Our Wicked Lies GledĂ© Kabongo (summer reading list .txt) đ
- Author: Gledé Kabongo
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Eliot had the power to send her back into poverty. At least temporarily. That was the way sheâd seen it. Sheâd interpreted his behavior as signs of things to come. Another baby would have cemented her fate. With the girls off to college, she would have been at his mercy if his unsavory behavior had continued. She didnât have any resources to raise a baby on her own, so in essence, she would have been stuck.
He hadnât realized how much his actions hurt his wife, wasnât even aware of it. A sinking thought occurred to him. Was he partially to blame for what she did? He knew how sensitive she was about her past, her father leaving when she was still a young child, her mother doing the best she could, but never having enough of anything. But that still didnât justify what sheâd done. Nothing did.
âAlicia, why didnât you come to me? We could have talked. I would have listened⊠But what you didâI canât forgive you for it. He was my son, too.â
She let out a mirthless laugh and then turned to face him. âDonât pretend you would have listened or taken me seriously. You talked to me like I was beneath you, Eliot. Frankly, you were emotionally abusive.â
He shook his head. âAlicia, stop this. Tell me the whole truth. Now!â
CHAPTER 35
She rocked back and forth as the raw, savage agony ripped through her, overwhelming her fury over Eliot and Katâs betrayal.
It all came roaring back. The months leading up to the event. The daily struggle to appear like the happy, contented housewife. Hiding the prescription pills in a vitamin supplement bottle so neither Eliot nor the girls would uncover the truth.
At times, it had been easy to hide. While Eliot and the girls were away at work and school, she had seen a therapist twice a week. On the days when feelings of worthlessness and despair had consumed her and sheâd become too fatigued to function, she simply slept. The excessive worrying had been more difficult to control, howeverâthe fear that Eliotâs behavior had signaled that he was growing tired of her and would soon kick her to the curb. Whether or not those thoughts had a single grain of truth to them, she had had no way of knowing.
âI scheduled the appointment with Jack to have it done,â she said, barely above a whisper. âI didnât think about it much. I lived on autopilot during that time. An impenetrable fog had swallowed me whole, and I couldnât find my way out. The medication helped most days, but sometimes it didnât work. I couldnât stop feeling awful about myself and worrying that you would leave me.â
Eliot plopped down on the sofa across from her as if his legs couldnât support him anymore. âWhat are you talking about? What medication? Where did you get the idea that I was leaving?â He blinked rapidly, then his gaze swept around the room, as though searching for answers.
âIt got worse after I found out I was pregnant. I was struggling, Eliot.â
âStruggling with what? Why did you need medication? I donât understandâ
She lowered her gaze, and pinned her arms against her stomach again, and said, âAt first I tried to brush it off, thought I was being too sensitiveâyour behavior, the belittling, put downs, making me feel like I wasnât worth much. Iâm not saying you were responsible for my feelings. Iâm just telling you how it started.â
Eliot sat perfectly still, his eyes glued to her face.
She continued, âAfter a while, I couldnât shake it⊠Day in and day out, the self-loathing, doubt, fatigue. All I wanted to do was sleep, so I wouldnât feel anything, so I went to see Dr. Randolph. She diagnosed me with depression.â
He just stared at her. They both sat still. The revelation hung heavy in the air, unabashed in its ugliness.
Eliot broke the silence. âI donât understand how I missed it. Why didnât you say something? Why didnât you tell me you were suffering so I could help you?â Tears pooled in his eyes.
âDepression doesnât work like that, Eliot. In my mind, another baby would only make things worse. I didnât think about the consequences until afterward.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âAfter the procedure, Jack drove me to the Four Seasons Hotel in Boston and reserved a suite under his name. He told the staff not to disturb âMs. Sarah Thomasâ, throughout her stay. But when the loneliness, guilt, and pain, both physical and emotional had threatened to completely wreck my existence, I reached out to Kat in desperation.â
Eliot continued to stare at Alicia, silent, and as she recounted the story, she was simultaneously taken back into the time and place from the moment sheâd opened the door of the suite to let Kat in. Alicia had almost collapsed on the floor, but Kat had caught her in time and had slowly walked her to the bed.
âAlicia, what the hell is going on? You look like youâre dying.â
âI should be so lucky.â
âAre you insane? What happened? Where is Eliot?â
âEliotâs at work. He doesnât know Iâm here.â
As she lay on the bed, she laid out the whole tragic tale through bouts of inconsolable wailing and hiccups. When she was done, Kat showered Alicia with kindness, brought her water, wiped her face with a warm cloth, and told her to take a nap.
When she awoke, thirty minutes late, Kat was still there, seated in an armchair across the room, looking out the window to views of Boston Common.
âYou donât have to tell me if you donât want to,â she said, turning to
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