Circle of Three by Patricia Gaffney Read Free Book Online Page A

seeing you. Carrie, could you get Brian’s coat? Ruth honey, you go watch your program. George, can you help me in the kitchen?”
    There. Everybody went where they were supposed to go. Except for George, who kept going, out the back door and into the yard to smoke his pipe. I didn’t spy on them, but before I closed the kitchen door I saw Carrie and Brian huddled in the foyer, talking in earnest voices. He was leaning forward, she was leaning back.
     
    “Why didn’t you just tell me, Mama? It would’ve been nice to know he was coming, that’s all.”
    “I don’t see why, and this way you didn’t have to worry. Think of it as a stress-free job interview. Wasn’t that a lot nicer than going down to his office and answering questions?”
    “But what if he didn’t want to interview me? You made it impossible for him not to.”
    “No, no, he did want to, I figured that out in the bank. What you don’t understand is that this all started with Brian, not me.”
    “Oh, sure.”
    “Well, so? What did he say? Are you going to take it?”
    Carrie straightened up from the dishwasher, swatting her hair back over her shoulder. “We both said we’d think it over.”
    “Oh. But he did offer it to you, the job, formally?”
    “Well, I guess. Sort of. He told me more about what I’d do.”
    “What would you do?”
    “Well, write all the copy for the spring semester’s course brochure, that sounds like the main thing. Help him recruit new sponsors and advertisers. Write up ads and figure out new places to put them. ‘Editorial and administration,’ he said.”
    “My goodness, that sounds exciting.”
    “You think so?”
    “Oh, my, yes. You’ll be in charge of everything, sounds like. What will he do?”
    She smiled, loosening up, getting over her huff. “I guess itmight be okay. It doesn’t sound too hard, nothing I probably couldn’t learn.”
    “Are you kidding? He’s lucky to get you. Did you talk about money?”
    “No. Oh—he said he was glad to know I’m good with computers. Mama, what in the world did you tell him?”
    “Nothing. Just that the last time you worked, which was in Chicago three years ago, you had a very important administrative position in a busy high-tech office.”
    “I was a part-time assistant in the math department at Stephen’s college.”
    “Isn’t that what I just said?”
    Oh, it was good to hear Carrie laugh! Ruth came in while we were still at it. She went to the sink, pushing her mother aside with her hip to get a glass of water. Carrie reached up to push a lock of hair out of her face, but she shrugged away, still drinking. “So are you taking that job, Mom?”
    “I don’t know, sweetie. We said we’d talk about it some more.”
    “You and Mr. Wright .” She set the glass in the sink too hard. She looked disgusted, curling her lip in a very unattractive way.
    Carrie frowned. “Don’t you want me to take it?”
    “God, Mom, I so don’t care.”
    “Well, nothing’s formal yet anyway. He may not even offer it to me.”
    “Oh, he’ll offer it to you, don’t worry. I bet you a million dollars.”
    “How do you know?”
    “Are you kidding? God, it’s so obvious . The guy is hot for you.”
    Carrie stared, then laughed. “Oh, that’s funny. Boy, are you off base.”
    “Nuh uhh.”
    “Ruthie, what am I going to do with you?”
    “Jeez, Mom, are you really that dense?”
    I didn’t care for this conversation. I interrupted it to askRuth, hoping to change her mood, “How’s that boyfriend of yours? The one I met at the bus stop the other day.”
    “Mama,” Carrie said.
    “I don’t have any boyfriend, Gram.”
    “You know,” I said, “Gull, Herring—”
    “If you’re speaking of Raven, he is not my boyfriend.”
    “Well, that’s a relief.” I laughed, hoping she’d join me. “I wanted to say to him, ‘Honey, where’s your calendar, Halloween’s over .’”
    “ Mama .”
    “ What ?”
    It was a cold, nasty day when I met this person,