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. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAsLC5TPuvF5
“I’ll call a taxi for you,” David said placing the phone to his ear. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAaqHQ3islVG
“Thank you both,” Sarah said as she smiled at David and Rose. She grabbed her coat, got in the taxi and headed home. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAfzO0lGrrdf
****266Please respect copyright.PENANAv99hdKepNL
Sarah could hear jazz music as she neared her apartment door. The music seemed to sound softer as she opened up the door. 266Please respect copyright.PENANA0UZd6Wa22f
“Hey Honey,” Chris said. 266Please respect copyright.PENANARs26kBAgH8
“Hey,” Sarah responded quickly. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAyisxx6BQt7
“Why are you being so short with me?” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAgjsYnwaQcu
“Sorry and don’t be concerned I’m okay.” Sarah shrugged as she sat in one of the recliners in the living room. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAWVGOVvZb5w
“I can tell you’re lying.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAcraJGtjSvX
“How?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAC6F05Yg79W
“You’re being short with me and you look exhausted. I don’t think it’s because of the baby.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAduoKmLN3N2
Sarah’s eyes began to fill up with tears as she said, “Promise you won’t be upset?” Sarah then glanced at her husband. 266Please respect copyright.PENANA0FPj4elqAM
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”266Please respect copyright.PENANA9ArE2MFVLc
“On my way to the grocery store, I was attacked.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAulSPkdlbrv
“Attacked?”266Please respect copyright.PENANACMWkCTFvrU
“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.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANA4wgQRiEoOa
Sarah started getting dizzy so she closed her eyes. “I just don’t understand...why?” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAdHsnpOZpdP
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.”266Please respect copyright.PENANA84tJaGJ1N4
Sarah gently smiled at her husband and said, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAiOaX7yQRKS
“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?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAgdcY6QzQYM
“See my sister.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANA0xt0ETPCfw
“I mean besides that. I know she’ll be here in a few days.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANATkauT5lFjX
“Well...it’s a place you’ve been to before?”266Please respect copyright.PENANACyOYA2NyhN
“What?” 266Please respect copyright.PENANATTNSxLNOEN
“The ocean,” Sarah said with eyes in wonder. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAQShV4b94Hy
“You’ve never gone?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAfeflNQcdrZ
“No, I grew up going to the lake.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANARpHlSuhdK8
“Tell me about it.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAfUQmqlFArn
“Are you sure?”266Please respect copyright.PENANA8WCb2SCtsY
“Yes,” Chris said sitting beside Sarah in the other recliner. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAU45QHd465e
****266Please respect copyright.PENANAQThKI74il2
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. 266Please respect copyright.PENANALcEb6C6Z6G
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?” 266Please respect copyright.PENANARSzpZI0L5I
“I’m fine mom.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAuP9sPlRXMP
“No, you’re not. I know you too well.”266Please respect copyright.PENANARC4MHHJ5Ob
“I just want to be with my friends.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAM6nyGPeAPP
“I understand but make the best time you have here. Moments like this go by fast.”266Please respect copyright.PENANA2W8bYrTUwK
“Thanks, mom.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAE6qkoVGrwI
“You’re welcome. Also, I'm glad you’re here because I have to tell you something.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAbw7UQmXiSc
“What?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAjUpkQ653EN
“Your dad and I are getting a divorce?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAtbjhlrNMBA
“Why?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAxmEue2FudA
“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.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAoJ3UXjBw6Z
“Alright, mom. If you need to talk more I’m here for you.”266Please respect copyright.PENANANRvuR4vuzb
“Thanks, honey.” Sarah’s mother smiled. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAZigWgMdS7Z
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. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAMT9nnWiZNG
****266Please respect copyright.PENANARyV3Z9DfLA
“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. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAo5FTF3gir1
Also, I was so frustrated when my dad got remarried not long after, but that's a story for another time.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAXB1XTy5qmu
“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.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAAHWNumgVpd
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked pulling a blanket from the back of the recliner onto her lap. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAKkDaEfDvZf
“Well, I’m still behind with work. It’s just so frustrating. It’s just a mess.”266Please respect copyright.PENANABOkBeCVIqK
“Do you want to take a break?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAZipji2MiHS
“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.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAvvY9atmssj
“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.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAQjoxidrtbC
“Maybe?” Chris shrugged. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAZIxQ21CAPV
“Why don’t you go over to the office and talk to everyone?”266Please respect copyright.PENANA7ioJAlJHIk
“What about you Sarah? Are you taking a break?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAqdrZ9RoN7O
“I would love to, but my readers have been on my back about me writing more chapters.”266Please respect copyright.PENANA0WuIeYQhYY
“Did you tell them what happened?” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAOPKgkI2qVn
“No, not really. I just let them know something very personal has happened and I’ll be updating my book when I can.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAUiyEnyhq8v
“If you feel comfortable, then maybe down the road you can tell more of your story. It could help someone.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAD5nqW6QNsE
“I’ll think about it.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAVGRaTA6s4u
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. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAnaxUB2Aqvn
“It’s getting late,” Sarah said, glancing at the clock. 266Please respect copyright.PENANA0hwespdBnt
“What time is it?” Chris said half asleep.266Please respect copyright.PENANAkpgZk9ZZG4
“One-thirty in the morning.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAqj9fGqcZ6B
“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. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAPBPCenbjuC
“Apparently so,” Sarah said standing up and giving her body a stretch. 266Please respect copyright.PENANAYopttUvtGA
“Do you want me to run you a bath?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAMVe1MPNO48
“No, no, it’s okay. I’m just going to head to bed. I want to make sure I get enough sleep.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAyBmssEk2XO
“Me too.”266Please respect copyright.PENANA35A0KBPJbJ
“Are you going into work tomorrow?”266Please respect copyright.PENANAhfAw7XDZcg
“Yeah, I think so. Probably for a few hours.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAwgkVIouzj6
“Okay then. I love you.” Sarah said with a smile as she walked into the bedroom. 266Please respect copyright.PENANApNTnKI90Sb
“I love you too.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANAKXgee4mpL4
“Don’t forget to shut the light off in the living room before you go to bed.” 266Please respect copyright.PENANArRTtKCL4EO
“I won’t honey. Goodnight.”266Please respect copyright.PENANAKWCeQ6zeL9
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.266Please respect copyright.PENANAJbhR1tfjIT