Abediah Thornton

Chapter 10 - Saturday

Abediah had picked Frank's ashes up from the funeral parlour on Thursday. She had carefully belted the urn into the front seat and driven home wondering if Frank knew he was again sitting next to his wife. She had thought a few times about those people who say they can feel the presence of their lost loved ones. Since Frank's death the farm house had felt nothing more than empty. Even now, the urn sitting on the kitchen table, she didn't feel as though Frank was there. She looked accusingly at the urn, should she put it in the den? That's where Frank had always liked to be.

'What am I supposed to do with you now?' she said aloud. Deciding that was a decision she wasn't ready to make, she avoided it by pulling on her boots and heading out into the barn.

She was getting Edwin's bridle off the wall when she heard a car drive up. It seemed like her riding plans would have to wait. She put the bridle back on it's hook and walked out towards the barn door. As she came out into the bright afternoon sunlight she was surprised to hear a child screaming. Someone was not happy.

The car in the yard was a fairly new looking foreign car. She could see someone bent over into the back seat and there was quite a lot of noise. With curiosity she slowly made her way towards the car.

She saw a young woman manhandle a screaming child from the car seat in the back. The child was wearing sparkly pink from head to toe, complete with what looked like a fairy tutu and a crown to which two obviously fake plaits of golden hair were attached. The woman hitched the child up onto her hip before turning round, closing the car door as she did.

When the woman turned around, Abediah thought her face looked surprisingly familiar, where might she have seen her before? Her brain shuffled through the few locations she might have met someone: grocery store, feed store, Dr's, Gas station. None of them seemed to fit this face.

As soon as the woman caught sight of Abediah though, her face changed. The mother's exasperation was replaced with fury as she powered towards Abediah. The woman wore jeans, perhaps a little tighter than they should be and a smart looking blouse, although this was now creased terribly as small sticky hands held on tight. The woman had light brown hair, although there was the suggestion of some careful highlights, had Abediah known what to look for. 'Well put together', was perhaps the phrase she would have used, had she been asked to describe the woman now only feet away from her.

'What have you done with him!' demanded the woman, her voice harsh like her face. Her statement driven home with surprising violence and obvious emotion.

Abediah was rather taken aback, but she was growing used to a wide range of surprising and unexpected visitors these days. She assumed the woman had taken a wrong turn and was now in the wrong place, so she remained calm, intending to provide whatever help she could.

'I'm sorry,' she said, 'may I ask who you are and how I can help you?'This seemed to infuriate the woman even more.

'You don't even know who I am?' she asked, incredulous, the volume of her voice escalating.

'No, I'm sorry. I'm not so great with faces these days.' Always a useful phrase to throw at unknown strangers. 'You look familiar but I don't think I remember us meeting. Do I know you from somewhere?'

At this point the woman became even more animated. With a big huff she spun around, her hand flying to her forehead, the child's legs spinning out as she went. Abediah felt that the woman seemed to be in quite a difficult emotional state, so despite her confusion, she still tried to be polite.