Chapter 2 June, 1977
Jed came into the house knowing that he was late.
Abbey had called and asked him to be on time. She had made some plans for them for the evening. But discussion over some pending legislation had taken much longer than expected.
Now, it was nine. He knew that Liz would already be in bed and Abbey would be mad because he had ruined her plans.
He opened the door and stopped in his tracks. Candles on the table, best china and a bottle of wine waited for him. A small package had been placed on his plate.
"Oh, hell. I'm in real trouble now."
But where was Abbey?
"Abbey, where are you?" He said it softly as he passed through the living room and peeked in the kitchen. But his wife was nowhere to be found.
He dropped his briefcase and proceeded down the hall toward their room.
"Abbey, hon, where are you?"
The flush of the toilet told him just where to find Abbey.
"Are you okay?" But with one look he knew she wasn't. Her face was pale and her forehead was covered with beads of perspiration.
"Abbey, what's wrong?"
He pulled a washcloth off the rack and wet it with cool water. He handed it to his wife, who had just stood up from the floor.
"Hon, are you okay? Did you eat something that disagreed with you?"
Abbey looked at her husband and gave a weak smile. "No. I haven't eaten anything since lunch."
"Do I need to call the doctor?"
"Jed, calm down. I'm fine."