| Angela by Anne Kelsey |
Beth Ann looked down at the bundle of joy in the crook of her arm and blinked back
tears of wonder. At forty-one she felt blessed to have gotten pregnant and to have given
birth for a third time. She would savor the next few hours alone with Angela before her
older two children got home from school. Beth Ann smoothed the baby’s fine, blonde hair,
thinking the only thing that had marred her contentment was Kevin and the kids’ reaction
to the news that she was pregnant. She recalled the troubling conversation.
“I bet as soon as the baby is born, the only time you’ll let me have the car is to run out
for baby formula and diapers,” Caitlin complained. “Plus, aren’t you too old to have a
baby? None of my friends’ Moms are pregnant.”
“Is that so? Well, I certainly don’t want to embarrass my own daughter.”
“It’s my senior year,” her daughter continued. “I’m on the prom committee. I’m editor of
the video yearbook. I hope you don’t plan on me being your built-in babysitter. I’ve got my
own life to live.”
“Me, too,” Jared chimed in. “What if the baby is sleeping when you need to drive me to
practice? The lacrosse schedule is brutal this year. I’m okay with a brother or sister and
all, I just don’t want –”
“You don’t want a baby to interfere with your life. Is that it?” Beth Ann snapped back,
feeling her temper rise. “You both want me at your beck and call.”
Beth Ann sighed and got up from the couch. She walked down the hall into the
nursery with Angela asleep in her arms. She lowered her gently down into the crib. Not
wanting to leave just yet, Beth Ann wound the colorful mobile attached to the crib and sat
down in the rocking chair beside it. Perhaps the kids just needed a bit more time to
become accustom to a baby in the house. At seventeen and fifteen, Caitlin and Jared both
seemed to be going through a period of self absorption. Yet even Kevin’s initial reaction to
her pregnancy had disturbed her.
“I thought we agreed that two children were enough,” Kevin said.
“That’s why this baby is such a blessing,” Beth Ann replied.
Her husband knelt down beside her, still wearing his oil-stained work shirt from the car
dealership. “Remember what we said after Jared was born? A son for you, and a daughter
for me. We’ve already got our perfect family.”
“Almost. We will after this baby is born.”
Kevin closed his eyes and hung his head. “I thought it was going to be our time after
the kids were out of the house.”
“Please, Kevin. Don’t take the joy out of this for me.”
Kevin slipped his hand out of hers. “And what about me? What about what I want?”
Despite the black crescents under each nail, she recaptured his hand and stroked his
long fingers. She’d been so excited after seeing the ultrasound that day that she hadn’t
even given him time to take a shower, or grab a beer.
Hoping to persuade him, she lifted her shirt and placed his calloused hand on the
ever-so-slight swell of her belly. “I’m already three months along.”
“Three months?”
Beth Ann saw the hurt that flashed in Kevin’s eyes, and she felt her cheeks grow warm.
“Were you hiding this pregnancy from me?”
“No. Well, I…” Beth Ann trailed off, realizing she couldn’t deny it.
Kevin stood up. His eyes had turned hard and his lips were pressed into a thin white
line. “I need a shower.” He stalked to the door and then suddenly whirled back around to
face her. “You had no right to make this decision alone.”
What decision? she remembered thinking. There was no decision to make.
The music box had wound down again, but Beth Ann didn’t have the energy to get up
and rewind it. Maybe she’d rest her head back. Just for a minute.
At the sound of the doorbell, Beth Ann jolted upright, realizing she’d fallen fast asleep
in the rocking chair. After a quick glance into the crib, she hurried to the front door and
peaked out through the sidelight, meeting her friend’s eyes. “Jenny!” She opened the door
wide. “Come on in. It’s so nice to see you.”
“How are you, Beth Ann?” Jenny leaned over and gave her a hug. “I only have a
minute. I didn’t really know what was appropriate.” Her smile faltered, and she thrust
forward a small plant in a green plastic pot.
“An African violet. How sweet. You didn’t have to do that.” Beth Ann picked off a dead
leaf and placed it on the table in the entry way. “Take off your coat. Do you have time for
coffee?”
“No. I can’t stay. Teddy is waiting in the car. Are you okay?”
“Sure, although I’m a bit tired. Angela is only sleeping two to three hours at a time.”
Jenny cocked her head. “But I thought—”
“I’m disappointed my kids haven’t responded to Angela the way I’d hoped. Silly to
expect them to, I guess. You know how teenagers are.”
“What is it you want them to do?”
