Unwed 💍

Chapter Four: Love Hurts

Izzy's hands trembled as she smoothed the wrinkles in her last dress, folding it neatly into her suitcase. It felt like she was in a movie theatre, watching someone else's life play out in front of her. Surely this wasn't real.

Maria sat in her bed across the room, her knees pulled up to her chin, red curls bobbing up and down as she sobbed uncontrollably. "Don't hate me, Izzy! I didn't know they were gonna send you away!"

Izzy squeezed the suitcase shut and fastened it with mechanical movements. She wasn't angry with Maria. She was going to miss her terribly. They'd slept in the same room ever since the day Maria was born, twelve years ago.

Her shoulders slumped as she turned to face the little girl. Maria flew over to her, her frilly pink nightgown billowing out around her.

"I'm so sorry Izzy!" She threw her arms around Izzy's neck.

"It's not your fault. It's mine." She rested her head on her sister's soft curls. "I'll be back soon. It's not like I'll be gone forever."

But even as she spoke the words, she didn't quite believe them. Just that morning, she'd laid in bed thinking her world had changed. She'd been convinced she'd be married, anxious to start a life of her own. Now, she knew her world had changed. In one phone call her life had been shattered.

Wiping a tear from her cheek, she pulled herself away from Maria and wrestled the heavy suitcase down from her bed. It was late, and she was exhausted.

Her mother hadn't spoken a word to her since she'd told her she had to leave. Their family dinner had been dead silent. Everyone around the table choked down their food, avoiding the subject completely, which also meant avoiding her. She'd felt like an outcast, as if she'd already left.

There was a soft rap on the door. "Izzy?" Sam's voice squeaked through the door.

"Come in, Sammy."

He cracked the door open and stepped in, eyes red with tears. When he saw her suitcase lying on the floor, he face contorted. "Why do you have to go, Izzy?"

She knew he was too young to understand. Pulling him over to her, she grasped his face, studying him through blurry eyes. Would he look different when she came back? She tried to memorize the line of freckles that scattered over his nose. "You can write me," she said. "We can be pen pals until I get back."

Sam sniffed, frowning. "Why are Mama and Daddy being so mean to you?"

She cast Maria a sideways glance, remembering her mother's words. Sammy was too young to be trusted with a secret. "I'm not feeling well, Sammy. I have to go somewhere to get better. Then, I'll come back home."

The blood drained from his face at her words. His lip quivering, he leaned forward. "Are you gonna die?"

"No Sammy, I'm not going to die."

Izzy wanted to laugh, but his words sent a chill through her. She'd heard of women dying during childbirth. At her mother's ladies tea, they often talked about labor. Some of them said the pain was unlike anything they'd ever felt. A bitter taste formed in her mouth at the realization that she would deliver the baby, whether she liked it or not—alone, with no one else she knew or loved.

"Izzy?" Sam cried. Both he and Maria studied her, their faces full of concern.

"I'll be fine." Her voice wasn't convincing. "Don't worry, it will only be a few months."

***

The roar of the train speeding down the tracks towards the station drowned out Izzy's thoughts. Her mother stood stiffly at her side, her light gray tailored pea coat perfectly accenting her figure. She clutched her purse tightly to her middle, a large hat covering most of her solemn face.