Chapter 13

Dinner with Mike Collins was a delight. Cynthia told of her marriage to Ed, her daughters, and being kidnapped with the fear of being killed. Mike told her of a girl he met in college. Their ten year affair with her refusal of marriage. She wanted to live with him but not be married. They broke up five years ago. Her reason for not marrying him was because he chose to go into the FBI. Her name was Marilyn and was a beautiful blonde with no loyalty to her country. She wanted all the benefits of the United States but had a bitter distaste for the leaders of this nation no matter what their party affiliation.

"I think you're lucky to be free from her."

"She moved to France believing they are the only civilized nation on Earth," Mike told her. "If you didn't bring up politics or religion she was as sweet as any woman. Bring up either you had a tiger by the tail. She would rant and rave until she was too exhausted to continue."

"I'm not political and I was mad at God for taking Ed away from me, but over the months I've accepted the fact that he was a part of my life and now I'm ready, for my daughters' sake, to move on. I think we should close chapters and put them behind us and go on from there."

"How difficult of a time did you have living with your husband? I hear his home was pretty much in shambles when you were dropped off by those thugs. It's a good thing that they died because they'd still be behind bars for a long time by now."

"It was difficult at first. I resented being forced against my will to stay there with him even though he was just as confused as I was. It was so cold that we had to move the sofa to the fireplace to stay warm. I hated getting up in the morning because it was almost as cold in the house as it was out. The only thing the house was good for was cutting down on the wind when it howled. We heard it but didn't have to go outside except for Ed to get some wood for the fireplace. We'd snuggle on the sofa just to keep each other warm. I tried to hold out but lust got the best of me one night. We made love and that's how Jennifer was conceived. I realized I loved Ed, and we married once the weather let up.

"I hear that you wrote two best sellers about your kidnapping and falling in love with your... uh..."

"Husband!" she exclaimed.

"Would you like dessert?"

"Oh heavens no. I don't have long to keep this girlish figure. When I'm old and gray, I'll have those wonderful sweets."

"Then shall we go?"

Cynthia gave him a smile and slight nod.

Standing at the door, Mike leaned down to kiss Cynthia. He was surprised when she didn't turn her face away. As his lips almost reached hers, she ran her tongue across them to receive his mouth. They held the chaste kiss for just a few moments. When Cynthia broke it, she smiled at Mike. "Thank you for the lovely night. And of course the wonderful dinner."

"Do you think we can do this again?"

"Of course," she pecked his cheek then disappeared into the house. Cynthia stood with her back to the door with her eyes closed. Soon tears spilled out of her closed lids and down the cheeks. She felt like she had betrayed Ed so soon after his death. Since she was to start at the hospital in the morning and needed her rest, she slowly climbed the steps and looked in on her girls. Jenny and Anna were sound asleep. She heard her father down the hall snoring loudly. Vanessa was quiet due to the sleeping pill she was given at bedtime.

After undressing, she slipped on a burgundy silky full length nightgown. She crawled into bed and just lay there. Cynthia's life had been regimented first by her parents and also by Ed. Although she made the major decisions in her union with her late husband, she openly praised him. Now the only praise she could give was to her well behaved daughters. Cynthia still was at a loss on what to do. Phoenix was so hot in the summer, Canada was too cold in the winter. She had to put her girls first above all things.

Gladys awoke in the hospital. She couldn't remember what happened to her. She was in dire pain. It even hurt to breathe. She tried to think what had occurred to her. Where was Holly? They were returning home from a fun time in the West Edmonton Mall then everything turned black.

"You're awake," a matronly nurse approached the bed.

"Why am I here?" the words barely escaped her mouth. She winced in agony as if every bone in her body was broken.

"You don't recall what happened last week?"

Gladys shook her head slightly. 'Last week?' she thought. "What happened last week?" she asked.

"Constable Holly Le June had an aneurysm while driving north. She died in the crash. We didn't think you'd make it either. You're a lucky girl."

"Why couldn't I have died then too?"

"I'm sorry, you were brought here by ambulance and the doctors didn't give you much of a chance surviving the crash. You broke both you legs when the engine came into the front seat. You'll be in two casts a long time before you can walk again. You've got a lot of contusions and abrasions but fortunately for you, your very pretty face is none the worse."