Disappearances by Linda Byler

Author:Linda Byler [Byler, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-7595-5
Publisher: Good Books
Published: 2012-07-31T02:07:00+00:00

Chapter 13

WHEN THEY LEFT THE brownstone on River Drive, Sadie could tell Mark had left a sizable chunk of his worst childhood baggage behind, hopefully buried beneath the city streets, never to be picked up again. His step was light, he was ravenously hungry, he teased Sadie with a new lighthearted attitude she had never seen before. They ate sandwiches at the train station, they ate on the train, and they ate when the train arrived at the station in Montana. As Sadie watched her husband, she could only guess at the price he had paid to make that visit into the unknown, reminding herself yet again that he didn’t have that strong system of support from a normal home life the way she did.

When their life resumed its usual rhythm, Sadie thanked God they had gone, returned, and met Timothy and Jackson. Doing so had instilled a sense of worth in Mark. Was it because Mark had filled Timothy’s bottle with Jell-o water? Had helped Jackson eat his oatmeal? Had found a new sense of having done something right? In that time of darkness and pain, had he somehow found that in all situations some good can come of it? Surely he had.

This spring in his step, this light in his eye was a miracle. Sadie had been afraid that Jackson being a doctor would intimidate Mark, lowering his fragile self-esteem, but it had worked the opposite way. Mark was so proud of Jackson and so concerned about Timothy, a new sense of purpose surrounded him.

The winter came early, its harshness arriving along with it. The cold was mind-numbing, the thermometer hovering below zero every night in spite of the sun’s feeble rays during the day. Snow enveloped everything. It clung to pines and firs, placing a huge burden on the sturdy limbs with its weight. It was not unusual to be awakened during the night by the sound of a gunshot, jolting Sadie out of a deep sleep, before realizing it was only the sound of branches snapping beneath the snow’s weight. Mark said ice and snow were nature’s pruner, something Sadie had never thought about. She guessed they were.

Dorothy was not doing well at work, which caused Sadie a few moments of anxiety. Her hip was bothering her quite a bit, and her usual quick movements turned into painful hobbles, her mouth a tight line of determination. Erma Keim accosted her at every turn, telling Dorothy to go to the chiropractor, which, of course, was like igniting dry tinders.

“That quack ain’t touchin’ this hip. Let him crack backs and collect his 30 dollars. He ain’t gittin’ a red cent off’n me.”

And that was that. Erma told Sadie if that thick-headed old lady wanted to be that way, then she’d just have to live in her pain. She guaranteed that Dorothy’s hip and pelvis were out of line, and if Doctor Tresore was allowed to take an X-ray and adjust her a few times, she’d be so much better.

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