Savage Love by Jodi Woody Page A

of laundry and packed up their bags. They were all sitting in the living room having finished up their breakfast of fruit and toast. Things weren’t as comfortable and free as they had been. Knowing you’ll be saying goodbye soon and maybe never seeing each other again, made conversation a little stilted. Soon Bryce and Seanna took off to make sure they had gotten all the remnants of the fireworks disposed of and Samantha sat with the couple.
         “Are you looking forward to getting back on the road,” asked Leal.
         “I am trying to believe that we won’t be having any more problems with the car. There are a few places that we wanted to see before getting home. But it will be nice to be home and back to our church,” she answered.
         “I know how you feel. We don’t get to go very often with everything going on around here,” said Trisha.
         “Daffyd doesn’t mind your going?” asked Samantha.
         “Probably,” said Leal, giving his wife a look, “but we aren’t going to let him keep us from church. If he is too sick or there are other things going on, we still have our jobs to do. But if we are able, we go. If not we try to catch some good preaching on the internet. We can always listen to our Christian music.”
         “Is it hard working for Daffyd with his bitterness about all things Christian?” Samantha asked.
         “Sometimes, but we do really love Daffyd. Leal and I believe that God has called us here to be with Daffyd. We are praying that he turns his heart to God. So until God tells us different , we stay,” answered Trisha.
         “The money and the perks aren’t bad either,” Leal joked. Just then Trisha’s pager buzzed. 
         “It’s Daffyd, he must be up now. I’ll go see how he is. He put in a long day yesterday and I know he was feeling rough by the time he went to bed.”
         “I better go too, in case he needs some help,” said Leal.
         Samantha was left to herself. She had mixed feelings about leaving. She knew she had to get on with her life, but somehow being here was like a vacation from reality. Knowing that the vacation was over also meant that she would have to get back to that reality and face the issues that she was struggling with. She certainly wasn’t looking forward to going back to her old life and all of the expectations that went with it. All those years of pretending all was well, pretending to be the perfect wife, that they had the perfect marriage. She wasn’t exactly sure if she even knew who she was anymore.
         God, is this just part of the grieving process of losing my husband? Or am I really facing a drastic change of life? I know you are the God of second chances, is it really possible to start all over again. I guess I haven’t been too sensitive to your voice or I wouldn’t have gotten things so messed up to begin with. Help me to let go and let you lead. Help me to be who you really want me to be. She prayed. 
         It wasn’t long before she had the opportunity to test that prayer. About forty-five minutes later Trisha came down and let her know that Daffyd was too tired to come downstairs, but that he wanted to talk to her. She followed Trisha to his room where he was propped in bed and drinking some tea. He indeed looked pale and tired. The past few days of company and celebration had taken a toll on him. Samantha sat in a chair close to his bed and Trisha excused herself.
         “Thanks for meeting me here. I ’m afraid I overdid it yesterday,” said Daffyd.
         “It probably hasn’t helped to have the extra burden of unexpected company either,” ventured Samantha.
         “Actually, other than this morning, I think it has helped. This is the best I have felt in a long time, especially during a treatment week. I just should have taken a longer nap yesterday to make up for the late fireworks show. The two of you haven’t been any trouble and like I