“How are you?” he asked as he stepped back to let her in.
She opened her mouth and words escaped her. He was watching her so intently as he closed the door. She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest and began to sob. She felt him wrap his arms around her and hold her. At one point she could tell he was rubbing her back. Later he was stroking her hair. And through it all he kept speaking, whisper soft. As the tears began to dry, she realized he was speaking in Hebrew, and a minute later realized that he must have been praying the entire time.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered at last as she pulled away. She stared at the wet spot her tears had left on his pale blue shirt.
“There is nothing to be sorry about,” he told her. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded her head.
“Good. Now come in and let’s sit down. Can I get you anything to drink?”
“Soda, if you have it.”
A minute later they were seated on the couch in the living room. He had set two sodas and an envelope down on the coffee table.
“I thought you might be at the synagogue this morning.”
He shrugged. “Marie had already lined up a replacement and I took advantage of it. Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion they’re planning some kind of surprise. I figured I could wait a week to find out what it is.”
“I’m getting a party tomorrow at church Geanie tells me.”
“You’re friends want to celebrate your safe return.”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “I just don’t feel like celebrating.”
“I understand. You’ve been through a great shock. It will take a while for things to return to normal.”
“Will they ever?” she asked him, staring deeply into his eyes.
He had a past. She was sure of that now. Things that he hid from her, from the world. Something told her that he could help her with what she was going through.
He shrugged. “They might. Then again, they might not.”
“What do I do if they don’t?”
“You learn to adapt, survive. Life will change, but that is not all bad. And one day you will wake up and realize that you are no longer as afraid as you were.”
“I’ve spent my whole life afraid and I’m tired of it.”
He gave her a tight smile. “Acknowledging that is the first step in fighting back.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”
“Then don’t be.”
It seemed so simple when he said it that way, but how did one overcome a lifetime of fear?
“I mean, this is ridiculous,” she said, looking up at him. “I want to feel good, happy, alive.”
“You will,” he promised.
“I don’t want to be terrified of going on vacation again, of what will happen.”
“You know, th
ere’s a simple solution, really to that one,
”
he said, and something in his voice sounded different, excited, eager maybe.
“And what’s that?” Cindy asked.
“You can’t go on vacation by yourself anymore.”
She stared at him, waiting for him to crack a smile, but he didn’t.
“What did you have in mind?”
she questioned, somewhat bewildered.
“I’m glad you asked,” he said, grinning.
“Seeing as how you’ve been really needing a vacation and you didn’t get one, I thought something like this might be in order.” He slid the envelope across the coffee table to her.
She picked it up and opened it, curiosity burning inside her. When she pulled out the contents she couldn’t help but stare for a moment. Then, slowly, she felt a grin begin to spread across her face.
“So, Cindy, what are we going to do next?” he asked, a twinkle in his eye.
She waved the tickets in the air. “We’re going to Disneyland!”
Look for
RESTORETH MY SOUL
Coming in Winter 2013
Debbie Viguié is the New York Times Bestselling author of two dozen novels including the
Wicked
series, the
Crusade
series and the
Wolf Springs Chronicles
series co-authored with Nancy Holder. Debbie also writes thrillers including
The Psalm 23 Mysteries,
the
Kiss
trilogy, and the
Witch Hunt
trilogy. When Debbie isn’t busy writing she enjoys spending time with her husband, Scott, visiting theme parks. They live in Florida with their cat, Schrödinger.
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