Read Online The Summer Wind by Mary Alice Monroe - Free Book Online

they’d married. With Parker having just graduated from college and Winifred a sophomore-year dropout, never to receive a degree, Mamaw had purchased a lovely house for the young couple in the fashionable Colonial Lake area of Charleston. Edward got Parker a job in his bank. Dora had always thought no parents could have been more generous. Two years later, after it was discovered that Parker was having an affair with Dora’s nanny, Mamaw had rallied in support of Winifred, threatening to cut Parker off if he didn’t end the affair with eighteen-year-old Sophie. The whole mess was a big disgrace that took Winifred years to get past. Memories were long in Charleston. But it certainly wasn’t Mamaw’s doing.
    “Divorce is painful to bear,” Winifred said pointedly. “I should know. Not to mention the scandal of it all. If Cal is willing to reconsider, Dora should do whatever she can to save her marriage.”
    Dora felt a twinge at her heart.
    “Winnie,” Mamaw said, stepping closer. Her tone had shifted to conciliatory. “I realize your divorce from Parker was difficult. It broke my heart. You were both so young and you with a baby.”She shook her head remorsefully. “It was all very sad. But Parker never changed, did he? He would have broken your heart over and over again if you had stayed together. You were set free by the divorce. If you’d stayed in that marriage, you never would have met Henry. And you’ve been happy with him, haven’t you?”
    “True,” Winifred said, mollified. “But Cal isn’t Parker. He’s much more stable, reliable. He’s not an alcoholic,” she finished, her tone slightly smug, as though she knew the sting of those words would cut Mamaw deep.
    Mamaw let the dig slide. “But does he love our Dora? That is the only criterion she should consider. Dora deserves more than a life filled with resentment and regrets. Both of us know too many women who are desperately unhappy because they stayed in a loveless marriage.”
    “Marriage is not just about love,” Winifred countered, raising her voice sharply. “Love is merely passion and infatuation. Marriage is duty. Obligation. Commitment. It’s hard work.”
    Mamaw scoffed. “You make it sound like a prison term. And I daresay, if those are the only reasons one chooses to live with a man, it will be.”
    Dora felt this battle of wills stir her heart. She cringed, her body reacting to what she was hearing, like nails scraping a blackboard. Her mother’s position was clear. Dora should not get a divorce. Dora looked at her mother standing as erect as a soldier, glaring at Mamaw, ready to do battle with a formidable foe. Her mother used the word should a lot, she realized. She didn’t care if the marriage was happy or even content. Winnie had never invested in relationships. It had always been about maintaining the social conventions, about doing what one should.
    Dora was about to remind them that she was in the room when the door opened and the subject of their conversation entered carrying a cup of coffee. Immediately the two women stopped talking and tight smiles appeared on their faces as they welcomed him back. Dora said nothing, but realized that it hadn’t occurred to Cal to ask the older women if they’d wanted coffee, tea, or even a donut. They’d been pulling equally long hours at the hospital. But he’d never been thoughtful in that way. Dora tried to brush off the thought. After all, Cal was here and he was trying. That had to be enough.
    Dora’s mind froze. That had to be enough.
    Wasn’t that her pat answer whenever Cal disappointed her? When he refused to babysit Nate, or pick up dinner when she was tired. When he’d said they couldn’t afford a dishwasher, or forgot their anniversary. Or when he’d recoiled from her touch. But he loved her, she’d kept telling herself. He was a good man. A good provider. He didn’t drink and have affairs, as her father had done. He was her husband. That had to be