Al said, “Gracie, you are a blessing to me and
other folks around here. I’m going upstairs and sticking my nose in a book.” On
his way up the stairs Al leaned over and kissed Gracie on the cheek. “Good
night,” he said, “Thanks for a wonderful evening, and I don’t mean just the
food. You are a blessing to me.” Gracie smiled as he went past. She heard him go
up the stairs, and she sat back in Ray’s chair. With her eyes closed it would
be difficult to see the tiny tear form.
Al sat on his
chair reading for an hour or so and then got ready for bed. He knew the week
would be busy, and he was going to be dragging by Wednesday night. As he got
into bed and pulled up the fresh smelling sheet and comforter he thanked God
for Gracie. Before giving in to his tiredness he thought about the sermon of
the morning and prayed that he might be ready for the unexpected from God.
The flashes of light were blinding. Al tried to
make out the hands on the big wind-up alarm clock. It was just past midnight.
The flashes increased to a steady strobe. The pillow over his head did nothing
to mitigate neither the pain nor the nausea. After an hour of wrestling with
the light and pain, exhaustion won and the battered man fell asleep.
The morning light found him on the floor, half way
to the bathroom. He didn’t want Gracie
to know, so he pulled himself together and made it into the shower. He let the
hot water run over his aching and tired body. When he was shaved and dressed,
he headed down the stairs and made it past Gracie. Once out the door, he walked
over to Chuck’s place.
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