The Everlasting Chapel by Marilyn Cruise Read Free Book Online Page B

last time, I
think it’s only fair that it’s his turn. After we’ve settled down,
I ask him why he chose to go into the medical field.
    “My father,” he says, “used to have a weekly
interview with me, questioning me on things like sexual purity,
whether or not I said my daily prayers, how many hours I studied
the Bible, etc. And with his other radical ideas, he’s somewhat of
a Christian extremist.”
    “Like what kind of ideas?” I ask, popping a
grape into my mouth.
    “He doesn’t believe in medical science. He
claims that one must turn to God in times of both physical and
spiritual need. When my grandmother on my mother’s side fell ill,
he even convinced her to go against the doctor’s recommendations.
She left the hospital, and…” He pauses and takes a deep breath, his
face steeped in sorrow as if he’s remembering it clearly. “She died
two days later.”
    “That’s horrible. Were you close to your
grandmother?” I ask softly.
    He looks out into the distance. “Yes. She
was a huge part of my upbringing, like a second mother. A few
months later I found out that if she had listened to the doctors,
she would have lived. It was an easy fix, but she wanted to please
my father. I was seventeen at the time. My grades were crappy, and
I had a very poor attitude. After she died, I vowed to become a
doctor. It was and still is my way to honor my grandmother.”
    “So you’re like the black sheep of the
family then, rebelling from your parents’ ways?”
    He smiles, and gently kicks my foot. “To my
father, I am. My sisters and mother all are against him in that
way.”
    “And your mother stayed with him?”
    “Yes. They have tons of issues, but somehow
they make it work. I know my father loves my mother, and that my
mother loves him, too. I think it’s the only thing that keeps them
together.”
    I gaze out into the distance. I don’t want
to end up old and miserable, arguing with Michael every day, just
settling for a crap relationship because the sex is so good. But
then again, when I’m around Michael, I really do feel as if I
belong with him. Why is that? He brings out the best and the worst
in me. Every damn day. “Well, love isn’t always enough.”
    “That’s for sure,” Spencer says.
    We eat the sandwiches and fruit, and he
makes a toast to friends and lovers.
    “Hey, it’s almost time for you to get back,”
he says. “The rest of the week I’m on call so I probably won’t be
able to make lunch. But do you want to go clubbing on
Saturday?”
    “Sure,” I say. It’s a while since I’ve been,
and I would definitely enjoy a night on the town.
     
     
    * * *
     
     
    That night I give my two-weeks notice at
Ophelia’s. I ask Bernadette, one of the other part-time waitresses,
if she’ll cover for me on Saturday, and she agrees to do it. She
says she needs the money since her lousy ex hasn’t been paying
child-support for their three children.
    I check my balance daily to see if the check
has cleared, but all there is, is just a big, fat, pending amount.
Learning how the president of the bank knew about the deal, I am
now almost certain that the check is legit. Although, one could
never be too sure with Mrs. Manning.
    The rest of the week goes pretty smoothly,
and as promised, Michael doesn’t call me. I thought I’d be okay
with that, but for some reason when he hasn’t called by Friday, I
start to feel a little neglected. Wow, I’m such an idiot sometimes.
I ask a guy not to call me, and when he doesn’t, I feel ignored.
Where, oh, where is the sanity?
    By Saturday, I’m so exhausted from work that
I consider canceling with Spencer. When I tell my father about it
and say I want to spend time with him instead, he becomes angry and
insists I leave the house and don’t come back until a very
unrespectable hour. He says I’ve been way too uptight and stressed
lately and need to go have some fun. I don’t tell him who I’m going
with, but at this point, I’m not going