Family Blessings

Family Blessings Read Online Free PDF Page A

Book: Family Blessings Read Online Free PDF
Author: Lavyrle Spencer
Tags: Fiction
he felt so, how must she feel, the mother?
    She withdrew from her sister's embrace and Sylvia Eid drew back to find Christopher hovering nearby. Through her tears she managed to speak the words "You're Christopher." He found himself clinging to the strange woman with an intensity he would not have imagined yesterday.
    He, who held people at bay, who radiated toward no one least of all strangers--was locked breast to breast with a woman he'd scarcely spoken to before.
    They gave each other momentary solace, then turned back to the one who needed it more. Each with an arm around Lee, they urged her toward the living room and sat her on the sofa between them-an odd spot at noon on a weekday, but the place that seemed fitting for mourning. Lee Reston clung to her sister's hand, repeating the chant that Christopher would hear over and over again in the next three days.
    "He was . . . he was coming over here to . . . to put a new end on a hose for me."
    Why did it start his tears again? Because it was a reminder of how blithely he had taken life for granted until an hour ago?
    Because it was a reminder of how Greg had cared for his mother?
    Because it was one of those simple everyday things that speaks of love and devotion so much more loudly than words?
    The women made it over another emotional hurdle, then Sylvia asked, "How did you find out?"
    "From Christopher. He came over as soon as he heard."
    Sylvia looked over at him with reddened eyes. "How did you find out?"
    "I . .." He had to clear his throat and start again. "I went into the station to pick up my paycheck and they told me."
    Lee Reston looked up through her tears. She squeezed the back of his hand. "What a horrible shock that must have been for you. And then you had to . . . to come over here and tell me." He looked down at her hand covering his and relived the shock, but found some control deep down within that kept his hand steady and his eyes dry. He turned his hand over, linked his fingers with hers and whispered hoarsely, "He loved you so damned much."
    She let her eyes close, battling for control, opened them to reveal large, rust-colored irises brimming with tears. "Thank you," she whispered, squeezing his hand tenaciously.
    In that moment while they sat connected by grief and sympathy for each other some ineffable bond was forged.
    He had given her what she needed to make it through the next hour.
    She had recognized that he'd had the toughest job of all, coming here to break the news to her.
    "I'll be here for you . . . whatever you need," he promised, and the promise went as deep as his love and grief for her son.
    "Thank you, Christopher," she said, squeezing his hand even harder, appreciating him fully for the first time, admitting how comforting a man's presence was and that she'd undoubtedly call on him again and again throughout the terrible days ahead.
    Chapter 2.
    LEE Reston felt as if she were moving through a phantasm, at moments so steeped in grief it rendered her incapable of anything more than weeping. At other times she'd operate almost as if outside herself, facing the next dread and unavoidable duty.
    Janice must be called.
    "Janice . .." Merely speaking her name brought tears welling, along with a great unwillingness to shatter her daughter's world a moment sooner than necessary.
    "I'll call Janice," Sylvia offered.
    "Thank you, Sylvia, but Janice should hear it from me."
    "Oh, Lee, why put yourself through it?"
    "I'm her mother. I'll do it."
    There was within Lee Reston a vein of implacability so strong it sometimes amazed even her. To escape in a faint, to collapse uselessly would have been totally out of character. What needed facing, she faced. Always had, always would. Sylvia was here, and the young man, Christopher. She would rely on their support and do what must be done.
    She did, however, allow Sylvia to dial the phone. Lee's hand shook as she took the receiver, and her legs felt rubbery. A chair was nudged behind her knees--a sudden
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