Dream Lover Read Free

all my heart. I know that sounds like a contradiction, after what I’ve done.
    We have had few arguments in our household and they always revolve around religious hypocrisy. My parents are devout Catholics. When I say devout, I mean that they believe the words that come from the pope’s mouth are God’s words. They take the Bible out of context, choosing just the parts that seem to suit their purpose. An example: My sister went to my parent’s home one night last year, shortly before the holidays. I was there for some forgotten reason. Probably for Sunday dinner.
    “We won’t be coming for dinner Christmas day, Mom.” Rather than offer an excuse, she allowed my mother to ask the questions. It was the way things worked at our house. Mom was wiping down dishes as she unloaded the dishwasher. She could never get it through her head that all you needed to do was to let them sit and they would dry on their own. She put the dishcloth down.
    “What do you mean you won’t be coming for dinner on Christmas? Everyone comes here for Christmas dinner.” My mother never considered that one of her seven children would ever not show up for a dinner. We came from far and wide to honor those traditions, no matter how tough it might be to get there. “You’ll come.”
    “Not this year, Mom,” Heather stated. “Mark is leaving.”
    I thought, So that’s the problem . I’d wondered when it would happen. How long would it take our mother to figure this out? Heather couldn’t say, We are getting a divorce.
    “Well, you’ll come after he goes.”
    I looked sideways at my mother. Was she being wise? “Mom, Heather and Mark are getting a divorce.” There, I’d said it.
    My mother picked up her dishcloth again and started wiping. “No one gets a divorce in this family. What are you talking about? Cynthia, you take after my mother-in-law. Your grandmother could take the birth of a baby and turn it into the ugliest story you ever heard.”
    Heather and Mark could get a divorce; they could both marry other people and start families with them and my mother would never accept it.
    “Mom,” Heather started, “Cindy is telling you the truth. Mark is leaving me. He doesn’t love me anymore.” Heather wasn’t beyond exaggerating to get my mother to see her point of view. Surely, if the man left, she would have to accept that. “Doesn’t it say in the Bible that if he wants to go, you’re supposed to let him?”
    “Right! That’s exactly what it says, Mom,” I said. “It says to ‘let the unbeliever go,’ doesn’t it Heather?” She nodded her head yes, but that only fueled the fire. The amazing thing was that my parents hated Mark! He was an atheist Jew who insulted their Christianity at every turn, usually not intentionally. They, in turn, insulted Judaism over and over again. I thought that it might be a blessing that he was going his own way.
    “It says in the Bible that God hates divorce! I won’t have this kind of talk. No one gets divorced in our family! If the husband acts like a donkey, you lie about it; you don’t tell your mother that you aren’t coming to Christmas dinner because your husband doesn’t love you anymore! Who cares about love! I never heard such talk in my life. You two act like you were raised by a couple of heathens. Wait ’til Daddy hears about this. Just wait.” I had the feeling my father would be more understanding, but didn’t say so. “I can’t believe my own daughter would even entertain the idea of getting a divorce! It’s a sin!” she yelled. “You’ll go to hell! Why’d we spend every dime we had sending you all to parochial school and then have this kind of sin!” She finally threw down her towel and plunked down in a chair.
    My brother, Fred, came into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. “What’s up?” he asked. “I heard yelling.”
    My mother thought she would get an ally in Fred. “Heather and Mark are getting a divorce! How do you like that?” She hit