Chapter 1

     A strong breeze forced the sisters to huddle closer together on that cold April morning. Pouring rain from the previous night created a bog near the graveside. The soggy mud sucked the long stems of high-heeled shoes, holding fast, refusing to allow graceful walking. Paula, dressed more sensibly than her two older sisters, Carla and LeAnn, wore black slacks and flat shoes. Their mother, Anna, enforced strict rules for the girls to follow in every aspect of their lives. By the time Paula arrived, Anna’s attentiveness to the rules finally eased. She allowed her to stray from the rigid tradition her sisters obediently followed.
     With Paula’s assistance, LeAnn maneuvered through the muddy grass while Carla, the favorite, guided their mother carefully to the dry grassy mat under the tent, where chairs were arranged in tidy rows for family members to be seated during the final ceremony.
     Today, Lawrence, Anna’s second husband and stepfather to the three girls, received his final blessing from the priest. The somber setting remained silent as the small family watched his casket being lowered. Sobbing and tears were absent, as Anna and the girls shed none. Anna repeatedly drilled the girls. Don’t let anyone see you crying, that’s a sign of weakness. Once someone knows you’re a weak person that’s when he or she will take advantage of you.
     Lawrence’s co-workers made up the remainder of the mourners. Although sad their co-worker died, not one of them had taken the opportunity to learn about this quiet little man.
Carla probably knew Lawrence better than her sisters. He had a two-fold role in her life, being her stepfather as well as her boss at the insurance company.
     When their real father, Charles, died, LeAnn was thirteen, Carla eleven and Paula, just nine. Lawrence, seven years younger than Anna, entered their lives five years after Charles’ death. A quiet gentle man, he assumed the responsibility for a wife and three teenage daughters. Anna, who ruled the household with an iron hand, simplified his job. The girls were well behaved and helpful around the house and the garden.
     A small ray of sunlight shining over the grave exchanged places with dark, rain-filled clouds. Suddenly, the rumble of thunder filled the silence followed by large raindrops spattering on the tent above the family.
     April in Omaha could burst into rain with little warning. A cold spring Nebraska rain produced heavy mud in the native clay soil. The torture of the bone chilling rain would quickly be forgotten when gorgeous arrays of spring flowers burst forth throughout the city in May.
     Anna looked across the wet cemetery lawn to the parked cars waiting to drive them back to St. Mary’s Church. If they were to reach the cars without being drenched to the skin, they must hurry. Her blue eyes caught those of Father Patrick. He acknowledged the sense of urgency. He wove his way through the people, toward her, offering his condolences one last time thus bringing the service to an abrupt end.
     Anna stood quickly, gathering her black trench coat around her short, plump body. Her gesture made it obvious to the girls she intended a speedy departure. She trudged through the soggy sod without assistance, her blond hair pulled tightly into a bun.    She anxiously wanted to leave the graveside to complete her plans for the remainder of the day. She walked quickly, making no attempt to visit with Lawrence’s friends from his office. He had no family of his own, having grown up in an orphanage. At the young age of eighteen, he was released to fend for himself.
     He convinced the personnel office at Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company to hire him to work in the mailroom. The opening required someone more mature with work experience, but Lawrence, with his small frame and large, sad, brown eyes, was so convincing they took a chance. He did not disappoint the company. He remained a faithful member of their staff for a record thirty-five years. As a model employee, he never reported tardy for work, nor did he take sick days even when he should have. Sometimes his supervisor urged him to return home when he arrived at the office, not feeling well, to prevent the spread of his illness to the other employees.
     He refused to use vacation time. When he and Anna married, she insisted the company owed him that time and he should not allow them to take unfair advantage of him. Lawrence learned to take life in stride both at work and at home. When things were difficult he somehow managed to see his way through without much grumbling. The years he spent married to Anna were far from happy.
    Anna, from German descent and difficult to live with, made their marriage a prison for him. She felt it unnecessary for them to own two vehicles. Disposing of one would decrease the insurance premiums, as well as the annual tax and license payments. Lawrence worked hard to purchase a nice car by saving until he could pay cash. Shortly after their marriage, she insisted they sell his car and keep hers. Desperate to be a good husband, he reluctantly agreed. She used her strange logic to convince him that, since his entire day was spent at work, she required the car more than he, forcing Lawrence to take either the bus or rely on her to drive him to work. He preferred to ride the bus.
