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16 years ago…a small town in New York
People say when you’re choosing a partner, make sure their values align with yours, that your goals and visions are not too dissimilar, and of course, theremustbe an attraction.Not only the physical, but the cerebral as well.And donotforget that one of the most important considerations is to select a partner who isat leastas intelligent as you are.To do less will put you at a pathetic disadvantage, filled with heartache and suffocated by bad and worse choices, especially if you’re unfortunate enough to love the person.
Angela knewallof this, believed it, even shared these beliefs with friends, and vowed she’dneverlet this happen to her—and it didn’t—until she met Victor Layton.
Oh, the goals and values were there, as was the attraction and the desire to spend a life together.But it was a challenge for Victor to understand that a person couldnotchase every dream that landed in his brain, could not pursue every desire, could not say “yes” to every possibility.To do so would make it difficult, if not impossible, to achieveanything.
For the first few years of their marriage, Angela didn’t mind.When a woman’s in love, she believes everything her husband tells her, and even if she doesn’t, she convinces herself that his less-than-logical deductions are valid.Essential.And when their choices do not align, she defers to him, tells herself it doesn’t matter, that her husband needs whatever his latest dream is and she will make it work.It is indeed a challenging task to convince oneself that bad choices are decent ones, that a partner’s thought processes make sense, and that the math used to obtain the goal works.
None of that was true, but Angela believed she could help her husband and guide him through his perpetual employment hopscotch until he found a path that would bring him home and keep him there.But she should have known a traveling salesman chooses that career, not just for the product he’s peddling, but for thelifestyle.She should have realized that truth early on, but didn’t until it was too late.
Angela worked part-time as a bookkeeper, doing much of her work from home, even though she had a business degree and could make more money if she found employment elsewhere.A bank, a hospital, an accounting office would have been a more lucrative choice.
But who would care for the children and keep the family together if she weren’t available?Her husband traveled so often, and there was no family to rely on.Who would cook, pay the bills, get the children to their activities, take them to church?Who would be both motherandfather if she went to work full-time?As the children grew older, she would have found a way because they needed the money and because it was time their daughters knew how long it took to pay off a refrigerator,andthe real reason there was no summer vacation—even if their father was home.Of course, Victor wouldn’t hear of Angela working full-time.He insisted he would take care of their monetary needs, andshewould see to the running of the house, the children—the life that existed when he was gone.
It didn’t matter how many scenarios Angela offered, Victor would not agree to full-time work for her.Part-time, out of the house was fine, but only if she were home when the children got home.Why did she agree to this?Why didn’t she say “no” to such backward thought processes that refused to consider the credit card debt, the loans, the dwindling bank account, and the lack of savings?And worse, refused to acknowledge Angela as an intelligent, capable woman who could contribute much more than household tasks and childcare?
When the second delinquent electric bill arrived during a particularly frigid winter, Angela decided to do something about it.She took on two more clients, kept their books,anddid their tax returns, but it was a casual comment that made her see she could contribute even more to her family’s needs.The first time she delivered chicken soup and banana bread to a neighbor who’d had foot surgery, the woman insisted Angela should start her own business.You could make meals for people.They would definitely buy them.The soup is delicious…the broth so flavorful.And the banana bread?Moist and definitely the best I’ve ever tasted.
It would take three more months and several more meals for friends and neighbors for Angela to gain the courage to turn her penchant for cooking and baking into a job.She did not tell her husband.While a tiny part of her felt guilty, she knew Victor wouldn’t understand or condone it, would label the ideanonsensical and foolish, and therefore unacceptable.For years, she’d given in because she wanted to make him happy and keep harmony in the relationship.
Not this time.She was going to do this to help her family and pay off the debts her husband refused to acknowledge.It took eight months to grow the business that offered soups, breads, and a variety of baked goods.One year later, the debts were clear, and she’d started a small savings account.Her daughters helped with the food preparation; measuring flour, grating zucchini, chopping carrots and onions.If business continued like this, they’d be able to take a real vacation.Maybe they’d travel to Niagara Falls.What would Victor say about that?
Angela should have considered her husband’s fragile ego, but all she could think about was the stack of debt she’d cleared, the savings account she’d opened, and the vacation they could take with the girls.This was finally a real partnership.Thiswas how she could help her family.
Victor didn’t see it that way.Do you think I don’t provide for us?Do you think the girls are doing without?His handsome face turned red, his voice three decibels above normal volume.Who do you think you are, humiliating yourself and this family by cooking for people?
