Loss of Innocence Read Online Free PDF Page B

fallen short. It’s as big a sin to be surprised by your own life as it is to let other people define it.”
    To Whitney’s knowledge, the adult Charles Dane had never failed to control his own destiny, never allowed any obstacle to deter him. Along the way he built Padgett Brothers, her maternal grandfather’s firm, into a power second to none. Charles had been born on theoutside, without resources, and he was single-mindedly determined that no one in his family would ever feel as he had.
    Now, as she had seen him do many times before, he looked to his right and left, silent until the others turned to him. Then he told them, “I look at this family tonight—including Peter and Clarice—and feel more fortunate than I can ever say.”
    His voice thickened with emotion as he gestured to indicate their surroundings. “All of this,” he continued, “and whatever success I’ve enjoyed, would be nothing without you. Family alone is the true measure of a life.” Meeting Anne’s eyes, he added softly, “And of a marriage.”
    Across the table, Clarice watched him intently. “It all started,” he went on, “with my brilliance—or sheer luck—in persuading Anne Padgett to marry me.
    “When I doubted myself, she was there.
    “When I was at odds with a superior, or a partner, she would seat him beside her at a dinner party, always knowing the perfect thing to say, the right time to listen, easing my way without seeming to try.
    “When I worked to build the life I wanted for Janine and Whitney, Anne made certain that they were safe, secure, and healthy in mind and body.” As tears misted her mother’s eyes, Whitney dismissed her own petty feelings of neglect. “By saying that life is nothing without family,” Charles said emphatically, “I’m also saying that I’d be a far lesser man without Anne. For that I will be forever thankful. And so,” he told Peter, “will you.”
    As Peter smiled, her father faced Whitney. “You have a fine mind, a great heart, and a strong character. You will be the core of a new family, true north for your sons or daughters. And if my experience is any guide, you’ll work more than a few improvements on your husband.” Amidst appreciative chuckles, he added dryly, “Not that you aren’t perfectly adequate, Peter.”
    “I will admit to a few misgivings,” Charles elaborated with mock sternness. “You’re too tall, more than a bit too good-looking, and far too adept at snagging a lacrosse ball. By comparison I’m shorter, stouter, and have what some tart-tongued girl once called the faceof an amiable peasant. Most embarrassing, you threaten to eclipse my lifetime quest to lay a golf club on a stationary ball. Whoever contrived evolution ignored the concept of simple fairness.”
    Whitney glanced at her mother, who smiled back in complicity. That Charles did not mean a word of this self-depreciation did not detract from its charm—as Anne often said, her husband excelled at playing Cary Grant. Then Charles addressed Peter with renewed seriousness. “Truth to tell, I’m feeling especially lucky in you. Given the qualities of my daughters, I never regretted not having a son. But now I have one—a companion in arms, and someday a partner.” His tone lightened again. “Not to mention a much needed source of gender balance in a household where I’ve felt bound hand and foot like Gulliver among the Lilliputians. And Whitney’s mother and I can hardly wait to meet the children who will be the joyous culmination of a life well lived.” Extending his glass, he concluded, “On our behalf, I wish you, Peter, and you, Whitney, all the happiness we’ve enjoyed—and more.”
    As the others raised their flutes of champagne, Whitney felt a lump in her throat. “I don’t know what to say,” she managed. “But if we can be like you and Mom, we’ll feel incredibly lucky.”
    As her father’s eyes lowered, a sign of emotion, Clarice appraised him over the rim of her glass,