Post by CarpentersFan2003 on Jan 14, 2004 20:05:50 GMT -5
Chapter Ten
Thanksgiving Weekend 1983
The smell of fresh baked pumpkin pie filled the air in the Carpenter household. Agnes was in the kitchen with Karen and Richard talking about the guest list for the holiday season.
“ Karen will you be bringing Nathan for dinner?” Agnes asked looking at her daughter with a smile. She was wrist deep in apple pie filling. Baking for the holidays was one of the simple joys in Agnes’ life.
“ Yes, and you can add Nathan’s son Christopher to the list. He is flying back from New Hampshire for the week to be with his father.”
Richard raised his eyebrows as his sister said this. He was happy to see Karen so happy but at the same time he had the nagging feeling that she was moving to fast with her relationship, just like she had with her ex-husband. It was not two months after she had started dating Nathan that she’d asked him to move into her condo. Plus she was talking about converting the guest bedroom into a bedroom for Christopher.
“ Actually Nathan and I have been talking about flying back east to get Chris and bring him back ourselves. I don’t think its right for a five-year-old to make a trip across country by himself.” Karen said as she began signing the mountain of greeting cards that needed to be sent out.
“ Don’t you think that this is all moving a bit fast. You and Nathan have been dating for just over six months. I’m sure that Nathan has family out here that he and his son will want to see.” Richard said in a forced light tone. He believed that Christmas was a family time.
“ Yes, his mother is out here and the three of us will be going over to her house on Boxing Day for dinner and gifts. I have never met Mrs. Yates, I’m looking forward to it.” Karen smiled.
“ I’m happy that things are working out for you and Nathan.” Agnes said as she nudged her son with her elbow. Sending an unspoken message, don’t make waves.
That was when the phone rang and Harold called from the living room.
“ Karen it’s for you. It’s Nathan.”
“ I’ll take it in the study Dad.” Karen said, leaving her brother and mother in the kitchen.
“ Mom, don’t you think that Karen is moving too fast with this. I mean I’m not trying to rock the boat here, but the way Karen is talking I can see her trying to get pregnant.”
“ Richard, your sister is very happy at the moment. She’s managed to maintain her weight and has a good man in her life, one that has a career, and can appreciate Karen having to work long hours. Why rain on her parade?” Agnes turned her back to reach for a cookbook.
Richard just shook his head in amazement. He knew he was fighting a losing battle.
*** *** ***
Thanksgiving dinner at the Carpenter house was a time of celebration for the family and their close friends. The family had gathered around the dining room table along with Nathan and Richard’s girlfriend Mary.
Mary Rudolf was the first woman that Richard had brought home that Karen and his mother agreed with. She was a petite blonde, with blue eyes, a warm smile and a great sense of humor. She was also only in her early thirties. Richard was prone to dating girls younger then him. She and Richard had started to date at while Karen was still in the hospital and had grown very close to one another.
Nathan had become a regular face in the Carpenter household and was always welcome.
Dinner progressed at a slow pace with lots of chatter and laughter. When a break came from the current conversation, Nathan stood up with his wineglass.
“ Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, I wish to thank you for allowing me to share in this beautiful meal. If I hadn’t met your daughter I would have ended up eating cold pizza tonight. There is another reason why I’m making this toast.” Out of his pocket he pulled a small velvet box.“ Karen I wanted to wait until Christmas to give this to you, but I couldn’t.” He got down on one knee and opened the box. Inside was a two-karat diamond platinum set engagement ring. “ Will you marry me?”
Karen at first was too stunned to speak. She and Nathan had discussed marriage the last few months but she had gotten the feeling that he was not quite ready to take that next step. Now here he was on his knee in front of her and her family asking for her hand. She felt tears first welling up and then rolling down her cheeks.
“ Yes! I will marry you Nathan!” She managed to say.
“ Congratulations!” Mary, Agnes and Harold called out. Richard just looked on in total shock.
Harold and Agnes waited until Nathan had slipped the ring on Karen’s finger, then they hugged him and shook his hand.
