A Changing Marriage
Page 36
The timer buzzed, and Alice pulled a sheet of peanut butter cookies out of the oven.
The sole thing Alice liked about the idea of returning to Fast Pace was the incentive it would give her to start running again. She exercised four or five days a week at the YMCA in town, but she hadn’t run hard in several years and knew how painful it would be to push her fifty-five-year-old legs to move, as they once had, at a seven-minute-mile pace. She’d have to start at a ten- or eleven-minute mile. She might even have to settle for a twelve-minute mile if she wanted to run more than three. And at that speed, she might as well join the mall walkers. Alice shook her head at the thought.
Alice’s body was still thin and toned; she went to the Y to work out more than to socialize. At five foot, five inches, she weighed one hundred and twenty-five pounds, which was what she had weighed in college. She could pull off wearing clothes meant for younger women, though she admitted to herself that she chose the popular, ubiquitous, oversized tops just as much to hide the loose skin around her abdomen as she did to be current. And she kept her blond hair long, down to the middle of her back, which helped her feel youthful and relevant. But looking like a runner and being a runner had nothing in common. And if Alice were going to actually be a runner again, she would have to train like she had in college. Would Dave run with her?
The clock in the hallway struck the hour, and Alice reached for the remote control to the Bose sound system that sat on top of the fridge. NPR was good company in the morning, giving Alice the news she needed to feel informed and the human interest stories that expanded her perspective. Her mind wandered during the news about the Middle East. Alice wanted to care more about events there, but her doing something that would matter to the Afghans, Syrians, Iraqis, or Somalians would look like what, exactly? She was making a mental list of her errands for the day when her thought process stopped. “. . . Shooting at William Chester High School in Southwood, Connecticut this morning.” Alice grabbed the remote and rapidly pushed the up arrow button to increase the volume. “. . . Two confirmed dead in an apparent murder-suicide. Police have indicated that the shooting appears to have been targeted rather than random and that the students at William Chester are not in immediate danger. Still, school officials have canceled classes for the remainder of the day and are in the process of sending students home. The names of the deceased are being held until family members can be notified.”
The timer buzzed, and Alice, her head heavy with the weight of the news, moved to the oven. She set the sheet of hot cookies on the countertop and then picked up her phone to text Linda. Less than six months ago, William Chester had been Linda’s school—and Hilary’s and Cathy’s before that. Less than six months ago, Linda would have been in the hallways where this shooting occurred.
Did u hear about the shooting at Chester?
OMG—yes! Emmanuel Sanchez is dead! James Shulz shot him and shot himself!
James Shulz?
From drama—the sound tech. Never talked to anybody. Had a huge crush on Nanette Benoit. Emmanuel’s girlfriend
Oh no!
I gotta go—too much going on right now. I’ll call later
Alice put her phone down and reached for the spatula. She removed the cookies from the sheet, all the while trying to picture James Shulz in her head. Nothing came. She had no memory of him, even though Linda had been involved in the drama club since her freshman year. Alice did, however, clearly remember Emmanuel Sanchez, a star football player and scholar who had been in the newspaper just last week, smiling in a photo with a caption about recruitment offers he had received from prestigious colleges all over the country. Alice pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat for the first time that morning. She picked up her phone again and called Dave. He rarely answered his cell phone when he was at work, but she wanted to hear his voice.
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A READING GROUP GUIDE
A CHANGING MARRIAGE
Susan Kietzman
About This Guide
The suggested questions are included
to enhance your group’s
reading of Susan Kietzman’s
A Changing Marriage!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Within minutes of seeing Karen for the first time, Bob knows he is going to marry her. What is the difference between love at first sight and lust?
2. Bob is the youngest child in his family, and Karen is the oldest of her siblings. How does their birth order affect them as children and as adults?
3. If Karen and Bob have “a completely honest relationship, one that friends described as extraordinary,” why is she attracted to Ray McNamara? What is it about Ray that continues to haunt Karen long into her married life?
4. Bob loves Rascals, the downtown bar that caters to young professionals, almost as much as his coworker Billy Townsend does. What is Bob attracted to? How does Rascals define his friendship with Billy?
5. Bob talks Karen into getting pregnant before she is ready, presumably because he wants children. Why does he spend so little time with Rebecca and Robert? Is this a conscious decision?
6. Karen has a meaningful, genuine friendship with Sarah Keyworth, and a more superficial, convenient friendship with her tennis buddies. Explain how these relationships shape Karen’s views and attitudes.
7. Is Karen a good mother? How do her conflicted views about motherhood affect her parenting abilities? How does her frustration with her situation cross over into her relationship with Bob? Would Karen and Bob’s relationship be different if they had chosen to not have children?
8. What does Karen’s job at the local newspaper represent to her? Is her editor, Nick Fleming, a grown-up version of Ray McNamara?
9. Bob’s global business trip presents him with opportunities that challenge his marital vows—yet he comes home resolved to be a better husband and father. What happens to his resolutions?
10. What does Denise Levy represent to Bob? Do Bob and Karen ever feel guilty about their relationships with Denise and Nick?
11. When Bob and Karen run into each other at Villa Cesare, their argument is short. Are they more sad than angry?
12. At the end of the novel, Bob and Karen have lunch together. What happens—and does it signal a new beginning?