Marriage Seasons 03 - Falling for You Again Read Online Free Page A

called the color. Big flouncy thing all covered in netting and lace. We’ve still got that dress up in the attic somewhere. So before I went to bed, I took a look at Esther’s side of the closet. Lo and behold, nearly everything the woman owns has some shade of purple on it.”
    “I suppose there are always a few surprises left in a marriage,” Pastor Andrew observed.
    “I reckon so.” Charlie fell silent, wondering what else he might have missed in the past fifty years. “It wasn’t too long ago I found out Esther was self-conscious about her cooking. Her mother had made her feel inferior in the kitchen. Turns out every time I took her to a restaurant for dinner, Esther thought it was because I didn’t like what she was planning to make that night. But she’s a wonderful cook.”
    “She sure is. I’ve enjoyed her Sunday pot roast many times.” Pastor Andrew clapped a hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Well, I’d better get home before my wife starts thinking I’ve forgotten it’s family game night. She’s a whiz at Scrabble, and I can beat her at checkers any day of the week. The kids always want to play Uno, but there’s only so much of that you can take.”
    As the minister made to stand, Charlie suddenly caught his arm. “Pastor Andrew, what would you do?” he asked, the words tumbling from his lips before he’d thought them through. “What would you do if you lost your wife?”
    The pastor settled back into his chair. “I’d be heartbroken. I love her, and I can’t imagine being without her.”
    “That’s it. That’s the thing. I don’t know what life is like without Esther. I can hardly remember back that far. We’re so comfortable, you know—kind of like a summer afternoon when you’re sitting on the porch swing looking at the lake, and suddenly you realize that everything is right. You wouldn’t change a thing. That’s Esther and me. We trust each other. We like each other. We even laugh at the same old jokes over and over. The bottom line is that we’re happy, Pastor. Esther and I are happy together.”
    “That’s a blessing, Charlie. Not too many people can get to your place in life and say that.”
    “I know it’s a blessing, but it has a downside. Chances are, one of us will die before the other. I don’t even know how to think about such a thing—and I never intended to. In my mind, I’m the one who’s supposed to go first. The statistics are stacked against me. I’m a man, I smoked cigarettes when I was younger, and my father had a stroke at sixty-three. Esther’s always been so vibrant and busy. Sometimes she acts as young and silly as she did when we first met. But when I see her like this … well, I don’t know what I’d do if she passed away before me.”
    Pastor Andrew let out a breath. “I could give you pat answers, Charlie. Hold fast to the Lord. Take comfort in knowing your spouse will be joyful in heaven. Read your Bible. But the truth is, each person has to work through loss in his own way. There’s no quick and easy prescription. You will take it one minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time . . . and after a while, you will realize you can go on. You can survive after all. And eventually, you can even figure out how to be happy again.”
    Charlie nodded. “You’ve never steered me wrong before, Pastor, so I’ll trust you about this. Well, I guess you’d better get home to your checkers.”
    The minister stood. He walked to Esther’s bedside, laid a hand on her shoulder, and murmured a brief prayer.
    As Pastor Andrew left the room, Charlie thought about calling the kids, but there really wasn’t any news to report. So he settled back into the recliner and closed his eyes. With Esther so near, breathing softly, he knew it wouldn’t be long before he was sound asleep.

    “This meeting of the Tea Lovers’ Club will now come to order.” Ashley Hanes cleared her throat and raised her voice. “Hey, everyone! Be quiet so I can start the