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Authors: Livia J. Washburn
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business except on the weekends, and we’re hardly ever full even then. It’s no problem having full-time guests.”
“I don’t know how long we’ll be here,” Eve said. “You’ve made it so pleasant, I’m not sure we’ll ever want to leave!”
Jan laughed. “Then we’re doing our job, aren’t we? I hope that even after you and Roy find a home of your own, you’ll come back to see us every now and then.”
“We certainly intend to,” Eve said with an emphatic nod.
The rest of the visit passed pleasantly. Phyllis, Sam, and Carolyn headed home well before dark, and as Phyllis drove her Lincoln along the country roads toward Weatherford, Carolyn said, “Well, she does seem happy, I suppose.”
In the backseat, Sam chuckled. “As happy as any newlywed is, I’d say.”
“You mean the glow hasn’t worn off,” Phyllis said with a smile.
“That’s right,” Sam agreed.
“Oh, it will,” Carolyn said. “It always does sooner or later; we all know that.”
Carolyn was in the passenger seat in front while Sam sat in the back, turned sideways a little to accommodate his long legs. Phyllis glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Sam’s eyes for a second. Carolyn’s comment had been edged with bitterness, and Phyllis understood why her friend felt that way.
But Phyllis knew that at least in some cases, Carolyn was wrong. The glow of the love she’d felt for Kenny had never gone out. It might have waned some over the years, and every now and then it even flickered a bit as the stresses of everyday life took their inevitable toll. But at other times it burned brightly, and it had never, ever gone out. Phyllis knew that Sam felt the same way about his late wife. Her long struggle with cancer had only made them grow closer, and her eventual death had been a loss from which he would never fully recover. Phyllis felt the same way about Kenny.
But then Sam had moved into the house because Dolly Williamson didn’t think he ought to be living alone, and the friendship that had grown up between him and Phyllis had been very good for both of them. There were broken places in both of them that would never heal, but the pain of those breaks had faded because now they had each other to lean on. The glow that was between them was different, but it was warming and sustaining, and Phyllis had come to realize that it would never go out, either. Carolyn was wrong. It wasn’t the same for everyone.
Phyllis knew that when she met Sam’s eyes and knew as well that he felt the same way.
And that put a little smile on her face, all the way back home.
* * *
Several more days passed. The weather turned cold again as a front came through, but it didn’t bring any snow or ice with it. The temperature was low enough to make Phyllis’s bones ache a little, even though it was warm enough in the house.
She was sitting in the living room knitting when she glanced up through the picture window and saw a cruiser from the Parker County Sheriff’s Department stop at the curb in front of the house. She enjoyed knitting, needlework, and other crafts like that, but she lacked the patience to stick with any of it for too long at a time, so she was glad to set the needles and yarn aside for a while. She stood up as she watched her son, Mike, get out of the car and come across the yard toward the porch.
Clouds of steam formed in front of Mike’s face as his breath fogged up in the frigid air. He was carrying his hat instead of wearing it, and Phyllis’s mothering instincts kicked in. She would have to tell him that in cold weather like this, he ought to wear his hat whenever he wasn’t in the car, even if he just got out for a minute. A lot of body heat escaped through the top of the head, after all, and she didn’t want him to get chilled. She thought she remembered reading somewhere that that wasn’t really true, that the top of the head didn’t lose warmth any faster than any other part of the body did, but that was
“I don’t know how long we’ll be here,” Eve said. “You’ve made it so pleasant, I’m not sure we’ll ever want to leave!”
Jan laughed. “Then we’re doing our job, aren’t we? I hope that even after you and Roy find a home of your own, you’ll come back to see us every now and then.”
“We certainly intend to,” Eve said with an emphatic nod.
The rest of the visit passed pleasantly. Phyllis, Sam, and Carolyn headed home well before dark, and as Phyllis drove her Lincoln along the country roads toward Weatherford, Carolyn said, “Well, she does seem happy, I suppose.”
In the backseat, Sam chuckled. “As happy as any newlywed is, I’d say.”
“You mean the glow hasn’t worn off,” Phyllis said with a smile.
“That’s right,” Sam agreed.
“Oh, it will,” Carolyn said. “It always does sooner or later; we all know that.”
Carolyn was in the passenger seat in front while Sam sat in the back, turned sideways a little to accommodate his long legs. Phyllis glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Sam’s eyes for a second. Carolyn’s comment had been edged with bitterness, and Phyllis understood why her friend felt that way.
But Phyllis knew that at least in some cases, Carolyn was wrong. The glow of the love she’d felt for Kenny had never gone out. It might have waned some over the years, and every now and then it even flickered a bit as the stresses of everyday life took their inevitable toll. But at other times it burned brightly, and it had never, ever gone out. Phyllis knew that Sam felt the same way about his late wife. Her long struggle with cancer had only made them grow closer, and her eventual death had been a loss from which he would never fully recover. Phyllis felt the same way about Kenny.
But then Sam had moved into the house because Dolly Williamson didn’t think he ought to be living alone, and the friendship that had grown up between him and Phyllis had been very good for both of them. There were broken places in both of them that would never heal, but the pain of those breaks had faded because now they had each other to lean on. The glow that was between them was different, but it was warming and sustaining, and Phyllis had come to realize that it would never go out, either. Carolyn was wrong. It wasn’t the same for everyone.
Phyllis knew that when she met Sam’s eyes and knew as well that he felt the same way.
And that put a little smile on her face, all the way back home.
* * *
Several more days passed. The weather turned cold again as a front came through, but it didn’t bring any snow or ice with it. The temperature was low enough to make Phyllis’s bones ache a little, even though it was warm enough in the house.
She was sitting in the living room knitting when she glanced up through the picture window and saw a cruiser from the Parker County Sheriff’s Department stop at the curb in front of the house. She enjoyed knitting, needlework, and other crafts like that, but she lacked the patience to stick with any of it for too long at a time, so she was glad to set the needles and yarn aside for a while. She stood up as she watched her son, Mike, get out of the car and come across the yard toward the porch.
Clouds of steam formed in front of Mike’s face as his breath fogged up in the frigid air. He was carrying his hat instead of wearing it, and Phyllis’s mothering instincts kicked in. She would have to tell him that in cold weather like this, he ought to wear his hat whenever he wasn’t in the car, even if he just got out for a minute. A lot of body heat escaped through the top of the head, after all, and she didn’t want him to get chilled. She thought she remembered reading somewhere that that wasn’t really true, that the top of the head didn’t lose warmth any faster than any other part of the body did, but that was
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