A Change of Heart Read Online Free

thrilled to pay for your wedding."
    "I doubt that.   You know how he is about money."
    "He's at the apartment at your grandmother's."
    Sally laughed, "You're kidding!"
    "I know, it's weird.   He's just very stressed now, so let's be a little understanding, okay?"
    "Mom, you're one in a million."
    Annabeth smiled.   "So when did you want to have the wedding?"
    "Maggie's idea about Valentine's Day was sweet, so what about then?   That's long enough away for you and Daddy to work out your problems."
    Annabeth nodded.  
    "And Maggie said maybe in the meanwhile we could have an engagement party.   She said that the two of you could do it, I mean the food and all."
    "That does sound like fun, doesn't it?"
    "I know it's a lot of work.   Maybe you don't feel like it now, what with Daddy gone and all?"
    "Sure I do.   I love to cook, you know that."
    "I thought maybe we could have the wedding here, outside in the back."
    Annabeth smiled, picturing the guests, the white tent, her little Sally a bride in a wedding gown, still playing dressup, only this time it would be for real.   She stood up then and so did Sally, moving silently into her arms, still a child in need of a hug, but also a woman at the beginning of her own life.
    After a long moment, they pulled apart, Annabeth's arm still around Sally's shoulder, and they walked out onto the porch, embracing once again, then Annabeth watched her daughter drive away.   There were chores to do, the business of running a house to attend to, and Annabeth was glad to have those diversions for the rest of the day, glad she could work around the house while she thought of her marriage and how to set things to rights once again.  
    Eventually night fell, and Annabeth stepped outside. She sat on one of the two rockers, alone in the still night, listening to the sound of a cricket here and there.   Now and every evening, there was a hum in the air.   It was a chorus of frogs, their electric sound ever-present night music that became the backdrop for every conversation, every thought, every outdoor activity.   The few lights on inside the house cast a faint glow outside, but the sky lay dark and starless, the moon obliterated by the storm clouds overhead.
    Annabeth let her mind wander.   Now and then a thought about the upcoming engagement party would float to the surface of her consciousness, or a recipe for a favored treat, an image of one of her daughters as a child, memories of small insignificant moments in her past, and an occasional reminder of a chore to be done or a promise made to someone else mingled together.   She sighed and watched the sky, looking out into the night for an answer which was not forthcoming.
    Soon the first thunder began and then the rain fell, fast, hard, torrential from the heavy clouds above.   The lightning, thrilling and swift, shimmered in the night, bisecting the sky over and over again, briefly illuminating the dark trees and bayou beyond Annabeth's door, casting eerie shadows that were more warm and welcome than threatening.   How many times had she sat on this safe porch, sheltered from a sudden storm, yet part of it, enjoying the driving rain and the pounding thunder, thrilling to the lightening, unpredictable and just dangerous enough to make her heart pound a little faster.
    Annabeth rose then and entered the house she had loved from the first moment she'd seen it, now empty but for herself and a silent cat.   The floor creaked here and there, the stairs squeaked in certain well-loved places, occasional patches on the walls were uneven.   It was an old dwelling, but it contained her heart and soul, the sum total of her life as an adult and a married woman.   There was always a sense of comfort, of sinking into sheltering arms each time she walked through the door into this place, her home.
    Thinking she would go to bed, Annabeth walked toward the stairs, but unable to make herself climb them, she sank down onto the third step, her