Second Time Around (49 page)

But now… it was as if she felt a responsibility to create meaningful movies, movies that moved people to change in positive ways. Which meant no nude scenes. No gratuitous violence or language. In the past two weeks she’d watched dozens of classic movies, reacquainting herself with the joys and talents of Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant, Deborah Kerr… Good stories that entertained and lifted up. Stories that made people happy.

Her agent had not taken her new outlook well. He thought she was crazy for turning down the movie role they’d been discussing before her trek into her Alternity. “You turn down this part, someone else will win the Oscar for it. Mark my words.”

At his pronouncement, her heart had skipped a beat and she had nearly wavered. But then she remembered how blessed she was to have gotten the chance to go back in time, to be reassured that her life was on the right path. She was supposed to be an actress. Now it was her responsibility to be a great one. In ways beyond awards and box-office statistics.

Brandy returned to her seat nearby. “You know who I think would make a perfect Anthony Thurgood in the movie?”

“Who?”

“Denzel Washington.”

Brandy was right, and Lane added another thought. “He’s directing now. What about getting him to direct the movie?”

Brandy left the chair and returned with a phone. “Call him.”

“Now?”

“There’s no time like the present.”

Long Island

Millie pulled aside the front curtains and gasped.

“What’s wrong?” her mother asked.

“There’s no one out there.”

Millie felt her mother’s chin on her shoulder. “It’s been two weeks. It’s over, honey. It’s finally over.”

She nodded and felt an odd hint of disappointment. She’d spent over forty years with David in the back of her mind, with the lurking fear her real identity would be discovered.

“Do you wish you hadn’t come forward?” her mother asked.

“It’s okay. Actually it felt good to let people know the truth.”

“Are you disappointed he didn’t come back?”

Now, there was a question whose answer didn’t make sense. She’d been nervous about David finding out the truth of her existence, yet now that he was gone and she was truly free, she missed him.

“Honey?”

“I would have liked to talk to him one more time—on neutral ground.”

“Do you think, back in David’s Alternity, that you married him?”

Millie shook her head vehemently. “If I wouldn’t have faked my death that day, I would have found a way to do it on another day. There is no chance I would have allowed David to be my husband.”

“Would
you
have liked a chance to go back and change something?”

Millie heard Deke humming in the kitchen. “I loved Deke then; I love him now. I don’t need an Alternity. Unlike some people, I got it right the first time around.”

Shipboard—The Caribbean

Dina sat on the deck chair and looked out over the aqua water. Other than a faint slice of land on the horizon, there were only miles and miles of deep blue sea.

How long had she been staring at nothing?

What did it matter? Her time was her own. And this cruise was hers to enjoy in whatever way she wished. If she wanted to spend the entire day napping, reading, and staring across the water, that was her business. She was a retired woman with no responsibilities whatsoever except to see the world that had been going on without her. And when she was done seeing the Caribbean, she had plans to hop on a plane to see Rome and Venice. St. Peter’s and the Bridge of Sighs would no longer be places in a book, but would be claimed as her own.

So there.

She put on her reading glasses and went back to her book, a biography of Abigail Adams. Now
there
was a resourceful woman of intellect and gumption.

“Interesting book?”

She looked up, shading her eyes to see the speaker, but he was in silhouette.

“Oh, excuse me.” He moved to the side so she wouldn’t have to look right into the sun. “That better?”

“Much.” In all ways. He was a handsome man with sophisticated gray hair, wearing a jaunty red-and-yellow tropical shirt. “And yes, the book is quite good. I enjoy biographies.”

“So do I,” he said. “They prove that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.” His smile was kind. “It’s never too late, you know.”

She found herself blushing. She thought she’d forgotten how.

He motioned to the chair beside her. “Is this seat taken?”

“Not anymore.”

Kansas City

Mac stood before his dresser mirror and combed his hair. Today was his wedding day. He set the comb down in order to adjust his tie, and his eyes locked onto the photo that had held this place of honor for nearly three years. A photo of Holly, smiling bashfully back at him, one hand waving at the camera.

He picked it up and touched her face. Lovely, sweet Holly who’d been taken too soon. He closed his eyes and could almost smell her scent and feel her hand on his cheek.

He forced away the memories. Today was the day he was truly starting over. With a new wife. Creating new memories.