“I don’t know. I thought Caitlin might change a few diapers; and as far as Jared, if I
could get him to even acknowledge her presence, I’d be happy.”
“Beth Ann, I’m worried about you. Are you seeing someone?”
“I have an appointment this afternoon for a well-baby check. Kevin is coming with me. I
feel fine, really I do. Why is everyone so worried about me?”
“You’ve been through a difficult pregnancy and very traumatic birth. You need time to
rest and recuperate.”
Beth Ann laughed. “As if that’s possible with a new baby. Oh! I hear her crying. She
must have just woken up from her nap.”
“Beth Ann, why don’t I—” A car horn blared in the driveway. “That’s Teddy. We have
an appointment with a loan officer to discuss a second mortgage.”
“You better run. Come another day and we’ll have coffee.”
Jenny laid a hand on Beth Ann’s arm, throwing one last glance down the hall toward
the nursery. “I wish I could stay. Is there someone I can call for you?” The horn sounded
again and Jenny turned toward the door. “I’m so sorry. I really have to go before he comes
in here and drags me out by my hair.”
“Go. I’m fine. The kids will be home soon, anyway.”
“If you’re sure…” Jenny stepped outside onto the front porch.
Beth Ann shut the front door and made her way back to the nursery. She switched on
the lamp on the dresser next to the crib. Angela had fallen back to sleep, but it had been
almost two hours. She’d be hungry soon. Beth Ann leaned over the side of the crib and
marveled at the baby’s perfect honey-colored skin. Her cheeks had a hint of color to them,
but when Beth Ann laid a hand to her forehead, it felt cool.
With one hand supporting Angela’s neck, she lifted her out of the crib. So tiny and so
light, it was hard to believe she weighed six pounds, eight ounces. At least that was what
the doctor had as recorded on Angela’s birth certificate. Beth Ann nestled her daughter
into the hollow of her shoulder, and rubbed her back in small circles. Minutes later, she
took a quick peek and Angela’s eyes were open and she was smiling. Just as she finished
changing her diaper, the front door slammed.
“Shut up, you moron!”
“You shut up!”
Beth Ann sat down in the rocking chair and began to unsnap her blouse. “Caitlin.
Jared. Please don’t fight.” She heard the weariness in her voice, wondering if the two
would ever get along. The two years that separated them made them close enough to be
rivals, yet too far apart to be friends. “Come and tell me about your day. I’m in the
nursery.” She heard two heavy thumps as both backpacks hit the floor in the entryway.
She waited, but neither responded.
Beth Ann heard muted voices in the kitchen and the sound of the refrigerator door
opening and closing. Minutes later, rap music burst from Jared’s room at the other end of
the house. The wooden floor vibrated beneath Beth Ann’s feet, but Angela appeared
undisturbed. All week Beth Ann had asked Jared repeatedly to lower the volume on his
stereo, but he had simply refused. Beth Ann shook her head. She didn’t know what had
gotten into him.
A moment later, out of the corner of her eye, Beth Ann saw Caitlin edge into the
nursery, stopping just inside the door. Caitlin’s long, slender body, and radical eye shadow
reminded Beth Ann of an iridescent dragonfly. Both were beautiful, graceful yet apt to fly
off at the slightest disturbance. Beth Ann switched the baby to her other breast while she
waited for Caitlin to speak. More than a minute ticked by.
“Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“What are you doing?”
Beth Ann decided against stating the obvious. Instead, she adjusted the blanket that
had slipped down, exposing her breast.
“Mom?”
Beth Ann looked over her shoulder and took a second look at Caitlin’s outfit. A hot
pink midriff paired with low rider jeans. In between lay four inches of exposed bare skin and
more than a glimpse of a pair of yellow thong underwear. Caitlin hadn’t been wearing that
outfit when she left the house this morning. Beth Ann was debating how to broach the
subject without World War III breaking out when she caught Caitlin’s worried expression.
“What’s wrong?” Beth Ann asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Caitlin said.
Clearly that wasn’t the case. Beth Ann probed further. “Did you have a good day?”
“Mom. I’m seventeen, not twelve.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply –”
“Why won’t you answer me?”
Beth Ann heard a quiver in Caitlin’s voice. “Honey, I want to help you, but I don’t know
how. Tell me what’s going on?”
“You’ve got to stop.” Caitlin stamped her foot.
“Stop what? Feeding Angela?”
“This obsession!”
“Jealousy isn’t becoming, Caitlin.”
Beth Ann looked up in time to see a tear slip down her daughter’s cheek before Caitlin
turned and walked out of the room.
