The Butterfly Groove: A Mother's Mystery, A Daughter's Journey by Barraco Jessica

Author:Barraco, Jessica [Barraco, Jessica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2015-08-04T04:00:00+00:00

DIANNE

1965

A few weeks after the party, Dianne went to knock on Bill’s door to surprise him and take him to pick up burgers and go to Dockweiler Beach to make out. It was their regular “thing” as a couple. Bill was leaving in a few weeks for boot camp, and Dianne was trying to savor every last moment. Dianne turned off her mother’s Fairlane’s ignition, even though she was too young to drive, and walked up to the door, bouncing her strawberry-blond curls for volume. She caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the stained-glass door and thought how good she still looked, even though she was so depressed.

Before she went to ring the bell, Dianne heard screaming. It reminded her of the moment she’d caught her parents fighting when she was five years old. These fights always seemed to have one thing in common: Dianne. The Mercer home had thin walls, and she heard Bill’s mother.

“Bill, for God’s sake, she is just trash. Trash—do you hear me? You are being a terrible role model for your little brother in these last days you are home! I don’t even know my own son anymore,” Maple sobbed.

“I love her, Mom. I know that bothers you,” Bill retorted, with true emotion in his voice.

This was the billionth fight they had had about Dianne. The couple had managed to get into trouble from time to time, but Dianne always pulled through in the end. “Think about all the trouble you have gotten into, and how you stopped surfing. Your club needed you. You dropped the ball, Bill. It’s time you grow up, and your first step is getting rid of that wretched girl.”

“Okay, Mom. If that’s what you want, I will break up with Dianne.” Maple slammed a door. Dianne saw Bill spot her in the same window she had been gazing at her own reflection in just a minute before, feeling completely elated and in love. Now, mere seconds later, she felt completely betrayed and alone. “Dianne!” Bill shouted. But it was too late; she was gone, chugging down Yorktown Avenue in Ethel’s Fairlane.

As the story goes, as soon as Bill broke it off with Dianne, Maple Mercer told her husband, “I would rather see Bill dead than married to Dianne.” At ninety-two years old, Maple passed away regretting the utterance of that sentence.

Dianne went on to meet a boy named Glen Wayne Harber. He went by his middle name, just like she did. He was an attractive yet somewhat puny house painter. They met at a diner after a late night of dancing in Hollywood. She was with Donna. They had started to get into the Hollywood scene after Dianne’s split from Bill. They had fun, and had lots of men and lots of sex, but it was never like what Dianne had had with Bill. Sure, sex always felt good, but it seldom included feelings of love.

Bill had been gone for three months, and they had been the longest twelve weeks of Dianne’s life.

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