writing on the train
[Edit: 17.58 "Cut" was pretty unnecessary, so now it's uncut (and, as usual, unfinished). End edit.]
"What was that all about?" Terri asked listlessly. Her eyes were directed at the casket, but they were unfocused, barely blinking. Josie briefly wondered how her mother had taken any notice of the exchange in the other chamber, as distracted as she seemed to be. It was the most interest she had shown in days.
After a moment's hesitation, the girl simply shrugged. "Nothing," she replied, taking hold of her mother's hand placatingly. She still felt confused and uneasy by the cold dialogue between Malcolm and Ned--and more than a little steamed that Ned had shooed her out of the room... No, this was neither the time nor the place to mention it to her parents. Not with Terri like this.
"Fine," Terri nodded, though her tone suggested otherwise.
Josie glanced down at the carpet uncomfortably, but continued to watch her mother's profile from the corner of her eye. Of course, no one looked over-joyed to be there, but Terri had not given in to grief in a curative or cathartic manner. Terri's sisters were sobbing noisily on the other side of the room. Their husbands had excused themselves at some point--Dad's probably with them, Josie thought, her eyes scanning the other faces--but they appeared to be tending one another capably. Terri, on the other hand ... In a way, with her father's passing, she had become a ghost herself. She would not eat, hardly slept or spoke. Josie had the impression that her mother had become incapable of absorbing any information. Her father insisted that this was a natural stage of grief, but seeing her mother this way left an icy sensation in Josie's stomach.
----------
Meep! Salem!
Posted via LiveJournal.app.
"What was that all about?" Terri asked listlessly. Her eyes were directed at the casket, but they were unfocused, barely blinking. Josie briefly wondered how her mother had taken any notice of the exchange in the other chamber, as distracted as she seemed to be. It was the most interest she had shown in days.
After a moment's hesitation, the girl simply shrugged. "Nothing," she replied, taking hold of her mother's hand placatingly. She still felt confused and uneasy by the cold dialogue between Malcolm and Ned--and more than a little steamed that Ned had shooed her out of the room... No, this was neither the time nor the place to mention it to her parents. Not with Terri like this.
"Fine," Terri nodded, though her tone suggested otherwise.
Josie glanced down at the carpet uncomfortably, but continued to watch her mother's profile from the corner of her eye. Of course, no one looked over-joyed to be there, but Terri had not given in to grief in a curative or cathartic manner. Terri's sisters were sobbing noisily on the other side of the room. Their husbands had excused themselves at some point--Dad's probably with them, Josie thought, her eyes scanning the other faces--but they appeared to be tending one another capably. Terri, on the other hand ... In a way, with her father's passing, she had become a ghost herself. She would not eat, hardly slept or spoke. Josie had the impression that her mother had become incapable of absorbing any information. Her father insisted that this was a natural stage of grief, but seeing her mother this way left an icy sensation in Josie's stomach.
----------
Meep! Salem!
Posted via LiveJournal.app.