“We need to talk about this,” Beth Ann called out. Caitlin responded by slamming her
bedroom door. With a sigh, Beth Ann tossed the blanket aside and began to burp Angela.
Lord, help her through these teenage years.
The garage door rumbled and Beth Ann realized that Kevin was home from work. She
looked down at her outfit. She was dressed in the same sweat pants and a maternity top
she wore yesterday. And she hadn’t even given a thought to dinner. And now she
remembered that Kevin had said he wanted to eat early, before they left for the doctor’s
appointment. Beth Ann kissed Angela’s forehead. “Shall we go meet your daddy at the
door?”
***
Kevin watched Jared shovel forkful after forkful of macaroni and cheese into his
mouth, and swallow without seeming to chew. Caitlin kept pushing canned green beans
from one side of her plate to the other. Every so often, both kids would shoot a
surreptitious glance at the end of the table toward Beth Ann and the baby.
Jared drained his milk. “I’m done. Can I go?”
Kevin nodded his head. He knew without asking that Jared was off to his best friend
Aaron’s, three houses down.
Without another word, Jared picked up his plate and glass and deposited them on the
kitchen counter. He jammed his Red Sox cap on his head and grabbed his backpack,
escaping out the front door.
Caitlin was next. “Dad? Mary and I are starting on that social studies project. I think
she just pulled into the driveway to pick me up.”
“Okay. Be back by nine.
“I know, Dad.” Caitlin ran out the door.
Kevin scraped the untouched food off of his plate into the garbage can. “How was
your day?” he asked Beth Ann as she rose from the table.
“Jenny came over. She brought me a plant.”
“That was nice. Are you ready to go?” Kevin asked. His stomach flip-flopped.
“Okay. Let me just grab a diaper bag.”
Beth Ann bent down and picked up a soft-sided tote with teddy bears on the sides.
Kevin reached to take it from her, remembering he’d put her suitcase into the trunk of the
car the night before. He slung the vinyl strap over one shoulder and together they walked
to the car. Kevin walked around to the driver’s seat and slid in. He saw Beth Ann hesitate
and he reached across the front seat to shove open the opposite door. “What’s wrong,
Beth?”
“Do you really think I need to put Angela in the car seat? Can’t I just buckle her in
front with me?”
Kevin hesitated. “Maybe just this once, since it’s a short trip.” He saw relief spread
across her face.
At Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Kevin walked around to Beth Ann’s side of the car. “Here
we are.”
“This looks like such an important place. Are you sure we can afford it?”
“Only the best for my family.” Kevin put an arm around his wife’s shoulder, Angela was
between them.
Once inside the building a rather large woman wearing a paisley tunic came around
the desk to greet them. She held out her hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Simon?”
Kevin nodded, grasping the woman’s hand and taking in her blonde curls and the
dimple in her double chin.
She turned and spoke directly to Beth Ann. “Welcome. We are going to take good
care of you two.” She nodded at Kevin.
He stepped toward Beth Ann and encircled her in his arms. He held on for a long time.
Then he kissed her forehead turned back toward the entrance.
“Honey? Aren’t you going to kiss Angela?”
Kevin shook his head and tried to smile through his tears.
“Why not? What’s the matter with you?” Beth Ann asked.
Kevin felt rooted to the vinyl floor; unable to speak or move in either direction.
The nurse piped up. “Would you like me to hold your baby while we get you settled,
Mrs. Simon?”
Kevin saw the alarm in Beth Ann’s eyes.
“I’ll hold her for just a minute, only until you take off your coat.”
Kevin held his breath. The woman with the blonde curls smiled at his wife and her
dimple became even more pronounced.
Beth Ann hesitated, and then slowly extended her arms.
Kevin watched as the nurse carefully accepted the bundle and peered within the folds
of the pink blanket.
“Oh, she’s lovely.” The nurse nodded at Beth Ann. “Everything is going to be just
fine.” The woman reached for Beth Ann’s coat and Kevin saw the doll’s eyes rock back
and forth.
Kevin turned, forcing himself to walk down the hospital corridor and out the front door.
As he walked to the car, tears continued to drip from his face as he mourned the loss of
his beloved Beth Ann, and their perfect family.
tears of wonder. At forty-one she felt blessed to have gotten pregnant and to have given
birth for a third time. She would savor the next few hours alone with Angela before her
older two children got home from school. Beth Ann smoothed the baby’s fine, blonde hair,
thinking the only thing that had marred her contentment was Kevin and the kids’ reaction
to the news that she was pregnant. She recalled the troubling conversation.
