Chapter 12: Laura

I’d cried myself to sleep every night since I got to Aunt Molly’s place. She is my mother’s sister. Mom and Aunt Molly couldn’t be more different. Molly was a very affectionate, nurturing, and supportive person. She made me feel welcomed from the moment I got to Middletown. She hugged me really, really tight. At that moment, I knew I had made the right choice coming here. This was the kind of nurturing affection that my heart needed and deserved.

A few days after my arrival, the loss of my baby finally started to feel concrete, like it did happen. Time slowed down. In fact, I think it ceased to exist for me. I sat alone, waiting for something to wake me up, to change this hollow feeling. It was all too heavy, too much to handle.

I asked my aunt not to tell anyone, especially my mother and father that I was staying with her.

“Don’t worry. I get a card from her on my birthday and at Christmas and that’s it.”

I just shook my head.

Of course, my parents could hire a P.I. if they wanted to find me. However, I suspected they were relieved not having me around.

Some weeks later, I started helping my aunt with the inn work. I did small chores like cleaning and placing clean sheets on the bed in a vacated room. I went to bed exhausted each evening. I closed my eyes tight and forced myself to think of anything but what had happened. The mornings usually came much too soon.

Finally, I asked Aunt Molly to work as a receptionist. I was responsible for greeting guests as they arrived at the inn and checking them in and out. It was better than lying in bed all day feeling miserable and crying every night wondering if I would ever feel normal again. The pills the psychiatrist gave me helped me to cope with my situation. Even so, I was still feeling down and cried a lot, usually at night.