by Debby Mayne
Sherry cleared her throat and her mind. She’d never met Theo’s wife, but she’d seen a picture of her when they first got married. She remained standing by the door as she scanned the room and spotted a woman who resembled the image, sitting alone, looking not the least bit happy.
Naomi tapped her on the shoulder. “Looks like Theo’s wife is pretty miserable. Why don’t you go say hi.”
“I don’t know her.”
“Then introduce yourself. You’re not still holding a grudge, are you?”
Sherry shook her head. “No, of course not. Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. Listen, Sherry, it’s been a long time since Theo took off and married that girl. Swallow your pride and go tell her how happy you are to have her here.”
Sherry wasn’t happy . . . or unhappy. Just indifferent. But talking to Theo’s scowling wife? She shuddered. However, Naomi stood there, glaring. The woman had always been there for Sherry, through all kinds of storms, giving advice that always turned out for the best.
Sherry sighed. “Okay.”
“You know it’s the right thing to do.” Naomi’s gaze locked with hers. “You’ll be glad you did it.”
Right.
Sherry took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and turned toward Theo’s wife.
The woman’s eyes widened as Sherry approached. “Hi,” Sherry said. She extended her hand. “My name is Sherry Butler.”
“I know.” The woman looked at her hand and limply took it in her own. “I’m Ursula.” Ursula’s hand was damp and a little shaky, showing her nerves.
“So how long have you and Theo been in town?”
“We just got here a couple of hours ago. Brad told us about this potluck, and Theo wanted to come.” She paused.
Sherry tilted her head. “Brad knew you and Theo were coming?”
Ursula glanced over toward where the men were standing and nodded. “Yeah, he had to deliver some supplies to Theo’s parents’ place for their mission trip. He said we’d see you here.”
“I’m glad you and Theo could make it. I hope you have a nice time.”
Ursula shrugged. “Theo likes to come to Bloomfield, but every time we do, I have to remind him that nothing ever changes around here.” She rolled her eyes. “And I mean nothing. It’s the same old boring place it always was.” With a sympathetic smile, she added, “No offense.”
“None taken. I understand. But some of us actually like boring.”
Ursula snorted and laughed. “You probably know Theo’s not exactly a laugh a minute himself.” When Sherry didn’t laugh along with her, Ursula cleared her throat. “That didn’t come out right. Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Before saying something she’d later regret, Sherry backed away from the table. “I better go see if anyone needs me. Nice to meet you, Ursula.” She practically choked on those words.
Ursula lifted a finger. “In case you’re looking for Brad, while we were talking, I saw Theo going into the kitchen. Maybe Brad’s in there.”
“Okey, dokey.” Sherry headed off toward the kitchen but stopped when she heard Theo mention her name. She hovered behind the wall and listened.
“Yeah, Brad’s still takin’ in the injured strays no one else wants. He’s always felt sorry for Sherry, but like I told him . . .”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Sherry’s mind swirled, and her stomach roiled. She couldn’t stick around and listen to another word. She bolted back into the area where the tables were set up and practically threw herself into Naomi’s arms.
“I really need to go home. Can you take me?”
Naomi frowned. “What happened? Did Brad say something?”
Sherry’s body shook as she fought the tears. “No.”
“Come on, Sherry, something obviously happened.” Naomi paused to look out over the crowd. “Look. Brad’s with some of the other couples. Why don’t you join him?”
Still unable to put her thoughts and feelings into words, Sherry shook her head. “No, I don’t want to join him. I just want to go home.”
“Are you feeling sick?”
Sherry nodded.
“Then let me go tell Brad, and he can take you home.”
“No.” The sharpness of her voice stilled Naomi.
“I don’t know what just happened, but we’re starting to draw attention.”
Sherry glanced around and caught a few pairs of eyes quickly darting away. Even though she didn’t feel like discussing what had happened, she’d already backed herself into a corner, and Naomi needed to know the truth. “Brad is only with me out of pity.”
“That’s silly. Why would he go to all this bother for pity? Let me go talk to him.”
“No. I can’t have you doing everything for me.”
Naomi offered a sympathetic grin. “You know I’ve never minded helping you out, but you’re right. You should talk to him.” She nodded toward Brad. “Go. Do it now while it’s still fresh.”
When Brad first looked up and saw Sherry, he grinned, but as she got closer, his smile faded. He pulled her close and whispered, “What’s wrong?”
“I want to go home.”
“Okay, now or later?”
“Now.”
Brad turned to the others at the table. “We’ll be right back. Save our seats.”
Sherry led him out of the fellowship hall and down one of the church corridors until she found a secluded spot. “Brad, I don’t think things are going to work between us.”
“What are you talking about?”
She shrugged. “We’re not here together for the right reasons.”
“Now you’re making even less sense. Care to start from the beginning?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t want you to have to explain yourself. I just want to go home.” Sherry swallowed hard and bit her bottom lip to redirect the pain. “But first, I have one question. Do you see me as an injured bird?”
