A man confesses and pulls the community together.
The prayer was less than a minute. But people didn’t seem to want to leave. You could look around and see little knots of people together, talking, hugging. Every group seemed to be ethnically mixed.
The Stover-Farley family started to leave the platform. They were surrounded by well-wishers. It was over an hour till they got out of the building. They stopped at Bob Evans for an evening snack. They were recognized and quickly became celebrities. By the time they got home they were exhausted. Sandra looked at the answering machine when she came in. The light was blinking. She listened to the message, went to the office and turned on her computer. Jack crutched in and watched as she pulled up one screen and then another in rapid succession. After about ten minutes of swapping screens and mumbling meaningless words she exclaimed ‘got it.’ She flipped a couple of more screens, changed a couple of files, then picked up the phone and made a call. When she hung up the phone she was smiling. “We can go to bed.”
“What did you do?”
She gave a three paragraph explanation.
Jack waved his hand. “Do they really pay you for doing that?”
“Yes. And pretty good too. I raised three girls on my salary and the little Social Security chipped in. There was some life insurance including the mortgage. It was paid off. I had over a hundred thousand in the bank when it was all over. I put it into securities and tried to live on my salary and the increase. By the time the girls were ready for college there was more than enough.”
“And I thought you were just a pretty blonde. I have to be the luckiest guy in the state. I have been loved by the two greatest women who ever lived.”
“Thanks. I can’t complain about what I have had. And right now, after the last twenty minutes, I need to wind down so I can get some sleep. Do you know anyone who can help with that?”
“It’s want I do best.” He headed her toward the bedroom. Five minutes later they were locked in an embrace.
A little later she lay on her back with his hand on her stomach. “I wonder what our kids are doing?”
“Well I hope three of them are doing this, the other one better not, yet.”
“Jack. You know better. You have no reason to worry about Lisa or Bill.”
“She isn’t home.”
“She is with Bill. They both have tomorrow off. They told me they were going to spend some time out tonight.” As she said it she heard the front door open. “See, she is home.”
The Night Sniper Chapter One: On the Beat
The Night Sniper – Chapter 211: Honor
Other Novels by Ralph Brandt
Denise Chapter 01: Success in Hollywood
Alpha Four Chapter 01: Two Autopsies
The First Family: Chapter 1 – Introduction
World War II – a Novel Chapter One
Sandra Chapter 01: the Accident
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