Richard still failed to say anything to the newly engaged couple. In his own pocket he fingered his own ring box that carried Mary’s engagement ring. The moment for him to propose was lost. He’d have to wait.
“ Rich, are you okay?” Karen asked when she saw that her brother had lost most of the color in his face.
“ I’m fine Karen,” He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “ Just fine, and I couldn’t be happier for you and Nathan. Congratulations. Will you all excuse me I need some fresh air.” Richard turned on his heel and went out the patio doors leading to the backyard.
Karen looked after her brother and was about to go out and talk to him when Mary excused herself and followed Richard. When she caught up to him he was sitting on a bench under one of the Japanese Maples.
“ Richard honey, what’s the matter?” She sat down beside him and placed a hand on his thigh.
For a long moment Richard didn’t speak. He was too busy trying to control his emotions. He felt angry and hurt and just plain cheated. He took a deep breath and said in a hoarse voice.
“ He beat me to it Mary. Nathan stole my moment.” He fished out the ring box. “ I wanted to give this to you tonight but it seems pointless now.”
Mary took the box and opened it. Inside was a one and a half-karat princess cut diamond ring she gasped!
“ Richard it’s gorgeous. I love it.”
“I wanted to do what Nathan did tonight I wanted to pop the question in front of my family. Instead I’m asking you in my parents backyard. Will you marry me?”
“ What do you think… Of course I will.”
*** *** ***
Before Karen and Nathan knew it Christmas was fast approaching, as was their trip back east. She and Nathan had spent the first week of December shopping for gifts. The couple had decided to go back a few days early so that she could show him the town that she was born in New Haven, Connecticut and then catch a flight to New Hampshire to pick up Christopher.
The flight was calm except for a small pocket of turbulence. However, the pilot did take the time to greet Karen in his welcome aboard speech, which always made her smile. Of course it meant a round of autographs for her, but she was only too happy to do it.
Nathan was in awe of his future wife’s star power. He was sat back and watched.
One woman that came up to Karen had tears in her eyes.
“ Who do I make this out to?” Karen asked and when she didn’t hear a name she looked up and saw the emotional state that the woman was in. Karen knitted her eyebrows in concern.
“ Is there something wrong?”
“ I’m sorry… It’s just that my own daughter Cassandra suffered with anorexia for three years. She was in the hospital in early March, at the same time you had suffered your heart attack. She looked up to you as a reason for living. Cassi felt that if you could pull through a bout of an eating disorder and be a star. She could get well too. She was seventeen when she slipped into the coma. Two weeks later my Cassandra was taken… from me…” It was then that the woman broke down and started to cry.
Karen was totally speechless. Hearing what this woman had gone through with her own daughter made her realize the horror that she’d inflicted on her own family. Karen thought back to all the yelling and pleading that they had done. It was now that she realized just how lucky she was to be alive. She felt tears burning in her eyes.
Nathan stood up and went the woman’s side; he guided her back to her seat and had the flight attendant bring her a shot of brandy to calm her nerves. When he got back to his own seat and sat down he saw that Karen was staring off into space.
“ Honey, are you okay?”
Karen came back to reality with a start. She looked at Nathan and half smiled.
“ I’m alright. That was just a bit shocking. That poor woman, to loose her daughter that way. To think that could have been my mother talking about me…” Karen stared off into the distance again. She remained that way for the rest of the fight.
In the airport terminal in New Haven, they where met by Karen’s best friend from her hometown. Debbie Vieuso and her husband Scott. Debbie hugged Karen with all the exuberance she could muster. When she let her go Karen turned to Nathan and said.
“ Debbie, this is my new fiancé Dr. Nathaniel Yates. Nathan this is Debbie, my childhood best friend and her husband Scott.
“ Fiancé… Wow, when did this happen? Your mother called my mom and told her about your divorce from Tom. I had no idea you were getting married again.” Debbie hugged Karen again.
“ Nathan asked me at Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. We asked that our engagement be a secret for now. You’re the only others outside of my family that know. So mum’s the word.” Karen smiled.
“ Well then, its safe with me.” Debbie said and looked at Nathan. “ You sure can pick the good looking ones Karen.”
