If Beth had spent another moment with Anderson, she would have forgiven him. A yawn stepped out of her mouth; pushing her jaws apart. The thought sobered her.
'How could he cheat on you when you were pregnant?' she recited Ellen’s scrutiny at the reunion party earlier in the evening. Why would you even consider going back to him?
Her cigarette wilted to ash above the steering wheel. 'Why?' she privately contended, suddenly throttled by the perversity of adulthood. 'How’s the thought of raising two kids on your own sound? That’s why.'
Yet, not surprisingly, she still cared for him in the same irrational way she had when they were teenagers: never needing a reason. That’s why, driving away at this very moment, she was so damn impressed with herself. Finally, she was leaving him for good.
"Sorry, honey," she confessed to her eight-month-old son Daniel. "Your mommy almost screwed up again." Strapped in the car seat behind her, he flailed his tiny arms and the glint of his bracelet shifted her attention to the mirror. She thought of the inscription engraved on the back of the locket circling his wrist: 'Whether beside you, or in angel’s flight, my voice shall guide you, through each dark night.' "Whatever", she spat.
She opened the window, hoping the brisk air would help keep her alert; its forceful whoosh awakened only the car as she sluggishly veered north onto Route 19.
"Some music? What do you think, Danny?"
Beth tried steering through the night using the orange light reflectors littered on the road like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs. Anderson had always been the one to drive at night. Yet another entry for my ‘Get Over It Journal’, she thought. All the minor challenges she had expected him to handle were inevitably finding their way onto her own To-Do list. She punched the filter into the ashtray.
Acceptance.
She immediately stabbed her nose into the rear-view mirror. A set of headlights appeared behind her. Rather than assess the situation, she took notice of her dark eyes, faded within a recess of eye shadow and exhaustion. She tucked a few strands of unruly curls behind her ears believing it would veil the truth from an unsuspecting police officer.
'How could he cheat on you when you were pregnant?' she recited Ellen’s scrutiny at the reunion party earlier in the evening. Why would you even consider going back to him?
Her cigarette wilted to ash above the steering wheel. 'Why?' she privately contended, suddenly throttled by the perversity of adulthood. 'How’s the thought of raising two kids on your own sound? That’s why.'
Yet, not surprisingly, she still cared for him in the same irrational way she had when they were teenagers: never needing a reason. That’s why, driving away at this very moment, she was so damn impressed with herself. Finally, she was leaving him for good.
"Sorry, honey," she confessed to her eight-month-old son Daniel. "Your mommy almost screwed up again." Strapped in the car seat behind her, he flailed his tiny arms and the glint of his bracelet shifted her attention to the mirror. She thought of the inscription engraved on the back of the locket circling his wrist: 'Whether beside you, or in angel’s flight, my voice shall guide you, through each dark night.' "Whatever", she spat.
She opened the window, hoping the brisk air would help keep her alert; its forceful whoosh awakened only the car as she sluggishly veered north onto Route 19.
"Some music? What do you think, Danny?"
Beth tried steering through the night using the orange light reflectors littered on the road like Hansel and Gretel’s breadcrumbs. Anderson had always been the one to drive at night. Yet another entry for my ‘Get Over It Journal’, she thought. All the minor challenges she had expected him to handle were inevitably finding their way onto her own To-Do list. She punched the filter into the ashtray.
Acceptance.
She immediately stabbed her nose into the rear-view mirror. A set of headlights appeared behind her. Rather than assess the situation, she took notice of her dark eyes, faded within a recess of eye shadow and exhaustion. She tucked a few strands of unruly curls behind her ears believing it would veil the truth from an unsuspecting police officer.
