Legacy of the Dreams

Chapter 19 - An Unhappy Occurrence

"What's wrong with Susan's mother?" Alan asked as the hour grew late on Saturday evening.

The family had long since closed out the Sabbath, and although Mrs. Abernathy ate supper with them, she retired to her room soon after. That was after spending most of the afternoon on her own.

"If I had to guess, I'd say she is suffering from depression," Mr. Simms remarked.

"That and grief," Greg said.

"Ah, I know it well," Mr. Simms said. "I have buried three wives in my time ... including Ada."

"I have lost one ... but I know what you mean," Greg said.

"I suppose we should just give her time?" Susan asked.

"More than likely," Greg said. "Remember how long it took me to accept Madeline's death."

"I remember," Susan told him. "I wonder if I should go check on her."

"Didn't the two of you talk this afternoon?" Greg asked.

"For hours," Susan said.

"Then I would leave her be for the time being," Greg said. "I expect being in this house is bringing back difficult memories for her."

"I'm sure that's true. They were here together, just before Dad died," Susan said.

And so, although Susan was worried, she left her mother on her own.

That evening when Susan went to her room to prepare for bed, she saw the light still on in her mother's room when she went out to the balcony to pray. She was still thinking of her when she climbed under the covers, wondering what she would find the next day. Her inner mind was conjuring up images of her mother pacing in her room, or alternately crying on the bed; and as Susan fell asleep, she tried to remember all the times when she'd been married to Greg and been the one left behind. The first time they died together. The second time he died at her father's hands. She'd been pregnant and alone, and the main thing she remembered was being scared. The third time she died without ever meeting him; and the fourth was the time she died in the fire, leaving Harald, as he was then, behind. She died of illness in her fifth life, leaving Isaac without her, only to be reunited with him again as Penelope, a young woman who secretly married the old man. That was the life she remembered most when she thought about losing her soulmate. It was a lonely sort of life, but as she thought about it, Susan realized what she experienced was different from what her mother was going through. After fifty four years of marriage, her mother was alone, and Susan couldn't help feeling her mother was right. Somewhere, her father was waiting for her in the great beyond.

c

"Good morning, Susan," Mrs. Abernathy said when she walked into the kitchen early the next morning. Although she looked reasonably alert, she was also walking with a decided limp, evidence her arthritis was acting up.

"Good morning, Mom. Are you feeling any better?" Susan asked.

"Oh yes. I took a sleeping pill eventually, so I was able to rest. That always helps," Mrs. Abernathy said, "although I am stiff this morning."

"I'm glad you feel better. Maybe moving around will help the stiffness in your hip," Susan told her genuinely.

"It may," Mrs. Abernathy said.

"Do you feel up to going to church with us today?"

"I think so ... only I have a favor to ask of you," Mrs. Abernathy said.

"Anything, Mom. Just name it," Susan said.

"How would you feel about attending our old church this morning?" Mrs. Abernathy asked.