Nathan blushed.
Thanksgiving Weekend 1983
The smell of fresh baked pumpkin pie filled the air in the Carpenter household. Agnes was in the kitchen with Karen and Richard talking about the guest list for the holiday season.
“ Karen will you be bringing Nathan for dinner?” Agnes asked looking at her daughter with a smile. She was wrist deep in apple pie filling. Baking for the holidays was one of the simple joys in Agnes’ life.
“ Yes, and you can add Nathan’s son Christopher to the list. He is flying back from New Hampshire for the week to be with his father.”
Richard raised his eyebrows as his sister said this. He was happy to see Karen so happy but at the same time he had the nagging feeling that she was moving to fast with her relationship, just like she had with her ex-husband. It was not two months after she had started dating Nathan that she’d asked him to move into her condo. Plus she was talking about converting the guest bedroom into a bedroom for Christopher.
“ Actually Nathan and I have been talking about flying back east to get Chris and bring him back ourselves. I don’t think its right for a five-year-old to make a trip across country by himself.” Karen said as she began signing the mountain of greeting cards that needed to be sent out.
“ Don’t you think that this is all moving a bit fast. You and Nathan have been dating for just over six months. I’m sure that Nathan has family out here that he and his son will want to see.” Richard said in a forced light tone. He believed that Christmas was a family time.
“ Yes, his mother is out here and the three of us will be going over to her house on Boxing Day for dinner and gifts. I have never met Mrs. Yates, I’m looking forward to it.” Karen smiled.
“ I’m happy that things are working out for you and Nathan.” Agnes said as she nudged her son with her elbow. Sending an unspoken message, don’t make waves.
That was when the phone rang and Harold called from the living room.
“ Karen it’s for you. It’s Nathan.”
“ I’ll take it in the study Dad.” Karen said, leaving her brother and mother in the kitchen.
“ Mom, don’t you think that Karen is moving too fast with this. I mean I’m not trying to rock the boat here, but the way Karen is talking I can see her trying to get pregnant.”
“ Richard, your sister is very happy at the moment. She’s managed to maintain her weight and has a good man in her life, one that has a career, and can appreciate Karen having to work long hours. Why rain on her parade?” Agnes turned her back to reach for a cookbook.
Richard just shook his head in amazement. He knew he was fighting a losing battle.
*** *** ***
Thanksgiving dinner at the Carpenter house was a time of celebration for the family and their close friends. The family had gathered around the dining room table along with Nathan and Richard’s girlfriend Mary.
Mary Rudolf was the first woman that Richard had brought home that Karen and his mother agreed with. She was a petite blonde, with blue eyes, a warm smile and a great sense of humor. She was also only in her early thirties. Richard was prone to dating girls younger then him. She and Richard had started to date at while Karen was still in the hospital and had grown very close to one another.
Nathan had become a regular face in the Carpenter household and was always welcome.
Dinner progressed at a slow pace with lots of chatter and laughter. When a break came from the current conversation, Nathan stood up with his wineglass.
“ Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, I wish to thank you for allowing me to share in this beautiful meal. If I hadn’t met your daughter I would have ended up eating cold pizza tonight. There is another reason why I’m making this toast.” Out of his pocket he pulled a small velvet box.“ Karen I wanted to wait until Christmas to give this to you, but I couldn’t.” He got down on one knee and opened the box. Inside was a two-karat diamond platinum set engagement ring. “ Will you marry me?”
Karen at first was too stunned to speak. She and Nathan had discussed marriage the last few months but she had gotten the feeling that he was not quite ready to take that next step. Now here he was on his knee in front of her and her family asking for her hand. She felt tears first welling up and then rolling down her cheeks.
“ Yes! I will marry you Nathan!” She managed to say.
“ Congratulations!” Mary, Agnes and Harold called out. Richard just looked on in total shock.
Harold and Agnes waited until Nathan had slipped the ring on Karen’s finger, then they hugged him and shook his hand.
Richard still failed to say anything to the newly engaged couple. In his own pocket he fingered his own ring box that carried Mary’s engagement ring. The moment for him to propose was lost. He’d have to wait.
