D W Marchwell Mitchell's Presence [Dreamspinner Mistletoe Madness MM] (pdf)

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behind. When he d managed to lace up his boots, Mitchell stood and
smiled at Arthur. It s not you, Arthur, it s
Mitchell, please, stay.
Why, Arthur? Mitchell found his coat in the closet and shrugged
it on. You re not the man I fell in love with. You look like him, but the
man I fell in love with hugged his mother until she giggled like a
school girl, even after he saw that ugly cake. Mitchell slung his bag
over his shoulder. You obviously don t feel the same way about her
now. He opened the door, raised his hand in a weak wave, and turned
before closing the door all the way. You re one of those other kids at
the party now, Arthur, and they- they weren t very happy with
anything. I d rather remember the other Arthur, if you don t mind. Be
happy, Arthur.
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Mitchell s Presence * D.W. Marchwell
Arthur opened his mouth but knew it was futile to say anything,
do anything. He d asked for enlightenment and he d gotten it. Of
course, he d been so sure that Mitchell didn t know what he d been
talking about, just another poor, impoverished soul trying to blame
the rich for everything wrong with the world. But that wasn t the case,
was it? Mitchell had come from money, as had Arthur. Mitchell had
turned his back on all that money. Why? Why would anyone give up
all that money just to spend the rest of their lives surviving from
paycheck to paycheck? Deep down, Arthur knew that Mitchell would
never truly be without money, that his parents would be there to give
him more money, anything to keep their child safe and free from
harm.
Arthur didn t know why at first, but that thought saddened him.
It was several minutes before he realized that he wasn t sad but
maybe disappointed for the millions of people who did survive
paycheck to paycheck with no rich parents waiting in the wings, no
safety net to catch them should they fall.
Arthur rushed to the phone and punched in a number. Mom?
Yes, dear.
Mom, Arthur s breathing was rushed, Do you remember my
eighteenth birthday party?
Remember your eighteenth& Arthur, what s wrong?
Nothing s wrong, Arthur huffed, I just& Do you remember
Mitchell MacDonald?
Yes, your father and I play golf with the MacDonalds every
Saturday. Of course, I haven t seen Mitchell since he left the law firm,
what, oh, about three years ago, maybe? Arthur heard the concern in
her voice. Arthur, what is going on?
37
Mitchell s Presence * D.W. Marchwell
What do you remember about him, Mom?
Well, she sighed as Arthur waited impatiently, he was quite
large, bad skin, glasses, very unpopular at school, got picked on all the
time. I remember his mother was always quite concerned about the
teasing. She sighed heavily again. I do remember that Mitchell
insisted on attending your birthday party because he d saved up his
allowance for many months and pestered his parents for the rest so
that he could buy you
Tickets to the Super Bowl. Mom, I have to call you back. Arthur
hesitated for a moment, before adding, You know I love you, very
much, right, Mom?
It s still very nice to hear it from time to time, darling.
I love you. Arthur reached for his keys. I ll call you soon.
Arthur raced out to the garage and his car, flooded with
disappointment and anger when he realized that he did not know
where Mitchell lived. He remembered something about the Sheppard
station stop of the subway, but he d never bothered to ask Mitchell
anything more.
Arthur s mind was a blur, moving too slowly or maybe too
quickly. He couldn t tell. Random thoughts kept coming into his brain.
Was that why he d been nice to Mitchell at the party, because he d
gotten a gift his parents would never have thought to buy for him?
How had Mitchell known that attending the Super Bowl was what he
wanted most? How much had Mitchell spent on that gift to be ignored
and forgotten afterwards? Had he really been in the same room with
Mitchell since then and not even noticed? The drunken-driving
incident Mitchell would have had to be in the room to know all of
those things, right? And if he hadn t been in the room and found out
about them later, why had he still given him his number at the
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Mitchell s Presence * D.W. Marchwell
bookstore? Surely, he wouldn t have wanted anything to do with the
Arthur that wasn t the Arthur he remembered.
He s in love with me. The words echoed in Arthur s head as he sat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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