Three Brides, No Groom (8 page)

Carol’s Story

Chapter 1

C
arol Furness fell in love with Eddie
Shapiro the first time she saw him throw a football. It had been September of
her freshman year at Queen Anne University. Standing on the sidelines of the
football field, she’d watched the pigskin ball sail effortlessly and gracefully
thirty yards into the arms of the tight end. Eddie had made it look easy, his
timing perfect, his throw masterful. In that moment she recognized that, with
proper training and guidance, he was headed for the pros.

And she’d been right.

Growing up the youngest child and only daughter in a family of
five, with two older athletic brothers, she knew more about football than some
coaches’ wives. She’d started cheerleading in junior high and had set her sights
on making the cheerleading squad at Queen Anne the minute she was accepted.

That first day on campus she’d set two goals for herself. Being
head cheerleader by the time she graduated—and marrying Eddie Shapiro.

She took over the head cheerleading position her junior year
and accepted Eddie’s engagement ring the Christmas they were both seniors. They
planned a July wedding, and while she was occupied with finishing the last of
her credits for her education degree, something wonderful happened.

Eddie was drafted by the pros, chosen in the thirteenth round
by the Denver Broncos.

“I never doubted,” she reminded him as they hugged each other
wildly and danced around the room. “Not once.”

Little did she realize that was the beginning of the end.

* * *

“What do you mean, you want to delay the wedding?” Carol
cried, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.

Eddie lowered his gaze to the lawn outside her sorority house.
He butted the toe of his shoe against a dandelion, breaking off the bright
yellow blossom, crushing it. Crushing
her
. He
apparently had nothing more to say.

“The wedding’s less than six weeks away.” Someone needed to
remind him of that. Her parents had already spent a lot of money, not to mention
the mental and emotional commitment she herself had made to their plans these
past several weeks. Finishing her classes, studying for finals and getting ready
for graduation had been more than enough for one person, but she’d taken on
organizing their wedding on top of everything else. Now Eddie was telling her he
thought they should wait. Carol hadn’t slept more than four uninterrupted hours
in a row in over two weeks. She was exhausted and cranky, and the last thing she
needed was this.

“I can’t help it, honey,” Eddie said contritely. “I’ve got to
start training early.”

“Surely you can take one day for the wedding.” She was willing
to forgo the honeymoon. And it wasn’t as if the wedding date came as any
surprise to Eddie. He’d been the one to choose July.

“I wish I could, but coach won’t allow it.” He sounded
flustered and apologetic, but she wasn’t buying it. She recognized that
hurt-little-boy act of his, the one he used whenever it suited his purpose. He
had a way of getting what he wanted by playing the misunderstood and abused
hero. She’d seen him do it any number of times, enough to recognize the tactic
when he attempted to work it on her. Well, he could manipulate others, but not
her.

“Everything’s different now,” he insisted, his voice gaining
strength. He looked up, and Carol watched the resolve strengthen in his face. In
that instant she knew the truth. There was more to this announcement than met
the eye.

The fact that Eddie had waited until after the graduation
ceremony to tell her didn’t sit well with her, either. He must have known his
practice schedule with the Broncos weeks earlier. His agent had worked out the
details of the contract, and although Carol was soon to be his wife, Eddie had
kept the particulars to himself.

That wasn’t all. She had noticed that he had been less than
attentive of late, but she’d attributed that to the commotion of the final weeks
of school, exams, graduation, their wedding plans—everything that was happening
in both their lives. His schedule was crammed as he prepared for his induction
into professional sports. As crammed as her own.

As graduation approached, it had become increasingly difficult
to get him to make decisions regarding the wedding. For weeks she’d been
offering her mother excuses, and she’d finally been forced to go ahead without
his input. She’d wanted his opinion, but it had been impossible to catch him for
so much as five minutes. When she did, his mind was on other matters, and so
she’d given up.

