Always Abigail~My Funny Valentine

All is not happy in Centralia. The ghost of relationships past are all around


Standing outside the courthouse Always Abigail watched as Shannon her ex-daughter in law paced back and forth in front of the window. This was trouble more trouble than even she, Always Abigail, could stir up. Shannon was back and no good could come of this. Why, oh why, did she not stay in Paris with her husband and kids?

“She’s back and I plan to see her mother”

The words still echoed in Always Abigail’s head. Zach never called her mother. Since he was 16 she’d always been Always Abigail. The fact that he called her mother said volumes about his emotional state. Should she interfere? No, she couldn’t. What could go wrong if a mother tried to protect her child?

She loved them both. Zach her son and Shannon the ex-daughter in-law who she still called and talked to regularly. She’d adopted Shannon’s kids as her own grandchildren. They called her Grammy. She visited Paris every Spring for months. Why was she scared now?

Maybe she should leave and go home. No, that would not work. She needed to speak with Shannon and find out why she was here. No matter how much she tried she could not fathom why the woman would show up now just when Zach was getting over her and moving on with his life.

What to do, what to do. Ok, she would stand and stare at Shannon until she figured it out. Today was a good day to stare and figure things out.

Looking out the window Shannon watched as Zach’s mother started at her. The woman was a menace to society. She was always interfering. While she never interfered in her and Zach’s life, she never hesitated to put her two cents into the love lives of everyone else. Despite it all Shannon like the woman. When Shannon left Zach she was devastated. Leave it to Always Abigail to try and cheer her up by sending her a year of fruit. Smiling Shannon remembered all the things Always Abigail did over the years when she first arrived in Paris after she divorced Zach. A year of pasta, French lessons even a big screen TV and satellite TV. The two spoke often never about Zach just about her antics in Centralia.

Always Abigail was the personification of love. The woman lived for happy endings. Staring back could tell Always Abigail was distressed, worried about her visit. She wanted to reassure her that she was not here to cause trouble. She was only here to make sure that the man she once loved was…..what happy…about to marry the right woman…..Shannon was not sure what was at the heart of her visit. Looking down the stairs again Shannon braced herself to greet her ex mother in-law.