Page 23 - ThreeGiftsForFlipBook

courthouse where the three young men had been sentenced. With the silhouette it had from the moon Sam thought it was almost as if the building was eyeing him. They continued on past the city park. At the cement plant they turned and crossed the railroad tracks. The farther they went the more dilapidated the buildings became. Sam shivered, not from the cold, but from the thought of Emily and Timmy living here. He pulled the blanket he had wrapped around Emily a little tighter. As they walked she seemed to get heavier. But there was something else that weighed more upon his mind. Finally he broke the silence, “Ma’am, do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Go ahead,” Mary answered. “Well, I was talking to Emily and she told me about your husband and what he did to you and to her and how you are hoping he might come home for Christmas and all, and...” Sam paused, not knowing quite how to say it. “What is it?” Mary asked. “Well, it may not be any of my business, but it just seems to me you would be better off without him. Why do you, or at least Emily, want him to come home?” “I know it might sound crazy to someone who has 18