Page 53 of Sean
He had a feeling he knew what she meant.He’d tried not to wince at the name, but apparently, he’d failed.Even so, he asked, “Do what?”
“Every time I mention Matthew’s name, you get this weird look on your face, like you just walked into a room and smelled roasted roadkill.”
Sean lowered his gaze to the counter.He’d wanted to redirect her conversation but he wasn’t sure that this was any better.Matthew Wright was just the first step in a long series of mishaps that had led him home to Garfield to raise his son alone.He didn’t know if sharing the story would heal him or hurt him, but he knew that, after the last two weeks of missing Monica’s company, if he brushed her questions aside now, he might not get another chance to talk to her.
He looked around the room and saw a Keurig next to the stove with a carousel of pods beside it.“I could use a cup of coffee, how about you?”
“Sure, tell me what kind you like.”
Sean got to his feet.The story rumbled in his mind and he wasn’t sure that a cup of coffee would help the indigestion roiling in his stomach but he needed something for his hands to do while he sorted it out.“I’ll get it.”
Monica sat on a second bar stool and leaned her back and elbows against the counter.“I’ll take the triple chocolate.The cups are in the cupboard right above you.”
Sean flashed her a grin.“Grace Community was my second home when I was growing up.I could find my way around this kitchen blindfolded.”He brewed two cups of coffee, which didn’t take nearly long enough.Sean’s steps were slow as he returned to the bar with a cup in each hand.
He set a cup in front of Monica.“M’lady.”He sat again and looked through the window that separated the kitchen from the fellowship hall.
“He’s fine,” Monica said.
Sean took a cautious sip of his coffee.He wasn’t surprised that Monica had mistaken his gaze into the fellowship hall as checking on his son when, in reality, he was about to begin a story with an ending that beat out any horror movie he’d ever seen.“It all started when I was fourteen.”
Chapter 14
The words left Sean’smouth in a whisper.He’d never shared the totality of this story with anyone except his parents and Benjamin.Brittany had known, of course but she’d lived and died through it so maybe her knowledge didn’t count.What he saw in Monica’s eyes brought him a little comfort.Sympathy but not pity.Expectation but not demand.
“The summer I was fourteen, Dad took us on the only family vacation I ever remember having.Mom had been hounding him for years to take a week off so we could all go to Disney World.He finally gave in.”
Monica raised her eyebrows.“How fun.”
“It felt a little too good to be true, but we were excited.I still remember the night Mom came into our room and told us to pack our bags.It was Saturday, and we were leaving on Monday morning for ten glorious days.By the time I went to bed that night my room was a shambles, but my bags were packed and sitting beside my bedroom door.My mind was already on a roller coaster somewhere in Orlando.”
“It wasn’t until we reached our hotel that we found out why Dad had agreed to the trip.The car was barely unloaded Tuesday evening before Benjamin and I were begging to go to Disney.That’s when Dad told us that the parks had to wait until Thursday.”
“Why the delay?Who goes to Orlando and doesn’t hit the parks first thing?”
“Hunter Conklin, that’s who, and by default, Mom, Benjamin, and me.”Sean rushed to the next part of the story without giving Monica a chance to respond.“There was a huge crusade in Orlando that year.The two people Dad wanted to hear were both speaking on Wednesday.He’d decided that the first day of our vacation would be spent going to church in an arena with thousands of other people.Not an excursion we’d planned for.”He drained the last of his lukewarm coffee before meeting Monica’s gaze again.“One of the speakers was Matthew Wright.”
