Page 10 of The Burning
I sat down in the chair across from her and wiped the rain from my face. She looked a little stunned and the tip of her nose was red. She had the palest, clearest skin and rosy cheeks.
“What happened, El? Are you okay?”
“Someone . . . someone wrote my parents a stupid lie and they believe a stranger over me—”
“What do you mean? Who wrote to them?” I asked, beyond confused.
“Someone on Facebook wrote my mom a message saying that Phillip was cheating and these crazy things . . .”
“Who was it? Do you know them?”
She shook her head and didn’t look at me as she said, “I think it was a fake account. It’s all so stupid and not true. I don’t know why someone would do that, or how they even found my parents.”
I was at a loss for words. But I had so many questions.
“Why the hell would someone do that?” I asked the room.
“I hate this,” she said, her shoulders beginning to shake. “And my doctor called on the way back and said my glucose test came back really low. It’s just a lot of stress.”
Her phone vibrated again, andPapaflashed on the screen. She flipped her phone over and pushed it away.
“I can’t take much more. I can’t.” She pressed her fingers against her temples. Her chest rose and fell as her phone shook on the table.
“They don’t think I can do this. None of it. Be married, be a mother. It’s so much and the baby isn’t even here yet.” She started to cry. “I don’t even have a place for the baby to live, I have no crib. Nothing. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
I inched my chair closer to her. “I’m sorry, El. You’re going to make a great mom. I know you are. I’m not just saying that, either. I know you and your heart, and you’re going to be fine. It will all be fine.”
I tried to be as convincing as possible. The baby was on the way and Elodie needed a confidence boost. I meant it though, every word. I knew all kinds of moms, the good, the bad, and the really bad.
“Karina, I’m serious. I’m all alone here. If I have the baby and Phillip isn’t home or gets hurt . . .” She was physically shaking. I leaned across the table and grabbed one of her hands. It was ice-cold.
“You’re freezing,” I told her.
She shrugged. “I’m okay. I don’t care about being cold right now,” she said emotionally. “My parents think I can’t handle any of this. My dad pretty much just told me that on the phone and my mom agreed with him. They said they’re scared.Scared!”
I was trying to process everything she was saying.
“Scared is a little much,” I said, kind of pissed at her parents for saying that to her. It was too late for that conversation and their doubt only added to her stress. “I’m sorry they said that. They’re wrong.”
She barely looked at me.
“They also hate my husband now. They think he’s a liar and having an affair while I’malonehere.” She really stamped the wordalone, and I felt like a bit of a failure for not making her feel like she wasn’t alone. My heart broke for her because of their harshness. It reminded me of Kael saying,People always have an opinion about others’ choices and even if it’s harmful, the selfishness of unburdening themselves outweighs the hurt it can cause.More words of wisdom from the poet himself, Kael Martin.
“You’re not alone,” I told Elodie, pushing Kael to the back of my mind. I couldn’t have guessed how many seconds had gone between us since she spoke. She looked at me and I knew that a defeated woman’s eyes never lied. She was breaking, right then, and I could feel it in the air, see it in her body language.
“I have you. And I appreciate that and love you, but I’m used to my big family and my friends and my life back home.” She paused and seemed to tell herself to redirect her words. Guilt lay heavy on her face. “It is better having more friends now. But my baby will not have any family here. And how will I work? I don’t make enough money for daycare. There aren’t enough hours at the spa.”
“El. We live right here, I’ll watch the baby while you work and we’ll make sure our schedules aren’t the same.”
She was quick to remind me that our arrangement wasn’t permanent. “Karina, my house will be far from work when Phillip’s back.”
“You could still drop the baby off here,” I offered, trying to think of another fix for her problem.
“You can’t solve this for me. I know you want to, but you really can’t help me with this. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten married at all? I came here so fast, without knowing what it would be like and how much time I would be alone. My mom is right that I barely knew Phillip before I got on a plane, then was pregnant shortly after. I don’t know what we were thinking?” Her voice broke and she lifted her hands into the air as if she was asking the sky. “What was I thinking?”
She started to cry harder. I could tell how hard she had been trying to keep it in, but this wasn’t something she could hold back any longer. Her body seemed to need it, and she sank lower into the chair as she sobbed.
Tears spilled down her cheeks and her skin reddened even more. She touched her hand to her stomach and heaved. I didn’t know what to say that could make this better and maybe she was right, I couldn’t fix it. It was beyond me.
