The Road To Forgiveness Read Online Free Page A

shouldn’t. It wasn’t your fault.
    “Thanks for keeping up the mortgage for me. I
still haven’t been by the house. I don’t think I could ever live
there again so it’s yours when you’re ready. I don’t want it
anymore. Well… I hope to hear from you really soon. I might just
have to take a trip up to Chicago and see you if I keep getting the
silent treatment. I… I love you, Charlie. I just thought you should
know. Bye.”
    I click the end button and put the phone back
on the coffee table. I’ve been leaving Charlie messages for weeks
but still haven’t heard back from him. That was one thing I didn’t
expect when I came back to Georgia. I was looking forward to seeing
Charlie because he always helped with the tension between my mom
and me. I never expected he wouldn’t be here anymore.
    I go into the bathroom and take a quick
shower. I leave my hair wet and pull it up into a bun on top of my
head. I throw on my underwear, bra, a pair of skinny jeans and a
low cut blue sweater. I had Jonathon stop by my house when I first
got here and pick up some of my old clothing.
    I grab my keys and purse and leave the
apartment for the day. I’m so lucky Jonathon has two vehicles. I
still don’t understand why he does but it worked out perfectly for
me when I came back to town. I don’t have to worry about him
chauffeuring me around.
    I make the twenty-minute drive to my mom’s
house and park on the curb. I walk up the brick walkway and enter
the house. I don’t need a key because no one in this town locks
their doors, including my mother.
    “Hello,” I say as I step into the foyer of my
mother’s three-bedroom ranch.
    “I’m in here, darling.”
    Her voice is coming from her bedroom. I make
my way down the hallway and enter the room. My mother is digging
through her closet. She is dressed in a pair of slacks and a floral
blouse. She hears me approach and lifts her head from the
closet.
    “I can’t find my denim jacket. It’s only
going to get to sixty degrees outside and my denim jacket is the
only thing that goes with this outfit.”
    I place my hands on her shoulders and gently
move her out of the way.
    “Let me look,” I say as I start the process
of rummaging through her things. Within a minute I’ve found her
denim jacket hanging on a hanger in the back of the closet.
    “Here it is, momma.” I hand her the jacket
and she smiles gently at me.
    “Thank you, darling.”
    “Where are you off to?”
    “I’m going to check out the farmers market in
the middle of town. It’s the last weekend Riceboro will have it
until March. You want to come?”
    I really didn’t want to come but I was trying
to reestablish a relationship with my mother.
    “Sure, sounds like fun,” I say with fake
enthusiasm.
    We walk into the kitchen and I grab two
coffee cups so we can take some coffee to go. As I pour the coffee
my mother starts talking about Betty Hazelwood and how her flower
garden was destroyed by a bunch of hooligans from a few towns
over.
    Her words, not mine.
    My mother has the tendency to talk like she
is in her sixties instead of her forties.
    “ We walk out of her house and she starts to
lead me to her car under the carport. I stop her by reaching my
hand out and grabbing her elbow.
    “Let’s take Jonathon’s car. It’s already out
on the curb and you told me last time how much you love the leather
seats.”
    My mother let’s out a deep breathe and
mutters, “Okay.”
    I can’t be in my mother’s car. Too many
memories of Miles. I can’t avoid being reminded of him in her house
but I can avoid the car. We head over to Jonathon’s car and I get
into the driver’s seat as my mother opens the door to the passenger
side. As we pull out on the street my mother starts her version of
small talk.
    “So how much longer are you going to be in
town for?
    “I told you Momma, I’m back for good. I just
need a little longer to get back on my feet and then I’ll find a
place to stay.”
    “You