found herself thinking. But she let that thought slide as she walked indoors and headed for the stove.
Later that night, with homework and dishes done and the little ones tucked in, Carly had nothing but fading daylight to keep her company. She carried a hot cup of tea onto the porch to watch the setting sun send slivers of loneliness across the darkening mountains. They’d been here nearly nine months now. Carly’s gestation was nearly done. Soon she’d be assimilated. If not considered a native, at least a regular fixture in this small, unpretentious burg that provided an easy commute to her job at the hospital.
Carly set her mug on the porch railing and stretched her legs into the empty rocker opposite her own. It had been Peter’s chair, but he’d left it behind when he’d gone. Too burdensome for Paris, Carly supposed. Something like a settled wife and two growing children... It felt odd using it as a footrest. Yet fitting somehow, too. She slipped her loafers off her throbbing feet, fighting the memory of a strong masculine hand around her instep, absorbing the tensions of the day.
Now the burden was exclusively hers. When she ached, she took acetaminophen. When she cried, she pulled the pillows over her head so the children wouldn’t hear. When the sting of a life being cleaved in two seemed almost too much to bear, she tried to imagine she wouldn’t always be alone. But she understood the illusion for what it was. She’d left a world of greater opportunity for herself, in exchange for a more wholesome existence for her children.
The trade-off was a demanding job with supervisory duties, an occupation that took her into town before the kids boarded the morning bus, but fortunately allowed her to get home before they returned each afternoon. The real downside to life in the rural community was the apparent lack of eligible bachelors. Not that Carly was looking. It was just that, if ever she were to change her mind, it would be nice to have the option. But at the hospital, everybody was married (and devoted), married (and cheating), married (to their work and not interested), or gay.
On the bad days, it was particularly hard not having anyone to talk to. Not that Peter had completely comprehended the emotional toll her job sometimes took, but at least he’d been there to listen. Been there to rub her shoulders, bring her a glass of wine... Carly raised a hand to her cheek, finding moisture there. And she knew that what she’d come to seek in the country wasn’t just about the kids finding a better life. It had something to do with her feeling loved, as well.
The call from the school nurse’s office was unexpected. Carly’s children had been phenomenally healthy this year. The two of them had missed school only once for two days running, having been simultaneously ill with a severe bout of stomach flu. Now she was being told that Becky had a temperature of one hundred and two and was complaining of a sore throat.
Carly made certain a senior nurse could cover for her, then hurriedly made her way to the parking garage. She knew she’d make a round-trip to retrieve Becky from her elementary school and then bring her back here to get tested for strep. Then there’d be a prescription to fill. Carly checked the time on her cell before setting the car in gear. It all had to be done in the two hours and twenty minutes she had before Jonathan got off the school bus at home.
Carly impatiently tapped her foot as she and Becky stood in line in the ancient pharmacy. In all the time they’d lived here, Carly’d only been in this place twice. Once to buy tampons, the other time to purchase a last-minute birthday card for her floor supervisor. By the grace of God, she’d never yet had to fill a prescription. Good thing too, she thought, checking the time again. If it had been anything serious, she’d have been dead by the time she’d gotten her medicine. This line wasn’t moving one bit.
At that
Later that night, with homework and dishes done and the little ones tucked in, Carly had nothing but fading daylight to keep her company. She carried a hot cup of tea onto the porch to watch the setting sun send slivers of loneliness across the darkening mountains. They’d been here nearly nine months now. Carly’s gestation was nearly done. Soon she’d be assimilated. If not considered a native, at least a regular fixture in this small, unpretentious burg that provided an easy commute to her job at the hospital.
Carly set her mug on the porch railing and stretched her legs into the empty rocker opposite her own. It had been Peter’s chair, but he’d left it behind when he’d gone. Too burdensome for Paris, Carly supposed. Something like a settled wife and two growing children... It felt odd using it as a footrest. Yet fitting somehow, too. She slipped her loafers off her throbbing feet, fighting the memory of a strong masculine hand around her instep, absorbing the tensions of the day.
Now the burden was exclusively hers. When she ached, she took acetaminophen. When she cried, she pulled the pillows over her head so the children wouldn’t hear. When the sting of a life being cleaved in two seemed almost too much to bear, she tried to imagine she wouldn’t always be alone. But she understood the illusion for what it was. She’d left a world of greater opportunity for herself, in exchange for a more wholesome existence for her children.
The trade-off was a demanding job with supervisory duties, an occupation that took her into town before the kids boarded the morning bus, but fortunately allowed her to get home before they returned each afternoon. The real downside to life in the rural community was the apparent lack of eligible bachelors. Not that Carly was looking. It was just that, if ever she were to change her mind, it would be nice to have the option. But at the hospital, everybody was married (and devoted), married (and cheating), married (to their work and not interested), or gay.
On the bad days, it was particularly hard not having anyone to talk to. Not that Peter had completely comprehended the emotional toll her job sometimes took, but at least he’d been there to listen. Been there to rub her shoulders, bring her a glass of wine... Carly raised a hand to her cheek, finding moisture there. And she knew that what she’d come to seek in the country wasn’t just about the kids finding a better life. It had something to do with her feeling loved, as well.
The call from the school nurse’s office was unexpected. Carly’s children had been phenomenally healthy this year. The two of them had missed school only once for two days running, having been simultaneously ill with a severe bout of stomach flu. Now she was being told that Becky had a temperature of one hundred and two and was complaining of a sore throat.
Carly made certain a senior nurse could cover for her, then hurriedly made her way to the parking garage. She knew she’d make a round-trip to retrieve Becky from her elementary school and then bring her back here to get tested for strep. Then there’d be a prescription to fill. Carly checked the time on her cell before setting the car in gear. It all had to be done in the two hours and twenty minutes she had before Jonathan got off the school bus at home.
Carly impatiently tapped her foot as she and Becky stood in line in the ancient pharmacy. In all the time they’d lived here, Carly’d only been in this place twice. Once to buy tampons, the other time to purchase a last-minute birthday card for her floor supervisor. By the grace of God, she’d never yet had to fill a prescription. Good thing too, she thought, checking the time again. If it had been anything serious, she’d have been dead by the time she’d gotten her medicine. This line wasn’t moving one bit.
At that
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