in that way.

Still, it hurt for a while. Then, like with most things, time and tending to the tasks at hand lessened her pain and changed her focus. By the time Josie returned to Litton, she was only curious about Jeff’s current life and hoped only the best for him.

From that pivotal moment—and the nine years that followed—Josie did not allow herself to get serious about any man. When she came back to live in Litton, she adopted Sassy, and only went out with her male friends on a very casual basis.

Josie never considered herself a great physical beauty, but her beauty was in her love for people. The people who knew her thought she was truly beautiful. She radiated happiness, gentleness, and kindness. Her soul was full, and she loved life. The things that made her cry were the injustices of the world, when her loved ones were hurting, and listening to her praise music. Sometimes her heart was just so filled with the beautiful words and music that she couldn’t stop herself from crying. She liked to do that in private, though. Her friends rarely saw her in anything but a happy mood.

Josie loved most music—especially her praise music and the rock and roll oldies from the 1970s. She hadn’t listened to much of her favorite types of music during those ten years in the Peace Corps because not many families in her village had a radio or way to listen to pre-recorded music.

The only music she heard was from the people who sang their own music. She also played her guitar, which was popular with the members of her village. She taught many of her friends and their children the basics of guitar. Over the years, a few families obtained guitars, and they would jam together at local community events such as births and marriages. What Josie lacked in skill, she made up for by her enthusiasm in playing the guitar.

* * *

From the time she was sixteen and Mark Hillman was two years old, Josie babysat for him. She and her parents were friends with young Roy and Kay Hillman, who lived two blocks away and went to their church. Mark was such an adventurous and mischievous little boy, but he loved the kind young Josie, so he minded her very well. Later, while she was in her first two years at college, she occasionally babysat for the now six-year-old Mark and his baby brother, Matt.

When she came back to live in Litton, she reconnected with the Hillman family. Mark was off to college, Matt was fourteen, and little Melissa was nine. Josie met Melissa when she resumed teaching the children’s Bible study at her church. She had done that each Sunday from the time she was sixteen until she left for Senegal. Now, after her parents’ death, she resumed teaching the little ones at her church. Playing guitar, even as simply as she did, came in handy with her young group. They appreciated her guitar playing efforts.

She loved running into the Hillmans at church and at community events. Mark and Matt were off doing their own things, but she enjoyed doing crafts and gardening with young Melissa. They shared a passion for the earth and growing things. Both Josie and Melissa lived in older houses that boasted a great flower and vegetable garden. Josie, Melissa, and her mother, Kay, loved talking while they worked in their gardens.

Melissa dropped by regularly to talk with Josie, play with Sassy, and help in the garden. Likewise, Josie often stopped by the Hillman house and helped Melissa and Kay with their garden. Many happy hours were spent in each other’s company. Although Melissa’s brothers were generally around in the evenings to watch over her when Roy and Kay went out, Melissa preferred that Josie stayed with her at the Hillman house. This way, Josie reconnected with Matt and Mark, as well. She told them interesting stories about her life in Senegal. All of the Hillman children were dutifully impressed and intrigued.

Another one of Josie’s passions was volunteering at the hospital. This summer, the Burn Unit at Litton Hospital had a little boy named Kenny, who spent quite a lot of time there. He had pulled a boiling pot of water off the stove onto himself. At the time, Kenny was only wearing a thin tee shirt and shorts, and the burns were extensive over his torso, arms, and legs. He spent his whole summer at the hospital, healing and getting skin grafts.

Josie kept her eyes open for small toys and activities that he and the other healing children could use while they stayed in the hospital. She often brought her guitar to the Burn Unit and sang for them, since they seemed to enjoy it so much. She sang some beautiful uplifting Christian songs, as well as simple children’s songs.

Sometimes other members of the hospital staff would find themselves wandering into the Burn Unit during a free moment, just to see the joy on the children’s faces when Josie sang so sweetly and unselfconsciously. Her soft soprano voice was so endearing to hear. Josie’s flushed and earnest face was beautiful to see.

Because she was sweet and kind, many men were interested in getting to know her better. She had her own house and a pleasant life. Josie kept them all dangling, never going out with any of them more than a few times. There were several men who professed undying love for her, but Josie was unmoved by their pleas to date seriously.

* * *

One of Josie’s customers at Big Al’s Hardware recently informed her that Ben Olson was her new neighbor. She knew his family slightly. Ben’s parents lived only a few miles from her home and went to the same church as she did. She couldn’t really remember Ben, who graduated from high school three years before she did. From talking with her customers, she knew that Ben had gone into the Army the week after he graduated from high school, and he stayed in for twenty years. He just got back to Litton on June 2nd, twenty years to the day from when he left home to go to basic training.

Ben came from a very patriotic family. He lost his only brother in the Vietnam War. Josie thought about Ben’s parents. They were very quiet and stoic people. They had never really recovered from the loss of their older son. Ben’s father, Harold, applauded Ben for joining the Army and making it his career.

Now Ben was back in Litton and wanting to start up his new civilian life. This kind of reminded Josie of what she had done when she came back to Litton three years ago after spending so many years in the Peace Corps. She just hoped that he would be a good neighbor.

She thought that she would make some banana bread and walk it over, just to be neighborly. After living for twenty years on army bases, Josie thought that Ben might like something homemade for once.

As she walked the four blocks home from the hardware store, Josie thought about Ben a little more. She would be as available as she could be to help him buy groceries or other things for his house. The single men that she knew were all hopeless at doing those kinds of things.

Besides the banana bread, she thought that she would add some scones, her homemade raspberry jam, and a chocolate cake to her basket to bring over to his house. She was a pretty good cook, and most of her friends enjoyed eating her baked goods.

As she turned into her short driveway, she walked past her old blue Chevy. She gave it an affectionate pat. It was an old car—one that needed careful loving attention to get it to run properly. She usually walked to the hardware store and just let Old Blue sit in his spot on her driveway.

She turned to look at her neighbor’s house. There were basic white utilitarian curtains on the living room and kitchen windows. She couldn’t see into the house anymore. Ben must be a fairly private man to have put up curtains within a few days of moving in.

There were boxes still sitting on the covered porch. Ben must be taking his time moving everything in, she thought. She smiled when she saw the huge American flag blowing in the breeze. It figured that Ben would fly the American flag with pride.