Tuesday, December 29, 2015

When

First published in Boston Literary Magazine, Winter 2015.

When Angela learned she couldn’t have children—something she’d looked forward to since getting a doll house for her third birthday—she turned to drugs and alcohol.
   
When she awoke in the hospital after the overdose, her sister, Eileen, sat in a chair reading a Bible.
   
When Angela exited the rehab center for the second time, Eileen waited in the car to take her to the halfway house.
   
When, three months later, Eileen opened the door to her home with a smile, Angela hugged her sister and wept.
   
When her nephew, Joseph Anthony Ridgeway, was born, Angela was in the delivery room.
   
When she held Joseph for the first time, she felt joy.
   
When the bridge collapsed and the swollen river swallowed the car containing Joseph’s parents, Angela’s mind went numb.
   
When Joseph first called her Mommy, Angela felt complete again.

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