Barbara Levenson - Mary Magruder Katz 03 - Outrageous October Read Online Free PDF Page B

you. I know you really like him.”
    “Correction. I did like him, but if he’s upset you this much, I have to review my opinion of him. Maybe Abe was right about him from the start; he never trusted Carlos. Do Angie and J.C. know that you’ve sent Carlos’s ring back? You know we’ve become very friendly with Carlos’s parents. I really do like them, so this is going to be awkward. They were hoping you two were going to get married.”
    Angie will probably be relieved. She wanted Carlos to find a nice Hispanic girlfriend. I don’t care if you remain friends with them as long as they leave me alone.” I fought back more tears. Who was I kidding? I missed Carlos already and his big noisy family.
    “Mary, you should think this through before you rush off like this. You’re not thinking clearly. Stay here for a few days.”
    “No, my mind is made up. Please don’t worry about me. I’m going someplace quiet and safe and I’ll be back as soon as I get my head together”
    “Well, I’ll pray for you. But for now, come in the kitchen. I’ve got your favorite, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, and chocolate pudding for dessert.”
    It sounded wonderful and it also felt like I was ten years old again, and had just come home from school after having a fist fight with the class bully.

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    CHAPTER
    ELEVEN
    I was packed up and ready to hit the road by six the next morning. Mother and Dad were outside in their robes to wave me off. 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