The Catalain Book of Secrets
Page 24
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Katrine didn’t reveal to Ren how she’d spent her morning. That story would unfold as their connection grew, or it wouldn’t. For now, it was enough to be with him in the sultry night, the breeze lifting her hair and kissing her behind the ears.
“You know that fireflies act as a metronome, right?”
She smiled. That had happened a lot this evening, first at the Memorial Day parade as they caught the bubblegum and taffy that were tossed from the passing floats, then at dinner, then during the street dance, which they’d left to enjoy a quiet walk along Rum River, on the edges of Faith Falls City Park. The river was low due to the drought, but it was happy to see both of them.
“Hmmm,” she said. The sound felt drowsy and content. Ren’s strong, soft hand was holding hers.
“If by chance, a few males flash in unison, others will see it and adjust their own flashes. Soon, the entire firefly chorus is putting on a synchronized light show with no clear leader. See that?”
A copse of oak trees sheltered the edge of the park. Three tiny lights blinked at the base of the largest. Two responded. Soon, as if heeding Ren’s instructions, they began to blink like a thousand twinkle lights to music only they could hear. The grass underfoot crunched like straw, and the air was so dry that she worried the insect’s symphony would spark a fire.
“It’s lovely,” she said. She realized he was staring at her. She turned, and in his eyes she saw all of her beauty reflected back to her and magnified. He brushed his hand against her cheek. She closed her eyes. The heat of him was palpable even in the thick air.
Before she could stop it, the confession spilled out. It wasn’t about her magic, or even her divorce. It was about John Trempeleau, the man who had taken the right of her body from her.
Ren stiffened as her words poured out. Before she was done speaking, he took her, and held her close. His heart beat under her cheek. When she stopped talking, when every bit of shame was laying in front of her, he spoke softly into her hair.
“You get to heal, Katrine. You get that. We all do. What you lost? It’ll come back to you, stronger than you ever thought it could. Trust me, and let the people who love you carry you until you can believe it for yourself.”
She tipped her face up to him, because she did trust him, had from the moment she’d first bumped into him outside of Seven Daughters, and because it felt right to take this first step with him. He leaned in, but before his lips touched hers, a warm tear of rain moistened her cheek.
Startled, she opened her eyes. “Rain!” It had been six weeks since a drop of moisture had fallen.
He glanced up, chuckling. The evening was dark, but in the yellow circles of the city park lights, tiny drops fell to earth, raising miniature dust storms. The sparse drops began to thicken, and then it started to pour. Ren grabbed her hand and began to lead her toward the picnic shelter. Laughing, she grabbed his hand, and they ran through the warm rain, splashing in puddles and smelling the richness of thirsty earth.
They ran until they reached the Queen Anne, and then they snuck in through the back door, exactly as Katrine used to do when she was sneaking home past curfew. It wasn’t necessary—Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Velda, and Artemis were at the movies, and they had the house to themselves—but it was fun.
She stopped just outside her bedroom door, Ren holding her, both of them dripping on the hardwood floor. He pushed her back, pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. His mouth traced a hot arc to her ear, and he whispered something. She said, “Hmm,” and the words curved up like a smile.
She led him into her room and sat him on her bed, undressing in front of him. Her wet dress fell to the ground like a seal skin. She was down to her bra and panties when panic overtook her. It lasted only a moment, a petrifying eternal second where she wanted to leave her own body. He reached out to her, but she shook her head. He was so bright, so calm, so open. She could do this. She stripped, standing in front of him fully unclothed, at first defiant and then, finally, letting her defenses down, truly naked.
He came to her and pressed his body into hers. She could feel his hardness and was suddenly starving for him. She yanked open his shirt, ripped his zipper, pushed him into the bed. He met her desperation with warm, steady kisses, stopped her, and made her look him in the eye.
“Do you want this?” he asked. She could see the throbbing of the vein in his neck and forehead. His passion was as powerful as hers.
She nodded. “Yes. More than anything I’ve ever wanted before.”
His entire body shivered. He pulled off his shirt, exposing broad, strong shoulders and arms, a chest covered in soft hair, and a heart that beat just for her. He leaned back over her, covering her body in kisses that brought her to the edge of absolute pleasure, then pulling away just before she climaxed, returning to kiss her mouth and whisper in her ear all the ways that he loved her.
The fruit, when it was finally ripe, was delicious, decadent, full of sweet juices and life. For the first time in her life, Katrine was safe. Her heart hummed with a sweetness like the moment just before tears, stretched out forever. She felt the promise of a baby boy moving deep inside of her, unsure how long she had been aware of it.
The sensation made her happy.
Everything would be all right.
She was home.
