Barbara Levenson [Mary Magrud Outrageous October (epub)

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.I had a complete picnic lunch prepared by Mother and Dad’s parting hug and advice.“It’s good that you found out about that schtunck Carlos.You’ll find a nice Jewish boy, a beautiful girl like you.”I had mapped out my itinerary to include a stop in South Carolina with my cousin, Celeste, daughter of mother’s sister, Faith.Celeste lived in the low country in a small town whose claim to fame was the largest Baptist Church in the area with a steeple that could be seen for miles, considering the flatness of the area.Celeste’s parents were killed in a traffic accident a few years ago in Haiti where they were serving as missionaries.For some reason, Celeste felt the need to continue their church work.Celeste’s husband was a “born again” preacher and Celeste ran the day school at the church.We hadn’t seen each other for a few years.I was shocked to see beautiful Celeste turned into an overweight, frumpy woman who looked ten years older than her real age of forty.It was just an overnight visit, but there was enough time to see that Celeste still was beautiful under the extra weight.As we sat and talked late in the evening, I asked the question that my mother would have asked and I was surprised to hear myself prying into Celeste’s life.“Is your life turning out the way you had imagined it? Are you happy with your marriage?”Celeste looked down at her hands and turned the plain gold band on her ring finger.I had a flashing thought of the rock of a ring I no longer possessed while I waited for Celeste to say something.“The reason I asked,” I said, “is that I remember one summer when I was fourteen and you were nineteen or twenty.I was visiting Aunt Faith and you came home from summer school.You told your folks that you wanted to be an actress.I think you had the lead in a musical at your college.You looked so glamorous.Your parents threw a fit.You said you were going to New York as soon as you had enough money.Do you remember that?”“Oh, yes, we fought on and off for the rest of the summer.”“So what happened? That’s why I was asking if you were happy, because I just broke off a relationship.I guess I’m just trying to see my disappointments in comparison to how you’ve coped with yours.”“Those silly teenage dreams were just that.I grew up.No marriage is perfect, if that’s what you’re asking, but Lincoln and I have so much in common.We are always busy with our parish members and their children and problems, and we’re planning for a mission in a year to carry on the work of Mom and Dad.”“I wondered why you didn’t pursue the driver who caused that accident.Mother was so horrified losing her sister.She and Aunt Faith were very close in spite of their different life styles.I know she was hoping you would pursue some court action.”As I spoke, I saw Celeste looking behind me.I turned to see Lincoln standing in the doorway.He frowned at us.“I’m sorry, Lincoln, were we keeping you up?” I asked.“Please, don’t come breezing into our home, filling Celeste’s head with all your lawyer talk.It was God’s will that took her parents.The courts are an ugly place.I don’t want my wife upset.Nothing she can do will bring them back.Celeste, shouldn’t you be coming to bed? It’s late, and I know Mary will want to get an early start.” Lincoln stared at me.“Of course, I’ll be leaving early tomorrow,” I assured Lincoln.I hugged Celeste and Sam and I headed for the tiny guest room behind the kitchen.How could my cousin stand to be bullied by Lincoln?.One more reason I was glad I wasn’t married.You can erase an errant boyfriend by letter, but getting rid of the wrong choice in spouses might take a lifetime.CHAPTERTWELVEThe drive to South Carolina had taken nine hours and I did not have a restful night thinking about Celeste and Lincoln and the death of Aunt Faith,I had no set agenda for the second day.I decided to make some stops in Virginia and Pennsylvania to see some of the Civil War monuments.By the time I reached Gettysburg, the day was nearly gone.Sam and I found a dog-friendly motel.After checking in and examining our clean but Spartan room, I decided to haul Sam’s crate into the room, although I was sure he’d opt for sleeping on the bed.I gave him a heaping bowl of his favorite chow and then we took a leisurely walk along the street filled with fast food joints, and tourist shops with tee shirts touting “See Historic Gettysburg” and pictures of Honest Abe.I took Sam back to our motel room and secured him in his crate.After a quick face wash and a clean shirt, I prepared to get some people chow for me.I rummaged in the overnight bag for a sweater.As we drove north, the weather had begun to change.We left the heat and humidity behind.It was early October but Pennsylvania was swept with the cool breeze that ushers in autumn and hints at winter.It felt amazingly refreshing, like it was blowing away all my problems.I left the TV blaring in case Sam decided to howl over being left behind.Sam was a good traveling companion.He hadn’t complained about the accommodations at Celeste’s.He didn’t offer any negative opinions about my choice of motel.Well, who needed a spouse when a girl has a great German Shepherd for company?Walking back down the tourist street, I spotted the Chamber of Commerce office and ventured in for advice about what to see in the morning.I found maps and brochures for self-guided tours of the battlefield and directions to a Gettysburg museum.Armed with my reading material and directions to an honest-to-goodness diner, I was feeling relaxed for the first time in a long time.Two hours later, I returned to the motel food logged from pot roast and real apple pie, made by an Amish farmer’s wife in the area.I expected to hear howls of welcome from Sam.Instead I found the door to my room ajar and a broken door hanging abruptly to the side of Sam’s crate.What I didn’t find was Sam.CHAPTERTHIRTEENPanic enveloped me.I felt like I was having a nightmare but I was wide awake.My first instinct was to call Carlos and ask what he thought I should do.I had gotten into the habit of relying too much on him whenever bad events came my way.Now I realized that I would be relying on myself.The feeling of loss enveloped me.There was no more Carlos in my life and now I’d lost Sam.I walked completely around the motel, yelling “Sam, come” to no avail.I went to the front office, but the desk clerk who looked all of sixteen years old, was busy talking on her cell phone and glared at me for interrupting her.“I haven’t seen no dog.The rules say, keep your dog confined at all times.”She turned back to her cell phone.I walked up and down the route that I had walked with Sam just a few hours ago.It was completely dark now and the street was only two blocks from the Interstate.I kept yelling for Sam.The wind carried my voice away.I stopped the few people still walking about.No one had noticed a large German Shepherd.Sam would be hard to miss.I leaned against one of the stores and called again [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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