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Chapters (35)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. Twenty-six
  30. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  31. A Preview of “And Then I Found You”
  32. prologue
  33. one
  34. ALSO BY PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY
  35. Copyright Page

“You have no idea how badly I wanted her to fly away.”

“Yes, I think I do have an idea.” He slammed his cast on the iron chair, an ineffective move of anger that merely caused him to flinch. “I think I do. But I will not leave, Ellie. If that is what you want me to do—I. Will. Not. Leave.”

“I know,” I said.

So for all the speeches I planned, for all the words I wanted to wrap around my reasons for leaving, there was now nothing left to say.

Excerpt from Lillian Ashford Eddington’s Journal
New Year’s Eve 2010
Seventy Years Old

I am tired this year and the angel above me does not seem to be any longer listening.

It is the year I feel older; I don’t know why or how, I just do. A settled fatigue that makes me want to skip writing this year. But there is so much more I want to do and see, and I have come to know that if I weary of wanting, it will all stop.

The best thing about this past year was the month I spent with Lil and Ellie in St. Simons. They took a month this summer before Lil went off to college and we spent it at the beach. There must be things to say about why this was so wonderful, but I don’t know the way to say it. The wonderfulness didn’t come from anything we did or didn’t do, or anything we did or didn’t see. It was … the best part of my year. My charity did win an Atlanta Constitution Philanthropy award.

The worst thing about this past year was the flood. Record rainfall flooded our backyard and basement, ruining years and years of our life’s photos. I should have known to keep them in the attic or in those special archive-safe boxes I see they have now, but I waited too long and they are ruined. So many memories in those boxes of photos and they’re gone—not the memories but the pictures of them. And sometimes I think that is all the next generation can have. They can’t have my memories. Lil and Ellie can’t know what I know. But they could have at least had the photos. Some are saved—only the ones in books upstairs. This broke my heart.

I think I will end this early tonight.

This will be the year I will again get to spend a month with Lil and Ellie at the beach; that Redmond will win the club golf championship. I have decided I finally want to take a trip on the QE2 to England.

This is the year He will know He loves me.

Twenty-five

Twenty-five