[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
mester to take care of her sick mother. She had the baby
but only saw him once, the day he was born. Her
mother wouldn t let her keep him. She arranged a pri
vate adoption.
Once the baby was out of the picture, R. J. started
calling, trying to see her. He wouldn t stay away. Her
mom threatened to have him arrested and Kaithlin
committed to juvenile hall as incorrigible. It got really
ugly. It was like Kaithlin was in prison, with her mother
the warden. The day she turned eighteen, she and R. J.
started to date openly and she went back to work at Jor
dan s. Her mother couldn t stop her then, though she
tried.
You almost had to feel sorry for the woman. It was
like trying to stop a whirlwind with your bare hands.
Amy hugged her knees, face awash in memories.
When did R. J. decide he wanted the baby back?
He didn t get on that kick until years later, after
they were married. Like, his parents were hot for a
grandson. It meant a lot of money to R. J. He was impa
tient, always wanted everything right now, couldn t fig
ure out why Kaithlin didn t get pregnant. Amy
smirked. She didn t trust him yet. I mean, she d seen
him in action the first time. She wanted a solid marriage
174 EDNA BUCHANAN
first, to know he d hang in and be a decent father. She
wanted to keep working, build a career, until he was
ready. She never told him she was on the pill.
But when Kaithlin didn t get pregnant, R. J. de
cided to take their baby back. He had the money and all
to do it. But Kaithlin s mother refused to tell them any
details about the adoption. R. J. went nuts, accused
Kaithlin of knowing where the boy was and deliber
ately keeping him from his son, all kinds of shit like
that. Poor Kaithlin knew nothing. She was a kid. Like,
all she did was sign the paper her mother put in front of
her.
A mess, I said.
Sure was. Amy nodded slowly. Her mom hated
R. J. Guess it was her chance for payback, big time. R. J.
hated her too. He was vindictive; it was all he thought
about. Kaithlin got caught in the cross fire, all that hos
tility, negative energy, all those bad vibes. Amy
hunched her shoulders and shivered as she stared into
the empty stone fireplace.
Trapped between the two people she loved most, I
said.
Right. They made her miserable. Like, her only joy
was her job. She loved it. She was so good at it, she had
a way with people, and it was her escape from a hus
band and a mother who wanted to kill each other. She
glanced up, eyes bright. You know what I mean? Like,
she threw herself into work to escape the pain in her
personal life.
Oh, I knew.
What finally brought it all to a head?
She found out R. J. was seeing that Suarez woman.
YOU ONLY DIE TWICE 175
A real slut. We even followed them one night in my car,
saw them together. God only knows what else he did.
He had it all, the cars, the boats, the plane. Nothing was
enough. There were rumors, even in the newspaper,
about missing money at Jordan s. Kaithlin suspected
R. J. and some accountant friend he d hired. But she
knew in the end she d be blamed. His parents would
defend him. They always had, you know. He was
blood; they always found somebody else to blame
when he fouled up.
I nodded, imagining how Kaithlin felt. She d lost
her relationship with her mother, she d lost her baby,
and she was on the verge of losing her marriage and her
career.
The day before she went to Daytona, Amy was
saying, she said she had to make it work. I told her to
bail. Like, the world is full of men. But she wanted to
persuade R. J. and her mom to see a shrink with her.
She d tried before, but they d both refused. She didn t
like failure. When R. J. asked her to go away for the
weekend, she went, to do whatever she had to to make
it work.
You knew her best, I said. During that last call to
you, from the motel, was she really frightened?
I offered to drive to damn Daytona to get her, and I
didn t even have a decent car at the time, Amy blurted,
voice rising. I would ve rented one, or hailed a god-
damn cab. That s how sure I was that he was out of con
trol and she needed help.
See she leaned forward, eyes plaintive we
were always there for each other. Kaithlin would have
done the same for me. That s the great thing about her.
