Page 1 of When Love Is Lost and Found

Nine Months Ago

Sharon

"Sharon, it's time to go." My mother's persistent words and cold demeanor did nothing to coax me away from the casket.

"You can go, Mom. I'll take the bus home."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "I'm not leaving you here alone. I'll wait in the car, but don't be long. I don't have all day."

"I'm a seventeen-year-old widow," I said, thinking out loud.

"I know you wanted to marry him, Sweetheart," her words were dripping with sarcasm. "But you didn't. Not legally. Not on paper, so you get nothing."

She was wrong.

Chapter 1

Sharon

Standing in line waiting for my name to be called, I look down at my engagement ring and twist it around my finger, reflecting on the day Jimmy proposed.

He was leaving for boot camp in a week and wanted to take me out for my birthday since he would be gone when my actual birthday rolled around.

The staff sang “Happy Birthday” and brought out a huge piece of double-chocolate cake with a candle on it. I blew out the candle, and we devoured the cake. Being the gentleman that he was, he always let me have the last bite of whatever dessert we were sharing. When I cut into it, there it was—a ring. He picked up the ring and put it in his mouth, removing all the frosting. I thought that was the sexiest, most romantic thing I'd ever seen him do. It left me breathless.

"I love you, Babe," he said. "You're the most beautiful girl I've ever known, inside and out. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?"

I snap back to the present when I hear my name announced over the loudspeaker. My best friend, Betty, gently shoves me towards the podium, where Mr. Smith, my high school principal, waits to hand me my diploma. The loud applause from the audience is a cruel reminder that Jimmy isn't here, and neither is my mother.

As soon as the ceremony ends, I search the crowd for my friends and teachers so I can say goodbye.

"Are you sure you don't want to come to the party?" Betty asks, throwing her arm around me as we approach her car. "It'll be fun."

"I'm sure it will," I say, smiling. "Thanks for offering, but I have to finish packing. I leave in the morning, remember?"

"I'm going to miss you," she says. "I can't believe you're moving across the country with a bunch of strangers."

"I've been working for them for seven months," I say. "They're hardly strangers."

"You're too young to be on your own," Betty continues.

"I feel like I've been on my own since Daddy died."

"You promise to keep in touch?" she asks, climbing into the car.

"I promise."

When she parks in front of my house, I reach across the seat and hug her tightly, promising myself I won't cry.

"If you change your mind about the party, call me."

"Thanks. I will."

I wave at her as she drives away. I turn and look at my house one last time and then take a deep breath, knowing what's waiting for me inside.

Mom is sitting on the couch with a look I know far too well. Her arms are tightly crossed over her chest, and her pretty face is set in a scowl that I no longer fear.

"What's this?" she asks, waving at papers scattered on the coffee table.

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