Cinderella in Overalls - By Carol Grace Page 0,43

for the invitation,” he said. “But first I’ll drive you home whenever the party’s over.”

Catherine smiled at a guitarist with ribbons hanging from his hat who strolled by. “The party won’t be over until everyone falls into a stupor or tomorrow morning. Whichever comes first. I’ll leave the truck here. I’m ready to go.”

Before they left they gave their gifts to the newlyweds and thanked Jacinda, who gave Catherine a piece of the wedding cake to put under her pillow. “You will dream of the man you will marry,” she promised with an elaborate wink.

Josh piloted Catherine to his car, and when Catherine glanced over her shoulder, she saw Jacinda at the edge of the patio, her hands on her hips, watching them.

Catherine sighed. “She’s unbelievable. She’s used this wedding to put pressure on me to get married. Honestly, it almost makes me want to go back to the land of the brave and the free. Where women can live beyond twenty-eight without getting hassled about being single.”

He started the car. “You mean back to Tranquility?”

She leaned back. “No, no, not Tranquility. I couldn’t bear to face the sight of condos and shopping centers on our land.” The thought of her failure to keep the farm going made her flush with shame. She was glad it was too dark for him to see her face.

“Where will you go when your tour is up?” He drove slowly down the hill and turned up her road.

She pressed her hands to her cheeks to cool them. “I’m not sure. Wherever the Peace Corps sends me. Peru, Chile... Argentina. Wherever they need me. Coming here has been good for me. To see them succeed, to be a part of their success ... It’s almost as if it never happened.”

“You mean losing the farm.” He pulled up in front of her house and turned off the engine. “It must have been terrible.”

“Not for everybody. My sister could hardly wait to leave the farm. And my parents have adjusted.” She shook her head. “I don’t know how.”

“How they could adjust or how they could sell the farm?”

“Both.” She paused. “I know, I know. They had no choice. But I... I...” She swallowed hard and a tear slid down her cheek. She turned her face to the window, but he took her by the shoulders to face him. She managed a half smile. “Sorry. It’s not the farm. I’m over that. It must be the wedding.”

He wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb. “That’s right. You cry at weddings.”

Outside the rain began at last, sending streams down the windshield of Josh’s car, creating a cocoon inside of warmth and security. She didn’t want to get out and run through the rain to her house. Not by herself. She leaned back against the door. There was the faint smell from the crushed rose in Josh’s buttonhole.

“You were a big hit with your dancing and offering your poem. I didn’t know bankers liked poetry.”

He pressed his knuckles together. “Tell me about bankers in Tranquility.”

“They’re boring. It’s a boring story. You don’t want to hear it.”

“Yes, I do.”

She sighed. “Well, there’s old Mr. Grant and his son. They own the bank and they lend the money.”

“To you?”

She drummed her fingers on her knee. “To us, to everybody. But when we needed them, they let us down.” He didn’t say anything. He waited for her to continue. “I guess I told you we were never rich. Whenever we came up short, we could always sell a sow or something. Until we ran out of livestock.”

“Do you blame the bank for that?”

She thought for a moment. “No, I blame myself, but they could have given us another chance.” She clenched her hand into a fist. “Just one more loan for the next crop year. We might have made it. But my parents were tired. They didn’t have the energy. They were relying on me and I was relying on them. I was their hope because I went to college and learned all about modern agriculture. But when it counted, I let them down.’’ She pressed her hands to her cheeks. “They must have wondered what good it did me, my fancy education. Mr. Grant did. I could see it in his eyes when he turned me down the last time.”

“Then what happened?”

“We sold the sheep and the grain and most of the machinery. Until there wasn’t anything left except the land. And then the bank foreclosed. That doesn’t surprise you,