Monday, September 5, 2011

The Things Strangers Say

Today, I went to the Pioneer Park Labor Day Celebration with friends.

 
I was in line waiting to order Souvlaki with my friend Rushell, who is nine months pregnant. We were inside a replica of a pioneer cabin, the building so small you couldn't turn around without accidentally being fresh with your neighbor. We had barely fit inside the door when a woman squeezed by. She was an older woman, with half her teeth missing and the other half decayed.

"You're so lucky!" the woman exclaimed, patting Rushell's belly. "When are you due?"
"Next Friday," Rushell replied.
"It's such a miracle. I was never able to get pregnant and I cried every time my husband and I made love."

She continued. "We tried to adopt but the baby was missing his brain so we couldn't." The woman with missing teeth walked out the door.

We didn't know what to say -- it was a lot of information to absorb at once. We ordered our Souvlaki and stepped back out into the sun.

Rushell keeping the children under control.