Mortal Mistakes
by
Billie Doyle
A story of love, mystery, intrigue, human frailty and spiritual awakening.
Copyright 2012 by Billie Doyle
This book is fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are fictional and are the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual places or people living or dead is strictly coincidental.
All rights are reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
Preface
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
This story is not about legal aspects of our emotional presumptions. It’s about the real life consequences of the judgments that we all make about others. Sometimes, the smallest judgment can have tragic consequences. Perhaps that’s why we have been warned against judging.
Karen Bronsky lived an enviable life with a successful devoted husband and a darling child. But something caused her to want just a little more. Karen must lose part of her life to find what’s really important to her.
Jan Murray thought that she had everything that she needed for happiness. She has looks that most young women would envy. She never knew what it was like to be unnoticed by men. But she will learn that true happiness is not found in the adoration of physical appearances.
Stan Bronsky is a good man and husband. He is hard driving and has been successful in business. But he will learn that success can be fleeting and very costly when he experiences a momentary lapse of judgment and character.
Robert Louis Gatewood suffered tragic early life experiences and has carried scars that have shaped his thinking and behavior. He will find new direction in an unexpected moment of encounter.
As the lives of these four people weave together through what they perceive to be chance circumstances, they will experience a plethora of emotional experiences and share the inevitable consequences of being misjudged, or of having misjudged another.
*****
Mortal Mistakes
Chapter 1
Huge fluffy snowflakes floated gently to the ground in Indian Lake Park. A four inch blanket of snow covered the landscape of the public venue on an early December day. Limbs of evergreen trees sagged under the weight of the heavy snow. Many of the hardwood trees in the park still wore clumps of leaves which caused their limbs to bend under the heavy burden of the clinging snow. Near the center of the park, a five acre lake rested motionless. It reflected picturesque surroundings like a giant mirror. Throughout the park, children and adults happily enjoyed the first big snow of the season. The Bronsky family played near the eastern end of the park.
"Stan, be careful now," Karen Bronsky shouted through cupped mittens! Don't let her fall off the sleigh!"
Stan Bronsky waved back to his wife. He strained to see her pretty face through the dense snowflakes. Then he turned his attention to the little girl beside him who stared with fascination at the aimless flakes that seemed in no hurry to reach the ground. Jenny Bronsky extended her small hands trying to catch elusive flakes. Stan smiled down at her. His dimpled face always appeared to be lightly tanned, and it seemed more so today because of cold air and activity. His mid-thirties had produced just a sprinkling of gray in his brown hair. Stan was six feet one, trim and fit. Karen always liked that he was tall. She stood just a fraction over five feet three. His stature always gave her a comforting feeling of security.
Their daughter Jenny was twenty six months old. She was dressed in a hot pink snow suit and white boots. Jenny’s blue eyes, like her fathers, sparkled wide with excitement as she and Stan darted their heads to and fro trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. The little girl waved to her mother as she and her daddy prepared to launch their sleigh from the highest elevation in the park.
The small hill was only a dozen feet in elevation above a softball diamond at the bottom of the gentle incline. Stan had to give their sleigh a good push, just to get it started down the slope. But to Jenny, the little promontory was a treacherous mountain.
"Don't worry Karen, Jenny will be just fine," Stan shouted back.
Jenny squealed with excitement, as they began their ride.
When they reached the bottom, near Karen, Stan deliberately cast himself off the sleigh with Jenny in his arms. He continued to roll himself and Jenny toward Karen and almost succeeded in his mischievous attempt to bowl her over. She jumped backwards, pointing at him, and presenting a mock scowl on her face.
“You!” she exclaimed.
Karen's face looked younger than her thirty three years. Her face was framed by the golden fur trimmed hood of her jacket and her medium blonde hair, which contrasted with her dark brown eyes. Her natural hair color had been masked for a couple of years since Stan noticed the first hint of gray. She surprised him by switching from her natural chestnut color to frosted blonde. He liked it right away and discouraged any further change. The soft smooth skin of her cheeks was rosy from the cold air.
On their next ride down the slope, all three Bronskys crowded onto their four foot sleigh. Karen sat in front, with Jenny in her lap, which left little space for Stan in back. This time, the sleigh took a errant turn half way down the slope, and all three rolled off together in the snow. Karen landed on her stomach. Her hood slid back on her head exposing part of her hair. Stan quickly straddled her back as he knelt on his knees. He gathered scoops of snow in his gloved hands and pounded it onto the back of her head. Jenny screamed and giggled and joined the fray.
"Stan, stop it!" Karen yelled. "I'll get you for this!"
"Oh, you love it! Now don‘t you?" he bent over and rasped seductively in her ear. Then he got in a final rub of her hair.
The three scrambled to their feet. The two adults gathered hands full of snow and pummeled each other for several minutes. Then they trudged back up the hill arm in arm. Stan pulled the sleigh with Jenny on board. He mischievously extended his step to trip Karen and she tumbled face first in the snow. As she pushed herself from the ground, she gathered hands full of snow and came up in one swift motion to shove snow into his face with both hands.
