The Anniversary (Christian Romance) Read online

  Besides, she was having trouble trying to style her hair in a way that fit the era in which she’d landed and was now stuck.

  How could I have forgotten how to style my hair?

  Luckily, she had just enough natural wave to her hair to cause it to flip up at the ends. All she needed was a little mouse and some gel and she’d be good to go. Unfortunately, those things weren’t available in 1961. She picked up the aerosol can from her dressing bureau and began to douse her hair with the sticky contents. She coughed and choked, remembering how much she hated hair spray.

  No wonder there’s a hole in the ozone layer. I feel like I just punctured a lung.

  Sadie found it funny that she couldn’t even remember how she used to do her hair when she was a teenager, but she supposed it was due to having other things on her mind. For so many years, she’d longed to be young again so she could experience the exhilaration of falling in love again. And now it was staring her right in the face. She’d lied to her parents, telling them that she knew Spencer from school so they would permit her to date him. She felt rebellious and full of boldness for the first time in her life. She wanted to experience everything that she didn’t the first time around. As much as she tried, she just couldn’t keep from thinking such things.

  Things like kissing Spencer!

  ****

  Sadie slurped the end of her chocolate shake while she played footsie with Spencer under the table. She knew it was making him nervous since he avoided eye contact with her, which made it even more fun for her. She felt as though she’d dropped right into the middle of one of those situations where everyone says if only I knew then what I know now, I’d have handled myself differently. She knew it wasn’t right to toy with Spencer, he wasn’t long-term relationship material—he was more like transition guy!

  Spencer tucked his feet under the booth out of Sadie’s reach as he tried to finish his cheeseburger. Eleanor had tried to warn her before she left that boys his age were too fast, and she should be on guard for any hanky-panky he might try. Sadie laughed inside as she thought that Spencer was the one that had no idea what she had in mind for the remainder of their date.

  Spencer stood to put a dime in the jukebox.

  “Would you like to dance, Sadie?”

  She looked up at him, flashing her best look of flirtation. “Put on something slow.”

  He dropped the change on the floor and scrambled to pick it up. It pleased Sadie to see him squirm.

  When he returned to the table, he took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Instead of letting him hold her at an arm’s length, Sadie moved in close to him, pressing herself against his rigid frame, and resting her head on his shoulder. It excited her to be near him after spending an entire lifetime with the same man—the only man she’d ever been with. But she was determined that all of that was about to change.

  Spencer relaxed some as the song wore on, but Sadie continued to push her limits with him, letting her breath fall on his neck that smelled of Aqua Velva. His arms around her were stiff and unbending, but he leaned into her, cradling her against his body.

  Sadie’s heart beat double over-time at the thought of kissing him. She’d only kissed one other boy before she tied herself down with Sam, and it didn’t really count since it was only a quick peck. Her lack of experience and urgency to take things further with Sam had gotten her a lifetime of boredom. There was no comparison in Spencer’s embrace.

  As the record changed on the jukebox, Sadie made no move to separate herself from Spencer. Other young couples on the dance floor paused at the changeover, but Sadie kept her momentum with Spencer. Luckily for her, he had chosen another slow song, and everyone resumed dancing, Sadie oblivious to everything except her dance partner. Her eyes closed as they shuffled their feet in a slow circle, his scent momentarily mesmerizing her. She was lost in thought, lost in a kiss that hadn’t occurred yet.

  CHAPTER 10

  Spencer held the car door open while Sadie slid across the driver’s seat to the middle of the long seat that spanned the width of the car. She intended to stay in the middle, assuming he let her in on his side of the car for that purpose. As he positioned himself behind the wheel, Sadie propped her arm up on his shoulder and ran her hand through his thick hair.

  He shrugged to the side. “Hey, don’t mess with my hair.”

  Sadie giggled quietly, running her fingers deep into his scalp. He shivered a little, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

  He turned the key, and the rumble of his engine brought her back to reality. What was she doing? Did she really think she could pull this off? Who was she kidding? She was close to seventy years old, and she was planning on making out with a twenty-one-year-old guy!

  Who cares…I’m probably dead anyway…I might as well go for it!

  She cleared her throat and leaned in toward Spencer’s ear so she could whisper to him. “Don’t take me home. I’m not ready to go home yet. Take me to Grover’s Pointe so we can talk.”

  She let her last word seep from her lips slowly for emphasis. Judging by the way he gripped the steering wheel, he clearly understood her request. He steered his car off Michigan Avenue toward the lake, and Sadie rested her head on his shoulder, satisfaction igniting a fire within her.

  Why was she willing to play such a risky game with Spencer? Did she even know? Had her life been that awful with Sam that she felt the need to risk her reputation? Not to mention her self-respect. Sadie pushed back the thoughts of self-doubt, determined to go through with her own plan for her life.

  Spencer pushed off the headlights as the car rolled into the wooded area that overlooked the lake. Two other cars were parked nearby, and Sadie couldn’t see any sign of occupancy in the dark. She hoped they wouldn’t be able to see her and Spencer either if they happened to look in the direction of his car. Truth be told, Sadie didn’t want anyone to see her there. She was confused about what she really wanted, and the last thing she needed was to have to explain her actions to anyone else—especially since she didn’t understand them herself.

