Читать книгу Long Road Home - Vicki Thompson Lewis - Страница 8

August 22, 1978 From the diary of Eleanor Chance

JONATHAN IS MARRIED, and my heart is heavy. We had a small ceremony this afternoon at the Last Chance because that’s all he and Diana wanted. There’s no pretty way to say this—a baby is on the way, and after several months of debate, Jonathan and Diana decided to get married. If you’re in love, you don’t debate such things, so I’ve concluded they’re not in love and I hate that for both of them.

Oh, they say they love each other, but I think that’s so Archie and I won’t be upset about this marriage. Jonathan is our only child, and of course we wanted him to end up with a woman he adores, who also adores him. We hoped she’d share his devotion to the ranch and look forward to raising children here. Our grandchildren.

Instead he has Diana. She looks like an Indian princess, which makes sense because her mother was Shoshone. Other than that, she hasn’t volunteered much about her parents except to say they’re both gone.

I have to wonder what her upbringing was like, because she’s the least nurturing person I’ve ever come across. She pretends to be happy about the baby, but I can tell she’s not.

She confessed to me that before she found out about her pregnancy, she’d been saving her tips from waitressing to finance a move from the Jackson Hole area to San Francisco. She’d dreamed of getting out of Shoshone, which she calls a one-horse town, and living a more sophisticated life.

Instead she’s stuck here, and I can tell that’s exactly how she feels, too. I seriously doubt she looks forward to living on the ranch for all her born days, and if she stays with Jonathan, that’s what she’ll have to do.

I’m torn because I don’t think the marriage is a good idea, but she’s carrying my grandchild. For that reason, I want her to stay right here and learn to love being a mother to my grandbaby and a wife to my son. I plan to do everything in my power to help that cause.