Abigail

Louise sat there gently rocking the small baby in her arms hoping she’d fall asleep soon. Motherhood so far has been one of the most rewarding experiences of her life. The amount of love she felt every time she looked into her sweet daughter Abigail’s eyes was unlike anything she’d ever experienced before. She had dreamed of being a mother from a very young age and after some years of trying, she and her husband were finally parents. Not every day was easy, but every day was worth it, she thought.

As Louise continued to rock her arms and softly pat Abby’s back, she looked up and noticed a woman sitting across from her, looking right at her. The woman sat straight backed with her purse still on her shoulder and coat in her hands. Perhaps she was waiting for someone. Louise didn’t recognize her but felt she looked rather familiar. She had long dark hair and from this distance it was hard to make out the color of her eyes, but she could see they were filled with sadness. Whatever was troubling this poor woman made Louise pity her, so she looked back at the woman and gave her a warm smile.

“How was your day?” She was taken back by how the woman asked her this question as if they knew each other.

“It was wonderful. How was yours?”, Louise returned. She wanted to help this woman feel better and maybe she just needs someone to talk to.

“Wonderful? That’s the first time you’ve said that.”, the woman said with a bit more lightness to her voice. Louise found herself confused by this statement though. Did she know her from somewhere? And surely, she’s described her days as wonderful before. After all, every day had been wonderful since having her daughter.

“Have we met before?”, Louise asked politely.

“A few times.” The lightness she had was gone as quickly as it came. The woman seemed to be upset by Louise not remembering their previous encounters.

Well, that didn’t make any sense, she thought. This woman looked familiar, yes, but if they had met before, she would have recalled this. Louise suddenly felt embarrassed. How rude of her not to remember someone who clearly knew who she was.

“You’ll have to forgive me,” she said sheepishly while shifting her daughter to her other arm, “I’ve been rather preoccupied since I’ve had my daughter.”

The woman looked down to the baby resting peacefully and stared at her blankly. This made Louise a bit uncomfortable.

“Do you have any children?”, she asked, trying to change the subject.

Looking up at her the woman nodded and the sadness in her eyes seemed to intensify somehow. Louise hoped she hadn’t made a mistake by asking that question. She couldn’t help but worry that she was making this woman feel worse instead of better. Conversation was something that typically came easily for Louise but for some reason she was really messing it up today, but she didn’t know why.

“I have two. A boy and a girl, ages 5 and 3.” The corners of her lips turned up ever so slightly as she said it, no doubt thinking of her babies.

“Oh, that’s wonderful. Those are fun ages!” Louise didn’t know from experience, but she had a feeling. Since becoming a mother, it was just one of those things she felt like she knew. Like she had lived it before.

As she looked at the woman, she could almost imagine what her two babies would look like. She could picture the boy and the girl playing, the boy had his mom’s dark hair, but the girl’s hair was a few shades lighter. They all shared the same short nose and infectious smiles. She could see it clearly in her head, but she’s always had an active imagination, Louise thought.

“I’m so sorry to ask you this, but I seem to have forgotten your name.” She had already put her foot in her mouth by asking if they had met before, what was one more embarrassing question? She just hoped she could forgive Louise for being so careless.

“Abigail.” The woman said. Her sadness had finally made its way out as a single tear rolled down her cheek. Louise couldn’t believe it. What were the odds this woman had the same name as her daughter? It made her feel more connected to her in a way, which made her heart hurt even more for the woman. For Abigail. She would have gotten up and given her a hug if it wasn’t for the sleeping baby in her arms.

Just as she thought this, Abigail stood from the sofa she sat on and knelt before Louise, looking up at her. She could see now that she had the most beautiful green eyes and seeing her this closely, she knew why she had looked so familiar. The Abigail looking at her had an uncanny resemblance to Louise’s aunt Ester.

“I’m going to head out but I will see you tomorrow, ok?”

“Ok, dear.” Louise didn’t know why but she touched her hand to Abigail’s face. Abigail smiled and closed her eyes for a second, placing her hand over Louise’s. She may not have remembered meeting this woman, but she felt connected to her in some way and hoped she would see her again, like she said.

Abigail rose and gave Louise a kiss on the top of her head before turning to walk out the front door. Louise watched after her as she left and held her daughter a little tighter.

“Hey Louise, are you ready for dinner?” The approaching voice knocked her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see a young girl, no more than 20 years old, walking towards her.

“Now that you mention it, I am a bit hungry.” she responded.

“Well let’s get you to the cafeteria. How was your visit with your daughter?” The young girl asked as she started to push Louise’s chair down the hallway.

“It was wonderful. She’s out like a light.” Louise smiled and looked down at the sweet baby in her arms.