Page 55
Story: Black Cat (Gemini 2)
"Right. You control the weather. too," Betsy chimed. "I'm going to town to see Dirk," she called to her father. "By the way," she added as she walked to Mr. Fletcher's car. "he's my guest for the picnic."
She laughed and got in. She drove off too quickly, spitting up gravel.
"I warned her that I wouldn't let her use my car if she drove like that," Mr. Fletcher said furiously. "That girl has gotten more traffic tickets. Its a wonder she hasn't been in a serious accident. I oughta cut off every gray hair in my head, put it in an envelope, and hand it to her with a thank-you card,"
Mama laughed.
He looked at her and smiled. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I shouldn't add a single note of unpleasantness, especially right now, but that girl..." He looked after her.
Mama stepped up beside him and threaded her arm through his.
"She will change," she declared with such certainty, he had to look at her and smile. She nodded. "She will change," she promised.
The wind through the trees seemed to make the branches tinkle as if they were laden with tiny bells.
Baby Celeste heard it and looked that way. Her laugh turned Mama to us and the forest.
But Baby Celeste had turned completely around and was staring at the arch now. When Mama turned to look that way, her smile wilted.
Did she see him?
I saw him.
Like someone waiting. like a spider who had spun his web. Elliot was standing in the middle. smiling gleefully at all of us.
11
A Down-to-Earth Wedding
.
The following day. the Reverend Mr. Austin,
Mr. Bogart's friend, came to our house to revie
w the wedding ceremony with Mama and Mr. Fletcher, His wife. Tani, accompanied him. She was a pleasant, amiable, and talkative little woman, and I learned she was a close friend of Mrs. Bogart's wife's and knew quite a bit about us and our family history.
The reverend was a handsome man of about fifty with light brown hair and aqua eyes. He had a soft, gentle manner and touched your hand or your arm to reassure you whenever he said anything that might in the least way cause concern. He immediately made Mr. Fletcher feel at ease.
"When you had one marriage that failed, you naturally think its your fault and you're naturally afraid of making another commitment," the reverend told him. They had taken a walk together and I overheard it all while I was working in the shed, sharpening my chain saw with a chain-saw file.
Later, when we were all in the house, the reverend said he had a philosophy about marriage, a belief in the joining of kindred spirits.
"It's the fortunate man or woman who finds a soul mate," he said. "Too many of us are blind to the wondrous workings of the human heart. but I believe it is true that for everyone out there, there is someone."
"It was true for us," Tani said. She smiled at me. "And to inherit a fine young and responsible boy like Noble and a child such as Celeste to boot. You are truly a blessed man.-
"I think so," Dave said. The references to me made me blush,
Mama prepared a nice lunch for everyone, then afterward, we all went through the steps of the wedding ceremony. Mr. Fletcher had somehow forced Betsy to attend, even though she would play no role in the formal activities. I thought she. was there simply because she couldn't get her boyfriend to pick her up and take her away.
It took only two rehearsals for Baby Celeste to learn how to walk to the arch and hand Mama the wedding ring for Mr. Fletcher. She had such a serious expression on her face the whole time, too. It brought laughter to everyone's lips but Betsy's.
"What a beautiful and wonderful little girl!" Tani Austin cried.
Anyone could see how proud of herself Baby Celeste was, especially in the way she stepped back beside me, took my hand. and waited patiently for the rest of the wedding ceremony to continue. Betsy, on the other hand, let us know how bored she was by wearing earphones and listening to her music the whole time. I thought it wouldn't surprise me to see her do the same thing during the actual ceremony.
Mr. Fletcher ignored her and concentrated on Baby Celeste.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55 (Reading here)
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127