Ruth Ainsworth is a happy, confi dent teen living in Massachusetts in 1947. She has a strong circle of fr iends and a secure family, and she excels at her studies. She is full of optimism for her senior year, mostly because she’s dating Rex Gardner, the star of the Hampden High School football team.

They start their last school year, and everything is going well for Ruth—until Rex suddenly breaks up with her and begins dating a junior cheerleader. Ruth is heartbroken, but she fi ghts off the pain by focusing on school and the girls’ basketball team.

When Ruth meets Maurice Langlois, a French-speaking Canadian immigrant, he helps her forget about Rex. As their love grows, however, they realize they will soon be separated by hundreds of miles when they leave for college. Their attempt to resolve problems related to their separation gets even more complicated when Rex makes a surprising reappearance in Ruth’s life. Will Ruth and Maurice’s love for each other survive?

JUDITH P. FOARD is a native of Missouri, a retired teacher and social worker, a mother of two, and a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University and the University of Connecticut, School of Social Work. She has previously written for the devotional collection These Days as well as a history of the First Congregational Church of Westfi eld, Massachusetts, where she currently lives.

JUD

ITH

P. FOA

RD

w w w . i u n i v e r s e . c o m

YOUNG ADULT U.S. $XX.XX

“I’ve brought over the things you gave me. That’s what’s in the bag.”

Ruth could not believe what was coming out of Rex’s mouth. He showed no emotion as he talked. It was as if their romance had been some sort of business deal. This sounded like something that his dad would say when fi ring a worker at the mill. Ruth became angry as she thought about his words. Pulling Rex’s ring off her fi nger, she yelled, “How could you do this to me, Rex? How could you be so heartless? Here, take your stupid ring!”

He reached out to take it fr om her, but she pulled back and said, “I’m laying it on this table. You can take it fr om there because I don’t even want to touch you! I’m going upstairs to get your things fr om my room. Then you can take them over to Betsy!” She had begun to sob as she fi nished talking to him. She dashed out of the room, and on the way upstairs, she ran into her mother, who was on her way down.

Mrs. Ainsworth looked puzzled. “Why, Ruth, what’s happened?”

“I’m getting all of Rex’s things. He’s breaking up with me. He doesn’t love me anymore!” she wailed.

Senior Year

Senior Years

Judith P. Foard

iUniverse, Inc.Bloomington

Senior Year

Copyright © 2012 by Judith P. Foard

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k

1

sCHAPTER 1

Saturday morning breakfast was usually one of Ruth Ainsworth’s favorite times of the week, but on this December Saturday morning, she was miserable. She sat silently at the

kitchen table, staring at her food and trying to hold back the tears that she could feel welling up in her eyes. She was oblivious to her parents’ conversation with her thirteen-year-old brother, Will, who was telling their parents about the new basketballs that he had seen in the sporting goods store and strongly hinting that he would like to have one for Christmas.

No one had even noticed that something was wrong with Ruth until her mother, passing by Ruth’s chair with a second batch of cinnamon biscuits, looked at her daughter’s plate. “Why, Ruth, you haven’t eaten anything! Is your stomach bothering you?”

When Ruth looked up at her mother, tears started to stream down her cheeks. “No, Mom, it’s not my stomach,” she shouted. “It’s Rex! It’s Rex! He’s ruining my whole life!” Jumping out of her chair, she pounded her fi st on the table and ran out of the kitchen.

“Oh, dear,” said her mother with a sigh. en

Judith P. Foard2

Mr. Ainsworth said, “You’d better go and see if you can help her. Will and I’ll clean up the dishes.”

Will, who had been munching on a biscuit, put it down and asked his father, “How long do you think we’ll have to put up with that wailing of hers?”

“Son, you have to go easy on your sister right now. She’s really suff ering,” said Mr. Ainsworth as he looked sadly at his son through his wire-rimmed glasses.

Anne Ainsworth took off her apron and rushed from the kitchen. A tall, slender woman with dark hair, she looked anguished as she ran up the stairs to her daughter’s room. Standing at Ruth’s closed door, she called out frantically, “Ruth, Ruth, may I come in?”

Ruth replied in a muffl ed voice, “Yes, Mom, come in.”Ruth was sitting at her dressing table, looking dejectedly into

the mirror. Her face was pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

“Oh, Ruth, it’s so hard to see you like this! Did something bad happen last night at the movies?”

“Yes, I saw Rex there with Betsy Swanson, and he completely ignored me. He wouldn’t even look at me. I just don’t exist for him anymore!” She got up from the dressing table and threw herself on the bed, sobbing. “I’ve never been rejected like this before, and it hurts so much!”

