Golden Bird

Edith heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs and just caught a glimpse of Rashid as he went out the front door. She ran to the parlor window and watched the black limo drive away. She had heard the shouting from Sara’s room and had forced herself to stay put. If he’d hurt her daughter, she would make him pay.

She ran up the stairs and found Sara in the bathroom, staring out the window.

“He’s gone, Momma,” she said wistfully.

Edith nodded. “I see that, baby.” Sara’s eyes were vacant and Edith feared for her state of mind. She wrapped her arm around her daughter and led her into the hall. “Come downstairs, honey,... we’ll have some tea.”

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sara stopped and looked around as if seeing the house for the first time. “You know, Mom, I wished so hard for him to come and take me away from this ... and when he finally did, I realized that I couldn’t leave it ... didn’t want to leave.”

“Are you saying you don’t love him after all?”

Sara shook her head. “No, Mom, I do love him,” she turned to look her mother in the eye, “but I realized I don’t like him very much.”

Edith let out a sigh of relief, but then was concerned. “What about the baby? Will he want custody?”

Sara shook her head. “No, Momma, there wasn’t any need for that.”

Edith raised her eyebrows quizzically as Sara smiled.

“I only found out this afternoon and I didn’t tell you because I had to think about it before I could talk to anybody.”

“What ...,” fear for the child gripped Edith’s heart, “what is it? Is the baby all right?”

“Oh, yes, the baby is wonderful. Everything is wonderful, at least I hope it will be.”

“What do you mean?” Edith asked in confusion.

Sara beamed. “I realized tonight that I’m in love with David. I have been all along, I just wouldn’t admit it. My whole life I worked hard to get out of this little town, to have a LIFE, in capitol letters. Going to college, living in Boston, marrying Bob, my job, everything, ... I had everything I ever dreamed of having. But you know, after Bob left, I realized that I wasn’t really happy.