“Take that Buster!” she howled.
Fifty yards away, a man stood quietly in the shadow of a large hemlock and peered beneath a limb at the Bronskys. They were completely unaware that they were being watched. His attention was narrowly focused on the little girl.
When the threesome reached the bottom of the slope again, Karen opened a tote bag and poured three cups of hot chocolate from a thermos bottle. Jenny's face brightened at the smell and sight of the inviting beverage.
"Here's one for Pop-pah Bear, one for Mom-ah Bear and one for Ba-by Bear." Karen stretched the words emphatically as she distributed the cups.
Jenny grinned with delight and sipped from her warm cup.
Stan brushed snow from a park bench and they sat down to enjoy their steamy drinks. Jenny sat between her parents. Her little cheeks were rosy. She held her cup with both hands imitating her mother. Karen and Stan admired their cheerful daughter and then flashed loving smiles at each other.
"Stan, you don't think she's getting too cold, do you?"
"No, it's not that cold. And she's wrapped up like an Eskimo. You worry too much."
He wadded a handful of snow and dropped it in Karen's nearly empty cup. That started another snowball throwing melee. This time the snow fight ended with Stan and Karen warmly embracing. She looked affectionately into his eyes and stretched up to kiss him tenderly with open inviting lips. The kiss lingered too long to suit Jenny.
"Unnh! Riiiee!" Jenny whined pointing at the sleigh.
"'Unnh!' O-kay! We‘ll 'riiide'," Stan mocked as he swept the chil
d up in his arms. He marched up the hill, piggybacking Jenny on his shoulders, while Karen pulled the sleigh behind them.
A pair of fox squirrels scurried in the limbs of a large hickory tree above their path. They seemed to chatter at the threesome below. Their flipping tails brushed snow from the tree limbs.
"Stan, I'm so glad we came out here today, aren't you?"
"Yes, sweetheart, it really has been fun. Jenny's enjoyed it too. Haven't you pumpkin?" Stan swung the toddler off his shoulders.
"Look, Jen! See the squirrels? I think they're laughing at you!" He squatted beside Jenny and pointed up into the tree above.
Jenny grinned at the chattering squirrels momentarily and then was eager to ride down the hill again.
"It just seems like, with your job lately, that we don't get to spend nearly enough time together," Karen continued.
"Yes, you're absolutely right, Kare." Stan had abbreviated Karen's name since they began dating. “But we do have to pay the bills. And it won't always be this way," he assured, looking at his pretty wife's face. "I promise. Let's just make the most of today while we can."
Karen and Jenny boarded the sleigh and Stan pushed behind them to start another trip down the hill. This time he almost ran as he pushed on Karen’s back in an attempt to get the sleigh moving extra fast. Just as he was ready to jump on board, he lost his footing. His left foot folded under him and he flailed wildly falling backwards down the hill. He landed on his back and bounced off something hard beneath the snow. The sky turned black and the wind was knocked out of him.
Karen and Jenny reached the bottom of the slope. Both were laughing as they rolled from the sled. Expecting Stan to pounce on them again, Karen looked around to see what had become of him. She saw him lying twisted in the snow and at first thought that that he was play acting. But when he didn't get up, she dropped the sleigh's rope, left Jenny behind, and hurried back up the hill. She dropped to her knees beside him. His face was visibly ashen. His half open eyes looked out of focus. She was beside herself with fear.
"Stan! What's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt? God, Stan, what is it?”
She grabbed his hands. Then she yanked off her mittens and touched his pale face with trembling fingers.
The mysterious observer behind the hemlock, started to move toward Jenny but just as quickly retreated, as Stan slowly sat up and began to collect his senses.
"I— I'm— Whew! I'm alright now, I guess. I slipped and fell. Hit something hard I think." He rubbed the back of his head and neck.
Color was starting to return to his face. Light was coming back into his eyes. He tried to remove the pain from the back of his neck by tilting his head slowly from side to side, as he continued to sit in an awkward position in the snow,.
Jenny managed to climb back up the hill to where her parents were. Thinking that another snow fight had developed, she leaped on top of Stan, knocking him flat in the snow again.
"Wait, Jen. Daddy's hurt." Karen pulled her away.
“Dahhie hurr?" Jenny questioned with a puzzled look.
"Oh, it's okay now, Kare. Really, I'll be fine. Turn her loose."
But, he felt a strange pain lingering deep inside his head.
Jenny laid on his chest and hugged her father. "Daahhie hurrrr!" The little girl whined the words sympathetically. She patted her father's face with the mitten of her left hand and hugged him with her other arm.
"Daddy's fine now, pumpkin. You've made me all well with your nice hug. Thank you." He sat up again.
“Stan, I think we’d better be going." Karen could see that Stan was not fully himself.
He slowly rose to his feet and lifted Jenny in his arms. The three tramped quietly down the hill. Stan’s legs felt weak and shaky. His head and neck continued to hurt and caused him to grimace as he collected their equipment and placed it in their car.
From behind a nearby evergreen, a man wearing a baseball cap watched the Bronsky family leave and then he slowly walked away too. He failed to garner either of the Bronsky‘s attention.
