Read Online A Mother at Heart by Carolyne Aarsen - Free Book Online Page B

the truth, it’s fairly boring.”
    â€œBoring?” Donna said in a tone of disbelief.
    â€œYes, Donna. Despite what you see, it’s dull, plodding work.” She would have preferred to talk about her clothing retail business, but it was just another failure in her life. At least for now.
    â€œWell, you still don’t seem to have trouble keeping the weight off.” Donna sighed, looking at Miriam. “I could never figure out how a girl so skinny could eat so much and not put on a pound.”
    â€œAlways was a poor keeper. But enough about me,” Miriam said suddenly. She didn’t want to reexamine her life any more than she had to. She hadn’t liked what she saw out east; she liked it even less here. “What about you? Married? Kids?”
    â€œYeah, I’m married. My last name is now Kurtz, and my husband, Keith, is an accountant. I’ve got two kids. One in play school, the other in kindergarten. I’m busy with church, school. The usual.” Donna smiled a self-deprecating smile. “My life must sound so dull.”
    Miriam shook her head, a feeling of melancholy gripping her. “It doesn’t sound dull at all,” she said quietly. “It sounds pretty good to me.”
    â€œDon’t give me that.” Donna held her gaze. “As if beneath every glamorous outfit you’ve ever worn beats a heart that deep down would love nothing more than to be at home baking chocolate chip cookies.”
    â€œI prefer macadamia nut, myself.”
    â€œSee? A gourmet. You don’t belong in this little hick town anymore.”
    Once Miriam might have scoffed at the idea, but as she had traveled these past few years, she had been able to look at Waylen from a distance. “Waylen isn’t as bad as you might think, Donna,” she said.
    â€œYou sound serious.”
    â€œI am. The fashion life reads well in short magazine articles. But a good photographer can make anything—and I mean anything—look good,” Miriam said with meaning. “I haven’t met many sincere people in my business. They’re either putting up with you because you might be useful to them, or they’re sucking up to you because you are useful to them.” She gave a shrug, knowing that she had already said too much. She hadn’t come back here to show everyone how unsatisfied she was with her life.
    â€œSo no one important in your life right now?”
    â€œNope. Footloose and fancy free.” Her wry grin belied her casual tone. “My agent, Carl, is a darling, but he’s married. I’ve not met Mr. Right yet.”
    â€œI can’t imagine that. I always thought you would be the one who would get married first,” Donna said with a grin.
    There it was again: the soft pain brought up by the innocent comment. The reminder of how close she and Jake had once been. How had she thought she could keep herself aloof from that?
    â€œI’m sorry,” Donna said, shaking her head. “Me and my big mouth.” She sighed. “I don’t know what happened between you and Jake. I don’t suppose it’s any of my business, but it was as much of a shock to me as anyone when he and Paula got married.”
    Miriam sensed the opening that Donna gave her, but decided not to seize it. She had come to set the past to rest.
    â€œWell, that’s long over, and we’ve both changeda lot,” Miriam said lightly. “Tell me about the rest of the people here. What’s Linda doing? Still hoping to write that bestseller?”
    They sat for another hour, chatting, talking, laughing. Miriam found herself drifting back into life in Waylen. It was familiar, and yet, listening to her friend talk easily about children and her husband, Miriam had a feeling that she had missed out on an important part of life. Her own life seemed shallow and frivolous by comparison.
    Finally, Donna had to leave. “Why don’t you come