Marriage Seasons 01 - It Happens Every Spring by Gary Chapman, Catherine Palmer Read Free Book Online Page B

at Cody. Her eyes
misted. "He loves us just as we are. No matter where we come from
or how we've acted or what we look like. God loves us all."
    "Okay," Cody said.
    "You and Brenda step over there for a cup of tea and some chocolate cake. I see my perm just driving into the parking lot."
    "Thanks," Brenda said. For a moment, she covered Patsy's hand
with her own. Then she nudged Cody toward the tea area.

    Young Ashley Hanes was sitting with Esther Moore at one table.
Kim Finley and her twins, Luke and Lydia were at another. No
doubt they had come into the salon this afternoon for haircuts,
Brenda mused. Their mother always kept the ten-year-olds
scrubbed, pressed, and looking adorable in color-coordinated outfits.
    Brenda steered Cody to the empty table and pointed him to a
seat. She sensed everyone staring as she arranged her coat and
purse on the opposite chair. The moment Cody sat down, Kim
began gathering up her children, wiping their mouths, and urging
them to put on their jackets. Red-haired Ashley went as pale as a
ghost. Esther looked annoyed.
    "Hey there, Esther." Walking past the table toward the
hot-water urn, Brenda greeted the older woman. "And how have
you been, Ashley?"
    "Fine," they said in unison.
    "That's Cody at the table. You've probably seen him around."
    As she bent to fill two teacups with hot water, Brenda heard
someone come up beside her. She didn't have to look to know it
was Esther. With her glossy white hair and sweet smile, Esther
Moore had a kind heart and was loved by the neighbors in Deepwater Cove. But Brenda knew the woman had strong opinions
about everything. Her husband, Charlie, had been a mailman
before retirement. Now instead of letters, he carried gossip from
house to house. If he wasn't driving around in his golf cart gathering up hearsay, he was down at the dock fishing for rumors. And,
of course, every tidbit had to be filtered, sorted, organized, and
officially stamped at the grand post office-Esther.
    "How are you getting along these days, Brenda?" Esther
dropped some change in the basket and took another tea bag. "I
hardly ever see you out and about. Seems like the last time we
talked was the day you came in to get your hair cut."
    "That's right," Brenda said. "When the weather warms up a little more, I'll probably be in the yard. Have you seen my pansies? They made it right through the winter this year. I don't think I lost
a single one."

    "I noticed that." Esther used a pair of tiny silver tongs to drop a
sugar cube into her cup. "You always have such a pretty yard.
Charlie thinks it's the nicest in the whole neighborhood. We love
those baskets of petunias you hang by the door, and last year you
had so many roses!"
    "It was a bumper year, all right." Brenda was about to head for
the sweets when Esther put out her hand.
    "Brenda, I ought to tell you that Charlie's been a little concerned
about your friend."
    "Which friend?"
    Esther looked flustered. "Uh ... him." She glanced over at Cody.
"As a matter of fact, several of us in Deepwater Cove aren't quite
sure what to make of the situation. You know ... him sleeping on
your porch swing."
    Brenda clamped her mouth shut to keep from saying something
she might regret. All these months of emptiness-sitting alone in
her house missing the children, cooking meals that nobody would
eat, painting and sewing on furniture that didn't matter to anyone-and the first time anyone in Deepwater Cove acted like they
cared, it was to complain! No one had stopped at the house to visit
her. No one had asked why she'd let the fallen leaves molder on the
lawn or the spiders move back onto the porch at the end of the
summer. No one wondered how she was getting along without her
children there.
    "You can tell Charlie that Cody is very comfortable on the
swing," Brenda said. "I appreciate his concern. It's sweet of him to
care about my friend."
    Esther stood gaping as Brenda walked to the glass counter and