Chapter 12
One week later, Valerie was covered in flour. She was making her third attempt at a cake design for the party following the spring musical. The kids had been working diligently to make this production unforgettable. She wanted this cake to be extra special, a memorable reward for a job well done.
Valerie was also working on a design for Brad’s congratulatory cake. The election was next week, so she still had some time. Hank had ruffled some feathers just enough to get his name on the ballot, claiming the title belonged to him all along. Jake added Hank’s name solely to end the debate. Jake simply didn’t have time to listen to Hank whine about it for two weeks. It was simpler to put his name on the ballot and let the chips fall where they may. No one, except Hank himself, questioned who the winner of the election would be.
Valerie glanced at the clock and felt a tingle of depression cover her. Samantha remained defiant and refused to return home. TJ would study at Allison’s house tonight. Cole would come home on the bus, but then immediately join his friends to play outside. Valerie’s brain was accustomed to having a full house after a certain time of the day. Those days were gone. Her afternoon would be quiet … and lonely … until Tim came home from work.
Valerie stood back and surveyed the cake with a critical eye. It was close, but not close enough. She still had time to bake one more practice cake before dinner. If her children didn’t spend more time at home, she and Tim would be diabetics before this school year ended. Maybe Tim was right. Perhaps she should consider starting her own business. Selling her baked goods had never been a dream really, but in the silence of the kitchen, she wondered …
Valerie stopped and turned her senses from the cake to the whistling noise coming from outside. It didn’t sound like anything she had ever heard. No teens on the block had a new car. No homes were under construction. What could that noise be?
Valerie wiped her hands on her apron and peered out of the window over the kitchen sink. In that instant, a brilliant flash of light blinded her. The noise intensified to the point of physical pain to her ears. Valerie instinctively crouched on the floor, shielding her head from the explosion.
I’m going to die.
Covered in flour and alone.
I’m going to die.
