A Weekend Getaway Read Online Free PDF

smiled.
    Once Beth arrived at the cement
block building, a fifty-something woman with her hair in a sloppy up-do told
them how to sort through the donated clothes heaped on the floor. The old trio
of friends, Sarah, Ivy, and Beth took spots near a box of used shoes as the
Salvation Army employee took the guys to a back room to move furniture.
    Sarah held up an orange and pink
muu muu. “What do you think?”
    They all giggled.
    Ivy crinkled her nose. “I don’t
think we need to look at any of these pieces. They’re all out of style and
should be thrown away.”
    Sarah shook her head, her long
hair clinging to her back. “Just because you would never wear second-hand
clothes doesn’t mean that somebody won’t appreciate them. When I was pregnant,
I bought all of my maternity clothes at garage sales and thrift stores.
Otherwise, it seemed like such a waste of money.”
    The stuck-up expression on Ivy’s
face made Beth cringe. “Let’s just sort the clothes like they asked us to.”
    Sarah held up a decorative
pillow with a rip along the seam. “What if it needs to be stitched up?”
    Grabbing a nearby T-shirt, Beth surveyed
it then placed it in the “keep” pile. “She said nothing that needs to be
repaired stays.”
    Sarah studied the pillow. “What
a shame. This gingham pattern would look great in a quilt I’m making.”
    “Take it,” Ivy said.
    Sarah let out a little hmmm . “That doesn’t seem right.” She set
it by her foot. “I’ll ask the Salvation Army lady before I leave.” Grabbing a
nearby sweatshirt with a stain on the front, she paused to look at Beth. “So,
tell me all about this man you live with. How’d you meet? What’s he like?”
    She and Drew had been together
for about a year, but except for Facebook updates, Beth didn’t talk to her old
girlfriends anymore. In fact, she’d sent a gift but hadn’t even visited Sarah
when her last child was born. That was—what?—four years ago.
    “Well, for our first date, he
made reservations at this upscale restaurant known for their filet mignon, but
then he called me to cancel at the last minute.” Ivy and Sarah wrinkled their
foreheads in confusion, so Beth continued. “It turned out his sister got called
in to work and needed him to babysit his niece. Emma wasn’t even two years old
at the time and definitely wouldn’t have sat still for a four-course meal. The
problem was he didn’t tell me that. He just cancelled without any explanation. Somehow
we both ended up at a pizza parlor—me getting take-out and him
entertaining his niece. The place had a little toy horse kids could ride and Drew
stood next to it, holding Emma’s back to make sure she didn’t fall, putting in
quarter after quarter. Emma was giggling and he and I ended up chatting. The
evening flew by.” It was the night Beth knew that Drew was husband material.
    “I hope he took you out for a
real date the next time,” Ivy said.
    Beth smiled. “Eventually, but
there was something special in the simplicity of that first night.” Not to
mention that pizza was one of her favorite foods. Something she hadn’t allowed
herself to eat for six months. Her stomach growled at the thought.
    Sarah’s eyes shone. “You know
how to pick ‘em. I still owe you for introducing me to my hubby.”
    Back in college, Sarah had been
the first fix-up Beth had ever tried. It worked out so well, other girls in the
dorm asked her for recommendations. More often than not, Beth had a sixth sense
about those kinds of things. “I’m happy it worked out. I like your website, by
the way. The photos of your family vacation to Mount Rushmore are amazing.”
    “That trip was so much fun. I
had my oldest two use the atlas to map out our route and we studied the
presidents before we went. That’s the neat thing about home schooling. You can
turn everything you do into a learning experience.”
    Ivy piped up. “But nobody needs
to read maps anymore. You can use GPS.”
    Beth ignored Ivy.