Web of Dreams (Casteel 5)

you come aboard your father's ship," Svenson said. I mouthed a goodbye and hurried in behind

Momma. I felt my own tears sting behind my eyes.

Momma took one look at my face and moaned. "Oh Leigh, please, don't look so downhearted

on my wedding day. What will people think?" "Leave her be," Grandma Jana said. "It's not her

wedding day. She can look the way she wants." "Well, I can't spend my time cheering her up.

Not today. I have too much to do," Momma declared

petulantly. Then she pursed her lips in a pout and

looked the other way. I never realized how much like

a spoiled child she could be if she didn't get

everything exactly how she wanted.

I gazed back at our Boston house. Clarence and

Svenson were still standing on the front steps

watching us drive off. I thought about the times when

I was little and I knew that Daddy was coming home

any moment from one of his voyages. I would play in

the living room and keep one ear tuned toward the

front door. The moment I heard Clarence open it, I

would rush out to greet Daddy and no matter how

tired he looked, he always broke into a wide,

lighthearted smile and held his arms out for me to

rush into them. I would give him a big, loud kiss on

the cheek.

"That's the way to greet a sailor!" he would

exclaim. "Eh, Clarence?"

I could hear him saying it even now. Then, the

house disappeared from sight as we rounded a corner,

and it seemed my childhood was over in an instant. This time when we passed under the great arch

at the front gates of Farthy, I felt the significance of it.

The great estate was now my home, I thought,

whether I wanted it to be or not. The grounds people