Cheryl was nothing like Holly. Tall to Holly’s petite. Blond to Holly’s dark. Exuberant to Holly’s quiet shyness. A career woman to Holly’s domesticity. Would the two women have liked each other? Probably. Yet it was unlikely they would have been good friends. So why had each of them found a place in his heart?

It didn’t matter. They had, and he thanked God for them both. Two different women for two different seasons of his life.

Andrew burst into the room, making a final jump into place before him. “How do I look?”

“Exactly like a best man.”

Andrew lifted his toes. “My shoes are shiny.”

Mac pointed to his own. “We’re twins.”

The doorbell rang and Andrew bolted. “She’s here!”

Yes, she was. His new wife-to-be had arrived, and it was time to go to the church to get married. Time to appreciate the here and now and let the past go.

Alexander MacMillan went downstairs to open the door.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What choice would you like to change in your own life? How would you like things to work out?

2. Lies ruin the relationship between Vanessa and her father. When have lies hurt a relationship you’ve been in? Is there ever a situation when lies are acceptable—or even necessary?

3. David pines for his dead fiancée for forty-six years. His secretary, Dina, virtually does the same type of thing toward him. Are you holding onto something from the past that is preventing you from fully enjoying the present? What can you do about letting it go?

4. The media is often invasive, looking for the sensational. Where do you think the freedom of the press should start and stop? Have you ever been the victim of bad press?

5. We all crave attention. Toby Bjornson and others grabbed their fifteen minutes of fame. If given the chance, would you thrust yourself into the spotlight of media attention?

6. Like Lane, sometimes we don’t appreciate what we have and realize how good things are while we are living them. What are your current blessings? What have you taken for granted? How can you prevent yourself from doing this again?

7. Lane discovers that her God-given gift comes with a responsibility to use that gift. But there are sacrifices. Do you believe we can “have it all”? How do you determine which path to take, and which sacrifices to make? What is your God-given gift? Are you utilizing it to its full extent? If not, why not? If yes, how does it feel?

8. People and relationships sit at the center of the choices and experiences of the Time Lottery winners. What relationship in your past would benefit from a second chance? Is there any way to implement a version of that second chance now? What’s holding you back from doing it?

9. In their pre-Time Lottery lives, the winners didn’t pay much attention to God or their faith. But through their experiences in the past, they had a second chance to get to know Him better. When has God given you a second chance to know Him? Did you take it? What were the results? What can you do in your life right now to make yourself more open to His guidance and His desire for a relationship with you?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nancy Moser is the award-winning author of over twenty novels that focus on discovering our unique purpose. Her genres include both contemporary and historical stories. The first book in the Time Lottery series,
Time Lottery
, won a Christy Award, and
Washington’s Lady
was a finalist.
An Unlikely Suitor
was named to Booklist’s “Top 10 Romances of 2011”.

Her contemporary books are known for their big-casts and intricate plotting. Some titles are
John 3: 16
,
Crossroads
,
The Sister Circle
, and
The Invitation
. Nancy’s biographical novels allow real women-of-history to share their life stories:
Just Jane
(Jane Austen),
Mozart’s Sister
(Nannerl Mozart),
Washington’s Lady
(Martha Washington), and
How Do I Love Thee?
(Elizabeth Barrett Browning.)

Nancy and her husband Mark live in the Midwest. She’s earned a degree in architecture, traveled extensively in Europe, and has performed in numerous theaters, symphonies, and choirs. She paints canes, kills all her houseplants, and can wire an electrical fixture without getting shocked. She is a fan of anything antique—humans included. Visit Nancy’s website at:
www.nancymoser.com

ALSO BY NANCY MOSER

Time Lottery

John 3:16

Solemnly Swear

The Good Nearby

Crossroads

The Sister Circle Series

The Sister Circle (Book One)

‘Round the Corner (Book Two)

An Undivided Heart (Book Three)

A Place to Belong (Book Four)

The Sister Circle Handbook

The Steadfast Series

The Seat Beside Me (Book One)

A Steadfast Surrender (Book Two)

The Ultimatum (Book Three)

The Mustard Seed Series

The Invitation (Book One)

The Quest (Book Two)

The Temptation (Book Three)

Biographical Novels

Mozart’s Sister

Just Jane

Washington’s Lady

How Do I Love Thee?

Historical Novels

Masquerade

An Unlikely Suitor

COPYRIGHT

Second Time Around

© Copyright 2004, 2011 by Nancy Moser

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.