Necessary Evil Read Online Free PDF Page B

student-teacher. ‘I’m looking forward to connecting with old
friends,’ he stated. ‘And as much as I love sunny California, it’ll be great
experiencing a real New England winter again.’ Professor Tremonti confirmed
that he will be bringing his skis and snowshoes.” She sat back in her chair. “I
didn’t know he was an outdoorsman.”
    “Oh, sure you did,” I said. “Don’t you
remember all those afternoons he stayed late to ride with Uncle Michael and me,
and that time we took him waterskiing on Winnipesauke? He took a group up Mount
Washington, the hard way. I remember because you wouldn’t let me go.” I
stroked the keyboard and went back to the original page, musing, “ I still have his phone number. I should send him a text
sometime.”
    I must have looked even dreamier than I
thought, because there was a sharp note in Aunt Susanna’s voice when she said,
“He’s still married, Maddie.”
    Like a bucket of ice water, that jolted me
out of my half-formed daydream, and before I could stop myself, my eyes went to
his hands. Yes – there was that gold band. I hadn’t noticed before. Something
like an iron band snapped around my heart and I experienced a sharp,
embarrassing jolt of disappointment.
    He was married. I hadn’t been the only
heartbroken girl when he announced it that night at the Dig’s End party, but I
was probably the hardest hit. I remember him standing in the glow of the
bonfire, his cheeks flushed, his hands trembling as he lifted his soda can high
and shouted, “Congratulate me, my friends. She said ‘yes’!”
    Most of the other girls had brought
boyfriends or friends with them to the party, so they had support when they
cheered in celebration. But I had no one except Uncle Michael and Aunt Susanna,
and I was too embarrassed to confide in them. I remember holding it together
until the congratulations calmed down, then I made an excuse and hid in the
stables to cry until Aunt Susanna found me.
    “Men like him are always breaking young
girls’ hearts,” she’d told me that night. “His kind aren’t worth it, Maddie.”
    Back then, I’d wondered why she’d taken
such a dislike to Joe. When Aunt Susanna, now gathering her walker to leave the
room, said, “Although I doubt a little thing like that would really
discourage a man like him,” I learned that time had done little to change her
mind.
    I wasn’t seventeen anymore and had no
business mooning over a married man. All the same, I felt the need to defend
Joe. Aunt Susanna didn’t know the debt of gratitude she owed him. How could
she, when I never told her how that Beaumont letter got into the trunk in the
attic?
    “Geez!” I said lightly. “I was thinking
about getting a coffee together, not starting a passionate romance! I’s a good girl, I am,” I added, and she laughed as she began her slow march into the
kitchen.
    “I’m making tea. Want some?” she called
over her shoulder.
    “Sure, after I bed the tenants,” I said.
    I made a habit of checking all the
occupied stables every evening before turning in. I pulled on my boots, called
for our dog Trusty, and went out.
    It was a beautiful night. Above my head,
the trees were rustling as a September breeze brushed by with its touch of
frost. There was already a hint of red and gold about the green, although they
wouldn’t fully turn until the beginning of October, when busloads of ‘Leaf
Peepers’ would make their annual foliage pilgrimage. I took a deep breath as
Trusty ran ahead of me, her ears flying behind her.
    Fall is my favorite time of year. Clean,
cool air replaces summer’s humidity, we exchange salads for thick, warm soups,
and the fiery leaves set the stage for the holiday season. There is something
refreshing and reviving about the autumn, something as promising as the new
books we used to start the school year with. As I checked the horses and found
all peaceful and undisturbed, a wave of contentment swept over me.
    Despite it all , I