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Pain into Beauty
I am a little girl, old enough to watch my younger brothers and sister, but too young to drive. I stand by the front window, the one in the dining room where I have a clear view of the driveway and the road in front of my house. I’m trying to quell a fear that my parents won’t come home. Not because they don’t want to, but for some reason outside of anyone’s control. Like a car wreck. I leave the window, with a knot in my stomach, only to return every few minutes to look down the road. Worry. It turns out they did come home, every time they…
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Retracing Steps
Scott and I are walking on a sidewalk uprooted by a tree that’s shaded the spot for decades. The street has houses on both sides, but the sounds of the city are all around. We’re in the town where he grew up. We turn a corner and he slows in front of the house of his elementary school buddies: 3 brothers. He remembers playing whatever sport was in season in the front yard. I can almost see the gangly boy in shorts and an OP t-shirt swinging the bat, making contact, and running to the grass-worn spot that was always first base. His face is serious. Even though it’s only…
