spring to replace a mighty oak felled by a fierce winter storm. Braden took a photo of them that day, arm in arm, wearing jeans and holding shovels. It sits framed on her desk.
âA hundred years from now, our great grandchildren will tie a swing to its branches and push our great-Âgreat grandchildren in it,â she told Jake as he dragged the hose over to soak the soil at its base.
âI like that youâre assuming the house will still be in the family and that the kids will want to stay in Mundyâs Landing.â
âWhy wouldnât they? We did. And this house is our happily-Âever-Âafter.â
It was one of those rare days when she appreciated it all: the house, and the life she and Jake had built there together. The day before and the day after were undoubtedly fraught with the usual tensions, but on that April day, in that moment, it all seemed idyllic.
Dogged by the memory of itâÂand by a fresh wave of fear-Âtainted guiltâÂRowan scuttles up the stairs to bed, heart pounding.
As she slips beneath the covers beside her snoring husband, she wills sleep to overtake her quickly; a complete and dreamless sleep.
But she finds herself staring up through the skylight above their bed at the bare tree branches moving against the night sky, thinking of the past and the mysterious box in the attic. Now, not only does she feel as though sheâs inhabiting a blond strangerâs body whenever she looks into a mirror, but sheâs been enveloped by the strange sense that sheâs inadvertently trespassed into someone elseâs life.
Oh, who is she kidding?
Itâs like sheâs been thrown back into her own life, the one sheâd tried so hard to leave behind with her teenage years.
Fourteen years ago, having long since transformed herself from a rebellious kid to an upstanding wife and mother and fourth-Âgrade teacher, sheâd nearly ventured back into dangerous territory. Teetering on the familiar good girl/bad girl precipice, she could easily have lost sight of who she really is and what matters most. But in the end, that hadnât happened. Sheer conviction kept her on the straight and narrow. That was all that counted.
That, and the fact that Jake and the kids would never find out.
Or so she believed.
Now someoneâ Rick? Damn you, Rick!â wants her to be aware that her secret was never safe; that she isnât safe at all, even now. Her entire world can unravel in an instant, and sheâs no longer in charge.
Sleep refuses to claim her just as it did fourteen years ago tonight, dooming her to greet the cold and gloomy December dawn with restless exhaustion and the sense that the battle she thought sheâd won long ago has begun anew.
Â
From the Mundyâs Landing Tribune Archives
Society Page
June 20, 1993
Rowan M. Carmichael Weds
A. Jacob Mundy IV
Surrounded by family and friends, Rowan Mary Carmichael exchanged vows with Asa Jacob Mundy IV in a double ring ceremony at Holy Angels Church on Saturday afternoon.
The groom is the son of Mrs. Laura Mundy III of Mundyâs Landing and the late Asa Jacob Mundy III. The bride is the daughter of Jonathan âMickeyâ Carmichael of Mundyâs Landing and the late Katherine Devlin Carmichael. Given in marriage by her father, she wore her motherâs silk gown, which had a V-Âneckline and was accented with Alençon lace appliques, and she carried a bouquet of peonies and roses.
The brideâs sister, Noreen Carmichael Chapman of Oyster Bay, was matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Liza Mundy of Austin and Carolyn Kaliszewski of Buffalo. Edward Mundy, cousin of the groom, was best man, and ushers were Mitchell and Daniel Carmichael, brothers of the bride. Andrew Carmichael, the brideâs nephew, was the ring bearer.
Following a honeymoon in Cancun, the newlyweds will make their home in Westchester County, where Mrs. Mundy will begin a teaching position
âA hundred years from now, our great grandchildren will tie a swing to its branches and push our great-Âgreat grandchildren in it,â she told Jake as he dragged the hose over to soak the soil at its base.
âI like that youâre assuming the house will still be in the family and that the kids will want to stay in Mundyâs Landing.â
âWhy wouldnât they? We did. And this house is our happily-Âever-Âafter.â
It was one of those rare days when she appreciated it all: the house, and the life she and Jake had built there together. The day before and the day after were undoubtedly fraught with the usual tensions, but on that April day, in that moment, it all seemed idyllic.
Dogged by the memory of itâÂand by a fresh wave of fear-Âtainted guiltâÂRowan scuttles up the stairs to bed, heart pounding.
As she slips beneath the covers beside her snoring husband, she wills sleep to overtake her quickly; a complete and dreamless sleep.
But she finds herself staring up through the skylight above their bed at the bare tree branches moving against the night sky, thinking of the past and the mysterious box in the attic. Now, not only does she feel as though sheâs inhabiting a blond strangerâs body whenever she looks into a mirror, but sheâs been enveloped by the strange sense that sheâs inadvertently trespassed into someone elseâs life.
Oh, who is she kidding?
Itâs like sheâs been thrown back into her own life, the one sheâd tried so hard to leave behind with her teenage years.
Fourteen years ago, having long since transformed herself from a rebellious kid to an upstanding wife and mother and fourth-Âgrade teacher, sheâd nearly ventured back into dangerous territory. Teetering on the familiar good girl/bad girl precipice, she could easily have lost sight of who she really is and what matters most. But in the end, that hadnât happened. Sheer conviction kept her on the straight and narrow. That was all that counted.
That, and the fact that Jake and the kids would never find out.
Or so she believed.
Now someoneâ Rick? Damn you, Rick!â wants her to be aware that her secret was never safe; that she isnât safe at all, even now. Her entire world can unravel in an instant, and sheâs no longer in charge.
Sleep refuses to claim her just as it did fourteen years ago tonight, dooming her to greet the cold and gloomy December dawn with restless exhaustion and the sense that the battle she thought sheâd won long ago has begun anew.
Â
From the Mundyâs Landing Tribune Archives
Society Page
June 20, 1993
Rowan M. Carmichael Weds
A. Jacob Mundy IV
Surrounded by family and friends, Rowan Mary Carmichael exchanged vows with Asa Jacob Mundy IV in a double ring ceremony at Holy Angels Church on Saturday afternoon.
The groom is the son of Mrs. Laura Mundy III of Mundyâs Landing and the late Asa Jacob Mundy III. The bride is the daughter of Jonathan âMickeyâ Carmichael of Mundyâs Landing and the late Katherine Devlin Carmichael. Given in marriage by her father, she wore her motherâs silk gown, which had a V-Âneckline and was accented with Alençon lace appliques, and she carried a bouquet of peonies and roses.
The brideâs sister, Noreen Carmichael Chapman of Oyster Bay, was matron of honor. Bridesmaids were Liza Mundy of Austin and Carolyn Kaliszewski of Buffalo. Edward Mundy, cousin of the groom, was best man, and ushers were Mitchell and Daniel Carmichael, brothers of the bride. Andrew Carmichael, the brideâs nephew, was the ring bearer.
Following a honeymoon in Cancun, the newlyweds will make their home in Westchester County, where Mrs. Mundy will begin a teaching position
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