The Second Half Read Online Free PDF Page B

You need anything from the store?”
    “No, but are you all right?”
    “No problem.”
    The mystery thickened. Mona upped the music volume after they disconnected in the hopes of drowning out her initial questions. All her questions; was this just another aspect of worry? Setting the table did not take a lot of concentrated thought, nor did slicing the last of the French bread. Lord, I am trusting You.
    Marit’s song made her punch the button with a smile. When she heard, “Grammy?” she smiled even further.
    “What is it, Brit, honey?”
    “Can Grampy go fishing?”
    “Not tonight. He has to work late.”
    “Oh, I want to go fishing again. Can you go?”
    “Sorry, but after Grampy retires, he’ll be able to go fishing more.” How he would love to be having this conversation; Brit was absolutely the apple of her grampy’s eye. “Besides, you have school tomorrow. How many more days?”
    “Twelve.”
    “Including game day?”
    “Yes. Mom said we could have a picnic at the park for supper, and you can come, too. Maybe you want to bring fried chicken and chocolate cake.” Brit the micromanager.
    “I think we can handle that.”
    “You better make lots of drumsticks, ’cause Arne likes them best.”
    “Thank you for the reminder.”
    “Okay, Mom is calling me. Bye.”
    Mona clicked off, sure that Brit did not have permission to call. She should have asked; keeping ahead of two extremely bright children pushed her daughter’s buttons at times, and the third one looked to be of the same mold.
    The sound of the garage door going up announced Ken’s arrival, if the two critters standing at the door to the garage, tails wagging or twitching, hadn’t already said “Dad’s home.” She heaved a sigh of relief and turned on the broiler in the upper oven.
    Ken patted his greeting committee, set his briefcase on the island, and crossed the kitchen to kiss his wife. “Smells good in here.”
    She studied his face. “You look tired.”
    “I’m beat.”
    “Or beat up?”
    “Some of both. We had issues with the budget. Of course, there are always issues with the budget. Five minutes before I closed down my computer to come home, Dale stuck his head in the door asking about the employee reviews. He thought I ought to do them before Wednesday.”
    “In one last eight-hour workday?” Mona wagged her head.
    “Not even with Sandy and I tearing our hair out will we get this all done. Also, tomorrow I am interviewing candidates…”
    “Isn’t Damien hoping to step into your position?”
    “Yes. I get the feeling he assumes he has it and that all the other interviews are only protocol.” He shook his head. “But we’ll deal with all that later.”
    She refrained from asking how he felt. Ken was doing his best to keep his work at work and home life at home. Mona slid the tray of bread under the broiler. “Supper will be on the table as soon as you want.”
    “Let me change clothes; five minutes?”
    “Fine.” She watched his back as he left the room. His shoulders slumped like he was carrying the weight of the department up the stairs. Good thing he was retiring while he still had his health and dreams to look forward to. Not like Frank and Josie. Ken’s older brother had put off retirement so his benefits would be higher and then died of a heart attack two months after his last day at work, leaving a wife with their dreams shattered. No wonder she was angry, since she’d been after him to retire for years.
    “You want to talk over supper or wait until after?”
    He sank into his chair. “After, please. Let’s talk about anything else while we eat.”
    “You want to say grace?”
    “Sure.” He waited for her to settle in her chair. “Heavenly Father, thank You for this food, that Mona is such a good cook, and that today is almost over. Amen.” He stroked his thinning-on-top hair back with the palms of both hands and heaved a sigh that sounded like he’d been holding in his breath along with his