After the Fire by Belva Plain Read Free Book Online

had changed her mind about Gerald. At the very least, she must see how he was trying to please.
    These last weeks of the term before commencement, when his calendar was nearly empty, might have been purposely arranged to let him fit himself into the life of the house. The spring was exceptional, a long stretch of cool, green weather after a hard winter.
    Jim was establishing a new perennial border on the shady side of the house. Together he and Gerald searched through gardening manuals for flowers that would thrive there, bought seedlings from the nursery, and worked outdoors together through the lengthening evenings until dark. Rarely had any of Jim's sons given him quite as much time and attention as Gerald did. They painted the lawn chairs, went fishing, shopped for a new barbecue grill, and set it up.
    A lovely peace filled the air. At the turn of the road lay a stretch of woods whose owner had no objections to innocent users of his land; here Hyacinth and Gerald took long walks, sat on a log, and held long, searching conversations in a silence and serenity that were an astonishment to him. It seemed to her that they were growing even closer now, and in a new way.
    At Granny's house one night, they let themselves be deliciously overfed. Afterward they were regaled withtales of the old days, when the town was surrounded by grand estates, with their prize cattle and private railroad cars; of the chauffeured Pierce Arrows on the shopping street; of the band playing “Over There” in 1917. Before they left, Granny brought forth gifts knitted by herself: two sweaters, one for each, a matching dark blue pair. Hyacinth had felt uneasily that Gerald might be bored, for Granny could sometimes talk too much and for too long about things that interested her but might well be of no interest to anybody else. But no, he had found her “most delightful, a dear old lady, a character.”
    Everything was organized by May. On a glorious morning in perfect sunshine and with stately tradition, from “Pomp and Circumstance” to the prideful presentation of diplomas, Hyacinth through shining eyes saw Gerald receive his degree: doctor of medicine. Afterward at home he was introduced to all the obligatory relatives and friends. Later in the evening he was even shown off to Martha the Nemesis and the rest of the “in crowd.” Seemingly by accident, Hyacinth had strolled with him past her house. They all made introductions; Hy, observing Martha's mild but undeniable surprise, embarrassed herself by her inner conflict between a sense of triumph and a sense of her own foolishness for giving a damn what other people thought.
    Preparations for a small wedding ceremony in the garden were then in order. The brothers bought their plane tickets. Hyacinth selected the wedding dress, while she and Francine ordered the engraved invitations. A few gifts had already arrived, and thank-you notes were sent. The journey to Texas had been carefully mapped.
    It was Dad who suggested, who in fact insisted, upon the party after the ceremony. “It's all right not to have a crowd at the service, if that's how you feel, Hyacinth, but you'll regret it if you don't have some celebration afterward. And besides, after living in this neighborhood, going to school here all your life, it's unfriendly not to include people. What do you say, Francine?”
    Surely one would have expected her to be the party instigator. Still, she was promptly agreeable. She had been nothing but agreeable, if perhaps a trifle quiet—or was that Hyacinth's imagination?—since the snowy night on which Jim had opened his heart and his pock-etbook to Gerald.
    “Well, you know how I love a party,” she replied. “Hyacinth, you must give me all your ideas about the decorations and the menu and the guests. I need to get busy right away.”
    Often as the wedding day drew near, Hyacinth came to the brink of asking Francine what she really thought about Gerald, now that he had become such a