Page 127 of Sunday Morning
“Sarah,” she whispered on a long exhale.
When I released her, she eyed the truck. “Vi said you were going back to work.”
“Yeah.”
She didn’t beg me to come home, which meant Dad hadn’t changed his mind. I could tell from the way she fiddled with her wedding band that she was there as a mother who needed to see her daughter. It was that simple.
“Do you need anything?” she asked, pressing her fingers to the corners of her eyes.
“I could use a few more things from my room.”
“Of course. I can bring them to you, or you can come to the house during the day when your dad’s at the church.”
I stared at the truck keys, sliding the key ring over my finger. “I’ll do that.”
“He’ll come around.”
I wasn’t so sure, but I returned a nod anyway.
“Your sisters are devastated.”
“Tell them I’m fine.”
She pressed a finger to my chin and lifted it. “Butareyou fine?”
No.
“I have a roof over my head, a vehicle, and a job.” I smiled. “What more could I need?”
Heather … Isaac …
“Well, I have to get to the church before the kids show up.” She glanced at her watch. “Your dad has a meeting Thursday night, so he’ll be home late. Why don’t you come home and have dinner with me and your sisters?”
“Yeah. We’ll see.”
She gave me one more hug and murmured, “I love you,” before turning and tucking her chin to hide her tears.
It took me a few minutes to gather my emotions and tuck them away so I could function. When I let everything in at the same time, it was too much. I could carry a brick but not a whole house.
Matt’s car was in the drive. God continued to test me, and I had to go inside to get the key and the money for the farm stand. My hand shook as I knocked on the door twice before opening it.
“Good morning,” Vi said. “I have cookies and loaves of bread. Can you help me carry them?”
She handed me the money pouch, key, and two bags of baked goods.
“Oh, good, you can help Sarah carry these. I need to grab a quick shower,” she said, glancing over my shoulder.
I turned toward Matt, and it felt like I was falling on my sword. His expression was dead, as if I was a complete stranger or a ghost he didn’t see.
Vi handed him the other bags, but I didn’t wait another second. I needed to get out of the house. He followed me up the lane to the farm stand. My nervous fingers fumbled the key, and I dropped it on the ground along with the money bag. When I bent down to pick them up, a loaf of bread fell out of the bag.
“Dang it,” I whispered, tossing the bread back into the bag. As soon as I stood, the whole paper bag ripped open, depositing all the baked goods onto the ground. I dropped to my knees in defeat to gather everything. Matt took the key from my hand and unlocked the door. He stepped over the mess on the ground, set the sacks on the counter, and slid past me toward the house without a word.
“No,” I said.
He stopped with his back to me.
“We’ve been through too much for there to benothingleft to say.” I deserted the baked goods and stood as tall as I could under the weight of that brick house.