CHAPTERII

Veronica was awakened by a bright ray of sunshine coming through her bedroom window, not closing the curtains yesterday was proving to have been a mistake. The light was blinding, she felt groggy, like she had been in a wrestling match all night, her entire body ached. She slowly sat up on the side of the bed trying to gain her balance and attempting to think moreclearly.

Looking around the room at Patrick’s things she remembered the day before being emotional and exhausting, she should have taken her friends up on their offer. Veronica turned her focus to the end of the bed and was reminded of the other reason for her state of anxiety, the memory box. Suddenly, she remembered the dream, last night she re-lived that entire Atlanta weekend in a dream, seeing the picture brought it all back to her. Which explained why she was still fully dressed, feeling like she was about to fall off the side of a cliff, but desperately trying to hold on. Veronica hung her head and thought,no matter how tightly you close thedoor to your past, the day will come when it swings wide open and all the secrets fall out. She knew it was time for a hot shower and a strong cup ofcoffee.

After her shower, Veronica put on her favorite Alabama State University sweat shirt, a pair of Patrick’s sweat pants and threw her hair up in a ponytail. Going into the office today was not an option, Veronica called her secretary to inform her, she would be working from home. Thankfully, the role of Sr. Vice-President of Commercial Loans, provided her a great deal of flexibility. Also, being home was a good idea because she had made arrangements for some of the boxes to be pickedup.

Veronica sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee and thinking about the many dinners Patrick had prepared for her and the kids over the years. This was his domain, he loved buying an appliance or gadget, and say to her as validation of his choice, “this will make the process more of an experience than a chore.” He always allowed the kids to help with the cooking, which was a joy for them and a mess for her to clean up but was swiftly becoming the memories, she would cherish the most. No matter what his schedule, family time was very important tohim.

Veronica smiled as she thought;the kids loved when he was home because it meant they could get away with just about anything. Patrick believed in allowing them to practice self-expression, which was his way of saying, “have fun, just don’t break anything because your mother will killme.”

Veronica jumped when she heard the door open and Brittany screaming, “Mom, youhome?”

Veronica yelled back. “In thekitchen.”

Veronica watched her beautiful daughter walk into the kitchen,Brittanywas Patrick’s Princess, but defi