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.”Jeremy shook his head impatiently.“Mr.Mayor-”“Let me finish now.I think this might just shed some light on your little problem.”“What problem?”“Why, the problem you’re having with Miss Lexie.If I were you, I don’t suppose I’d be too thrilled to find out she’s been spending time with another man.”Jeremy blinked in shock, speechless.“But as I was telling you, this Patricia was one beautiful lady, and before she married Coleman, he had courted her for years.Pretty much everyone in the county was courting her-and she loved the attention-but old Coleman won her heart in the end, and their wedding was the biggest the county had ever seen.They could have lived happily ever after, I suppose, but it was not to be.Coleman was the jealous type, you see, and Patricia wasn’t the type to be rude to those other young men who’d been courting her.Coleman just couldn’t take it.”The mayor shook his head.“They ended up having a terrible argument, and the stress was just too much for Patricia to bear.She took ill and spent two weeks in bed before the good Lord called her home.Coleman was brokenhearted, and after she was buried in the cemetery, he planted this tree in her honor.And here it grows, this living version of our very own Taj Mahal.”Jeremy stared at the mayor.“Is that a true story?” he asked at last.The mayor raised his right hand as if taking an oath.“May I be struck down if it isn’t.”Jeremy wasn’t sure how to respond; nor did he have any idea how the mayor knew the source of his troubles.The mayor shoved his hands in his pockets.“But as you can see, it’s quite appropriate considering your own circumstances.Like a flame draws a moth, this here tree must have drawn you to the cemetery.”“Mr.Mayor-”“I know what you’re thinking, Jeremy.You’re wondering why I didn’t mention the story when you were planning to write about the cemetery before.”“No, not exactly.”“Then you were wondering how on earth there could be so many fascinating stories concerning elements of our fine town.All I can say is that we’re a bastion of history here.Why, I could tell you stories about half the buildings downtown that would have you simply enthralled.”“That’s not it, either,” Jeremy said, still trying to grasp what was happening.“Then, I suppose you’re wondering how I knew about Miss Lexie and Rodney.”Jeremy met Gherkin’s eyes.Gherkin simply shrugged.“In small towns, word gets around.”“You mean everyone knows?”“No, of course not.Not about this, anyway.I suppose there are only a few of us who know, but we know better than to go spreading gossip that might be hurtful to someone.The fact is, I’m as concerned as anyone about Rachel’s mysterious absence.Before you talked to Doris tonight, I spent some time with her, and she was a wreck.She loves that girl, you know.I was there, in fact, when Rodney came by, and I stopped in again after you’d gone back to Greenleaf.”“But the rest of it?”“Oh, that was simple deduction,” Gherkin said with a shrug.“Rodney and Rachel are seeing each other but having problems, Rodney and Lexie are friends, and I see you circling town and driving too fast, almost like a blind man was behind the wheel.It didn’t take much to realize that Lexie had gone to Rodney’s to talk to him and you were upset about it, what with all the other stress you’re under.”“Stress?”“Sure.What with the wedding and the house and Lexie being pregnant.”“You know about that, too?”“Jeremy, my boy, since you’re now a resident of our fine town, you’ve got to understand that folks are mighty perceptive around these parts.There’s not much to do other than try to figure out what’s going on in other folks’ lives.But don’t you worry; my lips will remain sealed until the official announcement.As an elected official, I try to stay above all the gossip that goes on in town.”Jeremy made a mental note to hide out at Greenleaf as much as possible.“But the main reason I came to find you was to tell you a story about women.”“Another story?”Gherkin raised his hands.“Well, less of a story than a lesson.It’s about my wife, Gladys.Now, she’s as fine a woman as you’ll ever come across, but there have been times when she’s been less than truthful during the course of our marriage.For a long time it bothered me, and there were times when we actually raised our voices at each other, but what I eventually came to understand was that if a woman truly loves you, you can’t always expect her to tell the truth.You see, women are more attuned to feelings than men are, and if they’re not being truthful, more often than not it’s because they think the truth might hurt your feelings.But it doesn’t mean they don’t love you.”“You’re saying that it’s okay for them to lie?”“No, I’m saying that if they do lie, it’s often because they care.”“What if I want her to tell me the truth?”“Well, then, my boy, you better be prepared to accept the truth in the spirit with which it was offered.”Jeremy thought about that but said nothing.In the silence, Mayor Gherkin shivered.“It’s getting a bit chilly out here, ain’t it? So before I go, I just want to leave you with this.You know in your heart that Lexie loves you.Doris knows it, I know it, the whole town knows it.Why, when folks see you two together, it’s almost as if we expect you to break out in song, so there’s no reason to be concerned about the fact she went to see Rodney in his time of need.”Jeremy glanced away.Even though the mayor was still standing beside him, he suddenly felt very much alone.Back at Greenleaf, Jeremy debated whether or not to call Alvin again.He knew that if he talked to Alvin, he’d end up rehashing the entire evening, and he didn’t want that.Nor was he ready to accept Gherkin’s advice.Occasional lies might work in the mayor’s marriage, but that wasn’t what he wanted with Lexie.He shook his head, tired of his troubles with Lexie, tired of wedding plans and house renovations, tired of not being able to write [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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