by Remember Me
My friendship with Carol has made me forget many of my own troubles. I feel she is
honestly in a worse situation than myself, and it makes me appreciate the family I was blessed to
be raised in even more. It also makes me appreciate the friendship I have with Amy. I’ve even
noticed some of the same qualities in Carol that I have always loved about Amy.
We ran into several women in the mall who Carol told me were friends of her mother’s.
Many of them thought that Carol and I were related. Carol told them no, but I had an urge to tell
them yes. I have a feeling that it will be hard keeping quiet about Heather. I want people to know
the truth, and I’m sure that in time, they will.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 159
I felt guilty at first for using Carol, but have lost that sense since then. I feel I have
something to offer Carol, even if it is only a caring ear to hear what she feels. I hope to retain her
friendship in the years to come. She’s a very nice girl.
I can’t believe how quickly my plans have progressed this far. I’ve only been here a day,
and tomorrow I will meet Heather, if she’s home. I wonder how she’ll react when we come face
to face. It seems unbelievable that I’ll be introduced to her tomorrow. Of course, lately,
everything has seemed unbelievable to me.
There are so many things going through my head right now. I have learned so much
about Heather through her daughter. I have a mental picture of her, and feel as if I have known
her all my life. Carol pointed out some key attributes that I will use to get to know this woman
better.
Heather sounds like a very busy woman who lives life to the fullest. She also sounds
rather selfish and self-centered. Heather and Carol aren’t close at all. It will be really interesting
tomorrow to meet her...”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 160
Chapter Ten
Margaret arrived at the house where her new friend lived just after eight thirty in the
morning. The wind was still, and the morning air cool. She calmed herself before knocking on
the door, but could still feel her heart beating heavily with anticipation.
The beauty of the large house astounded Margaret. It looked down upon the city from the
hilltop where it sat. The other houses in the area were also very large and beautiful homes, but
the huge dwelling dwarfed them in size.
Margaret knocked lightly on the door, not sure if all the occupants had yet awakened. She
waited for several moments while excitement overcame her. The sound of footsteps nearing the
other side of the door increased her level of anxiety.
The door opened and Margaret’s eyes locked with the eyes of the intimidating figure.
Margaret marveled at the beautiful woman who presented herself with such confidence. The
woman cracked a small smile as she realized why Margaret was here.
“Hello,” greeted the woman. “You must be Margaret. Please come in, we’ve heard a lot
about you.”
Heather wore a short dress suit which made her look rather professional, while at the
same time displaying her well-maintained figure. It seemed odd to Margaret that she wore a suit
during the summer, when she wasn’t even working. Her haircut and make-up matched the
professional look of her clothes and she carried herself with dignity.
“Thank you,” answered Margaret. “You must be Carol’s mother then.”
“Oh, please call me Heather,” The woman answered. “Carol’s just upstairs in the
bathroom putting her make-up on. You may feel free to go up and wait with her, or you can turn
on the TV while you wait.”
“All right,” answered Margaret. She stood at the doorway for a minute, waiting for the
woman to notice something about her and recognize who she was, but nothing happened.
Heather had only glanced momentarily at her as she walked in and went right back to what she
had involved herself with before the interruption.
Margaret didn’t know what to do. She wasn’t sure if she expected anything special to
happen or not, but this woman hadn’t noticed anything special about her. Her heart seemed to
climb up into her throat, and she stood speechlessly waiting for something more. Margaret
almost wanted to cry as she stood there, not sure if she wanted to step inside or run away.
She stood in the foyer, looking around the lavishly furnished home. The skylight in the
ceiling filled the entrance with the morning’s brightness. The light shone brightly off the glossy
gray tiles which marked the floor on the inside of the door.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 161
Heather turned around to see why the girl hadn’t made a move since stepping inside the
house. She felt a funny sensation as she realized Margaret just stared at her, and she decided to
offer another suggestion.
“You could come into the kitchen and have a drink while you wait if you would like to.”
Margaret realized she had made her host nervous with her staring and quickly snapped
back to her senses. She smiled at Heather to ease the tension she had created.
“Sure, that sounds wonderful,” she replied as she followed Heather to the kitchen.
“Would you like coffee?”
“No,” answered Margaret. “Just a small glass of milk would be nice. I’m sorry to stare, I
just thought you looked too young to have a daughter as old as Carol. You’re a very pretty
woman.”
“Why thank you, Margaret,” Heather replied, feeling the odd sensation quickly dissipate.
