An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson

Author:Melody Carlson [Carlson, Melody]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2010-07-02T20:00:00+00:00

10

Jamie

I didn’t know how things had gone so crooked for me tonight. Everything had seemed just about perfect, and then— bam—it all went sideways. I was walking back toward town, trying to find my way in the dark, and wondering why there weren’t more streetlamps out here. Although, to be fair, I was still a ways from town. I could hear the sound of the ocean to my right, the waves smashing onto the rocks in a lonely way, a way that made me long for something . . . something I couldn’t even put my finger on.

Finally—feeling like, what was the use, why try to figure it out?—I found a boulder planted next to the gravel road and just sat down on it. I could see some sort of light off in the distance, and to my surprise it turned out to be the moon, rising up over the sea. I watched with fascination as it came over the surface of the ocean, reflecting a long, cool slice of blue light over the water. It wasn’t a full moon, but it was getting close. Maybe three-quarters or seven-eighths. I’d never been great at geometry.

Like an LP record with a deep scratch, I kept replaying Mom’s reaction to my confession tonight, trying to understand where it had gone wrong, and why. Why hadn’t I been able to use the music and some of the charm I’ve been accused of misusing to bring this whole thing around and make her understand that my choices had really been for the best in the end? Why had she gotten so upset? I knew that no parents want to be deceived, but sometimes it just happened. To be fair, it had happened all my life. Mom was well aware that her son was no angel. But she’d always forgiven me before. I usually got off pretty easily too—even my friends thought I was a little spoiled. And yet, my mother just didn’t seem like herself tonight. As if she’d been caught off guard, she’d seemed so shocked, so taken aback, and so unlike her usual cool, calm, and well-mannered self. Looking back, it was just plain weird.

I picked up a stone and chucked it out as far as I could, trying to make it to the sea, but hearing no splash. I thought about my dad, wondering how he would’ve reacted to all this, and I honestly felt like he might’ve taken it better. Sure, he would’ve been shocked at first, but then he would’ve listened, he would’ve tried to see my side. Despite the fact that he’d always wanted me to go into the shoe business, that he’d never thought music could ever provide a means to live, but something a guy ought to do just for the fun of it, I still think he would’ve understood me eventually. Oh, he would’ve been disappointed in me for lying to him. No doubt about that. Especially since Dad lived by a strict code of ethics, a code that was ruled by his faith in God.

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