Twenty-Five Years Ago Today Read Online Free PDF

was, Irene Ferguson, Diana's mother.
Mrs. Ferguson had moved to nearby Remington. Kris added the phone
number to her notes. She looked up Soares, and found M & C
above six other listings with the same last name. Cheryl?
    She left the library, her thoughts focused on
the dead girl she could never meet.
    ***
    Kris sat cross-legged on the plush white
carpet, scanning her sister's wedding album. A gilded bridal
portrait of Holly alone graced the deep crimson wall of their
parents' living room. Rose bouquets brightened her sparkling train,
the flowers borrowed from her bridesmaids, and the velvet green
lawn rolled toward the gazebo. The portrait hung over the marble
fireplace, overlooking framed wedding day snapshots, graduation
photos and school pictures on the mantel.
    Holly and her husband curled on the recliner,
sharing a wheat cracker smeared with cheddar cheese. In the
background, a football game played on the wide-screen TV. Kris had
expected her sister to marry an athlete or a fraternity guy, but
she'd picked R.J., a pediatrician not much taller than his
patients. He kissed Holly's cheek, and she giggled from his
lap.
    Kris closed the photo album a little too
hard. She would never find love herself. She didn't deserve it.
    Her mother closed the French doors to her
office, a medical textbook pressed against her red blazer. Crisp
gray locks fluffed around the gold studs in her ears. Hours of
swimming and tennis had made her trim in her pleated khakis. She
wore a line of copper lipstick, her only concession to makeup.
    She passed the volume to Holly and ruffled
her hair. "Here you go, hon."
    "Thanks, Mom. I'll keep it to read when
things are slow at work. Not that it’s slow very often." Holly
placed it aside and spread another cracker.
    Their mother looked at Kris. "I'm afraid I
don't have reading material for you ... unless you'd like to see
the obits from my college alumni publication." Her tone made obits
sound as distasteful as curdled milk.
    "Mom, do you know how important an obituary
is?" Kris asked. "It's a tribute, the last impression a person will
ever make. You can focus on the triumphs, or the notoriety."
    "It's morbid. At this point in your life, you
should concentrate on settling down, not dead people. Everyone else
your age is getting married, or is at least in a relationship."
    "How do you concentrate on settling down? Is
there a seminar?"
    Holly snickered.
    "Kris will be fine," her father said from the
camelback sofa. "I, on the other hand, could use a class on the
Psychology of Wives. For example, when a married couple goes out to
dinner, why does the wife insist on calling it a date? I thought I
had given up dating."
    R.J. pushed down the brim of his Boston
Bruins cap. He wore baseball caps to hide his receding hairline.
"I'd like to know why my wife squeezes the toothpaste from the
middle," he said, hugging Holly's slim waist. "You'd think a doctor
could brush her teeth without making a mess."
    Holly jabbed him in the ribs. "Don't talk to
me about bathroom etiquette. When was the last time you left the
toilet seat down?"
    "Very funny," R.J. said. "Hey, Kris, will we
see your byline soon?"
    "It might be awhile," Kris said. "I'm in a
new field, remember."
    Her mother's lashes fluttered, reminding Kris
of her late grandfather. She sensed a dig coming. Her grandfather
would blink fast when displeased, a muscle in his jaw stirring.
    An image filled Kris's mind, her grandfather
in the stiff brown suits he wore even on the rare days off from his
medical practice. He would loom over her and Nicole, despite his
rounded shoulders. On Easter, he'd press cellophane-wrapped popcorn
bunnies into their hands, but his penetrating blue eyes wouldn't
soften. Kris and Nicole would scurry into the other room and unwrap
the bunnies in private.
    She had only seen his eyes tender in the
sepia wedding photograph they'd found after his death, tucked in
the sock drawer of his scarred walnut bureau. He'd had his arm
around his