Songs of Willow Frost: A Novel by Jamie Ford

Author:Jamie Ford [Ford, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Genre Fiction, Coming of Age, Family Saga, Historical, Literary, United States, Historical fiction, Literary Fiction
ISBN: 9780345522047
Amazon: B00BVJG24C
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published: 2013-09-10T04:00:00+00:00

Fathers

(1934)

William sat with Charlotte on the old porch swing in front of her cottage. The grass had long since turned a dull shade of brown, like the color of unwashed hair. They shared an old wool blanket, warding off the chill air as a flock of geese flew overhead, disappearing in and out of fog, heading south for the winter to places warmer and more inviting. William dangled one foot to the ground, pushing off lazily as the swing rocked back and forth. The rusty hinges squeaked and pinged like the slow tick-tock of a metronome setting the pace, matching the unchanging rhythm of life at Sacred Heart.

“So she was pregnant?” Charlotte asked. “With you?”

William nodded absently, staring toward downtown Seattle and the terra-cotta pyramid atop the Smith Tower that peeked above the horizon. “I guess so. She didn’t know right away. Sister Briganti says there’s a test they can do now, but back then she had to wait weeks to be sure. Her boss at some music store arranged for her to go to a place for unwed mothers. I was born there.

“Sister Briganti said I was lucky—since Chinese mothers aren’t allowed in hospitals, they usually give birth down on the docks. She also said that at the place where I was born, most of the babies are given up or are taken away. But for some reason my ah-ma decided to keep me.” I guess I was the only family she had left.

“But that explains why she never spoke about my father. I remember being little and listening to President Wilson on the Zenith giving a Father’s Day speech. I took out my crayons, sat down, and began to draw a picture for him—I must have thought my father was going to show up or something. When I presented the drawing to my ah-ma, she gushed and told me how beautiful it was. But later that night I saw her take a candle and light it on fire.”

Charlotte nodded. “I don’t blame her.”

“For burning it?”

Charlotte paused. “For not telling you. You’re so fortunate that she even kept you. Most unwed mothers would have given you up for adoption right away—they would have had nothing to do with you. There are older girls here who were pregnant once. They’ve told me frightening stories. She must have really cared about you, William. You must be very special.”

At least I used to be, William thought sadly, trying to reconcile his strange circumstances—his unusual parents and the possible outcomes of knowing or not knowing who his father was. It mattered then. Does it matter now?

“And Willow told you all this?”

William nodded. “But I’m sure she didn’t tell me everything.” He didn’t know what was real and what was illusory. He’d created fictions in his mind all these years, based on memories and half-truths, mixed with wishes, hopes, and dreams. He’d believed his ah-ma to be dead all along; instead he was dead to her—abandoned, and according to Sister Briganti, he was eventually forgotten.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.