176 EDNA BUCHANAN
Like, she never forgot her friends, never forgot her
roots, always reached out to the underdog, always
wanted to help other women. So what I want to know [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
mester to take care of her sick mother. She had the baby
but only saw him once, the day he was born. Her
mother wouldn t let her keep him. She arranged a pri
vate adoption.
Once the baby was out of the picture, R. J. started
calling, trying to see her. He wouldn t stay away. Her
mom threatened to have him arrested and Kaithlin
committed to juvenile hall as incorrigible. It got really
ugly. It was like Kaithlin was in prison, with her mother
the warden. The day she turned eighteen, she and R. J.
started to date openly and she went back to work at Jor
dan s. Her mother couldn t stop her then, though she
tried.
You almost had to feel sorry for the woman. It was
like trying to stop a whirlwind with your bare hands.
Amy hugged her knees, face awash in memories.
When did R. J. decide he wanted the baby back?
He didn t get on that kick until years later, after
they were married. Like, his parents were hot for a
grandson. It meant a lot of money to R. J. He was impa
tient, always wanted everything right now, couldn t fig
ure out why Kaithlin didn t get pregnant. Amy
smirked. She didn t trust him yet. I mean, she d seen
him in action the first time. She wanted a solid marriage
174 EDNA BUCHANAN
first, to know he d hang in and be a decent father. She
wanted to keep working, build a career, until he was
ready. She never told him she was on the pill.
But when Kaithlin didn t get pregnant, R. J. de
cided to take their baby back. He had the money and all
to do it. But Kaithlin s mother refused to tell them any
details about the adoption. R. J. went nuts, accused
Kaithlin of knowing where the boy was and deliber
ately keeping him from his son, all kinds of shit like
that. Poor Kaithlin knew nothing. She was a kid. Like,
all she did was sign the paper her mother put in front of
her.
A mess, I said.
Sure was. Amy nodded slowly. Her mom hated
R. J. Guess it was her chance for payback, big time. R. J.
hated her too. He was vindictive; it was all he thought
about. Kaithlin got caught in the cross fire, all that hos
tility, negative energy, all those bad vibes. Amy
hunched her shoulders and shivered as she stared into
the empty stone fireplace.
Trapped between the two people she loved most, I
said.
Right. They made her miserable. Like, her only joy
was her job. She loved it. She was so good at it, she had
a way with people, and it was her escape from a hus
band and a mother who wanted to kill each other. She
glanced up, eyes bright. You know what I mean? Like,
she threw herself into work to escape the pain in her
personal life.
Oh, I knew.
What finally brought it all to a head?
She found out R. J. was seeing that Suarez woman.
YOU ONLY DIE TWICE 175
A real slut. We even followed them one night in my car,
saw them together. God only knows what else he did.
He had it all, the cars, the boats, the plane. Nothing was
enough. There were rumors, even in the newspaper,
about missing money at Jordan s. Kaithlin suspected
R. J. and some accountant friend he d hired. But she
knew in the end she d be blamed. His parents would
defend him. They always had, you know. He was
blood; they always found somebody else to blame
when he fouled up.
I nodded, imagining how Kaithlin felt. She d lost
her relationship with her mother, she d lost her baby,
and she was on the verge of losing her marriage and her
career.
The day before she went to Daytona, Amy was
saying, she said she had to make it work. I told her to
bail. Like, the world is full of men. But she wanted to
persuade R. J. and her mom to see a shrink with her.
She d tried before, but they d both refused. She didn t
like failure. When R. J. asked her to go away for the
weekend, she went, to do whatever she had to to make
it work.
You knew her best, I said. During that last call to
you, from the motel, was she really frightened?
I offered to drive to damn Daytona to get her, and I
didn t even have a decent car at the time, Amy blurted,
voice rising. I would ve rented one, or hailed a god-
damn cab. That s how sure I was that he was out of con
trol and she needed help.
See she leaned forward, eyes plaintive we
were always there for each other. Kaithlin would have
done the same for me. That s the great thing about her.
176 EDNA BUCHANAN
Like, she never forgot her friends, never forgot her
roots, always reached out to the underdog, always
wanted to help other women. So what I want to know [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]