Darkness Before Dawn by Ace Collins Read Free Book Online

happened to Steve. Dad was
     within a decade of a normal life span. He had kids, went on fun vacations, and got
     to spend all of his active years with you. He actually lived life! Steve only got
     to start living. So don’t even try to tell me you know what I’m going through, because
     you don’t.”
    Barbara evidently had no response to calm her angry, hurt daughter and an awkward
     silence, made even more awkward by the fact the conversation was taking place on a
     phone and not in person, filled the next few moments. Finally, obviously struggling
     to find words, Barbara continued.
    “Honey, I know it didn’t happen the same way, but . . .”
    In a challenging tone now filled with hostility, Meg fired back. “Mom, when Dad died,
     Terri and I were already out of school. He left you secure. You didn’t have to go
     back to work.That made it easy for you, at least compared to what I’m going through. Show me one
     place you had it tougher than me! I dare you, show me one place!”
    Her voice now growing louder and more demanding, Meg challenged her mother again,
     “Show me, Mom!”
    Attempting to apply a mother’s empathy, Barbara answered with a calm steady voice.
     “Meg, dear, your father’s death was not easy for me, no matter how long I’d had to
     prepare. We had been together for thirty-six years.”
    “Mom, be grateful for them, that’s an eternity compared to what Steve and I had.”
    “I know, Meg, but still I had a very difficult time adjusting. Your father and I were
     a team. We were together all the time.”
    “Dad didn’t leave you pregnant.”
    The silence that followed had the effect of an immense black hole—all energy immediately
     drained from both ends of the call and neither woman spoke for almost a minute. Finally,
     Barbara whispered, “What?”
    “You heard me.”
    “When did you, I mean, how long have you known?”
    “I found out right after he died, Mom. How’s that for a kick in the pants?”
    Meg now sensed her mother had fallen into a complete state of shock. The pregnancy
     had come from out of left field. Meg knew the older woman hadn’t even suspected. Before
     her mother could sort through her confused thoughts and emotions, Meg bluntly ended
     their conversation.
    “Listen, Mom, if you don’t get on the move, you’re going to be late for church. Your
     friends will all be there and they’ll want to talk about how horrible this all is.
     I wouldn’t want you to miss that. I want to be alone today anyway. Please respect
     that. Don’t come over and don’t call me. Now, good-bye.”
    Meg didn’t even wait for her mother’s response. Satisfied she had extracted a full
     measure of pain, she hit the end call button and tossed the phone onto the couch.
     Wandering back to the kitchen window, she once again picked up her Coke and looked
     outside. Mr. Fudge’s car was now gone and the only signs of life on the street were
     the playing birds and the stalking cat. For reasons she didn’t comprehend, she found
     herself drawn to the scene under the elm tree just a few yards from her door. It was
     escapism at its best, like an Animal Planet documentary created only for her eyes.
     Best of all, the unfolding drama took her mind off the pain that had so unexpectedly
     entered her life.
    For ten minutes, the cat watched unmoving and unseen, hidden by the tree’s large trunk.
     Little by little, the birds came closer and closer to where he lay. Meg stood perfectly
     still, amazed by the cat’s patience and equally impressed with the hungry stare in
     his large, green eyes. He had become a living statue, a beautiful work of art. But
     he didn’t stay stone cold for long. With absolutely no warming, in a very carefully
     planned moment of his choosing, he sprang to life. Landing in the middle of the dozen
     or more sparrows, his paws reached out, and in a split-second of brutal savagery,
     broke the neck of the lone, unsuspecting cardinal.
    As the red bird dropped