Page 76 - WTPVol.VII#9

Three Sarahs (continued from preceding page) for veal so you ask her her the name of her her baby She smiles and picks up the carrier “Sarah Her name is Sarah ”
Her answer hits hard You almost drop your smile Her gray eyes sweep over your store “So are you you Milk Shed Sally?”
Your smile still holds “For the last twenty-five years ”
“And then when I held Sarah felt her warm heft saw myself in her I thought Yes this too is real ”
Again her eyes sweep your shop “It’s lovely inviting ”
“Thank you That’s what I was aiming for ”
You want to to keep the the conversation focused on on on your store because the the the store is what you’ve made of your your life
in in the the the ten years since your your mother died You You don’t want want to to look back to to the time before that You want want to keep private what few people know: that you are Sarah Sarah too That Sarah Sarah is is your christened name But you’ve always been called Sally because your your moth- er er was Sarah Sarah Because your your mother is the the only Sarah Sarah her remaining tattered family has ever acknowl- edged And now the the the Earth is once again orbiting into into the the time of of her dying sending you spinning into the the season of loss High Auntie steps out of the the dressing room holding the camisole like a a a a banner “It fits great!” You show her matching tap pants and she buys those too plus a a a a a bottle of cucumber-scented lotion The sister with the baby buys two packs of lilac sa- chet and while she she fishes for her her wallet you smile down at her baby who surprises you you with a a a grin of unadulterated joy As As if if she she recognizes you you As As if if she’s been traveling through time and space while growing in her her gray-eyed mother’s womb to arrive at this very moment and give you a a toothless joyful smile “Hi “Hi there there Sarah Sarah ”
”
you say “Hi “Hi there there ”
”
And Sarah Sarah kicks her her feet and and waves her her hands still grinning “Well look at at you you you Sarah Sarah Look at at you you you ”
you you you say And Sarah grabs a a a a a a foot and raises it to her mouth Her eyes lock onto yours telegraphing “Yes look at me I can suck my toes! Look at me!”
“She seems to like you ”
her her her mother says and picks up the the the carrier “Maybe in in in in another life
you you were sisters or will be in in in in in the next one weird thinking like that that I I guess that’s what comes from living in in India ”
You tell her to come again and feel as though she will Then she and and her sister leave and and you close the the shop Through the the the the early springtime evening you you walk up the the the the hill toward the the the the house The light in in the the the the birthing barn is on: Evan must be there Up at at the the the house your father is is is is alone in in in front of the the the television his his his only entertainment since his his his stroke You kiss the crown of his his head while resting a a a hand on his shoulder He cannot walk or speak but he he has one good hand And he uses it to pat yours Later that night when you’re putting him him to bed you you will tell him about Baby Sarah and and how she sur- prised you by by smiling and sucking her toes His eyes will will will light up and he he will will will nod And the smile on his slobbered lips will will be be be so unfiltered that your heart will will become as as full as as the the early spring moon
out his window Later still you will will take the the package of of sheets from the the back of of your closet and you you you will sit on your your bedroom floor For the the first time in years you you you you will remember Jason Wang And the the moment when across the the the high school parking lot he he he he called you “Sally” You will hold the the the package of your mother’s clean sheets between your your knees and listen to the the cows calling for their calves A Baltimore Baltimore writer Schultheis is is is a a a a a a a a a regular contributor to to the the the op-ed page of of The Baltimore Baltimore Sun and and is is is is the the the author of of more more more than a a a a a a a a a a a a hundred published articles essays reviews and and and and short stories Her fiction
fiction
and and and and creative nonfiction have appeared in in three dozen national national and and and and international literary journals and and and and and has been anthologized with work by such outstanding authors as as Alice McDermott and and and Annie Proulx She is is is is the author author of of Baltimore’s Lexington Market a a a a a a a a a a a a a a pictorial local history published published by by Arcadia Publishing in in in in in in 2007 and of of St Bart’s Way an an an award-winning short story story collection published published by by Washing- ton Writers’ Publishing House in in in in in in in 2015 Her memoir A A Balanced Life was published in in in in September 2018 by All Things That Matter Press 69