(tw: addiction, financially controlling behaviour, death of a role model)
[name_f]Laura[/name_f] [name_f]Kerri[/name_f] [ Clarendale ] [name_m]Morrow[/name_m] ( 53 ) is someone who encouraged [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] to write poetry. [name_f]Laura[/name_f] used to do it herself all her life except the 12-year period between age 24 and 36 when she was married to her husband. Then , [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's creative pursuits were simply deemed as impractical and " taking the attention away from the kids" … Her husband didn’t mean their kids, because those, the marriage didn’t have , but [name_f]Laura[/name_f] chose to major in Social Work as a young woman and worked as a case worker for over 35 cases of foster kids - providing them the best emotional , medical , financial and emotional support that she could - sometimes giving out of pocket for clothes and food for them that wasn’t provided by less than ideal foster parents.
Her husband was a civil engineer who was employed by the local government on a state level in Oregon . He was a workaholic who faced a lot of preassure , including but not limited to local officials not understanding engineering, impossible deadlines , lack of funds for improvement in the local infrasturcture due to other priorities and a long commute by bus from Corvallis , OR to [name_m]Portland[/name_m] , OR where he worked. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though he was a gentle, loving husband who always did his fair share of work at the house , complimented [name_f]Laura[/name_f] on her looks , bought her expensive dresses to show off at social events in Corvallis and was overall a great companion both in crowded places and one-on-one, [name_f]Laura[/name_f] nevertheless had the feeling that he doesn’t treat her as seriously as he should just because he was 9 years older and always " knew better ". He knew that there was nothing to worry about everytime there was a health scare because he was a " tough man ", he knew which car to buy while barely consulting [name_f]Laura[/name_f] and he knew which dog breed they should get - they had 2 Rottweilers during their marriage together because her husband felt like they need something beyond an alarm scaring off pontential bulglars from their impressive house, completely disregarding [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's wish for a smaller breed . The dogs, [name_m]Hansel[/name_m] and [name_m]Otto[/name_m] were incredibly wel-trained and loving to their owners but the inital dismissal of [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's stance still bothered her for many years.
[name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's husband had the mindest that they basically live to make their community happy - attending social events, helping the pastor at a local church and giving their all to their work was their priority so there was no time for establishing a family or devoting oneself to artistry. This amount of people-pleasing and sacrificing himself for others eventually broke [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's husband and he became addicted to pain medication to the point of collapsing while working at a construction site. [name_f]Laura[/name_f] couldn’t belive that’s why he always refused to go to doctors - as long as eliminating physical pain was on the table, the problem didn’t exist to her husband.
[name_f]Laura[/name_f] couldn’t believe he would hide something like this from her. The night that she spent in the hospital with her unconcious husband was the first night since the first year of her marriage where she picked up her notebook with poems and wrote down everything that had already been engraved into her heart. After her husband woke up she read some of the poems to him and he ridiculed her as being " pathetic" , “too sensitive” and " on the emotional level of a 17-year-old. Still , [name_f]Laura[/name_f] stood behind her husband for another two years until he refused rehab and relapsed in his addiction to pain medication - mainly due to an intervention from [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's brother , Nadine’s father , who made her realise that [name_f]Laura[/name_f] can’t let herself be degraded and disregarded despite loving her husband to bits. [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's family - and [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] especially - don’t understand why [name_f]Laura[/name_f] didn’t change her surname back to her maiden name, but the fact is that she still loves her husband even after he went to 2 rehabs and she knows the information that he regrets disregarding her poetry and wishes she could be there for him during recovery - that was from his best friend, seeing as Mr. [name_m]Morrow[/name_m] never remarried.
After the divorce [name_f]Laura[/name_f] continued to work as a case worker for foster care kids but dedicated herself to her work as a poet and even sang her poetry in a country style. She also frequently covers the songs of [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] [name_u]Marie[/name_u] [name_u]Presley[/name_u] - whose marriage to [name_u]Michael[/name_u] [name_u]Jackson[/name_u] reminds [name_f]Laura[/name_f] of her own marriage , and she has the feeling that LMP’s song " Weary " perfectly describes what she went through. [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] knows frrom her father that 10 months ago , upon hearing about [name_u]Lisa[/name_u] [name_u]Marie[/name_u] [name_u]Presley[/name_u] 's death, [name_f]Laura[/name_f] didn’t contact her family nor leave her house in [name_m]Portland[/name_m] for 3 weeks - something very unsual for her extroverted self, however she suffered for the fact that she will no longer have the chance to meet her idol.
The 3 week absence from society wasn’t due to depression but rather the desire that [name_f]Laura[/name_f] had for starting her life over in a new place. After the news [name_f]Laura[/name_f] moved out of state , realising she won’t get any younger and wants to take her career as a country singer and poet seriously by moving to [name_m]Nashville[/name_m] ,which is the capital city of country music. [name_f]Laura[/name_f] even tried to convince [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] to live with her and apply for Tennesee State University or the even more prestigious [name_m]Vanderbilt[/name_m] University , however [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] still opted for studying in Oregon so as not to worry her parents or too expensive tutition. [name_f]Ophelie[/name_f] however will be visiting her aunt and her friend [name_f]Ophelie[/name_f] around [name_u]New[/name_u] Year’s eve. [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] is visiting her friend because [name_f]Ophelie[/name_f] is shooting a Wetern in [name_m]Nashville[/name_m] after the success of her previous film The Empty [name_m]Fields[/name_m] but not wanting to be closed off in a horror film niche. [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] also invited [name_f]Ophelie[/name_f] to one of Nashivlle 's country clubs for a [name_u]New[/name_u] Year’s show - [name_f]Ophelie[/name_f] 's internet stalking skills revealed that [name_f]Laura[/name_f] 's ex is going to be there because he wants to hear [name_f]Laura[/name_f] perform the song " Weary " and apologise to her for disregarding her passion. Despite being critical of her aunt’s ex and the marriage with a massive age gap , [name_f]Nadine[/name_f] is staritng to realise that they still love each other despite their demons and that’s why they never had another over the years.
The song " Weary " : Song link