The Other Side of the World by Suzanne Whitfield Vince

Author:Suzanne Whitfield Vince [Vince, Suzanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Indie Author Project

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Christmas Day, 2005

San Francisco, California

Christmas was bittersweet for Rowan. Her mother had survived the pneumonia, and had been home for a few weeks now. But her time in the hospital had taken a toll on her, physically and emotionally. She didn't seem to have much fight left in her.

Upon discharge, the doctor recommended--and Natalie concurred--that the girls hire a full-time caregiver for their mother. Rowan balked at first, claimed she could care for their mother herself, but soon realized she was not up to the task. Barbara Hemsworth--Bobbie, for short--arrived two days before Christmas, and had already won the hearts of all three Nolen women.

Christmas Day arrived with a flurry of activity and mountains of gifts. Natalie's children--Sam, age four and Callie, almost three--squealed with delight and laughter at the bounty Santa had brought them. Paper flew in every direction, followed by rounds of oohs and aahs.

Rowan sat in muted silence, seeing but not hearing the activity, her eyes locked onto her mother. Tears slid down her mother's cheeks as she watched her grandchildren, a look of total adoration affixed to her thin but still beautiful face.

In that moment, Rowan felt a current of love so powerful it stole the breath from her lungs. She closed her eyes and took in every sound. Every giggle. Every rip of paper. Every melodic note of music playing in the background. She could even hear her mother weeping. It was, without a doubt, the most brilliant moment of her life. A moment she would remember as long as she lived. A moment she wished she could share in a letter to Tanner. But that wasn't going to happen. He had never responded to her last letter, and she had agonized for weeks about it. She'd gone from worrying something had happened to him, to wondering whether he'd ever received her letter, and finally to believing he had returned to the States and had chosen to end their friendship. She didn't blame him. Who was she to him? A friend who had maybe helped to make things a little better during a difficult time? And now, God willing, he was back home--to Sonoma or wherever he was stationed now--getting on with his life. And he'd probably long since forgotten about her.

"Thinking about Evan?"

At the sound of her sister's voice, Rowan started. Evan had decided to spend Christmas in Tahoe with some of his work buddies, rather than with her. When she'd asked, "Do your friends know you have a family?" Evan had responded with, "What family? It's just you and me. You decided that when you left the accounting firm. Remember?" No, Rowan was most definitely not thinking about Evan.

She smiled at her sister. "No, I was just taking it all in. The kids' laughter. The smile on Mom's face. We're very blessed, you know."

The girls watched as Callie climbed off her father's lap and onto her grandmother's with a new book in her hand. "Will you read it to me, Grandma?" she asked.

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