Pieces of the Past

Sitting back down at the computer, she began to read Elenas e-maila paragraph of catch-up news about her four grandbabies and of her and Rolfes latest travelsbut it was the next sentence that jumped off the screen at her. So much so that while she had meant to set her mug down securely on the desk, she missed it all together, sending the just filled mug crashing to the floor. Elena hedged at first but then said she had been contacted by Joshua her Joshua of a lifetime ago. Whoawhy was the room spinning? Anne grabbed the side of the desk to steady her thoughts, closing her eyes to bring the room back down from outer space. Being the protector that Elena had always been toward her, she said she had not offered much information to him because she wanted Anne to be aware of his looking for her first. Could she give him her phone number, or what about the e-mail address? Annes head was spinning how where when did this happen? What was she to do why, why, now? As she took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and silently willed herself to finish reading the words that were now jumping off the page at her, she tried to read and not let her mind wander back. Back to all those years ago what was it now, at least forty to that hot summer when everything went wrong everything. Everyone remembers their first love, whether it lasts a season or a lifetime. In the course of a summer more than forty years ago, Anne-Elizabeth Adamss first love nearly destroyed her. Up until that time, her life had been close to perfect. Pretty, rich, and spoiled, she had all the best a life of wealth and privilege could provideeverything except protection from a cruel world of wounded pride, mistrust, and scandal. Memories of that summer and of Joshua have haunted Anne for years, and even now, in the autumn of her life, the pain remains. Although she has promised herself never again to allow the demons of her past to wreak havoc on her life, an e-mail from her former sister-in-law serves as a catalyst for change and brings Joshua Breckenridge back into her life. Both have full lives, families, and spouses they lovebut they cant deny the draw they still feel, even today. Now they must struggle to maintain their current lives in light of the past and in order to ensure their futures.