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I've known Chloe Masters all her life. I've known her mother even longer. We went to high school together. That's how long Linda and me have been friends.
Where we come from, people don't usually leave. They grow up here, get married here, raise their own kids here. And they're buried here. In fact, when you meet us, the first question we'll likely ask is: "Where did you go to high school?" Linda, Jay, George and me all went to Fox High. Jay played on the Warriors football team. Linda wore his letter jacket more than he did. They were always together. They were Homecoming king and queen. Everybody knew they'd get married after graduation.
It didn't happen quite as soon after as we expected, though. Jay got restless, enlisted in the Navy. He told Linda figured it was a good way to pay for his college education. George would have gone, too, but he flunked the physical. Too fat to fight, they told him. He used to tell boys who wanted to avoid the draft to either head for Canada or pack on at least fifty pounds.
George and me have always been happy on the farm, never wanted more. Linda, too. Like I said, Jay was the only one who was restless, suffered from wanderlust. Linda was sure when he came back after his stint in the Navy, he'd want to get married and then move them away. She dreaded having to deal with that. She'd inherited her parents' farm and she wanted to stay.
Jay surprised her. When he came home, they got married right off. And Linda got pregnant right off. They stayed on the farm. Chloe was premature, born eight months after the wedding. She was such a beautiful baby...she had her daddy wrapped around her little finger. She changed Jay. He settled down. He was a doting father...right up to the day he drove off and never came back.
Linda knows why he left. So do I. But she's determined to make sure Chloe never finds out....
Wonderful character blog, particularly in the way you bring out such depth in Cass, filling in the spaces of her background and tying into the book.
ReplyDeleteYou are the master at creating a character blog. Between you and William, we get sucked into the story, wanting more...
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