“ Rich, are you okay?” Karen asked when she saw that her brother had lost most of the color in his face.
“ I’m fine Karen,” He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “ Just fine, and I couldn’t be happier for you and Nathan. Congratulations. Will you all excuse me I need some fresh air.” Richard turned on his heel and went out the patio doors leading to the backyard.
Karen looked after her brother and was about to go out and talk to him when Mary excused herself and followed Richard. When she caught up to him he was sitting on a bench under one of the Japanese Maples.
“ Richard honey, what’s the matter?” She sat down beside him and placed a hand on his thigh.
For a long moment Richard didn’t speak. He was too busy trying to control his emotions. He felt angry and hurt and just plain cheated. He took a deep breath and said in a hoarse voice.
“ He beat me to it Mary. Nathan stole my moment.” He fished out the ring box. “ I wanted to give this to you tonight but it seems pointless now.”
Mary took the box and opened it. Inside was a one and a half-karat princess cut diamond ring she gasped!
“ Richard it’s gorgeous. I love it.”
“I wanted to do what Nathan did tonight I wanted to pop the question in front of my family. Instead I’m asking you in my parents backyard. Will you marry me?”
“ What do you think… Of course I will.”
*** *** ***
Before Karen and Nathan knew it Christmas was fast approaching, as was their trip back east. She and Nathan had spent the first week of December shopping for gifts. The couple had decided to go back a few days early so that she could show him the town that she was born in New Haven, Connecticut and then catch a flight to New Hampshire to pick up Christopher.
The flight was calm except for a small pocket of turbulence. However, the pilot did take the time to greet Karen in his welcome aboard speech, which always made her smile. Of course it meant a round of autographs for her, but she was only too happy to do it.
Nathan was in awe of his future wife’s star power. He was sat back and watched.
One woman that came up to Karen had tears in her eyes.
“ Who do I make this out to?” Karen asked and when she didn’t hear a name she looked up and saw the emotional state that the woman was in. Karen knitted her eyebrows in concern.
“ Is there something wrong?”
“ I’m sorry… It’s just that my own daughter Cassandra suffered with anorexia for three years. She was in the hospital in early March, at the same time you had suffered your heart attack. She looked up to you as a reason for living. Cassi felt that if you could pull through a bout of an eating disorder and be a star. She could get well too. She was seventeen when she slipped into the coma. Two weeks later my Cassandra was taken… from me…” It was then that the woman broke down and started to cry.
Karen was totally speechless. Hearing what this woman had gone through with her own daughter made her realize the horror that she’d inflicted on her own family. Karen thought back to all the yelling and pleading that they had done. It was now that she realized just how lucky she was to be alive. She felt tears burning in her eyes.
Nathan stood up and went the woman’s side; he guided her back to her seat and had the flight attendant bring her a shot of brandy to calm her nerves. When he got back to his own seat and sat down he saw that Karen was staring off into space.
“ Honey, are you okay?”
Karen came back to reality with a start. She looked at Nathan and half smiled.
“ I’m alright. That was just a bit shocking. That poor woman, to loose her daughter that way. To think that could have been my mother talking about me…” Karen stared off into the distance again. She remained that way for the rest of the fight.
In the airport terminal in New Haven, they where met by Karen’s best friend from her hometown. Debbie Vieuso and her husband Scott. Debbie hugged Karen with all the exuberance she could muster. When she let her go Karen turned to Nathan and said.
“ Debbie, this is my new fiancé Dr. Nathaniel Yates. Nathan this is Debbie, my childhood best friend and her husband Scott.
“ Fiancé… Wow, when did this happen? Your mother called my mom and told her about your divorce from Tom. I had no idea you were getting married again.” Debbie hugged Karen again.
“ Nathan asked me at Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house. We asked that our engagement be a secret for now. You’re the only others outside of my family that know. So mum’s the word.” Karen smiled.
“ Well then, its safe with me.” Debbie said and looked at Nathan. “ You sure can pick the good looking ones Karen.”
Nathan blushed.
