Encounters by Barbara Erskine

Author:Barbara Erskine [Erskine, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1990-05-11T12:00:00+00:00

A Woman’s Choice

It had happened after they went back to the States.

‘No, no, no, Dan! It’s just not on!’ Maggie slammed her open hand down on the table in front of her, her eyes wide with anger. ‘I knew you were going to suggest this and I won’t do it. It’s not fair to ask me.’

Dan looked up at her over the cup he held in both hands and gave a sheepish smile. ‘OK, OK, so I’m sorry. I guess I knew it wasn’t on. But hell, I had to suggest it. It might have worked.’ He shrugged. ‘Suzanne is –’ he hesitated imperceptibly, ‘– was my sister, after all. And those two kids are family.’

‘I know and I’m sure that they’re great kids. But Dan, we don’t want kids! We’ve no time, no room for kids, that’s why we didn’t have any of our own, remember?’ There was something like despair in her voice – and guilt.

‘Sure, honey, sure.’ He stood up and pushed his stool back from the table, meticulously folding his newspaper so that it fitted into his briefcase. He stooped and kissed the top of her head lightly. ‘Don’t worry about it. Ma and I will have to do something of course, what with poor old Roger having no family that we ever met – and, I don’t know, I suppose they’ll have to be taken care of back in Carson. Perhaps a neighbour or someone might take them in; I understand they’re with one at the moment.’ He was frowning as he straightened his tie at the mirror next to the kitchen window.

‘Can’t your mother have them, Dan?’ She began to pile up the dishes and refold the foil in the cereal packet.

‘You know she can’t.’ For the first time he snapped. ‘She’s too frail. Not that she wouldn’t want them. She’s always spoiled those two when she got the chance to see them but Carson is so far away. That’s the trouble. Too far to know what to do for the best.’

He opened the door. ‘I’ll call you from the office, Maggie. Bye for now.’

She heard him walk through the hallway and then the front door slammed.

The kitchen was suddenly very empty and quiet. She dumped the cups and plates in the sink and left them so that she would have time to put on some make-up before leaving the apartment. Glancing at her wrist watch she groaned. Late again.

In front of the bathroom mirror she stopped and looked hard at her face in the cold unflattering glare of the strip light. Her skin was sallow and tired from lack of sleep and there were dark hollows beneath her eyes. She grabbed a bottle of moisturizer and began to pat it on with quick impatient strokes of the finger tips, trying to flatten out some of the lines.

Then as she watched she saw her eyes for no reason at all suddenly fill with tears, brim and overflow. ‘Oh hell.’ She groped for a tissue and dabbed at the little creamy rivulets on her cheeks, trying to stem the flow.

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