Isabella by Maggie Wells

Author:Maggie Wells
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABDO
Published: 2015-06-30T16:00:00+00:00

The next morning, Izzy got up early and showered before Ric and the boys had stirred. She drove to Forest Park and found a parking spot on Washington Drive. As she turned off the van, she started to have second thoughts. What would Carlos think if he knew I was here? Oh, fuck it. She heard people chanting in the distance and she locked the van and headed in their direction.

Izzy was immediately swallowed in the crowd of protesters, chanting: “Hey hey, ho ho! This racist war has got to go! No more lining pockets of the corporations, fighting wars with smaller nations!”

She wasn’t sure what the words meant. If we’re fighting wars with smaller nations, how come we always lose? she wondered. But, she liked the rhythm and rhyme. She felt she was participating in something important, something meaningful. She wondered if that is how Carlos felt, waking up every day in a war zone. The group was heading off through the park and she started following when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Izzy!”

She turned to look. It was Pete.

“You came,” he said. “I wasn’t sure you would.”

“Yes,” Izzy said. “I’m here.”

Pete took her hand and they joined a line of about a hundred activists carrying coffins and signs reading “HANDS OFF SYRIA” and “WANTED FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF IRAQ.”

A crowd had gathered around an elevated stage. Izzy could just barely make out the voice of the speaker.

“The invasion of Afghanistan is illegal under international law and constitutes an unjustified aggression,” the speaker was saying. “Our continued military presence constitutes a foreign military occupation. The Taliban did not attack us on 9/11. Nineteen men, fifteen of them from Saudi Arabia, did, and there was no imminent threat that Afghanistan would attack the US or another UN member country. The war does nothing to prevent terrorism but increases its likelihood. This war is about geo-political and corporate interests.”

Izzy had no idea what the speaker was talking about. “What corporate interests?” she asked.

Pete looked at her incredulously. “Where have you been? Living under a rock? Oh right, busy making babies for your soldier.”

Izzy was stung. Why did Pete invite her here if he thought so little of her? She looked back at the speaker. What am I doing here? She wondered.

Izzy’s back started to ache. “I think I need to sit down,” she said. She looked around. There was no place to sit, except on the frozen lawn. “I think maybe I should go.”

“Do you want me to walk you to your car?” Pete asked.

“That’s okay,” Izzy said. “But thank you for inviting me. It was very interesting.”

She thought she heard Pete snort and say under his breath, “Interesting, right!”

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