Mrs. Miracle Page 0,35

stricken look on her face because he added, "You asked, didn't you?"

The oven timer beeped.

Sharon had no defense, and rather than answer him, she removed the last cookie sheet from the oven. She stared at the perfectly shaped cookies, with the chocolate chips bright and melting. After only a moment's hesitation she dumped them straight into the garbage.

"What'd you do that for?" Jerry demanded, irritation raising his voice half an octave.

"You don't like walnuts," she reminded him, doing her best to keep the hurt out of her voice. "I'd hate to force you to eat something not to your liking."

The microwave beeped, and Jerry grabbed the plate before she had a chance to take that away from him as well.

"What's wrong with you?" he demanded. His gaze narrowed as he studied her intently. "Did you take your hormones this morning?"

"Forty years, and not once did you tell me you don't like walnuts." The words were an accusation of all that was wrong with their marriage.

"I don't hate them," he argued. He walked over to the kitchen cabinet where she kept her medication, removed the bottle, and shook it before putting it back. "Maybe that's what the problem is."

"The only problem I have is you, Jerry Palmer."

His eyes rounded as he slapped his hand over his heart. "You think I'm your problem? Sweetheart, you'd better take a look in the mirror. If there's problems in this family, I'm not the one - "

"If you don't like the way I cook, maybe you should do your own cooking," she challenged.

"Maybe I should," Jerry countered. "I've cooked my own breakfast all week."

"Great, now you can try your hand at lunch and dinner as well."

"No problem."

Sharon slammed the mitt down on the counter. "I'm sure it won't be." She stalked past him and made her way into the guest bedroom. Sitting at the end of the twin mattress, she intertwined her fingers in an attempt to still the trembling in her hands.

She wasn't a woman who often succumbed to tears, but they blurred her eyes now. Tilting her head back, she blinked furiously, refusing to let them fall, refusing to allow her pain to roll free.

She was the emotionally strong one in the family. Not until Pamela's death did she realize how strong. When they'd heard the terrible news, Jerry had withdrawn behind a brick wall of pain, unwilling and perhaps afraid to reveal his anguish. Seth had been in shock, blinded by grief and fear of what would happen to him and the children without Pamela.

So everyone had turned to her. She was the one who had made the funeral arrangements. She was the one others had turned to for comfort and help. She was emotionally strong. Calm. A pillar on which others could lean.

The base of that pillar was crumbling now, Sharon realized, and threatening to collapse.

The knot blocking her throat felt as big as a watermelon. She'd started out her day with such good intentions, hoping to bridge the gap between her and Jerry, but he wanted none of it.

She lay down on the bed, pulled a blanket over her shoulders, and stared at the wall.

Forty years and she never knew Jerry didn't like walnuts.

Forty years was a hell of a long time to live with a man and never know he liked his spaghetti with meatballs.

Some time later Sharon heard a sound, but she didn't move her gaze away from the wall to investigate.

"Damn it, Sharon, say something."

She could picture Jerry framed in the doorway, but she hadn't the strength or the will to pull her attention away from the blank wall.

"I'm talking to you," he said again.

She'd heard all she wanted to from him. More than she'd needed to know.

"The hell with you, then," Jerry muttered, and stalked away.

Forty years she'd invested in this marriage, in this man. She'd kept his home, borne him children, molded her life to fit his. Forty years and they could barely tolerate one another.

To hell with her, then, Jerry had said. That was exactly where she felt she was. Hell.

Seth had never intended to stay for the Christmas program practice. He'd thought to drop the boys off at the church and head home to catch up on some job-related reading. Besides, he wanted to be there when Mrs. Merkle returned. They had several matters to discuss.

His head had been spinning ever since his conversation with Mrs. Ackerman. If the employment agency hadn't sent Mrs. Merkle, who had? He proposed to find out at