Marriage Seasons 01 - It Happens Every Spring Read Online Free PDF Page B

homes. And the lady whose dog had
upchucked something green and nasty on the carpet in one of the
condos he was showing her. It might have been nice if his wife had
offered him a piece of her chocolate cake-which she knew he
loved-and asked him how the new computerized record-keeping
program was working out. But no, she was giving him the silent
treatment.
    His cop show came on, and Steve got sleepy. He was just about
to doze off when he heard Brenda open the front door. Glancing in
that direction, he saw her heft a big white cooler with a blue lid out
onto the porch. She pulled the door shut behind her and didn't
come back in.
    Steve frowned. It was one thing for Brenda to ignore him, but
now she was acting strange. He eased out of the recliner and padded over to the door. Through the front window, he could see
Brenda sitting on the porch swing. And she was talking to him.
    The stranger!
    His heart suddenly racing, Steve threw open the door and
stepped outside. Bad enough to have a vagrant in the neighborhood, but this was too much.
    "Brenda?" he said.

    "Oh, Steve, it's you." Her voice was crisp, like a chill wind that
cut right through to his bones. "Would you like to meet my new
friend?"
    For a minute, Steve couldn't make anything come out of his
mouth. He stared at the skinny man, a young fellow with a tangled
beard and long hair. The man stood with one of the Hansens'
stoneware bowls in his grimy hand.
    "Hi, I'm Cody!" he said, breaking into a grin. "I got some soup
tonight. Lots of it. I've been hungry, but now look!"
    He bent and flipped open the cooler's blue lid. Inside sat two
stacks of full, lidded soup bowls; several Baggies of sandwiches;
and a few boxes of fruit juice. "And chocolate cake!" Cody continued. "Because my daddy told me that anyone might give you food,
but only a Christian would give you chocolate cake, too. That
means she's a Christian. What's your name?"
    Steve managed to put on his best Realtor smile and held out his
hand. "I'm Steve Hansen."
    "How old are you?" Cody stuck out his left hand and awkwardly
shook Steve's right. "I'm getting older now, and my daddy told me
it's time to make my way. `Make your way, Cody.' That's what he
told me. How old are you?"
    "I'm forty-five," Steve said, glancing at Brenda.
    "Hey!" Cody plopped down on the swing. "Same as her!
Forty-five years. What's your name, lady? I forgot already."
    "Brenda Hansen. I'm married to Steve."
    "Okay." Cody sipped a spoonful of soup. "Forty-five years.
That's pretty old. I'm not that old."
    "How old are you?" Brenda asked in a soft voice.
    Cody studied her. "I'm not forty-five years."
    "No, you're younger."
    "Okay. This sure is good soup. Look!" He flipped open the lid of
the cooler again for Steve. "It's full to the brim! You could eat it for
forty-five years. She gave it to me, because I was hungry. And chocolate cake, too. Three pieces!"

    The tension began to slide out of Steve's shoulders. He could tell
right away that this fellow was neither drunk nor criminal. He was
just simple, that's all. Childlike. Still, you couldn't be sure he was
harmless. Pete Roberts at Rods-n-Ends had been right to call
Brenda good-hearted. She was kind to help out a hungry person.
But she never should have opened the door without Steve around,
and what was she thinking-buying a cooler and filling it with
soup and sandwiches?
    "Brenda," he said, "could I talk to you inside for a minute?"
    She lifted her chin, stared straight at him, and said, "I'm visiting
with Cody. Sorry."
    A flood of icy rage spread through Steve's chest. "I see."
    "We're chatting. You can go on back in and watch your TV
show."
    Steve sucked down a deep breath. "Brenda, I want to talk to you
inside the house. Now."
    She shrugged. "Did you try a sandwich, Cody? They're turkey
and cheese. I think you ought to have one tonight. And keep the lid
on your cooler. You don't want to let all the cold air out."
    Steve stared at his wife. He felt