“I bet as soon as the baby is born, the only time you’ll let me have the car is to run out
for baby formula and diapers,” Caitlin complained. “Plus, aren’t you too old to have a
baby? None of my friends’ Moms are pregnant.”
“Is that so? Well, I certainly don’t want to embarrass my own daughter.”
“It’s my senior year,” her daughter continued. “I’m on the prom committee. I’m editor of
the video yearbook. I hope you don’t plan on me being your built-in babysitter. I’ve got my
own life to live.”
“Me, too,” Jared chimed in. “What if the baby is sleeping when you need to drive me to
practice? The lacrosse schedule is brutal this year. I’m okay with a brother or sister and
all, I just don’t want –”
“You don’t want a baby to interfere with your life. Is that it?” Beth Ann snapped back,
feeling her temper rise. “You both want me at your beck and call.”
Beth Ann sighed and got up from the couch. She walked down the hall into the
nursery with Angela asleep in her arms. She lowered her gently down into the crib. Not
wanting to leave just yet, Beth Ann wound the colorful mobile attached to the crib and sat
down in the rocking chair beside it. Perhaps the kids just needed a bit more time to
become accustom to a baby in the house. At seventeen and fifteen, Caitlin and Jared both
seemed to be going through a period of self absorption. Yet even Kevin’s initial reaction to
her pregnancy had disturbed her.
“I thought we agreed that two children were enough,” Kevin said.
“That’s why this baby is such a blessing,” Beth Ann replied.
Her husband knelt down beside her, still wearing his oil-stained work shirt from the car
dealership. “Remember what we said after Jared was born? A son for you, and a daughter
for me. We’ve already got our perfect family.”
“Almost. We will after this baby is born.”
Kevin closed his eyes and hung his head. “I thought it was going to be our time after
the kids were out of the house.”
“Please, Kevin. Don’t take the joy out of this for me.”
Kevin slipped his hand out of hers. “And what about me? What about what I want?”
Despite the black crescents under each nail, she recaptured his hand and stroked his
long fingers. She’d been so excited after seeing the ultrasound that day that she hadn’t
even given him time to take a shower, or grab a beer.
Hoping to persuade him, she lifted her shirt and placed his calloused hand on the
ever-so-slight swell of her belly. “I’m already three months along.”
“Three months?”
Beth Ann saw the hurt that flashed in Kevin’s eyes, and she felt her cheeks grow warm.
“Were you hiding this pregnancy from me?”
“No. Well, I…” Beth Ann trailed off, realizing she couldn’t deny it.
Kevin stood up. His eyes had turned hard and his lips were pressed into a thin white
line. “I need a shower.” He stalked to the door and then suddenly whirled back around to
face her. “You had no right to make this decision alone.”
What decision? she remembered thinking. There was no decision to make.
The music box had wound down again, but Beth Ann didn’t have the energy to get up
and rewind it. Maybe she’d rest her head back. Just for a minute.
At the sound of the doorbell, Beth Ann jolted upright, realizing she’d fallen fast asleep
in the rocking chair. After a quick glance into the crib, she hurried to the front door and
peaked out through the sidelight, meeting her friend’s eyes. “Jenny!” She opened the door
wide. “Come on in. It’s so nice to see you.”
“How are you, Beth Ann?” Jenny leaned over and gave her a hug. “I only have a
minute. I didn’t really know what was appropriate.” Her smile faltered, and she thrust
forward a small plant in a green plastic pot.
“An African violet. How sweet. You didn’t have to do that.” Beth Ann picked off a dead
leaf and placed it on the table in the entry way. “Take off your coat. Do you have time for
coffee?”
“No. I can’t stay. Teddy is waiting in the car. Are you okay?”
“Sure, although I’m a bit tired. Angela is only sleeping two to three hours at a time.”
Jenny cocked her head. “But I thought—”
“I’m disappointed my kids haven’t responded to Angela the way I’d hoped. Silly to
expect them to, I guess. You know how teenagers are.”
“What is it you want them to do?”
“I don’t know. I thought Caitlin might change a few diapers; and as far as Jared, if I
could get him to even acknowledge her presence, I’d be happy.”
“Beth Ann, I’m worried about you. Are you seeing someone?”
“I have an appointment this afternoon for a well-baby check. Kevin is coming with me. I
feel fine, really I do. Why is everyone so worried about me?”
“You’ve been through a difficult pregnancy and very traumatic birth. You need time to
rest and recuperate.”
