The Road She Left Behind by Nolfi Christine

Author:Nolfi, Christine [Nolfi, Christine]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2019-06-10T16:00:00+00:00

Stars twinkled across the inky black sky.

Darcy came down the slate steps leading from her mother’s patio. With the onset of night, the grass unfurled toward the forest in a sea of charcoal gray. She tried to catch a glimpse of Samson. The moon was still low on the horizon, making it difficult to see in the murky darkness. Turning on the porch lights was the obvious solution—one she quickly dismissed. If Samson had wanted them on, he would’ve taken care of it himself when he slipped outside.

It took a full minute to locate him, seated on the grass. Given Rosalind’s behavior at dinner, an air of unease surrounded him.

After Latrice set the dining room table, Rosalind had spent the dinner hour submitting them to snappish comments and chilly silences. Her argument with Nella over the fence—a conversation Darcy had nervously watched from a second-floor window—continued to simmer in Rosalind’s expression as she took her place at the head of the table. The mood went downhill from there.

When she wasn’t making Darcy or Samson uncomfortable with caustic remarks, she traded subtle barbs with her grandson. Emerson spent the entire meal getting under her skin. An unnecessary ploy, in Darcy’s estimation. The topic of him visiting next door never came up. Yet there was no missing the subtext of the brittle conversation between the angry boy and his unyielding grandmother. Emerson wanted the visits to resume. Rosalind was having none of it.

While they argued in a roundabout way, Samson pushed bits of chicken marsala around his plate. After days of witnessing Rosalind’s dismissive treatment of Darcy, he appeared terrified of becoming the judge’s next target. Latrice, taking pity on him and Emerson as well, reappeared the minute dinner was finished. She asked if they would help clear the table. At the suggestion, Emerson pushed his chair back, grabbed the glasses, and marched off. Samson, filling his arms with dishes, hurried after him.

In the darkness, Samson pulled his knees up to his chest. Staring intently at the heavens, he didn’t hear Darcy’s approach.

“Hey,” she murmured, pausing beside him. She glanced up at the star field glistening above. “Found it yet?”

“My North Star?” He rested his chin on his knees. “Not yet.”

“Let me know if you see mine up there.”

“You know I will.”

The tension at dinner had left Darcy’s muscles stiff with anxiety. Rolling her shoulders, she glided her attention across the sky. There was nothing more soothing than the natural world, and she breathed in deep breaths.

“Are you okay?” She sat down beside him.

“Not really.”

“If I’d known my mother would be such a pill, I would’ve suggested we drive into Chagrin Falls for dinner. It would’ve been sad leaving Emerson alone to deal with her, but he knows how to hold his own.”

“I bet he does. I don’t think he’s even scared of her.”

“I’m sure he is, sometimes. But he’s been dealing with her for a long time. You haven’t. It wasn’t fair to submit you to her bad behavior.”

“It’s not your fault.

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