Finding Eliza Read Online Free

numerous times to be sure that she would exhibit the proper behavior. Keep smiling. Say she is having fun. Try to enjoy the evening. Check.
    “You can do anything for a few hours, Lizzie,” he said as she left the house.
    Lizzie knew that Jack was right. She could do anything for a few hours. “Time to face ‘The Gals’,” she said under her breath.
    Lizzie swung the vehicle into the closest parking space. As soon as she threw the engine into park she saw some familiar faces. Two ladies in their seventies approached. One rushed to the driver’s side door while the other swayed slowly to a stop near the front of the truck. These were Gertrude’s trusted friends and confidants. Having been a part of their family long before her father was born, they became the cornerstone of Lizzie’s life. Still, she sometimes felt like a victim of the Inquisition when they swarmed her in pairs. Their sweet faces and graying hair hid the truth: they could pry a secret out of a dead man. Lizzie held back a ripple of giggles as she pictured the scene.
    Although she knew both of them by name, Lizzie collectively called them “The Gals.” From the time Lizzie remembered, the friends called each other “gal” as a term of endearment. Hearing it as a child, Lizzie thought it was their name and began calling them each “gal,” much to their amusement. The moniker stuck, and from that point on everyone in their immediate circle called them by the group nickname.
    These women had something special. They had experienced joy and pain together for decades creating a bond that acted as both protection and support as needed. When Gertrude lost her husband to a sudden heart attack, The Gals were there. When she lost her son and daughter-in-law in a devastating car crash, The Gals were there. When she wrestled with an emotional and angry teenage girl, again, The Gals were there. As much as Lizzie hated the idea of being part of the genealogy group this evening, she loved how she felt when The Gals were together. It was like Christmas and her birthday all rolled into one because they knew her better than anyone, even Jack. They had become her champions, her cheerleaders, and her best friends. They were her family.
    Looking through the window, Lizzie smiled at the faces that greeted her.
    “Lizzie, darlin’! I’m so glad you’re here!” Lizzie’s friend raised her hands in the air and shook them in happy celebration being careful that her purse didn't slide down toward her face. “We’ve got the family back together again.”
    “Hey, Ms. Abi! Give me a hug. Have I ever missed you.” Lizzie slid out of the truck and into Abi’s arms. Her hug was so familiar that Lizzie felt like a young girl all over again. The stress of the day washed away instantly.
    Abigail Langdon was one of Gertrude’s oldest and dearest friends. They leaned on each other through seven decades of joy and pain. Growing up together in Everett Springs, the two best friends dated and later married local boys who were also best friends. Locals had joked that it was a story made in Hollywood. Like Lizzie’s grandmother, Abigail was now a widow. Walter Langdon had passed away following a terrible illness a decade before Gertrude’s husband. The ordeal could have left Abigail broken and lonely if it weren’t for her strong faith and friendships. Never having any children of their own, Abi and Walt considered Lizzie’s father a son of their own heart. After the accident claimed the lives of Elton and Grace, Abigail grieved alongside Gertrude for the loss of her surrogate son. As she had the day Lizzie was born, Abigail once again vowed to be family to the little girl who survived alone. Following through on her promise, she had always been a safe harbor for Lizzie as she navigated her life.
    “I see you’re jumping on Gran’s bandwagon to brainwash me into loving genealogy, too,” Lizzie teased.
    “You know what, sweetie? I won’t have to convince you to like it