The Book of Illumination (41 page)
Read The Book of Illumination Online
Authors: Mary Ann Winkowski
Back in Galway the following morning, I was sitting over an Irish breakfast with my father, trying not to gag as he tucked into a couple of thick slices of black pudding, sausage made of cow’s or pig’s blood, cooked with fillers until it congeals. It’s black as midnight, and in my opinion, just as scary.
“How can you
eat
that, Daddy?” I squealed.
He shook his head. His mouth was full. He swallowed, had a sip of tea, and said, “You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Oh, I know,” I said. “I know exactly what I’m missing.”
He smiled, cleared his throat, and pushed his chair back from the table.
“I’ve been thinking of staying a while, Suzy-Q,” he said, startling me with a nickname I hadn’t heard in years.
“What? Staying here?”
He nodded. “Just for a … visit. Maybe a couple of weeks.”
“Well, sure.”
“It’s good to be home,” he said. “I didn’t know how I’d feel, but honest to God, it’s great. I could stay with the boys for a bit.”
“The boys” were his two brothers, Martin and Joe. They were both married and in their sixties.
“I’m sure we can change your ticket,” I said. “We can call the airline as soon as we’re done.”
I sighed and reached for his hand. My father looked happy. This was a good idea; it had been years since he’d spent any amount of time with his brothers and cousins. Maybe, just maybe, there would be a girl he used to know way back when.
“You’d be welcome to stay yourself,” he said, though I’m sure he realized it was out of the question.
I smiled at him and shook my head.
I had someone to get home to.
The amazing love I get from my husband, Ted, and our daughters, Amber and Tara, makes my work so enjoyable. I cannot thank them enough.
To Jennifer Gates, my literary agent with Zachary Schuster Harmsworth, for your great book sense and friendship, and to Lane Zachary for all of your support. I am so grateful to both of you for introducing me to Maureen Foley—how ingenious of you to know we could work together so well.
To Maureen Foley, you have a wonderful gift for bringing life to everything that you put on paper, and your work ethics are to be envied. Thanks to your husband, Rob, and your children for sharing your time and talent with me.
To Three Rivers Press and our current editor, Heather Proulx, and our original editor, Carrie Thornton, for making us feel so welcome and believing in this project.
To Scott Schwimer, my Los Angeles entertainment attorney. You always keep me on the right path (which is not an easy task). Thank you for doing it with such love and humor.
Thanks to relatives for the support and encouragement: son-in-law Stephen Hastings, Mary Lou Drsek, Matthew and Diana Weber, John and Betty Ann Hanzl, Robert and Sherry Slepecky, Kristen, Joette, Brenda, Angela, and Nick.
To friends Charity Ingraham, George and Dottie Janes, Elizabeth Joy, Gary and Grace Jansen, Richard and Mary Kruzel, Christine Kurfis, Dr. Issam and Kathy Nemeh, Kevin and
Eleanor McLaughlin, Kati Russell, Dr. Mark and Cindy Schick-endantz, Larry and Phillis Townes, Helena Ward, and all the nuns at Incarnate Word, especially Sister Monica.
A huge thank-you to Gina Kruzel and Wendy Lister for helping out with my ghost clearings, allowing me to have time for writing.
To every earthbound spirit I have ever met: thank you for sharing your unique stories. Most of all thanks to God for all of His blessings and the gifts that He has given me.
—MAW
I wish to express my deep gratitude to Lane Zachary, Mary Ann Winkowski, and Jennifer Gates. Warmest thanks are due to Carrie Thornton, Heather Proulx, Cindy Berman, Laura Duffy, Jo Anne Metsch, Sibylle Kazeroid, and all the talented artists and wordsmiths at Three Rivers Press.
For professional guidance and cheerleading, I am grateful to Ken Weinrib and Gary Ungar. For their gifts of friendship, I thank Sarah Baker, Alec Baldwin, Vicky Bennet, Tim and Sara Cabot, Terry and Catherine Doyle, Seamus Egan, Tim Grafft and David Hacin, Sandy Jaffe and Jay Blitzman, Gillian McManus, Jeff Perrotti, Avery Rimer, Larry Reynolds, Jamey Rosenfield and Debi Zilberman, Billy Smith, Eve Stern, Victoria and Nicolas Thierry, and Michael Williams and David Collins. To Anna Bensted and Lino Pertile, I offer thanks both for their friendship and for the use of the Eliot House Library at Harvard University.
I am blessed beyond words to go through life with my sister and brother, Peg Pitzer and Tom Foley, and all the wonderful members of their families: Fred, Nancy, Sarah, Kevin, Jill, Adam, Owen, and Max. I honor with infinite appreciation our much-missed parents, Charles and Mary Foley.
I thank, above all, my dearest children, Charlie and Grace Laubacher, whose wit, good cheer, and enthusiasm for life bring joy to mine, and my beloved husband, Rob Laubacher, with whom I feel extraordinarily blessed to share this journey.
—M F
M
ARY
A
NN
W
INKOWSKI
is the author of
When Ghosts Speak
.
She is a paranormal investigator who has collaborated closely with several federal agencies and is the high-profile consultant for the CBS series
The Ghost Whisperer
. Visit her online at
www.maryannwinkowski.com
.
M
AUREEN
F
OLEY
is the acclaimed writer, producer, and director of the films
American Wake
and the award-winning
Home Before Dark
. Visit her online at
www.hazelwoodfilms.com
.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2009 by Mary Ann Winkowski and Maureen Foley
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by
Three Rivers Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
Three Rivers Press and the Tugboat design are
registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
eISBN: 978-0-307-45245-0
v3.0
