So I'm sitting here in my living room. I shut off my music a brief moment to watch something on Facebook... because I let myself be distracted. Then I hear the breeze moving the trees outside the window and see the white curtains on either side of me move in the way I tried to imagine in this scene. A short scene, but very significant... and one of my favorites that I've kept from the original manuscript 17 years ago.
July 1924
Aggie watched the thin curtains move in rhythm with the soft
breeze, glowing in the blue light of a nearly full moon. The gentle wind came across the dining room
and touched her cheeks like a kiss. She
closed her eyes briefly, smelling the sweetness of the evening. As she opened her eyelids again, she saw the
sudden twinkle of the lightening bugs through the flowing curtains. She was captivated by their movement,
especially one that didn’t flicker, but moved back and forth in slow
motion. Entranced by its unusual
behavior, Aggie moved to the open door.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the terrace and realized
it wasn’t one of the bugs. It was the
lit end of a cigarette. Helen’s blue
silhouette stared towards the empty patch of lawn beneath the steps with
glistening eyes. She brought her
cigarette back to her mouth and exhaled.
She wiped her cheek and swallowed hard.
Aggie walked out onto the terrace. Helen turned around slowly, as if sensing
her the moment she left the doorway. She
sucked in the cigarette once more and flung it into the darkness. “Can’t you
sleep, Agnes?”
“I’m hot,” Aggie rubbed her eyes.
“It is cooler here on the terrace,” Helen paused. Aggie hoped she wouldn’t send for Mavis and
tell her she had snuck out of her room.
“Come, sit with me.”
The little girl climbed into her lap, resting her head under
Helen’s chin. Helen slowly wrapped her
arms about Agnes as she started rocking again. The breezes came off the lake
and ruffled Agnes’ nightgown. Helen’s
arms were warm but not uncomfortable. Her
silk blouse was soft and smelled like flowers and tobacco. Helen gently tightened her embrace and kissed
Agnes’ forehead. The breeze blew again,
leaving a chill on her skin, where Helen’s cheek smeared a streak of
moisture. She put her arms about Helen’s
neck, breathed in, and fell happily asleep.
