From Here to Hidden

CHAPTER ONE | JASON

It had been almost three years since Wendy had passed away.

Stage three breast cancer caught her 12 years into their marriage. They had lived a good life—a happy life. She had given him three wonderful children, had stood by his side as he moved from associate to senior pastor at one of the largest churches in their Alabama city, and had always done the things that she believed a Godly wife should do. They were happy; she had been happy. Their marriage hadn't been perfect and they had battled through the difficult phases of their lives—the raising of babies, the death of family members, the financial burdens. But, her cancer diagnoses had been the beginning of the end in more ways than one.

Sidetracked by the immense number of things on his schedule for the day, Jason nicked himself shaving finding himself queasy at the sight of the blood droplets in the sink beginning to pool. He'd never been a big fan of blood or needles or anything remotely medical. Something about blood made him start to lose his balance and feel faint. It was something Wendy had made fun of him for their entire lives. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, bracing himself to keep from passing out, the sight of the blood brought him back to the day Wendy found out she had cancer. Unsure if he was fainting or experiencing one of those out-of-body flashbacks he had seen in movies, he was suddenly right back in that same bathroom twelve years prior.

...

He had taken the three kids to school and gone to the gym like he did every morning. He'd gotten in a run, lifted weights, and returned home to shower before heading to the office to work on his sermon for the upcoming week. It was Tuesday, so he had a two-hour window beginning at 10:00 am in which he knew he would be uninterrupted. He liked to get to the office and get to work right on time. Tuesday afternoons usually included soccer practice for one of the kids, business meetings with the deacons and then he'd have to check in with Margaret, the church secretary, to approve any changes to the week's bulletin.

He'd just gotten out of the shower when he heard a crash from downstairs. Assuming that Wendy had dropped something, he didn't think anything of it. He finished getting dressed, his usual polo tucked neatly into his perfectly pressed khakis, and grabbed his watch before heading downstairs. Rounding the corner to the kitchen he saw Wendy standing over the sink, blood pouring from a gash in her head. Shocked that she was standing so still with blood pooling at her feet and dripping onto her clothes, he approached her with caution...unsure what had come over her or what was wrong.

"Wendy, honey? Are you okay? You're bleeding everywhere!"

"I wanted to make a sandwich...but I think I dropped something."

Looking around the floor, it appeared as though Wendy had pulled a vase from on top of the fridge onto her head. There was no sign of anything resembling the makings of a sandwich. Wendy stood before me spaced out and confused. I began to wonder if she had a concussion. I was insistent that she go to the hospital and have her head stitched up and looked at. What I didn't know then was that there was much more than a concussion and a head gash that we would be dealing with.

...

Realizing he must have actually fainted, Jason found himself on the floor, a coat of perspiration covering his neck and bare chest. Shivering from the coolness of the tile floor, he stood and shook his head at the thoughts that seemed to have come from nowhere. As he finished brushing his teeth, he found himself wondering why, for the third time in two days, Wendy had filled his thoughts again. Yes, she was his wife and he missed her, but it had been three years. He was accustomed to being without her. He would likely always miss her, but life was moving on even though that part of his life was over. Her sudden emergence into his thought life was a little unnerving.