HERE IS ANOTHER EXCERPT
THIS ONE IS FROM CHAPTER ONE - BOOK ONE
JACK AND EVIE - THE BEGINNING
Evelyn Harper walked in her back door with a serene look on
her face that only a calm spring morning spent in her garden could give her. Taking her big yellow sun hat off, she tossed
it on the counter then looked in the fridge for the pitcher of iced tea. As she
poured her drink, the house phone began to ring. Quickly putting the pitcher away, she hurried
over to answer the call.
“Hello?” When nobody responded, she said it again. “Hello?”
“Evelyn, it’s Jack…” His voice was broken.
There was only one reason Jackson would call and sound like
that. “Oh Jack, oh no. I am so sorry.”
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” he whispered, tears clogging
his voice.
In the forty-four years she had known the former Marine, she
had never seen or heard him cry. But now, she knew it was inevitable. His
beautiful wife had finally succumbed to the uterine cancer. “I know. I wish
there was something I could do for you.”
“No need,” the strong, stubborn man said, his voice still
distorted by the sound of stifled sobs. “She was your friend, you need to mourn
too.”
“Jack, she was your wife for forty-four years, the mother of
your children…”
“She was my heart,” he murmured. “She always claimed that we
were together through fate. But if fate is real, how could it be so cruel? Why
didn’t this so called fate just take me from her when I was injured in
Vietnam?”
“Because fate likes to play with us, like a cat and mouse,”
Evelyn whispered. “As you know, my Cole believed in fate too. He nearly drove
me up a wall with his talk of it.”
Jack actually chuckled. “Yeah, that’s probably why he and
Francesca got along so well.”
“Yeah,” Evelyn agreed. “If you need anything Jack, just
call. I know a little bit about the mourning process. Cole has only been gone
for six months now.”
“I will, and thank you. Francesca’s funeral is on the twentieth
at three p.m. I understand if you can’t make it, it’s quite a trip.”
Evelyn wiped the silent tears from her eyes and put a brave
smile on her face. “I’ll be there, Jack. Nothing will keep me away from saying
goodbye to my friend.” And nothing would keep her from fulfilling her promise
to Francesca. She would make sure that Jack had someone to lean on through this
loss.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice getting stronger. "Can
I ask a favor?”
“Of course,” she answered. “What is it?”
Jack hesitated for a moment then blurted it out. “Your
sister-in-law is speaking at the funeral, could you…could you say a few words
too?”
“Yes Jack. I would be happy to. “I think I’ll read the
letter I was about to send her – the end of our pen pal adventure."
“That would be nice,” he said. “I know Fran would love it.”
“Then it’s settled. Remember, if you need anything, just
call, anytime of day or night.”
“Thank you Evelyn. I’ll see you when you get here.”
“Bye Jack. Give the kids my love.”
The phone line went quiet and Evelyn hung up her end. She
barely made it to the nearby bar stool before she collapsed into tears. Her
friend of 52 years was gone. It just didn’t seem possible. They had met on
Francesca’s father’s fishing boat in Ketchikan Alaska when she was eight and
Fran was ten. They had been pen pals ever since. Evie’s twin brother Ethan was
Jackson’s best friend, and he and his wife Charli, who they'd also met on the
fishing boat, had been part of a double wedding with Jack and Fran in the
summer of 1969. Through the years, they didn’t physically see each other much,
but their friendship, once it had started, had never faltered. And now, she was
gone.
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