Broken Things (Faded Photograph Series) Read Free

enough to believe that married couples weren’t without their troubles. Still, she’d seen her friends work at it and she’d watched in amazement as their love for one another grew.
    Unfortunately, that hadn’t ever occurred in her own marriage…
    Shaking herself, she reopened the phone book and mustered the courage to call Steve Callahan. The phone rang several times before a female voice answered. She sounded young, perhaps in her teens.
    “May I speak with Steve Callahan, please?”
    “Sure, who’s calling?”
    Allie cleared her voice. “A friend of his brother’s.”
    “Uncle Jack?”
    She smiled. She had the right Callahan family anyway. “Yes. Your Uncle Jack.”
    “Hang on. I’ll get my dad.”
    Fidgeting with the phone cord, she waited. She quickly rehearsed what she’d say once he got on the line.
    “Yeah, this is Steve Callahan. Who’s this?”
    Allie wanted to laugh out loud. Same old get-to-the-point Steve. “I don’t know if you’ll remember me,” she began carefully, “but I knew you and Jack about thirty years ago, and I wondered―”
    “Thirty years ago? Who is this?”
    “It’s Allison Drake. Allie. Do you remember me?”
    A long pause.
    “Steve? Are you there?”
    “Allison Drake? No kidding? Man, I haven’t thought about you in years!”
    “More like decades.” She tried to keep her tone light.
    “Allie...? Sure, I remember...is this really you?” His voice held a note of incredulity.
    “Uh-huh.” She cleared her throat. “I’m here in Chicago on business and I’ve been wondering how Jack is doing. Can you tell me?”
    “Sure. He’s...well, he’s changed a lot. But he’s still a cop here in Oakland Park.”
    “That’s great.” Allie was all smiles, remembering how handsome he looked in his uniform. But the memory dwindled. “I can imagine how much Jack’s changed. Who hasn’t in all this time?”
    “Yeah, well...Jack’s had it tough.”
    Was he still married? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
    “Hey, why don’t you come over for supper tonight? We can get reacquainted. I’m grilling hamburgers. You can meet my wife, Nora, and our three kids, except two of them aren’t ‘kids’ anymore. They’ve become these strange creatures known as teenagers.”
    Allie laughed softly. She knew about teenagers. Her son, Nick almost made her crazy during those tumultuous years! “Well, I don’t want to impose on your family on a Friday evening.”
    “It’s no imposition. Maybe we can even get Jack to come.” He paused as if in thought.
    So, how would Jack’s wife’s react when she met his old flame? She didn’t want to start any trouble. Allie wouldn’t dare come between a married couple. Besides, there was no reason that she and Jack couldn’t just be friendly now. Was there?
    “Where you staying?”
    “The Sheraton on North Water Street.”
    “Ooh, ritzy place. You must be doing all right, huh, Allie?”
    “Yeah, I’m doing all right. God has blessed my business.”
    “Well, God has blessed us too, but we’re just your ordinary family here. Three kids and a dog, you know?”
    “Sounds refreshing.” She couldn’t help but smile.
    A pause. “You married?”
    “Widowed.”
    “I’m sorry...”
    Allie was tempted to tell Steve not to feel sorry at all. She and Erich Littenberg had endured a stormy at best. As insensitive as it sounded, his passing proved a blessing for her and Nick. Erich had been a rich man, but a cruel one, and yet God saw to it that both she and her son survived those hellish thirteen years.
    “Allie? You still there?”
    “Yes.” She dragged herself back to the present, laughing lightly and feeling embarrassed. “Sorry, Steve. I’m afraid I’ve grown melancholy in my old age. I’ll be fifty soon, you know.”
    “Yeah, well, I’m going to stay thirty-nine forever.”
    “If you’re thirty-nine, then I’m the Queen of England.”
    Steve chuckled. “You knew me back when, so I guess I can’t pull anything over on