Joy Argento - Carrie and Hope Read Online Free PDF Page A

making sound like a reprimand. “You promised me that you would go. Did I need to make you promise me that you would stay?” Marcy put her fork down and folded her hands in front of her, waiting for an answer.
    Hope was determined not to let her big sister treat her like a child. She was thirty-seven years old, not six. She was damn well old enough to leave a group that she didn’t feel comfortable in. She took a deep breath before speaking. She looked directly at Marcy, meeting her sister’s brown eyes with her own. “Marcy, I know that you are trying to help me. I know that you think I need to share my grief with other people. But this type of group is really not what I need.” She closed her eyes for a moment to gain her composure. When she opened them again she saw the concern in Marcy’s eyes. “The night was not a total loss. I met a woman there, her name is Carrie, and we talked after we left the meeting. We talked for a long time. She seemed to understand what I am going through and she listened to me. I think just talking to her helped me. So, please don’t think that I am not getting help going through this.”
    “You are telling me that you spent the evening spilling your guts to a total stranger and now you feel better? Why couldn’t you stay in the group and get some real help? I care about you, Hope. I want you to heal so you can go on with your life,” she paused briefly. “You haven’t grieved at all and I just think that’s not normal. I don’t understand how talking to some woman that you don’t even know could make you feel better.”
    “But, I did feel a lot better after talking to her. Why do you object to my speaking about this to one stranger, but you want me to tell my story to a roomful of strangers? Isn’t that the point, to have someone I can share this with, that can share her story with me? And in the end we both feel better.” She shook her head in frustration.
    “Pass me the salad dressing,” Marcy said suddenly. Hope handed the bottle to her sister. She drowned her salad in the chunky ooze, and began cutting the lettuce into little pieces. She stabbed a chunk of lettuce and brought to her mouth. She held it there, but didn’t eat it as she looked at her sister. Several drips of dressing fell from her fork back onto her plate. Finally Marcy pushed the lettuce into her mouth and chewed slowly. Hope could almost hear the wheels turning in her sister’s head.   Marcy swallowed, pointed her fork at Hope and said, “I’m not sure what to say to convince you that you are making a huge mistake. I think you need some help dealing with everything and I don’t think that meeting some stranger and having an in-depth discussion is going to do it. But I guess it could be worse. I guess you could have told me that you met a man at the meeting and decided to start dating already.”
    Hope laughed out loud. Her sister stared at her with stern eyes, a frown on her face.    “That is something you definitely don’t have to worry about. I am no rush to start dating any men,” Hope said. She shook her head and laughed again.
    Marcy continued to stare.
    Hope took a bite of her food before she said, “Can we just call a truce here? I don’t want to fight with you. I know you are trying to help me. I know that. But I really don’t think that going to a support group is right for me. Let’s just sit here and play nice and enjoy lunch. Can we do that?” She raised her eyebrows and added, “Please?”
    Marcy let out a sound that was like a cross between a groan and a huff. She looked at Hope for several seconds longer. “Okay, I’ll drop it for now, but we are going to talk about this again. You need to move on with your life and your denying that there is a problem doesn’t make the problem go away. I know what I’m talking about Hope. You should be listening to me.”
    Hope knew that Marcy wouldn’t let it go completely and that at some point they would revisit the subject