“I had Carol when I was quite young. She’s my first of three children.”
“Let me guess, two boys?”
“Yeah,” answered Heather. “They’re twelve and ten. Carol’s my little girl. She tells me
you’re in town for a visit with your aunt?”
“Correct. I just graduated a week ago and now I’m trying to make up my mind on just
where I want to go to school.”
Margaret continued to watch the woman as she sat at the kitchen table. She studied
Heather carefully, trying to decide if the information she had obtained from Carol matched the
woman correctly. Carol had read her mother quite well.
Margaret looked around the house, intrigued by the beautiful home. It didn’t contain
many humble features, decorated with great care, and probably professionally. The kitchen felt
comfortable and elite at the same instant. Heather obviously took great pride in her home.
At the same time, Margaret continued to watch her host. It felt strange, realizing where
she sat only two days into her vacation. She knew there was much more she could accomplish
after making such quick progress in her search. Now she wanted to make the woman squirm.
Carol came down the stairs and entered the kitchen where Margaret sat. She smiled at her
friend and then looked over at her mother. The look on her face changed slightly as her mother
looked up at her.
“We’re going to leave now,” Carol informed her mother. “We’ll probably stop by later
this afternoon, but we’ll be out most of the morning.”
“All right, dear,” Heather answered her daughter. “Do you mind dropping these papers
off at your father’s office. He left them on the kitchen table this mor
ning and he needs them for a
meeting he’s scheduled.”
“Do we have to?” Carol asked.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 162
“Yes, dear, I have bridge this afternoon and I don’t have time to get it down to him this
morning. Besides, your father would love to show your friend around the city offices. Margaret
might be interested in that sort of thing.”
“Sure,” answered Margaret, eager to meet Todd Whitmore as well. “I’d love to look
around the offices.”
Carol didn’t utter a word as she grabbed the papers and started off towards the car.
Margaret thanked her host for the drink and followed her friend to the car. She looked back at the
woman before walking out the door, hardly able to believe her eyes.
Margaret and Carol entered the city office building with the papers that they were to
deliver to Carol’s father. They walked up to the receptionist at the front of the building, who
immediately acknowledged Carol. Margaret realized that she knew Carol well.
“Welcome, Ms. Whitmore,” greeted the woman. “Dropping something off to your
father?” She was an older and rather friendly woman who greeted the two girls with a smile.
“Yeah, he left some papers at home,” Carol answered.
Margaret looked around the old office building while waiting for Carol to continue. The
building smelled old, with a solid wood interior inside an all brick structure. The drab gray
colored tiles and musty odors made Margaret guess that the town had erected it in the early
fifties.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever met you before,” expressed the receptionist to Margaret. She
looked at the two girls for several seconds before responding. “I didn’t know you had an older
sister, Carol.”
“Oh no, this isn’t my sister. This is Margaret, she’s a good friend of mine. She’s in town
visiting for a few weeks.”
“You’re kidding me,” responded the receptionist. “You two look just like sisters. You
have to be related.”
“No,” answered Carol with a smile. “But you’re not the only person who thinks that.”
The two girls continued past the woman and walked up the stairs to the third floor. Carol
guided Margaret down the long hallway which led to her father’s office and walked through the
door to the corner room. A secretary sat behind the desk, talking on the phone.
Margaret looked over at the woman as the two walked past her and towards the door
which had the name Mayor Todd Whitmore written on it. Carol didn’t even look at the secretary
as they walked past her, but Margaret paid particular attention to her.
The woman looked as if she was in her mid twenties and wore a loose, button down
blouse and navy skirt. Something about the woman bothered Margaret. The girl looked back at
Margaret with an odd expression which Margaret couldn’t quite decipher.
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 163
Margaret felt extremely uncomfortable as she walked into the room. The receptionist
downstairs had seemed so friendly, but there were definitely some distinctly different feelings
between the secretary and Carol.
Margaret followed Carol into the office. They closed the door behind them and sat down
in the chairs across from the desk. The man inside the office had the chair turned away from the
two girls and stared out the window at an old office building while talking on the phone with
somebody. Carol waited patiently for the phone call to come to a close.
“Well hello, dear,” uttered the man as he turned around and hung up the phone. “What a
pleasant surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
“You left these files on the kitchen table this morning,” uttered Carol without the same
enthusiasm as her father. Margaret sensed some anger in Carol’s voice. “Mom thought you might
need them for your meeting this afternoon.”
