Friday, February 14, 2014

Aftermath

My better half told me "Worse Timing" wasn't finished and he wanted to know more, so I promised to write a follow up.


Coldham Fintan Noose II didn't recognize his wife Beverly anymore. Her dark brown hair and blue eyes were lifeless. She was withdrawn and barely talked. Had Coldham known how hard Beverly was taking the abortion, he wouldn't have suggested it so non chalant. He was sure they would have coped somehow with a third child, even if it would have been only twenty two months younger than their oldest son. Coldham felt guilty. He still didn't care about the child. Two kids were more than enough. Coldham wanted to see his wife happy. Having left her without a real choice, he had caused the problems facing them. Coldham didn't know how to solve the issue.

Beverly felt like she had dropped into a big black hole and didn't know how to escape it. She didn't want to talk about it with Coldham, because she thought he wouldn't understand her. Everyday life was very hard. Getting up was tough - near to impossible. Even taking care of Mike, her youngest son, which she had previously loved to do, seemed too much. Beverly neglected the household chores and Fin, her eldest son. Coldham tried to at least give Fin some attention. Fin saw his father as an unsuitable replacement for his mother and tried to cling to her. He was rebuffed. It hurt and to get at least noticed by Beverly he was into a lot of mischief or cried a lot. His parents felt overwhelmed by Fin being so difficult. Mike, who was only eight months old, picked up the tensions and also cried very fast.

The situation became so unbearable that Coldham asked his mother in law Zelda, if she could come for a while and look after Fin and the household. She was a house wife, while her husband Solomon was a miner. They lived in Maryland. Zelda agreed. It had been hard for Coldham to ask for help. First he was very proud and didn't like to show any weakness, second he couldn't stand Zelda.

Zelda kept the household in top condition and spent a lot of time with nineteen months old Fin, reading fairy tales and other picture books to him, spoiling him with apple strudel and other sweet bakery goodies and teaching him a few German words.

She was worried about her daughter, but since nobody told her the reason of Beverly's depression, she assumed it was down to baby blues. Zelda had been weepy for a couple of weeks after Beverly's birth and could feel for her daughter. Unfortunately Zelda couldn't stay unlimited and had to return home. Beverly's depression hadn't improved. Very unhappy Coldham asked his own mother Lil to take over the household. He was at the end of his tethers and didn't know what to do anymore.
Lil engaged Beverly and tried to get her talking.


It was 09.09.1979 - the day the baby would have been due. Coldham had conveniently taken off for the weekend with friends, going on a fishing trip. He couldn't face the gloomy atmosphere and thought Beverly would be very upset. His wife had kept too much bottled up. She felt guilty, sad and hated her husband. She held him partly responsible for the abortion and thought he didn't care about her or what she was going through. Beverly had been staying in bed for most of the day and didn't want to be disturbed. Every noise, no matter if it was clattering in the kitchen, the flush of the toilet, Mike's screams or Fin's laughter, was unbearable and too loud. Beverly pulled Coldham's pillow over her ears, so she didn't have to hear.

Coldham didn't expect Beverly's outburst when he returned. It was late at night and he thought everyone was sleeping. Instead Coldham found Beverly in the kitchen, making tea. When Coldham's wife turned around to face him, he took an involuntary step back, when he saw her look. It was full of anger and hatred. Coldham was glad looks couldn't kill. "You bastard!" Beverly shouted at him, her face contorting with rage. She grabbed the next best thing within her reach. It was her mug. Thank goodness it was unfilled yet and Coldham managed to dodge it. The mug exploded into many splitters when it crashed against the wall. "Do you know what day today is? I bet you have no clue!" Coldham's eyes filled with tears - not because of the baby - because he hated to see his wife suffer. "Of course I know what day today is! You should be by now the size of a whale and on the way to give birth." Beverly was hurt by Coldham's comparison with a whale. She knew he didn't find her especially attractive, when she was pregnant. Indignant she pulled open one of the drawers and chose a spatula. Beverly was furious, shrieked like a banshee and attacked Coldham with the spatula, not caring where it landed or if it was painful. They struggled for a moment. It didn't take Coldham long to overwhelm Beverly and force her to drop the kitchen utensil. He pressed her hard against him. Coldham's mouths was just inches away from Beverly's mouth. He bent over and kissed her. At first Beverly fought hard against the kiss and the restrain, but soon gave up and replied in kind. Beverly and Coldham were tearing at their clothing and had rough sex on the floor. Afterwards they went up to their bedroom and fell asleep.
The next morning Beverly felt much better and saw for the first time for months light at the end of the tunnel. Beverly studied her husband. He was asleep and looked very young. He was only twenty six after all and one and a half months younger than herself. Beverly didn't know how long she watched over Coldham. He began to stir. Without pre-amble she said: "We have to talk." Coldham agreed. They spoke about their guilt and pain. The couple also agreed they didn't want more children, so they made sure they used always a form of contraception.
Having cleared the air built the stepping stone of Beverly's recovery and healing process for both. The crisis had made them stronger. They learned from it and were much more open with each other. A year after the abortion there were no signs of distrust or that Coldham's and Beverly's relationship had been on the rocks.


© 2014

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