Beth Ann laughed. “As if that’s possible with a new baby. Oh! I hear her crying. She
must have just woken up from her nap.”
“Beth Ann, why don’t I—” A car horn blared in the driveway. “That’s Teddy. We have
an appointment with a loan officer to discuss a second mortgage.”
“You better run. Come another day and we’ll have coffee.”
Jenny laid a hand on Beth Ann’s arm, throwing one last glance down the hall toward
the nursery. “I wish I could stay. Is there someone I can call for you?” The horn sounded
again and Jenny turned toward the door. “I’m so sorry. I really have to go before he comes
in here and drags me out by my hair.”
“Go. I’m fine. The kids will be home soon, anyway.”
“If you’re sure…” Jenny stepped outside onto the front porch.
Beth Ann shut the front door and made her way back to the nursery. She switched on
the lamp on the dresser next to the crib. Angela had fallen back to sleep, but it had been
almost two hours. She’d be hungry soon. Beth Ann leaned over the side of the crib and
marveled at the baby’s perfect honey-colored skin. Her cheeks had a hint of color to them,
but when Beth Ann laid a hand to her forehead, it felt cool.
With one hand supporting Angela’s neck, she lifted her out of the crib. So tiny and so
light, it was hard to believe she weighed six pounds, eight ounces. At least that was what
the doctor had as recorded on Angela’s birth certificate. Beth Ann nestled her daughter
into the hollow of her shoulder, and rubbed her back in small circles. Minutes later, she
took a quick peek and Angela’s eyes were open and she was smiling. Just as she finished
changing her diaper, the front door slammed.
“Shut up, you moron!”
“You shut up!”
Beth Ann sat down in the rocking chair and began to unsnap her blouse. “Caitlin.
Jared. Please don’t fight.” She heard the weariness in her voice, wondering if the two
would ever get along. The two years that separated them made them close enough to be
rivals, yet too far apart to be friends. “Come and tell me about your day. I’m in the
nursery.” She heard two heavy thumps as both backpacks hit the floor in the entryway.
She waited, but neither responded.
Beth Ann heard muted voices in the kitchen and the sound of the refrigerator door
opening and closing. Minutes later, rap music burst from Jared’s room at the other end of
the house. The wooden floor vibrated beneath Beth Ann’s feet, but Angela appeared
undisturbed. All week Beth Ann had asked Jared repeatedly to lower the volume on his
stereo, but he had simply refused. Beth Ann shook her head. She didn’t know what had
gotten into him.
A moment later, out of the corner of her eye, Beth Ann saw Caitlin edge into the
nursery, stopping just inside the door. Caitlin’s long, slender body, and radical eye shadow
reminded Beth Ann of an iridescent dragonfly. Both were beautiful, graceful yet apt to fly
off at the slightest disturbance. Beth Ann switched the baby to her other breast while she
waited for Caitlin to speak. More than a minute ticked by.
“Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“What are you doing?”
Beth Ann decided against stating the obvious. Instead, she adjusted the blanket that
had slipped down, exposing her breast.
“Mom?”
Beth Ann looked over her shoulder and took a second look at Caitlin’s outfit. A hot
pink midriff paired with low rider jeans. In between lay four inches of exposed bare skin and
more than a glimpse of a pair of yellow thong underwear. Caitlin hadn’t been wearing that
outfit when she left the house this morning. Beth Ann was debating how to broach the
subject without World War III breaking out when she caught Caitlin’s worried expression.
“What’s wrong?” Beth Ann asked.
“Nothing’s wrong with me,” Caitlin said.
Clearly that wasn’t the case. Beth Ann probed further. “Did you have a good day?”
“Mom. I’m seventeen, not twelve.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply –”
“Why won’t you answer me?”
Beth Ann heard a quiver in Caitlin’s voice. “Honey, I want to help you, but I don’t know
how. Tell me what’s going on?”
“You’ve got to stop.” Caitlin stamped her foot.
“Stop what? Feeding Angela?”
“This obsession!”
“Jealousy isn’t becoming, Caitlin.”
Beth Ann looked up in time to see a tear slip down her daughter’s cheek before Caitlin
turned and walked out of the room.
“We need to talk about this,” Beth Ann called out. Caitlin responded by slamming her
bedroom door. With a sigh, Beth Ann tossed the blanket aside and began to burp Angela.
Lord, help her through these teenage years.
