THE SANCTUARY Read Free Page A

getting her heart broken repeatedly. If she and John split, she couldn’t imagine getting back into the dating scene—let alone remarrying.
    “So, it looks like the funeral’s going to be Thursday or Friday. We’ll know for sure by tomorrow afternoon.”
    “Well, you just plan to stay here. I don’t want to worry about you driving those back roads or crossing the causeway late at night,” Julia said.
    “I was hoping you’d say that. It’ll give us a chance to spend some time together.”
    “That’ll be nice, even if it is under these circumstances. What can I do to help Liddie? I feel so helpless. She always knows what to do to help people and I can’t think of a thing. I mean, how can you help with something like this? Maybe I should make a casserole? Or what if I take her a Carolina Kit and a big box of tissues. What do you think?” Julia fretted.
    “I think we should respect her wishes and just leave her be until the funeral. Lydia can talk or cry all she wants, and we’ll be there for her,” Sonya said.
    “Well, if that’s what you think,” Julia reluctantly agreed.
    “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything more, or you call me if you hear first,” Sonya said.
    “Do you think we should tell Liz? Or would Liddie not want us to?” Julia asked.
    “I think Liz should know. This might be just the thing to bring those two together. Honestly, if they weren’t both so hard-headed, this wouldn’t have dragged on for so long.”
    “Can you believe they haven’t spoken in more than two years?” Julia said.
    “I know. I wish that would change before we’re old ladies—or dead,” Sonya said.
    “Maybe we could tell Liz that Lydia realizes how foolish she’s been and that she wants her at the funeral and tell Lydia that Liz has begged for her forgiveness. They’ll hug and say how silly they were to have let this go on for so long, and we’ll all be friends again,” Julia said.
    “It’s always the sweet, quiet ones you have to watch out for. Who knew you were so diabolical? I don’t see what we have to lose by giving your plan a try, except that I haven’t been able to reach Liz. I’ve tried all her numbers and email but with no luck. Hopefully, she’ll get my messages before the funeral, but who knows? She could be in Istanbul or Tanzania for all I know. I’ll keep trying,” Sonya promised.
    “I haven’t heard from her in nearly two months, except for a postcard from Peru,” Julia said.
    “Same here,” Sonya said with a sigh.
    After she hung up, Julia stood studying herself in the antique mirror that hung behind the kitchen table. She wore no makeup on her freckled face, and she was nearly twenty pounds overweight. Would she even fit into her black suit? Was it twenty or thirty pounds that doctors called obese these days? She hoped it was thirty. She wondered briefly if folks were whispering behind her back, “Poor Julia Reynolds. She used to be so petite and pretty. What happened to her?”
    What had happened to her? When had she stopped paying attention to how she looked? As Julia tried to figure out exactly when she had stopped worrying about her weight or wearing makeup, Max ran over to her. He left a floating trail of dog hair across her kitchen floor. The Sheltie stood in front of her happily wagging his semi-furry tail. That reminded her, it was time for his next dose of medicine. She’d had to give him the pill twice a day for the last nine days, according to the vet’s instructions. She’d also been the one to take the dog to the vet to treat the skin rash. Since he was John’s dog, or at least it was his idea to get a dog for the kids, she’d been tempted to hand him the bag that the vet had given her, but she knew John would never remember to give the dog all his medicine and ointment.
    The dog’s appearance brought Chesapeake out from his hiding spot under the kitchen table. The tabby stretched lazily and slinked over to Julia, meowing loudly to signify that he