I nod. “I think so.”
Sue chuckles. “Shortest meeting ever. Maybe Diana should run the show from now on, even if Belle does come back.”
“I’m sure she will be back,” Chastity says softly. She lifts her hand to her throat and runs her fingertips over her cross.
I’m not. I’ve never seen her act like this. “I’m sure she’s doing fine,” I say instead.
After the others have left, I spend several hours going through Belle’s binder. As I suspected, it’s quite the story, started off by Gertrude and then continued by Belle. Even after I’ve put it down, images cycle through my mind: Gertrude and Emily’s relationship falling apart; the loneliness that nearly destroyed Gertrude after her death, and which she could only partially alleviate through community service and, much later, serving as a mother figure to Belle. It’s a sad story, but nothing compared to the parts written by Belle, which are by turns hateful, despondent, and delusional. I can’t believe that this is how she felt ... how she feels. I’ve known her for years, and I never suspected any of it.
I take my sandwich to the computer, and turn it on. A series of game icons tempt me to mindless entertainment, but I ignore them. All I can think of is Belle and that binder ... that story. I open a new Word document, and stare at the flashing cursor, wondering what I should write. A poem, maybe? Just get it out and done quickly? Or something longer? Eventually, I begin by typing: “I wake up,” which could go either way. Reading that was definitely an awakening. Next door, the electronic keyboard starts up, and almost before I know it, I’m adding, “to the man in the apartment next door coaxing some distorted attempt at music from his electronic keyboard.” It’s a beginning.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone who has encouraged and inspired my writing over the years. There are too many to list here — teachers, friends, acquaintances — but I am so very grateful to each of you.
Thank you to my family for their constant support, and to Lidia Ramos, for being the first person outside of my family to read the beginnings of the story of the Sisterhood, and ask for more.
Finally, thank you to my editor, Michael Mirolla, and my “unofficial” editor, Tracey Tracy. Without your dedication to this book and your invaluable assistance in the process of revising it, I’m sure it would have taken twice as long and come out half as good.
About The Author
Patrick Balzamo was born in Montreal, Quebec, where he continues to reside with his family. He began writing as a hobby in his early teens, and decided to pursue the craft more seriously after obtaining a college degree in liberal arts. A Tale of Beauty is his first published novel.
Copyright © 2013 Patrick Balzamo and Guernica Editions Inc.
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise stored in a retrieval system, without the prior consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law.
Michael Mirolla, editor
David Moratto, interior design
Guernica Editions Inc.
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2013933973
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Balzamo, Patrick
A tale of beauty [electronic format] / Patrick Balzamo.
(First fictions series ; 2)
Also issued in print format.
ISBN 978-1-55071-345-9 print
9781550718058 epub
9781550718065 mobi
I. Title. II. Series: First fictions series (Toronto, Ont.) ; 2
PS8603.A59T35 2013 C813'.6 C2011-902151-X
Guernica Editions Inc. acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. The Ontario Arts Council is an agency of the Government of Ontario. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.
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