Essie exhaled shakily. “Maybe not quite that literal. But, yes, he’s fed up and tired of watching her hurt everyone, including herself.”
Francine moved closer, her expression softening. “We’re praying for her. And for you and Frank.”
Essie nodded, grateful and yet feeling a bit like she didn’t deserve those prayers. Despite everything Frank had said, a part of her still felt some responsibility for all of this. “Thank you. I just…I don’t want her to feel like everyone’s against her. But this talk needs to happen. She can’t be allowed to tear this family apart because of grief she won’t deal with. I think that’s what thisreally is. She’s angry about losing her mother, angry about her dad moving on, angry at the hand she’s been dealt.”
The two older women exchanged a look full of experience and sympathy without pity.
“You’re doing what you can,” Miriam said. “The rest? You let God handle.”
Essie smiled, but her lower lip trembled at the edges. “I know that’s what I need to do. My grip is just a little too tight sometimes.”
Francine nudged her with a playful elbow. “Well, if you’re gonna stay busy worrying, you might as well help me mop the vestibule.”
Essie laughed and the sound released just a whisper of the tension inside her.
“Good idea.” She grabbed the bucket and followed Francine down the hall and into the foyer. She stood for a moment, looking into the sanctuary, past the pews to where sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows and tinted the space in a kaleidoscope of color.
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Francine said.
“Very.” Essie set her bucket down and started in one corner.Please,she prayed silently as she worked.Let today be the day Sophie turns toward us.
Essie finished up with the mopping, then went into the sanctuary to walk the old wooden pews, original to the church when it was built in the ’60s, and make sure there were the right number of hymnals and Bibles in each row.
When that was done, she stepped back and let her gaze sweep over the tidy sanctuary. The air smelled faintly of lemon cleaner and old wood. How many hands had polished these pews before her? There was a lot of history here and normally, she’d feel the satisfaction of a job well done.
Today, anxiety sat stubbornly beneath her ribs.
She waited as Francine and Miriam locked up, sharing a few more hopeful smiles before parting ways in the parking lot. Essie slipped into her car, still relatively cool due to parking in the shade of one of the live oaks. She exhaled deeply as she closed the door and started the car.
She got the A/C going and was about to pull out when her phone buzzed in her purse. She rummaged to grab it. Frank had texted.
Essie’s pulse quickened before she even tapped the screen.
She arrived at Chad’s a little while ago. He’s not having the talk with her yet. Wants her to have the afternoon with the kids. Says it’ll remind her what she’s risking.
Essie stared at the message, her stomach knotting.Smart move, she texted back.
It was, too. Letting Sophie play board games and eat popsicles with her niece and nephew, letting her laugh with them. Letting her soak in all that love and affection. Letting her reconnect with the family she was threatening to break apart…
It was so smart. It was also terrifying, because it was kind of their last shot at ending this thing peacefully.
Essie typed with careful fingers,Do you think that will work?
Frank replied almost immediately.I hope so. Chad sounded determined this morning.
He loves her too much to let this keep going.
Essie closed her eyes, forehead resting against the steering wheel. “Please, Lord,” she whispered, voice cracking. “Help her see what she still has. Show her what she could lose.”
She sat a moment longer, gathering strength, before shifting into Drive and heading home. The sun flickered through the palms lining the road, throwing shifting shadows across her windshield.
Maybe after lunch, she could lose herself in her book, because all she could do now was wait. And waiting was the hardest part.
The thing was, she didn’t really feel like going home. Not yet. But what else could she do?
A good lunchoutmight help, something with air-conditioning and a friendly face and a plate she didn’t cook herself. She wasn’t dressed for anything fancy. And she also didn’t feel like being alone. On impulse, she tapped Maude’s contact and held the phone to her ear.
“Hey, you!” Maude answered brightly. “Everything okay?”
