LIFE CHANGED
A Short Story
Published by Bluebird Haven Press
Smashwords Edition
Copyright 2012 © by Marcy Gardner
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LIFE CHANGED
by
MARCY GARDNER
“Mom, what would you be like if you hadn’t met Dad?”
Kathy Denner looked at her youngest son. “What brought this on, David?”
“I don’t know. I guess since I’ve been reading those time travel and alternate universe books for school, it’s just got me thinking.” David looked just like his father and it touched Kathy’s heart each time she looked at them together. At sixteen, he was taller than she was and nearly as tall as Johnny. Many people had wondered if David would play basketball, but his first love was computers. Just like his Dad.
“Well, let’s see, now. I met your father in kindergarten or first grade. So, technically, I’ve known him my whole life.” Kathy moved over to the yellow painted kitchen table with the tomatoes she’d gotten from the refrigerator. They were sharing a meal by themselves, since Johnny and his older son Jeff were out of town at a soccer tournament. “And since Grampa Tom was a dentist who stayed here in Mitchell for twenty-five years before he died, it’s not really likely that I wouldn’t have met your dad.” She smiled, “BUT if I hadn’t let Aunt Martha talk me into even going out with your father, that would have made a difference.”
David took a hamburger and bun from the green Corelleware platter, slathered the bun with dijonaise and tomato. “So, Aunt Martha had to talk you into even going out with him? Didn’t you like Dad?”
Kathy smiled, remembering. “I’m afraid so. Martha called me one night when we were in Eighth grade. She tried really hard to get me to go out with your dad. Grampa and Gramma had just told me we were moving, and I was rebelling.” She bit into her own burger made with egg and onion and Worcestershire sauce. Johnny called them Westerners, and he’d learned them from her father while she was off at college.
“I was very black and white with my opinions then. I just didn’t think it would be a good idea to go out with someone when I wouldn’t be around very long. Not fair to him OR me.” Kathy brushed a stray bit of hair out of her face as a shadow moved over it.
David looked at her, gulped. He wiped his mouth on his flannel sleeve, and said, “There’s something else, isn’t there?” His blue-grey eyes met hers, probing.
“Yikes, boy, you’re almost psychic. I’d had a bad experience several years earlier with some girls who were ‘popular’ playing a trick on me. Although I liked Martha a lot, I just couldn’t trust that she wasn’t trying the same thing.” She couldn’t believe that even after thirty years that incident still could cause her pain. Or that she was telling this to her son, of all people. She shook her head and smiled at her son, again, thankful that she’d finally listened to Martha.
“Martha also suspected something else was behind my refusal, so she set out to gain my confidence. She invited me to parties at her house; included me in outings that she and her friends went on: shopping, movies, dances. Little by little, as they helped me with my wardrobe and makeup, we became good friends.” She paused for a bite of burger.’
“Mmmmm, that’s good.”
“So, when did you start going out with Dad?”
Kathy giggled and blushed. “Well, I don’t think we ever did start going out then. We certainly didn’t date or anything like that. Anytime I went to her house, or we went to the movies, or even to the mall, Johnny and his friends just happened to show up. For the longest time, I thought she was mistaken and he really liked her.”
“Really?” David had finished his burger and was building another. Dijonaise mustard and onions, relish and cheese. “So, when did you and Dad start going out?”
“Actually, it wasn’t until after my mom died. We’d moved to the new house right after eighth grade, she died in my sophomore year. The funeral parlor was in Mitchell, so Martha and Johnny came with a bunch of our friends. He called me several weeks later, and we never separated after that.” Kathy smiled.
“So, if I hadn’t gone out with him then, you wouldn’t be here. Neither would your brother. I might have finished college and even have a Master’s degree in Nursing by now, with a career to match.”
“Do you regret not finishing?”
“No, being home with you boys has been the joy of my life. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world.” Kathy roughed her son’s hair as she began to clear the table.