A Wedding In the Family by Kathryn Alexander Page B

building where they had resided since the divorce proceedings began. When their former house had sold and the bills had been paid, there hadn’t been enough money left for a down payment on a smaller house. So she had chosen this apartment. “The lease on this rental specifically states that no pets are allowed.” But that was only part of the reason they no longer had the little black-and-brown stray that Nathan had named Max. The animal had run away from them one morning after Dan had disciplined the dog too harshly for growling. Angela refrained from commenting much about the pet’s disappearance since the day it happened because she didn’t want to lie to Nathan, and neither did she want to tell him exactly what had happened.
    Max had felt threatened by Dan for good reason when Dan had come home in the early hours of a Sunday morning after spending Saturday night with his friends. Drinking. The dog had only been protecting Angela and the kids from the intruder Dan appeared to be. Dan had been angry and speaking loudly to her, and it must have alarmed Max more than usual. Dan had been verbally abusive to her at times, but he’d not acted in any way that was physically threatening to Angela or the kids. She wouldn’t have stayed with him if he had. No, she’d stayed because he didn’t want her to leave, or so he said. And she stayed because, for a while at least, she hopedhe’d change. The Lord could have changed him if Dan had only been open to the idea of the existence of a higher power, of the God who could have helped him.
    “Do you think the Lord understands how much I miss Max?” Nathan asked quietly.
    Angela slipped her arm around the boy’s shoulders and kissed the crown of his head. “I’m sure He does, hon. And some day, when we own a house of our own again, you can have another pet.”
    “You mean, if Max doesn’t come back?”
    Angela bit her lower lip and nodded her head. There seemed to be no point in reiterating to him that Max would never come back. Or that if the dog did return, he would naturally go to their old house across town instead of coming here. Nathan had resisted that idea at every mention of it. So she relented. “Yes, if Max doesn’t come home, you could have a different pet.” That seemed to be enough to soothe Nathan for now; he once again began raking the leaves his siblings had scattered across the lawn.
    Later, when they had finished their work in the yard, they went inside for the evening. Everyone was tired from the fishing trip and the two boys needed the first showers. They’d gotten much dirtier than necessary when helping Adam clean the fish at the lake and put them on ice for the trip home, and their clothing reeked with fragrant evidence of their participation.
    When David come out of the shower, he rubbed his hair vigorously with a towel. “Adam said he’dfreeze those fish so we could go over there to eat them some night. Have you ever been to his place, Mom?”
    “No, I haven’t,” she responded, reaching for the hair dryer on the shelf and switching it on. “But I guess we’ll all be going over there for a fish dinner pretty soon.”
    “I hope so,” David stated. “I like Adam.”
    Angela smiled as she dried his black hair, running her fingers through it a few times. “I like him, too.”
    “I don’t see what’s so great about him,” Nathan grumbled as he headed toward the bathroom.
    “You liked him fine when you were taking karate last summer,” David retorted. “What’s wrong with him now?” David and Angela both looked at Nathan, waiting for his answer.
    “Everything,” Nathan stated before disappearing into the bathroom and slamming the door.
    “Nothing!” yelled David.
    “Okay, okay, you guys. Knock it off.” Angela placed the hair dryer on the stand in the hallway. “Nath, the hair dryer is out here when you need it,” she called through the closed door. “And no more door slamming, please!”
    “What’s the matter with