the positive recollections led to bad ones from her childhood years and she couldn’t stop the leap this time…
Physical abuse as a ten-year-old…
Get a switch from the lilac tree. You’re going to get it now.
What did I do, Ma?
You know.
Often, Maggie didn’t.
Psychological manipulation as a teen…
You can go out only one night on the weekend.
Why, Ma?
Because Amelia Ranaletti is doing that with Andrea.
That doesn’t make any sense.
And maybe the worst of all, damaged self-esteem…
You aren’t smart enough for college. You’ll stay in Cornwall, work at the factory and get married to a nice Italian boy…
It was no wonder that, after Caroline left, Maggie had fled the house with Jack or someone else every chance she got, as well as joining clubs and activities to escape. Thank God life was different with her own boys. They never tried to avoid her and Mike, so she banished thoughts of her mother and concentrated on all that was right with her family.
Jamie had been magnificent in Brigadoon and his drama teacher said he’d be a top candidate for a drama scholarship if he sent out a tape of the performance with his college applications next fall. Brian was flying high because he’d been chosen captain of the baseball team, and Mike was happy with his church activities. She and Mike were doing okay, too. Thinking of last night’s lovemaking, she sang louder.
Jamie appeared in the doorway of the laundry room. “Rockin’ Mama!”
Glancing up from Mike’s shirt—she was trying to get a stain out of the sleeve—she grinned and lowered the music. “Hey, buddy.”
“You sound happy.”
“I am.” She angled her head to the CD player. “Reminds me of my old boyfriend.”
“Yeah? Do tell.”
She shrugged. “Not much to tell. He was pretty well-off. Grandma Lorenzo didn’t like him, so I snuck out to see him.”
Slouched against the doorjamb, her son cocked his head. “I’m sorry you had such a tough childhood.”
“You know what I finally figured out? Some people have wonderful childhoods, then hard times with their kids. I had it bad when I was young, but hit the jackpot with you guys. I wouldn’t trade the two.”
“And you might even get your sister back.”
“I will, Jame. I know it.”
“It’s so weird, having three people in my family I’ve never met.”
Gertrude Lorenzo’s legacy. Though she tried not to ponder what her mother would do when she found out Caroline was in their lives again, fear washed over her like a cold shower at unexpected times like this.
Jamie sank down on one of the two steps that led to the laundry room from the hallway. Buck came up and nosed at him, wedging in the space between the doorway and Jamie’s knee. He began to rub the dog’s neck.
Maggie stopped scrubbing and watched her son. “You want to talk, honey? You seem, I don’t know, sad. Or nostalgic.”
“Maybe nostalgic.”
“Is it the letdown from the play? You always feel blue after the school musical is over.”
“No. It’s not that.” He bit his lip. “I gotta talk to you, though.”
Her pulse rate sped up. Good news never followed that statement. She dropped the shirt on the washing machine and leaned against it. “Shoot.”
“I have a date Friday night.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I think so.” His gaze locked with hers. “I hope you do, too.”
“Of course I do. Can we meet her?”
“It’s not a her, Mom. It’s a him.”
“A him?” She stared at her son blankly. The sound of the refrigerator across the room, the ticking of the clock on the wall seemed unnaturally loud. When the realization hit, her mother’s heart tightened in her chest. “You have a date with a boy.”
A long pause. “It’s okay, isn’t it?”
Please, God, let me handle this right . After a moment of speechlessness, she said, “O-of course it is.”
Jamie’s fingers tightened on Buck’s collar. Suddenly he seemed smaller, more fragile, in his jeans and
Physical abuse as a ten-year-old…
Get a switch from the lilac tree. You’re going to get it now.
What did I do, Ma?
You know.
Often, Maggie didn’t.
Psychological manipulation as a teen…
You can go out only one night on the weekend.
Why, Ma?
Because Amelia Ranaletti is doing that with Andrea.
That doesn’t make any sense.
And maybe the worst of all, damaged self-esteem…
You aren’t smart enough for college. You’ll stay in Cornwall, work at the factory and get married to a nice Italian boy…
It was no wonder that, after Caroline left, Maggie had fled the house with Jack or someone else every chance she got, as well as joining clubs and activities to escape. Thank God life was different with her own boys. They never tried to avoid her and Mike, so she banished thoughts of her mother and concentrated on all that was right with her family.
Jamie had been magnificent in Brigadoon and his drama teacher said he’d be a top candidate for a drama scholarship if he sent out a tape of the performance with his college applications next fall. Brian was flying high because he’d been chosen captain of the baseball team, and Mike was happy with his church activities. She and Mike were doing okay, too. Thinking of last night’s lovemaking, she sang louder.
Jamie appeared in the doorway of the laundry room. “Rockin’ Mama!”
Glancing up from Mike’s shirt—she was trying to get a stain out of the sleeve—she grinned and lowered the music. “Hey, buddy.”
“You sound happy.”
“I am.” She angled her head to the CD player. “Reminds me of my old boyfriend.”
“Yeah? Do tell.”
She shrugged. “Not much to tell. He was pretty well-off. Grandma Lorenzo didn’t like him, so I snuck out to see him.”
Slouched against the doorjamb, her son cocked his head. “I’m sorry you had such a tough childhood.”
“You know what I finally figured out? Some people have wonderful childhoods, then hard times with their kids. I had it bad when I was young, but hit the jackpot with you guys. I wouldn’t trade the two.”
“And you might even get your sister back.”
“I will, Jame. I know it.”
“It’s so weird, having three people in my family I’ve never met.”
Gertrude Lorenzo’s legacy. Though she tried not to ponder what her mother would do when she found out Caroline was in their lives again, fear washed over her like a cold shower at unexpected times like this.
Jamie sank down on one of the two steps that led to the laundry room from the hallway. Buck came up and nosed at him, wedging in the space between the doorway and Jamie’s knee. He began to rub the dog’s neck.
Maggie stopped scrubbing and watched her son. “You want to talk, honey? You seem, I don’t know, sad. Or nostalgic.”
“Maybe nostalgic.”
“Is it the letdown from the play? You always feel blue after the school musical is over.”
“No. It’s not that.” He bit his lip. “I gotta talk to you, though.”
Her pulse rate sped up. Good news never followed that statement. She dropped the shirt on the washing machine and leaned against it. “Shoot.”
“I have a date Friday night.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
“I think so.” His gaze locked with hers. “I hope you do, too.”
“Of course I do. Can we meet her?”
“It’s not a her, Mom. It’s a him.”
“A him?” She stared at her son blankly. The sound of the refrigerator across the room, the ticking of the clock on the wall seemed unnaturally loud. When the realization hit, her mother’s heart tightened in her chest. “You have a date with a boy.”
A long pause. “It’s okay, isn’t it?”
Please, God, let me handle this right . After a moment of speechlessness, she said, “O-of course it is.”
Jamie’s fingers tightened on Buck’s collar. Suddenly he seemed smaller, more fragile, in his jeans and
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