Tomorrow's Dream by Janette Oke

Author:Janette Oke [Janette Oke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2011-08-17T09:22:42+00:00

To an observer, the room held a scene of domestic tranquility. A warm fire crackled in a hearth almost too large for the cozy living room. Cups of evening tea sat on the small table before them. Kenneth sat with his slippered feet resting on a footstool, his tie removed and thrown over the back of his chair, while he read the paper.

Kyle, in a soft fleecy cotton robe, occupied the opposite chair. A piece of stitchery was held firmly in one slender hand as the needle plied back and forth, tracing out the design.

Earlier, Kenneth had made occasional comments, snippets of local news or an item of business at the office. Long before that he had exhausted all inquiries concerning her own day. There was little for Kyle to share. Her activities had simply been like all the others before that. Besides, she did not feel like talking. It was hard enough to manage a polite nod to Kenneth’s comments. Now they sat in silence, each occupied with unspoken thoughts.

Kyle’s needle threaded back and forth through the material. As unwelcome as small talk seemed to be, she was not comfortable with the silence either. Despite the fire, the room felt cold to her. Though they sat only a few feet apart, the distance between their souls was immeasurable. It was an awkward, unpleasant feeling. Cool. Remote. Lonely.

What made things worse was that Kenneth did not seem aware of any awkwardness. A swift little glance in his direction reaffirmed what she had been noticing for some time now. A kind of peace had descended upon him. She was not sure she liked it. Why shouldn’t he be suffering the same isolation and emptiness as she was? The feeling of calm emanating from him was like a silent challenge.

Perhaps it was good that the baby . . . A child would be bound to feel her emptiness. . . .

Kyle checked herself. If they had not lost the baby, she herself would not be feeling so empty.

Suddenly Kyle thought of Martha. Was this how it had been for Martha and Harry, her parents? Two people, shut away from each other by their hurt and loss, struggling to keep each day’s small events from completely overwhelming them? And then Joel. Surely he had suffered most of all, emotionally isolated as he was from the two of them. It was a wonder he had turned out as whole, as giving as he had.

Well, she couldn’t turn to them, or to any of Ruthie’s family for that matter. She could not even turn to Kenneth. Once she would have done so in a heartbeat. Such a long, long time ago. She couldn’t now. Kyle wasn’t quite sure how it had happened, but the door was closed. A great distance now lay between them. She found herself wondering if perhaps the emptiness had always been in her, and all her earlier joy and satisfaction with her life had just been a myth. Perhaps they had lived in a fantasy world, one that was bound to crash in on them.

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.