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Nothing.
Maybe the speaker’s broken.
“I’m sorry. He’s unavailable.”
“Oh. I’m an … I’m an old friend visiting my family here for the next day or two, and I thought I’d surprise him. Are you his wife?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know when he’ll be home?”
Another long pause.
Then I hear what sounds like a sniffle.
“Can I come in?” I ask.
Again, she sniffles. “I’m sorry. He’s not here. And I have to go get our daughter and take her to an appointment soon.”
Our daughter …
This isn’t real.
I take a step away from the building.
Our daughter …
I shake my head.
Our daughter …
Somehow, I manage to return to my car where I sit staring at his place for the next hour. My thoughts die as tiny, muffled echoes before they reach my true consciousness. It’s been twelve years since the pain has been so severe that my whole body surrenders until I feel numb. When I can no longer feel anything, and the well of tears runs dry, I put the car in drive to pick up my mom for lunch.
“Hey! How was your morning?” She hops in and shuts the door. But the second she sees my face, her smile vanishes. “Scottie, have you been crying?”
I narrow my eyes as if I don’t understand her question.
“Scottie?”
“He has a child,” I whisper.
“Who has a child?”
“A daughter.”
“Scottie.” Mom rests her hand on my leg. “Who? What are you talking about?”
Three people know—my mom, dad, and sister.
And I don’t want to see the look on her face when I tell her, but it’s unavoidable now. So many things are unavoidable now. Life is eternal even if living is not. The past can never be erased or forgotten.
“Price.”
Deep lines trench across my mom’s forehead. “Sweetie, you saw Price today?”
I slowly shake my head, feeling eerily calm and resigned. “Price is in Austin. He works part-time at Drummond’s.”
“What?” Her confusion intensifies.
