The Hungry Coast by Noah Prinsen

Author:Noah Prinsen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: North Star Press of St. Cloud
Published: 2015-08-28T00:00:00+00:00

Mary went through more than three hundred pounds of corn that winter. She did not see the white doe until February.

She got up at three in the morning, knowing why she couldn’t sleep. She could tell that the previous day was the anniversary of the accident, because Gene hadn’t spoken all that day and her eyes were rimmed red. Gene did not show up for dinner either, and Mary asked Jenny to take a sandwich to Gene’s cabin after the evening service. But Jenny came back with the entire sandwich and a half-empty bottle of scotch. Jenny put the scotch behind the bar and Mary put the sandwich away in a container in the fridge. Sealing up that sandwich and storing it uneaten in the cold was a sorrowful thing. And Mary felt cold and at loose ends for the rest of the evening. So at three, when she got out of bed, she had given up on sleep. She opened the door, thinking she would like to look at the moon, which was full. And there, practically on the stoop, was the white doe. She snorted and pawed the ground.

“Hello,” whispered Mary.

The doe lowered and raised her head and then, to Mary’s surprise, stepped forward. She walked to within a foot of Mary. It was clear that the doe was pregnant. Her belly was large. Without thinking, Mary stepped to one side and the doe walked right through the open door into Slabside. Mary wanted to shriek with delight. She leaned forward and peeked in. The doe had nosed open the sack of corn by the door and was helping herself.

Mary was afraid to go in after the doe and before she could decide what to do, the doe stepped carefully out over the threshold and the granite slab. Mary let her hand brush the animal’s back and flank and the doe leapt away and was gone in an instant.

Mary’s heart thrummed in her ears and suddenly her own baby kicked. “I’m your mama,” she whispered.

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