The Demise
Page 30
Annie could see the sparkling eyes and curly brown hair of the little boy who stole their hearts. Definitely a case of love at first sight. How was it possible this same bundle of joy was now driving? Shaving, no less!
She read on.
My back is killing me. I had 15 four-year-olds in Sunday school this morning and none of my helpers showed up. It never fails. How can they be so inconsiderate? It wouldn’t be so bad except I can’t get around very well right now. Baby Jeremy is due in three weeks, and I feel like a beached whale. Oh Lord, forgive me for being so frustrated with these folks. I’m sure they had their reasons.
“Would you like some lunch?”
Annie blinked out of her nostalgic cocoon as the flight attendant extended a small basket toward her. “Oh . . . yes, thank you.” She slid the ribbon bookmark to her page in the journal, dropping down the tray table from the seat in front of her. She reached for her billfold, pulling out sufficient bills to pay for the meal.
She hadn’t noticed the flurry of activity in the plane as passengers removed plastic wrapping from thick deli sandwiches, potato chips, and oversized sugar cookies. As if on cue, her stomach growled, reminding her she’d forgotten to eat breakfast that morning. She took a bite of the turkey and provolone sandwich, silently praying over her meal. Then, taking a deep breath, she gazed toward the panoramic view out her window.
Maybe it’s all in my head. Maybe things really aren’t as bad as they seem. If only I’d taken more time to stop and breathe once in a while. If only I’d forced myself to take a few breaks along the way, go to the beach like I used to. Soak up the warm sunshine and feel the sand between my toes.
“Beverage?”
The friendly attendant had returned with a drink cart. “Yes, please. Mineral water with a twist of lemon?”
“Sure,” the uniformed brunette answered, popping open a bottle and pouring it over ice in the small glass. She tucked a wedge of lemon on the rim and handed it to Annie.
Later, all remnants of her lunch removed, Annie retrieved her journal and opened it once again. She turned to the place she’d marked with the thin satin ribbon, working her jaw again. She skimmed through more of the entries, memories and details of a marriage and a family that somehow lost its way.
The night David arrived half an hour after Jessica’s birth.
Even now, more than five years later, the resentment gripped a secret place in her heart. He’d apologized a thousand times. No, it wasn’t his fault. Jessica had arrived two weeks early. There was no way he could have known when he left town for the convention. But by the time her contractions began, she knew he would never get back in time. She’d tried to be gracious and accept it, but somehow the apologies weren’t enough. It was so much more. For the first time, as if in living color, she saw the literal reality of what their life had become.
The church owned David McGregor.
And he allowed them to do so.
Of course, he never had enough time to stop and ponder anything so close to home. They kept him much too busy. Annie still believed he was a good decent man who loved her and loved their children. So what had happened? How had David let it come to this? How had she let it come to this?
Annie had asked those questions more times than she could count. Rocking little Jessica, she would voice those concerns to David in cross whispers when he came home late at night. His response? A blank stare. Too tired to face a confrontation, he would nod his head, apologize, then shuffle off to bed. By morning, he would cling to her in bear hug embraces, grovel in more apologies, and make all kinds of desperate promises. But she knew things would stay the same. He would be sucked back into the relentless vacuum of his chosen profession.
She might as well be a single mom.
The thought sent a familiar grip circling her head. She reached for her bag and the migraine medication she lived on these days. The bitter pill melted under her tongue as she waited for relief. She tired of the beleaguered journey through the pages of her life, but she kept on. She was searching for something—anything that would help her find her way back. Anything that could give her a clue. Her body begged for a nap, but she picked up the book once more, passing months of entries as she neared the last few handwritten pages.
Last year’s Mother & Daughter Banquet . . . As chairman of the annual event, Annie had barely seen her daughter and mother-in-law that night. Two bites into her salad, she was whisked away to attend to another emergency. It wasn’t until the end of the banquet she spotted her disappointed daughter, still sitting at their table, stirring her cold potatoes in a pile of mush. Annie sat down beside her, stroking the long blonde curls before pulling her into a hug. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to desert you and Gran.”
“That’s okay, Mommy. It wasn’t any fun anyway. Can we go home now?”
She could still feel the sting in her eyes at the honesty of Jessie’s statement. All that work. All those months. But Jessie was absolutely right. It was no fun at all. It was a mother and daughter celebration, but this mother had spent only five minutes with her daughter. Five minutes. Suddenly, the truth pierced her heart: Jessica got crumbs that night—Annie’s crumbs. The same kind of crumbs Annie got from David.
What goes around comes around.
Annie exhaled a hushed moan, rolling her neck to stretch out the kinks. Enough of this. But there was one page more she must read. She didn’t want to read it. She had to. The words written there were still fresh, lettered only seven days ago.
Today, I drew a line in the sand. It is the line that divides all my yesterdays from all my tomorrows. I will no longer be who I have been. I am through with that life. I have to get away. I have to, or I will lose my mind. Tonight I made reservations for a flight to Colorado. I leave one week from today. I’m borrowing Christine’s cabin while she’s overseas right now. There I will figure out what I’m going to do. I will open my heart to God and ask for His help, but I will no longer remain as I am. Something happened today. And when it did, something snapped inside me. I needed David desperately. But he was gone. He always is. He was ministering to a hurting family in our church. They needed him. How typical. And how utterly ironic.
Annie slammed the book shut. She dropped her face into her trembling hands. Oh God, no. Not here. Don’t let me fall apart. Not yet. She squeezed her eyes and pressed her lips together, steeling herself against another wave of emotion, this one trying desperately to pull her under.
High above the earth in a plane arcing over the Midwest, Annie knew she must come to grips with who she was and exactly what she was doing . . .
A pastor’s wife, running away from home.
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From Author Diane Moody
Of Windmills and War
The Runaway Pastor’s Wife
Blue Christmas
Blue Like Elvis
The Demise – A Mystery
Confessions of a Prayer Slacker
Tea with Emma
The Teacup Novellas (Book One)
Strike the Match
The Teacup Novellas (Book Two)
Home to Walnut Creek
The Teacup Novellas (Book Three)
At Legend’s End
The Teacup Novellas (Book Four)
The Christmas Peril
The Teacup Novellas (Book Five)
The Teacup Novellas – The Collection
(All five Teacup Novellas)
Hale Hale the Gang’s All Here
A Family Cookbook
A Christmas Bundle of 3
Two Blue Novels
From Author McMillian Moody
Ordained Irreverence
Elmo Jenkins (Book One)
Some Things Never Change
Elmo Jenkins (Book Two)
The Old Man and the Tea
Elmo Jenkins (Book Three)
A Tale of Two Elmos
Elmo Jenkins (Book Four)
The Elmo Jenkins Trilogy
(The first three novels s in one volume)
Also available in paperback
The Elmo Jenkins Red Boxed Set
(Includes all four novels)
Evicting Erlene
An Elmo Jenkins Novelette
Hangin’ with Father Ted
An Elmo Jenkins Novelette
Tempting Harry
An Elmo Jenkins Novelette
Guarding Eddie
An Elmo Jenkins Novelette
The Elmo Jenkins Novelettes
All four novelettes in one volume
(Also available in paperback)