Every Word Unsaid by Kimberly Duffy

Author:Kimberly Duffy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical Fiction;Christian fiction;FIC042030;FIC042110;FIC014000
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2021-09-28T00:00:00+00:00

17

Catherine looked so small in the narrow iron bed, not much more than a wrinkle marring the blankets. Gussie pushed into the room, her heart thrumming wildly. When she was in Florida a couple of years ago, walking on the edge of a swamp looking for the perfect photograph, she’d stumbled on a nest of eggs and angered a mother alligator, who had snapped her great jaw and made ferocious noises. Gussie had found that frightening, but it didn’t compare to this moment: facing her closest friend—her dearest friend—knowing she had, at least in part, been responsible for this terrible thing.

The room’s windows had been closed, and drapes were pulled over them, allowing the heat no release. Perhaps Morag thought to make it so unwelcoming that the babe would choose to stay in the womb?

Bimla sat in a chair beside the bed, her hands folded in prayer, eyes closed. She’d swept her scarf off her head, revealing the violence inscribed on her face.

“Gussie?”

Catherine’s call drew her across the faded red and blue rug. Gussie winced as she knelt beside the bed, waiting for justified accusations. For anger and confirmation.

You were careless. You ruined everything. You always do.

But instead, Catherine pulled an arm free from the tangle of embroidered coverlets and cashmere throws, offering Gussie her hand. Sweat beaded Catherine’s upper lip and dripped down her neck to collect in the dip of her clavicle. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I won’t leave your side.” Gussie cleared her throat when she heard the squeak in her voice.

Catherine nodded, her tongue darting over her lips. “Morag said only time will tell if the baby survived.” A shudder ran over her. “She could already be gone.”

“Or she could be perfectly fine.”

“I want this child so much.” Catherine’s words trembled. “I have nothing else left of John.”

Gussie’s chest ached with the desire to offer comfort. To say something that would ease Catherine’s fear. But she found her experiences wholly inadequate in preparing her for real grief. And Catherine had suffered so much from it already—first her parents, then her husband, and now this.

Bimla leaned forward, her words blanketing Gussie’s lack. “You have memories.”

Catherine’s eyes shifted toward Bimla, and the pain Gussie saw in them undid her. She withdrew her hand, got to her feet, and went across the room to study a mediocre still life made interesting only by the flickering gaslight and the need to distance herself from the grief playing out across her friend’s face.

Catherine’s soft voice chased her. “I have never held my child. Or even met her. What memories, Bimla?”

Gussie focused her eyes on the tartan blanket scattered with jasmine in the painting—a strange juxtaposition of cold and heat, west and east—but she tilted her head so that the answer wouldn’t be lost.

“You have memories of your husband, whose love helped create your baby. He is as much a part of her as you, and in your thoughts of him, you will find your child.” Then Bimla’s words grew too soft for Gussie to hear.

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.