Love Mercy Read Online Free Page B

sympathetic to her sometimes snippy daughter-in-law. What kind of parent didn’t drop everything to come support their child during a time like this? After most of the guests had left, Love went in the kitchen and started washing cups and glasses. As she worked, she wondered about asking Karla Rae if she wanted to come to Morro Bay with the girls and maybe start a new life on the Central Coast. She was picturing the girls playing in the Johnson hay barn where Tommy had played when Karla Rae burst through the swinging kitchen door. She collapsed on one of the red vinyl kitchen chairs.
    “Shoot, I’m so tired I could melt into a puddle right here on the floor,” she said. “Finally got the girls to bed. Cy’s reading them a story.”
    “You just sit there and relax,” Love said, glancing at her. “I’ll finish these dishes.”
    “Good, I’m sick to death of doing dishes.” She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms across her chest. “I’m a bit put out, you know.”
    “Oh?” Love said, turning back to the sink.
    “Tommy only had ten thousand dollars in insurance.” She gave an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t know how long he expected that to last with three growing girls.”
    Love froze, shocked that Karla Rae would bring that up on the day of the funeral. She blinked her eyes quickly, trying to focus on the yellow sippy cup she was washing. “I’m sure,” she finally said, “that Tommy didn’t think he would die so young.”
    “Well, he should have considered that. It’s kinda selfish, if you ask me.”
    Love slowly turned around, about to snap an irritable reply to her insensitive daughter-in-law, when Cy walked into the room. By his despairing look, Love knew he’d heard Karla Rae’s words. Standing behind his daughter-in-law, he shook his head at Love, his green eyes filled with pain. It was his expression that caused Love to press her lips together and say nothing. She would not have done one thing at that moment to make her husband feel any worse than he did. Love turned back to the sink of dirty dishes and took out her frustration on a coffee-stained mug printed with a picture of Bart Simpson.
    Love was certain Karla Rae never told the girls that Love had written and called every week after Tommy died, sent checks when she could to help out with expenses. Karla Rae cashed the checks but never sent one word of acknowledgment. When Love called, her granddaughters never seemed to be there; they were at tee ball or a sleepover or an overnight scout function.
    About a year after Tommy’s death, Love’s letters started coming back marked, “Moved, no forwarding address.” When Love and Cy tried to call, they got a recording that stated the phone had been disconnected. Love couldn’t remember Karla Rae’s father’s name or the city in Ohio where she vaguely remembered Tommy saying he lived. After three months, they hired a private detective who, with a few phone calls and some Internet searching, discovered that Karla Rae had married a man named Pete Ryan and lived in Pensacola, Florida. Love called the number. Karla Rae’s voice didn’t sound shocked or embarrassed when she heard who it was.
    “Oh, Love!” she exclaimed. “I was going to call you and let you know we’d moved, but you know how it is with kids, just one thing after another. How are you? Did you know that I got married again? He’s got a real good job. Such a wonderful father to the girls, buys them every silly little thing they want. I love my new house. The girls all have their own rooms. Isn’t that great?”
    Love stuttered a moment, amazed at Karla Rae’s audacity. “Well, I suppose so.”
    “We were registered at Pottery Barn, but you can just send us a gift card, if you want.”
    Though Love couldn’t bring herself to send that gift card, she did start writing the girls again, still getting no response. Her letters eventually became birthday and Christmas cards, which also were never acknowledged. It was