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. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAt4acbBjZIM
“I’ll call a taxi for you,” David said placing the phone to his ear. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAtVXqyXyIjf
“Thank you both,” Sarah said as she smiled at David and Rose. She grabbed her coat, got in the taxi and headed home. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAnPGzMdtPBU
****267Please respect copyright.PENANAvw66OXNu1k
Sarah could hear jazz music as she neared her apartment door. The music seemed to sound softer as she opened up the door. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAI1FfNU1Y0E
“Hey Honey,” Chris said. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAGMql8Cm1WH
“Hey,” Sarah responded quickly. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAvw291YUAv3
“Why are you being so short with me?” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAbhz6f2WFNq
“Sorry and don’t be concerned I’m okay.” Sarah shrugged as she sat in one of the recliners in the living room. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAoawqeG8fI2
“I can tell you’re lying.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAv3CrbukB26
“How?”267Please respect copyright.PENANATjNadwrhgn
“You’re being short with me and you look exhausted. I don’t think it’s because of the baby.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAugiJTlJJVp
Sarah’s eyes began to fill up with tears as she said, “Promise you won’t be upset?” Sarah then glanced at her husband. 267Please respect copyright.PENANArbwxowZ4w6
“I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAPKxv0xkiWD
“On my way to the grocery store, I was attacked.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAbVB67lgXJs
“Attacked?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAYRA36GW7Fz
“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.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAhsiFO2u0Ps
Sarah started getting dizzy so she closed her eyes. “I just don’t understand...why?” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAMyXMY2C84W
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.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAxjT1kJwXG6
Sarah gently smiled at her husband and said, “I don’t know what I would do without you.”267Please respect copyright.PENANA0muktJ3xP2
“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?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAqC6VJx6WGl
“See my sister.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAKfnCBPfNjW
“I mean besides that. I know she’ll be here in a few days.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANA3aqjLn2Zgp
“Well...it’s a place you’ve been to before?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAayYJJe8XUl
“What?” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAgNStQdqqCZ
“The ocean,” Sarah said with eyes in wonder. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAdhwgK5Jwhb
“You’ve never gone?”267Please respect copyright.PENANA37AL7wlfp4
“No, I grew up going to the lake.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAHbfLF2QAtn
“Tell me about it.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAKY4pXjpI65
“Are you sure?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAYSeUf8WhfI
“Yes,” Chris said sitting beside Sarah in the other recliner. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAbv8ZOBpM3B
****267Please respect copyright.PENANAM3axfZDvNG
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. 267Please respect copyright.PENANApltXb7Vs53
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?” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAt7CAA7XSqC
“I’m fine mom.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAE66Z1bqGrF
“No, you’re not. I know you too well.”267Please respect copyright.PENANA4Iri6Nq1pj
“I just want to be with my friends.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAg0gXFPJMF1
“I understand but make the best time you have here. Moments like this go by fast.”267Please respect copyright.PENANACGQcXGTsQU
“Thanks, mom.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANASyOE8Q2zWS
“You’re welcome. Also, I'm glad you’re here because I have to tell you something.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAkDolnGeFaU
“What?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAT9hrECeWpx
“Your dad and I are getting a divorce?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAR1kLe4h7XM
“Why?”267Please respect copyright.PENANA93M9WXAyVl
“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.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAIC6SvwWpwD
“Alright, mom. If you need to talk more I’m here for you.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAZNGyvwSiMx
“Thanks, honey.” Sarah’s mother smiled. 267Please respect copyright.PENANACyMi4tPoyx
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. 267Please respect copyright.PENANA4ZmySH3bzF
****267Please respect copyright.PENANAzVTLu8giPl
“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. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAm1f59qhH9j
Also, I was so frustrated when my dad got remarried not long after, but that's a story for another time.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAbR1ZpCfzEj
“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.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANA4HzDT4TuLd
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked pulling a blanket from the back of the recliner onto her lap. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAuQyFK9earf
“Well, I’m still behind with work. It’s just so frustrating. It’s just a mess.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAxYPxPF2ygR
“Do you want to take a break?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAyvbEYyOjjT
“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.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAtPmz1K1f9z
“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.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAvCamzjWSFm
“Maybe?” Chris shrugged. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAaY09ROd46v
“Why don’t you go over to the office and talk to everyone?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAdlwp2hzqS6
“What about you Sarah? Are you taking a break?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAcmTGqdmaFE
“I would love to, but my readers have been on my back about me writing more chapters.”267Please respect copyright.PENANATj0a4GhV3e
“Did you tell them what happened?” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAo5f8pisJca
“No, not really. I just let them know something very personal has happened and I’ll be updating my book when I can.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAPZgp08jUqU
“If you feel comfortable, then maybe down the road you can tell more of your story. It could help someone.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAeRBXK22H3P
“I’ll think about it.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAtuOyzqynds
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. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAirhrvFhnhF
“It’s getting late,” Sarah said, glancing at the clock. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAVNoDUgf0Va
“What time is it?” Chris said half asleep.267Please respect copyright.PENANAzQ2iEOQe4R
“One-thirty in the morning.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANA1vM6Uj8Vap
“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. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAOa66e6yQq0
“Apparently so,” Sarah said standing up and giving her body a stretch. 267Please respect copyright.PENANA891XRZbGiA
“Do you want me to run you a bath?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAD2wY1HRyPH
“No, no, it’s okay. I’m just going to head to bed. I want to make sure I get enough sleep.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAr2v01hO8N0
“Me too.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAMx1ct9syUz
“Are you going into work tomorrow?”267Please respect copyright.PENANAWTqh8GkXTS
“Yeah, I think so. Probably for a few hours.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAlwKFjsw1y7
“Okay then. I love you.” Sarah said with a smile as she walked into the bedroom. 267Please respect copyright.PENANAa2STvOblE6
“I love you too.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANAIdNMCTsfkI
“Don’t forget to shut the light off in the living room before you go to bed.” 267Please respect copyright.PENANA0w1Q0qcH7t
“I won’t honey. Goodnight.”267Please respect copyright.PENANAe4Uqq5zTXu
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.267Please respect copyright.PENANAMFFs5dJm4o