He frowned, then slowly nodded. “Sometimes, yes, but—”
She lifted her hands in surrender, squared her shoulders, and allowed herself to succumb to the numbness she’d relied on in the past. “That’s all I needed to hear. From now on, we can be casual acquaintances, but that’s all. We’ll serve on the committee together because we’re already obligated, but once we have this playground built . . “ She shook her head. “You don’t need to keep coming around.”
The look of incredulity on his face was painful to see. “What brought this on?”
“Does it really matter?” She sighed and wished she could disappear.
He tightened his jaw. “You’re not making a bit of sense, but since you put it that way, no, I suppose it doesn’t. Let’s go back out there so folks won’t think we’ve abandoned them.” The tone of his voice had tightened and cooled. “If you want me to take you home now, I can, or we can stick around and not worry our friends.”
She nodded. “I guess that’s probably best.”
For the rest of the evening, Brad barely acknowledged her presence. Good thing she found out early, so he didn’t have to keep pretending, and she wouldn’t get her hopes up about a romance between them.
As people started to leave, Naomi made her way to Sherry. “So what did he say?”
Sherry looked at Naomi and didn’t even bother to hide her dismay. “I was right. He even said he thinks I’m an injured bird.”
“What?” Her voice came out in a screech, eliciting some curious glances from a few people nearby.
“Yes, he came right out and said that’s how he thinks of me.”
“Well, I’ll be. I never thought . . . Okay, Sherry, since you’re so sure about this, why don’t you tell him I’m taking you home? There’s no point in making yourself more miserable than you already are.”
Sherry hesitated for only a few seconds before nodding. Then she took off toward the area where she’d left Brad. “Hey, Brad, since you’re still talking to your friends, I’ll just grab a ride with Naomi, okay?”
“I brought you here so I can take you home.” His jaw tightened as he spoke.
“I’d rather go with Naomi.”
A hurt look covered his face, but he quickly recovered and slowly nodded. “Okay, if that’s what you want.”
“It is.” She forced a smile to the rest of the couples at their table. “I’ll see you on Sunday.” Then she moved as quickly as possible toward the exit where Naomi stood waiting.
Sherry had a hard time keeping up with Naomi as the woman scurried out into the parking lot. Before Sherry had her seatbelt buckled, Naomi had turned on the ignition and started backing out of the parking space.
They were halfway to Sherry’s house before Naomi spoke. “You do realize you still have some ’splainin’ to do later, right?”
Sherry nodded.
“Tonight you can lick the wounds, whatever they might be, but be ready for lots of questions tomorrow.” She pulled her car in front of Sherry’s house and waited. “I’ll sit here until you’re safely inside. Call if you need me.”
As soon as Sherry got to her door, she unlocked it and shoved really hard to open it. After she managed to shut it with some groans and creaks, she heard the sound of Naomi pulling away. She leaned against the wall and slowly lowered herself to the floor. Maybe the time had come for some changes. She knew it wouldn’t be easy, but she didn’t want to go on feeling like this. A change of scenery might give her the lift she needed.
GOING TO WORK THE next morning was one of the most difficult things Sherry had ever had to do. She knew people would be curious about why she’d left abruptly without Brad, so she needed to come up with a quick response that wasn’t a lie but didn’t let on too much.
She heard the door chime and glanced up in time to see Gina entering the store, without Lacy in tow. “Hey, Sherry. We had a very nice time last night.”
Sherry came out from behind the counter. “That’s good. What does Jeremy think about Bloomfield?”
“He loves it. Everyone gave him such a warm welcome.”
“That’s what we do in Bloomfield. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Actually, I’m here to talk about you.”
“Me?” Sherry’s voice squeaked, so she cleared her throat. “Why?”
Gina smiled softly. “You left so quickly last night, we were worried about you. Brad said he didn’t think you were feeling well.”
“Did Brad send you?”
“No, of course not.” Gina quickly glanced away, but not before Sherry saw the guilty look in her eyes.
“Then who did?”
A sheepish look came over Gina. “I can’t lie. Naomi put me up to it. She said she thought it might be better if someone less . . . How did she put that?” Gina frowned as she pondered the right words. “. . . geriatric checked on you.”
Naomi never got someone else to do her dirty work, so Sherry had no doubt Naomi was really worried. “I didn’t feel like myself last night. I’m fine now.”
“Okay, if you don’t want to talk about it, I understand. It’s just that I’ve been through so much with Jeremy since we’ve been together, I thought maybe I could help you talk through some things.”
Sherry looked at Gina’s sweet, compassionate expression. The woman clearly wanted to help, but Sherry had never had a close confidante with whom she could share her deepest thoughts and feelings. She’d hung out with various friends during high school and afterward, but if she had to claim a best friend, Naomi would probably be that person. Sherry managed to keep her innermost thoughts and feelings locked inside.
Almost as though Gina could read her mind, she stepped closer and looked directly into her eyes. “It’s okay to not always be strong. No matter how well we handle things, the Lord knows that, deep down, we’re all vulnerable.”
