Shocking news
The door swung open and he pranced inside. He could no longer contain his smile. His baby boy had come home only two nights earlier and every hour that he spent away from him was like torture. His girlfriend was not happy when she found out she was pregnant but the idea had seemed to grow on her over the passing months and when she held their son for the first time she had cried tears of joy. Yesterday was their first day home as a new family and she had seemed a little quiet, but Jake understood she must be exhausted after her ordeal. He hated the idea of leaving the two of them, but he knew he could not afford any time away from work.
The apartment looked dark at first, but as he walked down the tiny hallway he saw a sliver of light coming from under the lounge door. His brown coat was soon swinging from the hook behind the door and keys left on the table, ignoring the white envelope that lay propped up against the vase. The door swung open to the lounge, which was empty. Jake looked around the room before heading back down the hallway into the tiny kitchen. It was in darkness and a flick of the switch showed it was empty too. His heart began to beat a little faster as fear started to take hold. “Mel?”. No answer. Frantically he pushed open the bedroom door to see the cupboards ajar and clothes strewn across the bed. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he stood and stared at the scene in front of him. Slowly everything began to sink in. She had done it. She had gone and taken away his beautiful baby. He walked back out into the dark hallway and switched on the light where he caught sight of the white envelope. His fingers shook as he tore the paper open, the gum still wet and sticky. A single sheet of white paper was all that was inside and on it scrawled,
Jake,
I thank you for our gift, however I can`t live like this anymore.
Please don`t try to find us. I will provide a good home for our son.
Mel.
He could feel the hot tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The paper began to shake as the realization went through his body at full force. He scrunched the sheet into a tight ball and threw it against the wall. “ARRRRR!”. The sound echoed through the hallway and came from the pit of his stomach. Why had she done this? He spent his every day going and sitting in that stuffy factory playing with little pieces of plastic just so she could have ice cream and pickles at 2am. He had taken her to every doctors meeting and every scan she had ever been for. He had been there the day that they had first heard the baby’s heart beating and seen the little ghostly figure moving on the screen. He had to find her and he knew exactly where she would have gone. That bastard in his little apartment in the city. He thought that after the baby was born things would get better. It had only taken two days for her to go. What right did she have to take his son to that man’s house? He had to stop her.
The keys dug into his hand as he grabbed them off the table and he did not even notice the sound of the door slamming behind him as he ran back out into the rain.
Maddy tried to hurry across the road to get out of the rain. Her legs would not go as fast as they used to and the pain in her foot was becoming an every day occurrence now. She reached the shelter without getting too wet and settled in to wait for her bus. She watched as Mary came out the door and raced for the car where her husband was waiting. Their kiss looked so gentle and loving. She remembered the days of when that used to be her. She missed her husband terribly and there were days when she would talk to herself to keep from going insane. The children hardly ever visited or called these days. They had become too engrossed in their busy city lives to worry about her now. Her husband had made sure that she was properly taken care of before he died. Now she worked at the factory just for the human contact. What a choice she had made of places! In all the months that she had been there she could not think of a time when anyone spoke to anyone else other than their daily greetings.
The apartment looked dark at first, but as he walked down the tiny hallway he saw a sliver of light coming from under the lounge door. His brown coat was soon swinging from the hook behind the door and keys left on the table, ignoring the white envelope that lay propped up against the vase. The door swung open to the lounge, which was empty. Jake looked around the room before heading back down the hallway into the tiny kitchen. It was in darkness and a flick of the switch showed it was empty too. His heart began to beat a little faster as fear started to take hold. “Mel?”. No answer. Frantically he pushed open the bedroom door to see the cupboards ajar and clothes strewn across the bed. His heart beat rapidly in his chest as he stood and stared at the scene in front of him. Slowly everything began to sink in. She had done it. She had gone and taken away his beautiful baby. He walked back out into the dark hallway and switched on the light where he caught sight of the white envelope. His fingers shook as he tore the paper open, the gum still wet and sticky. A single sheet of white paper was all that was inside and on it scrawled,
Jake,
I thank you for our gift, however I can`t live like this anymore.
Please don`t try to find us. I will provide a good home for our son.
Mel.
He could feel the hot tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The paper began to shake as the realization went through his body at full force. He scrunched the sheet into a tight ball and threw it against the wall. “ARRRRR!”. The sound echoed through the hallway and came from the pit of his stomach. Why had she done this? He spent his every day going and sitting in that stuffy factory playing with little pieces of plastic just so she could have ice cream and pickles at 2am. He had taken her to every doctors meeting and every scan she had ever been for. He had been there the day that they had first heard the baby’s heart beating and seen the little ghostly figure moving on the screen. He had to find her and he knew exactly where she would have gone. That bastard in his little apartment in the city. He thought that after the baby was born things would get better. It had only taken two days for her to go. What right did she have to take his son to that man’s house? He had to stop her.
The keys dug into his hand as he grabbed them off the table and he did not even notice the sound of the door slamming behind him as he ran back out into the rain.
Maddy tried to hurry across the road to get out of the rain. Her legs would not go as fast as they used to and the pain in her foot was becoming an every day occurrence now. She reached the shelter without getting too wet and settled in to wait for her bus. She watched as Mary came out the door and raced for the car where her husband was waiting. Their kiss looked so gentle and loving. She remembered the days of when that used to be her. She missed her husband terribly and there were days when she would talk to herself to keep from going insane. The children hardly ever visited or called these days. They had become too engrossed in their busy city lives to worry about her now. Her husband had made sure that she was properly taken care of before he died. Now she worked at the factory just for the human contact. What a choice she had made of places! In all the months that she had been there she could not think of a time when anyone spoke to anyone else other than their daily greetings.