“i carry your heart with me”
by ee cummings
…here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide) and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)
*Author’s Note
The Catalain Book of Secrets was inspired by genetics professor Bryan Sykes’ nonfiction book, The Seven Daughters of Eve. In his fascinating account, Sykes describes how, through mitochondrial DNA, everyone of European descent can trace their common ancestry to seven primeval clan mothers, whom he calls the seven daughters of Eve. He bestows on them whimsical names: Velda, Ursula, Xenia, Helena, Katrine, Jasmine, and Tara. His thesis is that we are all connected, and he uses science to prove it. I use fiction.
Acknowledgments
I began writing this book in 2002, shortly after my husband died. It was a painful time, but I found comfort in the words and the possibility of magic. Being the mother of two small (at that time) children, life soon took over. I put away sixty or so pages that I’d written, and I didn’t rediscover them until ten years later, when I was cleaning out my computer files. Falling right back in love with the words and the magic, I cozied up to my computer to type out the rest of the story. That was 2012, and I’d already published eight novels. Writing this one was different, though. Rather than directing the plot as I typed, I found myself listening for stories and weaving them together. The result was unlike anything I’d written before.
The novel has taken many evolutions since then, including three rounds of professional editing. It was ultimately turned down by traditional publishers, but I couldn’t let it stay only on my computer. I felt like there was a message in the world of the Catalains, and wasn’t meant just for me. And so, at the urging of Matthew Clemens and with the support of many wonderful people, I decided to create a Kickstarter campaign to self-publish. The campaign was successful beyond my wildest dreams. Here are my supporters. These people are the reason you’re holding this book right now:
Stacy Reller (my first donor! because of her generosity, she forever gets to run the bead store in Faith Falls), Aimee Hix (she promised donors cookies, one of her many superpowers), Chuck Zito, Beth Ann Chiles, Sharon Fiffer, Kathleen Taylor, Suzanne Jackowski, Lisa Wilcox, Julie Hyzy, Michael Kelberer, Robin Templeton, Dina Willner, Sarah Cotter Hogroian, Dean Heitke, Shelley Manannah, Kristin Sprows, Matthew Clemens (you’ll notice he’s mentioned three times on this page; that is not a mistake), Becky Ernst, Tiffany Korver, Annie Alzheimer, Melissa Lee Lindsey, Melis
sa Jensen, LynneK, Tony Van Den Einde (thank you, honey!), Dina Stout, Diane and Ray Lourey, Connie Crose Erickson, Jenny Langford, Christine Hollermann, Kellie Tatge, Erin Mitchell, Laura-Kate Rurka, Mollu, John West, Linda Braun Kingston, Trudi Detert, Heather Koshiol, Anne Wortham, Cheryl Graves, Chantelle Aimée Osman, Linda Joffe Hull, Shannon Baker, Clare O’Donohue, Dru Ann Love, Donna Hennen, Vikki Pfeilsticker, Catriona McPherson, Sharon Short, Steve Avery, Heather Severson Tanez, Vicky Kapitzke, August McLaughlin, Keith Raffel, Shelly Gage, Sherry Roberts, Steve Whipple, Dana Cameron, Ellie Searl, Jim Thomsen, John Shaw, Susanna Calkins, Dave Wielenberg, Stanley Trollip, Michael Guillebeau, Kim Moran, Jill Svea Wargin, Barbara Moore, Laura Rae Hulka, Jamie Gaither, Vicki Stiefl, Adam Beau McFarlane, Cindy Pederson, Lynda Hilburn, Angela Trulson, Mark Basel, Jama Kehoe Bigger, Lois Reibach, Tamzin Bukowski, Edith Maxwell, Laura Weatherly, Heather Wetzel, Jessie Chandler, Joseph Roper, Lou Berney, Connie Van Den Einde Weaver, Stacy Allen, Michelle and Ryan Hennen, Jim Pohl, Peggy Brause, Alan Orloff, Bo Thunboe, Ellery Adams, Ava Nielsen, Linda Maher, Susan Schlicht, Julie Stuard Lundblad, Dorothy Nelson, Amy Glaser, Tamara Weets, Karen McBrady, Eric Hix, Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald, Harry Weseloh, Loni Crowell, Jessica Spurling, Barbara Ross, Matthew Sherley, David Lyndale, Glenn Harris, Janet Cearley, Andrea Edwards, Cindy Ronken, Ann Marie Gross, Sandy Morse, Ellie Kolodzieski, Tracey Watson, Gretchen Beetner, Ben LeRoy, Corinne H. Smith, Michelle Denise Marotzke, James Ziskin, Rebecca Lane Beittel, Ann Wawrukiewicz, Sherryl O’Neill, Andrea Schraufnagel, Greg Davidson, Gina Hennen, Erika and Olivia (The Girls Next Door), Gail R. Fisher, Terri Thayer, Jessica Ruhl, Jeffrey Pearson, Mary Peterson, Richard Butler, Sheyna Galyan, Jodi Erickson-Trosdahl, Jane Burton, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Stephen Buehler, Kat Tromp, Mariella Krause, Andrea Ball Ross, Michelle Bahr, Liz Mugavero, Dawn Shawley, Sabrina Ogden, Kristen Shomion, Michael Allan Mallory, Mara Volker Trygstad, Denise VanBriggle, Karen Fraunfelder Cantwell, Bill Weinberger, Judith Griffin, Ronnette Trulson, Susan Krueger, Jan Kurtz, Jenny Kales, Maggie Caldwell, Erica Ruth Neubauer, and Theresa Rispoli.
