Chapter 1

Sarah McKinney loved flowers. Take a walk down Lakeland Street almost any morning or afternoon and you would find Sarah in the yard tending her zinnias, chrysanthemums and marigolds under the old maple tree in the front, or pruning or fertilizing her roses in the back yard. Besides her flowers, she also tended a number of foliage plants and there were shrubs and bushes of several varieties. Her yard was the envy of the neighborhood and neighbors would often ask her advice on planting and fertilizing.

Sarah had quietly turned fifty-two a week ago. There had been no party, no celebration. The day came and went without fanfare which was all right with Sarah although a little company would have been nice. The kids called and sent cards, but it had been forever since they had been in for a visit. She spent a lot of time by herself these days. Her flowers were her solace.

Not an unattractive woman by any matter of means, Sarah had allowed the sprinkling of gray to invade her short, swept back, brunette hair. Over the last seven years it had gone almost entirely silver, but despite that fact she had only a few wrinkles about the eyes and her attractive face remained pleasant to gaze upon. She ate sparingly and puttering among her flowers afforded all the exercise she needed to maintain a figure which, while it might not rival a centerfold, was nonetheless still shapely and firm for a woman her age.

She thought she heard something, perhaps Charlie, her head snapping up, but it was only some kids playing and shouting at the end of the street. She looked at her watch. It was almost time to check on Charlie anyway. She had her watch set to alarm every fifteen minutes to remind her to look in on her husband.

Charlie had Alzheimer's, was in poor physical health and confined to bed most of the time. Sarah spent most of each day talking or reading to him. He would drift into and out of lucidity, but mostly his face simply wore a vacant stare. The longest she was ever apart from him was to go to the grocery each week and even then she hurried so as to get back to him as quickly as possible.

She got to her feet, setting aside her gardening tools and walked toward the modest two story. Pausing, Sarah smiled slightly as she thought back to more pleasant times.

She had met Charlie at a college football game and the two had hit it off right away. Their relationship bloomed with Charlie's sense of humor complimenting her musical ability and introspective nature. Charlie was a business major while Sarah had majored in music. A year ahead of her, Charlie had gone straight into sales work as soon as he graduated and immediately had asked her to marry him. It would mean a move across the country and putting her own graduation on hold, but Sarah did not hesitate. They settled in Tacoma and before long a son and daughter were sharing their apartment which they both agreed was simply too small. Next came the adventure of house hunting and they had finally found the house here on Lakeland Street where they had lived ever since.

Sarah had always intended to go back and finish her degree but somehow the time was never right. Two kids and a husband to care for were quite enough to keep her busy. Then when the kids were grown and moved away, Charlie began exhibiting the telltale symptoms of the terrible disease and her every moment became focused on him as his condition slowly but inevitably worsened. Both kids were married with families of their own, Susan in Chicago and Brent in Atlanta. That far away meant reunions were usually only once a year, either at Thanksgiving or Christmas. When Charlie had become bedridden Susan had come out to stay for a few weeks to help, but her own family needed her and Sarah had insisted she could manage by herself. Since then the visits had been seldom and Sarah was filled with a longing for companionship. Oh, she had some nice neighbors, but despite being friendly and even occasionally helpful, there were none with whom she felt especially close.

To while away the hours at night, she read, watched TV and sometimes played her beloved piano although as time went on she seemed to play less and less often. It was as if her desire to express herself creatively was dying along with Charlie.

She went into the house and looked into Charlie's bedroom but he was asleep. It would be another couple of hours before his medication was due so she slipped the door closed and went back outside.

Standing on the porch Sarah smiled slightly to see a young couple walking down the sidewalk holding hands and laughing. Years ago, she thought, that would have been Charlie and her. Her thoughts drifted back as the young man's hand dropped from the girl's back to her buttocks. The girl feigned shock but then laughed and snuggled closer to the boy.

Sarah's thoughts went first to the beauty contest she had been talked into entering. It was a part of the county fair and several of her friends entered as well. Sarah's parents could not afford a formal gown as many of the girl's wore, but her mother used some of her "jelly jar" money as she called it (odd change she saved for special occasions) to buy some pretty material and made a lovely dress for the pretty fifteen year old. To her own surprise more than anyone else's she was first runner up to an eighteen year old who acted rather snooty and told the other girls they might as well drop out, for her winning was a foregone conclusion. At the time they had simply thought the girl was full of herself, but when she did win (although everyone said Sarah was much prettier) there was some speculation which weeks later was indeed found to be true that the winner had actually slept with one of the judges then dumped him when the contest was over. It was only his disgruntlement at being dumped so rudely that allowed the truth to prevail.