Chapter 2
The sound of Church bells announced public invitation to the Christmas pageant that was about to take place inside the West Brook Christian Church. The old church building was located just a few blocks from the popular new housing development of Eagle Brook where the Bronskys lived. It was only two days until Christmas and the neighborhood was brightly decorated for the holiday.
Along the streets of Eagle Brook, houses sparkled with holiday lights and decorations of festive colors. The Bronsky house was no exception. It was a new cape cod, with white siding and slate blue shingles. Window shutters matched the color of the roof. A bay window offered a street view from the living room. A well-lit and decorated seven foot Scotch Pine Christmas tree could be seen through the bay window from the street. Electric candles, resting in beds of holly, glowed from other windows of the house. Bright green and red garland spiraled four front porch columns.
Six inches of snow covered the lawns of Eagle Brook. Streets had recently been cleared by city snow plows but today’s snowfall left a fresh two inches.
"Hurry Stan," Karen called back into the open front door of the Bronsky house from the porch. "We don't want to be late or we may not get a seat. I don’t think it's a very large church."
"Be there in a second, Kare, just getting my overcoat."
Stan finished threading his arms into a black alpaca knee length coat as he pulled the front door closed.
Karen wore a red and charcoal plaid wool coat and a white knit scarf. She carried Jenny, who wore a puffy pink and powder blue jacket over bright green corduroy bib overalls.
"Come to me stinker." Stan beckoned to Jenny. He took the toddler from Karen’s arms and carried her as they walked briskly in the direction of the church.
A block from the church, they met a group of cheerful carolers singing Silent Night. The group paused to perform a couple of verses for the pleasure of the Bronsky family. Stan, Karen and Jenny returned holiday greetings and applauded zestfully. Then they moved quickly around the group and hastened their pace.
Smiling into Jenny‘s face, Stan hummed a couple of bars of a Christmas carol, while rocking her to and fro. Then he sang to her, “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, my little girl Jenny, who has a big grinny, laa la laa la laaa."
He continued to rock his laughing child from side to side and started to sing another verse until Karen elbowed him. She noticed that some people had begun to stare. He just looked at the spectators with a big smile and jovially chimed, “Merr-y Christmas!" That brought warm smiles from the onlookers as well as from Jenny and Karen.
The Bronskys had few choices of seating when they entered the church. It was a historic old building, built in the late nineteenth century. A couple of additions had been made but the original sanctuary could seat fewer than ninety adults in heavy oak pews. Two dozen folding chairs had been squeezed into isles for additional seating on this special occasion. The room was quickly filling to capacity.
The Bronskys were beckoned with warm smiles and a welcoming gesture, to share a pew with an elderly couple. Both had white hair. They rose from their seats where they were snuggled, and exchanged pleasantries with the younger couple and child.
Stan examined the detail of the old oak pew in which they sat. He wondered, how many people, in the long history of the church had sat in the same seat. A small brass plaque was inconspicuously located on the end of each hand made pew denoting the names of benefactors. Similar plaques were located underneath each beautiful stained glass window.
"Stan, look at the old pipe organ," Karen whispered. "It's magnificent. Isn't it?" Actually, all they could see were the organ’s pipes. The organ console was off to the side behind a low partition. Some of the dozens of brass pipes appeared to be eight feet tall or more, from where they sat.
Vases of bright red Poinsettias added
a bright holiday touch to the church. A tall, tastefully decorated tree occupied a corner of the lofty room. Garlands of colorful beads spiraled the tree. Red bows and golden ornaments hang from it’s branches. Around the room, sprinklings of holly and evergreen branches added to the holiday motif. Scents of burning candles mingled with those of fresh cut greenery. The combined smells stirred memories of past Christmas settings.
Hushed conversations were taking place throughout the church as the last seats were taken. Then lights were dimmed and the organist took her seat. The murmuring of the audience ended abruptly with the first few sounds of the organ. As the marvelous old instrument began to play, a choir of two dozen marched into the church and took their positions on a raised platform in front of the audience.
A white haired man with pale blue eyes and a warm smile stepped in front of the choir and spoke. “Welcome to each of you. I am Richard Weecham, pastor here at West Brook. We are honored to have you with us, for our Christmas program. I think that you will find this evening’s program to be both entertaining and perhaps a little different than you might have expected. We sincerely hope that you are blessed by being here."
The next forty five minutes were filled with beautiful Christmas hymns interspersed with narrative of the first Christmas story, and with other readings from the Bible. A tall thin man stood off to one side of the choir behind a lectern and read alternately from a prepared script, and from a large Bible, between songs.
“Why do we have this celebration of Christmas?" the reader asked. The Bible tells us, that in the beginning, God created people for his own pleasure. Throughout history and still today, some people deny the existence of God. The Bible, however, tells us, that the created evidences of God are clearly visible and that we can know that there is a God by observing the things that He has made. It further says that people who refuse to believe in God are without excuse.” The reader paused as he looked at the audience. “No one has an excuse for not believing in God." He paused again.