Thank you.
Also, much thanks to Jill Marsal, who fought valiantly for this book to find a traditional publisher, and who guided me through many revisions. The same is true of my mother, Diane. Connie (Van Den Einde) Weaver, Linda Joffe Hull, Matthew Clemens, Barbara Moore, Brad Kramer, Jessica Morrell, and Shannon Baker, thank you for your feedback on this book. Tony Van Den Einde, Terri Bischoff, Christine Hollermann, Dana Fredsti, and Cindy Pederson, thank god your support for me is contagious. It’s gotten me through many a low spot when this writing dream seemed ridiculous.
Great thanks also to the strong women in my life—Bernie, Diane, Donna, Suzanna, Jen, Gina, Andrea, Michelle, Amanda, Esmae, and Zoё—who taught me about kitchen magic, the power of a good red wine, and the healing spells of laughter. More importantly, thank you all for teaching me about my roots and for providing the best family a person could hope for. No less is my thanks for the good men in my life—Xander and Tony especially, but it turns out there’s lots of you, like Rex, Jim, Stacy, Matthew, and Reed—who have made me feel safe and heard.
May you find the comfort, hope, entertainment, and healing in this story that I did.
There’s magic enough for all of us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Catalain Book of Secrets series is Jessica Lourey’s first venture into magical realism, a genre she’s loved since she was a teenager. She’s best known for her critically-acclaimed Murder-by-Month mysteries, which have earned multiple starred reviews from Library Journal and Booklist, the latter writing, “It’s not easy to make people laugh while they’re on the edge of their seats, but Lourey pulls it off…[A] very clever series.” Jessica is a tenured professor of creative writing and sociology at a Minnesota college. When not teaching, reading, traveling, writing, or raising her two wonderful kids, you can find her dreaming of her next story. If you enjoyed The Catalain Book of Secrets, please check out Seven Daughters: A Catalain Book of Secrets novella. You can find out more about Jessica and her books at www.jessicalourey.com.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Throughout this book, you enter the minds of four of the Catalain women: Ursula, Jasmine, Katrine, and Tara. Which character did you most identify with, and why? Was it distracting to you to move from one head to another, or did it give the story necessary depth? Would you have liked to hear the perspective of any other characters? If so, which ones and why?
Identify and discuss some of the reasons the inhabitants of Faith Falls might be uncomfortable with the Catalains throughout their history there.
Velda created a family culture in which everyone kept secrets. What do you think motivated her?
In what ways did Katrine and Ursula have a typical mother-daughter relationship? If there were exceptional aspects of the relationship, to what do you attribute these?
Why didn’t Ursula confront her mother and tell her sisters or daughters that she had helped to murder her father much earlier? Could she have prevented what happened to Jasmine by doing so?
Discuss Jasmine’s role, if any, in what happened to Katrine the night the snakes rose. Would it have ended any differently if she had confessed what had happened to her when she was younger? Does it matter if it would have? In other words, is it ever your duty to share secrets before you’re ready?
What do the snakes in the book symbolize to you?
Why did Tara run away?
Artemis, Leo, and Ren are all good men trying to get into the Catalain women’s lives. Do you believe it is Henry Tanager’s curse that initially keeps the men from getting close to the Catalains, or is it something else?
Who do you think wrote/is writing The Catalain Book of Secrets in which Ursula finds her spells?
Do you believe in everyday magic, like the power to make people feel something when they eat food you’ve cooked, or the ability to sense when someone is dangerous, or the gift of sewing clothes that hang beautifully on any body?
Is there ever a good reason for family members to keep secrets from one another? If so, what would the circumstances be?
At the end of the story, whose baby do you believe Katrine pregnant with, and what’s the significance of this?
Would you want to read a prequel to this novel, one in which we learn the story of Eva and Ennis Catalain? Why or why not?
Table of Contents
Also by Jessica Lourey
DEDICATION
The Catalain Family Tree
Prologue
Summer
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Winter
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Spring
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Summer
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Acknowledgments
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Table of Contents
Also by Jessica Lourey
DEDICATION
The Catalain Family Tree
Prologue
Summer
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Winter
Chapter 25