Castles In The Air by Anita Higman

Author:Anita Higman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

Fourteen

Nori checked the front door. Her mother had closed it, but she’d left it unlocked. Glad my apartment building is a safe place.

She opened the door and looked down the hallway. No one was there. All quiet. Maybe her mother had just run to the store for a few toiletries and hadn’t wanted to disturb her sleep. But even as she thought it, she knew something else was at play.

She went into the kitchen, and while pouring herself some orange juice, she noticed a note next to the vase of flowers. She picked up the note and read it:

Noreen,

I’m going on a cruise, so I had to get up early. Sorry I left before saying good-bye, but I thought things might be easier this way.

Love, Mom

The note fell from Nori’s hand. She hadn’t seen her mother in ages, and now she’d vanished again. When would they ever get to talk? Not just dance around their real feelings with coffee chatter. Nori had hoped they could get to know each other better over the next few days. Find some common ground. Maybe talk about the Lord or friends or anything. Then maybe once they’d formed a closer bond, perhaps her mother would feel comfortable enough to explain the whys of the sudden break-up of her marriage.

Nori eased to the floor and let her head fall back against the cabinets. All this time, she’d naively thought her parents were busy enjoying the beginnings of their golden years: traveling, gardening, and learning to cook together. What a crock that was. She picked up her mother’s note again and stared at it, trying to discover any nuances or hidden meanings.

Then Nori groaned, remembering her own questions as well as an accusation or two. Instead of waiting patiently for her mother to talk about the divorce as she’d hoped to do, she’d started the inquisition too soon. But what had she expected her to say with such shocking news—“I’m happy for you?”

The tears came. She clutched her nightgown like a lifeline, hoping for some reprieve. None came. She shook her head at romance and marriage and love. What kind of dreamworld had she been living in?

Oh, God, please, I need Your help. And my parents do, too. Please guide them in all things, even if they don’t want Your help.

She reached into the pantry, snatched a wad of napkins off a shelf, and blew her nose. After a shower and some whole grain toast, she dragged herself out the front door. She couldn’t imagine greeting customers in her foul state of mind, but it had to be done.

Zachary emerged from his apartment.

Oh no. She wasn’t even in the mood for friends. “Hi.”

“Hi there.” Zachary cleared his throat. “I wanted to let you know I’m going to be gone for a little while.”

Nori turned to him. “Gone?” Why was everybody leaving?

He caught up with her. “Well, I won this. . .this award, and so I need to go to a banquet.”

“An award? What kind?”

“Geophysicist of the year.

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