She Only Speaks to Butterflies

by Appleyard, Sandy

  Sherry winced trying to lift the VCR and Lee sprinted to her. “Here, let me help ya with that.”

  Grabbing hold of the other side of the machine he helped her lower it to the floor. Their fingers brushed. Sherry looked into Lee’s eyes as they remained crouched on the floor. Instinctively, they rose together. With only a small gap between them, Sherry gazed nervously at Lee. He sensed her reluctance, but despite that, he stole a quick glance at her lips.

  “Ya know the town’s gonna be all over us pretty soon. They think we’re together…and we’re not.” Sherry’s voice was hesitant and soft, like she was testing the words first before saying them out loud.

  Taking a step toward her, Lee closed the gap between them. His hand snaked around her waist. They were nose to nose as his hooded eyes searched hers. “So let’s give ‘em somethin’ to talk about,” he murmured, looping his other hand behind her neck as their lips met.

  Chapter 21

  Two years later

  “Now hand me that shirt over there, or so help me!” Sherry shouted at Denise, who was making faces at Lee instead of helping her mother.

  “Oh, don’t be so hard on her darlin’, it’s my fault.” Lee rubbed his wife’s back. “Here, let me help.” He handed her a little shirt that said, “I only cry when ugly people hold me.”

  “Thanks, hun,” Sherry smiled. “I’m sorry, I guess I didn’t get enough sleep again last night.”

  Sherry slipped the tiny shirt over her little daughter’s head. The toddler gave a toothless grin when her mother’s face appeared again. “Ya feel like playin’ hide-‘n-seek, do ya, little Leeanne?”

  Setting Leeanne down on the floor, Denise grabbed Sunny Day bear, Rainy Day bear’s cousin, and they played together. Lee kissed both his daughters and then his wife. Sherry put her arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly.

  “I love ya, baby. Sorry I’m so grumpy this mornin’.” She felt his warm breath on her neck.

  “That’s okay, sweetie. The baby’s a handful, I know.” He kissed her neck, sending delicious shivers down her spine. “Why didn’t ya wake me when she gave ya trouble last night?”

  Sherry raked her hands through Lee’s hair and kissed him softly on the lips. “Because you’d only been sleepin’ a coupla hours, and I know how hard you’ve been workin’ lately, fire season ‘n all.”

  Suddenly the phone rang, interrupting their intimate cuddle. “I’ll get it,” Sherry said, giggling at her husband’s frown.

  “Givens residence.”

  “Mornin’ Sherry,” Dr. Baker greeted. “Hope I’m not wakin’ ya or anything.”

  Sherry scoffed. “Are ya kiddin’ me? These kids have been up for hours already.”

  “Well that’s good,” Doug said warmly. “Your blood tests came back from the lab just now.”

  “Oh yeah?” Sherry was interested. “My iron low like ya thought?”

  “Not exactly,” Doug said flatly. “It seems you’ll be needin’ a much stronger multivitamin…for about the next nine months or so.”

  “Watcha talkin’ ‘bout, Doug?” Sherry’s brow furrowed. Lee noticed the concerned look on her face and embraced her from behind.

  “Sherry, yer pregnant,” Doug announced. “Congratulations.”

  She laughed, feeling tears prick the backs of her eyes. “Are ya serious? Another one?” She turned toward her smiling husband.

  “That’s right.”

  “Well, we weren’t even tryin’ this time,” Sherry blurted, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Thanks Doug, I appreciate the call.”

  “My pleasure. See ya in a coupla days.” Doug hung up.

  The knowing look on Lee’s face said he’d already figured it out. “Seems our family’s ‘bout to grow by one more,” Sherry said.

  Kissing Sherry, Lee looked down at the girls, still playing with their bears. “Ya hear that, girls? Seems yer gonna have a brother or sister pretty soon.”

  “I want a brother,” Denise said.

  “Oh yeah? Well, we’ll see what happens.” Sherry laughed, still crying joyfully.

  Denise looked up at her mother. “Momma?”

  “Yes, darlin’.”

  “If we have a boy, can we name him Chris?”

  Sherry’s eyes darted to Lee’s, who pursed his lips warmly and nodded assent after a beat. She glanced down at her daughter, bending down to her level and grasped her chin gently in her index finger and thumb. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, darlin’.”

