Possessed

I sat in the garden, my children playing at my feet. I felt tired… the turbulent relationship with the man who was my husband to the world but who treated me like his chattel, left me drained. . My body was thickening slightly as the child grew in me but I had not had the courage to tell Gaston and he hadn’t noticed ; how could he, I thought bitterly, his violent possession was single minded. There was no tenderness, only a desire on his part to roughly establish his claim on my body.

Beatrice came outside, bearing a tray. I smiled wanly. She was a life saver. The twins adored her. Gaston was still a stranger to them, he looked askance at them when he came face to face with them, as though unsure what they were doing in his house, I thought crossly.

She handed me a tall glass of lemonade and as I drank thirstily, she asked, ’How many months along, then?”

I choked and stared at her. Raising an eyebrow in an old fashioned way, she said,” Any fool but that man there’. she nodded her head to the house, ‘ can see you’re carrying a baby.’

Coloring furiously, I mumbled a reply and as she turned to leave, I caught her hand and said softly,’ Please, he doesn’t know”