Not Your Penance by Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich

Author:Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Demeter Press
Published: 2020-06-06T16:00:00+00:00

Family and fatigue and friends

Two weeks after Enid walked out of the courthouse following Bruno’s sentencing, she an Arthur left Ottawa, heading south on a rainy highway, carrying all of their belongings behind them in a U-Haul van. Enid said she was taking an early maternity leave for medical reasons, which wasn’t entirely untrue. She was experiencing daily bouts of morning sickness, and feeling pervasive nausea all day. So much so that the logistics of moving out, packing up the house and saying goodbye to associates and friends whirled around her in a blur.

The sun came out in full force as they waited in a long lineup at the Niagara Falls border crossing. They didn’t stop to view the falls, because they’d seen them on and earlier visit, and there was a lot of road still ahead on their journey.

Driving south, they moved deeper into spring, seeing trees beginning to bloom to trees in full bloom, with the blossoms fuller and fuller as they went. It was as though they were travelling not just in space, but also in time. And the air became increasingly warm. Enid hadn’t expected the climate to change as much as it did. Cincinnati sat not really that much farther south than Ottawa, but far enough for it to really feel different.

A lightning storm marked their late-night arrival, and it seemed like summer arrived in an instant. Once again, Enid’s days blurred together with her continued morning sickness and day-long nausea, combined with this time the logistics of moving into their new home, where she unpacked boxes in the increasing heat. Having grown up on a windswept prairie, cooled by nearby mountains, then having moved to Ontario, she found the close, muggy American Midwest mornings difficult. When she vomited, she often lay for a few moments with her cheek on the bathroom tile, visualizing yellow prairie grass glinting with frost.

Enid had hoped to return to Calgary, having promised her mother that once Arthur’s fellowship was complete, they would at least come back to Canada. But he was so successful in his work as a talented surgeon and innovative researcher, he was offered a permanent position that was too compelling to turn down.

Enid’s baby was born in good health, a girl they named her Freya. Enid loved motherhood. So much so, that she was almost continuously pregnant for six years. Her babies were born in quick succession. Freya was joined by Morgana. Enid affectionately called them her warring Vikings. Then petite, big-eyed and gentle Sybil, followed by the little warrior, Wolfgang. Last but not least, came the lovely Lenore. The quick pace of the children’s births was exhilarating, and Enid loved the fullness of their laughter and energy resonating throughout the house. She and Arthur had a home. The sense of place they had talked about on the night they first met was now complete.

And so, Enid’s life became full of family and fatigue and friends. At a story time in the Blue Manatee bookstore, she discovered Ann and Dina, two other “recovering lawyers.

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