Read Online Wrecked (Stories of Serendipity #8): #8 by Anne Conley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Anne Conley
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She scrimped and saved and managed to provide Kelly with everything she needed growing up.
If Renae had been presented with the sermon before she’d looked at her calendar this morning, she would have put herself in the wise woman category. Without a doubt. But seeing that dot on today’s date on the calendar, a week before her forty-fifth birthday, and knowing what it meant definitely brought some foolishness into the picture.
She had managed over the past few weeks to push thoughts of Jason into the background. He was gone. Back to Houston. Back to his life, whatever it was.
She was dealing with that dot alone. That dot, signifying the start date of a period that hadn’t come. For the last twenty-five years, she’d been regular as clockwork except for when she’d been pregnant with Kelly, of course. Thoughts of pregnancy had never entered her mind that night with Jason. No protection. Nothing.
She couldn’t decide if she had been too drunk or just didn’t care in all the excitement of Jason. But the fact of the matter was she’d missed her period, and now she was facing the consequences of that night.
It was time for communion, and after partaking of her tiny piece of bread and plastic cup of grape juice, Renae sat and watched the rest of the church file up the aisle and become one with Christ, trying to tamp down her feelings of hypocrisy.
An ancient couple, the Jeffers, walked down the aisle, Mr. Jeffers cradling Mrs. Jeffers in his arms. She’d had hip surgery in the past year and had recovered well, but her mobility had been compromised. The entire church had watched as Mr. Jeffers cared for his wife through the procedure, helping her with her walker, then her cane, now nothing. Her tiny frame leaned into his as they shuffled together to the front railing. They both stood there, accepting the symbolic body, and Renae felt herself tremble. They had been married nearly seventy years, raised children together, grown old together, and Renae felt a longing she couldn’t suppress.
Her eyes tracked them back up the aisle to their seat, Mr. Jeffers mumbling into his wife’s ear, while she smiled up at him.
Renae wanted that but knew it wasn’t in her future. Cody had ruined her for anything real. Her friends all had found something real with each other, and the Jeffers were a shining example of something real. But Renae knew she would never have that. She’d screwed up with Cody, hadn’t had anything since, and now Jason was gone. All she had left was Kelly, who was gone too, and her dot.
The preacher droned on about committing your life to Christ, Renae barely paying attention anymore until it was time to rise for the final hymn. When it was over, Renae hugged her mother and made her own way back up the aisle to the back of the church and freedom. She didn’t usually feel this way about church, but today the stained-glass subdued the light instead of filtering it. It was oppressive, and she needed out.
She was stopped by a wheelchair. “Renae! When are you coming to my shop to meet my son? He’s decided to stay a little longer than he’d originally planned, and I think he needs some friends his own age.” The pruny old man grabbed her fingers and held on with a death grip. His watery gaze held the depths of despair, and Renae wasn’t sure he was still talking about his son. He mouthed the words “Help. Me.” And his eyes flickered to the bored-looking youth manning his wheel chair.
“Mr. O’Niel, I’ll be out there next week. I’ve got a care package to get to Kelly for midterms. I promise.”
Mention of her daughter’s name brought the dot back to the forefront of her mind where Mr. O’Niel had briefly eclipsed it.
Oh God. How would she tell Kelly?
Chapter 12
R enae made the stoic decision to not tell anybody for a while. She didn’t know how to do it. Some reptilian part of her brain had saved Jason’s number in her phone three days after she’d met him, back when she’d thought
If Renae had been presented with the sermon before she’d looked at her calendar this morning, she would have put herself in the wise woman category. Without a doubt. But seeing that dot on today’s date on the calendar, a week before her forty-fifth birthday, and knowing what it meant definitely brought some foolishness into the picture.
She had managed over the past few weeks to push thoughts of Jason into the background. He was gone. Back to Houston. Back to his life, whatever it was.
She was dealing with that dot alone. That dot, signifying the start date of a period that hadn’t come. For the last twenty-five years, she’d been regular as clockwork except for when she’d been pregnant with Kelly, of course. Thoughts of pregnancy had never entered her mind that night with Jason. No protection. Nothing.
She couldn’t decide if she had been too drunk or just didn’t care in all the excitement of Jason. But the fact of the matter was she’d missed her period, and now she was facing the consequences of that night.
It was time for communion, and after partaking of her tiny piece of bread and plastic cup of grape juice, Renae sat and watched the rest of the church file up the aisle and become one with Christ, trying to tamp down her feelings of hypocrisy.
An ancient couple, the Jeffers, walked down the aisle, Mr. Jeffers cradling Mrs. Jeffers in his arms. She’d had hip surgery in the past year and had recovered well, but her mobility had been compromised. The entire church had watched as Mr. Jeffers cared for his wife through the procedure, helping her with her walker, then her cane, now nothing. Her tiny frame leaned into his as they shuffled together to the front railing. They both stood there, accepting the symbolic body, and Renae felt herself tremble. They had been married nearly seventy years, raised children together, grown old together, and Renae felt a longing she couldn’t suppress.
Her eyes tracked them back up the aisle to their seat, Mr. Jeffers mumbling into his wife’s ear, while she smiled up at him.
Renae wanted that but knew it wasn’t in her future. Cody had ruined her for anything real. Her friends all had found something real with each other, and the Jeffers were a shining example of something real. But Renae knew she would never have that. She’d screwed up with Cody, hadn’t had anything since, and now Jason was gone. All she had left was Kelly, who was gone too, and her dot.
The preacher droned on about committing your life to Christ, Renae barely paying attention anymore until it was time to rise for the final hymn. When it was over, Renae hugged her mother and made her own way back up the aisle to the back of the church and freedom. She didn’t usually feel this way about church, but today the stained-glass subdued the light instead of filtering it. It was oppressive, and she needed out.
She was stopped by a wheelchair. “Renae! When are you coming to my shop to meet my son? He’s decided to stay a little longer than he’d originally planned, and I think he needs some friends his own age.” The pruny old man grabbed her fingers and held on with a death grip. His watery gaze held the depths of despair, and Renae wasn’t sure he was still talking about his son. He mouthed the words “Help. Me.” And his eyes flickered to the bored-looking youth manning his wheel chair.
“Mr. O’Niel, I’ll be out there next week. I’ve got a care package to get to Kelly for midterms. I promise.”
Mention of her daughter’s name brought the dot back to the forefront of her mind where Mr. O’Niel had briefly eclipsed it.
Oh God. How would she tell Kelly?
Chapter 12
R enae made the stoic decision to not tell anybody for a while. She didn’t know how to do it. Some reptilian part of her brain had saved Jason’s number in her phone three days after she’d met him, back when she’d thought
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