The Unfinished Child by Theresa Shea

Author:Theresa Shea
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: FICTION / Contemporary Women, FICTION / Medical, FICTION / General, FICTION / Literary
ISBN: 9781927366035
Publisher: Brindle & Glass
Published: 2113-04-01T21:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FOUR

Elizabeth watched Marie walk down the dimly lit hallway. If she hadn’t been watching, she felt sure Marie would have burst into a run. She waved again, and then Marie disappeared into the elevator.

The deadbolt slid into place. The kids didn’t feel like coming. Marie had never been a very good liar.

Outside on the balcony, she watched Marie exit the building and walk toward her van, cradling the box of pastries in her hand. The van backed out, merged into the southbound traffic, and disappeared over the bridge.

Every time Elizabeth had tried to talk about the baby, Marie had changed the subject. She wondered why.

The front of her building was now in shade, but the sun continued to shine on the floodplains alongside the river. At the park to the south a dozen players warmed up at the baseball diamond. On the still-brown grass the white ball could have been the last snowball of the year. She found herself watching a lean, dark-haired figure in right field who had a similar stride to Ron’s.

Two months had passed without either one of them calling, and as the days passed she realized the extent of her loss. She’d be behind the counter at work and think he was in the store. Her heart would flutter wildly for a moment until she realized it was someone else. How ironic. When she had moved out she hadn’t expected to be the one disappointed.

She gazed out at the valley again. Joggers, cyclists, and dog walkers dotted the trails. The day hadn’t turned out as she’d planned. Instead of it being an exuberant housewarming party, Marie’s visit had tinged the afternoon with sadness. She thought about phoning Marie’s house and telling the girls she was sorry they hadn’t been able to come. Marie would arrive home and find two angry daughters waiting.

A more mature response would be to wait until Marie was ready to unburden herself with whatever it was that was bothering her. In all fairness, she could understand Marie’s hesitation in talking about the baby with her. But if she was patient, Marie would come to her. She always did.

Inside, she finished clearing away the dishes. Then she wiped the table, found a clean sheet of paper, and sat down.

Dear Ron, she began.

Another weekend without you. I was just out on my balcony catching the last of the day’s sunshine when I saw a handful of men playing baseball in the field by the old brick school (did you know that was once a home for unwed mothers? It was run by nuns, I think). Of course I thought of you immediately (because of the baseball, not the nuns). I guess you’ll be happy to know that even when you’re not here my thoughts easily turn toward you. Animal magnetism you’d probably say. Right? Grrrrr. But I was thinking about your eye–hand coordination (or lack thereof)! Remember that grounder you stopped with your jaw? I was so happy that you hadn’t lost any teeth because you’ve got a beautiful smile.

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.