LITMIR.BIZ

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      “Don’t be fooled by appearances, ladies,” Ket warned. “When I think of Jared Pierce, all I can remember is a rather nasty boy who teased me about being so tall. He was always puling my ponytail, and once he pushed me into a mud puddle.”

      “He could push me into the Atlantic Ocean!” Debbie grinned.

      “Well, he was the star of the baseball team. All the girls were chasing him.” Ket shrugged. “He wouldn’t have looked at me if my hair was on fire.”

      They all three watched as the two doctors got their trays and made their way to a table.

      “Look at that,” Maggie said. “Every woman in here has her eyes on that man. Ket, you’ve got to introduce me to him.”

      “It wouldn’t do you any good. He’s like all stars, pretty stuck-up.”

      “Maybe he’s changed,” Debbie said. “He came over and spoke to you right away.”

      “And that’s probably the last time he’ll speak to me unless he needs my help around here in the medical line for some reason. Which is doubtful.” Ket suddenly lost her appetite. “Here, you can have my other doughnut.” She passed a doughnut to Maggie, then reached down and handed the last morsel of one she had almost finished to Bedford. “Come on, Bedford. We’ve got to get home.”

      “Hey, I want to hear all about that date tomorrow!” Maggie called out but Ket did not even turn around.

      Out in the parking lot, Ket got into the car and plunked Bedford down on the seat beside her. She started the engine and drove home, her mind on Jared Pierce. Her mother had once been best friends with Jared’s mother, but the Pierce family had moved away years ago, so their friendship had been sustained by phone calls and letters.

      “Jared Pierce,” she mused. “Well, he’s something, I have to admit. As mean and stuck-up as he was, I would definitely have dated him if he’d just given me a look, but he never did.”

      Arriving at the house she went quickly inside, unsnapped Bedford’s leash. “Go get something to eat,” she said, and watched the dog scurry off.

      Turning, she went into the den where she found her mother ironing and watching television. Her mother was a news hound and spent most of her time watching the all-news TV channels.

      “Why, Ket, you’re home early. Did you see your young friend?”

      “Yes, I did.”

      “How was he?”

      “Not good. He’s so sick and he doesn’t really know it.”

      “I bet he enjoyed Bedford, though.”

      “Yes, he did. He’s so sweet. He enjoys everything you do for him and is so appreciative.”

      Flinging herself onto the recliner, Ket sat watching her mother for a time. With dark auburn hair, warm dark eyes and a trim figure, Lucille Lindsey was still an attractive woman at age forty-eight. Ketura thought she had to be the most devoted wife and mother in the world…at least in all of Texas. Now that Ket was an adult, she could appreciate how hard her mother had worked raising her three children—Ket and her two older sisters, Carol and Jenny. Though they’d squabbled and teased each other almost constantly while growing up, Ketura missed her sisters and wished she could see them more often. Carol, an elementary school teacher, had recently married and lived in Southern California, where her husband worked for a computer software firm. Jenny was in Chicago, finishing law school. She and her boyfriend had announced their engagement the past Christmas and would be married next year. Ketura was happy for them, but wasn’t looking forward to the event. She felt embarrassed to be the only sister left who was unmarried—and with absolutely no prospects in sight. She dreaded the well-meaning questions and romantic advice of relatives and family friends she’d surely hear on her sister’s wedding day. Ketura hoped to be far away by then, doing missionary work in India, which was her plan once she’d completed her training and became a registered nurse.

      While her parents were proud that she had been called to such an admirable vocation, Ketura knew that they were anxious about her going so far away on her own. Mostly, her parents wanted to see her “settled down with a nice young man”—just like her sisters. She knew her mother worried the most, but her mom was quieter about it than her father. While she and her sisters had been growing up, Ket knew she’d always been the most mischievous, and her mother deserved a medal for her patience.

      And I’m still testing her patience, Ket thought, casting her mother an affectionate glance.

      Ket sighed. She popped the chair back into the reclining position and watched the news for a time but was not really interested. “Guess who I saw today, Mom?” she asked suddenly.

      “Who?”

      “Jared Pierce.”

      This did catch Lucille Lindsey’s attention. “Did you really! Where in the world did you see him?”

      “In the hospital. He’s come to do his internship there.”

      “I knew he was an intern now. Irene told me. But I didn’t know it would be in your hospital. Did you talk to him at all?” she asked eagerly.

      “Oh, he came over and said hello.”

      “And what did you say?”

      “I said, ‘Hello, Jared.’”

      “Is that all?” Lucille was plainly disappointed. “After all, you’re old schoolmates.”

      “Not really. He was in the twelfth grade when I was in the tenth. That’s like two different species. He was about as interested in me as he was in the carvings on Mount Rushmore.”

      “Oh, don’t be silly! You and Jared played together all your lives.”

      Ket did not answer for a time, then she said, “Well, I will say he’s still fine looking. So tall. I thought Maggie and Debbie were going to faint when they saw him.”

      “Well, he’s dating someone. Irene told me that. Oh, you’d know her!”

      “How would I know her?”

      “Why, she’s one of your old schoolmates. Lisa Glenn.”

      “He’s dating Lisa?”

      “Yes. You know she’s Miss Texas now.”

      “I knew that. She was always Miss Something. Miss Mudpie or Miss Ingrown Toenail.”

      “Now, that’s not kind! She’s a pretty girl, and she just naturally likes beauty contests.”

      “I know, Mom. I just never got along with Lisa very well. I always thought she was pretty stuck-up.”

      Her mother missed the pun, Ket noticed, but Ket didn’t bother explaining it.

      “Well, I suppose she may have been but, in any case, she and Jared are dating.”

      “Are they engaged?”

      “No. Not yet. Irene said she’s hoping they will be. She’s very fond of Lisa.”

      Suddenly Ket came to her feet. “Here. Let me finish that ironing. Most of it’s mine anyway.” She ignored her mother’s protests and picked up the iron. Lucille gathered up a pile of neatly folded clothing. “Don’t forget. You’ve got a date tonight,” she reminded Ket as she left the room.

      “I know it,” Ket said shortly. She almost added, “And do I dread it,” but she did not. Her parents were always excited when she went out with someone. Both of them longed to see her find a nice boyfriend but Ket felt as if she was constantly disappointing them.

      “Well, it’s a date anyhow, and that’s more than I’ve had lately,” she told herself as she pressed down viciously on the blouse and then suddenly lifted the iron. “No sense taking it out on you.” She thought of Jared Pierce then, and murmured, “Hmph.

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