Healing Touch Read Online Free PDF Page A

teachers.”

    “Caught?”

    I took off in a direction opposite of my
house. “Good night Dr. Nelson.”

    “Tracy.”

    “Yes, caught. Caught on camera by one of her
students. Google it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the footage as much as
my divorce lawyer did.”

    ****

    Cooler October air brought small patches of
color to the trees of Cherryville. I sat near a row of bushes at
the edge of the playground and watched Cody repeatedly fill up his
small pail and dump the sand outside the sandbox. I’d help him
scoop it back in after he finished playing. He was busy and content
with his current activity. A little sand outside the lines wouldn’t
hurt anyone.

    Not too many people were at the park today.
The kids were back in school and the inhabitants of this small town
were off conducting their normal Friday activities. I lucked out
with the weather. The forecast called for 73⁰ and sunny.

    My boss gladly gave me the last minute
vacation day. I had been making mistakes all week. Wednesday I
tried to charge someone $55,750 for a used tire. I needed a day
off. I was so tired.

    My eyelids grew heavy. Things were getting to
me and I was having a hard time sleeping.

    A bicyclist passed at a speed perfect to
outrun Cody’s attack. The shovel full of sand hit the path just
behind the back wheel.

    “Cody James Campbell, no! We’re going to go
home if you can’t play nice.”

    He smiled at me, moved to the other end of
the sand box, and continued emptying its contents.

    I really hoped this vacation day would
recharge my batteries. I needed to wake up and resume a normal
routine. The exhaustion was not due to crazy nights out with the
girls or dates that stretched until morning. My fatigue came from
hours of endless worrying. The stupid lump in my throat hadn’t gone
away. I tried not to touch it but it became a nervous habit to
check it every ten second. My friends worried about me. I felt bad
lying, but I told them I was running out of gas because of Cody.
They still checked in on me but gave up asking me to hang out after
a while.

    Instinctively I touched the lump on my neck.
The more I tried not to think about it, the more it bothered
me.

    Cody had about half of the sand out of the
box. I was impressed at his meticulous effort. One side of the
square was almost bare right down to the cement base.

    The birds chirped above me. They were
probably making plans to fly south, discussing the best route to
warmer climates. A destination far away from worries and
responsibilities sounded wonderful. It would be nice to sit on a
lounge chair looking out over the ocean. My heavy lids drifted
shut. I visualized waves crashing, palm tress swaying. Seagulls
flew overhead as couples walked on the long stretch of white sand.
The beat of the waves was hypnotic. I gazed out over the ocean that
spanned before me. The blue of the sky blended on the horizon into
the water. I could barely make out the dividing line.

    I wiggled my toes and looked at my tanned
legs against the bright beach towel draped on my chair. It matched
the bathing suit I had on. One must always wear festive colors in
the tropics. I adjusted my large straw hat and looked at my travel
companion. Jeremy tanned nicely and had a great body, such a
beautiful body. He glanced at me and smiled from his reclined
position. A purple boat with pink sails caught my attention as it
bobbed in the waves.

    “Tracy.”

    Cody walked across the wide beach carrying a
tray of margaritas. He looked so cute in his mini tuxedo.

    “Tracy.”

    How sweet, a skewer of fruit adorned each
glass.

    “Tracy!”

    “Mommy!”

    Somebody kicked my beach chair, rocking the
whole thing in a violent way.

    My eyes shot open to the sight of Jeremy, not
on the beach, but in the Cherryville Park, holding a squirming
Cody.

    “Oh my God!” I stood up and grabbed Cody out
of his arms. “I must have fallen asleep. Where did you come from?
What happened?”

    “Calm down, everything’s fine. Cody