The Dane Family

by

Mary Gant Bell

978-0-359-32008-0

Imprint: Lulu.com

Copyright @ 2019 by MGB Publications

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

First Printed: 2019

ISBN: 978-0-359-32008-0

MGB Publications, Houston, Texas

Contact the Author:  UnderTheGardenTree@Yahoo.com

Cover

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Art: Original photography by Mary Gant Bell

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Please Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

Dedicated

to

families who

miscommunicate

Part 1

The Decision

Chapter 1

Amy

My name is Amy. I’m the oldest of four siblings. Shortly after I was born, Bradley arrived. Our parents took a break before they had Caroline and Doug. After Doug, there was Emma Grace. We don’t really talk about her though. She died so young. Bradley and I remember her. We remember how her illness sucked the air out of the house. I think Caroline and Doug only remember hearing people tell stories about her and her illness. After her short life and prolonged death, our parents didn’t have the energy or desire to have more children.

Our family is funny about names. Our parents named us Amy, Bradley, Caroline, Doug, and Emma. Without a doubt, their next baby, if there had been one, would have been named something that started with F.  Then I named my kids Eric and Emily. I have no idea why my husband, John, and I picked the letter E. My sister, Caroline, went with M and named her children Mitch, Michael, Micah, and Maya. Bradley and Doug don’t have any children yet. It will be interesting to see how they select their baby names.

I’m the leader of the pack, not because I’m the oldest but because I’m the most organized. Bradley would argue with that, however. He likes to play the I’m the oldest male of the family card to get his way. He has a habit of waiting until a problem has been solved before he jumps in to claim that he was the one who saved the day.

But here we are … again … with a decision that must be made. Where is Bradley now? Silent as a tomb. So once again, it’s up to me to figure out what everyone wants to do and then act on it.

I sent out a group text this morning with the expectation that everyone will chime in today. There’s no reason that four adults cannot agree on the decision by the end of the day.

Chapter 2

Elizabeth

I’m Elizabeth. I married Bradley five years ago. I wish I could say it has been a glorious marriage. It has not. Bradley is a wonderful man, and I honestly do not regret marrying him. Even so, it has been a challenge.

When we first started dating, one of the things that drew me to him was that he encouraged me to do my best. He believed in me and inspired me to achieve the impossible. I felt invincible by his side.

After a couple years, his encouragement turned to disappointment. I’m not even sure how it happened. It was like he clung to unspoken expectations for my career. When I didn’t achieve the things he never expressed, worry lines creased his forehead. How did he expect me to succeed when I didn’t know what he expected of me?

Was he really disappointed in me? Or himself?

I first met Bradley in the television studio. I interviewed him as a representative of his law firm. I don’t even remember the context of that show now. All I remember is how my heart swam in the depth of his blue eyes during the entire twelve-minute segment. He must have felt the sparks, too, because he called me the next day. I was happy in my position with the studio. Now, after years of Bradley’s encouragement, I have been promoted to anchor woman in the coveted evening timeslots. I’ve climbed about as far as I can go with this station. And I’m happy there.

Happy except for the fact that I cannot get pregnant. That is, and always has been, my primary goal. To be a mother. Bradley said he wanted a family as well. That was before our wedding. Ever since we said our vows, he spends all of his time at the office. Working and working. It’s no wonder I can’t get pregnant. If I want to get pregnant, I need to be comfortable with steamy, but brief, sex on his desk. The table in the conference room is larger and would allow more playfulness. But that would require a longer time commitment on Bradley’s part. I’m not convinced he would agree to that.

Bradley’s sister, Amy, sent this group text demanding that everyone agree to a decision she has probably already made herself. Amy might have consulted her sister, Caroline, but even that is highly unlikely. This is supposed to be a family decision, but Amy didn’t even include me in the group text. She sent it only to her siblings. Bradley sent it to me and asked me to handle it. He’s far too busy to be bothered with this sort of thing. I don’t know why I bother to respond though, Amy won’t listen to my opinion. Even if I do clarify that it is Bradley’s choice as well, Amy would not believe me. Amy will have to hear it directly from Bradley because, well, Amy is Amy. What more can I say?