I just wanted to help.
I told you how you could help.Take care of the girls, keep the house in order.We are not a charity case.
He’d planned to stay home five days this time, get reacquainted with the girls, and take them on a hike, maybe even stay overnight in a hotel where they could swim in the pool and get snacks from the vending machine.But Victor left two days later, his goodbye filled with demands instead of a kiss and hug.I mean it, Angela.Stop this foolishness and don’t do it again.
She would have given up the food prep business, would’ve done anything for her husband, but six days later, everything changed.When the phone call came late one afternoon, she didn’t recognize the number or the voice, but when the man identified himself as a policeman and asked to speak with Victor Layton’s wife, she knew something had happened to Victor.That something turned out to be a small plane crash in which her husband had been one of the passengers.Bad weather conditions, too much fog, so sorry.
Later, she would wonder why he’d been on a plane.Where was he headed?With whom?Answers would trickle in as the days turned into weeks, but the most telling was the call from Victor’s boss, where the man expressed his sympathies and then divulged that Victor had been going through a difficult time.I don’t know what possessed him to go up in the plane.We tried to stop him, said the weather was bad and the pilot wasn’t skilled enough… the guy hadn’t even been flying long, but Victor wanted the adventure.Said it made him feel alive.I’m so sorry, Angela.So sorry for you and the girls.
Sorry indeed.
Anger bubbled deep inside, poured out in molten waves of fury and disbelief.How could her husband have jeopardized their family, been so reckless with his lifeandtheirs?But even as she questioned his behavior, she knew she had to share in the blame.She’d let him do whatever he wanted, let him believe he had the capacity to protect their family, make the right decision, makeeverydecision without her.The life insurance policy he neglected to pay had lapsed, the bonus he vowed would be coming did not, and Angela was left a widow with two daughters, ages thirteen and ten, and a job history that included part-time bookkeeper and food prep.
What to do with that?
They’d never been able to scrape up enough money to put a down payment on the house they were renting—another of Victor’s empty promises.The town knew all about Victor Eugene Layton, said he was no different than his father or his brothers.Full of wanderlust, heading for that pot of gold that was nothing more than fool’s gold.On and on the comments went, peppered with sympathy, casserole dishes, and coffee cakes.Some didn’t voice their thoughts about the irresponsible Layton men, but the looks said it all.We knew this would happen.Now what will you do?What on earth will you do?
Angela decided to leave the town and the people who refused to let her forget how trusting the wrong man had ruined her life.On a warm summer day, she and the girls packed up their belongings and stuffed them into the back of a rented trailer.This will be an adventure, she told Katie and Norah.A chance to start fresh.They made it to the outskirts of Magdalena, New York, when the station wagon began sputtering.As they hobbled into town, the last rays of sun filtered through the trees, catching various shades of green and gold.So vibrant, so alive, filled with splendor and beauty, the likes of which Angela hadn’t seen since she was a little girl traipsing along a path with her father.
She took this as a sign that maybe this town would provide a safe haven for her and the girls.Maybe they could make a home here.
6 years later…Magdalena, New York
Katie chopped three onions and tossed them in a bowl.Next came the celery.Her mother had always called celery a “quiet” ingredient that enhanced the flavor and texture of a soup.She also believed parsley perked up the broth.And carrots?If cut to bite size and not overcooked, they offered a blend of sweetness that made them must-adds.Katie peeled the first carrot, set it aside, and reached for the second.It would be hot today, and she wanted to get the cooking started before the house heated up.Magdalena had some dreadfully hot days, and window units weren’t the same as central air conditioning, especially in a hot kitchen.One of the many blessings of living in a cabin surrounded by trees was the shade they provided in the summer.When winter came, and snow blanketed the branches, those same trees transformed the cabin into a cocoon of comfort and safety.
Who could ask for anything more?
Apparently, her sister could since Norah didn’t like the quietorthe distance from what she called “real life” and “civilization.”That’s why she’d jumped on the chance to act as babysitter to the Knights, a gig that would take her to the Grand Canyon for three weeks.Katie hadn’t wanted her to go, but the Knights were good people, and love was about letting go, right?Even when it was the last thing you wanted to do, and the hardest.All you could do was hope that person would come back.Of course, Norah would come back, but maybe the better question should be, would shewantto come back?
