Free Marriage Seasons 03 - Falling for You Again by Gary Chapman, Catherine Palmer Page A

suddenly ripped open?
    “On second thought, Bitty, just give me one of your plain omelets. Maybe a sprinkle or two of cheese.”
    Bitty took the change in stride. “Coming right up.”
    “A cheery good morning to you, Miss Pringle,” Charlie Moore sang out as he stepped toward her. “You’re looking lovely, as usual.”
    At the sight of the white-haired gentleman and his little wife standing arm in arm, Patsy smiled. “Hey there, you two lovebirds. Esther, your hair’s so pretty today. You’re not pulling a Benedict Arnold on me and trying out a new salon, are you?”
    “Don’t be silly, Patsy,” Esther said, touching her well-sprayed coiffure with her fingertips. “I did this myself, and it’s just awful. Last week I wasn’t up to attending the Tea Lovers’ Club or having my hair done. I didn’t even make it to church on Sunday.”
    “She’s been feeling puny,” Charlie inserted.
    “Anyhow, I’ve got no choice but to get out on my feet today.”
    “How so?” Patsy absently tucked a sprig of Esther’s hair into place. “Where are you off to at this hour of the morning?”
    “Springfield,” Esther told her. “We’ve got doctor appointments.”
    “Gonna have our arteries checked,” Charlie clarified. “Make sure we don’t have anything gumming up the works. Might have to auger ’em out to keep us both ticking for a few more years.”
    “My accident, you know. One little mishap, and the doctors insist on examining you from head to toe.”
    “And inside out.”
    “I feel perfectly fine,” Esther chirped. “Charlie’s got all those years of carrying mail behind him. We’re fit as a pair of fiddles. Seems like a waste of time to drive all the way down to Springfield, but we’re planning to do a little Christmas shopping at the big mall there. You know how I love to give presents.”
    “And get ’em too.” Charlie grinned at his wife.
    “Esther, you do the prettiest wrapping in Deepwater Cove,” Patsy told her friend. “Last year, you tied a white crocheted star onto the gift you gave me, remember? I saved it to hang on my Christmas tree.”
    “It was a snowflake, not a star, and be thankful you’ve still got it. There won’t be any more of those, I assure you. I nearly wore my fingers to the bone with all that needlework.”
    “Order’s up, Patsy!” Bitty announced. “One cheese omelet. I threw in a few potatoes for you too.”
    With distressing visions of skirt seams splitting, a competing manicure business moving in next door, and Pete Roberts looking at her with moony blue eyes, Patsy almost forgot to pay for her breakfast. As she passed Charlie and Esther on her way to the door, she saw the elderly man bend down and gently kiss his wife’s cheek. Clenching her sack, Patsy stepped out into the crisp autumn morning and hurried toward her salon.
    Just As I Am . She read the sign silently. The good Lord loves me just as I am, she told herself. Remember that, Patsy Pringle.

CHAPTER FIVE
    What is plaque, anyhow?” Esther asked. Seated beside her husband in the car, she gazed out the window at the majestic Ozark hills as they drove toward Camdenton. Cloaked in shades of red, gold, and brown, the trees were reaching the peak of their colorful display. Esther had always loved autumn at the lake. Brisk breezes ruffled the water and whispered through the leaves. Docks emptied as people tucked their boats away for the winter. Canada geese flew overhead, squirrels hunted for nuts, and deer bounded into the woods from the roadside.
    “Some kind of sticky goop, I guess. The doctor said it was a mix of cholesterol, calcium, and … what was it? Oh, fibrous tissue.”
    Behind the wheel, Charlie looked as he always had. Handsome and earnest but with the hint of a smile at the corners of his mouth. Esther studied the rays of the setting sun as they lit up a farmer’s stubbled field and round bales of hay.
    “I don’t like the idea of anyone putting a balloon into my arteries or poking