The Traitor's Stain (wattys 2019)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Setauket, Long Island

Ophelia wrote in the ledgers that afternoon, wishing that she'd kept up with them better than she had in the past week or so. She'd been... distracted. With everything that was happening. She'd hoped that getting back into the swing of things, pretending like everything was normal, might just help her feel like everything was normal. It worked, sometimes. There were moments where it felt like everything really was okay. That everything might just go back to the way things were. She and Beth were able to simply run the store. Which was good, with it being December. With Christmas just a few weeks away.

She heard the bell to the store ring, signaling that someone was coming into the store.

She looked up.

It was Anna. Judging by the basket in one hand and the piece of paper in the other, she was there to do some shopping.

Ophelia smiled. She prayed that she didn't seem too nervous to the enemy soldier that was standing there. "Anna! What a pleasant surprise."

Anna smiled. "It's good to see you, too."

"What can I get for you?"

Anna looked down at the piece of paper. "Right. I need... nails. More nails."

Ophelia nodded and grabbed some more nails. "I take it that Selah's handiwork isn't going so well?"

Anna sighed. "You know boys: they always have to do everything, themselves. I'll never understand it."

She did. Noah had always been like that. He hated the idea of someone else doing a job he was certain he could do just fine, himself. She didn't know how many projects had to be left to her father, or his father, only for him to watch them, upset that he hadn't been able to manage the work, himself.

"Speaking of husbands, have you heard anything from yours?" Anna asked.

Ophelia shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Do you know if Abraham's alright? I haven't heard much about him from his parents."

"I... think he's doing okay, actually," Anna said. "I think Mary told me that he's coming home, soon."

"Really?" Ophelia asked.

Anna nodded. "Mary said that they're planning on having a big dinner to welcome him back. Have they really not talked to you about it?"

She was about to say no, but come to think of it, a messenger from the house did drop something off with Beth earlier that morning. It must have been her invitation...

This is wrong, Ophelia suddenly thought. That conversation was too normal, too mundane. It was only then that she realized it was starting to drive her crazy. Abraham had been shot, and was lucky to be alive. Frankly, she was also lucky to be alive after what happened in New York. Nobody had heard any word on Otetiani, so as far as they knew, he was still alive. Noah was still a prisoner of war, and as far as she knew, he wasn't even on the Jersey, anymore. She hadn't heard from Ben or Caleb in a week, meaning that Caleb would be there soon to discuss her future in the network. Mundane moments like that made her want to scream from the top of her lungs.

Anna bought her nails, said their goodbyes, and left Ophelia to herself.

She sighed and got back to her sweeping. Could she really go on like this? Could she really live out the rest of her life as if nothing had happened? Slap a smile on her face, pretend that the past month or so never happened?

She wasn't sure if she could do that.

The bell to the store rang, again. When she looked up, she saw that Beth was back from the shopping.