Bridge to a Distant Star - Carolyn Williford [28]
“She called to share her good news: Ed moved back home last night.”
“Wow. That is great news. So what on earth were you arguing about?”
“I never said it was an argument!”
“O-kay,” Bill said, clearly changing his tone. “Then what were you discussing?”
“That she’s taken him back without any … with nothing, no consequences. He said he’s sorry and they’re carrying on like nothing’s happened now. Bill, they’re even talking again about having another baby.”
“Sounds a bit premature.”
“A bit—? Bill, there should be consequences for what Ed’s done. And they both need to see a counselor.”
Bill’s silence stunned her. With an unsteady voice, she defensively offered, “I can’t believe you’d think Emilie should’ve immediately welcomed Ed back into their home, literally with open arms. And I take it you don’t agree they need counseling?”
Another pause, long enough to make Maureen wonder again what Bill was thinking. “Let’s just say I don’t think counseling’s the miracle answer to everything,” he said.
“Bill, I never said that—” She stopped, rubbed the base of her neck. Took a moment to gather her thoughts. “You know how it feels we’re relating lately? Like how your beard feels against my cheek when you haven’t shaved.” A lump formed in her throat, reaction to the intrusion of the sudden intimacy. Maureen swallowed, and when she spoke next her words were softer. “We’ve been grating against each other, Bill. And I just don’t know … I’m so tired … and …” She let her voice fade away and subconsciously held her breath.
The silence became a living force.
When Bill finally broke into it, he spoke in a near monotone. “I called to tell you that I’ll be home late tonight. A nasty virus is going around. The waiting room’s packed. And after office hours, I’ve got a boatload of paperwork waiting.”
Maureen was tempted to echo the flatness, but chose otherwise. “Can I drop by your office later? Bring you something to eat?”
“Don’t bother. I’ve got some leftovers here I can heat up. I need to go, the staff’s waiting.”
Once again she heard the abrupt sound of the dial tone. Mechanically reaching for her coffee, she made a face as she discovered it was tepid. And when she took the mug to pour the ruined coffee into the sink, the salt of a few tears mixed with it.
After a dinner with little acknowledgment from Colleen that her mom and sister existed—and the complete opposite from Aubrey, who assumed they wanted to hear her chatter on about every aspect of her day—Maureen decided it was time to be more forceful with her elder daughter. “Colleen, how about if you load the dishes into the dishwasher while I give Aubrey a bath?”
“I don’t wanna bath. I don’t wanna go to bed.”
Maureen ignored Aubrey’s outburst.
“Mom, I have like a ton of homework to do. I need to get seriously busy, right now.”
“Weren’t you on the Internet when you came home? You had time for that.”
Colleen glared at her mother, but Maureen ignored her as she rinsed a washcloth to clean up Aubrey.
“I don’t believe this. This isn’t fair—I have stuff to do.”
“So do I. I need to give your sister a bath.”
Aubrey, her own battle temporarily forgotten, centered her total attention on the conflict between mother and sister. She was so focused on Colleen’s next move that she sat uncharacteristically still while Maureen wiped her hands and face, only squirming when Maureen’s head blocked a clear view of her sister.
Out of the corner of her eye, Maureen caught a glimpse of Colleen, who’d added full-scale bodily revolt to the earlier steely glare. She stood ramrod straight, arms crossed in front of her chest, muscles twitching.
“But that’s what you’re supposed to do—make dinner, clean up, stuff like that. What else do you have to do all day besides that stuff? How come you’re making me do your job? Don’t you want me to get good grades?”
Maureen hesitated only a second, and in that gap, Colleen seized the upper hand. “I have to get busy now, Mom, or there’s no way I’m gonna get my homework done.” She held up her hands, ticking off the list: “I have a test in math, a