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    Falling Into Place
    Falling Into Place
    Falling Into Place
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    Falling Into Place

    By Elaine L. Orr

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    About this ebook

    War changes people. Because of it, Everett was a stay-at-home dad before it was a choice. Only his wife Sue Ellen had a clue why he seemed to find it hard to cope. His four children, while respectful, wished he could do more than create gardens and fix breakfast. Sue Ellen's illness meant he needed to be able to fend more for himself. It also brought his World War II secret to light. And from the sadness grew understanding and stronger bonds. An important story told with humor and grace.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherElaine L. Orr
    Release dateOct 13, 2017
    ISBN9781370388264
    Falling Into Place
    Author

    Elaine L. Orr

    Elaine L. Orr writes four mystery series, including the thirteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, set at the Jersey shore. "Behind the Walls" was a finalist for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards. The first book in the River's Edge series--set in rural Iowa--"From Newsprint to Footprints," came out in late 2015; the second book, "Demise of a Devious Neighbor," was a Chanticleer finalist in 2017.The Logland series is a police procedural with a cozy feel, and began with "Tip a Hat to Murder" in 2016 The Family History Mystery series, set in the Western Maryland Mountains began with "Least Trodden Ground" in 2020. The second book in the series, "Unscheduled Murder Trip," received an Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2021.She also writes plays and novellas, including the one-act play, "Common Ground" published in 2015. Her novella, "Falling into Place," tells the story of a family managing the results of an Iowa father’s World War II experience with humor and grace. Another novella, "Biding Time," was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's first fiction contest, in 1993. "In the Shadow of Light" is the fictional story of children separated from their mother at the US/Mexico border.Nonfiction includes :Words to Write By: Getting Your Thoughts on Paper: and :Writing When Time is Scarce.: She graduated from the University of Dayton and the American University and is a member of Sisters in Crime. Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994.Her fiction and nonfiction are at all online retailers in all formats -- ebooks, paperbacks, large print, and (on Amazon, itunes, and Audible.com) audio in digital form. Paperbacks can be ordered through Barnes and Noble Stores as well as t heir online site.Support your local bookstore!

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      Book preview

      Falling Into Place - Elaine L. Orr

      FALLING INTO PLACE

      A Novella

      Elaine L. Orr

      FALLING INTO PLACE

      ELAINE L. ORR

      Falling Into Place is a work of fiction. All characters and events are products of the author’s imagination.

      Three Mystery Series by Elaine L. Orr

      Jolie Gentil Cozy Mysteries

      River’s Edge Mysteries

      Logland Mysteries

      http://www.elaineorr.com

      http://www.elaineorr.blogspot.com

      Copyright 2017 by Elaine L. Orr

      ISBN: 9781370388264

      Paperback Library of Congress Preassigned Number:

      2017914438

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Dedication & Acknowledgements

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Author Bio

      More Books by Elaine L. Orr

      DEDICATION

      To all who served, but especially those who were changed by their time in the military.

      And their families.

      Acknowledgements

      Thanks to the Decatur, Illinois Write Stuff Critique Group, whose members are generous with their time and tough with their comments.

      My perspective was informed by photos my father, Msgt. Miles D. Orr, took in Africa during World War II – this one, of him, taken with his camera.

      CHAPTER ONE

      IF YOU STARED AT THEM long enough, the red petals blended into one another. The flower stems bent slightly in the arid breeze and the grey stones, pebbles really, looked almost as thirsty as the small plant. Though others might find the picture stark, Everett cherished it. He could almost feel the calm that the first view of a poppy field had brought him.

      As they got things ready for a rummage sale a couple months earlier, Leslie had suggested selling the painting. She thought it had grown dingy, with dust that had seeped onto the matting because of the loose frame. Before he could protest, Sue Ellen had proclaimed it a special painting, and Myra had volunteered to reframe it for him. Now, dusted and with sparkling glass, it looked as beautiful as it did when Everett had hung it many years before.

      The four children were on their own, had been for years. Though Everett missed hearing them play or describe some project, his two daughters and sons Gerard and Stephen were always in his heart.

      They kept tabs on Sue Ellen. Stephen stopped by every evening on his way home from work. Leslie in the morning, Myra at lunch. Gerard called. They monitored her more strictly than she had watched over them, which was saying a lot.

      They also seemed to need to tell her of their successes in school, at work, or in whichever sport they were playing at the moment. They were as athletic as adults as they had been as children.

      Sue Ellen had seen to that. She had been assistant coach of the girls’ softball team when Leslie was in fourth grade. She coached the next year. Sue Ellen’s role marked the first time a county softball team had a woman coach.

      That same year Everett's blue roses had bloomed for the first time. He had checked them every morning when he watered them, and again each afternoon, just before the children’s games. He would have looked at them constantly, but Sue Ellen didn't like him to be in the yard all day. She didn't mind that she had to teach school even when the children were young, didn't mind that he simply stopped working. She did mind if the neighbors saw him in the front yard when men were supposed to be at work.

      So he stayed inside or in his back garden. He always did the dishes from breakfast and dinner. But he didn't cook. There were too many ingredients to get together at the same time, especially when you were cooking dinner for so many people. He did put out the cereal bowls for breakfast.

      SUE ELLEN’S STEP ON THE STAIRS made Everett turn. She was thinner than she had been a year ago, but other than that it was impossible to tell how sick she had been. Ready? he asked.

      Oh, yes. Anything to make Dr. Markham happy. She scrunched her face at him, as if she had just taken some ill-tasting medicine.

      Everett shook his head. Just so you don’t give him that look. He did save your life, you know.

      Sue Ellen laughed in the almost carefree manner she had acquired since her recovery. I won’t. I’m going for this check-up to please you and Dr. Markham, and I plan on being polite to both of you.

      As she backed the car out of the driveway, Everett surveyed the largest flowerbed in the front yard. June had brought a riot of color to the bed of annuals. It took the most planning and labor each year. Maybe that’s why it was always his favorite bed.

      This year, the begonias were the brightest red he could remember, and the geraniums had spread out so much that he realized he would have to trim them to keep them from throwing too much shade on the bright yellow marigolds in front. Who ever heard of trimming back geraniums?

      EVERETT HAD BROUGHT his copy of Gardening Today to read while he waited for Sue Ellen to get her CAT scan. Myra had given him the subscription every year for Christmas since she first started working. He always read it, though it was written more for someone who wanted to minimize the time they spent to get a lush summer garden.

      He closed it as Sue Ellen came back into the waiting room. She stopped to ask the receptionist about her infant daughter. They had struck up a friendship last year. Everett knew that talking to the young woman about the impending birth had been the one source of pleasure in the many visits of a year ago. That was Sue Ellen, at ease with anyone.

      How’d it go? he asked, as she settled in the chair next to him.

      Piece of cake. All you have to do is keep from sneezing, so they don’t have to start over. She pulled a small piece of needlework from her bag.

      Everett glanced at it; another Christmas ornament, maybe a Santa. He looked again. It seemed

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