I sensed that I was being watched, and I turned to the back door of the green Wicker house. I saw a curtain rustle in the kitchen window. A.C. looked over where my eyes had stopped.
“Great idea, Benny! Let’s take the Wicker Witch out for drinks. On you, of course. Wonder what ever happened to that lady…” he mumbled as he walked toward the car.
“Throw me the keys, A.C., and don’t call me Benny. I’m going to take you out for a big dinner. Even if I can’t chew, I can watch you.” I handed him the will. “Now read this to me while I drive. I guess this is your lucky day, Arthur Charles.”
“My lucky day?”
“Yep, Bucky’s flying and buying.”
“Awesome. Can we talk about the Miracle in Missouri now?”
As I drove out of the Maple Hill subdivision and glanced over at the Wicker house, I drove away in peace.
EPILOGUE
Faith of our Fathers
Baby bookmarks serve a purpose. They truly do.
However, no baby marked the year 1997 for me. With no baby, my mom sometimes stumbles to remember that year. I admit, I stumble, too. I now end up finding my place with the suffering that marked that year. Funerals, failures, fathers, and fires. Many of those who lined my life that year allowed me to find myself, to find my place. And while reminders of death seem sadder than the birth of a baby, I felt a rich relief in the suffering that year, though it made no sense at the time.
Tom Osborne made an announcement two months after the fire of Vanity Insanity that he would be retiring from the head-coaching position at UNL. The announcement came out a month before the Huskers won their third national championship with Osborne as the head coach. His retirement marked the end of an era, for the Huskers and for me personally.
I did end up calling Faith Webber. I helped her move into her new home, and for the most part, the two of us have been inseparable since she has moved back to Omaha. We talk very little about the time she spent away. We mostly talk about our plans. We have lots of plans. Most days Faith can find me at my radio station working on a sports story or lining music up for the DJ. We’ve also gotten into the little habit of going to daily Mass at Sacred Heart. Cramming, I guess. In the beauty of my “purposeful splendor,” I realize that my good looks and others’ prayers alone won’t get me to heaven, or so I’ve been told.
I moved into Octavia’s beautiful home in the Cathedral area after giving my little house to Caroline and Connor. My neighbor is a friend of A.C.’s who went to Creighton. I met him years ago during a night out with A.C. He’s the guy from New York who proclaimed “This city sucks” after only a month into his first semester at Creighton in 1980. He is now raising his family here.
With two new houses, Faith and I have been doing a lot of cleaning. We’re going to need a few more brooms. I told Faith I knew of a guy who might have some. I’m keeping my eye out for him walking through my streets. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, but I haven’t really been looking for him until now.
Following the cleanup of the fire, I used the insurance money to rebuild Vanity Insanity. I sold all of the extra bays and added nothing to the original salon. I hired Toby to man the business that I own but no longer work at. I go in every two weeks to get a trim from Jenae and look through the meticulous books that Toby maintains.
Vanity Insanity has been a thorn in my life for many years. Vanity Insanity has been a rose. Each day over the past decade, I have touched and been touched by the many suffering people with so many beautiful crosses, of all different sizes. And all chose to carry those crosses differently. Some stumbled daily. Others held them high. All who came to me, without words, spoke thousands. “Help me look beautiful while I walk with this cross.”
Not much to ask, if you think about it.
When I consider all of the heads that I’ve held in my hands, some good, some bad, mostly good and bad together, as I shampooed, cut, and listened, I know that I held God’s grace in my hands every day. A grace for which I had not asked.
A grace that I never deserved.
Reverend Livingston Wills selling brooms
on the streets of Omaha.
© Photographer Jeff Bundy, Omaha World-Herald
Vanity Insanity Questions and Topics for Discussion
The story begins and ends at the creek. Discuss the creek’s presence in the book and how and why Ben’s feelings toward it change.
While he is surrounded by people with clear and strong feelings about faith and religion, Ben appears to be spiritually numb. He admires the clear—though extreme—stances that Lucy and A.C. take, since they are, at least, feeling something about God. What events and people move Ben away from ignoring his own beliefs?
Though he is not about self-importance and vanity, Ben finds himself immersed in an industry that focuses on appearances. What are some of the problems in the novel that come from characters thinking too much about their physical appearance? What are some funny scenarios regarding vanity that Ben witnesses in the novel? How does Ben come to terms with helping people feel better about their looks?
Mentally and emotionally suffering people envelop Ben’s life throughout his years in his salon. Why is it interesting that he discovers that mental suffering was at the core of many problems in his own life? Do you think that his attitude and treatment of mental disorders impacts his reaction to the news of his father and aunt?
Corky Payne is a man whose lifelong suffering paved his life in a negative way. What other characters handle their pain—mental or physical—differently than Corky? Ben, who in the end of the story feels like the king of pain, suffers a toothache in the midst of his personal pain. What does Kelly mean when she tells Ben, upon her urging to get to a dentist, “You can’t ignore your pain forever”? How is her message symbolic?
Michael gives Theresa a vanity as a Valentine’s Day gift. One of her children shatters the mirror, which remains broken until she is dying. What is Michael really attempting to do when he has the mirror fixed?
