Five Lessons in Love
by
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“Jack,
can we talk in the library? It is cool there this morning.”
“I want to come, too, Mother,” Pete announced.
“No, darling, you play in the yard. Uncle Jack
and I have some private things to discuss.”
I silently thanked her for not reviewing my
crimes in front of the boy. Our trip had caused us to have a special closeness
and I hoped I could save that.
“Jack,” she began, “I imagine that you are not
feeling well this morning, but I want to talk to you now, before you make your
plans to leave.”
“Of course, Mary Ann, I understand.”
“After you left the house two days ago, I opened
the letter from Mrs. Wagner and read it for myself. You have, in my opinion,
every right to be extremely distressed about the happenings with your friend
Josh.”
“Thank you, Mary Ann,” I said. I was amazed that
she made no apology for reading a letter addressed to me.
“I feel, Jack, in light of your present
situation, that it would be best if we were to combine our resources and try,
together, to recover from this loss.”
“Mary Ann,” I moaned, “this is not your problem.
I have trusted the wrong person, even though his character defects were clearly
pointed out to me at nearly every turn. I, alone, am totally responsible for my
bad judgment, and I cannot allow you to assume any hardships because of my
folly.”
“What I am saying, Jack, is that now each of us
is fixed in a bad position due to the actions of others. You have worked hard
for your property, and it seems that you have been entirely cheated out of it.
I have taken your brother as my husband, and I have been cheated out of the
security of a marriage by a war that nobody here could understand. We are in
much the same position, and we each have the resources to help the other.”
I was nearly speechless. My shy and plain
sister-in-law was speaking in a very forthright way, and there was little I
could find in what she said to argue about.
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About the Book
Trinta, a teacher writing in 2110, looks back on
four other lifetimes and her evolving relationship with Tulu.
In the Peru of the Incas, Trinta and Tulu worked
together as astronomers, watching the skies so they could advise the Inca and the
High Priest. Then, Tulu became pregnant with Trinta’s child, and their lives
changed forever.
In Spain during the Inquisition, Trinta was a Jesuit
priest and his cousin Tulu was the wife of a Grandee. They worked together to
solve Trinta’s inability to respect others.
In nineteenth century America, Trinta and Tulu were
officers in the Union Army and, later, surveyors for the Transcontinental
Railroad. Each was responsible for the other’s finding love.
In twenty-first century America, Trinta and Tulu
were employees of a great corporation. They helped each other to win love and
learn responsibility.
By 2110, work was not necessary because most goods
and services were provided by machines. In that lifetime Trinta and Tulu shared
a body so each could experience some part of that existence. It was Trinta’s
graduation from the School of Earth.
About the Author
Mary Carmen is a management consultant based near
Cheyenne, Wyoming. She manages projects for information technology departments
of large financial and governmental organizations, traveling from engagement to
engagement with a Russian Blue cat, Fyodor.
Ms. Carmen has worked as a computer programmer,
programming department manager, systems analyst, and technical writer. Before
studying computer programming, Ms. Carmen taught English in a public school in
Georgia in the year that school integrated.
Ms. Carmen received a B.A. degree in journalism from
the Pennsylvania State University and an M.B.A. degree from St. Mary’s College
of California.