Todd took the papers from his daughter and looked them over carefully. Carol didn’t
even crack a smile as she waited to make sure he had everything he needed. He didn’t pay any
particular attention to her.
Glancing Todd over, Margaret could see how he and Heather had come to know one
another. Todd and she looked and acted with the same manner. He wore very professional attire
and presented himself very clean and well groomed. Everything about him looked intimidating
and he had taken good care of his health.
“Who’s your new friend here?” he asked as he looked up and smiled at his daughter.
Something about the look on his face as he smiled bothered Margaret. His expressions reminded
her of somebody, but she couldn’t place who it was. She could tell that he used his social clout to
overwhelm and control those around him. Margaret felt completely uncomfortable as he stared at
her.
“This is Margaret,” answered Carol, the sound of her voice changing to a much friendlier
tone. “She’s in town for a few weeks visiting her aunt and uncle.”
“Well, that’s just great. How do you like our little town, Margaret?”
“It’s a very interesting place,” Margaret answered. “Never a dull moment. You’re
daughter and I are having a great time together. She’s been showing me around.”
“Well wonderful,” he answered, returning to his papers. “I hope you enjoy your visit.”
“Is that everything you’ll be needing, dad?” Carol asked, almost irritated at him.
“Yeah, dear, this looks like everything,” he answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a
busy agenda planned for the day.”
Todd called his secretary over the intercom from his office. “Ms. Abrams, could you
come in here, please. I have an urgent memo I need to take care of before this afternoon’s
meeting.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 164
The secretary opened the door and walked into the office before Margaret or Carol had
the opportunity to get up from their seats. Carol didn’t even look up at the woman as she stood
up to leave. Margaret, however, wanted to know what had happened here. She paid particular
attention to Todd as the woman entered his office.
Margaret got a strange feeling as she watched the tremendous smile that he greeted the
woman with. She could almost read his thoughts as the woman walked past Carol without even
the slightest nod of acknowledgment. The woman returned the same look to Margaret that she
had experienced in the waiting room.
Margaret suddenly realized whom Todd reminded her of. Jeremy exercised many of the
same gestures and facial expressions when he talked. As she watched Todd, she began to feel
angry. Todd was a manipulator, and she had never realized that Jeremy was the same way. A
sick feeling crept over her.
Margaret walked by as if nothing had happened, following her friend out the door. She
turned around to close the door behind her and noticed the woman standing to the side of the
mayor’s desk, leaning over the desk to look at the papers. The loose blouse she wore hung down
low, almost touching the desk and destroying any false sense of modesty.
Margaret closed the door and followed her friend who had already left the secretary’s
&n
bsp; office and quickly walked partially down the hall. Margaret turned before leaving and dropped
her purse in one of the chairs in the waiting room to the mayor’s office. She closed the outside
office door behind her, and then hurried to catch up to Carol down the hall.
“Your dad seems really busy,” acknowledged Margaret, trying to break the tension as
Carol continued her quick pace.
“Yeah, when you’re that powerful, you hardly have any time to waste. I’m sorry he
ignored you like that. He isn’t the most friendly person unless he’s up for reelection.”
“You don’t have to apologize for your dad. I understand how busy he is. We were just
coming down to drop off some papers. It isn’t like we came to have him give us a full tour of the
city or anything.”
“You know,” began Carol. “It wasn’t until his second term that I even knew this was the
building where his office was. Then it was only because one of my friends, whose mother works
here, showed me where it was.”
“Maybe if you made it more apparent that you were interested in his job, he would take
the time to show you around?”
“That’s the thing,” expressed Carol. “I’m not interested in his job, I’m just interested in
getting to know my father better. He doesn’t give me the time of day. I don’t want to have to
butter him up by telling him how great it is that he’s the mayor just to get an appointment to talk
with him.”
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© 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 165
“I see your point,” answered Margaret. The two girls had almost reached the front doors
of the old building when Margaret stopped suddenly. “Oh shut! I left my purse on the chair in the
secretary’s office. I should run back up and get it.”
“Can you find your way all right?” Carol questioned.
“I think so,” Margaret answered. “Do you just want to wait outside for me. I should only
be a minute.”
“I’ll be over in the park waiting.”
Margaret left her friend and ran back into the building towards the vicinity of the mayor’s
office. She caught her breath as she neared the outside office door, wondering if her hunch was
correct. She opened the door quietly, peeking inside to see if the secretary had come back to her
desk.
The desk remained empty, and her bag still lay where she had left it. She retrieved the