A Soft Place to Fall Read Free Page B

where they had been happy and comfort herself with the dear
and familiar. Didn't Annie know that she would still see him in
every shadow, hear his voice when the room was still, feel his
touch where no one had touched her in a very long time.
    It was enough for Claudia. Sooner or later,
it would be enough for Annie, too.
     
    #
     
    Annie was wiping down the sink in the master
bathroom when she heard the Flemings pull into the driveway. They
drove one of those minivans that sounded like a thousand hamsters
spinning one gigantic wheel. The neighbors would hear them coming
three blocks away. She glanced down at her watch, visible above the
worn cuff of Kevin's old denim work shirt. It was only ten minutes
to three.
    "You're early, " she muttered as she pushed
her hair away from her face with the back of her hand. What kind of
people were they? Didn't they know that being early was every bit
as rude as being late. She still had to vacuum the bedroom, coax
George and Gracie into their cat carriers, and then make sure the
felines hadn't left any personal messages behind for the new owners
to discover. She would need every single moment of the nine minutes
and thirty-seven seconds she had left.
    She tossed the paper towel into the garbage
bag she'd been dragging from room to room then moved to the bedroom
window that overlooked the driveway. The Fleming children were
already in the backyard. She could hear their shrieks of excitement
over the groan of the tree swing that had been Kevin's last project
the summer before he died.
    Joe and Pam Fleming were leaning against the
passenger door of their minivan. Her head rested against is chest
and he stroked her hair while they talked. Soft whispers of
conversation floated up toward the second floor window where Annie
watched them from behind the pale green curtains. It hurt to look
at them but she couldn't seem to turn away. She wanted to tell them
to hang on tightly to each other, that life wasn't always fair or
kind, but they would probably think she was crazy. They were young
and in love, with their whole lives stretched out before them like
a summer garden on a sunny day.
    Down in the driveway the Flemings stole a
kiss. The sweetness of that gesture made Annie turn away from the
window. She missed the touches, the whispers, the laughter that
smoothed the bumpy patches every marriage encountered. She missed
the lovemaking, that sweet escape from reality. She missed being
the other half of someone's heart, and the temptation to barricade
herself behind a wall of memories was hard to resist. Staying,
however, was a luxury she couldn't afford and, in a way, she was
grateful. She might never have gathered the courage to leave if she
had a plump bank account and endless prospects.
    It was time to go. She had known it for
months now. One morning she woke up and the house no longer felt
like home. Suddenly the old ways, the old routines, didn't fit and
she found herself dreaming about starting all over again in a place
that was hers alone. She had had that dream before but this time
was different. This time she was free to do something about it and
so, against everyone's advice, she put the house up for sale and
began the painful process of finally letting go of the past. She
paid off the last of Kevin's debts and bought the tiny Bancroft
cottage with the cash that remained. Warren tried to lower the
price three times but she stood firm when it came to accepting
charity and they negotiated a figure that satisfied both his kind
heart and her need to stand on her own two feet. The four room
cottage near the water was a far cry from her sprawling Victorian
on an acre of land but it represented a triumph of sorts to
Annie.
    Her dreams of a family of her own had died
with Kevin but she still had a future, and for the first time in
years, that prospect made her happy.
    How long had it been since she had felt
deeply happy? She couldn't even begin to guess. For a long time she
had known happiness