SARAH PALMER LEANED BACK AND closed her eyes. The word she was searching for was on the tip of her tongue, but somehow kept eluding her. If I just clear my mind, it will come, she told herself as she tried to relax. She sat still for several minutes, drifting off, but was suddenly brought back to reality by the touch of a hand on her shoulder.
“Writer’s block, Sarah?”
She turned toward her husband who was standing behind her.
“It’s just a word, David,” she said, shaking her head in frustration. “I know it’s there, but I can’t find it.”
“Why don’t you turn off that damn computer, put your jeans on, and come sailing with us. You can finish when we get home. It’ll just be a short trip.”
“I wish,” she replied. “But I’ve got a deadline and, if I don’t finish today, well, that’s just not acceptable. You and Thad have fun. I’ll go with next time.”
David rested his hands on her shoulders. “Your loss, Sarah.”
He started to leave the room, then smacked himself on the forehead and turned back. “Gosh, I almost forgot why I came in here in the first place. Thad’s sneakers. Can’t find them anywhere and I’ve looked in all the usual hiding places. You got any idea where they’ve disappeared to?”
Sarah chuckled. “They’re probably still in the dryer. I washed them.”
David looked at her, an expression of mock horror on his face. “You washed the sacred sneakers? How could you? I don’t think the little guy’s gonna like that!”
“They were filthy and smelled bad.”
“Tell that to him. You know how he feels about them.”
“Well, now he’s got a clean slate and he can have fun getting them nasty all over again.”
David shook his head. “I don’t know. I should make you tell him. After all you’re the one who washed all his adventures down the drain.”
Sarah smiled. David was referring to their nine-year-old son’s habit of making up elaborate stories to explain each new scuff-mark on his treasured tennis shoes.
“Sorry, Charlie,” Sarah said, shaking her head. “I have work to do. You’ll just have to be the one to break the news to him.”
“Okay, you win,” said David, leaning over and kissing her lightly on the cheek.
Sarah accepted his kiss, then turned back to her computer and began to type.
The article she was writing was for the Boston Globe where she worked as a feature writer. She finished a paragraph and sat back, thinking.
She was truly blessed. She’d met David fifteen years earlier while in college and it was love at first sight. They married shortly after graduation, moved to Boston, and spent the next six years busily pursuing their careers. David enrolled in law school and Sarah secured a job as a columnist for an upscale women’s magazine.
After graduation, David went to work for a high-powered firm that specialized in corporate law and was soon bringing home a six-figure salary. When that occurred, they decided it was time to start a family.
A year later, little Thad came along, completing their lives. After the birth, Sarah retired from the magazine, planning to be a stay-at-home mom. But it wasn’t long before she got bored and, when she was offered the position at the Globe, she jumped at it.
“Yes, indeed,” she said to her computer screen. “I’m for sure the lucky one. I’ve got it all.”
Taking a deep breath and whispering a silent prayer of gratitude, she shook off her nostalgia, and leaned forward once again, concentrating on the computer screen.
~
As Sarah continued working on her article, David retrieved the clean sneakers from the dryer and walked to Thad’s room where he found the little boy lying on the floor, head under the bed, looking frantically for his missing shoes.
“Dad, did you find ‘em?” Thad yelled when he heard his father enter the room.
“Got ‘em, partner,” David replied as the little boy wiggled out from under the bed. “But you’re not going to like this. Mom washed them.”
A look of grave concern passed over the boy’s face as he studied the shoes his father was holding.
“Don’t look so worried, Thad,” David laughed, handing him the sneakers. “We can start getting them dirty again today. In fact, we’ll see if we can find something really yucky to step into down at the wharf.”
The boy looked up at his father and smiled. “Thanks, Dad,” he said as he sat on the bed, putting on his shoes.
~
In the other room, Sarah stood, walked toward the window, and gazed at the city below. She had the first draft of the piece roughed out, but knew there was still a long way to go before she’d be satisfied with it. She noted some dark clouds in the distance that looked like they were moving in their direction and, frowning, left the study to find her husband.
David and their son were in the foyer getting ready to leave.
“The weather looks like it might be turning,” she said. “Maybe you should put off the sail for another day?”
“I just checked online,” David replied. “That weather’s going to blow on by. We’ll be fine. Thad has to work on his ‘man overboard’ drill so he can pass his test next month and you know I’ve got the Andersen case starting on Monday.”
“Well, you guys be careful. Don’t go out too far and come in if it starts to blow. Okay?”
David glanced at his son, smiling, then back at Sarah.
“Yes, Mom,” he replied, giving her a quick kiss.
“Let’s get going, kiddo,” he said to Thad as he picked up their cooler and opened the door.
Sarah gave her son a hug. “Life jacket on at all times, Thad.”
“Yes, Mom,” he replied, hugging her back. “Soup and mac’n cheese when we get home?”
“Always, kiddo,” she answered as she extricated herself from his embrace.
“Come on, Thad, time’s a wasting,” called David.
Sarah watched as her young son turned and ran for the elevator. She sighed, regretting that she couldn’t go with them, then reluctantly returned to her computer.
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