     When Anna drove, the lives of her passengers were at stake. She had no consideration for other drivers on the road. She darted in and out of traffic, switching lanes without the use of her turn signal. She straddled the centerline more often than she stayed in her own lane. She made hair-raising turns when the light changed from yellow to red. On the days Anna insisted upon driving him, he barely made it on time or arrived embarrassingly late. His co-workers pretended not to notice, saving him the humiliation. The one trait they observed about him was a strong willingness to please. His marriage may possibly have been easier on him if he would have stood up to Anna, rather than allow her total control over every situation.
     With no family of his own for a role model, he wanted to please Anna, please the girls, and please his co-workers. In doing so, he gave no thought to pleasing himself. One day that changed. Lawrence finally found the strength to leave Anna. True to his quiet manner, he secretly set aside money over the years to hire an attorney to assist him with his desire for a divorce.
     Anna stressed poverty in their marriage. She constantly reminded him of his shortcomings as a provider. She, however, did not feel the need to work outside their home, even though the girls were grown and gone. She prepared terrible meals, scrimping and saving to keep the grocery bill low.
     Lawrence refrained from complaining when she served him hotdogs and cooked cabbage for a week straight. Or when she discovered the ease of Hamburger Helper. That phase lasted nightly for a number of months. When she made breakfast omelets on Sunday morning, she cut onion, ham, and peppers into such large chunks, he often wondered if she secretly hoped he would choke to death on them. She frequently touted herself as a wonderful cook.
     Contrary to Anna’s constant complaining about insufficient income, Lawrence provided more than enough money for the entire family. Anna insisted Lawrence take her out to restaurants on a regular basis. When the girls were young and lived at home, she routinely lectured them before they entered the restaurant. They were instructed to order only from the children’s portion of the menu and to find the least costly meal. They were also told to drink only water with the meal, even if the waiter suggested alternative beverages.
     Anna consistently ordered the most expensive items on the menu, multiple glasses of wine, a tasty dessert, and coffee.   Lawrence and the girls were forced to sit in the restaurant until   Anna decided it was time to leave.
     Being in public places with her family and spending money for others to see, made her feel important. Never did she allow the girls to bring games, books or toys for entertainment during the long wait.
     It was important to her that the other customers notice her beautiful daughters. LeAnn, the oldest, resembled her father with dark brown hair and gray eyes. Carla, the middle daughter, had the most gorgeous black hair falling to her waist, glistening under the bright lights at the restaurant. She also had her father’s gray eyes. Finally, Paula’s appearance mirrored her mother’s. Her waist length hair, blond as butter, as her mother described it, possessed just the right amount of curl. Her eyes, the same shade of crystal blue as Anna’s, contained a warmth found lacking in Anna’s cold eyes.
     Beautiful girls dressed in matching dresses caught the eyes of the other patrons. The girls despised dressing in matching clothes, but Anna insisted they do so simply because it appealed to her. She never allowed the girls to go shopping with her for fabric. She purchased only sale fabric but chose patterns no young girl would be happy to wear. She sewed the dresses, always making them slightly too large for their tiny frames, explaining they would last longer by giving them room to grow.
     The girls obediently wore the ghastly clothes. They were teased mercilessly at school but developed thick skins, knowing Anna would not sympathize with them.
     Frequently she invited neighbors, friends or other distant family members to join them for a meal at her favorite restaurant then expected Lawrence to pick up the tab for the entire group.   During that period of her life, Anna smoked. Whenever she went to a restaurant, whether it was with her family or larger crowds, she always insisted they sit in the smoking section. Many times her guests would cough and gag through their meal as Anna, and those around them, filled the area with smoke. She either secretly enjoyed making others suffer while in her presence or she was totally oblivious to the needs of others.
     After twenty years of living with her, Lawrence finally wanted to be free from her control. He realized with each passing year, life with her became more difficult. His future looked bleak until he met Dorothy, a widow from his office, who treated him with kindness. Dorothy, who maintained a slender appearance, followed current fashion trends and makeup, making her extremely attractive. She still turned heads, even at her age. Unlike Anna, who assumed whatever she chose to wear, no matter how ridiculous it made her look, produced envy in those around her.
