A Couple is Three: The Beginning (book 1 & 2 Completed)

Chapter 54 - Choices

Wednesday Morning, Last week of August, Winnipeg, MB

Samantha woke up with a groan. She reached over to shut off her alarm clock and then flopped back onto her pillow. She was tired and sore after the long day at work and the church. It also didn't help that she had had trouble sleeping without the boys next to her.

She snuggled back into her pillow and pulled the two pillows with new t-shirts from the boys closer. She was thankful that she had time before she needed to get up. Time to think about the strangeness of the previous weekend.

The strangeness had actually started the morning after the bar-b-q. The three of them had slept later than normal so by the time the three of them headed out for their run Sharron was already awake and in the kitchen. Sharron had given them all a kiss on the cheek and asked if they had slept well. They had all breathed a sigh of relief when Sharron never mentioned anything about the room that she had exited from.

Sharron had then kept her close all day, really all weekend, while they prepared for the weekend away. Even Sherry had raised her eyes a few times questioning how Sharron had been acting. She, on the other hand, had enjoyed her time with Sharron. The things that they had talked about only served to increase her belief in the love that Sharron had for her children and anyone that she considered part of the family. Sharron had even mentioned that she was beginning to think of Samantha like another daughter.

The time spent together wasn't in and of itself strange, but the fact that Sharron never once mentioned Cheryl the whole weekend was what was strange. In the past, Sharron had always regaled her with stories about Cheryl. Not that she was complaining though.

Lily had kept to herself. During the day, Lily had only interacted with her and the moms when she absolutely had to. The rest of the time Lily had kept to her room telling everyone that she had a headache.

Initially it hadn't bothered her that Lily seemed to be staying away, but as the weekend went on and the same thing continued to happen, she had gotten a little worried. Both Jake and Josh told her not to worry as Lily had often been this withdrawn throughout the year. The only saving grace was that by the time the boys competed on Saturday afternoon, Lily was talking with her again even though Lily had stopped once again when the boys arrived.

All in all a strange weekend which was cut short when her parents and brother showed up with some relatives to watch the rodeo on Sunday. They had all stayed for supper, but then her parents insisted that she travel back with them. They all tried to get her parents to relent, even Sharron, but they prevailed. She had returned to her relative's farm for the night and then traveled home with her family the next day.

Before she left, Sharron had talked her parents into letting her spend the long weekend with them so that she could meet the older boys. Sharron had used the excuse that with school starting, they would not be able to visit much. She had been thankful for Sharron's persuasion. She hadn't been ready to leave her boys for an extended period of time or possibly ever right then.

Coming home had been the normal adjustment. They had arrived home late on Monday afternoon and spent the time unpacking and getting groceries. Dan had called her to welcome her home and invite her out for coffee with some of the others from their bible study group. Her parents had been happy with the call and quickly gave their permission.

Dan had picked her up after supper and they met the others at a local shop. As much as she hadn't wanted to go, in the end she was thankful. Spending time with her friends had helped her to partially fill in the holes left by not being with Josh and Jake. Although receiving exits from them throughout the evening helped as well.

It was during coffee that she found out that the church had decided to put on another last minute half day Vacation Bible Study for toddlers and elementary students. All her friends were helping out and they wanted her to pitch in whenever she could. She quickly agreed knowing that she needed to keep busy to help her get through the next few days until she could go back to her boys.