Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) by Deanndra Hall Read Free Book Online Page B

you.” The nurse sniffled and pulled the blanket closed, and she was gone.

    June 1991
    We’re sorry, but you do not fit our needs at this time. However, we’ll keep your application on file in our office in the event that we have a position more suited to your skillset at a later date.
    Another one. Steve was running out of options. All the years he’d worked to put himself through college and law school, all the studying, all the letters he’d sent out, and not one bite. Worse yet, he was going to have to tell Sherry that he’d been turned down again, and that wasn’t going to go over well. He’d held the envelope until he got to work, hoping against hope that it was good news. Tearing it in half, he threw it in the trash.
    He rifled through his pockets; thirty-five cents. Maybe he could find a cheap cup of coffee somewhere for lunch. His clerk’s position at the St. Louis County courthouse didn’t pay squat, and he was getting desperate. The phone rang and he picked it up. “Clerk’s office, Steve speaking.”
    “Steve,” he heard Sherry say, “can you talk?”
    “Not really. Can it wait?”
    “Steve, damn it, it’s waited for two weeks. We’ve got to talk. What about tonight?”
    There weren’t any more excuses; he’d run out. “Okay. Seven? I can be home by then.”
    “Okay. Don’t flake out on me, Steve. This is important.”
    “Okay, okay. See you then.” He slammed down the phone, and Phyllis, the woman who worked at the next desk, turned and stared at him.
    “Damn telemarketers,” he said to her with a small smile. He headed out to find that coffee and didn’t come back for an hour and a half.
    After work, he piddled around until he ran out of places to piddle and went home about six thirty. Sherry was already there, and she’d cooked something – her dishes were always unidentifiable. Steve threw down his briefcase and looked at her. “What’s so important?”
    “What’s so important is that we’re married and we haven’t had a conversation in six weeks, that’s what.” While she talked, she spooned something out of the pan and onto two plates.
    All she does is yell at me when we’re together , he thought. No wonder we don’t talk . “So what are we talking about?”
    “Did you hear from the firms?” She picked at whatever she’d put on their plates, then took a bite. Even though she’d cooked it, he could tell she didn’t like it.
    He couldn’t find a way to keep the information from her anymore. “Yeah, I heard from them. Got turned down by every one of them.” He picked at the food, then tried it. Yeah, inedible.
    “God, Steve, every one of them?” she shrieked at him. “You’ve got to find a firm, and pretty soon. I’m not going to wait forever.”
    “Wait for what?”
    She hesitated for a second, then blurted out, “Wait for you to be successful!” There – she’d said it, what she really meant. Steve felt his face start to burn, and down deep a sort of fury started to brew.
    “Wait for me to be successful?” he growled. “Wait for me to be successful? You know, you harp at me every waking minute. It’s a miracle I can even hold the job I have!”
    “Every waking minute? I never see you! When you’re not at work, you’re at some bar, or doing something with your friends, or just generally staying away, and I’m sick of it. Are we married or not?” she asked, standing, her hands on her hips.
    “It doesn’t feel like a marriage. It feels like a death sentence,” Steve muttered, throwing the plate into the sink.
    “Really? Well, let me tell you, it isn’t a marriage as far as I’m concerned. I’m gonna lay it all out, Steve.” Sherry took a deep breath. “Here goes: I’m involved with someone else. We’ve been seeing each other for six months. But you were too busy staying away from me to notice. And yes, we’re sleeping together.”
    Steve felt his insides go cold. “Is this someone I know?”
    “None of your business,” she told