The garage door rumbled and Beth Ann realized that Kevin was home from work. She
looked down at her outfit. She was dressed in the same sweat pants and a maternity top
she wore yesterday. And she hadn’t even given a thought to dinner. And now she
remembered that Kevin had said he wanted to eat early, before they left for the doctor’s
appointment. Beth Ann kissed Angela’s forehead. “Shall we go meet your daddy at the
door?”
***
Kevin watched Jared shovel forkful after forkful of macaroni and cheese into his
mouth, and swallow without seeming to chew. Caitlin kept pushing canned green beans
from one side of her plate to the other. Every so often, both kids would shoot a
surreptitious glance at the end of the table toward Beth Ann and the baby.
Jared drained his milk. “I’m done. Can I go?”
Kevin nodded his head. He knew without asking that Jared was off to his best friend
Aaron’s, three houses down.
Without another word, Jared picked up his plate and glass and deposited them on the
kitchen counter. He jammed his Red Sox cap on his head and grabbed his backpack,
escaping out the front door.
Caitlin was next. “Dad? Mary and I are starting on that social studies project. I think
she just pulled into the driveway to pick me up.”
“Okay. Be back by nine.
“I know, Dad.” Caitlin ran out the door.
Kevin scraped the untouched food off of his plate into the garbage can. “How was
your day?” he asked Beth Ann as she rose from the table.
“Jenny came over. She brought me a plant.”
“That was nice. Are you ready to go?” Kevin asked. His stomach flip-flopped.
“Okay. Let me just grab a diaper bag.”
Beth Ann bent down and picked up a soft-sided tote with teddy bears on the sides.
Kevin reached to take it from her, remembering he’d put her suitcase into the trunk of the
car the night before. He slung the vinyl strap over one shoulder and together they walked
to the car. Kevin walked around to the driver’s seat and slid in. He saw Beth Ann hesitate
and he reached across the front seat to shove open the opposite door. “What’s wrong,
Beth?”
“Do you really think I need to put Angela in the car seat? Can’t I just buckle her in
front with me?”
Kevin hesitated. “Maybe just this once, since it’s a short trip.” He saw relief spread
across her face.
At Saint Joseph’s Hospital, Kevin walked around to Beth Ann’s side of the car. “Here
we are.”
“This looks like such an important place. Are you sure we can afford it?”
“Only the best for my family.” Kevin put an arm around his wife’s shoulder, Angela was
between them.
Once inside the building a rather large woman wearing a paisley tunic came around
the desk to greet them. She held out her hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Simon?”
Kevin nodded, grasping the woman’s hand and taking in her blonde curls and the
dimple in her double chin.
She turned and spoke directly to Beth Ann. “Welcome. We are going to take good
care of you two.” She nodded at Kevin.
He stepped toward Beth Ann and encircled her in his arms. He held on for a long time.
Then he kissed her forehead turned back toward the entrance.
“Honey? Aren’t you going to kiss Angela?”
Kevin shook his head and tried to smile through his tears.
“Why not? What’s the matter with you?” Beth Ann asked.
Kevin felt rooted to the vinyl floor; unable to speak or move in either direction.
The nurse piped up. “Would you like me to hold your baby while we get you settled,
Mrs. Simon?”
Kevin saw the alarm in Beth Ann’s eyes.
“I’ll hold her for just a minute, only until you take off your coat.”
Kevin held his breath. The woman with the blonde curls smiled at his wife and her
dimple became even more pronounced.
Beth Ann hesitated, and then slowly extended her arms.
Kevin watched as the nurse carefully accepted the bundle and peered within the folds
of the pink blanket.
“Oh, she’s lovely.” The nurse nodded at Beth Ann. “Everything is going to be just
fine.” The woman reached for Beth Ann’s coat and Kevin saw the doll’s eyes rock back
and forth.
Kevin turned, forcing himself to walk down the hospital corridor and out the front door.
As he walked to the car, tears continued to drip from his face as he mourned the loss of
his beloved Beth Ann, and their perfect family.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
About the Author:
Anne Kelsey teaches creative writing to students, adults and the
elderly in New England . Her short stories and screen plays have
placed in regional, national and international competitions. She has
completed two intrigue novels and is hard at work on her third. To
inquire about classes or give feedback, Anne can be contacted at:
AnneKelsey@DaretoWrite.com.
Anne Kelsey teaches creative writing to students, adults and the
elderly in New England . Her short stories and screen plays have
placed in regional, national and international competitions. She has
completed two intrigue novels and is hard at work on her third. To
inquire about classes or give feedback, Anne can be contacted at:
AnneKelsey@DaretoWrite.com.