Mrs. Ainsworth sat on the bed beside Ruth and began rubbing her back. “I know, darling, you feel just awful right now. Remember, you can talk to your father and me or to Marnie and Jen, your friends.” She stared into the distance as if thinking of something

en she said, “I look back to when I was about your age and remember what happened to my fi rst love.”

“What happened, Mom?” asked Ruth, looking up at her mother as she rubbed the tears from her eyes. “You never told me. I thought Dad was your fi rst boyfriend.”

Senior Year 3

“Oh, no, when I lived in Vermont, and I was seventeen like you, I dated a young man named Lucien. A year later, when we were planning to marry, he got ill and died suddenly.”

at’s worse than what I’m going through. Oh, I’m so ashamed to be crying over this.”

“You shouldn’t be ashamed. You should cry. You’ve lost someone dear to you. Whether it’s in death or in a separation, the person you love is gone, and that’s what hurts.”

“You’re right, Mom. How did you get over losing him?”“My family and friends helped me. Sometimes when I felt

especially bad, my father would take a walk with me, and we would talk. It took time, though, to start feeling better. You have to expect that you’re going to feel bad for a while.”

“How long did it take you to get over it?”“I can’t remember exactly, but about a year, I suppose. I moved

from my little town in Vermont about six months after Lucien died and came here to work in the bank where your father worked. Let’s see—I started courting your father several months later. You know how caring he is? He was like that when I met him, and he helped me too. Ruth, I don’t think it will take you that long to get over losing Rex,” said Mrs. Ainsworth reassuringly as she patted her daughter on the shoulder.

“I can see what you mean. It’s diff erent. Rex didn’t die.” Ruth anks, Mom, for your help.”

“Why don’t you lie down and take a nap?” advised her mother.“I really shouldn’t. I have yearbook work to do, and I wanted to

go out and buy Christmas gifts this afternoon.”“Don’t you think those things can wait?”“I guess they can. I’ll try to get some rest.” Ruth reached out

and hugged her mother.Mrs. Ainsworth smiled faintly, the worried look gone from her

face. As her mother left the room, Ruth followed her to the door and

Judith P. Foard4

en she heard her father, who was waiting in the living room, ask, “How is she doing?” Ruth tiptoed into the hall and leaned over the stair railing so that she could hear her mother’s reply.

“I think she’s a little better. She’s going to take a nap. Whew! We’ve never had a problem like this before, have we, Arthur?”

“No, we haven’t. I know it’s been especially hard on you to see Ruth suff er like this.” As he said this, Ruth saw him put his arm around her mother’s shoulder and kiss her. Putting on his overcoat and hat, he said, “I’d better get to the bank.”

From her position on the stairs, Ruth could see her father go through the kitchen to the back door. In his late forties, Arthur Ainsworth was a man of average height and weight with gray hair. His blue eyes were his most prominent feature, and they twinkled when he smiled. He was the president of Hampden National Bank, a position that he had assumed shortly after the end of World War II, when the elderly president, Mr. John Douglas, died. He loved his job and was happy that now he was able to provide a comfortable living for his family.

Feeling uneasy about her parents’ remarks, Ruth remained at a place on the stairs where she could observe her mother, who was now in the kitchen fi nishing her breakfast. By looking at her mother, Ruth thought that she could tell whether she was upset or not. She felt somewhat relieved when she saw her mother sitting quietly at the kitchen table with a calm but determined look on her face. Until the past month, Ruth had felt secure in knowing that her parents were capable of meeting any challenge that she or her brothers gave them. She knew, however, that her recent reaction to losing her fi rst serious boyfriend had been an extremely unsettling experience for her mother. Now feeling relieved by the look she saw on her mother’s face, Ruth tiptoed quietly back to her room and lay down to take a nap.

5

sCHAPTER 2

I e sun was beginning to break through the clouds, and the fog was lifting. She felt rested, but the pain was still there. As she often

had during the past weeks since her breakup with Rex, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling, reliving her time with him. It seemed that every day she felt compelled to go over some part of the story in her mind.

She had fi rst seen Rex Gardner in late June while working at the Hampden Boat and Swim Club. One hot, humid afternoon as she ended her shift as lifeguard at the pool, she spotted a handsome young man who looked about her age. He was carrying a canoe toward the boathouse. Who is that? she thought. I’ve never seen him before. Maybe he is from another town.

After he came out of the boathouse, he walked toward the swimming pool. Spotting Ruth, he called out, “Miss, how long is the pool open?”

“We’re open until seven o’clock,” she replied. Looking at him, she saw a faint smile on his tanned face as he looked at her with interest. He had slightly curly blond hair and dazzling blue eyes. “I’m Ruth Ainsworth, and I’m a lifeguard here at the pool. I don’t think I’ve ever met you.”