Power Read Free Page A

to hesitate and give me a questioning look as if to ask why I was still in bed.
    I took the hint. I forced myself out of the warm, comfortable, safe place that was my bed, and onto the floor. I was so stiff that my legs nearly buckled underneath the weight of my entire body. “No, he isn’t. Sorry, baby,”
    My fiancé, and Sam’s dad, was Alexander Humphries, a 25 year old construction worker; the same man that I have been dating since I was only 14, if you could actually call it dating at that young. The only man that I have ever been with. Tall, dark, and handsome, he was the man of every girl’s dreams.
    Over the last couple of years, however, we had grown apart – more like, went in two opposite directions in life. He was very preoccupied with work, as was I, but I at least managed to make time for family. We constantly fought now, despite us being engaged. I shuddered at the thought of marrying him and living with him the rest of my life. I still loved him; I was just no longer in love with him. Being with him now was more like a convenience; or rather something I was supposed to do. He was, after all, the father of my child.
    As I walked into the kitchen before we left for church, Samantha ran up to me and wrapped her tiny, squishy arms around my neck to whisper in my ear, “Happy Birthday, Mom!”
    “Aww, Sammy, you remembered.”
    “Of course I remembered, silly,” she giggled as I kissed her all over her face. “Anyways, Grammy told me to not forget, since she is gone already. She said we could have cake tonight! I so cannot wait. Her cake is the best.”
    I feigned shock, “What do you mean, her cake is the best? I thought mine was.” I gave her a reproachful look.
    “Well, where do you think you learned it from, huh?” she grumbled as we walked to the car.
    I didn’t argue. She was right of course. My baking was never up to par with my mothers.
    The trip to church would have been fine, if I hadn’t had the events of last night still so clear in my head. I decided that what I thought was me waking up and going into the driveway was really just an extension of my dream; my subconscious telling me that everything was ok and nobody was going to come get me… or something like that. It didn’t really matter what it meant, only that it wasn’t actually real.
    ***
    Mass was the same, except for the newcomer, an older man, maybe in his late 40’s or early 50’s. He looked vaguely familiar to me, and it was almost unnerving. Even more unnerving, however, was the fact that he kept staring at me. Though he probably thought the same thing about me. I kept staring back. I tried to make myself focus on mass but it was difficult. So the time just continued to drag on by.
    “Hi, Allison. How are you doing?” Mass had just ended, and the strange yet familiar old man had come up behind me. I tried to rack my brain so that I could figure out where he would know me from.
    “Hi there,” I replied. “I’m fine thank you, and you?” I asked, bewildered by the fact that he seemed to know me.
    “I’m doing very well. It is your birthday today, correct?” How could this man know so much about me? It was seriously starting to freak me out.
    “Yes it is. Mr…?” I didn’t want to come right out and ask him how he knew me, so this seemed like the best path to take.
    “Oh, I’m sorry. My name Is Richard Linus, but you can call me Rick. I used to come to church here years ago. You were very young then, only 5 years old the last time I saw you.”
    Holy dang! No wonder he looked familiar. This was the man that had been a very good friend to mom right after dad died, and then he just disappeared. What was he doing back here after all this time? And how strange he would remember my birthday after all these years?
    “Oh, yes I remember you now. Whatever happened to you? You were here, and then gone. You just left. I always wondered where you went.” And why you left . He had been almost a father figure to me