From Fragile Fragments by Louise Rill

Author:Louise Rill [Rill, Louise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Louise H Rill
Published: 2021-08-04T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Marjorie watched Les wave with gusto, then climb into the military bus along with a dozen other young men. Standing in front of other wives and girlfriends, she waved with exaggerated motion as the bus lurched into gear, rumbled its way down the street, and disappeared until it was a speck where the pavement met the trees. He was gone. The world around her seemed to move in slow motion. Tearful families hugged, automobiles eased past, people’s mouths moved. But she heard no voices. It was as if she were deaf and alone, treading water with no sense of how far it was to the nearest shore.

A horn blared, startling her. She realized she was still standing near the middle of the street. She jumped to the sidewalk, grabbing a woman near her for support. Her heart pounded at the near collision. She apologized, shook her head to clear her dizziness, then began navigating her way back to the car through the narrow streets of Passaic. She fumbled with the keys, started the car without flooding it, and tried to retrace the route Les had taken. If only she had paid closer attention when he had repeated the street names for her as they drove to the bus.

After moving slowly down several streets with the same simple row-style houses that made a landmark difficult to find, she turned the car around. Disoriented, she circled past a familiar group of houses twice until she finally found her way back to his parents’ house. But now this was also her house, rather, her home. She parked on the street in front, by the sidewalk, and sat in the car to compose herself.

Weaving through a maze of thoughts, she finally found her path. She would focus on making the best of living with Catherine and Casper, and not interfering with their routines. She’d devote herself to becoming the most congenial, supportive daughter-in-law his parents could ever imagine. It was important that Les be proud of her, and perhaps he might hear directly from his parents how well she fit into the family. Maybe they’d even mention in a letter in Polish how helpful she was. With all the energy she could muster, she would be sweet and generous to make his parents feel comfortable. She smiled. This was her mission. She would make this all work out. She had to. There was no way she would return to her parents to have every move dominated by her mother.

She walked up to the house and touched the door handle, then knocked on the front door. Casper opened it immediately, standing in the doorway with a big grin. He must have been watching for her.

“No knocking. You are family. Walk in, say, hello!” Casper chided her.

“Okay, I will.” Marjorie felt a warm glow rise up to her face. “Les sends you another hug and tells you not to worry.” Marjorie gave her mother-in-law a tender embrace as she met her in the kitchen. Casper and Catherine had wanted to say their goodbyes to Les at their home.

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