Page 86 of Grounded
“It happened another time not long after. I was just ready to finish off the whole bottle when you heard me crying and knocked on the back door. I’m sorry about being so rude. I just can’t tell you how much pain I was in,” Stella said, letting go of the sweater tail and pulling the cardigan close around her, visibly shivering over the memory of it.
“It’s okay,” Annie said. “I’m glad I disturbed you now.”
Stella smiled. “After that second time, I thought God might be trying to tell me something. I started taking some of the coverings off the windows, letting more light in. I was going after midnight to get groceries when I needed them and many times I would stay up until dawn, so I could sit by the creek without anyone seeing me. One morning when I was out there, I saw a beautiful flower growing by the house. I don’t know what kind it was, but it reminded me of a song I learned years ago at that church in Georgia.Remember the lilies of the field, for Solomon dressed in royal robes has not the worth of them.It has more verses than that, but that one line was all I could remember. But it made me think that if God dresses lilies like that, then doesn’t he care for me? Something changed inside me then, and I knew he did.”
Stella took a deep breath. “I felt like I had a new direction, but then I went to get groceries and forgot the burning candle. And when I saw the fire, I felt like I had messed up big this time. I didn’t know what to do but run away.” Stella rubbed both palms on her pants. “I am terribly sorry for how I treated you both, especially after your kindness. And I don’t know how long it will take, but I will work to pay you back for all the repairs to the house.”
“Stella, you don’t owe us anything,” Beulah said. “There’ll be insurance for that. We’re so glad you came to us.”
“You are?” Stella’s eyes widened behind the glasses.
“Of course,” Annie said, reaching over to clasp Stella’s hand. “It was meant to be.”
Jeb stood. “I guess I better get Stella to her hotel and leave you ladies to rest.”
“What? With fried chicken ready to put on the table?” Beulah said.
He looked at Stella. “It’s up to you, Stella, but if you’ve never had Beulah’s fried chicken, it would be a big mistake to leave now after that invitation.”
Stella smiled for the first time and Beulah thought she looked like a hundred-pound weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Beulah heard the back door open and loud footsteps pound through the kitchen. Woody appeared in the doorway.
“I was dropping off a few more tomato cages and I smelled chicken,” he said, his eyes scanning the room. He saw Stella and something in his expression changed.
“Well, how do?” Woody offered her his hand.
Stella stood and extended her hand too. For a moment, it seemed as if they were the only people in the room.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Annie couldn’t believe how wrong she was about Stella. And to think she had simply walked away when Stella was about to end her life inside that stone house. Thank God nothing happened.
She stared up at the ceiling of her room, plaster peeled in the corner and the old Victorian light fixture hung just as it had when she was a teenager. Time and time again, she had rested on this very bed and stared at that same light fixture, the gold shade decorated with pink flowers and the ornate brass curlicues holding the lightbulb under the shade.
She had always walked away. It was how she handled the difficult things of life.
Like walking away from Jake those many years ago … he was right. Deep down, she had known he wanted more, but it had scared her. She was afraid it would keep her from leaving this place, and she had to get out and see the world. Brett was never someone she could have married, not like Jake. Marriage and a baby had kept her mother here, and she had died before ever seeing a single thing outside of Kentucky. Annie had walked away so she could get away.
But for every action, there is a consequence.Doesn’t the Bible say something about reaping what you sow?There was a price to be paid for freedom, and now it was time to pay. As her grandfather always said, “If you make your bed, you have to lay in it.”
Annie knew in her soul she didn’t want to walk away anymore. Courage mounted and she pulled out her cell phone and made the call.
Annie had to hold the phone away from her ear while Bob Vichy let out a tirade of curses.
“I’m sorry, Bob. But remember, the airline fired me.”
“I know, but you don’t know what I’ve gone through to get you back on!” He screamed the words in her ear.
“Calm down, Bob, you’re going to have a heart attack. Listen, you find a week when you can bring your wife down here, and we’ll treat you to some home cooking and a soft bed. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Boy, I need it, but if I keep having to deal with people like you, I don’t know when I’ll get a week off!” He was softening, she could tell.
“You’ve got my number, and the invitation stands. Call whenever you’re ready.” She hung up the phone, feeling a smile spread across her face. Free! She was free! She threw her hands in the air and shouted, “Hallelujah!”
Two more phone calls.
“Annie, where’ve you been?”