  The End

  Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you would like to share what you thought of the book, even just a simple sentence, that would really be appreciated, but there is no pressure. Here is the link if you care to leave an honest review:

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W5QS9A0

  I’ll only keep you in suspense when you read my work, so subscribe to my mailing list, that way I can let you know when I have a new book coming out, or if I have a special discount or a free book available. It’s free, you can unsubscribe at any time, and your information is always kept confidential. Here is the link if you would like to subscribe:

  http://bit.ly/1BgKCTi

  Other Titles:

  The Message in Dad’s Bottle (inspirational/memoir) http://amzn.to/1GvMmeJ

  I’ll Never Wear a Backless Dress (inspirational/memoir) http://bit.ly/1PaQ0wl

  No Thanks, Mommy, I Peed Yesterday (memoir/kid humor) http://bit.ly/1EnIdda

  Blessed and Betrayed (romantic suspense) http://bit.ly/1yNQHb6

  The Wife of a Lesser Man (Book One of romantic suspense trilogy) http://bit.ly/1HqNjEq

  Don’t Mess with Daddy’s Girl (Book Two of romantic suspense trilogy) http://amzn.to/1A577WD

  The Wheels of Change (Book Three of romantic suspense trilogy) http://bit.ly/1HqNpvG

  Betrayal Only Comes in Green (Suspense) http://amzn.to/1cDG6pA

  Here is a quick look at Betrayal Only Comes in Green.

  ABOUT THE BOOK

  Shocked by the untimely death of his wife, Saul finds himself in the unwelcome company of his son, David.

  Saul’s new neighbours, Mary and young Suzie, befriend both men. But David and Saul pick up on subtle hints that the young mother and child have a dark secret.

  With no husband and an abrupt move to a street full of retirees, Mary is soon swayed to confide in Saul about her past, and days later, Suzie is suddenly kidnapped.

  Among few clues, no answers, and an injured girl missing, Saul is frantic. And just when a lead presents itself, the only person who can help is nowhere to be found.

  excerpt

  Chapter 1

  Saul sat in his bungalow. The drapes were shut tight even though the sun was brighter than it had been all summer. Picture windows with crank panels remained sealed. Stagnant air and dust particles danced each time Saul would inhale or exhale. No other movement was present in the one-storey home. Old newspapers lay stacked on the table and on the floor by the table, waiting to be used to start a fire that would likely never see flame.

  Margaret’s clothing was hung in the closet. Her skirts and pant suits were long outdated and moth-eaten. His bed remained unmade on his side; her side always lay smooth and unscathed. Flower-shaped soaps and dusty bath beads waited on the back of the toilet tank for a bath that would never be drawn. Mildewed towels hung on the shower curtain rod, as did Saul’s hand-washed underwear and socks.

  The landscaping on the perimeter was overgrown and choked by weeds. He paid a young boy ten dollars a week to mow the lawn; the same boy that delivered his newspapers. His four-door sedan was hardly driven; it still had the plastic on the back seats. Saul only went out to buy food on a bi-weekly basis. His medications were delivered to him. He attended church each Sunday by rote.

  Old photo albums were piled in the spare room, where an old Singer sewing machine collected dust on an oak desk. Ten years’ worth of paid bills and correspondence were stuffed inside the upper shelf of the closet in th
at room. The lower part of the old closet held Saul’s work uniforms, unworn for more than fifteen years, and fishing equipment.

  Saul and his father would fish every Sunday after church, rain or shine. The San Bernardino air allowed for year-round fishing. The tradition continued when Saul’s son David was old enough to walk. He taught him to bait the line, cast off and reel his catch in, just the way Saul was taught.

  Most of Saul’s family had died long ago. He was the youngest of three boys. His only sister died shortly after birth. His aunt, at the ripe old age of ninety-seven, lived in a home for the aged. She and his son David were Saul’s only living relatives. Aunt Bea was fifty-percent deaf and eighty-percent blind, but her mind was as sharp as a tack, and she was as mean as an angry bull. Yet Saul preferred the company of Aunt Bea over his son on any given day.

  Grumbling, Saul pulled the lever on the side of his La-Z-Boy chair and lifted himself up. The clock on the wall by the window chimed eight thirty. Walking over to the spare bedroom, Saul entered. He chose to leave the drapes closed and instead opted to switch the lights on. In the room, right where he left them, was an organized pile of unpaid bills. Shuffling through, he made sure that they were completed properly as he separated each by the provided perforation, and placed the remittance slips into an envelope.