Her list of excuses regarding Eddie’s behavior had begun to
sound hollow even to her own ears.

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” she asked
point-blank. She would rather get things out in the open now and be done with
them.

Eddie shifted his weight and avoided eye contact. “No. Mark
warned me I was going to be exceptionally busy for the next several months with
practice and the games and all.”

Carol had never been keen on Eddie’s agent, but her fiancé had
argued that he was fortunate to have someone like Mark Raferty on his side. He’d
continually discounted her objections, and blindly allowed someone else to make
business and now personal decisions for him.

“How long?” she asked, keeping her voice firm and strong.

“Long?” Eddie repeated. A confused
I’m-not-sure-how-to-tell-you-this gleam was in his eyes.

“Before we can reschedule the wedding?”

He hesitated, and in that millisecond, in that half a
heartbeat, the truth reared its ugly head like a sea monster rising from the
waves. All at once what Eddie was saying became clear. As clear as clean glass.
Now she understood and wanted to kick herself for being so obtuse, so blind to
what should have been obvious all along.

“You want to
call off
the wedding.”
She said it for him. Without emotion. Without censure. Just hearing the words
was a relief in its own right.

“Honey, sweetheart, don’t be angry,” he pleaded, sounding as if
he was about to burst into tears.

Amazingly, Carol wasn’t upset. It was almost as if she was
standing offstage and watching a scene play out between two strangers. Almost as
if she was a nonparticipant. What she should be doing was ranting and raving,
giving in to hysteria and dissolving in tears. Instead, a calm settled over her,
a sense that this wasn’t really happening, that everything would soon be set
right. Eddie loved her and needed her. He’d always loved her, as she had loved
him.

It took her a moment longer to realize that he was still
speaking. “Mark suggested it wasn’t a good idea for us to marry now, and I have
to say that I agree with him. I’m starting a new life.”

She blinked as the words came at her like sharp needle points.
“A new life without
me?
”

“There’s no need to take it personally. I’m a professional
athlete, and I have certain obligations to my career and my team,” he
said—echoing the words of his agent, Carol was sure. “Certain…sacrifices.” He
appeared to have trouble remembering the next line of his speech. She strongly
suspected he’d memorized and repeated it for Mark before confronting her. That
sounded like something Mark would have him do.

Flustered, Eddie shook his head and asked, “Are you OK?”

“Fine. Wonderful.” She felt light-headed and realized the color
must have drained from her cheeks for him to have noticed. “You’ll want this
back.” She slipped the diamond engagement ring from her finger and handed it to
him.

He looked stricken, staring at the diamond in the palm of his
hand. “I…I still love you and all, but it’s…well, difficult, you see, me going
into the pros and all. And…well…”

“It’s OK, Eddie.” It hurt to listen to him search for reasons
to tell her that he didn’t want her in his life any longer. He was headed for
the big time, and she was just a cheerleader. An ex-cheerleader now. As far as
Eddie was concerned, a wife would be an encumbrance in his new life.

“OK? Really? You’re not mad, sweetheart?” How relieved he
sounded!

“Mad?” she repeated, as if surprised he would ask such a thing.
“Not in the least.” She brushed his cheek with her lips. “Good luck,” she said
brightly.

Her response appeared to stun him. She suspected he’d been
anticipating a knock-down-drag-out confrontation, even though he’d opted to tell
her in a public place.

Apparently Mark had prepared Eddie to expect yelling, cursing,
hysteria and tears. To be fair, her complete lack of emotion came as a shock to
her as much as it did to Eddie.

“Mark thinks I have a good chance of making second-string
quarterback,” he explained hurriedly, looking to her for encouragement and
approval, the way he always had.

“I hope you do.” She realized she actually meant it.

Suddenly he looked uncertain. “We can still be friends, can’t
we? I’d like to call you now and again, if that’d be all right.”

