Vicki

By Dianne Partridge

As a new mother, I wanted only the best for my children. I hoped and dreamed for big plans in their lives. Our dream for Vicki became a nightmare on February 24, 1987. Vicki had a part-time job at a local convenience store. She and I spoke earlier in the day discussing her new haircut. When she did not come home from work, I began to worry; by midnight I was frantic. The police didn't seem worried, but my intuition told me different. When one day turned into a week, our life turned upside down. A young girl is found murdered in our small town. Friends and relatives put out posters. Where could my daughter be? Who would take my child? My only hope was God. My upstairs attic became my prayer chambers. Here I lean on my heavenly Father to bring my girl home and ease our broken hearts. Where is my Vicki?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 2, 2016
• ISBN: 9781681974491

Book preview

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VICKI

Dianne Partridge

ISBN 978-1-68197-448-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68197-449-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2016 by Dianne Partridge

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

Author’s Note

To my husband, Burl, who has always believed in me and my accomplishments. I love you.

To our daughter, Victoria, who this book is written about, I love you and thank God daily for you and your beautiful family.

CHAPTER 1

July was a warm month that year for Massachusetts, and being pregnant made it even warmer. Having gone by my due date already, I hoped that this was the day this child would be born. I wanted to keep busy, so I began ironing. Please note that ironing is at the bottom of my priority list, so when I began the process of preparing to iron, my mother took notice. This was not like me. Being an observant mother, she suspected the time was close. She was right as usual. Later that day my baby was born. She was a normal birth and also a surprise as I had counted on having another boy. Vicki, weighing seven pounds with dark hair and dark eyes, was beautiful. I knew God had made the right choice and I would be happy with her the rest of our lives. She was precious. Looking into her eyes, the warmth and love began to swell up inside me until I felt like I would explode. How did I deserve such a beautiful bundle of joy? She was going to bring me such joy and happiness; I just knew it.

Having a rough first marriage and now with two children, I knew my life was going to be interesting. David, my son of twenty months, was excited about his new sister. She was so tiny…He knew he would be able to help me with her. He would carry her bottle and cover her if she became uncovered in the crib. He had suddenly become a little helper instead of the baby. They were going to have a great relationship. I was so happy now. My life felt like it was coming together.

Many friends had a lot of trouble with their babies with colic or jaundice, but I was blessed with a daughter that was happy all the time. When I would have to wake her from her nap, she would look up with that big smile and be happy with whatever there was to do. She was such a good baby. Little did I know what was coming up in a few short years.

Shortly after Vicki was born, I met a wonderful man that was in the Army and had been for the past ten years. This was his career and he loved it. We knew there would be a lot of traveling involved, but that was okay with us. As a child, I did not have the opportunity to travel very much so this sounded exciting to me. I knew the children would love it also. We dated for over a year and then married. We dreamed dreams for our children and made plans for our future. We would give everything to them and they would be so happy. David was very quiet, and Vicki was friendly and outgoing. She was always in charge of what had to be done or what game was to be played. Most of the time, she was the youngest of the children playing, but somehow she controlled what was going on. I have heard a famous psychologist in California speak of strong-willed children and believe me, Vicki was one of them.

Some of the dreams we had for the children worked out perfectly. Yet there were those dreams that would come later in life that we never had a chance to experience. All mothers dream of their daughter’s graduation, first prom, and even their wedding. Even when Vicki was little, I could see her in an elegant wedding dress with a long train that would consist of pearls and ruffles. She would be so beautiful…and I would dream. I did dream a lot about my future and the future of our family. We were dreamers, but isn’t that what being a parent is all about? After a year of marriage, we started to move. This was exciting…We all enjoyed seeing new places and meeting new people. As it turned out, we only lived in five places during the children’s school years. We were stationed in Massachusetts, my home state, for a while before being transferred to Germany for three years. Vicki was five years old, and David was almost seven. They were excited, and I don’t think they even knew why. They learned the language quickly. We traveled quite a bit throughout Europe taking special vacations to Italy, Spain, Holland, France, Switzerland, and of course throughout Germany. This was an experience they would cherish for the rest of their lives.

When our tour in Germany was over, we moved to Dallas, Texas, for the remainder of our Army career. We had spent ten wonderful years in the Army and had many great memories that would enrich our lives. Civilian life