The Letter by Evans Richard Paul

Author:Evans, Richard Paul [Evans, Richard Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Inspirational, Historical, Age Range 2 Older Audience, Romance, Adult
ISBN: 9780684834726
Amazon: 0684834723
Goodreads: 199796
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 1997-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

RIVERVIEW

“Dierdre is a woman endowed with the rare quality of contentment—the ability to find the joy possessed in each circumstance as mysteriously as the desert aborigine finds water in the parched desert..

DAVID PARKIN’S DIARY. JANUARY 11, 1934

Bennie stood at the Drake’s front curbway, oblivious to the biting wind which tunneled down the corridor of buildings, whistling through open doorways and alleys. When he saw David approach, he started for the rear passenger door and David quickly released him of the duty with an upraised hand and opened his door himself. Inside, Dierdre sat with her legs crossed and an open compact flat in one hand and a puff in the other. She was dressed in a long skirt and wore a thick mink coat. She looked up from the mirror.

“Good morning, David. I hope you brought a warm coat.”

David pulled the door tight. “I brought my only coat. Where are we going?”

“That is a surprise.”

She closed the compact, then examined his jacket. “I brought a blanket just in case.”

As Bennie pulled away from the curb, David noticed the deferential glances of other drivers as they followed the car with covetous eyes. As they rounded the block, David asked Dierdre, “Have you ever driven this car?”

“My father won’t let me. I would love to, though. The manufacturer claims it will go more than a hundred miles per hour. I would like to see if that is true.”

Bennie glanced nervously into the rearview mirror.

“I am surprised,” David said.

“That a Duesie can go that fast?”

“That your father can stop you from doing anything.”

Dierdre laughed. “He has a little help. Watch,” she whispered to David before leaning forward against the front seat.

“What do you say, Bennie? How about I drive today?”

Bennie’s response was well rehearsed. “No, ma’am. I would lose my job. Your father gave me explicit instructions.”

“You mean an explicit threat.” She leaned in close. “He didn’t say anything about David driving.”

Bennie looked more anxious. “Please, ma’am. Your father would not like it.”

She patted his shoulder gently, then leaned back into the seat. “Relax, Bennie. I am only kidding.”

The extravagant automobile quietly moved forward, driving northward along the Chicago River until the terrain leveled to a broad area more than one hundred acres square. The wooden latticework peaks of roller-coasters rose above towering groves of sycamore and elm. As they neared the park, a large, circular sign read: riverview amusement park—just for fun. Bennie pulled into the large, empty parking lot, drove up to the spacious front gate, and stopped the car.

“Riverview,” announced Dierdre. “Home of two-ton Baker and the largest amusement park in the world.”

David glanced around. “It looks to be the

184 RICHARD PAUL EVANS most unpopular amusement park in the world—that or it’s closed.”

Dierdre shuffled through the contents of her purse. “Of course it’s closed, darling. It’s winter.”

Her reply produced more questions than it answered. Bennie opened Dierdre’s door.

“We’re here for a picnic,” she said, and stepped out of the car. Bennie opened the car’s trunk and brought out a straw picnic basket, which he handed to David.

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