The Forgotten One

Chapter Ten

              The next several days passed in a blur of classes and work. Trystan was polite to me in class but hadn’t commented in my journal or kept me after to talk in days. He also hadn’t come into the diner or met me after work. I checked my phone every day and there were no text messages or calls from him either. Things felt awkward between Amanda and I, as if she were avoiding me too. Occasionally I would run into her in the halls and there were the classes we were in together, but she didn’t seem herself. I tried to reach out to her about it, but she always just laughed it off and claimed she had been really busy with school stuff.

              Saturday came and I loaded up in the van with Mrs. Reynolds and we headed to the mall to find a dress. I brought all the money I had stashed in my drawer and it made me nervous. I kept my purse clutched close to my body the whole day. We visited several stores before I finally found the dress that I wanted. It was a silvery blue color, made of a soft silk fabric, covered in a delicate lace. When I pulled it over my head I knew instantly that it was the one. It fit me like a glove, hugging my body all the way down to my knees. The back was open and the spaghetti straps were barely there, but it didn’t show too much in the front and it wasn’t scandalously short. When I moved, the lace around the skirt billowed around me and I felt like a princess. The store had a pair of strapped sandals with a small heel in the same color.

              Mrs. Reynolds and I went to lunch in the food court, eating hamburgers and fries that I insisted on paying for and then we went to a few home stores where she purchased some towels and sheets. Neither of us said much the entire day, but it was a companiable silence. On the way home we both were lost in our own thoughts. Right before pulling into the driveway, she looked sideways at me and smiled.

              “I’m glad you’re here with us Madison.”

              “Thank you. I’m glad that I’m here with you too.” I could feel my cheeks warming at the compliment.

              “I know you’ve had a hard lot in life, and I want you to know that you can talk to me. I’m not a mother, and I’m sure that there’s nothing in life that will ever replace that for you, but I’d like to be your friend.”

              “Thank you.” I was touched by this quiet woman next to me reaching out to me. “I’ll keep that in mind. Right now I’m just focusing on work and school, so I don’t have much to talk about. But I will let you know if anything comes up.”

              When I was putting my purchases away in my closet, my phone starting ringing across the room on my desk. I ran to it, heart pounding, hoping that it was Trystan. When I picked up the phone and looked at the caller I.D. I could see that it was Amanda’s number.

              “Hello? Madison? It’s Amanda.” She sounded nervous, clearing her throat and swallowing hard.

              “What’s going on?”

              “Well, I told Jimmy. About the baby. I had to tell him. I don’t think I can have an abortion. I just wanted you to know. So tonight, when we all go out, he knows and the subject might come up. I told him that nobody else knew, so if you could just pretend that you didn’t know I’d really appreciate it.”