Christy: A Journey Tale Read Online Free Page B

lost and lonely. It was
infectious and Jennifer could not help letting herself feel the
same. She reached out and took her mom’s hand holding it tight as
her own eyes began to fill with tears. She avoided her mother’s
eyes at first, but she could feel her looking at her. Staring at
her with an expression that conveyed more than words could ever
hope to accomplish. When their eyes finally did meet Jennifer at
last opened her heart to feel what she had not allowed herself to
feel. The two women joined together in a spontaneous embrace and in
that moment came to an understanding; an emotional connection that
they had not shared in a very long time. It was beautiful, and the
warmth and affection of the moment brought them out of the loss and
sadness to love and a rekindling of their relationship.
    Jennifer smiled brightly and tried to wipe
away the tears from her face with the palm of her hand.
    Jennifer looked at her mother and smiled.
Mary Beth returned her expression, but more than anything she was
relieved that her only daughter was beginning to let her back in.
This had proved to be a lot easier than she had anticipated.
    “Thank you so much for coming up for the
funeral. It means a lot to me, more than I could ever tell you.”
Mary Beth said as she looked at Jennifer smoothing away her own
tears. Jennifer stammered a bit debating her response, but in the
end she decided just to speak from her heart.
    “I’m glad I did, but to be honest I don’t
know if I completely felt that way until now. I know I’m a little
self-involved sometimes and forget about everyone else around me.
Thank you for helping me put things back in perspective.” Jennifer
held her mom’s hand once more as fresh tears glistened in her
eyes.
    “He loved you so much Jennifer,” she said as
she squeezed her daughter’s hand, but she could see her mood
change. The smile faded instantly as a solemn feeling enveloped
her. “I know you two didn’t always see eye to eye, and I won’t lie
and tell you it didn’t bother him, because it did.” Jennifer turned
her head away not able to look her mother in the face. “I’m not
trying to make you feel guilty. That’s not my intention.”
    “Then what is it?”
    “Listen, honey, I know you’ve got problems
and I don’t pretend to know what’s going on.” Mary Beth said as she
looked at her daughter’s left hand. Jennifer instantly recognized
what she meant and moved it so her mother couldn’t see. “But I’m
worried. I can’t help but be worried about you.” She stopped trying
not to cry. “Oh, your father was so much better at this. Like when
that little boy stood you up for the prom.” Jennifer knew exactly
what she meant and as the memories stirred in her mind she missed
her father even more.
    She had not thought about that in ages, but
she could still remember his name, David Cantrell, and he wasn’t
little. He was a senior, and she was a freshman. Yes, I’m afraid
it’s one of those stories that had disaster written all over it.
Both her parents could see it coming, but oh no, to Jennifer it was
an absolute fairy tale. She was so flattered that a senior had
asked her to the prom he could do no wrong. She spent the next
month agonizing over the dress, what she would do with her hair,
and making sure that everything was perfect. They even went out on
a few dates and everything about him made her like him even more.
She would lie awake at night and imagine them old together looking
back on a life well lived. She was so happy sometimes she would
cry.
    When the day of the prom came she didn’t see
him at lunch like she normally did, but at the time she didn’t
think that much about it. She was leaving school a few hours early
that day to get ready and those thoughts kept her pretty much
occupied. She was so excited that she was dressed, primped, and
ready to go a half hour before he was supposed to pick her up. Her
palms sweated as she paced the floor. It was bad enough