Page 13 of Sugarplum Dreams
“And that’s why I’m asking. Is he a serial killer? Is there something about him that I don’t know? Is he really what he says he is? He seems like he’s too good to be true. Sometimes when things seem that way, they really are.”
“Yeah. And I agree with you completely, except it’s Wilson McBride, and I’m pretty sure he’s not too good to be true. But ifthere is a reason that you should say no, surely his mom would know, wouldn’t she?”
“I would think that she would. And I’ll be seeing her later today.”
“All right. Ask her.”
“He’s going to be there though. I can’t ask her in front of him.”
“Why not?”
“Um, because he’s going to be there?”
“So do you think his mom will tell you the truth while he’s there, or do you think that…would hurt his feelings?”
“Both?”
“I can tell you for sure that his mom will tell the truth. She is known even more in town for being upright and honest. If there’s a problem, she’s not going to beat around the bush about it. But she might not tell you if you don’t ask.”
“All right. But what about hurting his feelings?”
“Don’t you think he wants to be married to a smart woman? Don’t you think you’ll look smart if you ask his mother whether or not he’s a good man? Do you really think that’s going to offend him if he doesn’t have anything to hide?”
“I suppose that he shouldn’t blame me for trying to make sure that I’m doing the right thing.” She still wasn’t entirely sure that it was a good idea, but she understood what Kyra was saying, that it might offend him a bit, but he should want her to turn over every stone that she could in order to make sure that she wasn’t making a mistake.
Although, she supposed that depended on him caring about her, and they weren’t really getting married because he cared.
Except, they kind of were. He had seen a need, and he had figured out a way to meet that need, although he also said that he was following what the Lord wanted him to do.
She knew for a fact that the Lord didn’t want her to marry a serial killer or child molester, so there was that.
“Are you thinking about it, or are you trying to figure out how to get out of it?” Kyra finally asked when she hadn’t said anything.
“I’m thinking.” Her eyes landed on her kids. Gifford pushed Serafina on the swing, while Banks and Lavinia rode their bikes. Evans sat in the sand, digging with a shovel. Gifford was old enough to know to watch for Evans to make sure the swing didn’t hit him.
She appreciated Gifford most of the time. He had really stepped up and helped with his younger siblings, but she wondered if maybe she was depending on him too much. She also had the nagging feeling that he was like his father. She really had to get over that. She couldn’t tell anyone. It was just something that was between the Lord and her, and she needed to get over it.
“I can’t think of any reason to tell you not to,” Kyra said. “I can think of a whole bunch of reasons to tell you that you should. I suppose the only thing that I would say is just be sure it’s what God wants you to do, because you know better than anyone that once you’ve done it, you can’t undo it.”
That wasn’t entirely true. It could be undone, just not without a lot of pain and suffering, and someone, or someones, had to pay. In this case, Clancy had been able to get out of it, he’d been able to skip the country, but she and the kids were paying. They would probably spend the rest of their lives paying. Especially the children. She would probably get over it, most likely anyway, but things that a child suffered in their childhood would mark them for the rest of their lives. It made her angry every time she thought about it, and if Clancy was standing in front of her, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t grab him by thehair and body-slam him into the ground. She hoped she was a better person than that, but she honestly wasn’t sure.
“Thanks. I guess that’s what I was asking. If there was some kind of big red flag that I was missing, that someone else could see and could tell me about.”
“If you need music for your wedding, you know my number,” Kyra said.
“You’re almost done with all of your holiday parties. Are you ready to get your life back?” Charity asked, trying to turn the subject from herself to her friend. It seemed like every time they talked, she took up the bulk of the interactions. She hated that she seemed to do that.
“I’ll be happy when they’re over, although my checkbook really likes the holiday parties.”
Charity laughed. “And I love listening to you. I wish I had been able to listen more.”
“We’re playing on Christmas Eve. You are planning on coming, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Of course. I wouldn’t miss Christmas Eve for—” She stopped. If she was married to Wilson, it wouldn’t be just her decision. But Wilson wouldn’t keep her out of church. Of that she was certain. And that was part of the reason why her decision wasn’t that difficult.
He was a believer, quite a strong one from her experience and from everything she heard. That was probably more important than anything, and that was where she had gone wrong with Clancy. He went to church, but only because she wanted him to. And that was before they got married. Once he got married, he didn’t feel the need to please her anymore and had stopped going. She supposed that happened to a lot of people, but she resented it. Why had he pretended, when he knew he wasn’t going to follow through? They both would have been happier with other people. She’d only wanted someonewho was committed to the Lord, or she’d rather have been alone. Clancy would be happier with someone like his current girlfriend, who didn’t think anything about committing adultery with a married man and father of five.
If that was the kind of character he was looking for, it made Charity wonder what he had ever seen in her.
