She’d found it, just like Mr. Evard said she would—her best self.
She was not rich and likely never would be. She was not wise or as good as she wanted to be. But she had something special to offer, a gift that she was born to share. She knew it, and the knowing amazed her.
She thought about everything that had happened in the last year, remembering that it was almost a year ago to the day that she’d learned she was pregnant with Howard. She’d had a baby, lost her husband, been in the pit of despair, grabbed on to a rope and climbed out, found hope, and lost it, and found it again. All that in a year, while the Earth made a single circuit ’round the sun.
She could never have imagined how exciting it would be, or how hard. It was just as well. If she had known, she would probably have been too scared to make the trip. But she knew something now that she hadn’t known before: that no matter how rocky the road ahead might be, no matter how hard the journey or steep the climb, she would make it to the finish line. She was a survivor.
Mary Dell picked Howard up from the floor. He snuggled close, cooing contentedly, as she locked the back door and began switching off the lights. They walked to the front of the shop and paused at the little table in the center of the window. Mary Dell lowered her face into the mass of yellow roses and breathed deeply.
“Here, honey,” she said, holding Howard nearer to the bouquet. “Smell the flowers. Aren’t they pretty?”
She picked out the most perfect of the blossoms, pulled it from the vase, and stroked his cheek with the petals.
“So soft. Let’s take this one home and press it in a book, so we’ll always remember today. All right?”
She shifted him to a more comfortable position on her hip and walked toward the door. Lena Brooks was standing on the other side, but with her back turned slightly away, an indecisive posture. Mary Dell opened the door.
“Have you made up your mind about coming in?”
“Oh. Hi, Mary Dell.” Lena turned around, looking a little sheepish, but her awkwardness disappeared when she noticed the baby. “Is this Howard? What a cutie!”
“This is Howard,” Mary Dell confirmed with a smile, then opened the door as wide as it would go. “Do you want to come in?”
“No . . . I mean, I know you’re closed and probably headed home, but . . . well, I just wanted to come by and tell you I’m sorry about everything that happened today. About the Christmas Ball and all that stuff Marlena said . . . you know.”
Lena held a finger out to Howard. He grabbed it and pulled it to his mouth.
“He’s so precious. And Marlena . . . well, she’s just hateful. I told her so later.”
“Uh-oh. You’d better watch yourself. Go shooting off your mouth like that to Marlena and you’ll get yourself kicked out of the club.”
“Too late,” Lena said with a smile. “I resigned. I only joined because I was new in town and wanted to meet some people. See, my husband has to travel a lot, so I’m on my own and, well . . . Too Much is a lot different than Tulsa.”
“Oh, yes. I can believe that.”
“Well, when I heard about the Women’s Club, how they do a lot of charity work and all, it seemed like a good thing to get involved with. And it would be, if not for Marlena. I never met anybody so mean,” she said, sounding genuinely surprised. “And yet, they all suck up to her. Why is that?”
“Darned if I know.” Mary Dell laughed. “If you figure it out, be sure to tell me. But don’t worry. There’s plenty of nice people in Too Much.”
Lena smiled. “I’m beginning to see that. Anyway, I don’t want to keep you, but I saw the lights were still on and just wanted to stop in and apologize.”
“Well, that’s sweet of you, but there was no need. You didn’t say those nasty things, Marlena did. But”—Mary Dell winked—“I bet she’ll think twice about saying them again after what Momma gave her.”
“I know! I couldn’t believe it. Neither could Marlena.” She giggled, but her expression turned serious after a moment. “But you know, she was talking about calling the sheriff, having your mother arrested for assault and battery.”
Mary Dell waved off the young woman’s concern. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll never happen. If she called in the law she’d have to tell her story to the sheriff, a lawyer, a judge, and next thing you know, it’d be all over town. Trust me, the last thing Marlena wants is for everybody in Too Much to be talking about the day Taffy Tudmore Templeton kicked her keister.”
“I hope so. Well, I should let you go. Good night, Mary Dell.”
“Good night.”
Lena got as far as the door. “Mary Dell? I was wondering . . . and with everything that happened today, I’d understand if you’d rather not . . . but could you teach me how to quilt?”
“I’d love to.”
Mary Dell beamed, and the weariness of a moment before was banished. With Howard still on her hip, she walked to a basket near the checkout counter and pulled out a nine-patch kit from the pile.
“Do you like blue and yellow?”
“Sure,” Lena said, looking at the picture on the front of the package. “This is so pretty. You really think I could make this?”
“Well, you won’t know until you try. Let’s get started.”
Lena’s eyes went wide. “You mean now? But weren’t you headed home for supper? I mean . . . you must have things you’d rather do with your evening than teach me how to quilt.”
“Things I’d rather do?” Mary Dell switched on the overhead lights and then paused to consider the question. “No, ma’am. Not a one.”
A READING GROUP GUIDE
BETWEEN HEAVEN AND TEXAS
Marie Bostwick
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The following questions are intended to
enhance your group’s reading of
Between Heaven and Texas.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. As the story opens, Mary Dell is only minutes away from walking down the aisle, but she is having second thoughts. Why was she so hesitant to go through with the wedding? Were her concerns legitimate, or was this just a normal case of wedding jitters? Have you been or known a bride who had second thoughts in the days or hours before a wedding ceremony? Did they or you go through with it? Or not? Whatever decision was made, did it turn out for the best? If not, why not?
