31. Anna
Anna
A nna stepped into her cottage and leaned back against the door. The silence was both welcome and unnerving. She wanted to hide away from the world, but the thought of being alone kindled a familiar fear.
Closing her eyes, she prayed for the tenth time today. It was the only thing that had given her the strength to stay at the office when she really wanted to run home and hide.
Her mom hadn’t returned to her office, but their next meeting lurked somewhere in the near future. Catherine wasn’t one to give up without a huge fight.
The sounds of an approaching vehicle turned Anna’s attention to the window by the door. Olivia stepped out of her car and bounded up the porch steps .
Flinging open the door, Anna wrapped her arms around her friend.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” Olivia whispered against Anna’s hair.
“I’m so glad you came.” She needed a hug in the worst way.
Olivia pulled back to get a good look at Anna’s face. “What’s wrong?”
Anna didn’t try to stop the instinctual eye roll. “Mom.”
Liv huffed. “I knew it. She won’t let you have a minute of peace.”
“The good news is that I stayed at work all day after she brought out her sword the minute I got to the office.”
Liv resumed their hug. “That’s my girl! I’m so proud of you.”
It wasn’t much to some people, but Anna’s first instinct was to either run from conflict or cower and submit. Standing up for herself was going to take practice.
Anna pulled Liv toward the door. “Come in. I’ll make us some baked chicken while we talk.”
“I can never turn down your food. Other than your unwelcome visitor, how was work?”
“Pretty good actually. I tried to focus on the things I needed to get done instead of the awful conversation with Mom.”
Olivia stopped and propped a hand on her hip. “ Was it really a conversation, or did she yell at you and storm out?”
Anna gathered the ingredients she’d need while Olivia searched for a pen and paper. She always wrote down the recipe whenever Anna cooked dinner for them. “You’re right. Not much of a conversation if she didn’t hear or care about anything I said.”
Liv sat at the table and clicked her pen open. “Enough about her. Tell me about the trip.”
Reliving the trip only reinforced Anna’s feelings for Beau. He’d put himself and his wants aside for her multiple times, and the longing in her heart grew deeper.
Anna checked the potatoes in the oven and tossed the potholder aside. “Would you mind if I invited him to have dinner with us?”
Olivia smiled and propped her chin on her hand. “Not at all. Do I need to make myself scarce?”
“No way. Beau isn’t like Dean, and to be honest, I’m not the same as I was when I was with him.” Anna wrung her hands. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the best friend to you. I shouldn’t have let him come between us.”
Olivia stood and wrapped her arms around Anna. Hugs were so good for aching hearts.
“I forgive you, and I’ll always be here,” Olivia whispered .
Anna tightened her embrace. “I’m so glad you’re my friend.”
“Always and forever,” Liv confirmed. “Now, call Beau, and tell him to hurry because I’m starving.”
Anna didn’t have to be told twice. Beau had sent her a good morning text, but they hadn’t talked since. When the call rang the third time, she was sure he wouldn’t answer.
“Hello.”
“Hey!” Okay, maybe that was a little too peppy. Everything with Beau was new, and the last thing she wanted to do was scare him off by being too excited. At least, Dean had always been annoyed by her happiness. She’d been told to “chill out” more times than she wanted to admit.
“How was your day?” Beau asked.
“It was fine.” There. She hadn’t made a big deal over the encounter with her mom, but she also wasn’t giggling with excitement, though that was exactly what she wanted to do now that she was talking to Beau.
“That’s it? You don’t want to tell me about it?”
Anna glanced at Olivia, not sure how to answer Beau’s follow-up question.
“I doubt you want to hear about it.”
“Of course I do.”
There were plenty of noises in the background. It was almost seven thirty, but he was still in the garage and giving her his full attention .
“Oh, well would you like to come over for dinner? Liv is here too, and I’m making baked chicken.”
“I need to shower, and I’ll be on my way. Give me twenty minutes.”
“You don’t have to rush.”
“Anna, I’m on my way. I’ll see you soon.”
“Okay.” He didn’t sound put out or irritated that she’d clearly pulled him away from work. “See you soon.”
Anna ended the call, and Olivia was standing right beside her with a smile that could rival the Cheshire cat’s grin.
“He really likes you. Did you know he works until about nine every night?”
Anna looked at her phone. What had she done? He said they needed time to get things in order after being gone for a week, and here she was already asking for his time. “I shouldn’t have called him.”
“You most certainly should have. He needs a life outside of the garage. There just hasn’t been anything else he cared about until now.”
