Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 15
Read Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Episode 15 Online
Authors: CHAUTONA HAVIG
A Serial Novel: Episode
F
ifteen
Chautona Havig
Copyright 2012 Chautona Havig
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
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All Scripture references are from the NASB. NASB passages are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE (registered), Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Contents
Copyright 2012 Chautona Havig
2
10
4
Sunday afternoon, Chad snoozed.
His crazy work schedule, the past few months
’
stresses, and the plans for the wedding all hit him at once.
Mid-
sentence, he
’
d just stopped talking.
Completely.
Willow watched him sleep for several minutes and then slipped from the living room.
Outside, she took a deep breath.
She knew he needed his rest as much as she needed time alone to process the past twenty-four hours.
She missed her mother.
She needed someone to talk to and yet wanted no one around her.
Shrugging off her unsettled spirit, Willow
marched
straight
to
the washing machine and slowly loaded it with tablecloths
,
checking each for stains before she dropped it into the machine.
In no time, the
summer
kitchen hummed with activity.
She assessed the food situation, froze leftovers, and rearranged things to her personal preferences.
In the greenhouse, she tended the plants, reordered the place, and found a few plates and things that had been stashed by someone.
Next, she folded tables and took them to the barn.
There was a perfect place high above the kitchen to store them but Willow wasn
’
t sure how to get them up there.
Instead, she stacked them all in one stall and all of the chairs in another.
She refused
to attempt to climb a ladder pushing a table.
After the kitchen and yards were clear
, she grabbed her tool belt and gloves, retrieved a roll of wire, and took off to fix the cut sections of fencing.
Chad awoke to see her out by the road
,
wiring the fence back together in the afternoon sun.
His chuckle would have confused her.
Only Willow would spend the first afternoon of her honeymoon repairing fences when no animal needed them.
He pushed the screen door open and then paused.
Maybe she needed a little time alone.
Her world had been turned upside down in the last year
,
and in the past twenty-four hours
—
exponentially.
His parents had worried about how their relationship would work
,
and Chad, once again, was amazed at how God definitely worked in their life to ensure everyone
’
s good.
While watching Willow as she worked, Chad
fumbled for his cellphone
and dialed his parents
’
number.
“
Mom?
”
“
Chad!
We didn
’
t expect to hear from you so soon!
”
“
Is Pop there?
”
Marianne assured him that Christopher was with her
and they had the phone on speaker
.
“
I wanted to thank you guys for everything yesterday
—e
specially when it was all up in the air.
I was able to do my job because I could trust you to take care of everything else
.”
“
Oh
,
Chaddie, you could have missed your own wedding!
”
Christopher made hushing sounds.
“
But he didn
’
t, he
’
s fine.
Just be thankful
.”
To Chad he added hesitantly,
“
Everything ok there?
”
“Sure, P
op.
We
—”
Chad cleared his throat.
“
Well, we had kind of a long day yesterday
—
all those people, and then kind of a late night
,
so I took a nap this afternoon
.”
Marianne and Christopher didn
’
t speak but their eyes communicated verbosely.
“
You all right
,
son?
”
“
Um yeah!
I
’
m great
,
actually.
Willow seems to have taken my naptime and put it to good use.
The tables are out of the yard, she
’
s probably washing linens, and right now, she
’
s out fixing fences
.”
He could see them as if his phone was a camera.
His mother’s face showed disappointment, and his father had probably put an arm around her to comfort her.
Was that a sigh?
Probably.
“
I knew you guys would have the world
’
s most unusual honeymoon
,
”
Christopher said.
“
Yeah
.”
He infused as much happiness as he could casually interject into his tone.
This was going to be good.
“
Well, I should get out there and help her or she
’
ll be antsy all night thinking about the work that wasn
’
t done
.”
Chad
stifled back a snicker, as his parents said nothing
.
“
I just wanted to invite you to come out any weekend
—
well, maybe not next
weekend,
but any time after that. We have enough room you know.
Cheri can have
‘
her room
’
and the spare room mattress is comfortable
, you
know
.”
“
We
’
re not going to kick you out of your room, son.
We can visit without staying overnight
.”
“
Oh
,
no problem.
You wouldn
’
t be kicking me out of my room.
I
’
m pretty sure Willow would have serious objections to giving up
our
bed
.”
With that, Chad said goodbye and clicked the phone shut.
What he would give to see his parents
’
faces right
about then
.