“Friends,” she repeated, and laughed softly. Right. Eddie would
do as Mark dictated and break the engagement, but he would still look to her for
emotional support. Because what Mark didn’t understand was the vital role she
played in Eddie’s life. Eddie needed her.

In time Mark would know how much Eddie relied on her, and then
Eddie would be back with his tail between his legs. It was only a matter of
time, but until then she wouldn’t make it easy for him.

“No, Eddie, I don’t think it would be a good idea if you
phoned. If you want to break the engagement, then whatever we shared is over.
Completely. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d better call my parents and do what I
can to cancel the wedding.”

The least of Eddie’s crimes was that he’d put her family
through needless expense, allowing them to plan and pay for a wedding he fully
intended to cancel. Right then and there, she decided she would pay them back
every penny, even if it took her the rest of her life.

“Listen,” he said, taking a step toward her. “I realize your
family’s sunk a lot of money into this wedding—I know I should have told you
sooner. It’s only fair that your father send me the bills. I’ll make sure they
get paid.”

“All right. I’ll make sure Dad forwards them to you.” She
turned and walked away. Pride was the glue that kept her from breaking into a
thousand pieces.

When she got back to the sorority house, the place was buzzing
with activity. Excited talk and laughter swirled around her like dust devils as
her friends raced up and down the stairs, emptying their rooms. Boxes and
suitcases littered the hallways. Silently she walked past her friends, up the
staircase and into her room. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, she reviewed
her options.

To save money for the wedding, her parents had opted not to fly
out from the East Coast to attend her graduation ceremony. By waiting until
after graduation to break the engagement, Eddie had not only destroyed her plans
for the future, but he’d cheated her out of sharing this special day with the
people who loved her and supported her dreams.

Meanwhile, though she had her teaching degree, she was without
a job. She hadn’t applied for a position here in Washington, believing she would
be living with Eddie in Denver in a few weeks. And she’d decided to wait until
after the wedding to apply for a Colorado teaching certificate. Eddie hadn’t
encouraged her to apply for work, but then, he hadn’t offered much in the way of
advice for several weeks.

Not only had he pulled the proverbial rug out from under her
feet, he’d single-handedly destroyed any chance she had of finding a full-time
teaching position come autumn. Every teaching job would already have been filled
by this late date.

She could always fly home and live with her parents, but she
had too much pride for that. Her family had helped her with her college expenses
as much as possible, had sacrificed in order for her to attend Queen Anne
University. She wasn’t going to take advantage of their generosity any longer.
As an adult, she would find a means of supporting herself. While she might not
be able to find a full-time teaching job, she could always do substitute
work.

Despite what he’d done, she still loved Eddie. She’d always
loved him, even knowing he was weak. Even knowing how easily he could be swayed
by others.

She held her breath and waited for the constriction in her
throat to ease. The one thing that gave her hope was that she knew Eddie better
than he knew himself. It wouldn’t be long before he realized how much he missed
her, how much he needed her. Within a month, maybe two, he would be back,
pleading with her to marry him.

She could wait that long.

* * *

Three weeks later Carol found herself a studio apartment
north of the downtown Seattle area. It was small but comfortable, and all she
could afford.

Since graduation, she’d been busy submitting teaching
applications to seven different school districts. Again and again she was told
that the hiring process was complete, but that human resources would keep her
name on file.

She made calls every day, and it wasn’t long before her
persistence paid off. She was asked to substitute for a physical-education
teacher during summer school. A paying job, even if it was only for a week, was
a start. A job was a job, and she was elated.

Summer classes weren’t known for attracting the best and the
brightest high-school students, but she didn’t let that dim her enthusiasm.
Dressed in gym shorts, a whistle looped around her neck, she led a group of
fourteen physically unfit students onto the Ballard High School football field.
They whined all the way, but she pretended not to hear.

As there were only a few years’ difference between her
students’ ages and her own, she resembled a high schooler herself. Luckily she
was tall, five-nine, with rich chestnut-colored hair that bounced against her
shoulders.