     Dorothy listened to his conversation over their sack lunches. Frequently, she brought an extra serving of dessert to share with him. He marveled at the taste of her home-cooked desserts, the likes of which he had never experienced in the orphanage, nor during his marriage to Anna, who thought burnt chocolate pudding could pass for a gourmet dish. His heart ached when she spoke of her loneliness since the death of her husband. Her life contained a void he longed to fill.
     Not certain how to break the news to Anna, he slowly and meticulously packed his things. He carried his belongings to work with him in white file folder boxes. Anna remained unaware of his secret move. Box by box he moved his possessions to a storage room.
     He declared his love to Dorothy then explained his plan to leave his wife and marry her. She felt uncomfortable being the other woman but his constant reassurance that she was the best thing in his life put her at ease. She wanted to make him happy and she needed him. She kept his secret, helping him with his boxes whenever she could.
     After he moved most of the personal belongings that held meaning to him, he filed for divorce. He knew Anna would cling to him. Always snuggling up to him when others were watching, she feigned the role of a loving wife, wanting everyone to envy her perfect marriage. Anyone who knew Anna well, felt sorry for Lawrence. Her transparent affections were real only to her. She had many pet names for him, used only when within earshot of others.
     He and Dorothy made plans to move him into her home as soon as Anna received the divorce papers. Lawrence knew, with her quick temper, living even one more day in the same house with her would be impossible. He felt sad leaving the home he had scrimped and paid for before he met her. While not a showplace, he loved the large, older home located in a quiet neighborhood of south Omaha.
                                                    ***
     Paula called Carla.
     “Hey Paula. What’s up?”
     “Are you free for lunch?” asked Paula.
     “Today? Sure, I guess so. Why?”
     “I’ve got something I need to talk to you and LeAnn about. Do you think we can get her to join us?”
     “You know how she is about short notice. She’s such an organizer.”
     “I know but this is really important. Can you call her? She’s more apt to give in to you.”
     “I’ll try.”
     Carla made the call to LeAnn.
     “LeAnn, want to go to lunch with your two favorite sisters today?”
     “I’ve got a desk full of work and a meeting this afternoon.”
     LeAnn worked as a stockbroker for Merrill Lynch. She loved her job and performed it well, earning vast amounts of money for her clients. She managed to invest her own small sums of money to build a nest egg for her future. She symbolized a wise, successful businesswoman with her business suits, a short, clean hairstyle, and simple but elegant jewelry. Her clients felt comfortable trusting her with their money.
     “All the more reason to take a break. Meet us at the Hunan Restaurant on Sixtieth and Center at eleven-thirty. I won’t take no for an answer.” Carla hung up the phone, not allowing LeAnn the opportunity to refuse.
     The girls met for lunch.
     LeAnn studied Paula instead of her menu.
     “You seem nervous. What’s bugging you?”
     Carla peered over her menu to look at Paula.
     “There’s something we need to talk about,” answered Paula.
     A young Oriental boy came to take their order. The girls ate there frequently, rarely straying from their favorite dishes. The small neighborhood restaurant filled to capacity each day for lunch and again during the dinner hour.
     LeAnn, not wanting to be disturbed, blurted out, “Bring us the usual.”
     Both Carla and Paula looked at her, shocked by her statement.
     “What? Did you want to order something different today?”
     “No,” said Carla, “but it might’ve been polite to ask first.”
     “I don’t have much time, I need to get back to the office. Now spill it, Paula. What’s on your mind?”
     “I don’t know if I should say anything,” said Paula.
     She scanned the restaurant as if there might be spies watching her every move. She fidgeted with the paper cover from her straw, tying it in one knot after another, a habit she developed in childhood when they were forced to sit for hours in restaurants with their mother. Her finger traced the outline of the checkered tablecloth beneath the glass cover.
     Carla noticed her stress.
     “Is there a problem with you and Andy?” asked Carla.
     “Oh, no. Nothing like that. Andy and I are just fine.”
     “Come on, Sis, if you don’t tell us we can’t help you,” said LeAnn.
     “Okay, but make sure you don’t tell anyone you heard it from me. I could lose my job.”
     “What job? You’re a temp. You don’t have a job to lose. You’d just work in a different office. You never stay anywhere much longer than a couple of days before they move you on,” teased Carla.
