Sarah took a deep breath as she watched the sun go down over a park near her brother’s home. “I should probably go home now,” Sarah said before yawning. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsatoWP6XM
“I’ll call a taxi for you,” David said placing the phone to his ear. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHl3bZuF73K
“Thank you both,” Sarah said as she smiled at David and Rose. She grabbed her coat, got in the taxi and headed home. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOUZtydnoy
****291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5X1GBEuKyl
Sarah could hear jazz music as she neared her apartment door. The music seemed to sound softer as she opened up the door. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhp81pbyp7
“Hey Honey,” Chris said. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVJe4CnvoVH
“Hey,” Sarah responded quickly. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYFMpBmFYZw
“Why are you being so short with me?” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCKjOeQuWjP
“Sorry and don’t be concerned I’m okay.” Sarah shrugged as she sat in one of the recliners in the living room. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQb63u9Tdk1
“I can tell you’re lying.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHtPAhENy0y
“How?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCd8fudm0u
“You’re being short with me and you look exhausted. I don’t think it’s because of the baby.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXVRIrU7okV
Sarah’s eyes began to fill up with tears as she said, “Promise you won’t be upset?” Sarah then glanced at her husband. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMmIEaZlCQp
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDF7EhO4P2i
“On my way to the grocery store, I was attacked.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24P1zfsmDX
“Attacked?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFU8nY2wDH
“Yeah. A man started making small talk with me and he said some inappropriate things to me. Then he followed me onto the train and he sat next to me before I could tell him to leave. Then he started saying all of this nonsense and grabbed my wrists. David got on the train at the next stop. David rescued me.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9Vh66aEcH
Sarah started getting dizzy so she closed her eyes. “I just don’t understand...why?” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGJ7n1EIusq
Sarah opened her eyes to see Chris standing in front of her and he said, “Sweetie...I’m going to help your brother to catch the guy who attacked you on the train and the guy who now doesn’t make you feel safe in your own home.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKbRQAaahP
Sarah gently smiled at her husband and said, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEna2aCGv5a
“It’s the same for me too,” Chris replied. He then stood up looked at Sarah and said, “So what would you like to do in the near future?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSqm9C69TKM
“See my sister.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCuZ7MO5TUu
“I mean besides that. I know she’ll be here in a few days.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NFO7iZ9J1
“Well...it’s a place you’ve been to before?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa3orqolt9Z
“What?” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0XXSQITRV
“The ocean,” Sarah said with eyes in wonder. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIros6kguCh
“You’ve never gone?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXCGFB4Ft8
“No, I grew up going to the lake.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwXQo14hCrm
“Tell me about it.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS6xW5F16x5
“Are you sure?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4Kf8m1Do8
“Yes,” Chris said sitting beside Sarah in the other recliner. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡazc77mIFb1
****291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuegKJTw92a
My mom and dad would take us to the lake and our condo every summer. The last time we went I had just turned 18 and I was bored and upset. All of my friends had gone on a beach trip before we all went to college or just started our lives after high school. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfnERE3nwn
So a few days into the trip I was sitting out on the dock and stared out over the lake and watched the pine trees sway in the breeze. I could hear my mom calling my name, but I didn’t answer. A few minutes later my mom sat next to me on the dock and said, “Sarah what’s wrong?” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsNVPpBRssy
“I’m fine mom.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG3nmEHPNDv
“No, you’re not. I know you too well.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxIwZcZHq7L
“I just want to be with my friends.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrCkO5y84E7
“I understand but make the best time you have here. Moments like this go by fast.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7UC0JneXhX
“Thanks, mom.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkmupGHIsWR
“You’re welcome. Also, I'm glad you’re here because I have to tell you something.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvgdbmI3YDx
“What?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMcsOUQeRa3
“Your dad and I are getting a divorce?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNpvRW7YUoS
“Why?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmS2PDOlRCd
