Read Online LimeLight by Melody Carlson - Free Book Online Page B

associated with her. I even denied that she was my mother on occasion. Not that it did much good since Silverton was such a small town. But I did my best to distance myself from her.
    “You’re not talking, darling.” Michael glances at me. “Please, dear, continue the story.”
    “Where was I?”
    “The photo of your mother when she was sixteen.”
    “Yes, of course. Well, I took that photo to my mother. As usual for that time of day, she was outside hanging up another family’s linens on our clothesline. I stood there and demanded that she tell me the truth. At first she seemed peeved at me for snooping, but then I shook the photo in front of her face and told her that I wanted to know what happened to that girl. And if she didn’t tell me, I’d do everything I could to find out on my own.”
    “And she believed you?”
    “She did. Fortunately, Violet wasn’t around that day. She was probably off with Father on one of his silly nature walks. He thought he was an expert on botany. So Mom gave in to my demands, making a deal with me. If I would continue hanging up the wash, and if I could be trusted to utmost secrecy, she would tell me her story.”
    “And you agreed?”
    “Of course. As I stood in the sun, hanging up lace-trimmed sheets and pillowcases that were far grander than anything I’dever slept upon, Mother sat in the shade in an old metal chair and told me what had happened.”
    “Yes?”
    “Her father had hired a handsome young man to work in his business, a man named Claude Porter. My mother had gone to the city for something, stopped in to say hello to her father, and met this young man. Claude was handsome and charming and complimentary, and my mother was instantly smitten.”
    “I think I see where this is going.”
    “Naturally, her parents were completely opposed to their relationship. Claude was a nice enough fellow, but certainly not in their class, and not the sort of man they had imagined for their daughter.”
    “A bit of a cad, perhaps?”
    “Exactly. But Claude and my mother began to secretly meet. It was summertime, and Mother was seventeen, and she thought she was in love. By the end of summer, she was pregnant.”
    “And her parents hit the roof?”
    “Can you blame them? I know such things aren’t nearly as scandalous in this day and age. But back in the twenties, it was a serious situation. Her father was enraged at Claude.”
    “So, there was a shotgun wedding?”
    “No, that was just the problem. Both Claude and my mother desperately wanted to marry, but her father was completely opposed. Apparently he had his own suspicions about his wayward employee. He believed that Claude Porter was a drinker and a womanizer, and he didn’t want him for a son-in-law.”
    “Oh no…”
    “Oh yes. In fact, he fired Claude straightaway. And then he informed my mother that she was never to see him again, and if she did, he would disown her. The plan was to send my mother away so she could have her baby and give it up for adoption. They would say she’d “gone abroad to finish her schooling.” Then after a year or so, she would return to her family home and hopefully make amends with everyone.”
    “But she didn’t do this…”
    “No. She was stubborn. She and Claude got married anyway. My mother actually thought this would force her family to accept him…and her…and their child.”
    “But that’s not how it worked out?”
    “No, of course not. My grandfather must’ve been more stubborn than she. He stuck to his guns, banishing them both from the family home, the business. My mother said her father told her that as far as he was concerned, she was dead.”
    “So very sad.”
    I nod.
    “But what brought them to Silverton?”
    “My grandmother. She was brokenhearted over the whole thing and felt sorry for my mother. So behind her husband’s back, she purchased a house in Silverton and gave it to my mother as a wedding gift. But she swore my mother to secrecy. And,