Invitation to Tea and other stories (eBook)

C. G. Gardiner (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
242 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-2128-1 (ISBN)

Infos

In this, his first collection of short stories, playwright C. G. Gardiner offers eleven stories about love, sex, adultery, betrayal, abandonment, violence, and ultimately the triumph of mostly strong women over adversities in their relationships. The centerpiece of the collection, An Invitation To Tea, tells the story of Maggie Porter, a young woman from a small town in Alabama, who moves to Washington D.C. to escape small town life. She finds life in the 'big city' fast, stressful, exciting, and dangerous. In her first attempt at dating, she must face down a potential rapist. She then has to call on her Uncle Denys to end the man's harassment and attempts at intimidation. In, Perhaps, sixty-nine-year-old Norris Pope tracks down Emma Davis, the girl who infatuated him fifty years before. She invites him to join her on a cruise through the Caribbean. He travels from Washington D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to do so, and is initially disillusioned by the woman Emma has become - physically. But after a week with her on the cruise, he finds himself as infatuated with her as he had been at nineteen. And eager for another cruise. In, What Happens In Paradise, after discovering her husband's infidelity, Denise Stubbs goes to Paradise Island in the Bahamas with five of her sorority sisters. There, with the encouragement of her 'sorors,' she engages in her own acts of infidelity for three nights. She enjoys it. And she 'finds' herself as a woman and recognizes the power she possesses. Those 'three nights in paradise' change the course of her life. Throughout this collection, we are introduced to characters facing everyday choices and challenges that many can identify with. And in the telling of their stories, C. G. Gardiner displays a keen insight into human nature, and the gift of a 'natural born' storyteller.

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In this, his first collection of short stories, playwright C. G. Gardiner offers eleven stories about love, sex, adultery, betrayal, abandonment, violence, and ultimately the triumph of mostly strong women over adversities in their relationships. The centerpiece of the collection, An Invitation To Tea, tells the story of Maggie Porter, a young woman from a small town in Alabama, who moves to Washington D.C. to escape small town life. She finds life in the "e;big city"e; fast, stressful, exciting, and dangerous. In her first attempt at dating, she must face down a potential rapist. She then has to call on her Uncle Denys to end the man's harassment and attempts at intimidation. In, Perhaps, sixty-nine-year-old Norris Pope tracks down Emma Davis, the girl who infatuated him fifty years before. She invites him to join her on a cruise through the Caribbean. He travels from Washington D.C. to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to do so, and is initially disillusioned by the woman Emma has become - physically. But after a week with her on the cruise, he finds himself as infatuated with her as he had been at nineteen. And eager for another cruise. In, What Happens In Paradise, after discovering her husband's infidelity, Denise Stubbs goes to Paradise Island in the Bahamas with five of her sorority sisters. There, with the encouragement of her "e;sorors,"e; she engages in her own acts of infidelity for three nights. She enjoys it. And she "e;finds"e; herself as a woman and recognizes the power she possesses. Those "e;three nights in paradise"e; change the course of her life. Throughout this collection, we are introduced to characters facing everyday choices and challenges that many can identify with. And in the telling of their stories, C. G. Gardiner displays a keen insight into human nature, and the gift of a "e;natural born"e; storyteller.

Textauszug

It’s My Money

John Kelly was a philanderer. He had been a skirt-chaser all his life. His wife, Maxine, knew this. In fact, he was courting another woman when they met. He didn’t tell Maxine that of course. She found out later. After she was pregnant, and the woman threatened to “rip that brat” out of her stomach. “I don’t get involved in fights between women,” John huffed when Maxine confronted him and demanded he intercede to stop the harassment.

Maxine married him anyway. She hoped her love, marriage, and the baby would change him. She was twenty-eight years old, pregnant and without other prospects. She wanted a family. And she did love John. So, she asked him to marry her. And he did.

He took her to live in his mother’s house. Mrs. Kelly was a kind woman who ended up doting on Maxine. John was thirty-eight years old. He had never married and didn’t have children. Mrs. Kelly’s greatest wish was to live long enough to see a grandchild from her only child. Now her dream was about to come true. She waited on Maxine “hand and foot.” She constantly warned Maxine not to “lift anything heavy,” or exert herself too much “lest you raise your pressure and harm the baby.”

The first few months of the marriage were happy. But as her pregnancy advanced, Maxine found herself increasingly concerned. John paid less and less attention to her, even though she was often sick and in need of comfort and companionship. He would often come home from the Giant supermarket where he worked the day shift, eat, dress and be out of the house by eight o’clock, often not to return until after midnight. The few times she complained, he ignored her. Even his mother’s entreaties to “spend more time with your wife” had no effect. He would leave Maxine alone with her, night after night, while he prowled the streets with his friends.

In time, Maxine began to hear of Johns’ exploits from her girlfriends: about the women he bedded, the fights he got into, and the money he won or lost at the gambling dens. She hoped things would change after the birth of their child. But her hopes were in vain. In fact, the birth of their son, Kyle, only added to his apparent desire to be away from home, and, it seemed, from her. Her mother-in-law tried to appeal to her son’s sense of responsibility. John ignored her. Raising children was women’s work, he complained. Men plant the seed. Women are supposed to germinate and tend to it. That was his philosophy. His mother gave up. She realized she had little influence on him, and she was too old to fight a battle she wasn’t about to win. For her part, Maxine was too inexperienced in the ways of men to control or influence his behavior.