“I don’t want to get into the details, but we don’t love each other anymore. But in reality, he doesn’t love me anymore. Don’t be upset with your dad, it’s a complicated situation. I just want you to know this. If you ever get married, make sure that the man you marry supports and lifts you up whenever he can.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOFJ7m1RGAc
“Alright, mom. If you need to talk more I’m here for you.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOo4cAQeQYc
“Thanks, honey.” Sarah’s mother smiled. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsJwW3cMY6
After the summer had ended my mom, dad, David, Holly and I were driving home. Even though I missed my friends I was glad I got to spend time with my family. Anyway, we were over the county line and so close to home. Then all I remember next was waking up in a hospital room with minor injuries. That's when I learned my mother had died. It’s like she knew she wouldn’t be on earth much longer. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tvUOkjVgb
****291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilssAoZm0U
“Chris. That’s why I want to go to the ocean. To maybe somehow imagine the trip I didn’t get to go on before college and remember my mom again. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaKa6KRlcaP
Also, I was so frustrated when my dad got remarried not long after, but that's a story for another time.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzQ2lnJpuAv
“Sarah I can try to get you to the beach whenever I can. I’m just working on what I’m going to do about work.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bA6q416yp
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked pulling a blanket from the back of the recliner onto her lap. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJ5JwTNmct
“Well, I’m still behind with work. It’s just so frustrating. It’s just a mess.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuoLVXjC6iR
“Do you want to take a break?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2akDEjT5G4
“I don’t really think I should leave my clients like that. I want to focus on them and give them the help they need.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡezi9J7M7ye
“But you look exhausted...not as much as me though,” Sarah said with a laugh. “You look worried too. How about this? I know we just went on vacation, but maybe you should take a sabbatical. Your colleagues can take over for you.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuawOJcDPCp
“Maybe?” Chris shrugged. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡabBY4j1xOY
“Why don’t you go over to the office and talk to everyone?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5E602GEm4H
“What about you Sarah? Are you taking a break?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyvUnnNIYdD
“I would love to, but my readers have been on my back about me writing more chapters.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI0ILPsiu6v
“Did you tell them what happened?” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM2e590Pmp9
“No, not really. I just let them know something very personal has happened and I’ll be updating my book when I can.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1g4Bt5L2N
“If you feel comfortable, then maybe down the road you can tell more of your story. It could help someone.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGls4syx2bO
“I’ll think about it.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bZOMj4Xgr
Sarah and Chris spent the evening relaxing on the recliners. They watched Christmas movies even though it was February. On some occasions, they would even watch a few in the summer. They watched a few versions of A Christmas Carol back to back. From a black and white silent film to some modern interpretations. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVH64ABMjPI
“It’s getting late,” Sarah said, glancing at the clock. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3adXdSOBn
“What time is it?” Chris said half asleep.291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd7Cpu6sjez
“One-thirty in the morning.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD2mK6jLfH0
“We’ve been sitting here for that long?” Chris said as he took their empty mugs of hot chocolate and placed them in the kitchen sink. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZ4l8EiKjr
“Apparently so,” Sarah said standing up and giving her body a stretch. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ163SFIUy7W
“Do you want me to run you a bath?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZsDV0EczmR
“No, no, it’s okay. I’m just going to head to bed. I want to make sure I get enough sleep.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKBvZGYZQhZ
“Me too.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡit9VDmfdU9
“Are you going into work tomorrow?”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx2OLzbc70c
“Yeah, I think so. Probably for a few hours.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtTLe4hgV8
“Okay then. I love you.” Sarah said with a smile as she walked into the bedroom. 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcEStCP07iz
“I love you too.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWeVgNAMGgZ
“Don’t forget to shut the light off in the living room before you go to bed.” 291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIJ6Eey65O
“I won’t honey. Goodnight.”291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgU2bUE8fup
Sarah slipped on her cozy pajamas as she tucked herself into bed. She smiled to herself and thought it was the first extended civil conversation she and her husband had in a long time. She hoped it would continue.291Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPQVtFaGDgW
