Story Excerpt:
This passage introduces you to Christine, by dropping you into the middle of a crisis moment in her life. It’s a quick peek into Stephanie Orsini’s favorite imaginary universe. I think you’ll really enjoy it.
How does anyone return home after a sister’s funeral? Does life have the right to become mundane again after such a huge hole gets blown into the insulated cabin that was everyday life until now?
“At this point,” she muttered under her breath, “I couldn’t begin to imagine piecing it all together, much less healing from the ache that seemed to have become a permanent part of who I will be from now on.” I ended that sentence on a preposition. Her hand made a dismissive motion, and she cracked the window a bit, just to feel something around her move. Well, who cares? Life had become stifling, overstimulating, and yet empty. Grief was not the right word for it. There was no word to describe such a thing.
Back to that preposition. Christine would have cared about the grammar in her sentence, obviously, just a month and a half ago. Every sentence with questionable grammar had been a challenge just waiting to be conquered. She’d drive along, working and reworking the sentence until she had not just solved it grammatically, but also in all the other ways that mattered. The cadence, the flow, and the feelings evoked had always been part of the creation of every sentence, as far as she had been concerned. But right now, she didn’t care. She cracked the window a little farther, feeling her straight hair whip painfully across her eye, and she didn’t turn her head. It simply didn’t matter anymore.
The drive down to Belleview for her sister’s funeral had been surreal. Christa was gone, and her family would forever feel that loss. Yet, her parents had insisted, all of them still had so many reasons to smile. For Christine, the sounds coming from the passenger seats behind her reminded her that the kids were healthy and still filled with a zest for living that was incredibly endearing. For that she was grateful beyond words. She knew that she should be encouraged.
As she continued down Hwy 27, she could see evidence of the town’s transformation into a beautiful city all along the roadside. Along the highway, beautiful buildings were popping up everywhere, as well: shopping plazas, housing subdivisions, and restaurants.
Nature was also taking part in this beautification process. Even though everything had been dead on the day she came to help the family process her sister’s diagnosis just a few months ago, in the fields that had at the time been barren and brown, new wild flowers and thick grass were now thriving. It was a lovely view, with everything in renewal and showing signs of growth.
Before all this, the town had been very small, the properties along the highway mostly forested and the road shoulders mostly covered with mostly brown, weedy grass. Yet, that image of the town had endeared itself to her years ago. She would never look back at it as the drab, uninspiring place that high school kids had called it, because it was where she met and married Kevin.
Christine often found herself annoying her friends when she talked about how Kevin was her best friend, her biggest supporter, and an awesome dad to their children. Realizing that he had been the missing piece of her life had changed everything. Their kids had added so much joy and fun to the mix, and they were just about the happiest couple she knew. However, no one likes to listen to someone brag all the time, and that’s how people often took her heartfelt statements of gratitude to God for all that she had.
Even the way they met had seemed like a quirk of destiny. During her only bout with depression, during a season of soul-searching, she had decided to try to learn to cook. At that time, a stranger that she had failed to recognize from church, and someone who would offer to teach her a cooking class in her own mother’s kitchen, Kevin had helped her find some ingredients for an ethnic dish.
Although she usually felt a sweet nostalgic joy upon entering that asian market, as she stopped into the newly-renovated store for some food items, her mood felt flat. On the day of their meeting, when Kevin had guided her to this store, Christine had been treated to the sight of a large, well-appointed Asian market, complete with what were now all her favorite cooking staples. Kevin wasn’t with her this time, and even the kids sensed that the trip lacked some of the sparkle that his presence brought to all of their lives.
Memories that used to feel a little painful even after all these years suddenly lost their power to bring her any sorrow. The sudden appearance of an old flame claiming to be the mother of virgin Kevin’s son had been a hellish experience at the time, but now, it paled in comparison to the unfixable horror of never seeing her sweet, soulful Christa again.
A Family’s Saga Begins
Christine’s family has a quirky commitment to putting “Christ” into every girl’s name. Why only the girls? It was a girl power inspiration, Jesus style, begun decades in the past. In this passage, Christine is still dealing with the fact that her much-younger sister, Christa has died. Christa does not appear in this passage, but we explore her story in another book where this spoiler doesn’t diminish the story at all.
The “Christ” family saga’s stories bring a wealth of narrative skill, blending world-building with deeply human, and often emotional stories. The plot can be exciting and fun, heartbreaking and painful, and sometimes even outright bonkers. Each time, we think you will be glad you stuck it out to the end. That’s the goal, anyways, to make a good read, and as you can see, in this excerpt, I think we nailed it.
Waiting for the next story?
Check out the blog. It’s behind-the-scenes, whimsical, random, and totally in line with its author, Stephanie Orsini.