I’ve tried several times to convince Amy to use group videos instead of all this texting back and forth. If she would agree to a video chat with all of us together at the same time, we could have this decision made in no time. But no. We have to do it Amy’s way. And Amy wants to text. She obviously does not understand how disruptive it is to listen to my phone beep from an excess of texts all day long. Amy would argue that not all of us work in a television studio and have access to cameras all day long. But that’s just Amy. She likes to argue.

Chapter 3

Solstice

Namaste. I am called Solstice. This is not the name my parents put on my birth certificate. It’s not their fault that they did not call me by the name assigned by the universe. I forgave them for that long ago. A birth certificate is just a piece of paper, after all. I have many friends who were forced to correct their names once they became adults, too.

I am walking this journey beside Doug. I met Doug at a music festival to celebrate the fall harvest. He worked for the event rental company. I was meditating with some friends around a table that he was sent to collect. The rental company observed a traditional 24-hour understanding of time, and he seemed so anxious to meet a deadline. It pulled at my heart to watch someone suffer because of unnecessary and arbitrary limitations such as time. I wanted to sooth his pain and teach him about the unlimited energies in the universe. I knew that if he would join us, he could tap into those energies and allow the tables to return themselves to the storage facility without the need for him to intervene. All he had to do was focus.

In the end, he focused on me and not the energies of the universe. We were married just a few short weeks after that festival. His family didn’t understand how we knew from the first moments that the universe brought us together to be soul mates. His family is polite to me, but not welcoming. I continue to shower them with love and light during my daily meditations. I am confident that someday they will feel the healing energies that the universe has to offer, and we will all live harmoniously and peacefully together.

Until that time, I shield myself from their limited understanding. Today was a perfect example. Amy, Doug’s sister and my sister-in-law, sent a group text. She claimed it was to the whole family, but she only sent it to her siblings. She did not include their spouses. It pains me that she does not consider me part of her family, but I forgive her. She is not as enlightened as I am about how all souls are interconnected within the oneness of the universe. She remains anchored to this physical earth and its fruitless demands. If only she understood how this decision doesn’t matter in the cosmic realm.

What matters more than the decision is how Amy’s behavior impacts Doug. If only she could understand how her attitude effects Doug’s soul, she might not be so condescending toward him. Doug is very fragile and struggling with this current phase of his life’s journey. I wish that Amy could have more compassion and patience with her brother. How is he expected to realize his own self-worth when his siblings belittle him at every turn? How can he balance his soul and harmonize his chakras when they continue to stab him in the back? How can he grow when they beat him down? How can he ….

Return to the light, Solstice. Even after all the years of my own enlightenment, I still struggle to maintain my ability to see only the light in others when I think of Doug’s family. I must continue to meditate for there to be harmony, peace, love and light among the siblings as they make this decision together.

Namaste.

Chapter 4

Caroline

I’m Caroline. I am the third child and Amy’s only sister. We have been best friends ever since I was born. In some ways, Amy was more like a mother to me. After Emma died, the sister I don’t even remember, our parents were tired. Defeated. Amy was almost ten by that time, so she did more to raise me and Doug than our parents did. My parents are good people, and I love them dearly. But the death of a child changes people. It’s a good thing we had Amy.

Sometimes I wonder if that is why Amy is the way she is, so responsible and organized. She never really had a childhood. One day she was a happy child, and then next she was responsible for keeping her three siblings alive while our parents grieved.

Maybe that is why I am the way I am, the mother to four kids. Sometimes I wonder if I wanted to be a mother just so I could continue to play all day long with my kids. Some people think you have to grow up to be a parent. I don’t think I ever did! If not for my