Anna's Healing by Vannetta Chapman

Author:Vannetta Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780736956048
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.

CHAPTER 36

Chloe walked toward the produce stand, her purse over her right shoulder, the bag from her mother over her left. The smile on her face grew the closer she came to Anna’s window. It did her heart such good to see her friend again sitting in the same place she’d occupied the first day they had met. More importantly, Anna looked as if she was enjoying herself immensely.

“Do you have peaches? I heard you have peaches.”

“Check the sign, Englischer.”

“Yeah? I’m sure I saw the word peaches.”

“There are no peaches on the sign! Do we look like a peach grove?” Anna had been aiming for exasperated, but she couldn’t hold on to it. Soon she was laughing right along with Chloe.

“You joke, but sometimes it happens. I had a woman stop by last weekend who wanted fresh mangoes. No kidding.”

“Who doesn’t love a fresh mango?”

“I’ve never had one,” Anna confessed.

“Now I know what to buy you for your birthday.” Chloe was kidding, but Anna’s expression became suddenly serious.

“I turn twenty-five in a few weeks—the first of July. Last year, I was still at home with my family. Think about it, Chloe. If I hadn’t moved here…” A wave of her hand encompassed her legs and wheelchair. “None of this would have happened.”

Chloe sat in the lawn chair they kept near the booth window for customers who were older, turning it first so she was facing Anna.

“I know that look.” Anna rolled her chair back and forth. “You’re trying to put a positive spin on my handicap.”

“No. No, I’m not.”

“Then what?”

“Selfish thoughts—mostly. If you hadn’t moved here, we would never have met.”

“True.”

“I’m not sure I’ve told you how much you’ve helped me.”

“In what way?” Anna cocked her head to the side, waiting and watching.

“When we first met, my mom and I weren’t particularly close.”

“Because…”

Chloe tapped the handles of the lawn chair. “I’d like to say because of my dad’s death, but honestly I think the problem was due to my immaturity.”

“You blamed your mom?”

“Not exactly, but I had to lash out at someone, and I lashed out at the person left standing.” Chloe sat up straighter and stared out across the farmland. “I was so angry…”

“For sure and for certain I know what you’re talking about.”

“You do.” Chloe turned back to Anna and smiled. “That’s the miracle of this—that you do understand, that anyone can understand. After a while I wasn’t angry anymore, but I didn’t know how to bridge the distance I’d created. When you were injured, I began calling my mom more. We’d have long talks over the phone about faith and family and how to live through hard times.”

“Your mother seems like a wise woman.”

“She is. And now with your quilting, I’ve fallen in the habit of visiting her again. You’ve given me back my relationship with my mom, Anna. That’s a very big thing.”

“Well, I suppose if you wanted to thank me you could at least buy some fresh vegetables.”

They both laughed, but then Chloe turned the conversation to where it had begun.

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