excerpt
“That’s all, Dad. We’re not going out anywhere, I promise.”
“Fine. Give Lyssa’s clothes back to her. Now sit down and let’s get
started before everything gets cold. All right, Bobby, go ahead.”
Once again they joined hands around the table and bowed their
heads for Bobby’s shortened grace.
ͣͣ
With the twins settled in their beds – but not without complaining
that it was still light outside – Tyne returned to the kitchen to pour
two cups of freshly brewed coffee. She added fresh cream and carried
them outside to where Morley sat on the porch swing.
“Where’s Bobby?” Tyne asked as she handed him a mug and sat
down beside him.
“Doing a final round in the barn and taking Sparky for a run.”
Tyne sighed. “Poor old Sparky. I don’t think he’ll be with us much
longer, do you?”
Morley took a sip of coffee and shook his head in the negative.
“No, I’m afraid not. He’s lived longer than most big dogs live. But he’s
not suffering, just losing energy and his zest for life.”
Tyne placed her hand on Morley’s where it lay on his knee. “It
will break Bobby’s heart when Sparky dies. They’ve been inseparable
since the day I brought the kids home for what was supposed to be a
temporary stay with us.” She laughed lightly with the memory.
Morley took her hand in his big one and squeezed it. “Almost ten
years ago. Can you believe it? I sometimes wonder how we did it all
with everything that went wrong that first year.”
Tyne smiled and turned her head to kiss him on his stubbled
cheek. “You know how we did it. Only with prayer and God’s faithful
guidance.”
They sat quietly for a few minutes as the swing moved gently back
and forth. The only sounds were the familiar bawl of a calf in the barn,
and from the chicken house close by, the rising and falling murmur of
Manolis Aligizakis 