A New Beginning

artist Roz Young

 

 

Cock a Doodle Doo! Morning was here. Loralei snuggled down deeper into the covers.  She wasn’t ready to get up yet, but she knew that she had no choice. She felt exhausted and the day hadn’t even started. It had taken her so long to fall asleep last night, but finally in the wee hours of the morning sleep overtook her. Now she felt groggy and her eyes were puffy because of the tears that she had cried during the night.

The auction for the farmhouse was to start at 10am. How she was going to miss this house, it held so many precious memories. She really wasn’t sure what was in store for her now.  All she knew is that thankfully she did have a room at the boarding house for as long as she would need it.  She  had a deep faith and believed things would work out, though that didn’t stop her from being nervous about what was to come.

The lady at the boarding house where she would be going until she found a place couldn’t be sweeter, so she was thankful for that. Taking a deep breath, Loralie stepped out of the bed as she gathered up courage and repeated to  herself for the hundredth time that she would make it through this day!

The rooms looked so bare now as she walked through them once more. All her belongings had been packed up and put into storage.  Even though the furniture wasn’t in the rooms she could see them in her head.

In the kitchen she saw the small round, cherry wood table that her husband had carved for them. He was such a wonderful wood carver. She could see him sitting at the table  with the paper  in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. They had enjoyed sitting many mornings and watching the birds at the feeder right outside the window. On the warm mornings the window would be open and they would listen to the songs of the beautiful birds.

In the living room she remembered sitting side by side on the sofa. Sometimes she would be reading while he watched TV, and other times they would enjoy a movie together, snuggled together, or they would play some music on their stereo as they simply relaxed.

The cherry wood coffee table had been in the center of the room. It was one of the first pieces of furniture that Richard had made. It had a heart in the middle of it and Loralei thought it was so beautiful.

Over the years he had surprised her with special gifts. One of her most treasured possessions was the cedar chest he had built for her. The designs were so intricate, she had been so amazed when he had given it to her on her birthday one year. It held in it all the card and letters he had sent her and other special mementos from their life together.

Loralei looked at the clock, she better stop her daydreaming and get a move on. The auctioneer would soon be here. She took one more deep breath as she wiped a tear. It would be okay, for she would always have her treasured memories. No one could take that away from her.

Picking up Muffin she headed up the stairs to finish getting ready. Muffin had been rubbing up against her legs all morning. Loralei was so glad that the boarding house allowed pets, for she could not part with her beloved tiger striped cat.

He could definitely cause mischief but oh how she loved him. He had been a great comfort to her after Richard had died. She had rescued him from the shelter and he had rescued her from her loneliness. They were inseparable.

She used to have 2 clown fish as well, but one day she heard a crash when she was upstairs. She came running down the stairs to find their bowl shattered on the floor and a very smug looking Muffin sitting right beside it. The clown fish had met their sad fate.

Loralei  watched  as the crowd started bidding. It was a very small crowd that had gathered. She shed a few tears, but a peace had come over her. It was time for her to move on. Richard wasn’t in the farmhouse, he was in her heart and she would always carry him in there, no matter where she was.

Everyone was gone, Loralei sat in her car with a smile on her face. She had met the young couple who had bought the house and it warmed her heart to see the happiness in their eyes.  They were just starting out and that made her feel special, that they chose her and Richard’s house to start their new life together.

She drove to the boardinghouse with memories of her and Richard going through her mind. Who knew what lied ahead for her. She was looking forward to playing the piano at the boarding house , running her fingers up and down the scales and then breaking into a rendition of one of her favorite Beethoven’s pieces.

Muffin’s purring interrupted her thoughts. He was getting hungry.

Oh No! A thought just struck her. She believes she saw a glass bowl  with some fish in them sitting on top of the piano there. Muffin would definitely have to stay out of that room, or else those fish would meet the same fate of the poor clown fish!

“Muffin, we need to have a talk, okay!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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