The years passed, and she and John had two more children in quick succession - a girl, Mary, and another boy, Lucas. Maxine found her joy in her children. She doted on them. Because they still lived with her mother-in-law, whose house was mortgage free, she was able to quit her job with the DC Department on Aging and devote her time to them. She had a talent for drawing, and she would spend hours sketching their likeness in exercise books. She kept the books in a box under her bed like a cache of priceless treasures. Mrs. Kelly loved the drawings. She encouraged Maxine’s efforts. She had some of the sketches mounted in cheap frames and hung them around the house. John thought the drawings were “a waste of time.”

When the last child, Lucas, was three years old, John told Maxine she needed to get a job. “You can’t expect me to take care of you and all these children by myself,” he complained.

Maxine was aware that, with a family and his mother to support, the financial burden on him was significant. And his personal behavior added to that burden. After eight years of marriage, he was still going out to the clubs almost nightly. He was still skirt-chasing, gambling, and drinking. As a result, there was little money for the essentials and none for extras. His mother was able to help them financially from time to time. Maxine didn’t know where she got the money. Apart from a small pension and her social security check, she didn’t have much. But whenever things looked bad financially, Mrs. Kelly always came through.

Maxine wanted to work, but she didn’t know what to do with her three rambunctious children. Mrs. Kelly was too old to manage them. And she was loath to leave them with a daycare facility. In addition, she’d been out of the workforce for nine years. She had been an administrative assistant prior to her marriage. Any skills she did have had atrophied over the years. She knew she’d have to go back to school to regain her skills - or acquire new ones. But there was little money for schooling and such. She felt trapped. She hated depending on John for everything, but there was little she could do about it.

Her complete humiliation at John’s hands - or rather his mouth - came on Kyle’s eighth birthday. Maxine had baked a cake for the celebration. Mrs. Kelly hadn’t been feeling well, but she insisted on making homemade ice cream for her “little prince,” as she called the boy.

The evening had gone well. The kids had had a great time. They played games, screamed, shouted at each other, and made a mess of the living room. John stayed home to celebrate the occasion. But, as usual, he was anxious to get out of the house. He kept looking at his watch. After an hour of this, he left to “go take care of some business.” Maxine didn’t protest. She had long gotten beyond the point where his comings and goings mattered to her. But his mother admonished him to “spend more time with your family.” As usual, he ignored her, muttering, “I’ll be back,” as he headed for the door.

“You be careful you don’t bring any diseases into this house,” Maxine said. The words escaped her lips before she could trap them behind her teeth, as she usually did.

John paused at the door. He looked at her coldly. “This is my house,” he said. “I’ll bring anything I want in here.”

“This is my house!” Mrs. Kelly corrected him angrily. “Your daddy worked himself into the grave to pay for this house and to take care of his family. If you don’t start paying more attention to yours, you’ll lose them.”

Annoyed, he said, “Mama, you need to go to bed and rest yourself.”

“You’d better listen to your mother,” Maxine said.

“Or what?” he replied crossly. “It’s my money that pays for everything in this house. Even the sanitary napkins you use. So don’t tell me what to do!”

Maxine was too stunned by the remark to reply. The meanness of it brought tears to her eyes. She stood staring at the door after it had closed behind him.

“That boy is nothing like his daddy,” Mrs. Kelly apologized. “That man was a gentleman and a saint. I don’t know where John got his nasty attitude.”

“I’ve got to get a job and make my own money,” Maxine said softly. Tears ran down her cheeks. “But I don’t know how to do anything.”

Kyle had been watching the whole drama. He came and hugged her, looking up at her with sorrowful eyes. She caressed his head. “Everything’s ok, baby,” she reassured him.

“Then why are you crying, mommy?” he asked.

“It’s OK, baby,” she said. “Go play with your toys.”

The boy left her, but he didn’t go far. He hung in the shadows, watching the two women as they conferred.

“You know how to draw,” Mrs. Kelly said.

“I can’t make any money drawing,” Maxine replied. “I’m not good enough.”

“You’re very good,” Mrs. Kelly said with conviction. “A lot of people would pay for drawings of their children.”

“You think so?” Maxine asked. Her tone was hopeful.

“I know so,” Mrs. Kelly said.

“But how do I get started?”

“You leave that to me,” Mrs. Kelly said.

Maxine was in a deep sleep when the telephone rang. She woke up in a panic. It was unusual for the phone to ring after ten o’clock at night. Her fright at the sound caused her to sweat. Her heart raced as though she’d been running for some distance. The clock on the bedside table read 1:15 a.m. She noted that John’s side of the bed was yet to be slept in.

“Hello,” she whispered sleepily into the phone.

“Mrs. Kelly?”

“Yes?”

“This is Nurse Richards at Howard University Hospital.”

“Yes.”

“There has been a car accident.”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Kelly was injured. He’s in the hospital.”

“How bad is he?”

“We don’t know yet. But you should come to the hospital. We should have a better idea of his condition by the time you get here.”

Maxine dressed. She was surprised at her calmness. She thought she should be more concerned than she was. But she’d expected something like this for years. She wasn’t surprised. She had long thought John’s late-night creeping would lead him to disaster. For years she had worried about it. She had stopped caring after a while.

She...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 9.10.2023
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-2128-1 / 9798350921281