One of the dominant motifs of the novel focuses on forgiveness. How do the lives of Johnny Madlin and Willie Otey address the theme of forgiveness? At what point does Ben forgive his father? What final incident moves him to ultimately do so? When does he forgive himself? Why does Ben’s Confession following the news of Octavia’s death move him to tears?
Ben labels himself as the “not-quite Catholic kid” since he feels disconnected from many of the traditions and common normalcies of being a Catholic. While this is an easy out, and the silly formalities are poked fun at, the true essence of the Catholic faith is elevated for Ben, mostly through Octavia’s words and the suffering he experiences. What are some of the times of suffering that impact Ben’s faith the most?
Octavia’s and Theresa’s funerals, one right after the other, are two completely different “flavors” of funerals. How are the two different? How are they similar?
Lucy, Theresa, and Marty have a strong devotion to Mary to which they hold tightly through good and bad times. For Lucy, roses are signs that prayers have been answered. Why is she so upset by the roses at Theresa’s funeral? Why is it interesting when Ben receives a call about his father’s death from a woman named Rose? At what other times do roses “show up” for Ben?
If Faith, Hope, and Love are also symbolic of the implication of their names in the novel, how do you see their significance in Ben’s life? For example, Ben walks with Hope up the hill from the incident with Mr. Morrow by the creek. Faith is elusive throughout the book. Lovey is misunderstood.
Will Mangiamelli is a symbol of free will and the liberty to choose the right or wrong path. Will has been given many perks and opportunities that Ben has not: good looks, athletic ability, a present father. How does Will choose the wrong path?
One of the themes of the novel is the necessity of and the difficulty of suffering in order to understand the grace of God. Ben sees this very clearly in the lives of Octavia and Theresa. How do you see this theme in relation to the Wicker
Witch? Ben’s father? Ben?
Ben can identify with Eddie Krackenier, both having been abandoned by fathers. How is Eddie’s life different? Who are people in Ben’s life who show him the kind of unconditional love of a father similar to the love of God?
The reverend who sells brooms represents the silent Holy Spirit in Ben’s life. Take note of when he appears in the novel. How does Ben think of him in the epilogue?
Right before the fire, while Ben is ready to go home and take his pain medicine, Jenae talks about the upper room when the disciples were hiding after Jesus died. She is referring to the passage in Acts 2 about the first Pentecost. The fire she talks about is the sign of the Holy Spirit. How is her statement foreshadowing? Fire is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit and Confirmation in the Catholic religion. How is the fire of Vanity Insanity symbolic of a change in Ben’s faith?
About the Author
Mary Kay Leatherman grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she had a secret love affair with Atticus Finch when she was a teenager, unbeknownst to her parents. While daydreaming about living happily ever after in Alabama with Mr. Finch, Leatherman discovered her love of the written language.
Leatherman majored in English at Creighton University in Omaha and went on to teach English and creative writing to high school students for thirteen years. In 1996, Leatherman was chosen as one of the recipients of the Buffett Award for excellence in teaching. The award was personally presented to her by Warren Buffett.
Leatherman lives in Omaha with her husband and three children and teaches for and manages 3MT ACT Test Prep.
Vanity Insanity is her debut novel.
For more information, visit mkleatherman.com.
Look for her new novel, Cowboys to Camelot, in 2015.
Acknowledgements
I have so very many people to thank for help along this journey.
Special thanks to the ‘readers’ through the course of Vanity Insanity’s evolution: my mother, Mary Mangus, my sisters Robin Boeck, Patti Grimes and Julie Hahler, my aunt Sister Barbara Markey, my mother-in-law Ande Leatherman, my nephew Michael Boeck, my dear friends Michele and John Trout, Diane O’Malley, Geri Casey, Deb Ward, Sara Smith, Geri Kunkel, Dave Ulferts, Father Tom Fangman, Kirk Redding, Kim Kroger, Mary Pat Raynor, LaDonna Konsel, and Ann Marie Davoren. Thanks also to my “rosary girls” of Omaha: Michele Trout, Sara McKeon, DeDe Salerno, Katie Alitz, Colleen Johnson, Julie Gallegos, Susie Shoemaker, and Lynn Weist. I also want to thank Julie Brown of Cincinnati and Janet Kohll of Omaha for sound advice.
A huge amount of appreciation to Kirk Redding and Scott Barrett, for their shared stories of life behind the chair at their salon Over our Heads.
Great thanks to the people and places of Omaha who allowed me to use their pictures, which only enhanced the story of Ben through the years. Thank you to Marsha Kalkowski and her time with the picture of Marian High School.
Thanks to Tom Osborne, Warren Buffett and Sting, for inspiration, because babies aren’t the only bookmarks in this novel.
Special thanks to the team of experts at CreateSpace. Their guidance and wisdom through this process was priceless.
I want to thank Jessa Diebel for her expertise and creativity in promoting and marketing this book through my website.
Great thanks to my dad, Richard Mangus, who became the technical wizard as I gathered pictures for the book.
I especially want to thank my sister Robin, who was an amazing editor, marketing rep, cheerleader, and tear catcher, often all on the same day.
Finally, I thank my husband Mike and children, Connor, Morgan, and Sean, for their incredible patience on the days that I was lost in the story. A special thanks to my husband for his relentless encouragement for a project that was so important to me.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
- Romans 5:1-5
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