  Selecting a pair of suit pants and a shirt and tie, Saul stripped out of his pajamas and showered. He washed, shaved, brushed his teeth and dressed swiftly. Carefully folding his pajamas and placing them on the armoir beside the bed, Saul stuffed his feet into his freshly shined leather shoes and walked out into the kitchen. His breakfast dishes could wait, the bank opened at nine-thirty, leaving him just fifteen minutes to drive there. Checking his pocket once more, Saul picked up his wallet and passbook from the table by the door, and locked the door behind him.

  The house across the street still had a for sale sign tacked to a metal post on the front lawn. It had once inhabited a middle-aged couple that divorced. A realtor had brought only a few people through in the last few weeks; the house had been on the market for months. An African-American man, who lived two doors down from Saul, was out mowing his lawn. He nodded a greeting to Saul and he reciprocated.

  Sliding into the driver’s seat, Saul inserted the key into the engine. A plume of dust swept through the vents as the air conditioning swished to life. He spotted a young woman jogging with her dog and let her pass before pulling out of his driveway. The dog, a golden retriever, was happily trotting beside his master with a green tennis ball lodged in his mouth.

  Saul arrived at the bank when the closed sign was still in the window. There was one other gentleman waiting in a makeshift line. The man nodded hello when Saul walked up next to him.

  “Beautiful day today,” the man said pleasantly.

  “That it is,” Saul returned.

  “Supposed to get hot today. I heard on the news.”

  “That’s what I heard too,” Saul answered just as the brown-haired woman opened the glass entrance doors. Her nametag read ‘Dorothy’ but he heard her coworkers call her ‘Dottie’ so many times he wondered why they hadn’t changed it.

  “Good morning, Saul,” Dottie said.

  “Morning.”

  Their exchange was so practiced, no words were required. Saul handed Dottie the remittance slips from inside the envelope, and his passbook. She keyed in the payments and placed his passbook on the printer, while giving him the payment receipts to attach to his bills. The same procedure went on each time he came into the bank. Saul would leave the bank with his receipts and updated passbook, and head home.

  However, today Saul was greeted by a young man whom he never saw before. He appeared from behind the customer service desk, as if by magic. Introducing himself as Arnold, he invited Saul to come into his office. Reluctant at first, Saul asked what it was about.

  “I’d like to talk to you about your account,” Arnold explained.

  “What about it?”

  “Please, come with me,” Arnold said pleasantly.

  Saul followed him, suddenly worried that there might be a problem with his account. Dottie had failed to mention if there was anything amiss. Maybe she signalled Arnold to come out and discuss the problem? Saul thought to himself. In the twenty years that he’d been coming to this bank, this was the first time there had ever been an issue.

  Arnold closed the door. “Please have a seat.”

  Saul obliged, pulling his suit pants up at the thighs. “Is there a problem?” he asked curiously.

  Arnold examined Saul’s full head of white hair and his stark blue eyes. His suit fit perfectly, aside from the small ponch he had in front, where the suspenders offered support.

  “Not a problem at all, sir,” Arnold answered respectfully. “I wanted to discuss your account.”

  Saul listened to the man for about fifteen seconds. He walked out of the bank vowing to never return again. Looking at his passbook, he checked to make sure they hadn’t pulled a fast one on him, since he’d always been paranoid that one day it would happen.

  To his relief, all was good. His balance was still just over two million dollars.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Thank you for reading my work. If you’ve made it this far I’d say that’s a good sign! My writing career began back in 2006 when I was up to my elbows in dirty diapers, caring for my two children. I always had a desire to write something but up until then I didn’t really know what to write.

  Inspiration struck and it took me two years but I finally wrote my first book: a fifty page memoir, and I was so excited about it. After my second book, another memoir, was self-published, I realized there was something more to it than a hobby. I’ve been writing ever since.

  Giving up my full-time career in the corporate world was not an easy decision to make. But coupled with personal reasons and the drive to do something really meaningful, was the ache of creativity that has kept me motivated for the last nine years.

  I hope this book gave you something to think about, entertained you and made you laugh at least once, because that is what I strive for when I write.

  Seeing as you’ve read most of my bio I’ll insert the mundane stuff now. I’m a married Canadian who lives in Niagara Falls with my husband, two daughters and a loving, eleven pound cat. If you would like to see more of my work it can be found at www.sandyappleyard.com.

  Happy Reading!