The softness of her words and gentle nature of her gestures touched something inside Sherry. She tried hard to smile and speak, but it didn’t work. Next thing she knew, a tear escaped, and then another and another, until she was in a full-blown sob. Gina pulled her into a warm, maternal hug.
The door chime sounded. Sherry started to jump back, but Gina held on tight and whispered, “Let me help this person. I’ve worked retail before, so I think I can handle it.”
Sherry nodded and backed away as Gina approached the customer. She had to ask for a password to get into the register, but she managed to ring up the sale without much difficulty.
After the customer left, Gina went back over to Sherry and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Okay, now where were we?”
The few minutes alone had given Sherry a chance to recover. “I’m much better now, so don’t worry about me.”
Gina nodded and closed her eyes in prayer as she kept her hand on Sherry. When she opened them, she unlatched her purse, pulled out a slip of paper and a pen, and she jotted her information on it. “Here’s my cell phone number. If you ever need to talk, please feel free to call me.”
“Thank you.” Sherry stuck the paper into her apron pocket and changed the subject. “You were really good with that customer. If you need a part-time job . . . that is, if you and Jeremy decide to move to Bloomfield . . . I have room in the budget to add a few more hours to the weekly payroll.”
“I would love to work here!” Gina looked around. “The only thing that might hold us back is if Jeremy can’t find work. He’s talking to someone Brad introduced him to last night.”
“Where’s Lacy?”
“She’s with Pamela getting a manicure. That woman is a riot, so no telling what my daughter’s nails will look like when I pick her up.” Gina laughed. “I’ve never seen anyplace like Bloomfield.”
“That’s because there isn’t any other place like Bloomfield.” Sherry inhaled deeply. “And I think you’ll fit right in.”
“I hope so.”
Sherry wanted to avoid more talk about her relationship with Brad. “Let me know what you decide to do. Thanks for stopping by.”
Gina gave her an understanding look. “I’ll let Naomi know that you’re feeling better.”
Customers came and went throughout the morning. The traffic was slightly heavier on Saturdays, which suited Sherry just fine. She needed to stay busy. Nan had weekend guests, and the other part-timer, a high school student, had to study for exams.
Since she was alone all day, she brought her sandwich out from the back room and ate it in nibbles between customers. She’d just stuffed a bite into her mouth when Naomi arrived.
“You have this whole town worried sick. Gina said you’re feelin’ better, but that doesn’t mean a thing.” Naomi stopped in front of the register, widened her stance, and propped both fists on her hips. “I let you get away with actin’ this way when you were younger, but that good-little-soldier face you want the world to see doesn’t work anymore. Now are you going to tell me exactly what happened, or do I have to rely on hearsay?”
Sherry practically choked on her sandwich as she tried to swallow it. She took a sip from her cup and put it down, trying to think of a quick response.
“I was just out of sorts, so everything seemed rather distorted.”
“That’s nothing but a bunch of malarkey.” Naomi waved her hands around. “Don’t go tellin’ me somethin’ so ridiculous when you know good ’n well I’m not stupid.”
“I never said you were stupid.”
“Then tell me what happened between you and Brad to make you think he’s only seeing you out of pity. What, exactly, did he say?”
Claustrophobia washed over Sherry as Naomi stared at her, waiting. She’d run out of choices. “I . . . I heard something
.”
Naomi narrowed her eyes. “So you heard something. We all hear stuff, girl, so just spit it out. What did you hear that got you in such a dither?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
Naomi contorted her mouth and rolled her eyes. “Oh, that’s right. Don’t talk about it. Just plug your ears, hum a happy tune, and hope that whatever’s buggin’ you will go away.” To drive her point home, she stuck her fingers in her ears, scrunched her face, squinted her eyes, and sang, “La-la-la-la.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then tell me what you’re saying.” Naomi dropped her hands and gave Sherry a motherly raised-eyebrow look. “If you don’t talk about it, you’ll fret and stew, and whatever happened will wind up tearing you up inside.”
Sherry sighed. “I’m not ready yet.”
Naomi lifted her hands in surrender. “Okay, so there you have it.”
“I’ll talk when I’m ready.”
“Stubborn as always.” Naomi let out a grunt, shook her head, turned, and looked around. “I might as well stock up on next month’s birthday cards, since I’m here. Got anything new?”
Sherry led her toward the inspirational section and pointed. “This whole row is new, and we got some funny cards in a few days ago.”
Naomi waved her hand, dismissing her. “Get back to work. I’ll just see what all you have.”
Sherry started to walk away, but stopped and turned. “Naomi?”
Naomi lifted her eyebrows expectantly. “Ready to talk now?”
“No, at least not about Brad.” Sherry smiled. “I think I might be ready to put my house on the market, but I’m not sure where to start.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Naomi stuck her fist on her hip and grinned right back at her. “It’s about time. Don’t worry about things. I’ll guide you along the way.”
No doubt Naomi would guide and tug and force and do whatever it took to make sure things went exactly the way she thought they should be.
“Thanks.”
BY THE END OF the day, Sherry was exhausted. In addition to Gina and Naomi’s well-meaning visits, other people from church came by to check up on her.
