Cedar Woman (173 page)

“
Son…”

S
o
nn
y’
s
na
m
e
fell short
on her
t
o
n
g
ue.
Her
s
m
ile
of greeti
n
g slipp
e
d
from
her
be
a
u
tiful
lips,
as
s
h
e
looked
stra
i
ght
into
the
face
of great
s
u
ffer
i
n
g.
She
b
e
gan
t
o
question
her
friend,
t
o
ask
him
what
was

w
r
o
n
g,
wh
e
n
t
h
e
l
oo
k
of
t
orm
ent
slipp
e
d
i
n
to
t
h
at
of
de
e
p
l
on
g
i
n
g.
L
e
na

faltere
d
,
tilted
h
er
h
ead
to
o
n
e
si
d
e
in
qu
est
i
o
n,
and
t
h
en
s
t
raig
h
t
e
n
e
d
,
h
er
g
lorio
u
s
eyes
wi
d
e
n
ing
in
rec
o
g
n
iti
o
n.
Sl
o
wly,
she
b
ac
k
ed
ou
t
of
t
h
e office
and
shut
the
door.
Leaning
a
g
a
i
n
st
it
f
o
r
sup
p
ort,
h
e
r
h
eart p
ou
nd
i
n
g
,
s
h
e
finally
ac
k
n
ow
ledg
e
d
what
sh
e
h
a
d
se
e
n
in S
o
nn
y’
s
e
y
es; she
at
last
admitted
to
hers
e
lf
that she
h
a
d recogn
i
z
e
d
h
i
s
l
ove
f
o
r her a l
o
ng
ti
m
e a
go
,
bu
t
h
a
d ref
u
sed
to a
d
m
it it wit
h
in
h
er
h
eart.

Tu
r
n
in
g,
h
e
r
s
h
i
n
in
g
hair
f
a
nn
i
ng
a
r
o
un
d
he
r
,
L
e
na
r
a
n
f
r
om
t
h
e restaura
n
t.
F
i
nd
i
n
g
h
er
car,
she
falt
e
red
with
t
h
e
k
eys
un
til
she
fi
n
ally un
l
ock
e
d
it
s
do
o
r
,
s
t
ar
te
d
t
h
e
eng
i
ne,
an
d d
r
ove
o
f
f
.

M
ary
watched
in
su
r
p
rise
as
Lena
sp
e
d
th
r
o
ug
h
the
rest
a
u
r
a
nt.
It was n
o
t li
k
e her
d
a
u
gh
ter
t
o s
h
ow
e
x
tre
m
e
e
m
otion.
She
wonder
e
d
at Le
n
a’s
ob
v
ious
a
g
itati
o
n u
n
til,
re
m
e
m
b
eri
n
g
h
er
m
e
n
ti
o
ni
n
g g
o
ing
to So
nn
y
’s
o
f
fice, u
nd
e
rstan
d
ing filled
h
er
h
eart.

Mary recalled
S
o
n
n
y’s arrival t
h
irty
mi
nu
tes earlier.
S
h
e k
n
ew i
n
sta
n
tly
t
h
at
S
o
n
n
y was
i
n
great
p
ain.
M
ary was
a
wise
wom
an,
c
a
pable of
de
e
p
,
ab
i
d
i
n
g
l
o
v
e
.
Th
e
re
f
or
e
,
s
h
e
r
ecog
n
ize
d
i
t
i
n
Son
n
y
;
s
h
e
k
n
ew
of
his
p
r
of
o
u
nd
l
ove
f
o
r
her
d
a
u
g
hter.
Her
heart
b
ro
k
e
f
o
r
t
h
e excepti
o
nal,
y
o
un
g
m
an
wh
om
she
h
a
d
com
e
to
care
f
o
r
as
p
a
rt
of
h
e
r fa
m
i
l
y
.

Hesitati
ng
,
M
ary
wal
k
ed
to
S
o
n
n
y’s d
o
or.
Ta
pp
i
n
g
lig
h
tly,
s
h
e slowly
op
e
n
e
d
it
and
peer
e
d
into
t
h
e
s
p
ace.
Sonny
sat,
h
i
s
he
a
d
on
his
d
es
k
, fists
cle
n
c
h
e
d
,
kn
u
c
k
l
es
w
h
ite.
Mary
k
n
ew wit
h
o
u
t
lo
ok
i
n
g
t
h
at se
m
icircles
of
bl
o
od were
form
ing
in
t
h
e
p
a
l
m
s
of
his
han
d
s
w
h
ere his nails
du
g
i
n
t
o
his
flesh.
S
ighi
n
g
,
M
ary
gently
clos
e
d
t
h
e
do
o
r
,
and wal
k
ed
to w
h
ere So
nn
y sat.