Did you miss Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, or Part VI?

“That was delicious, thank you.”

Carol Ryder put down the plate that had held a piece of the best chocolate cake she’d ever put in her mouth. She had been surprised when she’d bumped into Kathy outside the textile plant, and even more so at the invitation to come over and chat. Since she’d called Billy earlier and told him she would be late coming home, she saw no reason to decline. Besides, she’d been lonelier than usual the past few days and could use the company.

“You’re welcome, Carol. Can I get you anything else? Some tea, perhaps?” asked Kathy. Carol nodded affirmatively and headed to the den. “You really have a lovely place, Kathy. It must be nice to have the time to keep it up.”

“Well, I do a little here and there and eventually it gets done. Of course, Jack and Jacob help out quite a bit, too.” As soon as she had said it, she wanted to take it back. She had meant to not mention her husband since she wasn’t sure how painful the thought of a man around the house might be for Carol. “Please forgive me, “she whispered to Carol, her voice painfully hushed. “I didn’t mean…” Her voice trailed off as she realized that nothing she said could fix the awkwardness. She sat in the silence, kicking herself for being so insensitive.

After what seemed like forever, Carol spoke. “I miss him. I miss suppers together, the walks in the woods, even the fights. I miss so many things about him, but what I miss the most is his warm breath on the back of my neck when he’d hold me at night. It always made me feel so secure. At night, when I can’t sleep, I go crazy remembering that feeling. Kathy, I don’t know if I can do this alone anymore.”

The Chief walked into his kitchen, reached on top of the fridge, and turned on the scanner. Then he got busy pulling out all the necessary ingredients for his “Still Sub” – ham, turkey, bologna, swiss, ketchup, mustard, mayo and banana peppers. He had just enough time to fix two subs before the game started. Tonight was the Rams and the Cowboys, and Chief Stiller was anticipating a Cowboys’ rout. He turned on the TV from the kitchen and listened to the pre-game while he finished up the food. A few minutes later he was sitting in his favorite chair, sinking his teeth into the first sub and cheering the Cowboys to a win. It was 9:05 pm.

Tomorrow: Courage – Part VIII