We All Fall Down

Chapter 6

Becky

That woman had a few screws loose. More than a few, but Ted encouraged me to welcome her since she didn't seem to have many friends. Or friends at all. I had heard rumblings about her around town. Patrice's family wasn't known for being upstanding members of the community. My mother heard from her friend that Patrice's mother was a whack-job and offed herself right in front of the child. She also heard that Patrice's father was philandering about, not even trying to hide it. Apparently, the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

"I have no idea how she roped her husband into marrying her, but the word is she got knocked up and he did the honorable thing"," Marie sipped her tea, then placed it gently on the doily I slid in front of her, waiting for her to compliment it. I'd spent hours working on that particular one.

"She's never worked a day in her life, I bet. At the first opportunity to marry up, she took it," Teresa added. Marie and Teresa were older than me. Their children were starting high school in the fall, so their time was mainly spent eavesdropping and gossiping. I poured myself a cup and carefully placed it on my own doily that was not quite as well done as theirs. That year, I'd taken up many hobbies. I'd actually befriended Marie in a knitting group. Teresa taught me how to keep my flowerbeds lush year-round, and in the recent weeks before Patrice consumed all conversations, I'd taught myself how to make doilies. It's what women did when they didn't have children and needed to prove they were not at all bothered by the empty nursery. I wouldn't need these meaningless distractions anymore, though. But, I wanted Ted to be the first to know. As I stared blankly at the center of the table where the plate of cucumber sandwiches sat untouched. I was startled by the silence that fell. I blinked and looked up at their expectant faces, waiting for me to add in my remarks on the strange couple who moved in across the street.

"The woman can't even prepare toast. All she does is aimlessly walk around like she has nothing else to do. Sometimes, though there will be hours she just disappears. I never see anyone visit their house. Not a mother, friend, neighbor. Just me and Ted. The husband seems nice enough," I sipped, placed my cup down and made a show of pouring them each another cup, repositioning them until finally Marie gasped.

"Becky, these doilies are fantastic! Did you make them yourself?" She ran her fingers over the scalloped edges as Teresa oohed and ahhed along with her.

I sat up proudly, "I did."

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After the ladies left, I stared out of my bay window, my own hand pressed to my not-yet bump. The oak tree in the center of our yard partially blocked my view, but it also allowed me the opportunity to spy on the neighbors without being considered nosey. Marie's words played over and over in my head about the very young, very pretty Patrice being pregnant and trapping that poor man. If she was, she'd not been far enough along to show it, but since Marie put the thought in my mind, I did notice the way she placed a hand protectively over her belly as she paced the sidewalk. I wondered if she had her nursery set up yet. It didn't seem like she did anything other than that creepy pacing up and down, in and out.

"You should go talk to her," Ted encouraged for probably the fourth time in two weeks. He'd just come in from work, his jacket wafted the scent of cigar smoke as he hung it on the rack beside me. Ted was always more social than I was. "You're both young, and I bet she would love learning about any of your hobbies!"

"My hobbies are temporary," I ran my fingers down the sheer curtain. "I won't have much time for them when we have a baby."

"Right," he said, turning me around and pressing a firm kiss to my lips. "I just mean that it would be good for you to make friends with someone more your age. Marie and Teresa are nice, but you don't have much in common with them," he pulled off his shoes, set them in the closet by the door and walked into the nook he'd built into a bar. I watched as he poured himself a scotch. He stopped asking about my barren womb months ago, which will make today's news all the more exciting.

"I don't think I'll have much in common with her either," I crossed my arms in front of me. "She doesn't seem to be the kind of woman I should be close with."

"Oh, Becks," Ted tilted his head and smiled. He hadn't used that nickname in so long. That empty room weighed as heavily on his heart as it did on mine. "You never know how much you need a friend, until you have one. Sure, she may be a little odd, but maybe she really needs a friend."

I sighed. Ted was right, as he often was with his pearls of wisdom and surplus of kindness. "You're right. I'll walk over next time she's out. Maybe we can shop for baby clothes together..." I let the words hang in the air, watching his expression shift from casual acknowledgment to the understanding of what I've just admitted. We made love three times that night.