With Love, With Connie
by
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Robert returned his albums to the cabinet and slowly made his way to his bedroom where he found comfort listening to Connie’s movie theme songs: "Where the Boys Are", "Follow the Boys" and "Looking for Love". He liked the beat of "Looking for Love". It always lifted his spirits. His mind wandered from Connie to Rachel and then to Leah. He had never really had an official date. He and Leah had gone places, but he had never asked any girl to go on a date with him. He wondered if this were normal. Most of the other guys his age in the neighbourhood had found themselves a steady girlfriend, a few had already gotten married. He knew he was shy about meeting people, and lacked the self-confidence to approach any girl and risk a refusal, but he had never really met someone he wanted to ask for a date. Then there was Rachel. He knew it was ridiculous to think about her romantically. They knew so little about each other. They had never met, had never spoken to each other. They were separated by an international border. She was an American, her family had wealth, and she had responsibilities that confined her. She was just a friend. But his friend would not leave his thoughts. He tossed and turned in bed. He found himself smiling at Rachel, teasing her, laughing with her about the antics of her aunts. He touched her hair, felt her body move closer to him. As he lay in bed, he realized that his body was responding to his fantasy. He felt uncomfortable, as if he had lured Rachel unwillingly into his embrace. He closed his eyes again hoping that sleep would engulf him, but within a few minutes he was walking along the beach holding hands with Rachel, looking into her eyes, savouring every look, every movement. They were together. Connie’s hit, "Together" drifted into his consciousness helping him to fall asleep with his American dream. Rachel in Flanders Cove, Connecticut – Is the dream gone forever? Rachel sat motionless on the window seat in the fan club office on the third floor. She looked at the cove, but she knew that her heart would never again float beyond the cove to the Atlantic Ocean on its journey to Nova Scotia. She knew that her romantic dreams were never to be realized. She knew that she had expected too much, assumed too much, dreamed too much. She knew that she had allowed her heart to create a relationship that never existed; she now realized that she would pay bitterly for her folly. She held Robert’s latest letter in her hand. It had been six weeks since he had written. She had imagined all sorts of explanations for his absent letters. The aunts had tried to console her. She had become agitated. She had decided to phone Robert and ask him if she had offended him, but they had never mentioned telephoning in all the time they had been sharing their lives. She returned to the letter. It was so formal, so factual, so cold. It was not from her Robert. It was the end of her dream for them, a dream they had obviously not shared. She knew so little about romance, but now she began to sense the pain of rejection, isolation, and loneliness. She was now alone! She reread the first few paragraphs: "Rachel, I hope you and your aunts have been well since I last wrote. I am sure that you will be surprised to learn that Leah and I were married at the end of August. We are living in an apartment in Northumbria. Leah has a job at a nearby elementary school. It was a small quiet wedding, our choice. We toured Nova Scotia for our honeymoon. Being married certainly is different, but in time I am sure Leah and I will be very happy together..." Rachel reread the last sentence again: "In time I am sure Leah and I will be very happy together". She wanted to release her disappointment, her sorrow and indeed her anger, but she could not. She simply sat looking at the letter. It was in this state that Rose found her upon her entrance to the office. Rose sensed that the letter had conveyed a disappointment. She moved beside Rachel on the window seat. Rachel placed the letter in Rose’s lap. Rose hesitantly picked up the letter and began reading. She gasped! She glanced at Rachel! She leaned toward Rachel to speak but was prevented by Rachel. "Please, I can’t talk. Tell the aunts my news, but please leave me alone for awhile. I’ll come downstairs for dinner." Rose left quietly. Rachel continued to sit without movement. Gradually evening descended upon the household. The light faded as her dreams had done earlier. Now she was shrouded in darkness! The antagonist is relentless: Robert speaks to his father! "No fight, I assure you. I don’t like to go over to the MacDonald’s when Trevor is there." "Robert, you need to stand up to Trevor." "Yes, stand up and be crushed. He’s a bulldozer." "I’ve seen guys like him fall easily. He’s a muscle head. Use your brains to bring him down to your size." "I don’t have David’s slingshot, but Trevor is certainly my Goliath." "There’s always a bully in life. Some use muscles, others use their heads. Brains are better than muscles. You can’t back down." Robert faces Trevor. Trevor stood erect, placing his hands on his hips. "Here Robbie, hit me. I won’t move! I can take it. I’m a man!" Robert got his second wind, but remained immobile, staring at this crazed man, picturing Leah in his mind, knowing that she would not want him to fight her brother. Howie broke the silence, "Rob, don’t just stand there. Don’t let him bully you. Do it for yourself! It’s now or never!" Trevor responded, "Robbie, listen to your choir boy cheer leader!" Robert fixed his attention on Trevor, staring at him as the fear, anxiety, disgust and anger of years of abuse swelled within him. He felt himself charged with energy that propelled him into action. He threw a successful punch at Trevor’s head, followed by another one. He pounded his adversary with all the strength he could muster. Although he was unaccustomed to using his fists, he thought of his father, remembering his advice about standing up for what is right. He heard Howie shouting for him to finish what he had begun. His mind whirled, his body was an explosive power house releasing years of pain and frustration.
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About the Book
December 12, 1997 is an extraordinary day in Robert Mascaux's life, involving him in a family funeral, his second wedding and a birthday party for a celebrity.
This romantic novel begins with a flashback to 1959, in Northumbria, a coastal community in Nova Scotia. Robert, a high school student, resides at the Manor, a private nursing home owned by his parents, Bertha and Camille, immigrants from Belgium. Robert's home life is enriched by his 'foster grandparents', the Manor residents. When Robert becomes a member of a Connie Francis fan club, he begins a lengthy correspondence with Rachel Turner, the club's teenage president, who lives on an estate in Flanders Cove, Connecticut, with her reclusive, artistic aunts, fondly called 'the bouquet'.
The reader discovers the enduring power of love through the struggles and triumphs that Robert and Rachel encounter during their friendship, spanning 38 years. The novel depicts the influence that singers can have on their fans and also reveals parallels that can exist between the lives of singers and their admirers. The music of Connie Francis is the thread of continuity for the couple for whom fate, an international border, family responsibilities, and a sinister villain delayed their marriage until December 12, 1997.
About the Author
George R. Henaut has an abiding interest in language – its power and its beauty. His career as an educator provided many opportunities to enhance and share this passion with others. Since 1990 he has written, directed and produced ten dramas for audiences in his native Nova Scotia. His plays and short stories have been influenced not only by life on the Atlantic seaboard, but also by his Christian spirituality and appreciation of traditional family values. All of these influences have culminated in his first novel, With Love, With Connie, which also reveals his enduring appreciation of the music of Connie Francis. His greatest desire is to share this romantic, yet turbulent story of Robert and Rachel with others.