The Homecoming Hero Returns. Joan Elliott Pickart

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СКАЧАТЬ he put on a smiling facade, was a devoted father, worked hard at the store, gave the impression that he was a man who was contented with his life.

      But she couldn’t remember, no matter how hard she tried, the last time that David had told her that he loved her.

      When would it happen? Sandra wondered, blinking away unwanted tears. When would he have had enough of this charade and leave her? Did he consider ten-years-plus a long enough punishment for a foolish mistake? Oh, dear heaven, what could she do to make him love her again? What, what, what? She loved David so much, couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, but she didn’t know how to stop it from happening.

      “Hi, Mom. I smell cake or cookies or something.”

      “Oh,” Sandra said, grateful to be pulled from her depressing thoughts. “Good morning, Molly mine. I made cupcakes for the bake sale at church tomorrow, but there’s some left over for us. You have to have breakfast before you can have one, though.”

      “Bummer,” Molly said, sliding onto a chair at the table. The enormous T-shirt she was wearing as pajamas slid off one shoulder. “I hate breakfast. It’s boring.”

      “How sad,” Sandra said, smiling. “Do you think that shirt of your father’s is big enough for you?”

      “It’s cool,” Molly said, glancing down at the faded lettering that said Saunders University. “Dad was going to use it to dry the car after he washed it, but I talked him into letting me have it. My friend Becky sleeps in a T-shirt of her dad’s that says Harvard, but he never even went there. That’s bogus. At least Dad went to Saunders.”

      But didn’t graduate, Sandra thought, inwardly sighing.

      “Yep, he did attend Saunders,” she said brightly. “So did I for about two seconds. Okay, breakfast. Cereal? Pancakes? Eggs? Your wish is my command. Ah, here’s your lazy brother. I can get this cooking number over with in one swoop and exit stage left from this hot kitchen.”

      “The whole house is hot,” Michael said, flopping onto a chair across from Molly. “That shirt you’re wearing is so lame, Molly.”

      “It is not,” she said, none too quietly. “You’d have grabbed it in a second if I hadn’t seen it first, Michael Westport, and you know it.”

      “Whoa,” Sandra said. “Let’s postpone the wars until after you’ve had some food. What will it be, my sweets?”

      “Pancakes,” David said, striding into the room, his hair still wet from his shower. “I’m going to make my specialty of blueberry pancakes.”

      Sandra laughed. “Without the blueberries because we don’t have any. I’m going to the grocery store later and will get some. Are there any at the emporium?”

      “Nope, they were sold out, but no problem,” David said, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll make up for the lack of blueberries by making my famous animal-shaped pancakes.”

      “Cool,” Michael said. “I want one huge dinosaur.”

      “Yuck,” Molly said. “I want a lot of nice little butterflies.”

      “And you, madam?” David said to Sandra.

      “Well, let’s see,” she said, tapping one fingertip on her chin. “A teddy bear, please, sir.”

      “Got it. Okay, M and M, go get dressed, make your beds and by the time you get back we’ll be ready to roll here.”

      The twins dashed from the room.

      “They’re so cute,” Sandra said. “Ten is a wacky age, isn’t it? You’ve been making animal pancakes since you would put them on their high chair trays and they still think it’s super. One minute they try to act so grown up and the next second they’re just our babies again.”

      David started pulling what he needed from the cupboards.

      “Yeah,” he said, “but they’ll be up and grown, then out the door and gone before we know it. I hate the thought of that, I really do, but you can’t stop the clock from ticking. When it’s time for them to go, they’ll go.”

      A chill swept through Sandra as she stared at David’s broad back.

      Was that his decision? she thought frantically. Had he made up his mind to grit his teeth and hang in here until the twins left home because he loved them so much? But then it would be time for him to go, too? Dear God, was she destined to lose her whole family at once?

      “You know,” she said, her voice not quite steady, “I think I’ll pass on the pancake, David. I licked the frosting bowl and I really don’t want sweet syrup at this point.”

      “Whatever,” David said, beginning to stir the batter in the bowl. “The kids and I will eat your share.”

      “I’m sure you will. I’m going to go gather the wash.”

      Sandra hurried from the kitchen. David frowned as he watched her go, then flicked on the radio on the counter and began to sing along off-key to a country and western tune about having friends in low places.

      The Westport home was an apartment on the fourth floor of an old brick building. It had the exact same floor plan as every other apartment on their street and several adjacent ones. The eating area was in the kitchen, the door opened directly into a common hallway with no extra frills like a foyer or entryway. The three bedrooms were small, the living room fairly good-sized. There was a laundry room in the basement of the building.

      David and Sandra had borrowed the money for the down payment on the apartment from Sandra’s parents when David dropped out of Saunders and had long since paid back the loan. David had gone to work at a nearby grocery store while Sandra continued to wait tables until her doctor told her she had to quit the job and get off her feet if she hoped to carry the twins to term.

      When the owner of the grocery store decided to retire three years later he offered David the opportunity to buy the place with reasonable monthly payments. Westport’s Emporium had been born and flourished under David’s management. He added a great many Italian delicacies as the majority of the citizens residing in the North End of Boston were Italians.

      David also broadened the range of what was available to his customers, such as greeting cards, inexpensive gifts for that last minute invitation, supplies needed for barbecuing outside on the fire escape, which was a favorite summer activity in the neighborhood, and other items that a person often needed but didn’t want to drive to the larger markets to buy.

      The store was doing well, but had reached its financial potential, while the cost of raising two children continued to rise as the twins became active in sports and seemed to outgrow their clothes overnight.

      Sandra’s part-time job at the newspaper helped the budget some but there never seemed to be money for any extras. Plus, the recent news that both kids were going to need braces on their teeth had caused more than one tossing and turning night for their parents.

      As Sandra gathered the wash from the hampers in each bedroom she found herself once again dwelling on the money dilemma. David was still adamant about her not working full-time, wanted her home when the children returned from school each day. Michael and Molly were not going to be latch-key kids no matter how tight СКАЧАТЬ