Reunion and Revenge by Karen Musser Nortman

Author:Karen Musser Nortman [Nortman, Karen Musser]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-08-11T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Harsh light filtered through the blinds in the pleasant guest room, striking Max’s head on the pillows. She groaned and threw her arm up over her eyes. She shifted the arm a bit peeking at the intrusion. It must be late. She was usually up long before the sun. She rolled over to check her watch on the nightstand.

The movement, slow and deliberate as it was, shot a pain up her back. Her first thought was a heart attack or similar dreaded event that lurked in the background of most seventy-something’s minds. Then she remembered her escapades of the night before. What was she thinking, crawling in a window? Or more accurately, being stuffed and pushed through a window? An old rotting window with rough edges. Onto a hard counter several feet from the floor. Ugh.

She gingerly sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed. She leaned forward on her hands, thinking about making the supreme effort to get up, when a black-and-white photo in a gold frame on the nightstand caught her eye. She picked it up and held it to one of the errant sunbeams. Four little girls in identical plaid dresses, wayward curls, and barrettes protectively surrounded a toddler boy in a matching plaid shirt and shorts. Max, the tallest and her brown hair straighter than the others, rested her hand on Donnie’s head. Lil, on the other side, had her hand on one shoulder. Sharon and Carol kneeled on either side, each holding on to one of Donnie’s hands. Donnie, for his part, looked like he would do anything to escape.

Max smiled sadly and set the picture back on the table. That photo pretty much summed up what was wrong with Donnie. No wonder he had always been so rebellious. She thought of Donnie now sitting in jail, and stood with effort. Some light stretches helped. She picked up her linen pants off a chair and examined with regret the three-corner tear in the thigh.

A tap at the door preceded Lil’s voice. “Max? We’re leaving for church in about 45 minutes. Are you going?”

Max opened the door, pushing her hair back behind one ear with the other hand. “No. Probably not. I don’t—“ She looked at the disappointment on Lil’s face. “Forget it. Sure, I’ll go. We need to put up a united front.”

Lil brightened. “Carol’s got fruit and rolls downstairs.” She grinned. “And strong coffee, of course. You look like you need it.”

“Thanks. I’ll be down in a minute.” She closed the door and grabbed her toiletry bag to head to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, she had scrubbed her face, brushed her hair and teeth, and donned black cotton slacks with a black-and-white striped top. A quick glance in the hall mirror told her she met her fairly low appearance standards.

So it was doubly gratifying to reach the kitchen and have Bob glance up from the Sunday paper with a low whistle. “Lookin’ pretty sharp, there.” He grinned and then added, “For an old lady.

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