Graceland
Page 28
Wayne and I have agreed to divorce, but look at this piece of the puzzle: he came to see Claire every day in the hospital and she’s calling him Dad, again. He did decide to keep Ellie and Claire’s apartment, and so did Ellie, so at the moment they’re living there together, Wayne in one bedroom, Ellie in the other. He says her cooking’s not bad, which Maddie and I found astonishing, especially when he denied that they ate grilled-cheese sandwiches and tomato soup every night. Ellie says they’re looking for a small duplex, so they can help each other out. She was worried that I’d be mad, but I told her I’d be glad if they do. Wayne’s a good man. Maybe he and Ellie can learn to be alone together. Gert thinks it’s a good idea, so it must be.
I don’t know about John. I’m a different woman than the one who fell in love with him nearly twenty years ago, the woman who believed that love always takes you where you should go. Certainly, I love him, and we are bound together to the death and perhaps beyond, but whether we will have another long, long silence between us while we live apparently separate lives, I don’t know. John, of course, wants us to marry, but I can’t see that far. I don’t know that I want to marry anyone again. For now, the only promises I will make are to Claire.
Claire moved back in with me after she and Maddie were both recovered from surgery, when Wayne needed another place to light for at least a while. She’s not met John yet. She’s unyielding on the point, but John is patient and says, “Give her time.”
And she has time, I hope. She’s gone to school now. A semester late, but she made it. I know because Wayne and I took her. The college made an exception, let her come in the middle of the year and room with another freshman whose roommate had dropped out. Ellie wanted to go with us, but there honestly wasn’t room. As it was, the car sagged with boxes and suitcases and lamps and the like. “All of you can come the next time there’s a parents’ weekend,” Claire said when she hugged her goodbye, and I deflated at first, and then realized, No, she’s right. Ellie’s had a part in giving her life.
When Claire hugged Maddie goodbye, it was fierce and private. I understood that right away. “You know how careful you have to be,” Maddie said, gently, not lecturing, holding Claire’s face between her hands. “Wash your hands a lot, and don’t forget a single pill, hear me?” Of course, Claire’s on the immunosuppressant drugs she’ll have to take the rest of her life. So far, so good, though. The kidney works. She’ll need another one sometime, and then, doubtless, another. Dr. Douglas says it’s unpredictable how long any transplant will last. I try not to think about it now, that uncertainty. It’s like setting out for Graceland, something Ellie wants us to try again. Maddie says she’s game if I am.
How can we all be so alone in our own skins, while so inescapably unified that just to live, we each draw in air that another of us has already exhaled?
I’m in school myself. I’ve got enough credits now that I have to declare a major. I have to choose a direction even though I still don’t know what leads to what, and where, or if, anything ends.
NEXT READER’S GUIDE DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Lydia seems to see herself as the most in-charge sister at the beginning of the novel. Do you think she was correct in her assessment? How you do analyze the power dynamics of the sisters’ relationships?
2. How do you feel about the men in the novel? Are they dominated by the women? Which male character shows the most strength? Does one please or disappoint you more than the others?
3. How do you feel about the choices Lydia made? Did she do the right thing by defying Wayne’s wishes and calling John?
4. As you read, were you sympathetic with Claire’s rejection of her mother, or did you feel that she was too judgmental? If you initially felt she was justified, did your opinion soften by the end of the novel?
5. Do you think Madalaine’s decision regarding donation is independent, or do you think she was manipulated? Is Lydia’s guilt appropriate?
6. What do you imagine some of the main characters will do after the novel ends?
7. What is your opinion about leading life blindly versus blindfolded?
GRACELAND
Copyright © 2006 by Lynne Hugo
ISBN: 978-1-4592-3594-6
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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