  Sadie tuned the radio to a slow song and turned the volume down low so it wouldn’t disturb any conversation. Though she didn’t plan on talking much, she didn’t want to rush things either. She longed to experience another man’s kiss, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t afraid.

  For several minutes, they made small-talk, and Sadie enjoyed getting to know him. When he shifted in his seat and put his arm around her, she could feel her heart skip a beat before racing so fast she could hear it keeping time with You Ain’t Nothin’ But a Hound Dog streaming in from the car radio. She was happy for the distraction of the less-romantic tune, hoping it would give her a chance to brace herself for Spencer’s next move.

  At the change of the song playing in the background, Spencer leaned in and kissed her temple. The anticipation of his lips on hers sent shivers from her temple to her toes. His mouth swept across her cheek, drawing her nearer to him.

  Oh, he’s good at this…

  When his lips finally found their way to hers, she responded with an eagerness that fueled his fire. He pulled her closer, sliding her toward him as he leaned her back against the expanse of the front seat. She allowed him to fumble with her hair, thinking it was kind of cute…until…the song changed again, and the melodic voice of Etta James pierced Sadie’s ears.

  I can’t do this. That’s our song.

  Sadie shot forward, bumping her head on Spencer’s. Pushing at his chest to free herself from him, she wriggled over to the far end of the seat to catch her breath. She and Sam had danced to that song at their wedding. It was their song!

  God forgive me! Help me out of this mess I created.

  Spencer wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “What’s the matter, Sadie?”

  Unable to stop breathing hard, she held up a hand to him, hoping he would wait for her explanation.

  “I thought you wanted this.”

  Sadie coughed. “I thought I did too,
but I was wrong. I should never have asked you to bring me here.”

  Spencer turned and gripped the steering wheel.

  “I knew it. You’re just a tease. I knew you were too young to be serious about this. I might have even married you, too.”

  Sadie reached up and turned off the music that made her feel guilty about Sam so she could concentrate on the fight she was about to have with Spencer.

  “Are you kidding me? You might have married me—you mean after you had your way with me? You should be so lucky. I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. I can’t believe you would make such a statement to me. And for the record—I never said I would do anything more than making out with you. I shouldn’t have come here. It was a mistake.”

  Spencer whipped his head around to face her.

  “Then why did you want to come to Grover’s Pointe? I knew what you meant when you said you wanted to talk. You’re a tease like all the other little daddy’s girls your age.”

  Sadie giggled. A girl my age?

  Sadie smoothed the pleats of her dress and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I admit that I wanted to make out, but I don’t anymore, so I would appreciate it if you would take me home.”

  Spencer turned the key and roared the engine.

  “No problem, daddy’s girl.”

  Sadie watched out the window, allowing confusion to cloud her mind while Spencer sped away from the lake.

  Sadie knew this was not part of God’s plan for her life—whether for her new life or her old one. She couldn’t believe she’d almost done something so stupid.

  She’d almost cheated on Sam.

  CHAPTER 11

  Sadie rolled over in her bed thinking she heard her Blackberry text message alert again. Though she knew she must have dreamt it, she feared the possibility of going back to the year 2011.

  Back to her older self.

  Back to her boring life with Sam.

  Back to a life without her friends or family.

  She had forgotten how wonderful it was to be young, and she never wanted to lose it again. And she certainly didn’t intend to lose the people she loved all over again. She wasn’t ready to go back to that reality. But she wasn’t prepared to date anyone else either. Was this all part of God’s lesson?

  She pushed her pillow over her head to drown out the noise of the text message that wouldn’t stop ringing in her head. If it was real, then it could possibly pull her back to her old life again.

  Unable to keep her curiosity from taking hold of her, Sadie lifted her head to listen again. Wondering where the sound had even come from, she perked her ears in the darkness of her room, noting the full moon that shone through her sheer curtains. If not for the light coming from the moon illuminating her childhood room, she’d have thought she was back at home with Sam.

  The sound of her text message startled her back to her present reality. Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, her throat constricting. She slid from the bed to the floor; she was sure the sound had come from under the bed.

  Sadie’s hand shook as she reached under the bed for the handbag she’d taken with her to the party the night of her anniversary. It had been her favorite handbag from this time period since she’d carried it the night she first met Sam. She’d kept it all those years, along with the skirt that she had to have remade since it no longer fit her thick frame. But she was thin now, and the original skirt hung in the closet just a few feet from her now.

  Sadie picked up her handbag carefully, as though it might detonate in her hands. Afraid to open it, she just sat there for several minutes, until she heard the sound again. It was so loud in the quietness of the night that she nearly dropped the handbag as she let out a squeal.

  Fearing she might have woken her parents, she hopped back into bed, clutching the handbag to her heaving chest. The more she tried to calm her breathing, the more out of control it became, until she nearly hyperventilated. She sat up in the bed and swung her feet over the edge, leaning over to hold her head between her knees, hoping it would keep her from passing out.