Oh no. Anna’s defenses were crumbling. There was a tingling in her nose and a lump in her throat that refused to be ignored.
“I…I just…”
Olivia opened her arms and patted her shoulder a mere second before Anna’s tears made their abrupt appearance. The sobs wracked her frame as Olivia brushed a hand over Anna’s hair.
“That’s it. You haven’t done enough crying since that bad man hurt you. Let it out so you can move on.”
“I’m not crying over him! I don’t even care anymore.”
“I know exactly what you mean. Even if you’re happier without him, you were still betrayed, and it’s okay to be hurt by that. I think anyone would be.”
That was it. The betrayal hurt, not the loss of Dean in her life. Actually, not a single one of her tears was for him. It was the look in her mom’s eyes that upset her the most.
“And I’m so proud of you,” Olivia continued. “You’ve handled it all really well, and I’m excited about all the happiness you have ahead of you.”
“What about my mom? She’s not going to be happy.”
Olivia chuckled. “We don’t care if she’s happy. She could stomp on you all day and still look like she ate a handful of sour grapes. Don’t let her hurt you.”
Liv was right. Catherine would never be happy, and there wasn’t anything Anna could do to change that. Trying would only make both of them miserable.
Anna lifted her head and wiped at her tear- stained cheeks. “You’re right. I don’t think there’s anything I can do that would make her happy besides go back to Dean.”
Olivia’s nose scrunched. “Ew. That’s the worst thing you could do.”
“I know, but Mom thinks I should just act like it never happened. I can’t be in a relationship like that. I won’t. If that’s how Dad has treated her, then I feel really bad for her.”
Olivia reached for Anna’s hand and squeezed. “My mom was the happiest woman on Earth, and there were two reasons for that. She put God first, and she had a good man standing beside her who reminded her to keep doing just that.”
“Yeah. My parents despise anything to do with God. It makes me physically ill when I think about how closed off they are to any talk about God.”
“That’s because you care about them despite the way they treat you,” Olivia said. “And we should all feel that way. We’re not called to only share the gospel with the people we like. We’re told to go into the world teaching all nations about Christ.”
“I just wish it didn’t hurt so much.”
Anna was used to her parents’ dismissal, but most times, she couldn’t discern whether they were rejecting God or her.
Olivia squeezed Anna’s hand, reminding her of the ever-present and unwavering friendship that was always a phone call away .
“Your parents are human and fallible. Your heavenly Father is not, and His love is unconditional. You’re doing great.”
Olivia was right. Anna had too many blessings to sit around letting the bad control her life.
The oven timer beeped, and the women separated. Anna grabbed two oven mitts and reached for the hot casserole dish. “You always know just what to say. Do you get that from Beau or does he get that from you?”
Olivia blinked a few times before stammering, “Um, I’m not sure I was aware that Beau was capable of saying the right thing at the right time.”
Anna set the baked chicken dish on the counter and covered her mouth with the back of her mit to hide the chuckle.
“What are you laughing about?” Olivia asked, clearly outraged.
“It’s just that Beau isn’t who I thought he was at all. I feel so stupid. Why did it take me this long to see him?”
Olivia shrugged and pulled a fork out of the silverware drawer. “There’s a time for every purpose under heaven I guess.”
Anna swatted Olivia’s hand as she reached the fork toward the chicken. “We’re not eating until Beau gets here.”
“Are you kidding me? I’m starving, and the food is right there! ”
Grabbing Olivia’s hand, Anna pulled her friend toward the hallway. “Come on. You can help me organize the clothes that came in while I was out of town.”
Olivia threw her head back and groaned. “I just need food.”
There was a knock on the door, and Olivia quickly shouted, “Come in!”
Anna glared at her friend. “So much for stranger danger.”
“It has to be someone with the gate code. I texted it to Beau.”
When Beau walked in, the whole world stood still. He wore a plain blue T-shirt and faded jeans, and he was completely and perfectly himself and nothing else.
His gaze lifted straight to her, and the grin that still felt like a secret between them spread over his lips.
Letting go of Olivia’s hand, Anna closed the distance between her and Beau. As soon as his strong arms were around her, peace settled over her tired bones.
This was it. This was everything she’d been missing. Beau wasn’t her crutch, he was her motivation when times got tough. He was peace and hope and safety all at once.
His breath was warm as he whispered against her ear, “I missed you. ”
Beau was patching up her heart with pieces of his and wrapping himself around her, protecting her from anything that could ever hurt her again.