Not Perfect: A Novel by Elizabeth Laban

Author:Elizabeth Laban [Laban, Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 1542049814
Amazon: B074CFP95V
Goodreads: 35906806
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2018-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Fern came home with a note from the gym teacher:

Dear Tabitha,

Fern needs new gym shoes. She has been having trouble participating lately, and today I took the time to feel her toes. They are practically busting through the top of the shoes. No wonder she can’t run. I know parents are so busy these days, and so many things are overlooked or given short shrift. I know you wouldn’t want Fern to suffer. Please buy her new shoes soon.

Thank you!

In Partnership,

Melanie

“Did you read this?” Tabitha asked Fern, who was standing at the island in the kitchen pulling things out of her backpack. Tabitha noticed that even the way she stood had changed lately, since she was favoring her bad knee. She’d call about the X-ray tomorrow.

“No, she just said to give it to you.”

Tabitha went back to the top and read through it again. There was so much about the letter that irked her, not just the fact that she was being called out on shirking her parenting duties. Short shrift? Why did she have to talk that way? And why even say she knew she wouldn’t want Fern to suffer? Was that something you had to say? And “In Partnership?” Really?

Tabitha marched to Levi’s room. He wasn’t home yet and she just walked in, went right to his closet and sorted through his shoes. Luckily they hadn’t spent much time clearing things out lately, so she found three pairs that were clearly too small for him and brought them back to Fern.

“Here, try these,” Tabitha said, holding out a pair of ratty navy-blue Nikes that might possibly be in the ballpark of Fern’s size.

“Are those Levi’s old shoes?” she asked, but it sounded like she was saying, “Are those shoes made of hot lava?”

“Yes,” Tabitha said, without any more explanation.

“I’m not wearing those,” she said.

“Just try them,” Tabitha said. “Melanie says your shoes are too small.”

“They are,” Fern said matter-of-factly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Fern looked right at her.

“Because you have enough going on,” Fern said. “You don’t need to worry about my shoes, too.”

“That’s not true,” Tabitha said. “Your feet are very important. And it’s my responsibility to worry about them.”

“Can we call Dad?” Fern asked, and Tabitha had to work hard not to gasp.

“Um, sure,” Tabitha said, thinking they could call his number, he wouldn’t answer, and that would be that. She’d give another speech about how he was busy working, and how the mining unions in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were suffering, and he was working hard to help with their rights, et cetera. They would go back to pretending that was normal for a while, and eventually Fern would ask again. How was it that they were able to do this—to pretend this was normal? And not for the first time Tabitha thought something awful; she thought: Thank goodness I don’t love him so much that I can’t live without him. Despite her hopes and dreams and her picture of what married life should be like, she thought: Thank goodness it didn’t go that way.

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