  She quickly laid back down when she heard her father clearing his throat and the squeak of the bathroom door. Pushing the handbag under her pillow to muffle the noises from the cell phone, she rolled over, positioning her back to the door in case one of her parents would check in on her. Her parents rarely got up in the night, so she feared they’d heard her frightening squeal.

  Breathing in slowly through her nose and out through her mouth, she tried to remain calm as she listened for the bathroom door to open. When the sound finally reached her ears, she was relieved to hear her father’s footfalls moving away from earshot. With another squeak and the familiar sound of her parent’s door, she knew her father would return to bed and she was free to explore the contents of her handbag without the threat of being discovered.

  She opened the clasp slowly, unsure if she really wanted to know the contents. Right on top was her Blackberry in plain sight.

  How is this even possible?

  She reached with a shaky hand to retrieve it when the text message alert startled her again. Clenching her teeth to try to quiet her fear, she pulled it from the handbag and held it, staring at it as though it weren’t real.

  Steeling a quick glance in her bureau mirror at her reflection, she let out a sigh of relief at her young reflection. She pushed the center mouse of the Blackberry revealing a red button alert hovering over the message icon. Running her thumb across the mouse, she scrolled over and pressed it. A yellow message box illuminated next to Sam’s name revealing the message: I miss u!

  With a shaky hand, she pressed on his name and read the missed text messages she’d missed from her husband.

  Where are u?

  Please forgive me.

  I luv u!

  The low battery symbol flashed in red just before the phone shut itself off.

  “No!”

  Her breath heaved in her chest at the thought of old Sam being all alone in 2001.

  God please be with Sam.

  Tears filled her eyes as she dumped the contents of the handbag onto her bed, remembering she’d put her car charger in it the night of the anniversary party. Pushing aside her change purse, compact and lipstick, she was relieved when she felt the cord to the charger in the semi-dark room. Clutching the charger in her fist, she knew she would have to try to recharge the phone using the cigarette lighter in her father’s car and hope that it would charge the phone. And as long as she was in the car, she would drive over to hospital and sneak in to see Sam to make sure he was still there.

  Sadie jumped from her bed and flung open her closet. She needed to get dressed and go to the hospital despite the fact that her bedside clock told her it was nearly two o’clock in the morning. She couldn’t wait until visiting hours, and she couldn’t risk her parents forbidding her to use the car. She was lucky they didn’t ground her the first time, though her father had technically given her permission.

  This just couldn’t wait.

  Throwing open the drapes to let in the pale moonlight, she knew she would have to dress in the dark, rather than turning on the light and risking her parents seeing it if they should get up.

  Sadie couldn’t help but choose the skirt and sweater she’d worn on her original first date with Sam. It was the only logical choice, even though a small part of her feared it would take her back to 2011.

  In the driveway, she fumbled with her father’s car keys that she’d swiped from the hall table where he always put them every night after work. She pushed aside the guilt she felt for doing things that could cause her parents not to trust her. Her father might be a little more understanding, but she didn’t look forward to the disapproval she would surely suffer from her mother.

  Her mother was always so determined she act like a lady and watch her manners. Looking back, that whole mentality may have contributed to her hasty decision to marry Sam. She tired of the lectures from her mother on keeping her rep
utation unsoiled, but now that she was older, she could appreciate her mother’s advice—especially since she’d married Sam in haste.

  Not this time! I won’t make the same mistake twice.

  Sadie pulled over halfway down the block onto the side of the road so she could plug the phone in. She yanked the lighter out of the plug and shoved the end of the phone charger in the hole. With shaky hands, she plugged the other end into her phone and waited for it to power on. Several seconds ticked by before she remembered that her father disconnecting it when Max burned his finger on it when he was playing in the car during one of their outings. How could she have forgotten such a thing until now?

  Maybe because it happened more than fifty years ago!

  CHAPTER 12

  Sadie rode the elevator to the third floor, her heartbeat working overtime. She wasn’t sure how she would get past the nurse’s station, but she was willing to take the risk just to see Sam.

  She felt each floor go by as she recalled the day she and Sam rode this very elevator to the fifth floor to get Nate from the nursery after the adoption was final. She pushed the thought away only to have more flood her mind. They’d made the same trip on this elevator two years later to pick up their adopted daughter, Ginny.

  They’d also rushed Nate to the emergency room downstairs after he broke his arm sliding into second base when he was in little league, and Ginny had her appendix removed here. They’d also spent a good amount of time visiting with Sam’s parents before they passed away. This hospital held too many memories—all of them linked to Sam, and she didn’t want to think about those things of the past anymore.

  When the doors flung open, there was no sign of anyone of authority, and Sadie scurried quickly toward Sam’s room, staying close to the wall in case she needed to duck behind a door to avoid the night nurses. Luckily, she made it all the way to Sam’s room without being seen.

  She pushed the door closed as quietly as she could, and then slipped into the chair at his bedside. Sadie stared at him for several minutes, remembering how it felt to be in his arms when they’d dated. She’d been so attracted to him when they were young, that she had been blind to their incompatibility. Even now, as she gazed upon his youthful face, she couldn’t help but desire him.