Meet Me in Barcelona (33 page)
Read Meet Me in Barcelona Online
Authors: Mary Carter
“She was a foster child
She was a girl gone wild
Her name was Carrie Ann. . . .
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“We shared my tree house,
She was a friend in need,
But not a friend in deed
“It was a Tuesday night,
He was a working man,
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He had a son named Stan
Stan had a tire swing,
He liked everything,
He was a boy with hope
His feet could touch the sky,
He could really fly
It was a long, thick rope....
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“That was a long time ago
And what I didn't know
Was what to believe
But what I didn't see
Through all her smoke screens
Was that she needed me
She was my sister then
She is my sister now
And we'll forgive somehow. . . .”
She looked up to find tears in Carrie Ann's eyes. Carrie Ann looked at Grace and nodded.
“It was a Tuesday night,
He was a working man,
He had a son named Stan
I'm just a Nashville girl,
And I've been on a whirl
And now I've got what I need
My family is here and my love is near,
And I'm lucky indeed
Marsh can go to hell because I can tell
There's only one thing to do
He is my everything, and he's there
When I sing and he loves TVâ”
Jake snorted on that lineânot a sound he meant to make, but he'd tried to disguise his laughter. Grace was thrilled to hear the sound.
“Jake, I love you, you're my hero to be,
Jake, will you marry me?”
Grace finished the song on her knee. Jake rushed up. “Careful, careful,” she cried. Jake got on his knees too and gently touched her face.
“I forgot the ring,” she said.
“Shut up,” he said.
“I've loved you ever since we met and you cried over that little kitten.”
“A little louder. I don't think they heard you in France.”
“I never want to lose you again.”
“You never lost me at all.”
“Will you, Jake? Will you marry me?”
“Of course I'll marry you,” he said.
“Your partner Dan is not invited to the wedding.”
“In his defenseâhe thought he was helping us get a free trip. And he has been taking care of our sweet Stella.”
“Fine. Dan can come too.”
“You're a pushover.”
“Damn,” Grace said. “Marsh Everett is right. Everything in my life always ends on a happy note.” And before she could complain anymore, Jake wrapped his arms around her and shut her up with his beautiful lips. When they parted, her mother clapped. Her father took her mother's hand and held it. Grace took Jake's hand, and pulled him up. Then she stretched out with her other hand, and waited for Carrie Ann to take it.
A READING GROUP GUIDE
Mary Carter
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
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The suggested questions are included to enhance
your group's reading of Mary Carter's
Meet Me in Barcelona.
- Grace Sawyer is leery when she and her boyfriend, Jake, “win” a trip to Spain. Should she have followed her initial reservations and remained at home?
- If Grace had remained at home, do you think Carrie Ann would have showed up in Nashville instead?
- Grace's mother isn't well and may not have long to live. How does that influence Grace's decisions throughout? Had her mother been well, do you think Grace would have told her that Carrie Ann had come back from the past? Would it have changed any of the outcomes if she had?
- In the beginning, Grace is obsessed with a bad review from Marsh Everett. Does her perspective change by the end? In what way?
- What influence does the setting of Barcelona play in the events as they unfold? Could the story have just as easily taken place in Paris, or Rome?
- Do you think that confronting her past changes Grace as an artist? If no, why not? If yes, in what way?
- If Carrie Ann had never showed up in Barcelona, do you think Grace would have ever tried to find her? Why or why not? Do you think it was ultimately a positive thing for Grace that she was forced to confront Carrie Ann and the past? Please discuss.
- Along those lines, do you think Grace would have eventually told Jake the truth about Carrie Ann and Stan? Why or why not?
- Carrie Ann and Grace had a complex love/hate relationship. Was Carrie Ann all to blame? Did Grace let Carrie Ann down after she went to live with the Gales?
- Do the events in Barcelona make Jake and Grace stronger as a couple, weaker, or not changed at all?
- Marsh Everett thinks Grace should “sing her pain.” Yet while in Barcelona, she finds joy in GaudÃ's and Miró's works. Does the best art come from joy or pain?
- Grace finds herself attracted to Jean Sebastian and leans on him when Carrie Ann and Jake disappear. In retrospect, you might say she had “blinders” on when it comes to him. She doesn't see him for who he really is. Is there anyone else in her life she's ever applied these same “blinders” to? Carrie Ann? Stan? What about Jake?
- Do you think Grace and Carrie Ann will remain in each other's lives, or will they drift apart?
- People always ask, “Were there any warning signs?” What about Stan and the revelations in the end? Were there any warning signs? Could he have been “helped” if someone had noticed the warning signs and intervened?
- Magicians, costumes, identity, and denialâplease discuss how these symbols and themes are interwoven throughout the story.
- Was Carrie Ann an evil girl, or just a product of abandonment and neglect? Has she changed? Can she change? Does Carrie Ann really love Grace?
Thank you for taking the time to read and discuss
Meet Me in Barcelona
. Please feel free to contact me via my Web site if any questions linger. I love to interact with readers.
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
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Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2014 by Mary Carter
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
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eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-8473-0
eISBN-10: 0-7582-8473-X
First Kensington Electronic Edition: August 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7582-8472-3
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