2. As the years pass and Mary Dell is unable to carry a pregnancy to term, she considers adopting a child. However, her husband, Donny, isn’t enthusiastic about the idea. Why do you think he feels that way? Why is Mary Dell more open to the idea of adoption than her husband?
3. If you’ve adopted a child, known a family who has adopted, or have grown up as an adopted child, what advice would you offer to a couple who is considering taking this step? Does it vary from the advice you’d offer to a couple considering having a biological child? How or how not?
4. Mary Dell and her fraternal twin, Lydia Dale, were close as children. Though the sisters love each other and live in the same town, they have grown apart as they’ve grown older. What circumstances or attitudes brought that about? Have you experienced a similar situation with a sibling, family member, or friend? Were you able to resolve the problem? If so, how? Or, if you’re still feeling distant or estranged from someone with whom you were close in former days, what steps do you think you could take to heal this situation?
5. When Howard is born with Down syndrome, Mary Dell and Donny are understandably stunned. Within a few weeks of Howard’s birth, Donny leaves Too Much and deserts his family. While it would be easy to dismiss Donny as selfish or weak, his reasons for abandoning his family are more complex than that. What factors in Donny’s character and/or history do you think brought him to this? Why do you think Mary Dell was more able than her husband to cope with the reality of Howard’s disability? Is there such a thing as the “weaker sex”? Or do you think each sex has its own set of weaknesses or strengths, depending on the situation?
6. After Howard’s birth, Ma
ry Dell’s mother, Taffy, thoughtlessly uses the “R-word” in reference to her grandson and elicits a furious response from Mary Dell. Do you think Mary Dell was right to speak to her mother so harshly? If not, how do you think she should have responded? How do you respond when someone uses cruel or cutting language to belittle or marginalize a person or group because of a disability, race, sex, or characteristics beyond their control? Do you ignore or confront? Why? If you choose to confront or have decided that you’re going to in the future, what do you think is the most effective means of doing so?
7. Mary Dell works hard to become better informed about Down syndrome so she can be a better mother, teacher, and advocate for Howard. At some level, most mothers become an advocate for their children. Do you think that is a good thing or a bad thing? Is advocacy a role that can get out of hand for parents? Why or why not?
8. After Donny leaves, Mary Dell sinks into depression. Her grandma Silky arrives on the scene, bearing desserts and advice, the latter delivered in fairly stark tones. Silky informs her granddaughter that upon becoming a mother, Mary Dell gave up her right to fall apart, that she has to stay strong for her child no matter what. Do you think that is true? Do you think it is fair? If you’re a mother, have you ever gone through a time when you felt you had to maintain a façade of strength for the sake of your family? If you’re a daughter, have you ever witnessed your mother doing the same?
9. Mary Dell is a technically skilled quilter. But she doesn’t hit her true stride in quilting until she joins forces with Lydia Dale, who has the gift for choosing fabrics that her sibling lacks. Working together, the sisters are greater than the sum of their parts. Do you have a skill or talent that was magnified when you teamed up with a friend or family member? Did working together enhance your relationship as much as your talents? Tell the group about it.
10. Lydia Dale and Graydon were in love once and planned to marry. However, circumstances and miscommunication got in the way of their plans. Now that circumstances have thrown them back together again, Lydia Dale and Graydon are very different people than they were previously. What has changed about them? Are those changes for the better? For the worse? What about you? Have you ever crossed paths with an old boyfriend or girlfriend after a space of years? What kinds of feelings did that bring forth? Were you regretful? Wistful? Relieved? Unable to imagine what you’d ever seen in that person? Unable to imagine how you’d let them get away?
11. Aunt Velvet makes much of the Tudmore family’s “Fatal Flaw,” a tendency for the women of the line to lose their normally solid good sense in the presence of a certain sort of man. For good or bad, Mary Dell and Lydia Dale fell hard for handsome cowboys. Just for fun: What kind of man makes you go weak in the knees? A cowboy? A fireman? A man in uniform? A man who knows how to fix your car? Your computer? Your dinner?
12. As a little girl, Mary Dell dreamed of owning her own dress shop in downtown Too Much. Her dream faded with the passage of time, almost forgotten until she stumbles upon an unexpected opportunity to resurrect it, albeit in a different form, by buying a quilt shop. How about you? Do you have a youthful dream that you’ve let fade? Or one that has never faded but that you’ve been afraid to speak of or pursue? If you feel comfortable, tell the group about it. Discuss the fears and obstacles that have impeded you; brainstorm about ways to overcome them. If you’re ready, you might even want to consider making this your day of declaration, telling the group that you’re ready to brush the dust off that deferred dream, begin working to make it come true, and asking for their support in the process.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2013 by Marie Bostwick
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
ISBN: 978-0-7582-6929-4
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-9265-0
eISBN-10: 0-7582-9265-1
Between Heaven and Texas Page 33
