Free Broken Ties by Gloria Davidson Marlow

returned her to the car, where Sidra cracked the windows so the crisp, cool air could blow through.
    She followed Levi inside, and as they walked past the displays of chintzy souvenirs and postcards, Sidra stopped and picked up a small silver spoon. An alligator was engraved in the bowl and a palm tree formed the top of the handle, and she smiled.
    “I had one of these,” she said softly. “I remember carrying it in my bag from house to house.”
    “Where did it come from?”
    She had a vague recollection of a woman holding the spoon out to her and promising her in a soft, soothing voice that everything was going to turn out fine.
    “I don’t know. Probably a place just like this.” There was no use sharing something that might be a memory and might be nothing more than her imagination. She placed the spoon back on the shelf. “I guess we’d better eat and hit the road.”
    “Will you order for me?” she asked, once the waitress had placed their drinks on the table and gone away to give them time to look over the menu. “I’ll have a cheeseburger.”
    “Where are you going?”
    “The restroom.”
    He looked around, and she stood up.
    “You don’t have to keep me safe in the restroom, Levi. I’ve been using it on my own for a while now.”
    “Where is it?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing.
    “I saw one by the souvenirs.”
    When it was obvious he was considering following her out and waiting for her, she sighed in exasperation.
    “I am going to the restroom, and you are going to stay here and order our food. It will take way too much time for you to follow me, when it’s just right on the other side of the door.”
    “Fine.” He grabbed her by the hand before she left. “Straight there and straight back, and keep your eyes open, Sidra. I don’t think anyone followed us, but it’s always possible.”
    Her nerves were on edge as she hurried past the bathroom and out the front door of the convenience store. She had to act fast if she intended to leave him behind. She searched the parking lot, dismissing a young couple getting into a car decorated with shaving cream and crepe paper, as well as the white-haired grandparents buckling two small children into their car seats. Her eyes fell on a woman alone, dressed in a charcoal gray pantsuit and black heels. A small, compact purse was clutched to her side, and she walked with a quick, determined gait that told Sidra she wouldn’t abide any nonsense but would sympathize with another woman put in a difficult position by a man.
    If life had taught her nothing else, it was how to pick the person who would be in her corner and make the best of the situation by befriending them. She grabbed her bag and raised her hand in greeting.
    “Excuse me, miss!” she called, grimacing when the woman turned around. “My boss and I were on our way to Tallahassee, but he’s in the Roadhouse, drunk as a skunk, and I can’t get him out of there. I’d take the car and leave him, but he won’t give me the keys.”
    The woman looked uninterested for a moment, and Sidra pushed on.
    “I have to give a huge presentation tomorrow morning at Frasier and Sons. We were supposed to be at the hotel in Orlando long before dark so I could go over my PowerPoint presentation and speech tonight.” Her eyes darted around. “The only hotel I see here is shoddy, to say the least, and I just don’t feel comfortable staying there. Especially with him.”
    She added a small shudder that softened the woman’s face with sympathy. Seeing her opening, she pressed on.
    “If we’re not there in time to give the presentation, he’ll blame me, and I can’t afford to lose my job.”
    The woman frowned for a second, but in the end, her face softened and she smiled.
    “I’m only going halfway there, but I can give you a ride that far.”

Chapter Nine
    She climbed into the passenger’s seat and the woman backed out of the space. They were pulling out of the parking lot when she looked in the