Thursday, March 8, 2012

A Second Chance

It was uncanny to Stevie that Wes Bellardi resembled Dougie in so many ways. The senator's son was twenty; her son would have been nineteen. There was the faint physical resemblance:
blow-away-in-a-stiff-wind physique, faraway eyes. Both young men were quiet, bookworm types, deep thinkers but apparently not deep talkers. Both had a yen for literature and a bent to write. Yet for whatever reason in God's abstruse wisdom, Wes was alive and Dougie was dead. Daniel and Patricia Bellardi had done their work well, and Wes was their reward. Stevie and Jon had done the best they knew how at the time and failed, and Dougie was their albatross.

Stevie was suddenly gripped by a thought that launched her to her feet: Wes Bellardi was her second chance. She had failed with Dougie, but she was clearly doing the right thing for Shawna
and Collin. She had uprooted the family and fled immoral Los Angeles to give them a better life. Wes Bellardi was confirmation from God that she was on the right track. Like Dougie, Wes had writing talent in need of cultivation. She could provide a measure of encouragement and guidance in that area as she would have with Dougie. She relished the possibility of contributing to this young man's life, not only to encourage him but to thank his parents for their contribution to her life and to thank God for the second chance.

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