     “Okay, I’ll tell you. Today…” the waiter returned with their food.
     Paula sat quietly waiting until he served then left.
     Paula picked through her lemon chicken while LeAnn ignored her shrimp lo mein. Carla listened as she devoured her almond chicken.
     “Today at work I typed up a file on a new client. This client came in wanting to divorce his wife.”
     “That’s pretty normal, considering you worked for divorce attorneys today,” said LeAnn.
     “This is really hard and I’d appreciate it both of you would just let me get out what I’m trying to say without interrupting me.”
     Carla and LeAnn set their forks down to listen intently to Paula.
     “The client who came in to file for divorce was Lawrence.”
     “Lawrence who? Not our Lawrence?” asked Carla.
     “Yes, our Lawrence. Our stepfather, Mom’s husband, your boss.”
     “You’ve got to be kidding,” said LeAnn.
     “I wish I were. What should we do? Should we tell Mom?”
     “I’m not sure what to do. I’m sure she’s going to find out soon enough from Lawrence. Maybe we should stay out of this,” suggested LeAnn.
     LeAnn and Paula had a two-way conversation going when Paula realized Carla had not contributed one word. She focused on her plate while she ate, hoping they wouldn’t notice.
     “Why are you so quiet?” asked Paula.
     “What do you mean?” responded Carla.
     “Just what I said. Why are you so quiet?”
     “You knew! You already knew, didn’t you?” asked LeAnn.
      Carla looked around the room to see if they were being stared at after LeAnn’s outburst. Several of the customers looked up from their plates to watch the three sisters in their heated debate.
     “Did you really know?” asked Paula.
     “There’s been gossip at work.”
     “Gossip about what?” asked Paula.
     “Gossip about Lawrence.”
     “What kind of gossip?” asked LeAnn.
     Carla set her fork down, took a drink from her glass of water then leaned back into her chair. She glanced around the room, hoping the other patrons had returned to their meals and no longer listened to their conversation.
     “There’s been talk at work about Lawrence and a woman named Dorothy. Her husband died a few years ago. She has lunch with Lawrence every day. Some of the women giggle and talk behind their backs. I didn’t think too much of it. I was happy for Lawrence. I thought it was kinda cute that he has a lady friend on the side. Heaven knows Mom’s not much of a friend to him. She never listens to what he has to say. Hell, she never listens to any of us. The only thing that matters to her is what she has to say or what she’s interested in.”
     “Oh my God. Our little Lawrence has a girlfriend,” giggled LeAnn.
     “Seriously, I never said anything to you guys because I thought it was harmless. I never dreamed he’d file for divorce.”
     Financially minded LeAnn asked, “Did you get a chance to read through the file? Does he plan to split everything down the middle? Is Mom going to lose half of everything she has?”
     “I suppose they’ll split. Fifty-fifty is pretty standard in Nebraska. She might have to get a job to help support herself,” said Paula.
     “You know, getting a job might be the best thing for her,” commented LeAnn. “She might actually like it.”
     “Get real,” said Carla. “She swore once she quit waiting tables to support us when Dad died, she’d never do it again.”
     “I know, but she’s too young to collect Social Security.”
     “She’ll probably have to move out of the house since it belongs to Lawrence,” said Paula.
     “I don’t think he’s planning to make her move,” said Carla.
     “What makes you think that?” asked Paula.
     “If the rumor mill around work is right, which I didn’t think they were, Lawrence has been moving his things into storage in our building one box at a time. I thought he was taking extra work back and forth.”
     “I, for one, think we should tell Mom what’s happening,” said Paula.
     “I agree,” said LeAnn.
     “I don’t want to,” said Carla. “She’s gonna be furious with me for not telling her sooner. Let’s stay out of it. It’s between her and Lawrence.”
     They finished their meal in silence.
     Finally, LeAnn broke that silence. “I’m going to tell her.”
                                             ***
      Nothing more was mentioned about the day they discovered Lawrence’s plan to leave their mother. Before his attorney to finalize the arrangements to serve Anna with divorce papers,   Lawrence died.
     The girls saw no reason, at that point, to inform their mother of her husband’s intention to leave her for another woman. They spared her the anguish of that knowledge.
                                                            ~Back To Top~