Wednesday, April 1, 2009

It's Not Midsummer Yet, So Why?

I wasn’t supposed to be in that town at that time, but I went looking for a certain girl. I stopped at her old landlord’s shop, and inquired about her. Being a pious person, he informed me that he had kicked her out since she had a child out of wedlock, but he knew where she was staying. And I was familiar with the address.
As I walked into the house where she was now living, since the door was wide open, I noticed a baby on the floor, which I assumed must be hers, though I was surprised to find a baby that didn’t look new born, but months old. I couldn’t quite tell since my experience with babies is limited, but it wasn’t pink but fat and sitting, which told me something. She came rushing into the room to greet me scooping up the fat baby as she did so. It had been awhile since I had seen her last, just under a year, and I wondered how she had had a baby without my knowing, and why she hadn’t told me, but I didn’t ask her just yet.
We talked of old times and such, where she kissed me on the shoulder, something she had never done before, and looked up at me with imploring eyes, though I couldn’t tell if she was imploring me for help or to come back. I asked what she was doing now, and she said she got fired from her job because of the baby, and was now cleaning houses; one of the lowest jobs you could get. I was surprised because when I had last seen her she had been working for the government and finishing on her degree at night. It struck me as very sad that someone who had such a promising future was now doing a job only uneducated people did.
As I was leaving, I asked about the child, and she said it was a year old. When was she free from working, so I could stop and visit? Every day but Wednesdays. That wasn’t enough work, I thought. She must be starving with her little one.
Now in the street, I started calculating. It had been over a year and a half since we had been dating, which meant that the child had been conceived while we were still dating, but it wasn’t mine. I knew that for certain. I had heard rumors during that time, but I never believed them, and now? I had confirmation. I stopped feeling sorry for her as I walked away.
Then I woke-up. I felt like calling her and asking her, but I felt even sillier for wanting to confirm that something wasn’t true, that I already knew wasn’t true, but still… Then I started going over it in my head. Why would I ever be there in June? Why would nobody have told me, especially her? That town was impossible to keep secrets in, even if you wanted to. And where was her mother, whom she had lived with?
While in the shower I was shaking my head at such dreams, and my dog scratched at the shower door, so I opened it and splashed her. Then got dressed, and went to work thinking I would need more coffee today than usual.

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