Chapter Two…Mahomet
Our daily triumphs over villainous bales of hay would soon come to an end. Randy and Mary would have to move from the house as part of Mary’s divorce settlement. NO MATTER! Randy’s superb ability to become what his prey needed never failed! They soon found their way to Mahomet, Illinois, where they fell into the employ of a horse farm. Randy had almost zero experience as a caretaker of horses, but guess who did! Mary had always owned horses. Jennifer was only 16, but she was skilled in caring for a horse farm right along with Mary. Randy, ever skilled at manipulating his world, took care of Randy first. I was introduced to my first heartbreak at ten years old. While it was true, she spent more time with Jennifer and Philip, Stacy, and I felt a bond that was not understood or explainable by juvenile minds. I KNEW I was never going to see her again, and I was shattered. After Mary and Randy moved, I asked after Stacy. I never heard anything about her again, even though Stacy’s dad, William, and Mary, were fantastic friends-they even came to Mary and Randy’s wedding. Back then, adults were accustomed to presenting flippant answers to children’s sincere questions. The summer after I met Stacy, and shortly after the move to Mahomet, Mary and Randy married in a simple ceremony by a nearby lake. I found out a few days later that Stacy’s parents were in attendance. If I had known THAT day, I would have asked them about her. But alas-even though I had met them-William and Marcy- I didn’t recognize them. Mary became my stepmother, and Jennifer and Gary became my Step-Siblings. William and Mary, as good of friends they were, eventually succumbed to the pressure of Randy and Marcy to cease and desist all friendship. Their relationship was strictly platonic -they were more akin to brother and sister -neither one would ever think to cheat. Randy and Marcy however, both have histories of infidelity-especially Randy. As the cheater’s mind works, they were convinced there were some shenanigans taking place so thusly Mary and William -and -subsequently, Stacy and Lincoln never saw one another again. Life would continue in the usual fashion. Ultimately, Mary and Randy’s marriage would fail. Randy was lazy, never got a job, never did any real work on the horse farm expecting Jennifer and Mary to do everything; or on weekends when Philip and I were there, it was us mucking out stalls. Mary realized the error of her ways falling for a con man like Randy and, ultimately, she would go back to Tucker-who, unlike homeless, destitute, jobless, yet highly educated and charismatic Randy, HAD a job. As a CEO of a Major enterprise in Chicago no less. I’ve not seen nor heard anything about any of them since the split-Mary, Jennifer, or Gary. I’ve found Jennifer on FB, and I sent her a friend request once, but it went unanswered. She’s not a social media person I’ve been told, but even still, I wouldn’t be surprised if she wants nothing to do with anything or anyone connected to the person that destroyed her life. Randy’s good at that. He’s really left a wake of destruction throughout his life. The years would pass, but I never forgot about the long strawberry-blonde haired Stacy that lived next door, wearing the tartan flannel poncho. Her perfect face. Her perfect smile. All punctuated with freckles and the most perfect beautiful blue Irish Eyes.
